On a Gamble

by Rose Lange

  Charlie groaned. Unable to take much more of his teasing, seductive torture, she whispered, “Alex, please take me now.”

  He met her gaze head-on, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. He quickly divested of his clothing, kicking jeans, shirts, and socks off to the side.

  Getting to his knees, he slowly unbuttoned, and unzipped her jeans, until they pooled at her feet. She nearly stopped breathing altogether when his mouth made contact with her belly, lavishing moist kisses lower, and agonizingly lower, until he met black lace panties.

  Charlie nearly lost it when he looked up. The desire staring back at her, fierce, hypnotic, and pulse stealing.

  “These,” he murmured huskily, fingering the lacy edge, “are in the way.” Still not breaking eye contact, and with the same agonizing slowness, he removed her panties until she stood completely naked. The cold door chilled her bottom, but she didn’t care.

  “Close your eyes,” he commanded.

  She raised an eyebrow, but then obeyed.

  “Remember the day we rode horses, and that kiss in the barn?”

  Mutely, she nodded, recalling that hot, fiery kiss as though it were yesterday. And without her sense of sight, the timbre and vibration of his voice against her abdomen, rendered her speechless as moist, sensual heat from his warm, full, lips made her bite the inside of her cheek, attempting to stifle a moan. Even if he’d barely touched her yet, her senses swam at a hundred miles an hour. She grasped the back of his head, steadying herself. Other than the sound of her heavy breathing, quiet overtook the apartment.

  “This. This is what I wanted to do to you that day, Charlie.” Within seconds he grasped her backside, lavishing the most erotic loving to her womanly folds. Flicking her clit with the end of his tongue, until the sensitive bud pulsed, vibrated, and shook. She’d go clear through the damned roof if he continued, but she’d be damned if she told him to stop. He lowered his hands, rubbing her already hypersensitive skin to the point of insanity.

  Oh dear God, this is going to kill me.

  Spreading her legs further apart, she silently begged for more, as he licked the flames of her desire. Continuing to tease, taste, and torture. She fisted her hands in his hair, now using it as an anchor. Her entire being liquefied, but still he didn’t stop. Not daring to open her eyes, she wanted to enjoy this moment, revel in his heat, his fire for her.

  “Oh, Jesus, Alex. This is fucking amazing. Please . . . oh . . . baby . . .” And the rest of her words got lost, her orgasm numbed her brain, and threatened to consume her whole. Spent, sweaty, and in dire need of oxygen, she only wanted more, needed more. Needed it all.

  She opened her eyes, watching him get up off his knees, until she met his gaze head on. Then her feet weren’t touching the ground, literally and figuratively. He palmed her bottom, lifting her up, until her rubbery legs wrapped around his torso. Realizing he was going to make love to her, right up against the door, her body sang. Her core achy, needy, and wet, as he swiftly entered her, the fire within her threatened to swallow her. Muscles clenched, relaxed around his thick length, and her breathing became as ragged as his.

  “You. Feel. So. Incredible,” she whispered in his ear, nibbling at the earlobe. Taking it in her mouth, she suckled, bit, and teased.

  Damn what a rush, a natural high she loved being on. Alex was her drug of choice, and God help her if she ever had to go off. He brought out the beast in her.

  He held her close, until her breasts flattened against his solid chest, as everything tightened in response. Lowering his head, he lavished kisses on her neck, along her jaw, down her shoulders. Leaving a hot trail of fire behind with each kiss. As if some other force was at work, she arched her back, thrusting her chest up, until his face was between her breasts, and he scattered kisses there.

  She opened her eyes, meeting his direct, steady gaze.

  “You drive me crazy, Charlie.” His voice throaty, and ragged with hunger.

