The Carol Wyatt Collection

by Carol Wyatt

  Charlie smiled down at her. “I don’t… Usually. I just left the apartment with the contract signed and a very happier buyer. I called you a few minutes ago, wondering if I could see you later on.”

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “I don’t know… You mentioned something about celebrating?” Charlie asked with a smile.

  “I did…”

  “Maybe we should get a cab back to SoHo while we figure out what to do… Unless you want to stay here for a while longer?”

  “No. My hands are so cold… Besides I don’t want to bore you,” Erica said with a shy smile as she opened her violin case.

  “I don’t think I could ever get tired of hearing you play.”

  Charlie couldn’t decide whether it was the cold that made Erica’s cheeks flush or the compliment.

  Erica packed up her violin and slung her bag over her shoulder as they made their way back to 5th Avenue in search of a cab, the snow falling a little faster now.

  Chapter 36

  They had dinner at a seafood restaurant around the corner from Charlie’s apartment. There were at least six inches being forecasted for that night, so they wanted to stay close to home.

  Now they were back in Charlie’s penthouse, sitting side by side on the gray sofa as Charlie poured them each a glass of her favorite whiskey, the ice crackling as the golden liquid covered the frozen cubes.

  Charlie had gotten changed into fresh clothes after wearing what she’d had on yesterday for most of the day. A shower and the new skinny jeans that she’d bought during the week made her feel much better.

  She’d slowly started adding more casual pieces of clothing to her wardrobe now that she was doing more than just working twenty-four seven.

  “I’m really glad I got to hear you play,” Charlie said as she brought her tumbler to her lips. “I have a feeling that you might have been shy about it if I hadn’t stumbled across you in the park.”

  “I would have been reluctant, yes… Especially when I hadn’t played in a while.”

  “Well, I think you’re amazing.”

  Charlie noticed Erica’s cheeks darken at that compliment. She blushed so easily.

  “Am I keeping you from any meetings or anything?” Erica asked as she took a drink. “I don’t want to get in the way… I can go after this,” she said, glancing down at her tumbler.

  “I have nowhere else I’d rather be right now. Unless, of course, you have plans?”

  “None…”

  Charlie tried to figure out what the mischievous glint in Erica’s hazel eyes was about, but she didn’t have to wait long to find out why.

  Erica leaned forward to place her glass down on the coffee table and cupped Charlie’s cheek as she pressed her lips against hers.

  “I forgot that I did have plans for tonight,” Erica whispered between kisses.

  “Oh yeah?”

  Erica’s tongue grazed across hers and Charlie couldn’t stop a low moan from escaping her lips.

  “What kind of plans?” Charlie managed to ask as Erica’s hand slid down her neck, across her chest and underneath her top.

  “I think it’s better if I show you what I had in mind,” Erica said as stood up and held out her hand.

  Charlie let Erica lead her down the hall to her bedroom. She knew she was already soaking wet. It never took much when Erica was around. All she had to do was kiss her and Charlie felt like she was unraveling.

  Charlie found the remote on her nightstand to close the blinds, blocking out the hundreds of lights from the buildings surrounding hers.

  Erica’s lips were on hers again and she backed Charlie up against the wall. They’d left their boots inside the door of her apartment when they’d returned and now in their bare feet, Erica had to stand on the balls of her feet to make up for their height difference.

  Erica’s hand slid under Charlie’s top, her fingertips brushing against Charlie’s skin as they made their way up to Charlie’s black lacy bra, cupping her breast through it.

  Charlie moaned into her mouth as Erica found Charlie’s nipple, teasing it between her thumb and index finger, rolling it through the lacy fabric until it hardened under her knowing touch.

  Charlie felt a desperate desire take over her and she wanted to reverse their positions, pinning Erica to the mocha colored walls, taking control, but as soon as she tried to shift her weight, Erica’s hand left her breast and lifted Charlie’s top over her head before finding her lips again.

  Erica’s kisses made her almost dizzy. Charlie was always in control of her life but when she was around Erica, she never felt that way.

  It was a strange feeling, letting yourself go and surrendering to someone else, trusting them.

  Erica dipped her head, her lips on Charlie’s neck, trailing kisses down to her clavicle and across the top of her breasts as she reached behind Charlie’s back to unhook her bra.

  Charlie pushed the straps down her arms and let her bra fall to the floor, gasping as Erica’s hand covered her bare breast, her fingers returning to tease her rock-hard nipples.

  Then Erica’s tongue replaced her fingertips and Charlie threw her head back, resting it against the wall as she tried to remain upright.

  Erica’s hand moved to cup her other breast while her tongue continued to work its magic, swirling around her nipple.

