He took in the sight of Lucy, from head to toe. She had on silver heels he never wanted her to take off, leather pants that were so tight they looked painted on, and a top that was a dead giveaway that she wasn’t wearing a bra.
Fuck me.
She froze the minute her eyes connected with his. She blinked twice, then once more, her lids falling over her widened eyes in slow motion. She pitched forward when a giggling Grace bumped into her from behind, but caught herself on a high-top table, never taking her eyes from Charlie.
“Lucy,” Grace said as she hugged her from behind. “Why are you stopping?” Grace followed Lucy’s eyes, and stopped when they landed on Charlie. “Oh, shit.”
Lucy slapped her arm. “Shh.”
Another woman, who looked to be in her late twenties, pushed past the two and approached the bar. She was completely unfazed by Lucy’s sudden stop. She looked over at Brandon, Charlie, Hugh, and Jonah, and smiled as she hopped up on a stool and scanned each one of them, taking them all in. “Brothers,” she eventually slurred. “My favorite.”
Hugh turned in her direction. “Drunk women,” he said with a grin, “our favorite.”
She leaned forward and grabbed Hugh’s chin. She moved his head from side to side and pursed her red lips. “I don’t think you could handle me, baby.” She looked down the line of Mathews men and climbed down from her stool. She fell into Jonah’s arms, and smiled up at him. “But you could.”
Brandon and Michael roared with laughter as Jonah pointed at the bar, a silent demand for Michael to get her a drink.
“She’s wasted, man. C’mon,” Michael pleaded.
“I have a cab,” the woman said, her eyes not leaving Jonah’s.
“She has a cab, Olerson,” Jonah said, and grinned at the girl.
Charlie watched Lucy straighten her back and carefully head over to him as Grace whispered in her ear with very little elegance. Lucy closed her eyes and nodded, before the two finally parted ways.
Lucy stopped in front of Charlie. She looked at him and bit her lower lip. “I’m not following you,” she murmured.
Charlie felt a bubble of amusement building in his chest. “I don’t think that.”
“Well, I just wanted to get that out of the way,” she said. “I didn’t know you would be here.”
“How could you? Sit,” he said, and watched as she slipped into the seat. “Do you want something? Water, maybe?”
She tossed her little silver purse on the bar and shot him a warning look. “Do I look like I need water?”
Charlie left the laugh he felt coming submerged where it belonged. He shook his head quickly. “Nope. Not at all.”
“Good.” She quickly lowered her chin once; it was a stern look that he may have deserved, but it was pretty gorgeous, too. “Lydia!” she yelled to the girl in Jonah’s lap. “Shots!”
Grace twirled around and took the stool next to Hugh. “Shots!” she yelled, and dropped her purse on the bar.
“Whatever they want,” Charlie said to Michael. “Put it on my tab.”
Michael raised a brow as he looked from Lucy to Charlie. “You got it.”
Charlie felt Brandon’s eyes on him. Hugh and Jonah were too absorbed in Grace and the woman, who he only recently discovered was named Lydia, to even notice his encounter with Lucy. Brandon smirked a little when it became clear that this wasn’t Charlie’s first time meeting Lucy. He nodded his head, a signal of his absolute approval, and looked away to give them privacy. In that moment, Charlie was thankful he had been sitting next to his older brother and not the two younger ones; they would have not been so easy on him.
He looked down at Lucy, who flung her shot back the minute it was put in front of her. She blanched and twisted her little nose up in disgust. “Gross,” she said, and pushed the empty glass away.
“Lydia’s Delights?” Charlie asked Lucy, and shifted his chin in that direction. “Same Lydia?”
Lucy pulled Charlie’s beer from his hand and took a sip. “Yep,” she confirmed, and handed it back. “She’s my cousin. And my boss, I guess.”
“She seems to like my little brother, Jonah.”
Lucy looked down the line of people on the other side of her. “Huh,” she said simply, and looked back at Charlie. “I can see why.”