  Unable to deny herself any longer, she realized she felt the same way. Not only in the bedroom but outside. Like a bolt of lightning, it hit. She’d fallen hard for this man, absolutely powerless to stop it, and didn’t want to stop it. With every breath in her body, she wanted him, and words got lost in translation. She honestly didn’t know what to say. So she said nothing, and allowed her body to do the talking. She grasped the back of his head, threaded her fingers through his hair, and brought his sweet, full lips to hers. Tasting him, greeting his tongue with hers.

  Alex continued to kiss her, and moved lower once more; scattering kisses along her jawline and the base of her throat. A trail of hot fiery kisses left behind, she threw her head back, hardly able to take anymore. She rested her hands on his shoulders, absorbing the strong, and earth shattering emotions to course through her. Lighting her up from the inside out, blood pounded in her ears. Her pulse skyrocketed as wave after wave of ecstasy pierced her system.

  “Alex, please I can’t take much more.” Her orgasm climbed higher, strong, fierce, and liquefying her insides as he ground himself deeper. Reaching his own climax, he shook against her, and she steadied herself on his shoulders.

  Finally, she relaxed, enjoying the feel of him against her chest. She gazed into his eyes, seeing heaven on earth. A calm overtook her, as she rested her forehead against his. “Oh, wow.”

  He chuckled.

  “I’m sorry,” she murmured.

  “For?”

  She curled his hair between her still eager fingers. “Not being able to make it to the bedroom. Again.”

  “Don’t worry, baby. Because I’m not complaining.”

  Charlie rolled over in bed the next morning, squinting against the bright rays. Birds chirped, ready to greet the day, and a far off dog bark sounded down the street. The morning greeted her bright and sunny, fresh with exciting possibilities.

  She studied her surroundings, remembering she’d spent the night with Alex. A slow grin spread across her face, recalling round one, and a fantastic round two in his bed. The spectacular feelings still stirred throughout her body. Her heart clanged against her rib cage, as his eyes greeted hers. Giddy and off center, she didn’t ever want to leave this room. “Good morning,” she murmured.

  Leaning closer, he placed a gentle kiss to either corner of her mouth. “It sure is.”

  She chuckled, bringing the sheets up to cover her mouth.

  “I guess we’d better get going, theirs work to be done.” He jumped out of bed, and already her gaze fixated on his naked rear end.

  A happy, satisfied sigh escaped her lips. Honestly she didn’t want to move, thinking about the last few months, and weeks. How Alex came into her life like a world wind, and had slowly broken down walls she’d long ago erected. She never thought she could love again after Langdon, until now.

  It hit her like a thunderbolt. She loved Alex. She wanted to be his forever, get married, and possibly adopt children if he’d be willing. Such thoughts scared her. That she’d fallen so quickly and hard, but now that she was on this rollercoaster, she never wanted off.

  He finished brushing his teeth, and turned to look at her, an adorable grin on his face. “What is it?”

  Charlie shook her head. “Not a thing, I just love watching you.”

  Alex’s cheeks turned ten shades of pink, which was rather cute and becoming on him.

  He walked toward her, a predatory gleam in his eyes, and sat next to her in bed. Leaning over, he gently brushed aside her hair, moving to cradle her face within his large palms. His fingertips imprinted a trail of white-hot fire on her skin. A feather-light kiss landed on her forehead, as his hand swiped her eyes closed.

  Charlie’s stomach clenched, his gentle, soothing touch undoing her. Her heart picked up speed, as he kissed her eyelids, slowly and methodically. She nearly melted into the mattress, because nobody had ever kissed her th
ere before, and it was a heady, surreal experience.

  Charlie white-knuckled the sheets. “Alex, this feels so good.”

  She opened her eyes, his handsome face mere inches from her own, and paused. Taking her time to study his face, the face of the man she loved. Raising a hand, she caressed the side of his cheek, moving to thread her fingers in his hair. Then she met his direct stare, and was happy to be lying down. He looked at her as if to photograph, frame-by-frame, inch-by-inch, feature-by-feature, and commit her face to memory. Wordlessly, he kissed her mouth, a gentle good morning kiss, before he abruptly stopped. Again, he didn’t speak.

