by Marie Force
“Because you’ve been through such an ordeal with your knee. And I saw you and Tyler dancing, and you two seem so well suited for each other. Oh, Charley, I don’t know,” she said with a laugh. “I’m so damned happy, and I just want everyone we love to be as happy as we are. If I’m overstepping, please feel free to say so. I’m sure I can find someone to take the other room.”
Charley thought about what Mary had said about regrets and what her mother had said about following her own heart. She took the keycard that Megan offered. “Thank you for thinking of us.”
“I hope you enjoy it as much as Hunter and I did the first time we came here.”
“I’m sure we will.” Charley hugged Megan. “Welcome to the family, Megan. I’m so thrilled for you and Hunter.”
“Thank you. I’m rather thrilled for us, too.”
Charley laughed at the stupidly happy smile on Megan’s face. She bore little resemblance to the grim, humorless woman she’d been before she fell in love with Hunter and found her bliss. “I’d better go find Tyler and tell him the good news.”
“You think he’ll like your surprise?”
“Oh, I know he will.”
“He’s really cute, Charley, and he always has you in his sights.”
She looked over to where he sat with Will, Cameron, Patrick and Mary to discover that what Megan said was true. He was engaged in conversation but keeping watch over her at the same time.
“Could I say something that may be way out of line, considering we don’t know each other all that well?” Megan said tentatively.
“Of course. We’re going to be family after tomorrow. I hope we’ll also be friends.”
Megan blinked rapidly and fanned her face. “Wow, I’m a hot emotional mess tonight, but I hope so, too.”
Smiling, Charley squeezed Megan’s arm. “What do you want to say?”
Megan sought out Hunter, across the room with his friends, laughing at something Jack was telling them. “I fought it tooth and nail.”
“You fought what?”
She brought her blue-eyed gaze back to Charley. “Him. Us. What I felt. All of it. I didn’t believe it was possible that something so good could actually be real.”
Riveted by what Megan was saying as well as the parallels to her own situation, Charley took a deep breath. “What were you afraid of?”
“Everything,” she said with a tremulous laugh. “Every damned thing. After I lost my parents, I decided it was easier to avoid feeling anything for anyone. That way nothing could ever hurt me again. I hid behind an impossible crush on Will that kept me from taking a risk with anyone else. With hindsight, I can see I was living half a life by hiding out.”
The statement struck perilously close to home for Charley.
“But Hunter . . . He wore me down. One day at a time, one hour at a time. He never wavered in how he felt or in what he wanted from me.” Megan looked at him again, and this time he caught her eye.
You’d have to be blind to miss their intense connection, Charley thought, feeling as if she were intruding on a personal moment between her brother and his fiancée.
“And then he got hurt so badly that day on the rock, and I realized how easily I could’ve lost him. That brought everything into focus. I don’t know if any of this helps you, but I wanted you to know that I’ve been where you are, and I know how hard it can be to take a chance.”
“You’re awfully observant to say you’re the new girl around here,” Charley said with a teasing smile.
“I hope I haven’t said too much.”
“Not at all. I appreciate everything you said, and you’re more on target than you could possibly imagine.”
“I’m still afraid,” Megan said softly. “I worry all the time about something happening to him . . . I feel like I could handle just about anything except for that. But I’ve decided I’d rather be a little afraid than live without him.”
Charley hugged her. “Nothing’s going to happen to him. He’s made of hearty Abbott stock, and it takes a lot to keep us down, even when we fall off a mountain.”
Megan laughed, and when they drew back from each other, Charley saw tears in the other woman’s eyes. “Thank you for that. It means a lot.”
“I hope you have the most wonderfully magical day of your life tomorrow. You certainly deserve nothing less.”
“It’ll be magic because I get to marry him. That’s the only part that matters to me.”
Hunter came across the room to them. “What’re you two up to over here? You’re not trying to talk her out of marrying me, are you, Charley?”
“As if that’s even possible. For some strange reason, she’s totally into you.”
Megan laughed at their sibling bickering.
Hunter squeezed Charley’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re feeling better and able to be here with us this weekend.”
She covered the hand he’d left on her shoulder. “I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.”
“I need to dance with my soon-to-be wife.” As they exchanged another of those heated looks, he helped Megan up from her chair and guided her to the dance floor.
CHAPTER 21
Charley watched as Hunter took Megan into his arms and closed his eyes. Then someone was tapping on her shoulder, and she looked up to find Tyler giving her the same sort of look Hunter had given Megan—needy, desperate, affectionate, loving. He conveyed so much with one heated stare.
“How you doing?” he asked.
“I’m good. You?”
“This is a great time. Your family is awesome.”
“I know.”
“And Hunter and Megan . . . They’re so happy.”
“They really are.” She crooked her finger at him, and he bent down so she could talk only to him. “I have a surprise for you.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
“From what I’m told, there’re rooms upstairs. Megan gave me a key to one of them.”
“Really? Well . . .” He cleared his throat as he sank down into the chair next to hers. “And you had to tell me that when we’re surrounded by your family?”