“Can you?” he asked with a laugh. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to take that.”
“Oh, don’t act like you don’t know.”
“Don’t know what?” He truly was puzzled.
She scoffed and gave a dismissive wave. “You’re all so …” she paused to hiccup. “So hot.”
Charlie could do nothing but take a long sip from his beer. He may have heard that once or twice before, but even to this day, he didn’t know what to say back to it.
“And you,” she continued.
“Me?”
“Yes, you … ugh. You’re like a Greek God. How tall are you, anyway?”
Charlie nearly spit out his beer. “I’m six three.”
“Exactly,” she said. “Is anyone in your family ugly? Were your parents supermodels or something?”
He had to laugh at that. “Not that I’m aware of.”
She shot him a peculiar look, and asked, “Didn’t you say you have a sister?”
“Dylan. She’s the twin of Lydia’s Delight’s boyfriend down there.”
“Where’s she at?”
“Boston. And, no, she’s not ugly.” Charlie frowned. “Neither is her fiancé, Ben. Matter of fact, I hope you never see him.”
Lucy threw him a sidelong glance. “Why?”
He grinned. “He might be too—to use your word—hot. I don’t want you anywhere near him.”
Charlie had seen it too many times to count. Every single woman that even glanced Ben McKenna’s way was an instant puddle on the floor. He was the panty-dropper of the group. And, though he had hung it up a long time ago and his heart belonged to Dylan, his effect remained the same.
“Why do you do that?” she asked quietly.
“Do what?”
“Act like you don’t want anyone else to look at me?”
Charlie frowned. “I don’t know,” he answered as honestly as he could. “I’m sorry.”
She swayed and let out another hiccup. Not caring to discuss it any further, she yelled, “Shots!”
Grace and Lydia both hollered out girly hoots of approval as Michael got to work.
“Do you really think you need another one?” Charlie asked, wondering how much more alcohol her tiny body could hold.
Lucy lifted the glass and held it to her lips. She looked at him with hooded eyes and raised her drink, at which Grace and Lydia let out a few more high-pitched woots! “To Channing Tatum,” she yelled, and grinned when the girls went crazy again. She closed her eyes, and flung back the shot.
“So, where were you before this?” Charlie asked, completely amused.
Lucy grimaced and put the empty glass down on the bar. “Bachelorette party. It was lame. The bride hated our nipple clamps.”
Charlie’s eyes went wide at the twitch he felt below. “What?”
Lucy nodded, but then her brain seemed to catch up with her mouth and her cheeks burned a pretty pink color. She turned to gaze into his eyes. “I don’t wear nipple clamps. I don’t think that came out right.”
Charlie swallowed hard, and said, “I … uh … didn’t think you did.” But now he was picturing it, of course. It was something he’d never imagined before in his life.
Lucy hiccupped again, and grinned lazily. “Let’s make a deal: you erase everything I say tonight from your head forever.”
He had to laugh at that. God, she was so cute. “Deal,” he said, but had a feeling he would not keep that promise.
Lucy considered something for a minute as she stared at him from under her long, beautiful lashes. “I guess it doesn’t matter. You seem hell-bent on never seeing me again.”
He frowned and looked into her
glazed over eyes. “That’s not true, Lucy,” he said quietly.
Charlie put his hand on the back of her stool. He felt the urge to reach his finger out and touch the olive-colored skin on her bare back, but resisted it. He had so much he wanted to explain, but he couldn’t get it out. That, he decided, was probably a good thing; drunk people don’t tend to process complicated explanations well.
“I guess we’re bar hopping,” Brandon said as he threw money down on the bar. He looked at Jonah, Hugh, and the girls, and shrugged. “I’m obviously the DD tonight. You coming?”
Charlie blew out a long breath. “That has trouble written all over it. And somehow I feel like it ends at my house.”
“Well, it’s not ending at Mom’s,” Hugh said with a laugh.
Grace stumbled over and pulled at Lucy’s hand. “On to the next bar,” she said, but Lucy pulled her hand away and shook her head.
