“I’m fine.”
“You don’t seem fine.”
He looked like he was ready to burst out of skin. “Are you alright with this, Charlotte?”
Well she was nervous, but she was a bit excited. She never really noticed how handsome Gavin was with his shaggy brown hair and blue eyes. His long lean body was boyishly sexy. Hmm, that was interesting. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“’Cause.” Gavin couldn’t even look at her.
She took a deep breath. He seemed nervous. “Gavin, that’s not an answer.”
Travis put his hand on his shoulder. “Dude, you don’t have to do this.”
“Yeah, I do.”
Maybe he didn’t find her attractive after all? “No, we can find someone else.”
Gavin still couldn’t meet her eyes. “I don’t want you to have to go to a stranger.”
“Maybe a stranger would be easier.”
“Charlotte, I’m cool.” He pointed to the bed. “Let’s just get on with it.”
He didn’t sound as excited she believed he should be. This was beginning to worry her. “Do you not want to sleep with me?”
Gavin blew out a long breath. “That’s kind of a loaded question.”
How strange, she thought. “No it’s not.” Charlotte led him to the bed and they sat. “Gavin, sweetie, you are doing me a favor helping me, but if you don’t want to sleep with me because you don’t find me attractive, I’m not going to hold it against you.”
Gavin turned those sweet puppy dog eyes on her. “You’re beautiful.”
Travis sat down next to him. “It’s not like we haven’t done this before.”
Gavin pulled his hand away from her. “Yeah I know, but …”
“But what?” Travis asked.
He shifted between the two of them. “It’s different now.”
Charlotte felt like she was consoling him. If he’d changed his mind, she’d understand. Did he think that they were going to force him to perform? “Why?”
“’Cause well, it’s …”
Charlotte patted his hand. “It’s okay, sweetie, use your words.”
Gavin just rolled his eyes and looked at Travis, but said nothing.
“Dude we aren’t here to judge.”
Gavin squirmed in between them. “But you guys are… you know…”
Charlotte had no idea what he was talking about. “I have no idea.”
Gavin jumped up from the bed. “’Cause how you feel about each other.”
Travis glanced at Charlotte and she shrugged. “I’m lost, dude.”
Gavin pointed at them. “You two are in love and it would just be wrong.”
Charlotte’s mouth dropped open.
“What?” Travis asked.
Gavin turned his back on them. “Travis, you love Charlotte.”
“Umm…” Well, at least that sound came out of her mouth
“Don’t sweat it. She loves you, too.”
Travis turned to her. “Charlotte?”
Her heart raced. She loved him so much she hurt. Who was she kidding? She was lost the moment he touched her. “Yes, Travis?”
“Do you love me?”
“I do.” She bit her bottom lip. “Do you?”
Travis smile. “Ah, yeah.”
She liked the way he said it, like it was just natural he would love her.
Gavin held out his hands. “See! Bad mojo! I can’t even get wood. My dick will probably fall off if I come between this shit.”
They decided not to stay at the mansion, but didn’t want to go back to the band house. They ended up back at Charlotte’s after they dropped Gavin off. Charlotte unlocked the door and let them in. “So what do we do?”
“Let’s play gin rummy.”
She slapped his arm. “Travis!”
“If you need to ask, maybe I fell in love with the wrong woman.”
She pointed to the stairs. “Get upstairs, Mister.”
He shrugged. “Okay, but I don’t want you to think I’m easy.”
She giggled. “Actually, I’m counting on it.”
He pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor, then headed up the stairs.
“You are not leaving that there.”
He threw her a coy smile over his shoulder. “Love means you don’t have to be neat.”
Charlotte sighed. In whose universe?
He stopped about midway up the staircase and shimmied out of his pants. “Coming?”
She stooped down and picked up his shirt. She put her purse on a side table by the door and began her climb, stopping to pick up his clothes and trying not to laugh.
When she got to her bedroom, Travis was laying on the bed buck-naked with an erection. His hands were behind his head and she nearly lost her breath. Charlotte had to laugh.
He patted the spot next to him. “Come to bed, Charlotte.”
He gave her a smile that was somewhere between choirboy and debaucher. She walked over to the fainting couch and put his clothes neatly on it. Then she let down her hair and put her barrette on her dressing table. She took off her earrings and put them in the jewelry box. Then she walked over to the bed and sat down. She put her hand on his stomach. “You really love me?”
“Like crazy.”
“I never thought I’d find a man to love again.”
“I haven’t been in love since I was sixteen.”
“You break her heart?”
“Nope, Brittney left me to study abroad in Stockholm. She actually ended up marrying a hockey player.”
“Glad she did?”
“Hell yes.” He covered her hand. “I don’t want to talk about the past.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“I have other things I want to do with my mouth.”
“Such as?”
“Stop talking, Charlotte.” He sat up and slipped his hands into her hair and tilted her head back.
“Okay.”