  Charlie could feel her panties becoming soaked. She didn’t know how much more of this she could take.

  Charlie grabbed Erica’s wrist, moving her hand from Charlie’s breast down to the heat that was growing between her legs.

  Erica tugged her panties down her legs and Charlie stepped out of them, the scent of her arousal filling her bedroom.

  Erica lips returned to Charlie’s as she ran her fingers through her wet folds, moving up to her swollen bud, drawing slow circles that caused Charlie’s hips to push back against her touch.

  As Charlie’s lips crashed into Erica’s again, she felt Erica’s fingers sliding down again and finally moving inside her with a slow yet powerful thrust.

  Charlie moaned into her mouth as Erica’s fingers found a steady rhythm and Charlie felt her orgasm building at an incredible pace. Between Erica’s tongue wrestling with hers and her rhythmic thrusts, Erica’s palm brushing across Charlie’s clit with every stroke, Charlie knew that she was close.

  Charlie broke their kiss as her hips bucked against Erica’s hand and their eyes locked in a smoldering stare as Charlie rode out her orgasm before wrapping her arms around Erica, finding her lips again in a tender yet passionate kiss.

  “Come here,” Erica said, leading Charlie by the hand, gently pushing her back against the bed and Charlie happily collapsed onto her sheets.

  Erica got undressed while Charlie watched her with hungry eyes. She unhooked her own bra, letting it fall to the floor as she stepped out of her panties and kneeled down by the edge of the bed, spreading Charlie’s legs with her hands.

  Charlie threw her head back, her hips lifting off the bed as Erica’s tongue ran through her folds and found her sensitive bud.

  “Right there,” Charlie moaned, her hand moving through Erica’s black hair as her tongue continued to work its magic.

  Erica’s hand moved under Charlie’s raised hips, grabbing her ass and holding her close while her tongue slid over Charlie’s clit, swirling around it while Charlie cried out in ecstasy.

  Charlie thrust her hips upward when her orgasm snuck up on her. She couldn’t believe the way Erica seemed to know her so well already.

  Charlie took a deep breath as Erica climbed onto the bed and lay down beside her. Her heart was hammering in her chest. Those two orgasms were some of the most intense she’d ever had, and she knew that they hadn’t even gotten started yet.

  “Stay,” Charlie said softly. “Tonight.”

  “I will,” Erica said as she leaned in, delicately brushing her lips across Charlie’s.

  Chapter 37

  The next morning, they stayed in bed, somehow still no
t satisfied even after spending most of the night tangled up in each other’s arms.

  Erica lost track of the orgasms. They seemed to run into each other.

  All she knew was that her legs ached, and she was happy to have a lazy morning with Charlie where neither of them had to run off.

  Erica tied her jet-black hair back into a messy bun while she tidied up the kitchen. Charlie had made them breakfast and she’d just went into the shower a few minutes ago.

  When Erica put away the last dish, she thought about joining Charlie in the shower. It wasn’t something that she had ever felt like doing with anyone else she’d dated. She’d always thought it was an invasion of privacy but now… Now, she couldn’t think of anything else.

  Just as Erica was about to go into Charlie’s master bedroom, take off her pajamas and join her in the shower, there was a knock on the door.

  At first, Erica thought she was hearing things, but she paused to listen, and it was there again a few seconds later. Three firm knocks.

  Erica stood where she was, in the middle of Charlie’s kitchen wondering what she should do. She could just keep going and pretend that she’d never heard the door, or she could answer it but what if it was someone from the office?

  Maybe Charlie wasn’t out at work? She didn’t want to cause her any problems, but it might be something important.

  Erica padded over to the door. She was wearing plaid pajama pants and a hoody, not exactly presentable but it would have to do.

  She opened the door to find a blond woman standing there, dressed casually in jeans and a winter jacket. Erica guessed that she was probably in her mid to late sixties.

  “Hello,” the woman said, her eyes moving past Erica’s and into the apartment behind her. “Is Charlotte here?”

  “Yes, but she’s in the shower,” Erica said, her lips tugging into a smile when she heard someone call Charlie ‘Charlotte’ for the first time. “Do you want to come in?” Erica offered.

  “Yes… Thanks.”

  Erica stood back so that the older woman could pass. They were about the same height and it suddenly struck Erica how much this woman looked like Charlie.

  They had the same sea blue eyes, similar hair coloring. Charlie never mentioned her mother. She’d just said that she’d grown up with her father.

  Erica had always thought that Charlie looked like her father but after seeing this woman, who she had to assume was her mother, Erica decided that Charlie resembled her in a striking way.

  “Would you like some coffee?” Erica asked, not sure what else to say.

