Hearths of Fire (24 page)

“Bra first.” Neal leaned against the door, the lamp from her bedside table giving him all the light that he apparently needed to view her body. He even crossed his arms as she reached for the hooks behind her. When she let the material fall to the floor, she once again kept her gaze on his as she unashamedly kept her arms to her sides. It was hard to see the color of his eyes from this far away, but his words let her know what she needed to. “Damn, but you’ve gotten even more beautiful.”

Her nipples had already been hard, but his words and the emotions they solicited had the nubs tightening even more. The pleasure that streaked through her ample flesh felt as if he’d palmed her breasts in his hands and squeezed tenderly. The longer he stood there admiring her body, the more she could feel her mounds became heavier. How long was he going to stay over there?

“I think it’s only fair that you take off your sweater,” Charlotte said in a voice that she hardly recognized. Her tone was raspy with desire, but she didn’t care if he heard it. They were both in her room for this reason. “I’d like to see how you’ve changed over the years.”

Charlotte should have known from the strength in his arms as he carried her into the bedroom, but when Neal slowly pulled the fabric up over his abdomen, she found herself mesmerized by the contour of his muscles. Was there such a thing as an eight pack? As he lifted the sweater higher and then over his head, she wasn’t sure where to look anymore. He wasn’t the nineteen-year-old boy she remembered. He’d grown into a man and one that apparently took good care of himself. It was apparent that he often went without a shirt in the California sun, for the entire width of his broad chest was sun-kissed, along with the rest of him. What cemented the upper package was the dark tattoo on his right arm. It was sexy as hell and he was no longer the good boy from so long ago.

“You, ah…you’ve gotten even more handsome yourself.” Charlotte cringed at the way she’d worded that, but other things were distracting her mind. She wanted to run her hands over his arms and then down his chest. It was silly, but she also craved to inspect the ink on his skin to see how crisp the detail remained. “You can keep going.”

Neal’s rich laughter floated through the room, causing another round of goose bumps to cover her skin. Her nipples were so taut that she could feel them ache and she would have given anything to rub them on the chest that was walking toward her at the moment.

“Not a chance in hell, Char.” It took her a second to comprehend that he was referring to her statement and not her thought. He was still coming closer. “Finish undressing so that I can see what else has blossomed.”

Charlotte felt a flush on her cheeks at his assumption that her pussy might have become inflamed. Had it? She’d never really given it any thought, but she did keep herself bare down below now and it would be evident. She liked the cleanliness along with the extra sensitivity. Would he like that? Just the fact that he’d brought it up had her clit throbbing.

Neal was two steps away when he stopped walking. His green eyes dropped to her fingers, which were now on the waist button of her jeans. How could just a look make her breathless? She fumbled for a brief moment before getting the fastener undone and then she lowered the zipper a tooth at a time. The drawn out sound echoed throughout the room but he didn’t move an inch from where he was standing. She slipped her fingers inside the denim, ensuring that her panties would stay on, and pulled her jeans over her thighs and down to her ankles. When she stood back up, the left side of his mouth was lifted in a half smile. She’d forgotten that she was wearing her pink lace panties. It had obviously brought back memories of the time when she went through a pink phase in high school.

“Step out of those jeans, but keep on the panties. I’ve decided I want to be surprised by the way your body has reacted.” Neal held out a hand, which she took, and balanced her while she did as he instructed. She liked this take charge in the bedroom attitude and wondered just how far he would take it. Her body responded to everything he said and did, which was why she was grateful she would have her panties on a little longer. They were damp in a way she’d never experienced. “Lie on the bed. I want to rediscover your body.”

Charlotte slowly climbed onto the bed, not even bothering to pull down her mother’s patchwork quilt she’d used as a comforter. She lay back on her elbows watching as he took off his boots, socks, and weapon. He set his holstered gun on her side table and she quickly suppressed the reason why, needing this time to be only them. He kept his jeans on, much to her dismay, although he did unfasten the button and zipper to reveal an attractive V that hadn’t been defined when he’d been nineteen. She concentrated on his face as he placed a knee onto the mattress and her stomach fluttered at the intensity of his stare.