She glanced at his crotch, found him fully erect and began to laugh.
“It’s not funny.”
“Yes, it really is.”
“How soon can we check out this room upstairs?”
Charley took a good look around, taking inventory of family and friends. “I’ll go to the ladies’ room and then go upstairs. You come in a few minutes.”
“I’ll come all right.”
“Tyler,” she said, laughing. “Stop.”
“That’s not what you’ll be saying in a few minutes.” He leaned in to kiss her neck. “Can you handle the stairs on your own?”
Flustered by his words and the kiss to her neck, she said, “I think so.”
“Take your time and don’t hurt anything.”
“I will. I mean I won’t. I mean . . . I don’t know what I mean.”
Her befuddlement made him laugh. “Go on then.”
She looked down at the keycard. “Room Three.”
“Got it.”
Charley got up and hobbled toward the lobby, feeling like everyone was watching her and knew what she was up to, when in fact only Megan and Tyler knew, and maybe Hunter. She started up the stairs, taking them one at a time, aware that with every step she took, she was becoming more involved with Tyler, not less.
And that was okay. She was safe with him. He’d do anything for her and had proven as much over the last few weeks. He would never do to her what Michael had done. He simply wasn’t made of that kind of stuff.
With each step she took, she felt lighter, less burdened by the pain of the past and more determined to face the future with an open heart. There was no place for her usual brand of skepticism in her relationship with Tyler. And yes, she was thinking of it now as a relationship rather than a situation to be managed before she extricated herself.
They were down to eleven days before their deal
was up, and suddenly that wasn’t nearly enough. Her heart should’ve been beating fast and furious after the arduous climb up the stairs, but it beat slowly. Her blood felt hot and thick inside her veins, and the low throb between her legs required her full attention. The surface of her skin prickled and her nipples tightened in anticipation.
All that from knowing he’d be following her up those stairs, that he’d enter the room they were to share and put his hands on her. He’d touch her and kiss her and make love to her until they both were weak in the aftermath. By the time she reached the second-floor landing, she was fully aroused. The keycard didn’t want to work in the door, making her dread the idea of going back down to get it fixed.
Then the green light came on and the door swung open, revealing a gorgeous room with a king-sized bed covered in white eyelet, wide-plank wood floors, a fireplace and candles scattered throughout the room. “Oh my God,” she whispered, venturing deeper into the room as the door clicked shut behind her. The bathroom was huge and contained an enormous claw-foot tub. She opened the doors to the armoire and found a basket full of sensual products—condoms, massage oil, lubricant, toys in cellophane wrappers.
Next to the basket was a note from the management.
Welcome to our Fantasy Suite. We hope you’ll enjoy your evening with us and feel free to make use of any of the available products. In exchange, send your friends to the Pig’s Belly Tavern for dinner, dancing and pleasure.
“Holy shit,” she whispered.
A soft knock on the door startled her. Charley felt like she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar or something equally ridiculous. She limped to the door to open it.
Tyler stepped into the room. “Um, wow. Not at all what I expected for a place called the Pig’s Belly.”
“I know! Wait until you see the rest.” She took him by the hand and led him into the bathroom.
“This is awesome. Look at that tub.”
“It’s bigger than the one at your house, and that’s pretty big.” She released his hand. “Check out the armoire.”
As she watched him walk to the armoire and examine the contents, her heart finally began to beat hard and fast.
He looked over his shoulder at her before returning his attention to the basket, rifling through the items and making her body heat in anticipation. Holding up one of the cellophane packages, he said, “I’m liking this place more by the minute.”
Taking the item with him, he went over to sit on the bed, patting the spot next to him.
She went to him, wanting him as much as he seemed to want her. Charley lowered herself to the mattress, her leg brushing against his. Just that slight contact reignited the wildfire that burned so brightly in her when he was near. Though she’d begun to anticipate her reaction to him, nothing could prepare her for the reality of it—every damned time.
“Did I tell you how absolutely gorgeous you look tonight?” he asked.
She’d worn a cranberry-colored wrap dress in a knit fabric that clung to all her curves, such as they were, and she’d made an effort with her hair and makeup for the first time since the accident. “Um, I think you did. Before we left the house.”
“You’re stunning, Charley. All the time, but tonight . . .” His lips on her neck fanned and flamed the fire. “Tonight you take my breath away.” He tugged at the bow at her hip. “Is this the secret to unwrapping you from this sexy dress?”
“Uh-huh.” She began to unbutton his shirt as he untied her dress.
His lips found hers, sparking a frenzy of need to get rid of the clothes that stood between them and what they both wanted. She marveled at his ability to multitask, undressing them both while kissing her with deep thrusts of his tongue. When she was down to only the small black knee brace she’d “graduated” to, he broke the kiss, eased her down onto the bed and leaned over her, gorgeous and sexy with that lean, muscular body on full display.
She flattened her hand on his chest. “I like to look at you.”
