8. Charlie
CHAPTER 8
CHARLIE
H e hadn’t planned to kiss her. At least, that’s what Charlie was telling himself. She just wouldn’t stop talking. But now that he’d had Megan in his arms, he couldn’t think about anything else. Visions of taking her home, kissing her more, and claiming her as his own would haunt him for weeks if he didn’t do something about it. There was only one real solution, of course. He had to take her home, kiss her more, and claim her as his own.
He texted his driver, who was parked close by. Regardless of whether Megan agreed to come home with him, Charlie wasn’t going to spend the rest of the evening in a bar. He was aching for her, and aching for her in public was not going to be good for his image.
“It’s a shame I’m not going to have that second drink,” she said while he was giving his location to George.
“You’re the one who said there were no safe levels of alcohol.”
“That wasn’t me. It was the… somebody. It was studies. Studies said it. Anyway, how am I supposed to blow off steam now? Kayla or someone said I have to blow off steam sometimes.” She was too adorable for words.
He smiled but quickly stopped himself. “Oh, I’m pretty sure I can think of something.”
The look on her face was nothing short of sly. She knew exactly what she was doing, and he had to give her credit for it. He wanted her so badly he thought he might burst. He grabbed her and kissed her sweet mouth one more time before the car pulled up to the curb. George stepped out and opened the back door for them.
“Ooh, fancy,” Megan said.
Charlie slid in after her and resisted the temptation to pull her into his lap right then and there. “Text Kayla and tell her you’re okay,” he said. “I don’t want them thinking I had you kidnapped.”
“Isn’t that what’s happening?” she asked with a grin. “I was hoping it was.”
“Just text her.”
“Okay, okay.” She pulled out her phone and began typing. “Please, help,” she read aloud as she texted. “I am being taken against my will. Charlie has a knife to my throat, and he won’t let me go. Send police and an ambulance because I might kick his ass.”
“Megan,” he chided, glowering at her.
She laughed as he snatched her phone from her and read what she had typed. It just said, Feeling tired all of a sudden. Decided to head home. Have fun for me!
“They’ll notice I’ve gone, too,” Charlie reminded her.
“Mmm… I think you’re overestimating your own presence.”
“Now who’s being nasty?”
“It’s just the truth. You never talk to anyone. We’d all love to hear from you more often, but you’re just so above us all.”
Charlie felt his shoulders drop. “I’m not,” he said, too quietly. “There’s just… a lot of pressure from my family. I don’t have the liberty of messing around.”
“Messing around?” She laid her hand on his upper thigh, and he nearly jumped at her touch. “Isn’t that what you’re doing now?”
“That’s the point,” he said. “If I mess around now, I’ll be less tempted to do it later.”
“Are you saying I’m tempting?” she teased as her hand slid up his thigh.
Charlie silently apologized to his driver and closed the window between them. There was no way to answer Megan with words, not when his whole body was screaming with the proof of just how tempting she was. He slid closer and kissed her hard. Her hand slid to his fly. Without stopping her completely, he murmured, “Careful. I’ll take you right here.”
“Would that be so bad?”
“Not at all. But come home with me, and let me show you a better time.”
As much as he tried to make himself out to be the one with restraint, Charlie couldn’t help touching her, kissing her, undressing her in his mind. Why was this drive so damned far? He couldn’t get to his own apartment fast enough.
By the time they arrived at his apartment, he was itching to get her to his bedroom, but Charlie forced himself to be patient. He took her upstairs and showed her the place, offered her a drink like a gentleman. The whole time she watched him like he was crazy.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked.
“I’m…” He paused, unsure of what she was getting at. “I’m introducing you to my home.”
She advanced toward him. “Holding back?”
“No,” he lied. The truth was it took every ounce of strength he had just to take the time to be a decent host.
Megan smiled and pressed up against him. “I’m not here to be introduced to your home.”
“Then what are you?—”
She kissed him before he could finish his sentence. And that was about all it took to lose control. He pressed her into the wall and struggled out of his jacket. She was tall, but he lifted her easily while she wrapped her legs around him and clung to him like a monkey. He carried her to his bed and laid her across it sideways, frantically unbuttoning her shirt.
“It worked,” she said, and he glanced down to see her staring up at him. No matter how much he told himself he disliked her, no matter how crazy she drove him, there was no denying she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. He’d imagined her naked so many times that this moment felt like all his dreams coming true.
“What worked?” He hardly cared, but asked anyway while reaching around between her back and his comforter to unhook her bra in one easy motion. Her breasts, in the dim light of a single reading lamp, were far better than anything his imagination produced.
