by Brandy Ayers
Just as Trey’s lips parted to say something else, Kym’s needles brushed over a particularly sensitive area, making Charlotte gasp and wince.
Trey sprang to his feet, never releasing her hand. The glare he directed at Kym could have made weaker men crumble in fear, but she just laughed. “Are you okay? Do you need to stop?” He searched Charlotte's face, concern evident all over his.
Charlotte couldn’t help it, she had to laugh at the big man, ready to take on the tiny tattoo artist causing her pain. “I’m fine. When she goes over the same area a couple times for shading it gets a little sensitive. Nothing I’m not used to.”
Rubbing his hand over his face, Trey took his seat again. “I don’t like to see you in pain. It makes the caveman in me want to come out and throw you over my shoulder to take you someplace safer.”
“As sweet as that is, you can tell your inner Cro-Magnon to calm down. No one is in any danger here.” Charlotte looked at their joined hands, surprised to see she had been rubbing her thumb over the back of his hand in a reassuring gesture.
“Okay, but I can’t promise that he won't come back out later. He tends to roar to life every time I think about kissing you, too. And I am definitely not letting you get away tonight without satisfying that need for both his sake and mine.”
Chapter Thirteen
After his declaration that Trey would be kissing her at the end of the night, the nerves began to creep back into Charlotte’s subconscious. Would he be disappointed?
Seeming to sense her shift in mood, Trey kept their conversation for the rest of the session light. She laughed more with him than she had in ages. In fact, that weekend had been more filled with laughter and joy than Charlotte had ever had in her entire life. After another hour, Kym finished up her tattoo. Gazing at it in the mirror, Charlotte almost broke down and cried. Though Kym had done the design without any input from Charlotte, it still somehow spoke to something deep inside her that she couldn’t explain. The girl holding the wand was tiny, but she held the universe at the tips of her fingers. Somehow, Charlotte was beginning to think that anything was possible. Just like that little girl.
Trey surprised both women by asking if Kym would ink him next. It was a small tattoo, but obvious significant to him. He had his fire badge number inked on his right bicep, and Kym added some free hand flames around it, showing the badge with distress, but still holding strong.
Just like he had for her, Charlotte sat by him through the tattoo process, holding his hand. “How do you get assigned your badge number?”
“Actually, the badge number holds a lot of significance for us. PGH is obvious, for Pittsburgh. Seven is for the zone I work. The next two are your rank, and change as you climb higher on the ladder. The last four will never change and signify the year you were first inducted into the fire union.” Trey kept his gaze glued on Charlotte through the whole tattoo, and refused to look until Kym announced she was done after only forty-five minutes.
“Okay big guy, you survived.” Kym cleaned his arm, and he finally glanced down at her handy work.
“Wow.” The badge seemed to almost pop off his skin it had so much depth and life to it. PGH-7-4-2011 seemed to glow with the heat of the fire behind the metal. It truly was amazing. “I gotta say, that hurt like a bitch. But it was worth it.” He turned to Charlotte. “You are one tough cookie to have sat through that for five times longer.”
“Ten times, and you are right. She is a tough cookie.” Kym waved them both off when they tried to pay her, escorting them out of the shop and throwing Charlotte a wink over Trey’s shoulder.
The night air was crisp. They had been going through an unseasonably warm few weeks for March, but mother nature seemed to have finally realized it was still winter. Charlotte shivered, and Trey threw his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side.
Their size difference was almost comical. Charlotte’s head didn’t even top his shoulders, and his bicep was almost the same size as her head. But she loved it. Loved the bubble of protection encasing her as she walked in his arms. Like he would take care of anything that got in their way.
“Where is your car?” Trey glanced down at her, leaning in to press a soft kiss to her forehead. Almost like he couldn’t help himself.
“Um, just a block down there.” Parking on the South Side of Pittsburgh was infamously tight, but she had lucked out getting a space only three blocks from Galaxy Ink.
