Charlotte & Nate (Royals of Valleria #4) (19 page)

Her breath was coming in short bursts, from just a few short words, but the tingling heat below was still absent. Could he help her? Why not run into the madness, into him? Why not pretend her life was different, if it could leave her with what was likely to be a heat-inducing memory? “Only if I can return the favor, and taste you back.”

He moaned and gave her a hard, lip-numbing kiss. In the next second, she was lying flat on the couch, his body dwarfing hers. “Wait,” she breathed out while his lips caressed her collarbone.

His head popped up, and she caught a glimpse of stormy eyes and restraint. “Change your mind so soon?”

She looked away, couldn’t bear to see him while she confessed one of her darkest secrets. “No, I just need to tell you something first.”

He turned her face to meet his. “Just say it, Charlie,” he said softly. “Don’t hide yourself from me.”

She swallowed. “I’ve always had trouble. In situations like this. Before.”

He shifted away from her and she felt familiar rejection and shame. Why couldn’t she just feel what a woman was supposed to feel when having sex? When she moved to sit, then stand, he kept her on the couch. “Don’t run away. I’m not.”

She turned her head and saw him sitting there patiently, no judgment in his eyes. “You’re not?”

“Tell me.”

Two words that filled her with terror. She stared straight ahead, her hands fisted in the edge of her dress. When she spoke, her words were stilted with unnatural pauses. “I have trouble becoming … excited. I’m broken, you see,” she ended on a whisper.

She sensed him shift on the couch and started when his arm came around her and pulled her against him. She had no choice but to look into his eyes.

“You’re not broken, Charlie. You’re just going to make me work harder for it, that’s all.”

She pushed away, shaking her head as she stood. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling cold. “It won’t matter what you do. Don’t you think other men have tried before?”

Too lost in her own words, she didn’t see the jealous flash in his eyes, or when he got up and stood behind her. His hands rubbed her arms, but the chill remained. “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, Charlotte dear, but I would only be too happy if you never mentioned other men in my presence ever again.”

She whirled around, her heart stuttering at being called ‘dear’ – she never thought she would be dear to anyone but Lola – to find a rueful smile on Nate’s face. “I’m only telling the truth. It won’t matter what you do. You can’t help me. If we try, you’ll be disappointed, then angry, then you’ll just leave. So, you may as well leave now.”

He stalked closer and Charlie stepped back. “But we haven’t even had dinner yet. Though I think we’ll start with dessert.” Further and further Nate pursued her until her back came against the wall. “What do you use?”

“What do you mean?”

His hands came to rest on either side of her head, his palms flat against the wall. “When you’re alone and you want to become aroused, what do you use? A vibrator?”

She’d never talked of such things before, never mentioned them to anyone. This time, her reaction was swift as her face burned darker than a raspberry.

“You can just nod if you’re too shy to say it.” His mouth curved in an indulgent smile. “My Charlotte, so shy. I never thought I’d see it.” He pressed his hips against hers, and she gasped at the hard ridge she felt. “Well? Do you use a vibrator?”

She nodded, unable to do much else.

“Where is it? Your bedroom?”

When she nodded again, his palms shifted down the wall towards her waist. Her hands remained twisted in the skirt of her dress.

“Then let’s go get it. I have a feeling I could make you feel very ‘excited’, as it were.”

“Nate,” she said, shaking her head. “I just don’t know.”

“I do.” His hands covered hers and used them to shift the hem of her dress up. The cotton suddenly felt abrasive against her skin. “Let’s go.”

He picked her up by her thighs and flung her over his shoulder like a sack of flour. “Nate,” she squealed. “Put me down.”

“In a minute.” He made his way through the small rooms to her adequately furnished bedroom. She’d gone for function over form and so the bed was covered with basic sheets and a plain comforter. Her pulse left thinking he must be used to superior thread count sheets, maybe even decadent silk. Would he find it lacking? Would he find
her
lacking? So many others had.

Despite his Neanderthal way of carrying her, he laid her gently on the bed. “What side of the bed do you sleep on?” he asked while his eyes raked the naked expanse of her toned thighs; one of the best things about working in a kitchen was the constant movement and walking around; she got a workout every day without having to go to a gym.

“I sleep on this side,” Charlie said, indicating the side on which he’d laid her down.

A wicked gleam came to his eyes as he eyed the nightstand beside her. She held her breath while he turned on a lamp, casting the room in a soft glow, and opened the drawer, giving the items within a critical glance. She wanted to look away, but couldn’t. Her gaze was transfixed as he pulled out her long, slim vibrator and tube of lubrication gel.

Mortified. It was the only word she could think to describe herself at that moment. She turned on the bed, away from him. He was a prince, damn it; he deserved better.

She felt the bed dip as he sat, felt the gentle touch of his hand on her bare shoulder guiding her to face him again. “Who hurt you, Charlie?”

Who hadn’t?
“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does. If you’re waiting for me to laugh at you or tease you, you’ll be waiting until the end of eternity. This is fairly common, you know.”

A common problem for a plain, common woman. She doubted the sophisticated socialites he had been with had the same issue. “That doesn’t make it any easier.”

He brushed some of her hair away, letting it fan out on her pillow. “No, I don’t suppose it does. Do you trust me? I’d never hurt you, you know.”

Her hands fisted involuntarily, and his eyes darted to the movement. “I’m not good with trust.”

“Well, I’m good at this.” He leaned forward until his forehead touched hers. His hair cascaded down around them, and it felt as though they were locked away in their own little world. “And I think I could be good for you. Will you let me try?”

But was she good for him in turn? She didn’t think so, but the urge to try something with him was growing. He had trusted her with his past and his feelings; she had the feeling he didn’t trust easily, either.