“The kiss. It shut you up.” She pretended to be harsh, but she couldn’t hide her unadulterated joy that she’d gotten back at him, that they were a little bit even. He let her have the win. It was worth it for that sweet look of triumph on her face. The truth was, she didn’t really know how to be cruel, and that was one of the most attractive things about her.
He kissed her chest, her warm and soft skin. He brought his lips to her nipples until they grew almost as hard as he was. He slipped her skirt past her hips and pressed his hand between her legs until he felt through the fabric of her underwear how ready she was for him. She had to have been craving him every bit as much as he was craving her. There would be no need to work her into a frenzy. She was already there. But he kissed her thighs and teased her anyway, and he loved every sound she made for him.
Charlie Sullivan was good at quite a number of things. He never did anything halfway. And making love was no exception. Every woman he’d ever been with begged for him to take them, and he was determined that Megan would be no exception. No matter how much she loathed him, he was going to hear her beg.
He kissed between her legs and slipped her underwear down to her knees. Then he went to work with his mouth and tongue. He listened to her moan and pulled back when he needed to, edging her closer and closer until he finally heard what he wanted to hear.
“Please…” Her voice was a breath and a moan, but he knew he heard it. He waited for a second. “Charlie.” She panted his name and he hardened even more at the sound of it. “Please.”
He couldn’t help his own groan of satisfaction as he brought himself over her, and she wrapped her legs around him, pulling him down, begging with her body, too. She pulled his shirt over his head and kissed his neck and shoulders. Now his need was so great, he didn’t even bother to undress the rest of the way. He got halfway there before he had to plunge deep into her, full to bursting with animal intensity.
By the way she writhed under him and moaned into his skin, he knew he was giving her exactly what she needed. And he was taking what he wanted, too. Holding back was no longer an option, so he didn’t. His entire bed moved with him despite the sturdiness of it, and Megan punctuated every thrust with her voice until she cried out beautifully into his ear. The sound of it finished him, and he let go completely, finally losing himself in his own version of heaven.
When it was over, he collapsed on top of her, weak and satisfied. She was twitching under him, sighing with relief. “That was…” she began but couldn’t seem to finish her sentence.
“Better than alcohol?” he asked recalling their previous conversation.
She nodded. “Better than chocolate.”
“Perfect,” he said, and he pushed off of her so she could get more comfortable. She curled up in his bed. “Stay the night,” he said.
“Why not?” she said with a sweet smile.
“Do you want a shower?”
“Sounds nice.”
“It’s there.” He pointed to his ensuite bathroom, which he knew she would enjoy. “I’m going to make us a little something.”
She sat up in his bed, wearing nothing but her glasses. She hadn’t bothered to remove them beforehand, which he was grateful for. She looked incredibly sexy in them. “You’re going to feed me?”
He sighed and shook his head. “When a woman makes love to me, it’s a nightlong event, Bright. I won’t let you go to bed hungry. You’re getting breakfast, too.” He gave her a meaningful look. “And anything else you’d like from me in the morning you’ll be getting as well.”
She scoffed. “Is everything a competition with you?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “Lucky you.”
He left her there to shower and made his way into the kitchen. While he listened to the water run, he washed and cut fruit — berries and melon — and added various types of chocolate to the tray. Megan wasn’t wrong. To Charlie, everything had to be a competition. He had to be the best, regardless of whether it was the best doctor or the best lover. He arranged the tray beautifully, filled a small teapot with hot water, and provided a variety of herbal teas. Just to be a little extra, he pulled a rosebud from the fresh bouquet on his dining table and added it to the tray.
With a gleam of pride in his eyes, he carried the tray into his bedroom only to find Megan already out of her shower, wrapped in his warm bathrobe, and fast asleep in his bed. He stood over her, half disappointed he couldn’t show off his proficiency in romance and half relieved she wouldn’t actually see how much he cared.
He sat down beside her and started eating the strawberries himself while he watched her sleep. She seemed so peaceful now, and he realized for the first time how much of a performance she always put on just to make everyone else around her feel comfortable, hopeful, and happy. Charlie was almost tempted to give her a little success with him — smile more maybe, laugh a little from time to time. But they’d made their little personality war a whole thing, and he couldn’t stand the thought of losing to her.
Who was he kidding? He couldn’t stand the thought of losing her . What would they even be to each other if they weren’t rivals? Nothing, he supposed, and that was unacceptable. He popped another strawberry into his mouth and continued to watch her sleep for a good while longer before he finally joined her in bed.