by Demi Alex
She stared at him, her mouth gaping in shock, as he dropped the bikini to the deck. “I thought my nipples showed.”
“They do,” he said, stripping off his wet suit and giving her an unobstructed view of his naked and beautiful body, before stepping into his shorts—commando.
“I thought you didn’t like that.”
“Wrong. I do,” he replied, snapping his shorts in place and entering her space. “And knowing that no one else gets a shot at that sweet little body of yours, I want you as excited and wet as can be. You need to come often and hard. If that means letting everyone else drool over the gorgeous view, so be it. It’s mine. So is that mark next to your nipple.”
She glanced down at her shirt, seeing the hard outlines of her nipples poking through, and remembered the love bite he spoke about.
“You like watching, baby. You were breathing so hard at the scene, clutching the railing with those talented hands and steaming up my belt buckle.”
Charlie was about to deny the buckle again, but he raised his hand and curled his fingers around her neck.
“The risk of being caught excites you. While you’re shy, you like the camera. You clenched on my hand so tight when you learned there were eyes on your back. You dropped to your knees and sucked me off so pretty, knowing that anyone could have walked up to our table.”
Ford was right. Totally right. It was like she was tempting her luck, pushing things that had never been an option for her in the past.
“And you know what?”
She raised her shoulders, but didn’t speak.
“You give great head, chère. Makes me lose my mind just remembering that wonderful mouth and talented tongue.” He pulled her close and spoke against her mouth. “And while I won’t let another man touch what is mine, I’ll do anything to get that mouth wrapped around my cock again. So keeping you on edge with those nipples hard and that pussy wet works for me.” He trapped a taut peak between his thumb and finger, squeezing just hard enough so pain pulsed to her sweet spot between her legs.
“Ford,” she breathed.
“Yeah, baby. You’ll give me your next orgasm when you least expect it. But I can tell you it won’t come close to what you’ll give me when we come together.”
Chapter Twenty-two
Charlie squeezed the drops into her eyes and closed them tight. She couldn’t believe all that had happened in two days. The fast-forward button had definitely been pressed at boarding. She opened her eyes and stared at her reflection. A new woman, confident, happy, and eager to face the day, stared back at her.
Ford had seen to her multiple climaxes. She’d shattered with pleasure during the Dating Game—on stage while answering questions. Clearly, she’d been too distracted to give witty answers and win. She shattered again in It’s All About the Sting, in which the demonstrations kept her on the edge of her seat the whole time. He’d served up a repeat performance of the previous night at dinner, which proved very fruitful for her writing, and she’d more than enjoyed herself on the Dungeon’s dance floor after the comedy show. So much so that Luis and Quinn had stormed out of there, proclaiming they needed to find a woman . . . pronto.
She laughed at the remembrance, and reread the notes Ford had insisted she take the time to enter into her computer after dinner.
• Tyler’s strong hand empowers a once-defeated Grace.
• Grayson proves that age is only a number, and Emma gazes at him with longing.
• Maggy and Sparky, well they’re Maggy and Sparky. Made it mucho years by keeping things spicy. Today, Sparky wears collar & Maggy holds leash.
• Quinn and Luis are the best. Best couple. Best friends. Best. I love them.
But the butterflies dancing in Charlie’s belly confirmed that nothing would compare to what was to come. She dressed in one of her pretty new dresses, applied mascara and lip gloss, and looked forward to Ford knocking on her door for morning coffee. Coffee with a man who had penetrated her shield and had changed her life.
A message popped up on her screen.
Good morning, chère. Pack day bag with wallet, passport, laptop, and panties.
Panties? She typed back.
Panties. Then dots as he wrote. Be there in five.
Like she could wait five minutes to see him.
Charlie leaned against the doorjamb, smiling at an approaching Ford. Her fingers tangled in the soft material of her dress, which did nothing to keep the goose bumps at bay once she spotted Ford. Broad shoulders and a sexy-as-shit saunter filled her mind with naughty thoughts and her heart with hope. His long legs ate up the distance and she smiled.
