“That sounds … odd.”
“You mean the whole matchmaking thing? At my age? It’s not that odd, really. People just usually aren’t so upfront about it. What about you? Don’t you get pressure from your family to date a certain type of man?”
“Ha. No. I don’t know where my mom is and my dad doesn’t care who I end up with.” She laughed but it didn’t hide the sadness of her statement.
“I’m sure that’s not true.”
“Ford, my dad doesn’t even know where I live. He hasn’t since I left home. I sent him a letter once, with my number, in case he wanted to get in touch but I never heard from him. I get updates from my step-brother Derrick. Over the years, I’ve mostly stopped asking for them though.”
I didn’t know about her family or where she came from. There was enough in her sentence to clue me in on a slightly dysfunctional family but I didn’t want to leap to conclusions and the subject was a total conversation killer.
“You think they dated in real life? I mean, that kind of chemistry, I don’t think that’s just acting?” she asked, staring at the screen.
Realizing she was talking about the actors on screen, I tried to focus on what she was saying but I couldn’t until I knew why she had asked about Marilyn.
“Why did you ask me about Marilyn?”
“Hmm?” she pretended to not be paying attention but I could tell by the way she stiffened slightly I was on the something.
“Marilyn? Why were you interested in why she’s been coming around?”
“I don’t know. Because she has been coming around and it’s totally not clear what’s going on between you two.”
“Nothing’s going on between me and Marilyn. Just to make it clear.”
“Great. Whatever.” She sat up and shifted away from me enough so my arm dropped from her shoulder.
“Whatever?” Charlie was usually pretty direct. It was one of the things I adored about her. She was upfront to the point of being rude but it didn’t matter to me. What you saw was what you got with her.
“Yeah. Whatever.” With her arms crossed and her bottom lip caught between her teeth, she looked like a petulant teenager who was trying to act like an adult. It pissed me off and turned me on at the same time.
“That’s a bullshit word.”
“What? No, it’s not. I just don’t have anything to say about it. I mean, she’s come in like four times this week, hung around not drinking her coffee and then making lame statements like how Java is so far out her way. And she’s mean. Like mean-girl mean. And there’s nothing I hate more than passive-aggressive women. If she doesn’t like me then, fine, I couldn’t care less, but just be bitch and get it over with. Don’t plaster a fake as hell smile on your face and then ask me where I got my nails done. So yeah. Whatever.”
She was getting herself riled up and that’s exactly how I wanted her. Because when Charlie was riled up, she couldn’t keep anything to herself.
“Maybe she’s just jealous of you. Maybe she just wants to know where you get your nails done.”
She rolled her eyes. “Please, a woman like Marilyn knows after two seconds I do my own nails. And why the hell would she be jealous of me?”
“Maybe she’s caught your boss staring at you a few too many times.”
“I don’t—wait, what?”
“You heard me. Marilyn knew what the deal was the first time she came into Java and saw you there. And then she saw me. Looking at you.”
“Ford … I…”
I breeched the small distance between us, turning slightly so I faced her. “She knew the second she saw us together. Knew she should be jealous of you. Knew I never once looked at her in the same way.” Unable to stop myself, I reached up and stroked her cheek. I wanted her to say something, anything to give me a sign I hadn’t read this totally wrong.
“Maybe she saw something else too,” she finally responded.
“What’s that then?”
“Maybe she saw the way I was looking at you.”
“Yeah?” That was so damn good to hear. Even if it wasn’t anything major, it was pretty much all the confirmation I needed.
“I’m going to kiss you, Charlie. And I’m not going to be able to stop.”
“What you are you waiting for then?” she teased.
This girl was going to be the death of me. Her dark brown eyes, hooded with desire, taunted me. Closing the distance between us, I pressed my mouth against hers and wrapped a hand around the back of her neck. I swallowed her soft moan when she parted her lips, a sure sign if there ever was one.
