Charlotte
I wake the next morning to light streaming in through my curtains. Reaching over, I expect to find a warm, lean body, but I find nothing but a cold bed. I sit up, blinking, and grasp my glasses from their spot on the side table.
“Aidan?” I call out. My gaze darts around the room, taking in the discarded clothes draped over my chair. I only see my shirt and pants. I don’t see the blue linen shirt Aidan wore yesterday or his khaki shorts.
I swing my legs over the side of the bed and step out onto the hard wooden floor. I grab an oversized shirt and pull it over my head.
“Aidan?” I say again as I pad into the kitchen.
He’s not there.
Thelma hunches over her food bowl, inhaling globs of her chicken puree and ignoring me. Aidan must have fed her.
There’s a note on my table.
Went to get breakfast. Be back soon! -Aidan
I smile. Of course, he would go out and get us some food. It doesn’t surprise me that he would go out so early too. I check the microwave clock and it’s just passed seven.
The protest isn’t until noon. Mayor Harrington insisted on doing a lot of the work despite my protests, so all we have to do is show up. I’m hoping that Aidan and I can spend the morning together. Maybe repeat last night.
There’s no one else. There’s only you. I can’t think of anyone, but you.
You are perfection itself.
His words from last night swirl in my brain.
I pad back into my bedroom and see my phone on my chair. I peel the clothes off my chair and drop them on the floor. Dirty clothes are a problem for future Charlotte.
“Fucking hell,” I mutter as my phone flashes a low battery icon and then promptly dies.
I must’ve forgotten to charge it last night.
At least I remembered to take out my contacts.
I find the charger next to my bed and plug my phone in.
Yawning, I crawl back under the covers and let out a half-sigh, half-groan.
Closing my eyes, I expect sleep to overtake me but instead flashes of what occurred in this very bed just a few years ago speed through my mind: his hands roaming over my skin, his mouth working on my most delicate spots, his body pressed against mine.
The apartment door creaks open, and someone tiptoes across the floor and into the bedroom.
“Aidan?” I call out and sit up in bed, hoping it’s him and not Nicole sneaking in to put all my tea on the top cabinet again.
“Hey, Charlotte,” he replies and I feel warm at the deep timbre of his voice.
He walks in, holding a bag from Triple C, two coffee cups, and Lloyd at his heels.
Aidan’s face breaks out into a radiant smile, and my soul warms at the sight of it.
While he’s wearing his clothes from last night, they’re wrinkled and his hair is tousled.
A lock falls over his forehead and, as he sits down on the bed, I resist the urge to reach up and brush it away.
He wakes up looking perfect. I’m never going to get anything done in the mornings when he’s around.
“I got you a London Fog,” Aidan says in a gentle voice. He hands me one of the cups and pulls out a foil-wrapped bundle. “And a sausage, egg, and cheese on an everything bagel.” Both are warm in my hands.
“How did you—”
“You mentioned it, and I took note of it,” he answers before I can finish. “I have a whole list of things that you like. Remember, I’ve been keeping track to increase our friendship points.”
I chuckle. “To get enough hearts with me, right?” My mouth curls upward, and I unwrap the bagel sandwich. “What else is on that list?”
He shifts and pulls out his phone, but not before taking a sip from his latte. His throat bobs as he swallows and heat pools in my lower belly. He runs his tongue across his lips and lust thickens my blood as I yearn for that mouth on me.
“We’ve already gone over your favorite teas,” Aidan reads from his phone.
“You’ve got a little wrinkle in between your eyebrows when you’re concentrating.
” Color fills his face. “You love chocolate, especially when it’s in pancakes.
You’re one of those intelligent people who believe that breakfast for dinner is a great idea.
You know every single Kacey Musgraves song and sing them whenever you’re working.
You’re devoted to your community, and your community is devoted to you.
I haven’t figured out which book is your favorite, or even what genre, since you read so much.
” He nods to the book beside my bed, Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne.
A blush colors his face before continuing, “I learned a few more things last night, but I’m not sure I should put those on my list.”
“Oh?” I set aside my latte and bagel, scooting closer to him.. “Like what?”
“I-uh-I well, um, how you look, well, when you…” He swallows hard. “You know, come.”
“Anything else?” I ask in a low voice, leaning forward, adjusting the neck of my T-shirt so my shoulder peeks out. “You could always just show me what else you’ve discovered. You don’t have to tell me.”
His gaze lingers on my hair spilling over my shoulders in loose waves. Aidan swallows again, but not because he drank some of his latte. “Talking hard,” he finally grinds outs. “Very hard.”
I let out a low, breathy chuckle. “Is talking the only thing that’s hard right now?”
He shakes his head. “No. There’s something else.” He shifts his seat closer to me. “Less talking, more kissing,” he murmurs before claiming my mouth with his. His kisses start off soft, gentle, yearning, before evolving into something deeper, stronger, that has me panting for air.
Aidan’s arms encircle me, pulling our bodies closer so they press together. His fingers find the hem of my shirt, and he glides it over my head, tossing it on the floor next to a pile of socks. I shiver in the chilly morning air, and his hand finds my breast, running a finger over my peaked nipple.
“So beautiful,” he murmurs while trailing a line of kisses from my cheek to my collarbone.
With his free hand, he grasps a fistful my hair and brings it to his lips.
“Have I told you how much I love your hair? It’s so beautiful.
