He gazed down at her naked body as she moved. His eyes raked over every inch of her and his chest heaved. “It’s hard to breathe when I look at you,” he said.
She smiled up at him, a look filled with the invitation to touch, lick, and move forward in any way he chose. Right then, she was his; he could do whatever he wanted with her.
He bent down and snaked his tongue into her belly button, causing her to whimper into the air. He pulled her lacy thong down and dragged it from her feet, before separating her trembling legs.
He clung to her thighs as he yanked her closer to his face, and then, with no warning, he annihilated her with his mouth. Breathless, she tilted her head and arched her back. She couldn’t even remember her own name as her fingers clawed at the comforter beneath her. As his tongue moved deeper, its strength grew and his hands gripped her hips.
She came with a fierceness that pulsated through her and had her clinging to him for dear life. If there hadn’t been a bed beneath her, she would have collapsed to the floor. Her eyes were closed, but when the pulsing calmed and her breath came back, she opened them and found Charlie smiling at her—a seductive, pleased smile.
“Oh. My. God,” she groaned, the air coming back to her in merciless pants.
With a mischievous grin, he leaned down and pushed the wet, tangled hair from her face. “I’m not done,” he said, and pushed his jeans and boxer briefs off. He leaned over and slid open the drawer of the bedside table.
She rose up on her elbows and licked her lips impatiently. Fascinated, she watched as he rolled a condom on.
He lowered his body to hers and kissed her neck and then her jaw. As she dragged her nails over his naked back, she was well aware of the look of adoration in her eyes; it was a look that mirrored his own.
He slid into her with a heavy sigh, giving her everything he had. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he worshipped her body, ravaging everything he could touch. He pushed deeper as she matched his every move.
“Lucy,” he gasped into her ear.
He picked up speed, thrusting and rolling his hips until she was gasping into the air and clawing at his back.
“Charlie,” she moaned. “Charlie …”
He rolled his hips once, then twice, slamming into her. She tightened her legs around his waist, urging him to go faster—harder—until she just couldn’t take it anymore. As she screamed his name, her insides exploded with a climax that was so powerful it was almost painful.
When the last of the sensations had flowed through her entire body, he picked up his pace and crashed into her a few more times. His green eyes darkened as he groaned and then buried his face into her neck. Releasing sounds of both pleasure and relief, he shuddered against her sweaty body.
His chest rose and fell against her breasts as they lay there together, catching their breath. His wet, golden skin glistened in the sun that crept through the blinds and filled the room. She couldn’t peel her eyes away from the length of his masculine body and the way that it covered hers.
“I’ll be right back,” he whispered after a few moments, and kissed her cheek. He slipped out of her, leaving her aching for more, and walked out of the room.
When he returned, he crawled back into bed and pulled her naked body to his chest. He kissed her neck and her back as his hands roamed before finally settling on her breasts.
“I’ll never be the same again,” he admitted with a small laugh.
“You just ravaged every inch of me,” she said with a giggle. She flipped over so that she could see his smile and look into his eyes.
“Come here,” he said, and pulled her mouth to his. He kissed her sweetly, nibbling her lower lip and sliding his tongue into her mouth. “Stay with me.” It wasn’t a command so much as it was a plea. “Dylan has Jack and I texted Jonah to stay away.”
Lucy smiled and ran her hands up his bare chest. “I’m not going anywhere,” she answered, and kissed his mouth. There was nothing to even think about.
Charlie sighed against her mouth and squeezed his hands into her sides. He kissed her neck and ran his thumb over her nipple. When she wrapped her leg around his waist, he pulled her closer and blew a small breath of laughter into her neck.
Bringing her with him, he rolled onto his back and looked up at her as she straddled his body. His fingers drew small circles on her hips, her stomach, and then up to her breasts.
She looked into the eyes that were boring into hers and saw herself through them. As she rolled her hips against him and bit her lip, she felt beautiful—like a goddess.
