Chapter Sixteen
Aiden led the way up to the hotel room, ignoring Charlie’s questioning look. It was a terrible idea to stop before they got back to Boston. There were a thousand different tasks in need of doing.
But she was right—they’d almost died back there. He’d seen it in Alethea’s eyes. He’d hoped that Charlie had missed it, but he’d underestimated her yet again.
Fooling around in the backseat had just whetted his appetite. He needed her, naked and in a bed, her skin against his the only feeling that would calm the racing of his heart. The only stop he’d made on the way was to run into a convenience store and grab a box of condoms, because he wouldnotdeprive them again.
“Aiden, don’t you think this is a bad idea?”
“Yes.” He used the key to open the hotel door and then held it for her.
She sighed and walked into the room, amusementcreeping into her blue eyes as she watched him throw the dead bolt and then search the room. Charlie propped her hands on her hips. “Are you expecting a murderer to be lying in wait?”
“We’re not in Boston. Even if we were, I’d still check.” Because she was there with him, and he’d done a shitty job of keeping her safe up to this point. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t promised her safety—that he’d initially planned to use her as ruthlessly as any tool.
Things had changed.
Satisfied that they were safe enough for the time being, he unbuttoned his shirt. “Strip.”
“Aiden…” She pressed her lips together and paused. “You need this.”
“I need you.” It was the truth. It wasn’t the sex that he craved to settle him. It was Charlie.
She shimmied out of her dress. He might live to be one hundred, but he’d never see a sight more breathtaking than Charlie standing before him in nothing but heels. Her makeup was a little smudged from their time in the car, but it only added to the appeal. She wasn’t some Photoshopped model. She was real.
Aiden finished undressing as she watched, never taking his gaze from her. “I misjudged Alethea.”
“I know.” She stepped forward and placed her hand on the center of his chest. Using just that touch, she guided him back to sit on the edge of the bed. “You thought you could manipulate her.”
Hehadmanipulated her, but it had been a close call. “Do you know what they do to—”
“Aiden, stop.” She knelt between his knees and ran her hands up his thighs. “Beating yourself up isn’t going to doa single damn thing but ruin this blow job. You made a mistake. We got out alive. We’re here. We’re alive. We’re safe.”
That was the problem. He’d made a mistake. He’d gone in overconfident and—
His thoughts slammed to a halt as Charlie leaned over and took his cock into her mouth. She sucked him until he hit the back of her throat, then started the slow slide back up. As if she savored his taste.
She wrapped her hand around the base of his cock and licked around his head. Aiden cursed long and hard. “Come here.”
“Nope.” She used her free hand to cradle his balls. “There might not be some handy ropes lying around, but I’m collecting—with interest.”
He started to reach for her but ended up fisting the comforter of the bed and letting her work. This is what he’d wanted when he booked the hotel room instead of driving back to the O’Malley house. Charlie. Him. They had nowhere to be for the next few hours, and they wouldn’t be interrupted. There was no rush.
For her part, she seemed content to take her time—and drive him out of his goddamn mind in the process. As Aiden watched her suck him off, her bright red lips wrapped around his cock were almost enough to make him come from the sight alone. “Bright eyes, I need you.”
“You have me.” She rose and grabbed one of the condoms from where he’d tossed them on the bed. “Tonight. Right now. You have me. We got out, Aiden. We’re okay.” She rolled the condom onto him and then braced her hands on his shoulders. “How do you need me?”
The offer was just proof that she saw him better than most people. She recognized that he needed to reassert thecontrol Alethea had threatened. Aiden pulled her down onto his lap and kissed her. He’d intended it to be a silent thank-you, but the notion didn’t last past their first contact. Charlie opened for him immediately, her tongue seeking his.
He lost himself in the feel and taste of her. Each second that passed settled the rattled feeling in his chest, until his frustration and fear over how shit had gone so south melted away.
And then there was only Charlie.
He drew back enough to say, “I should be asking howyouneedme.”
“Are you?”
He grinned. “No. I want you on your hands and knees on the bed.”