  Charlie recalled it had been the same way when he made love, silent and strong. “A man of few words, aren’t we?”

  “Only when I have a lot on my mind. No worries, honey.” Then he got up and she followed suit, jumping in the shower and getting ready to head back to the farm.

  Funny how comfortable she was in his home, and in such a short time. She didn’t hesitate to strip, and jump in the shower, walking around naked afterward. In fact, she’d been surprised that instead of trying to have his wicked way with her. He’d gone downstairs instead.

  Shoving her disappointment down, she resumed her morning routine.

  Silence filled the truck, as Alex drove her home later that morning. What in hell am I going to do now? He’d taken her back to his apartment last night, and had thoroughly made love to her not once, but twice. Twice. He’d already had sex with her more than he deserved, and felt like a damned thief. At the same time, like an addict, and with each sexy encounter, he still hadn’t had his fill, and only wanted more, becoming a greedy, gluttonous fool.

  He’d fallen in love with Charlie, and the guilt sat heavy in his stomach every day, because his true identity still remained hidden. The important “business deal” had been dragged to the bottom of the list, as Charlie dominated his thoughts pretty much from day one.

  He could end this now, and nobody would get hurt. Or he could continue and surely Charlie would get hurt when he eventually told her, maybe beyond repair. He was kidding himself. She’d be hurt either way he looked at it.

  Glancing briefly at the woman he’d fallen in love with, he smiled, because she had the widest, cutest grin on her face. She looked happy, relaxed against the seat of the truck. He liked seeing her this way, and she deserved better. Not someone like him, who’d break her heart in the end.

  They arrived at her grandparents and he put the car in park, turning to face her.

  He drew a ragged breath, and prayed a silent prayer, hardly believing he was going to do this.

  There was no other way, other than fast, and quick. “Charlie, I’m sorry. I can’t do this anymore.”

  As if in slow motion, she turned toward him, a frown marring her beautiful face. Pain flashed briefly in her eyes, swiftly followed by an ice-cold stare. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t have another answer for you. I just, can’t do this anymore.” The words fell out like poison. A poison he knew would kill her. His stomach twisted with the thought.

  Tears pooled in those beautiful hazel eyes, and he could hear her heart breaking. Shattering into a thousand tiny pieces in her chest, and for a split second he wished the words back. He watched as she pulled herself together, and could see how she fought the tears. The pain sliced him in half to see her distress. He shoved down his inner turmoil, and reminded himself this was best. Before he hurt Charlie worse than he already had if that was possible.

  “You son-of-a-bitch,” she said, between gritted teeth. “After these last few weeks, after all that’s happened. Now all of the sudden you decide it’s not going to work?”

  With a heavy heart, he watched the woman he loved turn away. No longer able to see her face, he could see the tears falling liberally, hitting her jeans, as she’d lost her own battle. Her body quivered, shook like a leaf, and it made him ache to scoop her into his arms. Kiss away her tears, and tell her he didn’t mean it.

  Then just as quickly, her resolve firmly locked back in place, and she sat up straight. Stepping out of the truck, she turned toward him, and he wished she hadn’t. Her lashes were fringed with tears, but her face expressionless like stone.

  “I should have known this was too good to be true,” she spat, venom laced with anger in her tone.

  “Charlie, I’m sorry. It’s not you, it’s me.”

  She rolled her eyes. “No, screw you. Don’t give me that tired bullshit excuse. What was this? All some cheap ploy to get me into bed, until you’d had your fill of me?”

  The words couldn’t be farther from the truth, but she wouldn’t listen to him no matter what he said. Not that he could blame her. He let out an exasperated breath before speaking, “No, it was never like that. Please believe me.”

  Anger spewed from her eyes. “I think it’s safe to say you’re fired.” Then she slammed the door so hard, the truck shook.

