by Bella Andre
“All those times I could have had you.” She pushed her head back, closed her eyes, smiled in bliss. Then she cupped the base of his manhood, squeezed with an ideal touch until he thought he’d lose it all right then. “All those times we could have had each other.”
“Inside you,” he managed. “I need inside.”
He’d never been crazy or out of control before. Not until Charlie became a recklessness in his blood. He rolled, opened the side table drawer, and withdrew a foil packet. She took it from him, leaving his hands free to run over her gorgeous curves until she straddled his legs, ripped the packet, and took him in her hand.
“So beautiful,” she whispered, leaning close as if she were speaking only to that part of him. “So thick. And hard.” She swiped her tongue over the crest, and a tremor surged through him. “You taste so good.”
And then—finally—she slid down to take him inside.
The feel of her around him, over him, sent him to a place beyond words. He could only groan, arch his head into the mattress, and grab the pillow between his hands, squeezing tight, fingers aching with the effort to stave off his climax.
“Take me, Charlie. Take all of me.” It was part plea, part wild, reckless need that wouldn’t wait for anything. Not one more second.
She enveloped him even deeper with her body, sliding only so far before rising again, squeezing him tight inside her as he held her hips, played her flesh, testing the suppleness of her skin. Desperate for as much of her as he could get, he took her sweet, succulent nipple in his mouth. She let out a breath laced with a little hum of pleasure and took him deeper. But it wasn’t far enough. Wasn’t anywhere near enough.
He wanted to fill her all the way to her heart, giving over everything that was in him. “More.” He rolled, pinning her body beneath him. “I need all of you.”
And when she echoed more against his lips, he thrust home, high and deep inside her. His muscles bunched and flexed against hers, their bodies pressed tightly together as though they were welded into one part. One body. One soul. His hands gripping her hips tightly, he rocked with her, taking her higher and higher as he moved deeper. Faster. Harder.
He lifted his head from the crook of her neck. “Kiss me, Charlie. I need you.”
Their lips melded, their tongues twined, and their bodies shuddered as their worlds crashed. They rode the tsunami together as she cried his name against his mouth and endless waves of pleasure rolled through them both, head to toe.
She was what he’d been searching for without even knowing it. And now he knew that no matter what happened between them in the future, even if things somehow turned toxic, he would never be able to walk away from her. Because she was his. And he was hers. Forever.
When it came to Charlie Ballard, Sebastian knew to expect the unexpected. Even the most unexpected thing of all: Falling head over heels in love.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Take all of me.
As Charlie wrapped herself around Sebastian, it felt like so much more than the simple act of two bodies coming together. It felt like his soul speaking to hers.
It felt like a promise.
All she’d ever had before was the physical side. Never a connection like this. Never such bliss. Never pure, sweet heaven.
After the last tremors subsided, he’d left her just long enough to dispose of the protection, then returned to pull the covers over them. They’d lain bonelessly in each other’s arms for several long minutes. She loved the feeling of being cocooned with him. So safe. So warm. So full of lingering pleasure.
“Mmm.” She wasn’t ready to speak yet, but she needed to make at least a small sound to let him know how divine making love with him had been.
He stroked his hand over her bare skin, and she shivered with pleasure at how good it felt. “Now that was worth waiting for.” He might have sounded cocky—and she knew he could be darned cocky when he wanted to be—but his voice was soft, reverent.
“More than worth it,” she agreed, loving the feel of his strong and steady heartbeat beneath her palm. She wanted to snuggle up to him, sleep in his arms, then make love with him again in the deepest, darkest hours of the night.
She would have done all that if the sound of the doorbell hadn’t pealed through the penthouse. “Who could that be at this hour?” she grumbled, her delicious dream going down the tubes.
“I’ll get it.” He kissed her forehead before he got out of bed, and she pulled the covers over her head, but he peeled a corner back a minute later to let her know, “Walter sent us a little gift.”
She wrapped herself in the thick terrycloth robe the hotel had provided and followed him out to the sitting room. In front of the sofa, on a trolley draped elegantly with a gold cloth, sat a champagne bucket, two flutes, and a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries the size of plums. “Walter is so sweet. He didn’t have to do this.” Her mouth watered not only for the chocolate, but for Sebastian, his legs bare beneath his own matching robe, the sleeves rolled up to showcase his muscled forearms.
He popped the cork, expertly catching the champagne in a crystal flute. Handing her the glass, he poured another for himself.
“My God, you’re beautiful.” He toasted her, his eyes dark with a desire that made her tremble. “The moment I saw you walking down those stairs in that gorgeous dress, I swear my heart stopped beating. I couldn’t remember how to breathe. No other woman has ever made me feel like that, Charlie.” He set his glass on the trolley and laid his hands on either side of her face. “Only you.”
He pressed his mouth to hers, still sizzling with champagne, and she lost herself in his kiss. Their bodies melted together, their lips almost one, their hearts connected.
When he finally drew back, she realized she couldn’t let him think she’d bought a designer dress after she’d turned down his offer to buy one for her. “I bought the dress at a consignment store, and my mom designed the alterations.”