“You are so incredibly beautiful,” Neal whispered, his staggered words instantly shooting desire through her. Charlotte had been prepared for his mouth to latch onto one of her nipples, but instead he brushed aside her long hair and pressed his soft lips to her shoulder. Those simple movements only ratcheted up her need. “I need to taste all of you.”

“Yes,” Charlotte managed, letting her head drop back. Neal continued to press light kisses to her flesh, covering her shoulders and neck. When he prolonged her agony by doing the same to her right arm, she tried to use her hand to bring his head down to her breast. “Oh!”

Neal had nipped her pinky finger with his teeth, the warmth of his breath gliding over her fingers. He made sure she was aware of who controlled the target of his caress. Feeling his tongue twirl around on her exposed skin was one of the most erotic things she’d ever experienced. She needed more.

“Lay back,” Neal growled, letting her know that he wasn’t unaffected by what he’d just done. Charlotte eased her elbows out until her back was flat against the comforter, although she didn’t stay that way for long. She immediately arched into him when his mouth covered her right nipple. The heat of his mouth against her most sensitive tip sent shivers through her body. When he finally suckled on the hardened point, she cried out his name. “The same, yet so different.”

Neal had murmured the words against her flesh, but Charlotte wasn’t even remotely close to stringing two words together. She couldn’t help but moan when he continued to lathe, nip, and nibble at her nipple. Right when she wasn’t sure she could take any more, he switched breasts. She sank her fingers into what hair she could grab onto, which wasn’t much since he kept the back so short.

“Neal, I need you.”

“We’re just getting started.” Neal had released her nipple and started peppering kisses along her abdomen, stopping to lick a tiny circle around the outline of her belly button. The unusual sensation elevated her desire and she wanted more. “Spread your legs.”

Charlotte caught her breath at his request, knowing this was it. He was going to take off her panties and they were going to make love. Would it be the same as it was years ago? Would it be different? As Neal lifted his body slightly for her to do as he bade, he surprised her by tracing his tongue down the inside of her inner thigh. She could hear him inhale deeply and while she felt herself flush again, the sound did something to her insides. How could something so simple be so erotic?

“You do smell incredible,” Neal murmured against her skin as he continued to trace his lips and tongue down her leg. When he got to the arch of her foot, he astonished her when he lifted it up and took her little toe between his teeth. She was in such shock that it took a few moments for her to realize that her body responded in ways unimaginable. Cream dripped from between her folds and she was glad her panties were still on to catch it. “I like the pink polish.”

It took a while for Neal’s words to register, but Charlotte eventually figured out that he was talking about the color of her toenails. When he slipped the next toe into his mouth, the moan that escaped her was guttural. What the hell was he doing with his tongue?

“That feels…” Neal continued until the toes on her right foot had each had a turn in his mouth. Charlotte couldn’t hold back the whimper when he started on her left and by the time he licked down her arch, she was a complete puddle. He worked his way back up and when his fingers hooked into her pretty pink panties, she’d had enough of the slow pace. “For crying out loud, just rip them off!”

Charlotte rose to her elbows to see Neal grinning up at her with his perfect smile and a five o’clock shadow that had tickled her skin with each kiss. Her frustrated sigh and obvious frown did nothing to speed up the process of undressing the two of them. She tried to sit up, but he quickly laid himself over her and claimed her lips, using the momentum to push her back onto the pillows.

“You don’t get to rush this, Char.” The fierce intensity that came through those dominant words made her stomach flutter. It crossed her mind once more that this wasn’t the inexperienced lovesick boy she used to know. “I’m going to take my time getting to know your body—what you like, what you love, and what makes you scream my name. And then I’m going to do it all over again.”