“Okay, I’ll walk you to your car then get mine and pull it around. Don’t drive off without me. I want to follow you home and walk you to your door.” No one could argue with that deep voice when it issued a direct order. Charlotte had no desire to even try.
The ride home wasn’t long, but the speed of her pounding heart made it feel even faster. Like she was on fast forward hurtling toward something she knew nothing about or how to prepare for it. Would Trey expect to be invited in? Would he kiss her? He indicated he wanted that earlier, but was that just talk? If he did kiss her and he did come in, would he want sex? How could she tell him she was a virgin? Would he care? Would he lose interest?
The questions swirled in her head without end until her head hurt almost as much as the bandaged tattoo on her lower back.
Pulling up outside her apartment complex, she parked in her reserved spot and waited for Trey to pull into one in the visitor’s section. They both exited their cars as she waited as he made his way to her side.
Just like outside the tattoo shop, he slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling their bodies tight together. “I’m glad to know you live in a nice neighborhood. It would’ve driven me nuts if I knew you lived someplace dangerous.”
“Yeah, it’s a good building too. Mostly families and older couples.” Charlotte lead the way toward the secure door to her building, up the three flights to her floor, and turned outside her apartment. “So, this is me.”
Trey scanned the area, as if looking for weaknesses in the security or maybe the fire safety. “There should be an extinguisher out here in the hallway. You have one in your kitchen?”
Charlotte suppressed her grin, as she shook her head no. He was worried about her safety. Why did that excite her?
“I’ll bring you one next time.” Trey nodded firmly, as if that had been decided and he felt better now.
“So, you want there to be a next time?” The question came out quiet, weak, scared. But she stood strong, wanting to know exactly where his head was at the moment. Other than thinking about the safety of her building.
All at once, the tight expression on his face melted. His eyes warmed, and his mouth spread into the most panty melting grin on the Earth. “Oh, baby girl, did I not make that obvious yet?” Trey stepped closer, backing Charlotte up until her back pressed against the hard door. “There is most definitely a next time. There are so many next times in our future, I can’t see the end of them.”
“Okay. Good,” she whispered. Excitement flooded her system, both because he wanted to see her and didn’t seem to want to stop seeing her anytime soon. But also because he leaned his whole big body into her, over her. His bent arms rested on either side of her head against the door, those giant canons almost blocking all light from the hallway, dropping them into a dark, intimate cocoon.
Slowly, deliberately, Trey inched toward her, giving her plenty of opportunity to stop him. But even if she wanted to, she didn’t have the words or courage to put a halt to the kiss she could see coming from a mile away. Plus, she didn’t want to stop it. For once, she wanted to barrel head first into something without overthinking it. Fortunate that his hulking body and masculine scent prevented any thought at all.
She expected him to go in for a chaste kiss at first. To work her up to the more passionate stuff. She. Was. Wrong.
Trey’s thick lips captured Charlotte’s lower lip, drawing into his mouth slightly so he could nibble on it. The shock of arousal that zapped through forced a gasp from her lips, and Trey swooped in for the kill. He pinned her against the doo
r with his hips, the very big proof of his arousal pressing into her belly. His tongue swept into her mouth, gliding and dance across her own.
“Kiss me back, baby girl. Let me feel how nasty that sweet little mouth of yours can be.” She hadn’t realized until he mumbled the words against her lips that she stood stock still letting him invade her mouth while she sat there like an idiot.
But the need in his voice broke her out of the stupor his assault on her senses had caused. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Charlotte pulled herself up closer to him. He growled in response, going back in for another kiss. This time, she didn’t hold back. Charlotte may not have learned much from her first unfortunate attempt at kissing a man, but it turned out she didn’t really need to know much. She just had to let go.
Matching the movements of his tongue, she kissed him, drank him in to try and quench the need he’d been building in her since the first night they talked. Mimicking his earlier move, she sucked his bottom lip into her mouth, pulling it away for a moment before letting go. “I’ve wanted to do that since I first saw your picture. Your lips are obsession worthy.”