Delving into her mouth, I wondered why the hell I’d been so chicken-shit to wait two years to make my move. Because this. Her. Our bodies pressed together. Her sweet, wet tongue dancing with mine as I deepened the kiss.
Perfection.
Chapter Six
Charlie
“It’s been a while,” he confessed into my neck and I bit my lip to resist asking him why and how long. A man who looked like Ford, surely he didn’t have to work to get laid? Even if he didn’t want Marilyn, he probably had a long list of girls happy to jump in his bed.
I ran my hands up arms and captured his face in my hands. My lips brushed against his mouth and I licked his bottom lip as I felt his hands slide along my thighs until they encircled my waist. I could tell he was nervous and although it was cute and endearing, I didn’t want him to be tense.
Not with me.
Nervous sex was not good. At all.
I wanted him to just be himself. And maybe all the other women who’d come before me had made him feel inadequate but not me.
“I don’t care how long it’s been, Ford. It’s just me here with you. No expectations, no plans. Just us.”
“But Charlie, you’ve been with—I mean—you’re more—” My heart lurched in my throat. He wasn’t calling me a slut, I knew that. Ford wouldn’t even use that word, but he had a point. I’d been with a lot of men, and he knew that. He had to know. But there was no way he could know none of them meant as much to me as he did. He was the only man in my life who hadn’t let me down, used me and thrown me away. Our friendship was something special and I knew it would make this special.
At least for me.
I was practically in love with the guy, something I’d never felt with any of the many men before him. But I wasn’t about to confess my feelings to him when chances were this was just a convenient opportunity for him.
“There’s no one else here though, is there? It’s just you and me. And I want this, Ford. I’ve wanted this for a while.” I felt myself blush at my confession and leaned in to kiss him again, hoping to distract him, but he pulled back.
“Charlie…” He whispered my name again and I waited. Whatever he needed to say, it was clearly more important than kissing me. “I don’t want to disappoint you.”
What the hell?
It was my turn to pull back.
“Are you a virgin?” I blurted out.
“No, but in comparison to you, I might as well be.” His eyes widened as he realized what he’d said. I threw my head back and laughed. The amount of times Katy and I had teased him when he overheard me recounting my latest romantic fling—I knew what he was getting at.
Deciding to take a different approach, I pushed him until he sat back on the couch and gave me room to straddle him. His hands hesitantly rested on my thighs and I bit my lip as my core rubbed against the hard bulge in his jeans.
“Ford, stop worrying about whether I’ll compare you to other guys. The one thing I’ve learned about sex is everyone is different. Everyone’s bodies are different,” I bent down and kissed the side of his neck before running my nose up to his ear. His breath hitched and he shifted under me. “Everyone likes different things.” My tongue slipped out and softly licked his earlobe, evoking a shudder through his strong body. “And everyone needs something different.”
“Charlie…”
I lifted my head and sprinkled his cheek with slow kisse
s until I reached his mouth. At the same time I put my hands on his hands and slid them up my thighs, around my waist and down around to my ass, where I squeezed, forcing him to grab a handful.
“I’ll learn what you need, Ford, and you’ll learn what I need. Just like your first time. This is our first time. Nothing to be nervous about. Just do what feels good, follow your instincts. It’s what makes it so much fun—all part of the process.”
I’d never been with a virgin and although he said he wasn’t one, Ford was clearly lost at sea when it came to sex. As I gently rocked against him, loving the feel of his big hands holding my ass, he finally spoke.
“Two other women. Just two other women, Charlie. And now you,” he blurted out.
Holy shit.
Chapter Seven
Ford
What the hell is wrong with you?
Finally, the girl of my dreams was here with me, touching me, letting me touch her. No, scratch that. Wanting me to touch her.
And I confess I don’t have any idea what the hell I’m doing? Just what a woman wants to hear.
“Shh, Ford, it’s our first time,” she whispered, continuing her soft exploration of my face and causing a short fuse in my brain with every undulation of her hips. Her hands slipped down, and she pulled open the top button of her jeans.