  Did she know that Charlie was gay? If she doesn’t, she probably does now. Erica glanced down at her clothes and realized how obvious it was that she’d spent the night here.

  “Sure. That’d be great,” the woman said.

  “Milk? Sugar?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Erica went into the kitchen to make her a cup and thought about doing a runner. She couldn’t imagine herself sitting down on the sofa next to her, making small talk, with both of them wondering who the other one was.

  She brought out the steaming mug to her and offered to take her jacket. She handed it to Erica and she hung it up on the rack beside the door while she decided what to do.

  “This is nice,” the woman said. “Thanks.”

  “Excuse me for a second,” Erica said as she made her way into the master bedroom, hoping that the shower wouldn’t still be on, but it was.

  Erica got changed and left Charlie’s pajamas and hoodie that she’d borrowed folded on her dresser.

  She slipped her winter jacket on and went back out into the living room to get her boots that were beside the door.

  “I have to get going… Charlie should be out in a few minutes,” Erica said as she stepped into her boots and opened the door.

  “Okay… Bye,” the woman said with a wave as Erica left.

  When she got into the elevator, she realized that her heart was racing.

  I think I just met Charlie’s mother… Who seems normal? Why didn’t she mention her before?

  Erica took out her phone and sent a short message to Charlie saying that she had a guest in the living room and that she hoped it was okay that she’d let her in. She asked Charlie to let her know if she was free later on or during the week.

  Erica’s boots moved through the slushy remnants of last night’s snow fall as she made the short walk back to her apartment, lost in her own thoughts.

  Chapter 38

  Charlie stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in one of the chocolate colored towels that were neatly stacked beside the glass door.

  She towel dried her hair before putting it up in a ponytail and padded out into her room. Charlie’s eyes fell on the pajamas that she’d given Erica to wear this morning that were folded on her dresser.

  I suppose we couldn’t spend the entire day being lazy.

  Charlie laughed softly to herself. Having a lazy morning was something she never did, never mind an entire day.

  Charlie put on a pair of jeans, a shirt and the hoodie that Erica had been wearing. Her perfume still lingered on the fabric. She noticed the light flashing on her phone and swiped her thumb across the screen to see what she’d missed while she was in the shower.

  One missed call from Lara and one message from Erica.

  Charlie listened to Lara’s voicemail first. She wanted Charlie to meet her at The Mezz tomorrow. She had a new project and she wanted Charlie to be involved.

  Charlie was glad that Lara Woods wanted to work with Murray Real Estate again, but she was distracted by the fact that she had a message from Erica. Maybe she just went out for some food?

  Charlie’s eyes scanned over the message. She was disappointed that Erica had left but her words didn’t make sense.

  Her mother? Here in her living room? Impossible.

  They’d tried to find her when her father had died but no one knew where she was.

  Erica must have mistaken a client for her…

  Charlie headed into her living room and saw a blond-haired woman with her back to her, sitting on the sofa, sipping a cup of coffee. She turned when she heard Charlie come in.

  “Mom?”

  “Charlotte,” she said as she stood up and crossed the room to wrap her arms around her.

  Charlie stiffly hugged her back, wondering why her mother was hugging her so affectionately. They hadn’t seen each other in years.

  My sixteenth birthday… That was the last time I saw her.

  Her mother finally let go of her and stood back. “You look wonderful, Charlotte.”

  “Thanks…” The way her mother said her full name was already grating on her.

  “I came as soon as I heard.”

  “About Dad? That was seven months ago.”

  “I was backpacking around India and I ended up staying at a meditation retreat,” her mother said casually.

  Charlie nodded. Her parents had divorced when she was nine. She shouldn’t be surprised by her lack of emotion towards her father’s death.

  “You’ve done well for yourself,” her mother said as she walked around the open planned living room and kitchen area.

  “I have Dad to thank for that. He was the perfect mentor.”

  “I assume you’re in charge now?”

  “I’m not actually.”

  “You didn’t want the pressure?”

  “No. It’s not that,” Charlie said as she joined her mother over at the windows, looking down on the snow that was slowly melting away from the sidewalks and cars. “He actually had a stipulation put in the will that I couldn’t take over unless I was married… I guess he didn’t want me making the same mistakes he did.”

  Her mother was silent for a moment and Charlie wondered if she was thinking about her past.

  “He shouldn’t have blamed himself. We were never going to last. I wanted to travel the world and he wanted to own New York. He just wasn’t the right match.”

  Charlie nodd
ed. “I was furious when I found out but now that I’ve had a few months to let it settle in, I’m glad that he did it. I was one hundred percent lost in my work. Everything, vacations, dinners… It all revolved around clients.”

  “But would you like to get married? Even if it’s only to take control of the company?”