Before Charlotte could catch her breath, Neal slid down her form, pulled her panties off and used his large hands to spread her trembling legs. In one slow motion he gently swiped his electrified middle finger through her wet folds and brought the reward of her glistening cream to his lips. He sucked it clean and she wanted nothing more than to have his mouth where his finger had been. Instead he stayed where he was and continued to trace her mound with his finger. She could have sworn he was transmitting tiny sparks with every glide against her labia.

“Bare. I like that, Char…a lot.” Neal continued to outline her now throbbing clit without actually touching the intensely sensitive tissue. “You’re open to me and my touch with nothing to prevent you from feeling every single thing that I’m going to do to you.”

Charlotte wondered when he’d become so verbal during lovemaking but she decided she’d be better off not knowing. His words were like warm molasses being poured over her and seeping into every recess they could find. She placed her arms above her head, grabbing the headboard for something to hold on to. Her hair had gotten in her face but she didn’t care. She arched into his touch, wanting more of what he promised.

“Keep your hands there,” Neal ordered in such a manner she never thought to refuse him. It wasn’t like she could release her vise grip on the antique turned wooden dowels. It seemed to be the only thing keeping her from flying off of the bed. His hands spread her inner thighs even farther apart as he settled in between her legs. “I want complete access to you.”

Charlotte had no doubt she would have rocketed off of the bed had he not had a firm grip on her. When his tongue gathered her cream and then leisurely pressed against her engorged clit, she cried out and tightened her hold on the pillars. Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, her body was subjected to pleasure beyond anything she’d yet experienced. Never once did he hurry and with every twirl, flick, and swipe of his tongue, he carried her further to what she knew would be a life-altering orgasm.

Neal slid a finger inside of her, and when he started to slowly thrust in and out of her pussy while crooking it just so Charlotte couldn’t hold her hips still. His five o’clock shadow was rubbing against her labia and causing a slight burn, which fueled her on even more. She felt herself climbing higher and higher, but when he pulled his finger out and moved it lower, everything came to a crashing halt.

“Neal?” Charlotte couldn’t keep the tentative call of his name from falling off of her lips. Her eyes popped open and she stared at the ceiling as he continued to do what she thought he was doing. His finger was so wet from her cream that although he had no trouble separating her sphincter, it felt as if his cock was entering that unexploited area. “I don’t think—”

“Don’t think.” Neal’s words vibrated against her clit, but there were nerves being stimulated that had never been awakened before. He gradually pushed his finger fully into her anus until she felt uncomfortably full and yet it seemed to be the trigger that her body had been waiting for. “Come for me.”

Neal suckled her clit as Charlotte’s release washed over her, causing her anus to clamp down on his finger. The longer he drew on her clit, the waves of her orgasm became drawn out as well. Her abdomen muscles were taut as strings on a violin as she tried to stem the pleasure because it felt so overwhelming, but no matter how much she tightened her body, Neal knew exactly what to do to prolong her pleasure to immeasurable lengths. By the time she could lower her back onto the mattress, she could barely get enough oxygen into her lungs to prevent the bright pinpoints of light that had been flashing behind her eyelids.

“Don’t move.”

Charlotte forced herself to turn her head and watch as he went into the bathroom. When Neal returned, he had a hand towel with him along with a condom wrapper. As he set them on the side table and then slid his denim over his lean hips, she couldn’t help but admire the view. She noticed that when his arm flexed, his tattoo shifted gracefully in the golden light. He had no idea how sexy the accessory was on his sun-kissed flesh.

“I get to explore too,” Charlotte said, her voice and strength returning slightly. She hadn’t felt so tranquil since…well, she couldn’t remember. When Neal finally stepped out of his jeans and stood, she swallowed hard at the sight of his thick erect cock. Relaxation started to ease away and was being replaced by longing once more. If all it took for her body to respond so quickly after such a mind-blowing release was the sight of his body, she wasn’t so sure one night was going to be enough. “I want to touch you. I need to touch you, Neal.”

“Then come here, Char. Show me how much you missed me.”

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