“Holy fucking shit, baby girl. You can’t imagine the things I’d do to you with these lips. With my tongue. My fingers. God, I can’t even think about what plans my cock has for you.” Trey smiled wide and open, bringing one hand down to trace his thumb over her cheekbone. “You blush so easily. Which part was it that made those cheeks go all pink for me. Was it me saying cock?” He pushed his hips against her.
A rush of warmth soaked her panties imagining all the things he’d do to her body. Things she’d only ever seen in black and white Tumblr GIFs. “It was all of it. It all makes me blush.” She looked up into his eyes, the words in her head one moment, spilling off her lips the next. “It all makes me wet.”
“Listen to you. You might be all blushing and big innocent eyes, but you have a dirty girl inside don’t you?”
Charlotte started to shake her head no, of course there wasn’t a dirty girl inside of her. There was just boring Charlotte. Lover of books and hater of crowds. But Trey stopped her by gripping her chin in his big hand, tilting her head back.
“Don’t deny it. I listened to you come on the phone the other day. I have you pinned against this door, your body writhing against me, trying to tempt me to push you inside and take what I want. You do have a dirty side, and I’m going to have a hell of a lot of fun bringing it to the surface.” Trey scorched her once again with his no holds barred kiss, then backed away toward the stairwell. “I’ll talk to you soon, sugar.”
“Wait, you’re leaving? Don’t you want to come in? I have lots of movies and popcorn, and a grumpy cat that will most likely hiss at you and run away. Or we could just, you know, do more of this on the other side of the door?” She was begging. Charlotte was begging him to come inside with her, but he just kept backing up until he hit the door to the stairs.
“You have no idea how I want that. All of that. But I have to be at the station in two hours for an overnight shift. Our time will come, Charlotte. And when it does, I’m going to take my time.” His eyes swept up and down her body, as if storing away the very sight of her to get him through. “Good night.”
Trey pushed through the door, and Charlotte stood dumbstruck in the hallway as his heavy footfalls echoed down the stairs. She’d thrown herself at him, and he left. For work. Important work, but still. Charlotte couldn’t help, or stop, the hurt and confusion that invaded her heated body in his absence. If he had really wanted to stay, spend more time with her, he would have, right?
***
“Oh my God, Chick-a-dee, you need a serious lesson in girl-friending. When I text to see how your date went, you answer. Like Immediately.” Bekah stomped up the stairs to assignment editors’ platform, hands on rounded hips, annoyance written on her face. “Details, now.”
Charlotte had read each of the texts Bekah and Mira sent over the last forty-eight hours, but she hadn’t had the strength to answer any of them. Because the one person she had wanted to hear from remained silent. Is this what dating is like? This torture of second, third, and fourth guessing whether or not he was into you? If so, fuck that. Maybe being a shy hermit would be better. Because this sucked giant donkey balls.
“Um, I don't really know how it went I guess.” The newsroom was quiet, the anchors had gone to the bathroom to do their makeup and prep for the eleven o’clock news. The photographers and other reporters were all either out at their assignments, or back in the editing bays. Charlotte was in her happy place. Alone at her desk. But before Bekah barged in, Charlotte hadn’t been happy. She’d been bored. After spending much of the week before in the bustling daytime newsroom, she found she wasn’t quite as fond of the emptiness her normal shift brought.
“Wait, aren’t you supposed to be out at the scene of the crash for your live shot?” Bekah had been sent to a fatal car accident involving a tractor trailer that had crashed into a building and damn near exploded. So why was the woman standing right in front of her twenty minutes before the news started?
Bekah rolled her eyes and plopped down in the nearest chair. “Wow, you must be really out of it. I called the producer an hour ago. The police shut down everything around the scene in a two-mile radius. The closest live shot we could have done would have been a black hole of nothing behind us because none of the street lights were working. So, we decided to come back here and be live from the chroma key.”