Grace wasn’t having that, though, and she pulled until Lucy gave in and lowered her feet to the floor. The two walked—or, rather, stumbled—away from the group to talk in private.
“You coming or not?” Jonah asked Charlie. He looked down at Lydia, who was tucked against his side, and smiled.
Charlie eyed the conversation between Lucy and Grace. “I don’t know yet.”
He was waiting to see where Lucy went. God, what was wrong with him? He tried to avoid her at every turn and she just kept popping up. His eyes drifted down to her ass and he felt his chest tighten at the sight of it in those leather pants. Every curve showed through the fabric and all he wanted to do was run his hands over it, maybe even give it a little spank.
Dammit.
Lucy returned and sat back on the stool. She looked at Michael, and said, “Water, please.”
Charlie shook his head at Brandon and turned his attention back to Lucy. “Your friends are leaving with my brothers.”
“Aren’t you going with them?”
“I’m staying with you.”
She considered that for a moment as she sipped her water. “I can take a cab,” she said. “I don’t need you to watch over me.”
Charlie laughed and took the stool next to hers. “I guess I have a thing about saving you, huh?”
She shot him a peculiar look. “I guess so.”
“I don’t want you to take a cab,” he said quietly. “I can drive you home.”
“Aren’t you drunk?”
He cocked his head to the side at that. He hadn’t even finished the only beer he’d had all night. “Do I seem drunk?”
“No.”
“Are you mad at me?” She should be, he knew. He had basically sent her away and hadn’t been back in a week. He twirled his wedding ring with his thumb. At this point, who knew what Lucy thought of him?
Lucy bit her lower lip. “No.”
Charlie slid his credit card down to Michael and gave the cut-off sign. Michael’s eyes traveled from Charlie to Lucy and then he went about his business of cashing them out.
“I don’t need a ride,” she said, a nervousness in her voice. “I’m perfectly capable of getting home.”
Charlie ignored her as he signed the bill. “Are you ready?”
He slid off his stool and held out his hand as she stumbled from hers. She fell into his hand and laughed. “That last shot was a terrible idea.”
“I don’t think the one before that was your smartest moment, either.” He kept his hand on the small of her back and guided her to the door. “Later, Olerson,” he called.
“You kids be good,” Michael called back, but Charlie just ignored him.
Outside, Charlie helped Lucy into his truck and tried desperately to ignore the fact that he could see her nipples hardening beneath the thin fabric of her shirt. He closed the door when she was settled in and walked around to the driver’s side.
After he climbed in and shut the door, she turned her head toward him with an unreadable glint in her eyes. “Charlie to the rescue.”
“That’s me,” he said. He placed his finger on his GPS screen to tap in her address. “Where do you live?”
“Mosaic Apartments, on Gold Dust.”
Charlie shot her a surprised look. “I know right where that is. You really run far, don’t you?”
“I eat a lot of cupcakes.” Lucy looked at him and released a drunken snicker. “I have to run if I want to squeeze into pants like these.”
Charlie laughed and put the truck into drive. “Well, thank God for running.”
When they pulled into her apartment complex, Lucy showed him where to go, which was not without difficulty due to how drunk she was. Twice, she led him to a dead-end and he had to turn around until she finally got it right.
He got out and raced around to the passenger side where she was already falling out. He got there just in time to catch her on the way down.
She slid down his chest and laughed when he caught her. “My hero.”
“Let’s get you inside,” he said with a chuckle. “I think that last shot is hitting you.”
“I don’t even feel it anymore,” she said, and leaned into him.
“You’re walking sideways, Lucy.”
She fell into Charlie’s chest with a loud, sexy groan. “My God, you smell so good,” she purred against his shirt.
“Thank you,” he said. He looked down just in time to see her look up at him with hooded eyes and a smile that could have killed him if he weren’t ridiculously sober. It had been a long time since such an expression had this kind of effect on him.
“Charlie?” she asked, and closed her eyes. “If I don’t tell you something, I think I’m going to explode.”