“You do things to me I never thought possible,” he said, and closed his eyes at her touch.
She could relate. She had never been so possessed by someone. She had never felt so connected, not just emotionally, but physically. When he moved, she moved. He knew exactly where to touch and lick. It was a feeling that lingered everywhere, long after he had left the spot.
As he touched her breasts once more, she rocked her hips again. “Charlie,” she moaned and ran her hand up and down the hard length of him.
She opened his bedside drawer and, with a smile, held out a new condom and tore it open with her teeth, causing him to flash a wicked grin.
For the rest of the day and well into the night, they made love in all kinds of impressive positions and ways. They never got dressed and only stopped to get a snack: an apple to share.
She couldn’t get enough of him, nor would she want to. When they finally passed out from exhaustion, they remained in each other’s arms. They were naked, intertwined, and, more importantly, blissfully satisfied.
Chapter Twelve
In the early morning hours, as the sun crept into his bedroom, Charlie quietly thumbed out a text message to Mike:
Not coming in today. Couldn’t pull myself away from her.
It was the first time, other than when Meredith passed away, that Charlie had called off work. It was liberating, to say the least.
He set his phone back on his nightstand and turned to stare at the stunning woman next to him. She was on her stomach, the sheet so low that it exposed her entire naked back and part of her beautiful bottom. He ran his finger along her skin and pulled the sheet down, exposing more of her body.
“Mmmmm,” she let out a small groan. With her eyes closed, she smiled.
Her long, blonde hair fanned out all around her with one stray piece hanging over her face. She opened her crystal blue eyes and gave him a sexy look that brought every memory of the day before back to him with one lustful punch.
“You glow,” he said, and leaned in to place his lips to the skin of her back.
Lucy giggled at that. “I do feel especially glowy today.”
“You should,” he said against her skin, “my little garden.”
He trailed kisses from her shoulders to her spine and all the way down to the small of her back. He climbed on top of her and continued to kiss her back, tasting every inch of her within his reach.
From the nightstand, his phone began to ring, and he sat up and growled in frustration. “It could be Dylan. She has Jack. Don’t move,” he said, and grabbed for his phone to look at the screen: Tom Monroe.
Meredith’s father. Damn.
He had been avoiding the man for days.
“I have to take this.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Don’t move and, for the love of God, do not get dressed,” he teased, and covered her up with the blanket.
“Oh, trust me, I’m staying right here,” she said with a hint of amusement.
Charlie headed into the kitchen where he could talk in private. There was no part of this conversation that he wanted Lucy to be affected by.
“Hello?” he asked when he took the call.
“Mr. Mathews,” Tom drawled into the phone. “Where have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you.”
Charlie ran a hand over his face. “I’ve been a little busy, Tom.”
“Well, single fatherhood must have you busy. I�
�m sure you have a hard time keeping it all together.”
“Nope. I can’t say that I do.” Tom Monroe was famous for his backhanded comments. That was one; there would be more. Charlie pinched the bridge of his nose. “Anyway, what’s up?”
Tom scoffed. “What’s up? What’s up is that I would like to see my grandson.”
“You will. And, as a matter of fact, you do. You chose to go to Michigan and that’s fine, but when you’re in Arizona, you see him all the time. I’ve never kept him from you.”
“He barely knows us!”
“That’s not true.”
“Are you telling me that I’m lying?” Tom asked.
Charlie shook his head even though Tom couldn’t see it. “Not at all. I’m just telling you that you do, in fact, see him.”
“We want him to come to Michigan for two weeks next month.”
Charlie sucked in a breath, biting down on the anger he felt bubbling up. “Two weeks is too long for my one-year-old to be without me. You said a weekend.”
“We changed our minds.”
Charlie brought his fist up to his mouth. In an attempt to cool his anger, he closed his eyes and drew in a long, calming breath. “Tom, it’s going to be a weekend or nothing at all,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Well, I’ll have to see what my attorney has to say about that.”