Shit, shit, triple shit. She’d never wanted to run up to a man, jump into his arms, and kiss him like he provided sustenance. She’d never seen a more attractive man in her life. She summoned her composure and retained a tiny bit of control, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, but aware that she worried her lower lip with anticipation.
“Don’t just stand there, chère. Get your sweet ass moving.” He reached her, snaked an arm around her waist, and lowered his lips to her neck. With a wicked grin, he stole her practiced composure.
She tangled her fingers in his hair and lifted his head to seal her mouth to his. “Kiss me first.”
He did, and with each stroke of his tongue and sweep of his hands her angst subsided and a strange sense of belonging replaced it.
“Good-morning, baby.” He looked at her like a starved man holding a plate of hot stew. “No more kisses for now, or I’ll snap and devour that sweet little body of yours right here. So, food. You need food and coffee for energy before they let us off the ship. Then, when we are off the ship, I’m going to deplete every last drop of that energy. It’ll be my turn to feast.”
* * *
Less than an hour later, they were on the pier and Ford was holding open the door to the taxi he’d waved down. Four minutes after that, the taxi pulled in to the circular drive of a portside hotel. Ten minutes after that, Ford tossed her day bag, which also held his passport, onto the couch in their room, leaned his butt against the granite counter of their rented studio, and crossed his arms over his chest. His gaze moved up and down Charlie’s body, zeroing in on the way she struggled to catch her breath.
“Strip,” he ordered.
Moisture pooled between her thighs at his command and her lungs worked twice as hard. But determined to let loose and truly let herself go, Charlie shed her inhibitions and kicked off her sandals. She didn’t have a chance to remove anything else before Ford was on her, his hands at her waist, lifting her off her feet and tossing her onto the bed.
“Fuck waiting.” He urged her knees to the sides, and then he fit himself over her like a second skin. Burying his fingers in her hair, he tugged her head back and looked into her eyes for long steamy seconds, offering her a glimpse of the day in store, and pressing his obvious excitement against her aching core.
“Ford?” She turned her head to the side, unable to accept the promise she read because of the consequences it carried.
“Look at me,” he said, using a finger to guide her chin and make her turn back to him. He captured her gaze and she couldn’t miss the fire in his dark eyes. “I’m going to make you want to keep me around for a long time, chère,” he said, working her skirt up over her hips and hooking his thumbs in the lace of her panties. “But first I’ll have my mouth on you, your taste on my tongue, and your release.”
Charlie shivered as he pulled her panties down her legs, and she silently admitted that she already wanted to keep him around. She closed her eyes and gave into the pleasure of knowing Ford was going down on her, seeing to her like no one had ever before . . . and wanting it.
She reveled in the ecstasy of Ford’s mouth trailing up her thigh to the ache at her core and shut out everything other than the fiery sensation of his mouth. He licked through her heat, up to the pulsing sweet spot, then back to her opening and feasted. Her body bowed when he closed his lips on her. Then he slid
his masterful tongue deep inside her and took her somewhere she imagined was much like heaven.
Pressing and circling his thumb against her clit, he worked her with his tongue, devouring her excitement until her breath grew ragged and her legs trembled with need. He didn’t speak until her hips jerked high and his strong hands cupped her ass, holding her off the mattress and high off the bed. He blew softly, soothing the heat and dropping tiny kisses on the throbbing skin.
“Open your eyes and watch yourself come for me, baby.”
She did as she was told, and seeing her man’s face between her legs, his dark eyes showing how she pleased him, she reached for it. Tingles started in her toes and moved through her like wildfire. Ford gave and took, in patient and generous indulgence, then a decadent burst of pleasure consumed her and she couldn’t think at all.
Charlie came undone, her control splintering into a prism of bliss and consuming her reality as she called his name and gave herself over to her man.