“You’re kidding.” She couldn’t quite read his tone, whether he was impressed or upset that she’d bought consignment rather than letting him give her the designer dress.
“Mom loves to sew and is great at giving direction. And I only stabbed myself a half-dozen times with the needle,” she joked.
He pulled her down onto the buttery-soft leather sofa in front of Walter’s extravagant gift. Then he lifted her hands, kissing each fingertip, one after the other. “The dress was exquisite and you were brilliant tonight. Everyone loved you and you were absolutely gorgeous.”
Yes, she’d felt beautiful tonight. And she’d loved hearing that he’d lost his breath over her. But at the same time there was a part of her—a really big part—that wanted Sebastian to prefer the real Charlie in overalls and steel-toed boots.
He’d been able to resist her until tonight. Was she irresistible only when she was dressed to fit into his world?
“You outshone every other woman there.” He raised an eyebrow. “Which clearly upset Whitney. Sorry she was her usual self when you met her. And you certainly deserve a treat for putting up with her.” He plucked a succulent strawberry off the plate and held it up.
Working hard to push away the dark—and surely crazy—thought she’d just had, she bit into the dark chocolate and sweet fruit right from his fingers. It was as delicious and tempting as Sebastian.
But she wanted to know about the Maverick dynamic. “You don’t seem to be much of a fan of Evan’s wife.” Charlie had quickly picked up on the fact that none of the Mavericks felt particularly relaxed around Whitney.
“She treats Evan like crap. He’s worth way more than that. Deserves way more.” He finished the other half of the strawberry, licking a dab of chocolate from his thumb.
Her mouth watered, wanting to lick him clean herself. She sipped her champagne. Such luxury. She could really love being spoiled. But she’d never take it for granted the way Whitney Collins seemed to. “I can’t say I felt drawn to her.” Harper Newman—yes. Whitney Collins—absolutely n
ot.
“The woman’s toxic. Everything she touches turns bad. No one deserves to live in a toxic, soul-destroying relationship like that. I just wish Evan could figure a way out. To get away from her.”
“Whoa.” The fervor in his voice as he talked about toxic relationships reverberated through her. “She really upsets you, doesn’t she?” Charlie curled her feet onto the sofa, tucking them under the robe.
“Sorry.” His tension seemed to ease slightly as he puffed out a sigh. “Got carried away. It’s just stuff like that...”
“Reminds you of your parents?” she said softly, finishing for him when he trailed off. She wanted to touch him, to wrap her fluffy white robe around them both.
“Unfortunately, it does. I couldn’t help my parents, but I wish I could help Evan.”
“You help so many people every day. Thousands of lives have changed for the better because of you.” She smiled at him. “Look at me and my mom, for instance. Everything is different for us now.”
“Better too, I hope? Especially now that you have so many commissions falling into your lap.”
She wasn’t used to being the center of attention, but really, who wouldn’t be thrilled to be handpicked for greatness by Sebastian Montgomery?
Only her.
She must be crazy, and when she saw his frown, she rushed to say, “I can’t wait to start the dinosaurs for Noah. Next time I need a break from the horses, that’s what I’ll build.” She hoped it escaped his notice that she didn’t actually say her creative life was better. She was sure she’d feel that way once she got over her weird reticence.
“We should figure out a price tag for the works you’ve already got in stock. And then—”
She broke in, almost sharply, without thinking through her words. “I’m not charging for the dino. Or for anything else one of your friends might want.” She tried to temper her tone with a smile, adding, “They were all so welcoming. So nice.”
“That’s the Mavericks for you.” Though he seemed a little taken aback by her strong reaction to the idea of putting a price on her work, his voice was gentle. “I could tell they loved you.”
“I know your childhood was really hard, but the family you created as an adult is amazing. You’re very lucky, Sebastian.”
“Luckier than I ever thought I’d be.” With the softening of his voice and the way he looked so deeply into her eyes, it felt as if he was saying how lucky he’d been to find her too. “Speaking of family, after you told me your mom finally got a spot at the new facility, I looked at the website and made a few calls. You’ve said the place will be great for her, and from everything I’ve seen and everyone I’ve spoken to, I think you’re right. But the start-up cost and the monthly fees are astronomical.”
She’d given him the good news about her mother’s move-in date during one of their calls while he was in England. She’d chosen that moment so he wouldn’t see how green at the gills she’d turned at the thought of paying those monthly bills. Making love with him tonight had been so good, and she’d felt so loose, so free and happy, but between talk of all her possible future commissions and the money for her mother’s care, her stomach was quickly knotting around the chocolate, strawberries, and champagne.
She struggled to keep her voice even. “Between your commission and the rams, I’ve already earned enough to take care of it.”
But now that he knew exactly how much those monthly fees were, he was easily able to counter her statement. “That will last a year at most.”
She pulled the robe more tightly around herself, as though somehow she was too naked, too exposed. She hated feeling that way with him, after what they’d shared only minutes before. “You just mentioned how the commissions are falling into my lap. I’ll work harder. Longer hours. I’ll sell everything in my yard. Somehow I’ll make it work.”
