Not like this. He’d fully intended on seducing Charlie, but on his own terms. Control was vital for every aspect of his plan, including taking her to bed. He fought against the need to spread her legs and do exactly as he’d promised, right then and there.Not the time. You need her panting for it so she doesn’t start thinking too hard about why you picked her.
She braced her hands behind her, looking a little nervous. The fact that this woman had almost pulled a gun on him during their first encounter and was looking nervousnowmade him feel…He wasn’t sure how to put it into words. He wanted to reassure her, to pull them back onto safe ground. It was too damn bad there was no such thing as safe ground.
And it was all his doing.
“I’m going to touch you now.”Just touch. Not fuck.He needed the reminder as much as she did.
He leaned back and looked down her body. Her thighs were lean and muscled, showcasing God alone knew how many hours of hard work. And her pussy…His mouth watered at the sight. He tore his gaze away to look her in the face. “Unless you changed your mind.”
Charlie licked her lips, and he nearly groaned. “The argument still stands. Trial by fire and all that.”
He smiled a little at the comparison. “This will feel better than walking through fire.” He stroked her, gauging her reaction. He was already hard, but at her tiny little whimper, he damn near split his pants. “Tell me how you like it.” He paused, fighting for distance. Doing his best not to be swept away by the fact that she looked vulnerable for the first time since he’d met her. “Show me.”
“Right now?”
“Is there a better time?” He took her hand and pressed it against her lower abdomen. “Show me how to drive you wild.”
She touched herself, hesitantly at first, but when he stroked her thighs, her eyes slitted and her movements smoothed out. Aiden waited until he knew what she wanted, and then he took over. He rubbed her clit with the same little movements she’d done, watching her face. “Like that.”
“Yes.” Charlie nodded, letting her head fall back and her eyes slide shut.
He wanted to demand that she open her eyes andlookat him, to acknowledge that she was teetering on the edgebecause of whathewas doing to her, but there was no room for being possessive. It wouldn’t do either of them any favors.
He kept control through sheer force of will, but Aiden cursed aloud when he pushed a finger into her and she clamped down around him. “Fuck. You’ve been neglecting yourself, haven’t you?” He stroked her, keeping up the motion against her clit as he explored her from the inside. “You don’t have to answer that. I can tell. You wouldn’t be so tightly strung if you were fucking someone regularly.”
“Guess what?” She lifted her head and pinned him with a look. “The only thing I need from you is to make me come so we can get past this ridiculous roadblock. If I want to be psychoanalyzed, I’ll hire a shrink.”
There you are.
She’d been almost hesitant since she got into the car with him. He’d started to wonder if she couldn’t hold her own, if this was a mistake. “Then come, Charlie.” He pushed a second finger into her, feeling around until he found her sensitive spot. He crooked his finger against it, sheer satisfaction rolling through him at her gasp. “Let go.”
Her back bowed, and her lips opened in a cry that he wanted to eat. Aiden heard the office door open, but he didn’t stop, finishing her off and cursing himself for having a goddamn plan that didn’t involve sinking into her. Not yet.
A throat cleared behind them, and he shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over her lap before turning to find Liam standing there. “Yes?”
“Teague and Callista are in the dining room with Moira.” He hesitated. “There was no mistaking the sounds coming out of this office as they walked past.”
That was the goal, but Aiden still glanced at Charlie tosee if it bothered her. In the fifteen seconds it had taken Liam to deliver his report, she’d managed to fix her dress and stand. The only indication of what they’d just been doing was a flush to her cheeks and chest that hadn’t been there before, and her nipples pressing against her dress.
And his rock-hard cockstand.
“Good.” She passed back his jacket and adjusted her hair. “Then I suppose it’s time for me to meet the family.”
Liam’s gaze jumped between them, but he just nodded. Aiden would hear what he thought of this mess later, he had no doubt—but his man wouldn’t question him while they had an audience. “I’ll let them know you’re on the way.”
“Do that.” Aiden waited for the door to shut to turn and face Charlie. “Most of my siblings won’t believe us.”
She arched her eyebrows. He kind of hated that she’d put herself together so quickly, even if that was a valuable skill to have. “That’s to be expected, I’d think.”
“Yeah, well, my sister Carrigan is the sole exception.” He’d gone back and forth about inviting Carrigan to this dinner. Her husband, James Halloran, was still more enemy than ally, and she never went to any of these types of things without him. His presence could very well agitate the issue, and that wasn’t even taking into account that Carrigan could go for Charlie’s throat.
He ran a hand over his mouth. “She’s overprotective, even if we rarely see eye to eye these days.”
“She’s going to label me a gold digger and a whore, then.”
“My sister doesn’t slut-shame.” He didn’t know why he was defending her. If Carrigan had married Dmitri Romanov like their father had arranged in the first place, he’d be their ally instead of their enemy…
Aiden shuddered a little at the thought of Carrigan at Dmitri’s side. The wild and fiery part of her that came to life in James’s presence would have died as a result of that marriage.
