Chapter 33
OLIVIA
Ilaughed when Charlie only drove around the barn and parked behind the stables where we’d just birthed the kid. Turning to face him, I stared into his eyes and felt my heart speed up a little bit. “Really, this is the best spot on the ranch?”
He chuckled. “It’s the best spot that doesn’t take a long time to get to.”
“You in a rush, Cowboy?”
“Nope, I’d just rather spend our time looking at the actual stars than driving to a better spot.” He climbed out of the truck and came around to open my door, and this time, I didn’t give him any trouble for it.
Instead, I even put my hand in his when he offered it, letting him help me out and even allowing him to help me onto the bed. He sent me a puzzled frown as he climbed on behind me. “Does this mean we’ve turned a corner? You’re actually letting me do things for you.”
“Don’t read into it,” I warned playfully. “It’s just for tonight.”
He sighed but smiled as he leaned back and settled down on the blanket beside me. We both fluffed our pillows until we were comfortable, our sides pressed together and my bare feet tucked under the rough denim covering his shin.
Butterflies zoomed around in my stomach, very much alive and happy after the night we’d had. I would even go so far as to call it being on cloud nine. I really hadn’t expected to enjoy being back on the ranch but I’d had an amazing day.
No matter which way I sliced it, I felt unnaturally at home on their ranch.
I truly loved it here and finding out that Charlie hadn’t said all those ugly things about me had been the cherry on the cake.
I hadn’t realized how much it’d been weighing on me, but thinking that he’d said those things had felt like having a hippo on my chest all week.
Being with them again today had also reminded me of why I liked him so much. I loved seeing how he cared for his family and their animals, and hearing him open up a bit more tonight had me feeling some unexpected things.
I think I might actually really like him. Not just as a person, but as my person.
As we looked up at the stars together, he suddenly lifted his hand and pointed at a cluster slightly to our right. “I’ve always thought that looks like a woolly mammoth.”
I squinted up at it. “I’d never have gotten there myself, but you’re not wrong. That kind of does look like a mammoth.”
As I gazed at the immense amount of stars above, I chuckled and took his hand, moving where he’d been pointing up by about an inch. “Don’t you think that looks like a T-Rex?”
“A T-Rex?” He tilted his head a little bit before he started laughing. “It could be a T-Rex. Depending on how much you’ve had to drink.”
I bumped my shoulder into his. “Says the guy who thinks the other constellation looks like a woolly mammoth.”
“Well, you agreed with that one.” He turned his head to face me just as I rolled onto my side toward him.
Our gazes connected. The sounds of our laughter faded away and a few strands of his hair fell over his forehead. At the sight, I remembered how badly I’d wanted to push that same lock back the other day, and this time, there was no reason not to do it.
I brushed my fingers through his hair, but before I could bring my hand back to my side, he caught it, bringing my knuckles to his lips. He kissed them in much the same way Colt had the other day, but unlike then, my pulse spiked to all new levels when Charlie’s mouth brushed across my skin.
I sucked in a quiet breath and he smirked, not releasing my hand. He brought his gaze to mine. “There. It was driving me nuts that I hadn’t done that yet.”
“Competitive much?” My heart was racing in my chest and I closed my fingers around his, needing him to just keep holding my hand.
He looked into my eyes. Those blues reflected the silvery warmth of the moonlight, making me feel pretty hot and bothered in response. “When it concerns winning your affections, Liv, you’d better believe it’s a competition I’m going to win.”
“What if there is no competition?” I wasn’t afraid of telling him that anymore.
If fact, I wanted him to know. I didn’t want his brothers’ flirting with me to drive a wedge between them—or between us.
Especially because I knew they were only doing it to get to him.
“What if you’re the only Anderson I want kissing me? ”
“Well, then I suppose I’d better kiss you.” Bringing his free hand to my cheek, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine, instantly wiping away any doubts I might’ve had about him over the last week.
The thing about Charlie was that when he kissed me, he made me feel like I belonged to him. With him.
The feeling was so much more intense this time, after we’d had our first tiff. I, for one, had come out of it starting to realize that he meant more to me than I’d thought. While he hadn’t come right out and said it, I had a feeling he felt the same way.
He moaned when his tongue parted my lips. His kisses grew harder and more urgent as he released my hand to bring his fingers to my hip. Gripping me tight, he leaned into me, his other hand sliding into my hair and his fingers forming a fist around the strands.
Tingles of pleasure shot through me and I leaned into him, slid one arm around his neck to bring him closer, and wrapped my free hand around his shoulder. Charlie let out a groan that sounded like it’d come from the intoxicating mix of pleasure and pain.
Letting my hand glide down from his shoulder, I decided to keep being bold and honest, and I hooked my fingers around the waistband of his jeans, tugged sharply, and smiled when it made him suck in a breath.
I slid my fingertips underneath his waistband, shivering when I came into contact with his warm skin.
“Shit, Liv,” he breathed into my mouth between kisses. “We should probably stop now.”
“Why?”