“Oh.” If Charlotte had missed all that, she really wasn’t on top of her game. Decisions like whether or not the reporters stay out in the field or came back to the station usually involved her in some way. The disappointment of the past couple days bore down with a pressure that threatened to crush her under its weight. “The date didn’t go well. Or maybe it did. I don't know. I thought it did?”
Bekah nodded her head, like she knew exactly what Charlotte was saying. Or not saying. “I got twenty minutes before I have to be out on set. Sing it, sister.”
Without anymore encouragement necessary, Charlotte spilled all the details. How great their first meeting had been. Him holding her hand through the whole tattoo. His tattoo. The kiss that still seemed to haunt her lips even two days later, tingles spreading across that tender skin at the strangest of times. And Trey leaving. His radio silence since then. Her uncertainty about what any of it meant because of her lack of dating experience.
“You don't have to worry. He’s into you. A man doesn’t kiss a woman like that and not come back to finish the job.” The confidence in Bekah’s voice soothed a little of Charlotte’s worry.
“Then why hasn’t he texted or called? I know there haven’t been any major fires since our date. A couple smaller ones, but nothing that would keep him tied up this whole time.” Just like that the small amount of hope Bekah had built up vanished. “I really did think this would go at least a little further. That I’d at least get to lose my--” Charlotte looked around to make sure no one had snuck in during their conversation, “V-card finally. I mean aren’t guys supposed to hit it before they quit it? Am I missing something.”
“Listen, I understand this will he won’t he battle raging in your head right now. I’ve been there. You know what the cure is for it?” Bekah looked Charlotte directly in the eye, not letting her shy away for once.
Charlotte shook her head, at the moment, she knew nothing.
“The cure is you call him. Fuck waiting with your cell phone clutched in your hand jumping every time it beeps or vibrates. You call him, and you ask him out. You are a badass, smart as hell, gorgeous journalist who deserves respect and consideration. Demand it. Take it.” If it weren’t for Bekah’s stony face, Charlotte would laugh at the idea of demanding anything, let alone a strong man like Trey out on a date.
“You know I can’t do that. I know we have only hung out once, but we’ve worked together for a few years now. I don’t demand anything. I might suggest, ask, even implore. But I don’t demand.” Dread parked in her stomach l
ike a boat setting anchor. If she took the promotion she would need to demand things from photographers, reporters, producers, heck maybe even Michelle. The idea made her nauseous.
“You can do it. I’ve seen you talk to unruly photogs with heat in your voice. You get annoyed, and they can tell. They don’t want to piss you off. I’ve heard some of them say you’re going to crack one of these days, and watch out when you do.” Bekah smirked, obviously amused at Charlotte’s shock. “Everyone knows you have to watch out for the quiet ones.”
Bekah glanced at the big digital clock on the wall. Turning to look herself, Charlotte’s eyes widened to see the red numbers read 10:55. “You need to get out on set, or Denny is going to piss himself.”
Already standing and pushing the chair back in, Bekah turned to her. “Okay, but as soon as I’m done with my hit, you are going to call that man, and I am going to sit here watching while you demand a date.”
Bekah spun around, strutting from the newsroom like she was walking down a runway. Knowing Bekah, she would follow through on her promise to watch Charlotte make that call.
More coffee was definitely needed.
Chapter Fourteen
Bekah held out Charlotte’s phone, looking at her with a kind impatience that for some reason reminded her of Michelle. “Okay. You’ve made rounds calls. You’ve checked in on the night photographer. No more stalling. Call him.”
The reporter had changed into jeans and a blouse that showed more cleavage than Charlotte had ever seen. Apparently, she had plans to meet up with one of her admirers after work. She was making him wait, to help Charlotte.
“This is silly. I’m sure he’ll call. He probably is just busy. I mean, he has friends and family, and I know he does lots of charity work.” Charlotte stared unseeingly at her computer screen, trying to focus in on her work. “There could be a million reasons he hasn’t called.”