Instead, I pivot back and knock on the door. Katherine stumbles out a few seconds later, her eyes red and her face as pale as it had been.
“You okay?” Charlotte wraps an arm around her.
Kat nods, and I nudge Nate against the hallway wall as we pass.
A few minutes later, I have the three of us downstairs and situated in my Audi. I shoot a look to Kat, who’s in the backseat. “If you’re going to puke in my car, give me a heads up. I’ll pull over.”
She sighs. “I’m fine. I just…” Her head falls into her hands. “What am I going to tell Demitri?”
I frown and look to Charlotte, whose bottom lip is trapped between her teeth.
“Demitri?” I ask in a low tone.
She offers a quick nod. “He reached out to her. They were supposed to meet up tonight at Crave.”
“I blew it,” Kat sobs. “I’m such an idiot. I was so nervous… I screwed it all up.”
She collapses sideways in the back seat of the car, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes.
“I’ll take care of it, okay? Demitri is a friend,” I say.
She doesn’t answer. I maneuver through traffic while Charlotte is mostly silent, staring out at the city as it passes by.
I grab my phone and pull up Demitri’s number. He answers in his thick accent.
“Zane.”
“I have your date,” I say quietly.
He’s silent.
“She drank too much. I think you make her nervous. In any case, what the hell were you thinking inviting her back?”
He laughs. “Ah, sweet temptation. You know how it is. What about your little pet? Have you given her up yet?”
I tense my jaw and glance over to Charlotte.
He laughs again, interrupting my mental cataloguing of all the ways I’m crazy about her.
“I guess not,” he answers for me. “You are right, though. The kitten is trouble, but the kind I like.” He sighs. “She’s drunk, yeah?”
I glance back to where Kat snores quietly in my back seat. Her house is only a mile away.
“She’s done for the night.”
He is silent a moment. “I’ll reach out to her tomorrow. You won’t see her at Crave again. This is perhaps the way it should have been.”
“I’ll let you break the news. Talk soon.”
Katherine won’t be happy, but that’s for her and Demitri to work out. Charlotte’s detail is still idling outside of Katherine’s apartment. I end the call and dial Chester. When he picks up, I speak.
“Chester, I’m bringing Katherine home. Then I’ll be on my way to View 17 with Charlotte.”
He makes a gruff sound in his throat. “How did it go?”
Charlotte’s gaze is fixed on me now.
“Everything’s fine. Katherine’s had too much to drink, but she’ll be fine. What do you want to do about Charlotte?”
“I assume you’re tucking her in?”
I stifle a laugh. But, truth be told, I have every intention of spending the night with her. A fuck in the bathroom isn’t enough for me. I need to be inside her all night. I need to hear her scream again.
“Unless it’s an issue, I’d prefer to stay with her tonight. Can you take over early to avoid any awkwardness?”
I hear him sigh. “Sure. I’m only fifty-five. Who needs sleep at this age?”
I smile, because I believe that past his scolding and reservations about all this, he does care about us both. He might even be hoping like I am that somehow we can find a way to make this work.
“Thanks, Chester.”
I hang up, trusting that he will take care of the rest. When I drop Katherine off, Charlotte goes up to get her settled. She returns a few minutes later. Her bare thighs are almost more than I can bear as I pull away. I want to pull the car over and do unspeakable things to her.
I resist the urge and drive toward our building. I park in the underground garage, and we take the elevator up to her apartment. Somewhere on the journey, I’m lost between two sides of myself. The one that swore to protect her and the other that’s committed to loving her all night.
She threads our hands together and leans her head on my shoulder as we ascend. The gestures are intimate, which should alarm me. Then I remember how coldly I’d treated her the last time we were here together. If I want to keep her close physically, something has to change.
Once we pass the threshold of her apartment, I make a choice. I shut the door behind us, take her into my arms, and consume her mouth. We kiss slowly, deeply. I’m ready to drag her to the bedroom and show her exactly what she means to me when a sound stops me. Her stomach, growling loudly.