He gently touched her lips with his mouth, and she couldn’t explain it but this kiss was different. Somehow it was sweeter, more passionate than before. Love was truly a game changer. His gentleness surprised her in a pleasurable way. He seemed to want to take things slow. He trailed kisses down her neck and began to unzip her dress. He pulled the silk from her shoulders until it was around her waist. She put her hand on his thigh and felt the muscles constrict under her hand. She loved that he was so responsive to her touch and she never had to figure out what pleased him.
Slowly, he leaned over and kissed the tops of each of her breasts. Then he reached behind her and unhooked her bra. Charlotte always felt beautiful with him. Carefully, he lowered the straps of her red bra until her breasts were bare. She never felt embarrassed being naked in front of him.
She stood and began to get out of her dress, but he stopped her and worked the dress down over her hips until it puddled at her feet. She stepped out of her pumps and before she could get back on the bed, Travis stood in front of her, just running his hands over her body. Caressing her breasts, her hips, her butt. Charlotte’s skin goose pimpled everywhere he touched. She was curious, so she had to ask. “Is it different for you now that you know you love me?”
He laughed. “It was different from the first time I touched you.”
It had been the same for her. “For me too.”
“I don’t want to stop touching you.”
Charlotte rubbed her cheek on his stubbled chin. “You don’t have to.”
“I have to go get a condom.”
She nipped his chin. “I’m on the pill.”
Travis let out a long breath. “You couldn’t tell me sooner?”
She put her arms around his waist. “Why does it matter? You always wear a condom.”
“Because then I wouldn’t have to wear one.”
“Hmmm, I never thought about it.”
“I have never been inside a woman without a condom.”
Charlotte reached between them and palmed his balls. “Another
first.”
“Charlotte Lambert, what you do to me.”
She kissed him and then pulled him down on the bed with her. “Show me.”
Travis maneuvered their bodies until he was lying on top of her, cradled in her thighs. Charlotte could feel his hardness on her slit. Moisture was already trickling down her, wetting her thighs.
Slowly, Travis began to kiss his way down her body. His lips touched her cheek then moved to her earlobe. He ran the tip of his tongue over the shell of her ear and nibbled his way to her neck. He took his time exploring the crook between her neck and shoulder. All the while, his silky hair glazed over her skin, sending shudders all over her. In this moment she thought she’d die from want. All she wanted was for him to take her to that place where pleasure was the only thing she experienced.
When his mouth found her breast and he took a hard nipple, Charlotte cried out. Ever so slowly he worked his tongue around her breast, laving every inch of skin until she’d been thoroughly caressed. And when he was finished with her breasts, he moved down her body until he found her navel. Ever so gently he swirled his tongue inside her bellybutton until she started laughing. She didn’t think something like this could be such a turn on, but then again, Travis could make the simplest action foreplay.
What surprised her was that he ignored her vagina and kissed his way down the outside of her thigh. She was so ready and he seemed content to just tease her. When he lifted her leg high and blew his warm breath on the crook of her knee, she just closed her eyes. As wonderful as it all felt she wanted him inside her, making love to her. “Travis.”
He turned his eyes to her and removed his mouth from her calf. “Yes, Charlotte?”
She tried to sit up, but he gently pushed on her shoulder, forcing her back to the bed. “What exactly are you doing?”
“I’m loving you.”
She smiled. “Could you love me with your cock?”
He nipped her calf. “I could.” He winked at her. “But the anticipation is part of the fun.”
“But--”
“I insist.”
She leaned back on the bed and sighed. It isn’t as if he’d ever disappointed her before.
He continued with his extremely slow, tortuous lovemaking. And when he licked her instep, she bit down on her lip to stop from crying out. Maybe he was right after all.
Travis meandered his way up her body again, then rolled her on her stomach and started his exploration of her body all over again. This time he licked every bit of her skin. Charlotte was delirious with need by the time he found his way back to her shoulders. Quickly, she rolled on her back and sat up. She took his face between her hands and kissed him hard. “Is it my turn yet?”
“Nope.”
She reached up and touched his cheek. “Aren’t we supposed to be in this together?”
He gave her a strange look. “This is new for me.”
“Me, too.”
“I love you, Charlotte. I love you.”
“Then make love to me.” She pulled his head down until his mouth touched hers. She felt him slip inside her slowly, achingly slow. There was always this second when he stopped as if he was waiting for her to accept him inside her. She always would. Carefully, he buried himself inside her. The sensation of skin touching skin was heady. She would never forget this moment.
He gritted his teeth. “You feel so good.”
“Yes,” she sighed as he moved inside her, her softness giving way to his hardness. She thought she’d loved Preston, but what she felt for him paled in comparison to the emotions building in her heart for Travis. In the back of her head, Charlotte knew she would never love another man for the rest of her life. She knew it should scare her, but the rightness of this was perfect.
Travis moved inside her slowly. He never took his eyes from hers. His hands moved over her slowly and Charlotte relished every touch, every caress. He made love to her with such reverence it was as if she were the most precious thing in the entire world.
His jaw hardened as if he was holding back. She didn’t want him to hold anything back from her ever again. “Love me harder.”
“Want it to last.”