So, yes, she wanted to trust him. Yes, she wanted him to try. Yes, she wanted to feel normal for once, whatever that was. “Yes,” she said, and sealed her fate.

His lips started with a slow, searing kiss, while his hand shifted to her feet. He pushed off her shoes, his lips never missing a beat.

His hand continued up her leg, caressing softly until he reached the edge of her dress. She stiffened and he paused. His tongue continued its languorous exploration of her mouth until she relaxed again.

“Bend your knees, Charlotte.” His voice was husky, the way she’d always imagined an aroused male would sound. The other men she’d been with had been almost angry during their times together, giving up on her release to find their own before leaving her forever. This was different, felt different.

She didn’t feel that tingle of heat at her core that she’d heard other women talk about, not yet, anyway. But she did feel surprisingly safe, and almost cherished.

More addictive, and terrifying, feelings.

***

With her knees bent, Nate shifted on the bed between them. He kept his eyes locked on hers, which were hiding some unreadable expression. Was she afraid? Nervous? He wasn’t sure what to do to set her mind at ease, so he decided to just show her how much he cared.

He set down the vibrator and gel on the bed and placed a hand on each leg. Her skin was like pale silk as he slid down from her knees to the edge of her simple, black dress. As he pushed it down towards her waist, a pair of plain, black underwear came into view. He never knew just how the simple could arouse him, as it was now. He’d become used to the fancy and flimsy – much too used to it, he could see now.

He continued to shift his hands down and underneath her dress to her hips. When she tensed, he decided a little game might help her relax. “Why don’t I make a deal with you?”

“A deal?”

He nodded. “Every time you lose a piece of clothing, I lose one, too.”

“But you already took my shoes off.”

A grin split his face. “So I have. Best if we start on even ground then, isn’t it?” He pushed off his shoes and socks, but didn’t stop there. He drew his sweater off and tossed it away, leaving him bare-chested. While he shook his hair out, she bit her lip and glanced down his body.

“But now we’re not even.”

“You’re not wearing pants like I am, Charlotte dear,” he said as his hands resumed their position underneath her dress. “So, I’d say we’re even.” He lowered his head between her legs and took a deep breath. There was a scent that was uniquely hers, but he could tell she wasn’t wet yet. He pressed a kiss to her underwear, causing her hips to jump.

Picking up the vibrator, he took a quick look at the settings and decided to start low. He wanted to build her up and watch her fall over the peak, again and again. He would need patience for that, which he found he could easily muster for her.

He pressed another kiss in the same place, pleased when she didn’t seem startled by it. He figured it would take her body time to adjust to his; he couldn’t wait to start trying.

She gasped when the low hum of the vibrator echoed around the room. One day, he would watch her use this on herself, but today, he would do what he needed to focus on her. Tonight wasn’t about him or his aching needs. No, it was for her.

He pressed the pulsing wand against her thigh and heard her quick intake of breath. He ran it gently down one thigh, then moved it to the other, avoiding the area she wanted it most.

After another minute, after she had relaxed a little more, he pressed it gently against her hidden folds. He could tell she was waiting for it, expecting it. Though her hips jumped slightly, she made no other movements.

He moved it slowly, learning her body through the thin, practical cotton. He used his broad shoulders to move her legs further apart, opening her up to him even more.

Her hands were fisted in the bedcovers underneath them, her eyes closed. Was she thinking about him? Or was some other fantasy – some other man – leading her towards release? In a wave of furious jealousy he decided it had to be him from now on; there would be no fantasies unless he alone could fulfill them.

“Open your eyes, Charlotte.”

She shook her head. “I can’t.”

“You won’t.” He pressed the vibrator against her clitoris, still soft and pliable, and she moaned softly. “You’ll see me, Charlotte Wyler. Just as I see you.”

She blinked her eyes open, then turned her head to face him. Standing on his knees between her own, half-naked with a pulsing body of his own, and holding a pulsing wand against her. She groaned.

“Yes, Charlotte.” He pressed harder, circling, waiting, trying to find which elusive spot served her best, which one would set her flying. “Tell me. Show me what you like. Use your body if you can’t use words.”

It was a few moments, but eventually her hips started shifting. Up and down, up and down. She spread her legs even wider, bent her knees even more. He added his fingers alongside the vibrator to feel her folds growing damp but not yet drenched.

While the vibrator continued its work over her underwear, his fingers delved under it. They both moaned when his fingers felt her for the first time. Her eyes were still trained on him.

He dipped a finger inside. Tight, hot, and growing slowly, but steadily, wetter. He added another finger and circled, wondering if his long fingers would find that elusive spot.

They did.

He adjusted the vibrator over her clit while his fingers curved inward and found the spot just behind it. She let out a soft cry and he stilled.

“Are you all right?” he murmured.

She nodded. “Don’t stop. Please. I’m close,” she groaned at the elusive agony of her orgasm.

“Your wish is my command.”

He began to move his fingers in earnest while he turned the vibrator up to the next speed. Her legs moved even wider and her back arched. “Watch me. Watch me while I take you over.” His words were angry, furious. He wanted her release as much as she did, needed to watch it come over her.

Sweat on her exposed skin glistened in the dim light of the room, and her eyes were glossy. His own hips wanted to shift against her, claim her in the most elemental way possible. Long-learned restraint held him back. This was for her. This was only for her.

His fingers claimed her and, when he hit that elusive spot inside her once more, his fingers felt a rush of moisture as her body contracted around him. Her head was thrown back when a shuddering cry broke through her lips. “Fuck. Holy fuck. Nate.”

He shifted the vibrator to low again and continued to finger fuck her until she relaxed into a boneless heap on the bed. He removed his fingers, giving them a long delicious lick. God, she was just as sweet inside as she was outside, and he didn’t just mean her taste.