His eyes flared, and he sucked in a sharp deep breath as his cock lengthened before her eyes. “I fucking love to look at you.” Cupping her breasts, he dragged his thumbs over her nipples, which were hard and tight and sensitive to his touch. “And I love to taste you.” He took her nipple into his mouth and laved at it with his tongue. “Put your hands over your head,” he said gruffly. “Keep them there. I want to feast on you.”
Charley trembled from head to toe as she followed his direction, eager to see what “feasting on her” entailed. Like he had the other night, he focused his attention exclusively on her breasts until she was to the point of begging him to do something to relieve the pressure that threatened to boil over at any minute. But like before, he refused to be rushed, even when she raised her hips, straining her good leg, to rub her sex against his cock.
“Stop trying to take over my seduction.”
“Your seduction has been successful. I’m thoroughly seduced. Now do something about it, will you?”
“Don’t rush me. I’m enjoying myself right here.” He squeezed her nipples between his fingers to make his point—literally.
“I’m going to start swearing at you in about two seconds.”
“Oh, please do. Swear at me, Charley.”
“You fucking bastard. I want your cock right now, and you’d better fucking give it to me.” She made herself laugh with the foolishness of the statement, but he didn’t laugh.
“God, that’s hot.” He sucked hard on her nipple. “Don’t stop. Keep talking.”
“Tyler . . . fucking hell.”
“Call me names. Tell me how much you hate me.”
She laughed again as she moaned from what he continued to do to her poor, abused nipples, which were enjoying every bit of sensual torture he doled out. “I don’t hate you yet, you rotten fiend. But I will soon.”
Rocking against her, his hard cock pressing against her clit, he said, “Tell me how you really feel, and I’ll give you what you want.”
Oh God, was he asking her for what she thought he was? She writhed on the bed, trying to get closer, but he backed off right when things were getting interesting. “Goddamn you.”
His low rumble of laughter infuriated her. “You had something you were going to tell me . . .”
“What do you want me to say?”
“I want you to admit you’re hot for me, that you’re falling for me the way I’m falling for you. I want you to tell me this time limit you’ve set for us is ridiculous because we’re not going to be nearly done with each other when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s. Tell me, Charley. Tell me what I want to hear.”
Again, his cock bumped against her clit, testing her resolve to keep her hands over her head. “That,” she whispered urgently. “What you said. All of it.”
“You are such a cheater,” he said, laughing softly even as he gazed at her with unabashed affection.
“It’s a big deal for me to give you that much.”
“I know, honey.” He pressed a kiss to her sternum and then rested his forehead on her chest, seeming to gather himself.
Charley couldn’t resist the need to offer comfort, so she lifted one of her hands and brought it down on the back of his head, sliding her fingers through his hair. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just a big deal to hear you admit that stuff. I wondered if you ever would.”
“I’m sorry if I’ve put you through hell. It’s not—”
“Me,” he said with a sweet grin. “It’s you, or so you say. But there’s absolutely nothing wrong with you that can’t be fixed with time and patience and perseverance.”
“You make me sound like a mountain to be climbed.”
With his chin still on her chest, he looked up at her, amused. “It’s a fitting metaphor when you think about how we came to be.”
She smiled because how could she not when he was so damned cute? “If I recall correctly, promises were made if I copped to certain confessions. I’m not saying you�
��re reneging on our deal or anything, but . . .”
As expected, he pounced, making her laugh when he went from somewhat relaxed to anything but in the scope of two seconds. But when she expected him to pick up right where they left off, he didn’t. He started all over again with potent kisses that drugged her senses and made her lips burn from the intense workout they were getting. Then his lips were on her neck and his hands cupped her ass as he opened her to his cock.
They’d had sex that morning, but she still felt like she’d been waiting forever for him by the time he slid into her. Maybe she had been. Maybe he was what she’d been waiting for without even knowing she’d been waiting. “I wish . . .” She stopped herself when she realized she’d said the words out loud when she hadn’t intended to.
“What do you wish for, Charley?”
“I wish I could be on top.”
“Hold on tight to me, and don’t let go.”
There was so much she could read into that, but for now, she put her arms around him and held on as tight as she could. He turned them so she was on top of him.
“Don’t move yet,” he said.
Her body burned from the effort to remain still as he throbbed and expanded inside her. “I take it you like this, too.”
“I love it all, baby. Every single thing we do.” With his hands on her waist, he lifted her, sliding out of her in the process and making her groan from the loss. “Easy. I’ll be right back. Bend your good leg. That’s it. Now keep this one straight and come down slowly so you don’t hurt anything.”
“Including you?” she asked dryly.
“Including me.” He bit his lip as she came down on him, taking him in slowly but surely.
“God, Charley, that’s so hot. Look at you. I’ve never seen anything sexier than you on top of me.”
With her hands flat against his chest, she moved as best she could with one leg sticking straight out. “All that time in the gym doing squats is coming in handy now.”
He grasped her ass and squeezed. “Yes, it certainly is.” Releasing his tight hold on her right cheek, he reached for the package he’d left on the bed. The crumple of cellophane was the only warning she got before a low hum filled the air.