Her eyes widened with satisfaction as I moaned at what was to come. Pushing off me, she stood and finished undoing her jeans, pulling them down and off. A small black strip of lace was all that kept me from seeing nirvana. Her fingers fidgeted at her side and the nervous gesture made my heart ache. Remembering her words, I realized she really meant it. This was her first time with me, and she didn’t know what I wanted, what I liked. And she obviously wanted to please me. That thought alone almost made me come in my boxers.
Charlie wanting to please me.
Jesus Christ, please don’t let me mess this up.
Despite having limited experience, I knew what I wanted to do. Especially with her.
Without taking my gaze off her, I sat forward on the couch, widening my legs so she stood between my knees. “Take them off, Charlie. Show me what I want.” Keeping eye contact, she bent down slightly, pulling her panties off slowly. The little shimmy she gave to get them down to her ankles was enough to make me want to get down on my knees and beg for mercy.
Get a grip, man, or else this is going to be over before it’s even begun.
Wanting to alleviate any lingering nervousness she might have, I placed my hands on her hips, pulling her towards me, until my face was flush against her core.
“You smell so good.” And I meant it. Evidence of her arousal was right there and I knew if I moved a fraction of an inch, I could taste her. But I wanted more before I did.
Peering up at her, loving the surprised look on her face, I kept on dictating. “Top and bra now. I want it all, Charlie.” Something flashed across her face and for a second I wondered if being told what to do wasn’t her thing. I pressed my lips to her lower stomach, once, twice and then she was in action. Off came her top and her bra followed, dropped onto the pile of clothes at our feet. Her nipples were already hard and the way she was now responding to me confirmed what I’d always thought about Charlie—she liked to be dominated. Despite her feisty attitude, having someone else take control was just what she needed.
“God, your tits.” My self-control was slipping and I slid my hands up to cup her breasts. Thumbing each nipple slowly, I repeated the gesture and she closed her eyes and let out a soft moan. “You like it, baby?”
“Yes, Ford, my breasts are so sensitive.” Storing that nugget of information in the back of my mind, I gave her now swollen nipples a final squeeze. Seeing her naked in front of me was almost perfection but the itching need I felt to have us be skin-to-skin was irritating me and I couldn’t take it anymore. With a hand still holding her on her hip, keeping her close to me in case she disappeared on me, I reached one hand back and grabbed my shirt, yanking it over my head.
Suddenly her nerves disappeared and she was in action, helping me pull the t-shirt over my head before reaching down and yanking at my jeans. We both scrambled awkwardly to get me as naked as she was and before I knew it, there it was—skin-to-skin, bare contact, soft hands skimming over me, and my own fingers, rough in comparison to Charlie’s perfect skin, touching every part of her, every curve, dip, and swell.
Hoisting her up, she wrapped her legs around me, trapping my already painfully swollen cock between our bodies but thankfully it meant I could feel her slick arousal rubbing against me. I lowered her to the couch, aware this was going fast, too fast maybe.
But then again how could this be too fast? How could having Charlie naked and waiting under me on my couch be anything but perfect? There was so much I wanted to do but the thought of slowing down, of somehow filling the space between us with anything other than my body entering hers, seemed wasteful. There would be other times to take it slow, plenty of other times. This was just the beginning and why not go fast?
She wanted it, her back arching as I caressed her breasts, my hips pressing up against her. Deciding to go with my gut, and by gut I meant my raging erection, I reached down and retrieved a condom from the pocket of my jeans.
Sitting up, I ripped it open with my teeth and suited up. She lay before me, thighs spread wide to accommodate me, so ready and willing. The two other times I’d had sex had lacked the visual stimulation Charlie was providing. Lights off, under the covers, and in one case the t-shirt remained on. Not even a glimpse of pubic hair. In Charlie’s case the pubic hair was missing, waxed off, but it just meant I had a detailed view of what I was working with. I wasn’t about to complain about it.