She hadn’t caught her breath or managed to come down from the sweet rapture of the greatest orgasm she’d ever experienced when Ford lowered his zipper and pushed his jeans off. She didn’t question the foil package in his hands or where he’d found it, but she attempted, rather poorly, to focus on his progress as he tore at the wrapped condom, rolled it on, and held her pleasure-hazed vision the whole time.
With one hand fisting the base of his beautiful cock, he reached between her legs with the other and ran a finger through her soaked folds. “So lovely. Wet and sweet and totally ready for me.”
“Yes,” Charlie managed. So damn ready, she thought.
He positioned the large, smooth head at her entrance, and anticipation quivered deep in her core as he teased her with a taste of what he’d deliver. She wanted to reach for him, to pull him in, but her leaden arms wouldn’t move. Angling her hips, she moaned her agreement as he nestled closer, and a feeling of pure and fulfilling bliss spread through her chest and wrapped around her heart.
“Damn, Charlie,” he said with a guttural groan. “So perfect. So damn perfect.” His hand skimmed over her hips and swept the skirt of her dress higher around her waist. “Wrap your legs around me and hold on. Together. We’re going to come together. I need this to be a hard and quick ride, baby. Slow later.”
Ford semi-lied. Hard? Yes, his “hard” slid through her swollen folds, nudged her clit, and kept her floating like a beach ball on a summer breeze. Quick? “Quick” to return to her entrance, drive inside her, and stretch her aching core as he pushed in to the root with an intensity she’d only dreamed of.
“Okay?” Ford asked, buried deep, his weight on a muscled arm, as his eyes searched hers. She nodded, and he gave her body time to adjust to the wondrous invasion as he lowered his lips to the curve of her neck. Tender fingers stroked down her cheek, over her shoulders, to the space between her breasts. He slowly, slow as hell, single-handedly worked each of the tiny buttons of her dress, all the way down the skirt, then pushed the material away and exposed her completely to his view.
“Beautiful. Gorgeous,” he groaned, lowering his head to the crook of her neck and touching his grinning lips to sensitive skin. “I’m not going to last.” She felt him grow inside her. “The total package is better than I’d imagined.”
Charlie found the strength to raise her hand and tangle her fingers into his hair, inhaling his scent into her soul. The lingering effects of her first orgasm mingled with new sensations from Ford’s ministrations, causing her to hold on to the feeling and not let go. But Ford didn’t allow her to settle, rather he stroked deeper, faster, closing his hands on her hips and lifting her off the bed and into his deep thrusts.
“Ford,” she breathed against his neck.
“That’s it, baby. Feel me. It’s me and you,” he said, bringing her back up to the edge. “Give it to me, Charlie. Take it.”
There it was again. He’d insisted on it. Wanted it. Demanded it. Take and give.
He slid out. A moan of protest escaped her mouth to be met with his encouraging growl as he pushed back in to the hilt. He lifted his head and captured her gaze. She fought the urge to close her eyes and guard her heart. In a split second of lucidity, she recognized the erratic beat of her heart for what it was. Hope. Love.
“Ford,” she breathed against his neck, lowering her mouth and closing her lips on his shoulder. She surrendered any remaining strength to his capable hands.
“Breathe,” Ford said. His fingers moved between them and he touched her sweet spot, coaxing her body further and her face back to his. He slipped his tongue past her lips and with a kiss, charmed her lungs into restarting.
Charlie’s hands roamed his back, her body writhed against his front, and her eyes remained open and focused on Ford. With his intense gaze piercing any barrier, he rolled his hips, stroked her every desire, and took her high above the protection she’d feebly attempted to keep her heart safe.
“Reach for it, baby,” he said. “Now. With me.”
Defenses shot, she let go. Her climax flared where Ford urged and spread through her body. Her muscles clenched. Charlie held him tight. And he drove into her sex, claiming more than just her body as she accepted a man she’d known for only days.
“Ford,” she rasped.
“That’s it, baby. This is me and you,” he said. “Together. We’re coming together. You and me.”
A final thrust, and he brought her to the edge of reason, taking her over, safe in the embrace of his arms.