Charlie chuckled and shook his head as he gazed out the window. Tom Monroe had a lot of money and resources; there wasn’t a moment when he didn’t take the opportunity to remind Charlie of that. On the other hand, though, Charlie had an attorney of his own; Tom Monroe didn’t have a leg to stand on if he was trying to prove Charlie unfit.
“Mr. Mathews?”
“Jesus Christ, Tom. My name is Charlie. I’m your son in-law. I think we can drop the formalities.”
“You’re not my son in-law anymore,” Tom snapped. “I would never call a man who keeps me from my only grandchild a son.”
“I don’t keep him … you know what? No. I’m not going to even keep this bullshit going with you. It’s not worth it.” Charlie stalked into the living room. “You can have him for a weekend and that’s it. I’ll be coming with him, but I’ll find my own place to stay. I will be close, though, so don’t try anything.”
“What would I try?”
“What wouldn’t you try?” Charlie grumbled away from the phone.
“What was that?”
“We’ll be there in three weeks. He can stay with you, but I’ll be very close, Tom.” Charlie bent down to retrieve Lucy’s bra. His heart warmed with the memory of how it had ended up on the floor. He ran his finger over the delicate material and smiled. “And I might be bringing someone with me, so you better keep your comments to yourself.”
“Someone?” Tom let out a small chuckle. “My, my. You sure do move from woman to woman, don’t you, Mr. Mathews?”
“Not as much as you, I hear,” Charlie retorted. “By the way, how is the wife and mother of your children?”
“Excuse me?” Tom bellowed into the phone.
“Look, Tom, we can go back and forth like this all day. You don’t want to do it; I don’t want to do it. Just be satisfied with what I’m offering and let’s hang up.”
“Fine. I better see you in three weeks, Mr. Mathews,” Tom spat into the phone. He was enraged and Charlie was actually okay with that. “And keep your latest someone out of my sight!”
“She’ll more than likely be wherever I am, so that might be difficult.”
“Well, keep her ass in the car. How dare you spit all over my daughter’s memory! You live off her insurance policy while you bring another woman into her bed!”
“Goddammit, Tom, I haven’t touched that money and you know it. That money belongs to my son. I don’t need it.”
“Well, you certainly aren’t denying bringing other women into my daughter’s bed. I don’t know how you live with yourself.”
Charlie felt his chest sting. That was a low blow. “I’m hanging up now, Tom. Goodbye.”
Before another word could come out of that miserable man’s mouth, Charlie ended the call. He sighed as he raked a hand through his hair. It was three weeks away. He would only have to suffer for a weekend.
The Monroes, with the exception of Chloe, had made his life a living hell since the day Meredith passed. Before the funeral had even begun, Tom Monroe was waving papers in his face and offering to take Jackson. Apparently, to the Monroes, grief-stricken fathers can’t take care of their own children.
Part of him always felt sorry for them. Their daughter was gone; it was every parent’s worst nightmare to lose a child, no matter how old they were. As a father, Charlie understood this, but he had grown tired of the battle. He tried to be fair and allowed them to take Jackson one weekend per month. He allowed them to stop over whenever they wanted. He invited them to everything.
He had been more than fair.
In the beginning, he had been easily intimidated by the Monroes and all of their wealth, which he knew equaled power. For nine months, he had allowed them to bully him and make empty threats. Then, one day, after an unexpected visit from a social worker, he’d had enough. He went to see an attorney, who practically laughed at the case.
Charlie was a good father; he was loving and attentive. Jackson never went without and he was incredibly happy. His attorney assured him that, even if the case made it to court, the Monroes would lose.
From that moment on, he took control of the situation and made it perfectly clear: he was Jackson’s father and he called the shots. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn’t. Due to the fact that he had yet to be served papers, he was pretty sure that their attorney had probably told them the same thing: they had no case.
