“Sound like it might be my new favorite place,” he said, caressing her thigh gently with the back of his knuckle.
“It’s completely sterile there by the way,” she said, cracking a joke that made his entire face heat in embarrassment. She laughed.
“I’m thinking ‘bout you, do you think about me still? Do you? Do you?” She leaned forward, placing her lips on his, not missing one chord as she forced a kiss. Demi’s dick stiffened and his skin crawled. This woman, whom he had just met, confused him. Body, mind, and soul. She was violating him, ignoring rules, doing what she wanted. Whatever lived inside her mouth was now inside of his and it was an erotic exchange, unlike anything he had ever felt.
Charlie did this often, strumming the songs of her heart in the middle of the night, but tonight she had an audience, and a good one he was. She felt the tension be put to rest when he finally fell asleep and she stopped all sound, gently placing the guitar on the side of the bed. She placed a pillow between them because she wasn’t sure if cuddling under him all night would make him uncomfortable, and before she laid down, she looked at him for a long time, just staring. He was so rough around every edge, the kind of edge you cut yourself on if you didn’t walk around it just right. Like the corner of a bedframe. His handsome features had never looked so relaxed. The permanent dent that normally creased his brow was gone and Charlie felt full on him, full on the uncertainty of them and it both electrified her and terrified her. She listened to him breathe until hers slowed and her eyes closed. Peace was rare for them both, but together, somehow, they had found it. This night, lying under one another, they had discovered it and it felt glorious.
Chapter 4
It wasn’t the rise of the sun that pulled Demi from Charlie’s bed. It was the rise of his conscious. He lifted from the bed and Charlie stirred.
“No, babe, nooo,” she groaned, eyes closed, reaching for him, hands fucking everywhere. His skin burned, but his heart thundered as she pulled him back. His fists melted into the bed around her body as he hovered over her. She rubbed her eyes like a big-ass baby, fists going to work as she yawned and then she looked at him through the dark. Her eyes in the morning time were magnets of darkness that had gravity on her side. They pulled him, bringing him from reality back to Charliezonia. The loose hair that curled around her golden locs were feather soft as he took the darkest side of his finger to her face. How easily Charlie chased intimacy. He saw it all over her. Her comfort. Her willingness to indulge in a game of emotional hide and seek with him. He was hiding. She was it. He was desperate to find home base. “You were going to leave without saying bye?”
She took his breath from his lungs. Stole his words. He just stared at her. He cleared her locs from her face but paused.
“Touch me, Demi. I don’t like when you think about it but don’t do it,” she whispered.
She put so much conflict in this man’s chest. A man who didn’t think twice about pulling triggers thought twice about his every interaction with her.
He caressed the side of her face and her eyes closed.
“Lower, Demi,” she whispered. His fingers made her squirm as he traced her nose all the way to the tip, then manipulating her lips.
“You the shit, Bird,” he said, tone guttural, almost groaning as she felt his body responding.
“See,” she whispered. “I won’t hurt you.”
The seconds ticked away as he hovered there.
“My chest feels so tender with you,” she admitted. “It’s like you tore everything out and I’m waiting for you to put something back in.”
He broke every single rule when he stole her lips, trapping the pout of her mouth between his teeth and then bullying his tongue inside her mouth. So much passion existed in their interaction. It was hard to fathom that 24 hours prior they hadn’t even known one another’s name. If this was what a one-night stand felt like, he could only imagine a lifetime of her. Some man would have the pleasure to call her his forever, not Demi, but somebody would.
I’ll kill that nigga,Demi thought, going crazy, overthinking, because he didn’t even know this girl and already, he was possessive. She tasted so damn good.
He was on top of her, and when Charlie reached up to touch his face, she felt him stop breathing. He tried not to react, but the rigidness of his body was a guilty tell. Her body felt his send silent alerts to his every extremity, steeling him. She had never met a man so guarded. It only made her want him more.
“You’re kissing me, Demi,” she whispered, smiling slightly. “And touching me. Like I’m yours. Like I’m you. Half of you.”
“You are,” he answered.
Charlie sucked in air as he kissed her chin and then moved to her neck, onto her breasts. Her nipples tightened as he wet them, teased them. It felt so damn good and her sex flooded. She tensed when he kissed the scar between her breasts. She hadtattooed over it, but it was still visible, and her every insecurity sprouted with him focusing there.
“What happened here?” he whispered, coming up to look her in the eyes.
“I don’t like to talk about it,” she answered.
He frowned. “Whatever happened, it ain’t gon’ happen again. Everything I love is safe,” he said. Her heart stopped. How was he doing this? Making her feel this? Saying shit like this? After only one night. Demi was promising her something— protection. An act of service. A confession of love. Informal and premature, yet still true. He felt it. She did too.
“I’m going to change your whole world, mark my words,” she said, blushing.
“Don’t count on me, Bird,” he said. “Take what you can get from me while you can get it. Whatever it is. Money, opportunity, whatever I’m giving, you rack it up while it lasts, but keep your expectations low.”
“No expectations. Got it,” she replied.
He reached down and parted her, exploring her with his fingers.
“This pussy good, baby,” he said, replacing fingers with dick. The way he pushed into her made Charlie’s back arch off the mattress. Backs weren’t supposed to incline like that, but good dick did it every time.