“It will.” She wasn’t just talking about the lovemaking; she wanted his love for her to last forever. Dare she hope? “Don’t hold back.”
He thrust into her hard and she could feel her orgasm begin to build. She raised her legs and wrapped them tighter around him. The tightness in her stomach built and burned through her. He lowered himself and pushed into her harder and harder until she flew over the edge, and a second or two later he came with her. She felt his seed flood inside her and he collapsed on top of her.
“I love you, Sweet Baby.”
“Always,” she whispered, unsure if she said the word aloud or in her head.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Maybe his feelings were a little hurt that they didn’t ask him. He was Declan Shaw. He’d been voted by People Magazine as one of the most beautiful people twice. He even made it into the sexiest man issue. What the fuck? Gavin was a baby.
“Are you still sulking?”
He faced Malcolm across the coffee table. “I don’t sulk.”
“Pouting?” He lowered his book, with a fake look of concern on his face.
“Fuck you, Malcolm.” He checked his phone screen. Should he buy tech stock? Hell, he couldn’t even make a stock choice.
“If fucking me was what you wanted, you wouldn’t be in such a snit that Charlotte didn’t ask you to be the third in her sex quest.”
“What has Gavin got that I don’t?”
Malcolm put his book down. “The enthusiasm of a five-year-old.”
Declan rolled his eyes. So did he. Okay, not really, he was pretty jaded. “Are they playing with trucks?”
“He’s uncomplicated. A lot of women find that attractive.”
True. It was one of Gavin’s best qualities. He just rolled with the punches. Maybe not lately. Travis’s new venture into love had unsettled Gavin. “She didn’t pick you either.”
“And I’m totally cool with that.”
He dropped his phone on the sofa. He wasn’t making any money today. “I thought she liked me.”
“I think she likes you as a friend. We can’t always be a woman’s fantasy.”
He knew that, but it would have been nice to have been asked. Even though he would have turned them down. He needed songs way more than he needed pussy. “Why it is that I sound like a selfish, egotistical bastard where women are concerned?”
“Maybe because you are.” Malcolm gave him the ‘duh’ expression.
“Oh, yeah, I forgot.” Cool, everything was right with the world.
“That’s why I’m here to remind you.”
Declan nodded. Malcolm helped him keep his ego in check. “You’re a good friend.”
Malcolm hitched a thumb over his shoulder. “Will you go get me a beer?”
“ No.”
“Prick.”
“Fucker.”
“Douche.”
“Bastard.”
Malcolm laughed. “That is a fact not an insult. One I thank God every day, my mother did not marry my father.”
Did he just go too far? “Sorry.”
“I’m not.”
The front door slammed and Gavin stomped into the parlor.
Malcolm closed his book. “You’re home early.”
Hopefully with juicy details.
“I do not want to talk about it.” Gavin sat on the sofa and opened up his laptop and started poking at the keyboard.
Which meant Gavin did want to talk he just needed to be coaxed. Declan eyed Malcolm who shrugged, but he could tell he was intrigued. “So, how you doing?”
“Fine.”
Sure, Declan thought. He and Shane had a bet. He thought Travis wouldn’t go through it. Shane put his money on Charlotte. “How did it go?”
“It didn’t.”
“Charlotte back out?” Malcolm asked.
“No.”
Fuck yeah one hundred bucks was his. “Travis?”
“No.”
Malcolm looked at Gavin, disbelief in his eyes. “Was it you?”
“How am I supposed to get my groove on when all those two do is make gaga eyes at each other? I can’t perform with that kind of shit hanging over me.”
Declan couldn’t believe his ears. “You backed out?”
Gavin threw himself back on the sofa. “Yeah, it would have been like I was committing adultery or something.”
Malcolm put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “When has a moral dilemma ever gotten in the way of your dick?”
“When I’m supposed to fuck my friend’s woman who is, like, the love of his life.”
Was their baby boy growing up? “I thought you didn’t believe in love.”
Gavin ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t, but for them it’s, like, all there.”
“It’s not like we didn’t know how Travis felt.” Malcolm propped his feet on the coffee table.
Declan scratched his head. “And Charlotte is easier to read than Dr. Seuss.” But for Gavin to pick it up was amazing.
He shrugged his shoulders. “You should have seen the way they touch each other. I’m almost too embarrassed to watch.”
Malcolm punched him the shoulder. “You? The internet porn king?”
“That’s not about love, that’s entertainment. Watching Travis and Charlotte together makes me feel like there is something missing in my life.”
Declan swallowed the lump in his throat. Gavin was right, those two made him feel lonely. “You’re fine.” Did he say that for Gavin or for himself?
Gavin shook his head. “She is the white dress and white picket fence type.”
Malcolm smiled. He was always more romantic than the rest of them. “That’s kind of sweet. I’m happy for Travis.”
Declan was happy for himself. He was getting some killer songs to sing and if the relationship didn’t last there would be a whole lot of I-hate-the-bitch songs. But mostly, he was glad Travis was better. It was like there was hope out there. Not that he would express that to anyone else because they would laugh at him.
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