” He twirls a lock in his fingers and his gaze darkens.
“The color—it’s so rich, so-so-so shiny. ”
A chuckle rumbles through me. “Thank you. Your hair is beautiful too.”
He smiles bashfully. “It’s always a mess.”
I run my hand along his scalp, rumpling his already tousled hair.
“I like it messy.” I pull him close to me, bringing his mouth to mine.
But before I can deepen the kiss, he’s pulling away from me, retracing the line of kisses he planted earlier, except he doesn’t stop at my shoulder.
He makes his way down my chest and gently pushes me back onto a nest of pillows.
A gasp escapes me when he makes his way to my breast. His tongue swirls and flicks against my nipple. My eyes close, and I arch into his chest.
“Open your eyes, Charlotte,” he says in a gravelly voice, and I open my eyes wide.
One of his hands runs along my hip, running in slow circles over the delicate skin, the other, he shifts underneath my ass and lifts my hips closer to him.
He relinquishes his hold on my nipple, and the air chills the wet skin.
His mouth blazes a trail farther down my belly, and my body is on fire in the places where he kisses me. Instinctively, my eyelids close.
“What did I just say?” he asks, his voice gently growing insistent. “Open your eyes. I want you looking at me when you come.”
Aidan licks me then. One long, searing, punishing stroke up my opening and across my clit. I shudder beneath him, squirming to get more. He leaves the tip of tongue resting on me and bringing his hands to either side of my hips, holding me down.
“Aidan,” I hiss and plea all at the same time. “Why’d you stop?”
“Eyes on me, Charlotte,” he says against me. His breath tickling every nerve ending.
I obey, opening my eyes and adjusting the pillows so I can see him fully. He’s still fully clothed. “I want to see you naked.”
He runs his tongue along me again, and I resist the urge to toss my head back and moan.
But the stroke ends all too soon as he sits back on his heels and removes his shirt, followed by his shoes and pants.
His throbbing cock springs free from the confines of his boxers.
He takes it in his hand and pumps it once, twice.
“Is this what you want, Charlotte? To see my dick before I go down on you.”
I lick my lips. “What if I want you inside of me?”
He brings his mouth back to my pussy, focusing on my clit this time. “Patience, Charlotte, patience.” He continues working, and the whole time his gaze never strays from mine. My hands grasp at his hair, and the pressure builds until I feel like I’m going to burst.
“Aidan,” I say between clenched teeth. Blood rushes down to my pelvic region and throbs against my bones. “I want you. I need you.”
“Why are you so impatient?” he asks between strokes. “Not yet.” His lips encircle my clit, and he swirls his tongue while sucking ever so gently.
Release courses through my veins and my torso involuntarily jerks forward. The lids of my eyes close, and I see stars dance across my vision. Something not human and almost guttural rumbles out of my throat. Aidan holds my hips down as they buck through the waves of my orgasm.
All too soon, the tide recedes and I flop back onto the pillows, my bones melted into a pile of mush. Aidan brings himself to hover just over me, planting kisses along my check, my chin, my eye lids, my forehead, my mouth.
“Charlotte,” he murmurs between kisses. “Do you still want me to fuck you?”
“Oh, yes,” I murmur back.
“Turn over.”
I obey happily. Aidan places his hands on my hips and drags my ass back to him. Panting, I gaze at him through the mirror set up on the wall on the other side of my bed.
“Can I fuck you like this?” He spreads my legs wide and nudges himself toward my warm wet entrance.
“Yes.” This angle seems to expose the delicate organ in a way that sends my back arching and my hips pressing farther into him.
Aidan sinks into me, and with each glorious inch I feel the pressure building up yet again, bringing me back to life and solidifying my bones.
“Fuck,” he hisses when he’s finally fully inside me. “I’m not sure if I’m ever going to get used to this.”
I grip the sheets and let out a low laugh. “Go slow. We have plenty of time.”
He nods and his Adam’s apple bobs. “Just give me a moment to settle. Fuck, you feel amazing.” He opens his eyes and a dimple flashes as he smiles. “Are you ok?”
“Yes,” I reply and brace my forearms against the bed. “I’m more than ok.”
Aidan bends his arms and his plants a row of kisses along my spine.
I shiver and resist the urge to arch my back.
Letting out a chuckle, he straightens, moving slowly at first, but gradually picks up the pace.
I move with him, trying my best to match his stride, but it’s difficult when I can feel myself coming undone.
His thrusts become frantic. Aidan’s breaths turn into animalistic groans that ripple throughout my body.
Fuck, I love a man who groans.
“Charlotte,” he pleads, peeling his mouth from mine.
I respond with a cry, tossing my head back and jerking as spasms course through me. I swear my heart stops as another orgasm crashes over me.
“Charlotte,” Aidan gasps out my name and follows with one last hard thrust that strikes me to my very core.
I collapse on the bed and bring him down with me.
He clutches my body to his chest as we lay there.
He takes a strand of my hair and twirls it between his thumb and forefinger.
He whispers my name repeatedly like it’s a prayer. “Charlotte. Charlotte. Charlotte.”
If I could keep the library open and have Aidan in my bed every night, I would be happy. I want to hold onto this moment and never let go.
It’s only after we reluctantly extricate ourselves from each other and I’m on the toilet while Aidan is in the shower that the realization hits me like a stupidly big gender affirming truck.
I’m falling in love with Aidan Talbot.