Charlie smiled down at her adorable face and ran his fingers through her hair. “Explode, huh?”
“You’re going to hate me,” she practically whispered.
“I could never hate you, Lucy.”
Lucy nodded and turned her face back into his shirt. “You smell like a man. And woods. Man and woods. That’s you.”
“That’s me,” he said, and lifted her from his body, which was betraying him by how hard he was getting at just the sound of her voice. “Let’s get you inside. Where’s your key?”
“I have Grace’s key,” she answered. “She took it off her car keys before she left with your brothers.”
“Check your purse,” he said, and eyed the silver bag in her hand.
With a lot of effort, Lucy dug through her purse. “I.D., gum, and lip gloss. No key,” she said, and let the purse fall to her side.
Charlie sighed and looked up. It was in her pocket and she was going to need help, he was sure. He imagined going in to get it with his teeth, which only made him harder. “Lucy, where’s the key?”
“In my pants.”
“How the hell did you get anything else in those?”
Lucy laughed and fell back into his chest. “A lot of hard work. It’s in my back pocket.”
“Are you going get it?” He placed his hands on the soft skin of her arms.
“Get it for me,” she demanded, her voice muffled.
Sweet Jesus.
He moved his hands from her arms and placed them at the small of her back, before beginning the agonizing descent into her back pockets. “Do you know which one, right or left?” he asked with a shaky breath.
Lucy shrugged. “Nope.”
He slid both hands into her pockets and felt a twitch below his belt at the feel of her ass in his hands. The tight leather felt like butter against his skin. He felt around and then sighed, truly exasperated. “There’s no key in either one.”
Lucy turned around and leaned back against him. “Then check the front,” she said, and giggled. “I know it’s in there somewhere.”
“Lucy, you’re killing me,” he groaned.
“I know,” she said, a hint of teasing in her voice. She leaned even closer to him and rested her bottom on just the right place. If she hadn’t known the effect she had on him before, she certainly did now.
/> He moved his trembling hands into her front pockets and held his breath as she rubbed against him and twisted her hips into his right hand. His fingers roamed around with very little room in those tight pants until he finally found the key in her right pocket.
“Find it?” she asked, breathless.
Charlie stilled and tried to control his breathing. “Uh-huh,” he said, and dipped his face to the top of her head to bask in the beautiful scent of her soft hair.
“Good.” Lucy pulled at his left hand to free it from her pocket and brought it up to her lips. “You have the best hands,” she admitted, and kissed his fingers. “I still remember the first time I saw them—you have no idea how bad I want them on me now.”
He closed his eyes as she took one of his fingers into her mouth. As she sucked, she rubbed against him harder, each movement unbearably slow.
Charlie pulled his other hand from her pocket and turned her around to gently push her up against the wall. “Lucy, this can’t happen like this,” he said, his breath almost gone.
“Take me inside,” she said, ignoring his protests. Lucy stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. She reached up and sucked on his bottom lip before sliding her tongue into his mouth.
This is so wrong. So, so wrong.
With a long, surrendering groan, he moved his hands to her round bottom and squeezed tight, pulling her up and wrapping her legs around his waist. He pressed her against the door, needing several attempts to unlock it before he heard the click of sweet success.
“You’re the sexiest man I’ve ever seen,” she said against his mouth and ran her fingers through his hair.
He kicked the door closed behind them and had her up against the wall in one swift movement.
“I want you, Charlie,” she breathed.
His hands traveled up and squeezed onto the breasts he hadn’t been able to get out of his mind from the moment he met her. He felt her nipples harden through the thin material beneath his palms.
She let out a little gasp and thrust against him before throwing her head back. “Take me to my room, Charlie Bear,” she demanded with a drunken chuckle. “I want you inside me.”
Charlie froze and a chill ran up his spine. He moved his mouth from her neck and stared into her eyes. “What did you just say?”
Beyond the Orange Moon (Mathews Family Book 2) Page 8