“Charlie.” He stroked her cheek. “Let me help you. Please.”
She wanted to fall into his touch, to nuzzle against his hand. Instead, she leaned forward to set her champagne on the trolley. “I know you want to help. And that’s great. But I can’t take anything else from you.”
“Why?”
“I told you before that you’ve already done so much, and nothing has changed.”
“How can you say nothing has changed? Everything has changed.”
Both her brain and her heart stopped working for a long moment that stretched on and on, the knots in her stomach so tight they felt as though they were cutting her in two. “Because we had sex?”
“We didn’t just have sex, damn it. We made love.”
It was what she’d thought. What she’d felt. But now it was like a knife slicing her up from the inside, where she was least prepared for it. “So why are you using that to justify giving me more money?”
“That isn’t what I’m trying to do.” His frustration—and hers—felt like living things in the room, battling against each other. “I’m just concerned that you’re killing yourself trying to pay for all your mother’s needs.” He tilted up her chin with his fingertips to force her to look at him. He was so beautiful. So perfect. So rich. “It’s the same damn thing that happened with the pearl dress. I don’t see why you can’t accept that I have money and that nothing would make me happier than to spend it on you and your mother.”
“Because everyone here tonight probably thinks I’m just another one of the billionaire’s acquisitions, handpicked to live on his property and share the bed in his hotel suite!” The words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them.
“No.” Sebastian’s response was stone hard. And utterly unyielding. “Everyone here tonight thinks you’re a brilliant artist. Everyone here tonight thinks I’m a lucky son of a bitch for even getting to be near you. The only person who could possibly think you’re nothing but a billionaire’s toy is you. If you think I’d pay you for what we did tonight, that the two things even have anything to do with each other, then you’ve lost your freaking mind. We’re a hell of a lot more than that, Charlie.” The look on his face wasn’t mere pain. It was devastation. “I thought you felt the same way.”
His words hit her like a heavy rock right to her belly. With a hard jolt of pain. One that either knocked you down...or woke you up.
She swallowed hard, as though that same rock were being shoved down her throat. Her eyes had already filled with tears as she whispered, “I’m sorry.”
So much had changed so fast. In the wake of their incredible lovemaking, her walls had come down...and she’d been unable to stop herself from freaking out over just about every single thing. The pressure from all those possible future commissions so that she’d have money to pay for her mother’s care beyond the first year. Wondering if she could actually fit into his glittering world—and if living in it would ever get easier. Worrying that Sebastian preferred the dolled-up version of her over the woman in boots and jeans. But she hadn’t meant to take out her fears on him, or to spin his very kind offer into something dark and twisted.
“I’m not usually this emotional. At least,” she said with a shaky little laugh, “I can usually control it better.”
He slid his hands down her arms, gathered her fingers in his, and pulled her close to rest his forehead against hers. “I’ve never felt like this either. You’ve become the most important person in the world to me, Charlie. I never want to hurt you.”
“I know you don’t.” Her voice, her body—everything—felt soft and rubbery with her tears. “And I promise you that I didn’t think the dress was payment for anything. I just couldn’t see spending that kind of money on clothes. Not when I could pay for six months at Magnolia Gardens for that amount.”
“I’m sorry too, Charlie. I should have understood about the dress. But when it comes to your mom?” He shook his head. “I just want to see her as comfortable as she can be, and in a good place, without either of you having to worry over how long you can keep it up, or that she’ll have to go back to Shady Lane.”
He was s
o sweet that she felt another trickle of tears down her face. He kissed them away even as she beat herself up for calling his generosity into question. All because she was scared. About pretty much everything.
She cupped his cheek in her palm. “In a few months, if I have trouble making payments, I will come to you, I promise.”
“Thank you.” He wrapped his arms around her as if she’d just given him a gift simply by agreeing to accept his help if she ever needed it.
She pressed her mouth against his, stroking the rippling muscles of his chest. She could fix this. She needed to fix it, needed to show him how sorry she was.
“Come with me,” she whispered, holding out her hands and leading him back to the bedroom. Wrapping her body around his, she pulled him down to the bed. The delicious scent of their loving still lingered on the sheets. And she wanted more, needed it, had to erase the words that had come between them.
“Charlie.” Her name was a whisper of pleasure over her skin as he covered her in kisses.
He pushed aside the robe, baring her body to his lips, his touch. “Your skin is so sweet, so soft.” He licked, tasted, and kissed his way over her breasts, finally taking a nipple between his lips, teasing her.
“Sebastian.” She cried out his name, arched up, pressing her body hard against him. Begging. She’d never felt so cherished or so possessed. Sebastian didn’t just kiss, he savored. He absorbed himself in her pleasure, in every inch of her skin, in her textures and curves, as if she were the only thing that mattered in the world.
How could she have doubted him?
Trailing his hand down her stomach, slipping his fingers over her sensitive flesh, he made her forget all her fears, her worries. Made her forget that she always felt she needed to do everything herself.