He picked up the rest of Lucy’s clothes and carried them back to his bedroom. Jonah was at work, but he couldn’t be sure when Dylan would bring Jackson home. If she happened to walk in on the remnants of Lucy’s strip show, she wouldn’t let that conversation go until she was satisfied with all of the answers. This new version of Dylan was annoying.
He snuck back into the bedroom and gazed down at Lucy, who had fallen back asleep. She looked like an angel against his white sheets. Her toes peeked out from under the covers and he couldn’t help but lean down and run his finger over one of them. With a smile, he got closer and slipped a toe into his mouth, causing her to laugh into the pillow.
He tore the sheet away and crawled onto the bed, where he continued to lick his way up her body from her feet to her legs. He even nipped at the cheeks of her perfect ass, which she seemed to love, before licking his way to her neck and then finally to her ear.
“Hmm …” she said as he unwrapped a condom. “I love what comes after that sound.”
Charlie laughed as he rolled the condom on and flipped her onto her back. He lifted her up by her ass and slipped inside her with a long groan.
“Morning,” she said breathlessly, and smiled up at him.
Charlie rocked into her and smiled. “Morning.”
God help him, he was drunk on anything and everything Lucy would give him. It filled him up and made his chest swell with something he hadn’t felt in a long time. He was alive again, willing to fall to his knees if she asked him to.
He thrust deeper and didn’t stop until she was gleaming with sweat and calling out his name as she had every other time. That sound—his name rolling out of her mouth while she panted—was enough to drive him crazy.
After his own climax, he collapsed on top of her, panting. He kissed her neck and groaned when she dragged her fingernails up and down his bare back.
“I’m so hungry,” she said when her breathing had calmed.
“Let’s get something to eat,” he said, and pressed his lips to her mouth.
Charlie made everything he could find in his kitchen: eggs, pancakes, fruit, and toast. Lucy looked on, perched on a stool where she wore nothing but the white sheet from his bed. It was a sexy sight that almost made him burn a fe
w pancakes and overcook the eggs.
“Jonah said you couldn’t cook,” Lucy teased.
Charlie chuckled as he flipped a pancake. “If Jonah knew I could make a mean breakfast, he’d expect me to make it for him every day.” He turned and set a plate down in front of her. “Believe me, there’s a reason I don’t tell my brothers everything.”
“That’s probably smart,” she said with a smile.
“I have to go to Michigan in three weeks,” he said after sitting down beside her.
Lucy took a bite of her pancake and set her fork down. “For how long?”
The disappointment in her voice was enough to calm his raging nerves over what he was about to say next. “Just a weekend, but I want you to go with me.”
“I’ve never been to Michigan,” she said, and popped a grape into her mouth.
“We won’t be sightseeing,” he said with a little smirk.
Lucy leaned back and crossed her arms. She eyed him with a mischievous glimmer that probably mirrored his own. “Good,” she finally said, and popped another grape in her mouth.
“So,” Charlie grabbed her stool and slid it closer to his, “is that a yes?”
She bit back a smile. “Mm-hmm,” she said with a cute little nod.
“Good,” he said, breathlessly. She knew exactly how to get him going, whether she meant to or not. At this point, even a piece of fruit had him reeling.
Lucy picked up another grape and placed it in his open mouth. He chewed and swallowed, then pulled her in for a sweet kiss.
“So, not that I don’t want to go or anything,” she said, a serious expression on her beautiful face, “but is my presence going to hurt anyone?”
It slowly hit him that she knew this wasn’t exactly a pleasant situation. He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.
“I heard your conversation with Dylan at the café. I don’t know a lot, but I do know that this isn’t exactly a friendly reunion. I don’t want to hurt anyone by being there, Charlie.”
Charlie sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Hurt?” He shook his head adamantly. “No. Antagonize? Probably. But I’m pretty much done with them controlling my life.”
Beyond the Orange Moon (Mathews Family Book 2) Page 19