She smiles under my lips. “Sorry.”
I pull back. “When’s the last time you ate?”
She shrugs. “Katherine brought bagels over earlier. I was too upset to eat before we went out though.”
I frown, take her hand, and lead her into the kitchen. “Sit,” I say, gesturing to one of the stools.
She sits and tucks her hands under her chin as I move to the refrigerator.
“What are you in the mood for?”
“Anything that can soak up those awful shots Kat made me drink at the party.”
I shake my head and shove down all the things I want to say about her wayward friend. I’m sure she has some redeeming qualities, but they’re hard to rationalize when she puts Charlotte in compromising situations time and again.
I open and close a few drawers, piecing together a plan to feed us. Suddenly I’m feeling famished too, and if I want to be with Charlotte all night the way I’d like to, I’ll need the fuel for it. “How about eggs, bacon, and toast?”
“Sounds perfect. You don’t have to cook for me, though, Zane. I can do it.”
“I’ve got this,” I say firmly.
Before I can stop her, she shimmies off the stool. She comes around the island as I set out a carton of eggs and a package of bacon. She slides between me and the counter, using her ass to nudge me back so she can open a drawer with some mixing bowls nested inside. I graze my palm over her perfect curves, but she straightens and starts cracking eggs before I can take advantage of her position.
I sidle up behind her so her back is flush with my front. I lower my lips to whisper in her ear. “Are you trying to get me to feed you or fuck you, Charlotte?”
“Feed me first,” she says softly. “Then…”
I pull her earlobe between my teeth and bite gently. She stops cracking the eggs for a second and sighs.
“Then what, baby?”
“Then… Then you can fuck me.”
I growl, tighten my hold on her, and force myself to take a calming breath. Something about the word “fuck” passing between her pretty lips has the power to completely derail any willpower I’d mustered. But it’s my job to take care of her first.
Against every instinct, I step away, grab the bacon, and find a skillet in her cupboards. For the next few minutes, we work together quietly. The air is thick with sexual tension and the smell of breakfast on the stove.
“Go sit. I’ll make you a plate,” I say, turning off the burners.
She smirks but doesn’t argue. I serve this woman nearly every waking moment, and somehow I can’t bring myself to stop. I make our plates and sit adjacent to her at the kitchen island. Charlotte doesn’t waste any time getting started. I’m equal parts satisfied that she’s eating and angry at myself for upsetting her enough to kill her appetite earlier.
“I know you said this isn’t something to expect, but”—she pauses to take a bite—“I have to admit, this is kind of nice.”
I nod slowly and chomp on a piece of perfectly crispy greasy bacon. “I don’t usually share meals with other people, so I can’t argue with you there.”
She tilts her head, like something has taken over her thoughts. “Why don’t you?”
I hesitate a moment and think about her question. I’ve spent more time with Charlotte recently than anyone in a long time. But why?
<
br /> “I guess I’ve gotten used to it.” I set my fork down onto my now empty plate and contemplate whether to tell her more. She’s given so much of herself to me, though. Suddenly, the thought of holding back seems unfair, not to mention dangerous if it drives her away. “Acclimating from the military wasn’t as easy as I’d thought it’d be. I lost touch with the guys on my team and never really connected with new friends when I moved to DC. It was always about work.”
“What about your family? You must get together for holidays sometimes.”
I shrug, not making eye contact. “Lauren’s always jet-setting for her work, so we rarely see each other for any decent stretch of time. My parents died a few years ago. They used to give us a reason to take time off and be together as a family. I guess that sort of fell apart.”
“I’m so sorry, Zane.”
I shake my head. “You don’t have to be. It’s not like you have it much better.”
She winces and I regret my words.
“Sorry, I—”
She reaches for my hand and squeezes it. “I know my parents can seem cruel. And, let’s face it, they are sometimes. But it wasn’t always like that. Things just got really intense when my father’s career got put on this presidential path. Nothing lasts forever, though. One day, I hope we’ll be a family again. A real family.”