And holy hell, it was beautiful. Reaching out, I swiped two fingers up her folds and sucked them in my mouth.
“You taste like I thought you would. So fucking sweet, Charlie.” She reached her hands down and her delicate index finger dipped inside. I groaned as she pulled it out and put it in her own mouth.
“I want to taste you too, you know,” she said, so genuine it sounded more like a statement of fact rather than dirty talk. Maybe it was both.
Please God let it be both.
There was no way I was going to confess both times I’d gotten laid had involved absolutely zero blowjobs. There was only so much humiliation a man could take. And faced with Charlie, so clearly not a virgin, I was already feeling out of my depth.
I shook my head, not wanting to focus on the fact Charlie had experience. A lot more experience. I’d spend the past two years suppressing any information I came across about Charlie’s dating life and now was not the time to let it all out.
“Not this time, Charlie. Trust me, there’s nothing more I’d like to see then your smart mouth wrapped around me, but right now I’ve got other plans.”
I grabbed her hands and yanked them above her head. Her little cry of surprise just made me harder. Both our hips wriggling to get what we wanted, I reached down and lined myself up with her.
“Look at me, baby,” I ordered and her big eyes stared straight at me as I pushed forward. “Tell me how it feels, Charlie, to have me inside you.”
Her fingers scrambled to hold on to something but I didn’t let go of her wrists, loving the control I had over her and given how her body was clenching me, I knew she liked it too. I started to move in and out, watching her face, not wanting to miss a moment.
“Full, so full.”
Just what I wanted to hear.
With my free hand I reached between us, I started worrying her clit. There was no way this was going to end without her coming on my cock.
“Yes, Ford, just like that,” she said, keeping eye contact, her mouth falling open, letting out little gasps of pleasure, and after a few more thrusts, I watched in rapture as her face transformed. The orgasm pulsed though her and her body tensed and then bucked under me. Watching her come was enough to make me finish, but feeling it was almost too much to take. My vision blurred as
I filled the condom, calling out her name.
I let go of her hands and grabbed her shoulders, anchoring myself to her body as I lost myself in her heat, pushing myself as deep as possible inside her.
After a few moments, her fingers raked through my hair and she pressed a kiss to the top of my shoulder. I’d pressed my face into her neck and I extricated myself, not wanting to disconnect from her yet but needing to check she was okay.
Chapter Eight
Charlie
“Wow, Charlie, that was amazing.” His forehead rested against mine and with my legs and arms still wrapped around him, I knew he felt the shiver run through my body, because he turned and pushed his nose into my hair and inhaled.
God, that felt nice
I tightened my limbs, letting myself absorb a few more moments of his heat, his weight, his smell, the way his skin was damp from sweat. I knew what was about to happen next and although I’d never really minded it before, or at least I’d convinced myself of that until recently, with Ford I knew it was going to ache more than usual. I’d known the second he confessed to how many women he’d slept with. And the way he looked at me when he came, as if I was the only woman in the world who could make him feel so good—that was new for me.
I could have said no.
I could have pushed him away, but I didn’t so there was no point pretending I hadn’t been an active and happy participant. But that’s not to say the next few minutes weren’t going to sting. For now I let myself feel him, let my body and mind build up a solid memory of this night: his strong body against mine, the way his fingertips caressed my hips and thighs, despite needing to deal with the condom, he was focusing on just holding me tight for a few seconds, but those few seconds were so much longer than anything else I’d ever experienced. I’d never even come close to this, whatever this was. Something beautiful and strong, something I could pretend was mine.
I landed on that thought and I let it sink in, let the warm glow fade away with the reality he’d never be mine and a man like him would never end up with a woman like me. It wasn’t his fault, it wasn’t mine. It was just how the world worked and I was slowly learning, at least up until a few months ago, I didn’t really have a firm grasp on how men functioned and how men picked women to be with. Or women picked men, I guess. But not women like me.
Into the Woods (Lust in the Woods Book 2) Page 4