He pulled away only just enough to look into my eyes, his breathing ragged. “I don’t really know. We’re outside, I guess. Anyone could see us.”
“They’re all asleep.” I pressed my mouth to his again, speaking between gentle, coaxing kisses. “I like being outside and I know you do too.” I stroked my fingers across the skin again before withdrawing my hand to start working on his belt.
He groaned deep in his throat. “I do. It’s just, I don’t want you to think—”
I sealed my mouth over his again. I pulled him on top of me and felt his body molding to my own. “I’m not thinking about any of that right now, Charlie.”
The only thing I was thinking about was getting him inside me. Instinctively, I knew he was worried about what he’d said earlier when he’d told me about the other marketing rep that he’d had a thing with, but I really didn’t care.
While I couldn’t say that I liked knowing he’d been involved with the last woman who’d done some marketing for the ranch, finding out about it also hadn’t come as much of a surprise.
I’d suspected as much since I’d first started working with him.
The only surprising part about what he’d told me was that she’d only been after him for his money.
Which I thought was ridiculous, but that was just me.
Because of that though, I also knew that what he and I had was different.
I didn’t give a flying fuck about his bank account and he knew it.
Besides, he’d also told me many times when we’d been doing things—not these kinds of things, but others, outside of sex—that it was the first time he was doing this or that with a woman.
On top of all that, the sensation of his lips on mine and his weight on me had made me want him so badly that nothing else mattered. Sure, there were a lot of emotions involved, but I needed him even more because of that.
I’d almost lost him because I’d pushed him away.
I’d been horrible to him this week when all I’d really wanted had been to be in his arms like I was right then.
As I kissed him, Charlie seemed to realize that his revelations about his past hadn’t put me off and I felt the moment his relief kicked in.
Rolling onto his back, he gripped my hips and brought me with him, his kissing firmer and more insistent than ever. One of his hands dove right back into my hair while the other ran up the length of my thigh, skating under my skirt and making me ache to feel him touch me.
“Charlie,” I moaned into his mouth, my hips starting to roll of their own accord. “I need you.”
“I know,” he bit out between kisses, shoving my skirt up to my hips and unbuckling his belt. As he undid the buttons on his jeans, he broke the kiss to look into my eyes. “You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.” I lifted myself up on my knees and quickly took my panties off, kicking them away before I looked back at Charlie. He was rolling a condom on, his wallet lying open beside him. I smiled. “I love it that you’re always prepared.”
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t that night I met you. I’ve been making sure I am ever since.”
I chuckled and kissed him again, moving myself into position above him as his tongue delved into my mouth. As soon as I started lowering down, he took control, his eyes on mine and one hand in my hair, the other on my hip. He thrust into me.
I moaned, my eyes rolling back in my head as pleasure raced through me. Charlie’s lids were hooded, his lips slightly parted. He watched me when he started moving.
Happy to let him take charge, I matched his rhythm. My toes curled and my nipples begged for attention. I yanked the hem of my shirt out of the skirt and roughly moved his hand under it. He toyed with my nipples and pinched just hard enough to make me feel it everywhere.
In return, I hastily unbuttoned his shirt. My hands roamed the strong edges of his abs. Charlie steadily increased his pace until I was seeing stars. My breathing was labored and I started struggling to meet his thrusts with the intensity of the pleasure coiling in my belly.
The muscles in his thighs tightened and I crashed my mouth back to his, focusing only on chasing my orgasm and helping him get there at the same time. As soon as I felt myself approaching that peak, Charlie swelled deep inside me and we came together.
As our climaxes subsided, we collapsed against each other. I tried moving off him as soon as I could feel my legs again, but he shook his head. “Stay with me, Liv.”
“I’m right here,” I whispered, smiling. I buried my head in the crook of his neck, closed my eyes, and almost drifted off until I heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching the barn.
Charlie stiffened underneath me, grabbed the blanket that had been lying at our feet, and quickly covered us. I finally climbed off him to hide under the blanket against his side.
Colt’s voice drifted to my ears. He was cussing and clearly annoyed. “Damn phone better be in the barn. I’m going to wring Cody’s fucking neck.”
As his voice faded, I covered my mouth to keep from laughing. Charlie smiled, burying his face in my hair.
It took a few minutes before we heard his footsteps again, this time going in the direction of the house. Once he was gone, I pulled the covers off my head and glanced at Charlie. “We probably shouldn’t sleep half naked under the stars, should we?”
“Imagine if the camera crew accidentally saw that,” he said wryly. “No, I don’t think we can do it tonight.”
I laughed, but as we got dressed and headed back to the house, I wished we had been able to stay right where we had been. Charlie walked me to my door, leaning in close to murmur against my ear. “Good night, Cowgirl.”
I pulled away to wink at him. “Yeehaw.”
He chuckled. “We’re going to have to work on that.”
After giving a quick, chaste kiss goodnight, he headed to his room and I giggled softly, unable to believe how much of a difference a day had made. Charlie and I were back, and I was pretty darn excited to see how far we were going to go.