She smiles weakly, and the sadness I see there nearly guts me.
“And if I’m wrong, and that day never comes, well then one day I’ll make my own family. I won’t always be theirs to control. That’s what I loved about New York. It’s nothing like DC. I felt like myself there. I could envision a life and a future outside of state dinners and campaign appearances. A life that would actually make me happy.”
“Charlotte, baby…” I don’t know what else to say. I want to hold her and give her a reason to be happy. But maybe all I can do is give her an escape, a temporary reprieve from this life consumed by circumstance and an uncompromising family.
She rises before I can say more. “Are you staying with me tonight?”
I turn on my stool, and she settles between my thighs, running her hands up the taut denim.
I capture her face in my palms and stare into her eyes. In an instant, I’m caught up in her perfection, her beauty, her innocence. All of it has me whipped up and strung tight, ready to worship her every minute I can. “All night,” I murmur.
She bites her lip. Something like happiness sparkles in her eyes. “In that case, I want something from you.”
I lift an eyebrow. “You think you can call the shots now, Miss Daley?” My tone is low and unwavering, the inevitable sex we’re about to enjoy heavy in my thoughts.
Her gaze darkens a little bit. Enough to show me that she feels my dominance and takes pleasure in the promise of it. She lowers her eyes and toys with the hem of my cotton shirt.
I lift her chin and kiss her softly. “What is it, Charlotte?”
She blinks. Her pink lips part slightly. “I’ve never seen you naked. I don’t know if it’s because you need to hold something back with me, or—”
I don’t think twice. I tug my shirt off and toss it to the floor.
“There,” I say. “Better?”
Without a word, she skims her palms over my shoulders, across my chest, and finally, trails them down my abs, stopping at the button on my jeans. “Wow.”
I try unsuccessfully not to grin, but her unfiltered appreciation for my physique satisfies something deep inside me.
She shakes her head slightly. “Sometimes I can’t believe this is real. That I get to touch you like this.”
Seconds go by, her hands roaming, my breath catching and releasing under her touch. Being with her at the party earlier tonight seems like ancient history. I need to possess her again, need to bind us tighter. I halt her motions, stand, and brush my lips across hers. She lifts into my arms and threads her fingers roughly into my hair.
With a groan, I tug her dress off and drag her into the bedroom where we fall onto the soft mattress, hands roaming, mouths claiming, hips reaching for contact. I can’t wait a minute more to have her.
Tonight is ours, I decide. Tonight, this incredible, beautiful woman needs something she’s never been given. Something I’ve never been able to offer. Something forbidden, however brief.
As I strip her naked and pull our bodies together, I resolve to spend every waking moment making love to her. Cherishing her. Making her believe, without a doubt, that this is real.
Chapter Eight
Zane
Lost in my thoughts, I stare out at the night skyline from Charlotte’s living room. Snowfall begins to blanket the city below. With the taste of Charlotte’s sweet essence still fresh on my lips, it takes every ounce of restraint I have to keep myself from going into her bedroom and sinking my cock back into her. My hunger for her body is insatiable. Even after a nearly sleepless night making passionate love to her, I still crave more.
With every thrust into Charlotte’s body, I felt like I was embedding myself deeper and deeper into her soul. But the more we’re together, the more the balance shifts. She claims as much of me as I do of her. I want to hold on and never let go. I want to scream to the world that she’s mine. But our world together only exists behind the walls of this apartment. After last night, I’m not sure how much longer I can be okay with that.
A sudden sound of shuffling feet behind me brings me out of my thoughts. My gaze heats as I watch Charlotte’s reflection in the glass. A long sheet draped around her body, she comes up behind me and places a tender kiss on my shoulder. She snakes her way between me and the window, pressing her body against mine. My cock strains inside my jeans. With nothing but the thin material of the sheet separating her naked body from me, it’s everything I can do to not take her against this window, right here and now.