  He watched with regret as she walked away. Lord, how badly he wanted to go after her, but held back. He let his foot off the break, and pealed out of the driveway.

  Alex drove until he arrived at his dad’s building, not knowing where else to go. Even though he figured it would be an awful idea, because he was still so raw, emotions going every which way. He leaned back, resting his head on the seat. Jesus, breaking up with Charlie was the dumbest thing he’d ever done, but he had to keep telling himself it was necessary.

  Mostly, he was angry with himself for allowing things to go this far.

  Taking a deep breath, he slammed the door, making his way to his dad’s office.

  As usual, his dad was on the phone when he walked in. He quietly took a seat, and within moments he finished his conversation, and hung up. “Good morning, Alex.”

  “Morning.” He suddenly felt fidgety in this office, and he wasn’t sure why.

  “How are things going?”

  Alex looked up at his dad. “Don’t ask.”

  “That well I take it.” The snarky cut of his dad’s tone grated already fragile nerves.

  “I broke up with Charlie.”

  His dad’s eyebrows lifted to his thinning hairline. “I wasn’t aware you were that serious, son.”

  But his tone didn’t sound as sympathetic as he’d hoped. In fact, he sounded more annoyed than anything. “Dad, come on. I don’t need this right now.”

  He stood up and paced, couldn’t sit in his chair anymore. As a matter of fact, he couldn’t stand being in this office right now. Needing distance, he got up, and stood near the window, looking at the Riverview skyline, seeing but not taking anything in. Everyone was just waking up. The hustle and bustle below looked more like little ants, quick and determined to arrive at their destination.

  “What happened?”

  “Dad, you know what happened. I have feelings for Charlie, and felt guilty being there. Doing what I was doing. I’m sorry.” But part of him wasn’t sorry.

  Leaning against the window, a smile crept across his face, remembering Charlie. He’d fallen hard, fast, like a downward spiral of a rollercoaster he couldn’t escape, nor did he want to. He closed his eyes, could picture her, feel the soft corn silk texture of her hair, and smell its heady, intoxicating scent. Could feel her curves easily and quickly mold to his body, and it went beyond her physical beauty, but Charlie as a human being. Beautiful, kind, empathetic, a hardworking, rare find of a woman.

  Heck, a woman that wasn’t afraid to dig into the mud, and get dirt beneath her fingernails. She didn’t care if her hair was messy, or if she went out without makeup, and looked sexier than hell in dirty farm clothes, driving a rusted pick-up truck. Remembering her ethereal beauty, and smile, as she sat astride her horse, the soft breeze flowing over her hair, eyes shining with mirth.

  So unlike his fiancée, and other women he’d dat
ed. Those women were all superficial, caring more about appearances, status, and money. More importantly, about his money, and things it could buy. Not having been aware of his money to begin with, she was the first woman to care about Alex the man. Not Alex, the man with the money.

  She was a simple, loving woman. Charlie didn’t care about any of those things, and it was refreshing to see. Realizing it’s what made him fall head over heels for her. A brave woman, who’d lost so much, but carried a great capacity to love. She hadn’t vocalized her feelings, but he knew.

  Images of this morning imprinted on the inside of his eyelids, and he felt like the world’s biggest ass. His heart broke all over again. Recalling the tears in her eyes, staining the hills of her cheeks. The way her body shook with hurt, anger, and betrayal. But he didn’t know what else to do, or how else to make the wrongs he’d done right. What he’d really wanted to do was take her in his arms, comfort her, and take back what he’d said. Or hell, to tell the truth, even though it would’ve been difficult.

  His dad’s voice cut his train of thought. “Son, you need to make amends with Charlie.”

  Alex frowned. “Jesus, do you even care that I hurt Charlie? All you care about is this stupid fucking business deal.”

  He didn’t think of his dad being so heartless, and that all he cared about was business, not people. His stomach burned with shame, thinking about the man who’d raised him. Thinking he was nothing but a hollow shell of a man, with no emotions, no empathy.