Page 5 of No Fear

“I’m not gone all the time.... we can work it out as we do now.”

“I’m about to take over my father’s company. Do you have any idea how many women want to be in your shoes? How many would beg to be here?”

He gripped her arms again and leaned in, his breaths hot on her nose.

“Simon, let me go.” She attempted to move away, but he held firm, his face tense. His eyes were glassy, the craziness about them unnerving her. What the hell was going on with him? This was not the Simon who had pursued her. The Simon she fell in love with.

“Simon. Let. Me. Go,” she repeated more firmly.

Releasing her, he pulled her against him. “I’m sorry, darling. I have so many things going on, and I worry about you when you travel. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just love you so much.”

Charlie relaxed a little. It was always the same recently. He would get mad, then he’d apologize, and she would forgive him. She knew that his job was stressful. It was tough running a multi-million dollar real estate company.

“Do you forgive me?” He stared down at her, his smile more genuine and eyes soft.

“Yes, of course. But we need to talk about me working.”

Instead of speaking, he kissed her, his hands going to the belt of her robe.

“Simon, I have to get ready,” She was not really in the mood.

“Come on, baby. We’re getting married. We need to practice at making a baby,” he murmured, then kissed her again, pushing the robe off her shoulders. She let him steer her to the bed, where he quickly kicked off his pants and boxers, leaving on his shirt. He turned her, urging her to bend forward, and he stood behind her. Grabbing her hips, he pushed slowly into her without any foreplay. She gasped, her dryness making the intrusion painful.

Closing her eyes, she tried to get into it. It wasn't happening. His hand moved to her clit, rubbing vigorously, but it did little to turn her on.

“Oh, baby, you are so tight.”

Simon hadn’t been her first. No, that had been some jerk in school who pretended to like her, only to win a bet he could fuck the chubby girl. Yep, that had been a great start to her sex life. In the beginning with Simon, he had been attentive, loving, and patient. With her inexperience, she had been eager to learn and please. When she talked to Maddie about sex, her best friend was quick to go into explicit detail about multiple orgasms, magic tongues, and mind-blowing climaxes.

Maddie loved sex and even now, married to Dave and with two kids she couldn't be happier. Maddie was forever telling Charlie stories of her and Dave getting creative around the kids. Charlie was too embarrassed to talk about what it was like with Simon but often wondered if maybe there was something wrong with her, that she didn’t crave or want sex the way Maddie did. It didn’t seem that fantastic to her. She'd rather read a book. When was the last time she had an orgasm? Usually, she faked it, as she was about to do now, and Simon didn't notice or didn't care.

“Oh, baby, I’m close. Are you coming for me?”

Simon continued to thrust, and she pushed back to encourage him. The sooner he came, the sooner she could get on with her day.

“Yes, Simon. I’m going to come. Don't stop.” Rocking back and forth, she whimpered and moaned. “Oh, yeah, darling, that’s it.” Gripping the sheets, she tensed her body and bit her lip. Fuck, she was so used to faking it, she barely had to think about it.

“That’s my girl. We’re going to make a beautiful baby.”

She kept her eyes closed as he thrust harder. A few seconds later, he grunted and stilled as he poured into her.

She waited until he pulled out and stood up. “Fuck. Guess I’ll have to change my shirt.” When he turned and headed for the walk-in closet, Charlie got up and picked up her robe, putting it back on. A couple of minutes later, Simon returned fully dressed.

“I’ve got to go but I’ll see you at lunch, right?”

“Yes. I’ll be there.” He walked toward her.

“Wear a dress.” With a quick kiss, he was gone.

Charlie sank down on the bed, reminding herself she was lucky to have Simon. Everyone said so.

Chapter Two

Donnie stood in front of his rental car and grinned. Taking out his phone, he snapped a picture of the black Mustang convertible and sent it to Ryan, knowing his teammate would appreciate the beauty of the car.

He dropped his duffel on the back seat and started the engine, unable to resist revving it to bring the powerful beast to life. Yeah, it was a sweet car. Not practical like his Bronco, but he would have some fun in it while he was here. Adjusting his shades, he drove out of the parking lot for the short twenty-minute drive to home. He had a love-hate relationship with home now. He loved his family and had some great memories of his childhood, but they often got overshadowed by memories of Nate.

Refusing to go down that road, he pulled off the highway into town. Parking on the street, he walked into the florist and froze.