* * *
Knowing he wouldn’t be able to sate his desire for Charlie in the foreseeable future, Ford looked into her sparkling blue eyes and exhaled his relief in the knowledge. He wanted her again. Wanted her like mad. Grinning, he brushed his mouth over her lips, and shared oxygen with the woman he knew he’d bring into his life in New York. And he’d stay in her life . . . as long as she’d keep him around. He dropped his damp forehead to hers and tasted her sweet lips.
She responded, as she had to his every touch, and she kissed him back. The feel of her arms tightening on his back gave him reason to believe she’d give him the chance to grow used to the way she made him feel. She kept one leg hooked around his waist, offering more of an opportunity for him to adjust to this new feeling. What the fuck was the foreign emotion swelling inside his chest? What the fuck?
“Chère, I could get very used to this. Could stay like this for a very long time,” he admitted, reaching behind him and trailing his hand over the softness of the calf wrapped around his leg. “So push me off so I can get rid of the condom, and we can start from the beginning. This time around, it’ll last longer.”
“That sounds like a plan, Ford.” She moved her leg and released her hands. She tapped her finger in the center of his chest as if to push him off. He pulled away and started for the bathroom.
Ford looked over his shoulder and saw that Charlie had turned on her side, gathered a pillow into her chest, and was watching him. She gave him a smile and his chest squeezed. Damn, she gave with her whole self, and when she lowered her shields, she received with her whole self. Pure heaven. Pure Charlie.
He wanted to give her more to experience. He wanted her to have all she’d ever dreamed of.
When he returned, he had her again, nice and slow as he’d promised. Then he carried her into the shower and took her hard up against the tile until the water ran cold. Back on the bed, she fell asleep in his arms, and when he couldn’t allow the opportunity to give her another orgasm slide away, he woke her with her clit in his mouth and his fingers buried deep inside her heat.
Now, he reclined on the pillows at his back, his hands folded behind his head, and watched her walk across the room with the last bottle of water from the mini fridge at her lips. Her creamy skin wore his mark and the mere remembrance of her tugging on his hair as he sucked those full breasts made him hard. He took himself in hand and stroked. Fuck she was addictive.
“Baby,” he began, “I’m not near ready to return to the ship.
”
Shaking her head, she lowered the bottle and gave him an easy smile when her eyes discovered his hand working his cock. She licked her lips and took a deep breath. “Are you telling me we need more time to get this right?”
“I didn’t say anything of the sort.” He sat up, and while fisting himself with one hand, reached for her wrist with the other and closed his fingers around it. With a searing look, he moved her hand to his eager erection and communicated his intent of keeping her in no uncertain way. “I’m saying that you have a man to see to. And I’m saying that now that I’ve had you, I can’t think of spending one more night without you in my bed. I can’t wait a whole day to have you again.”
She kept smiling, placed the bottle on the nightstand, and then kneeled on the bed at his side. Lowering her face to his, her breasts pressed into his chest as she brought her mouth to his and smoothed dainty fingers over his hand. Her thumb rounded his crown and shivers raced down his spine.
“Who said anything about having to wait?” Charlie asked. Her free hand stretched to the box of condoms on the stand.
Damn. The woman gave. Hot and responsive, she didn’t hide her appetite for sex. Now she didn’t only respond to him, she instigated more physical activity.
He leaned back on the pillows and motioned for her to proceed, his erection growing painfully hard as she grinned and tore the foil package with her teeth. This playful Charlie who was willing to captain their next encounter held his complete attention and made his heart pound hard against his ribs. She amazed him in so many ways, and he would explore each one of them.
With Charlie straddling him, grinding herself over his sheathed cock, she rode him in total abandon that lit up her gorgeous face with her beautiful warmth. Wanting to bathe in her bright light, he raised his hips and pushed into her as she lowered on him, wanting more and more of her with each thrust. Her hard nipples peeked from between long strands of blond hair, on display for his pleasure. He wrapped his arms around her back, sat up, and sucked her between his lips until her moans filled the room and she convulsed around him. No shyness. No reservation.