Jesus, will I ever get enough of her?
I cradle her face in my hands. “You should be asleep, baby.”
She trails her fingertips down my chest, inching downward to the waistband of my jeans.
“Now that I’ve finally gotten to appreciate you undressed, I don’t ever want to see you any other way.”
If I’d known how much she’d relish my nakedness, I wouldn’t have held it back from her so long. Even I couldn’t deny the intoxicating sensation of our bare bodies against each other’s last night. Her mouth on me, her hard nipples grazing my chest, her sweat slick against mine.
Just as she reaches for my belt, I stop her. She looks up at me with those breathtaking blue eyes. Without a doubt, she owns every part of me.
“Take me back to bed.” She uses a sweet pleading voice that works on Chester but has never worked on me.
Something’s changed though. I want to give her the world, make every wish come true, satisfy every desire. She eases from my grasp and laces our fingers together. She kisses my knuckles, letting her tongue slip across my skin as she goes.
Fuck. I exhale shakily. There isn’t time. My shift—the one I’m not even supposed to be working—is almost up.
I run the pad of my thumb tenderly across her plump bottom lip. “You know I can’t. Chester will be here in less than fifteen minutes.”
A flash of mischief lights up her eyes. She releases her hold on the sheet, allowing the fabric to pool at our feet. “Then you should hurry.”
That quickly, I accept her challenge.
I spin her around. With a little pressure, she leans forward.
“Put your hands on the glass and keep them there.”
“Yes, sir.” Charlotte places her hands against the windowpane.
I unfasten my jeans and shove them past my hips. I rotate my pelvis, grinding against her ass. “What’s wrong, baby? Tell me what you want.”
Her eyelids flutter closed. “Mmm. I want you.”
Stepping back, I deliver two hard slaps against her bottom. I admire the pink outline of my hand that forms across her flawless skin. Urging her feet apart with my foot, I grab her by the waist and
pull her ass out to me.
“You already have me. I’m right here. If you want something else, you’ll need to be specific.”
Teasing her unmercifully never fails to satisfy. But the clock is ticking down on my willpower and the time we have together. I grip the base of my cock and line up to take her, ready to join us no matter what she says.
“Fuck me, sir. Make me sore. Every minute you’re not inside me, I want to feel the memory of when you were.”
My eyes roll back and I hold nothing back when I shove into her. I bite hard into my bottom lip at the overwhelming sensation.
Her low moan matches the need clawing at me from the inside out. I slide my palms up her naked torso until I’m cupping her full breasts in my hands. When I give her nipples a firm tug, her pussy retaliates by clamping down around my shaft like a vise.
“Jesus Christ. Your pussy is too goddamn good. I’m not going to last.”
I adjust my stance and tilt her hips, changing the angle to gain deeper access to her core, causing her to cry out again, louder this time. I thrust again, inspired by the desire to take her harder than I had last night.
“That’s it, baby. Take every inch of me.”
She lets her head hang between her outstretched arms and lets out a long moan. “God, Zane, you’re so deep. Please, don’t stop.”
I tighten my hold on her waist and quicken my thrusts, feeling the heavy ache in my balls intensify. The sensation of her climaxing around me takes me down with her. With one last fierce shove, I drive my cock deep inside of her. I try to still my body, but the orgasm ricochets through me. Every time with Charlotte seems more intense than the last.
I don’t want our time to end, but I know it has to. The alarm on my watch goes off just as I’m pulling out of her. Chester will be here any second.
I give her a hard smack on the ass, eliciting another little whimper from her. “I need to go, baby, before Chester walks in here and has a heart attack. I’ll call you once I get in my apartment.”
Charlotte bends to collect the sheet from the floor as I jerk up my pants. Not bothering to cover her nakedness, she leans in and gives me a slow, seductive kiss.
Misadventures of the First Daughter (Misadventures Book 5) Page 11