28. Charlie
TWENTY-EIGHT
CHARLIE
We’d forgotten to close the blinds, which meant that I woke up with the sun, wrapped up in the muscular, heavy arms of a man I no longer hated. His breathing was heavy and even, and I stayed still, enjoying the serenity of the moment.
He was the first man I’d met who made me feel like he understood me. We’d both experienced loss, and we were both willing to meet in the middle and change our minds. It was too soon to think about the future, but I still couldn’t help myself from imagining what would happen if he decided to stay in New Elwood.
Maybe I could convince him to restore the house. Maybe he’d decide that he liked our small town…that he liked me …enough to stay. Maybe these feelings growing inside me would take root and grow into something strong.
Because the truth was, I couldn’t imagine going back to life in New Elwood without him. Couldn’t imagine working in my little cupboard in the basement of the council building without looking forward to seeing him at the end of the day.
If I had to choose between the house and Sebastian, which would I pick?
I watched the sky brighten as I mulled it over, but I couldn’t make up my mind. The house was everything to me. It was my past. My family. My home.
But at some point over the past few weeks, Sebastian had become important to me too. We’d only just met, but I felt like I’d found the other half of me. Someone who wasn’t intimidated by me, who gave as good as he got. Someone who respected my ideas and took me seriously at work. Someone who could be tender and dominant in turn—who did, in fact, kiss as good as he looked.
Would I ever meet someone like him again? I knew practically everyone in New Elwood, and no one had ever made me feel the way Sebastian did.
“Morning,” he said, hand sliding from my stomach up to my breast. His thumb stroked the curve of it as he curled his legs into me.
“Morning,” I replied, pushing back into him.
He was hard. His erection pressed against my ass as I shimmied against him, dragging a groan from his throat. He squeezed my breast, thumb coasting over my nipple as it hardened.
When he slid his hand down my stomach, his touch made me shiver with pleasure. All that skin against mine was a drugging feeling, especially when he pulled my leg up and propped it on top of his. Then with slow, lazy movements of his fingers, he brought me to a shuddering orgasm.
“Love it when you come,” he said, voice rough with sleep.
I reached behind me and took his cock in my hand. He grunted, then rolled away to grab a condom from his nightstand. A moment later, he was holding my leg up and sliding into me, then pulling me into his chest so we could keep spooning.
I gasped at the stretch of him inside me, my body tender from what had happened last night. But this time, we were slow. He took his time, in no hurry to reach his own peak, giving me long, steady strokes until I got impatient and whimpered for him to give me more.
Then I was on my stomach with the weight of him over me, his arms on top of mine, fingers braided with my own. My cries were muffled in the pillow as I came. My body was limp with pleasure as Sebastian pulled me up onto my knees, then entered me with a long, hard thrust. I loved the way he grunted. Loved the tightening of his hands around my hips. Loved it when he draped his body over mine once more and dragged his teeth over my shoulder, shouting his pleasure against my skin.
Sex with him was raw and needy and so, so good.
Yes, I would find it very, very difficult to give this man up for anything.
I would’ve stayed in that bed for hours, but unfortunately, we had to get back to New Elwood for a meeting with Mayor Greene. The drive back to town was peaceful. I was in a daze, listening to the music on the radio, loving the way Sebastian kept his hand on my thigh as he drove.
We hadn’t been able to stop touching each other all morning. I found myself wrapping my arms around his waist while he made coffee. He grabbed my hand once we were out the door and didn’t let go until we’d sat down at a restaurant for breakfast. Even then, he nudged my knee with his and reached across to tease my fingers with his.
It was an easy kind of intimacy, but I knew it would spread like wildfire if we didn’t at least try to act professional when we got back to town.
“So,” I started, not quite knowing what I was trying to say.
“So?”
“Is this… Are we going public with this?” I laid my hand over his where it rested on my thigh.
Sebastian arched a brow as he glanced over at me, then returned his gaze to the road. “Are you embarrassed of me, Reeves?”
“It would cause some talk,” I hedged.
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“It might cloud the council’s view on the whole compromise idea. They might think we only agreed to it because we’re, you know.”
“Sleeping together?”
“Yeah. That.”
He hummed. “It’s going to be hard for me to hide that I’m attracted to you.”
A secret, feminine thrill shot through me. “Is that so?”
He huffed, then brought my hand up to his lips. “It is so. But you know the townspeople better than I do. If you think it’s best to keep this quiet until after the vote, then I’m okay with that.”
I gathered my courage and asked, “And after the vote? Are you planning on staying in New Elwood?”
The silence that stretched after my question didn’t exactly give me much confidence. The first inkling of fear trickled into my heart. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen after the vote, Charlie,” Sebastian finally replied.
“I see.” I shifted my gaze to look out my window, and Sebastian moved his hand to grip the steering wheel. It felt like a fissure had just formed between us. Was I being foolish for expecting anything different? He hadn’t made any promises. And, really, would I be enough to change his mind about the town where his worst memories resided?
If he wasn’t going to stay in town, why should I give him any of my heart? Maybe this trip to DC had done nothing but confuse me. Maybe it would’ve been better to keep hating the man. At least that was less confusing than whatever was happening between us now.