Hearths of Fire (25 page)

N
eal hadn’t meant
to say those words in that manner, but kissing and stroking Charlotte seemed as natural as breathing. Her body had grown into that of a woman and she tasted like the sunshine that shone down on him every morning waking up in San Diego—warm, serene, and soothing. He had to tell himself several times to not get caught up in the moment and make it more than what it was. As Charlotte rose off of the bed, her large breasts swayed gracefully with her movements and he made a fist to keep from reaching out to her. She said she wanted to touch him and that’s what he would allow. They both needed this to squelch any remaining desire they may have for one another. He’d had his time to savor her…she was due hers.

“When did you get this?” Charlotte whispered, coming to stand in front of him and lightly tracing his tattoo with her index finger. Her touch felt like fire as she continued to outline the image of the tribal ink image. “I never pictured you as a bad boy, Neal.”

“We’ve both changed, Char,” Neal said, keeping his voice low and not wanting to disturb what they had going on in that moment. He didn’t want the past interfering right now, although he did want to share with her why the tattoo was such a part of him. “The unit I was in lost a good man on our last deployment. He was Native American and we wanted to honor him in our way. I guess you could say it was our way of celebrating his life and carrying on his legacy.”

“The woman who came to see you in June,” Char said, looking up at him with her blue eyes and he had to wonder if he caught a glimpse jealousy at her mention of Starr. “She is Native American too. Was she related to him?”

“No,” Neal answered with a shake of his head. This conversation was carrying on a little too long for his liking and his cock was starting to agree. “Catori Starr is my boss and I really don’t want to discuss her right now. I liked your earlier thought of touching me.”

Charlotte smiled slowly, finally moving on from his tattoo and trailing her fingers across his chest. Neal felt as if she were melting his skin with her touch and when she leaned forward and placed her warm lips on his nipple, he let his head dip to watch. Damn but it was good to finally
feel
her. She surprised him by walking around him and stroking his back as if she were taking inventory…a sensual inventory. When her fingers dropped to the crevice of his ass, he whipped around captured her in his arms.

“You’re playing with fire,” Neal said harshly against her parted lips. “You have two minutes to explore to your heart’s content and then I’m taking over.”

“You like being in charge?” Charlotte whispered, her breath mingling with his. She locked eyes with him and it was clear that she was challenging him and he felt his dominance rearing back. “What if I want my way with you? What if I want to tie you to my bed and have my wicked way with your body?”

Neal barely contained the smile that was forming on the edges of his lips at her fiery nature. It would be when hell froze over that he would be tied to her bed. Now her, on the other hand…he’d love to see her sprawled spread eagle across the mattress where he could have his way with her.

“Make no mistake on what our roles are for tonight.” Neal made sure to reiterate out loud that this was only a one-time thing while in the back of his mind knowing that each night until he left he would find himself in this room. He pulled back slightly, giving her one more chance to continue with her exploration. “You’re running out of time.”

“I better do something about that,” Charlotte said, running her hands down his chest as she lowered her body in front of his. Neal tilted his head, taking in the sight of her on her knees. She looked like a fucking angel with her blonde hair cascading around her shoulders and her blue eyes looking up at him with mischief bouncing around in them like a butterfly unsure where to perch. He wasn’t even remotely in a lighthearted mood, especially considering that her mouth was inches from his eager cock. He sucked in air when her delicate fingers gently wrapped around his width. “Its shaft always did fit perfectly in my grip.”

Those were the last words Neal heard before he witnessed Charlotte’s pretty pink lips part to allow her tongue to dart out and lap up the pearl of pre-cum that had approached the event horizon. There was a current between the two of them that had nothing to do with electricity. Her other hand came up between his legs to cup his balls and he had to lock his knees when she lightly massaged them. Needing something, anything to hold on to, he slid his fingers into her hair.

“Take me in your mouth.” Neal couldn’t prevent the demand from being spoken. Lines of energy were shooting up his thighs and straight into his balls every time she moved the skin around his sac. His request had been to alleviate the building pressure, but all that happened when she finally took his cock into her mouth was make it worse. “You feel so fucking good.”

Neal couldn’t take his eyes off of her as she continued to take him in and out of her mouth. Charlotte captivated him in a way that almost appeared to be some sort of spell that hadn’t evaporated after all of this time. In the back of his mind he knew continuing on with this night was a mistake. This wasn’t exorcising their demons…this was only adding to the craving that had built up over the years. When her tongue swirled around the tip of his cock, he pushed all reason out the window and would deal with the consequences when he crossed that bridge.

Charlotte moved her left hand down until only her finger and thumb circled the base of his shaft. Now that she had a firm hold on him, he wasn’t surprised when she slid him into her mouth. His tip was at the back of her throat, triggering another release of pre-cum. He swore he could feel the path it took from his balls through his dick. She swallowed, garnering a guttural groan from his chest.

Neal had to close his eyes as a wave of lightheadedness overcame him. It felt as if she was assaulting his very being with her innate sensuality. The warm and smooth sensations from her mouth combined with the gentle yet firm hold of her hands would have him falling over the precipice in no time. He wasn’t going to allow himself to come like this. No, he would be balls deep inside of her and they would damn well achieve their release together.

“Stop now.”

It didn’t surprise Neal in the least when she continued to take him into her mouth and even drew him farther in than before. His tip could feel the constriction of her throat and damn if she didn’t start rolling his other ball in between her fingertips. Bright lights were starting to appear before him and he gave himself three more seconds of bliss before firmly pulling his cock from her mouth and taking a much-needed breath.

“I wasn’t done,” Charlotte said huskily, her arousal evident. There was something about a woman who enjoyed the act of pleasing her man that elevated their own desirability. She once again lightly kneaded his balls as if she knew she had him in the palm of her hands. “I want more, Neal.”

Using his hold on her hair and offering her one hand, he tenderly helped her into a standing position before him. Charlotte’s lips had gone from a light pink to a rouge and he had to claim them once more. Tightening his grip on the long blonde strands, he tilted her head just right. Her breasts were pressed against his chest and his cock was nestled against her stomach. It felt as if there wasn’t an inch of them that wasn’t connected in some way.

“Climb back on the bed and—”

Noise came from the front of the house and within seconds Mandy’s voice carried through the air. Charlotte placed a hand on his chest and brought one finger up to the mouth he’d just devoured. She shook her head vigorously and although he too didn’t want to interrupt what they were doing, it would seem they didn’t have a choice.

“Charlotte? Neal?” Mandy’s tone contained excitement as the sound of her voice indicated she’d made it to the kitchen. “Are you guys home?”

“We can’t ignore her, Char,” Neal said, albeit reluctantly. Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut and scrunched her nose as if she was holding back a scream. With the way his dick was painfully throbbing, he understood exactly how she felt. It didn’t mean they couldn’t continue on after seeing what Mandy needed. “She might have news about Becky.”

Charlotte nodded and jerkily proceeded to gather up her clothes. They both dressed quickly and silently, as there wasn’t much to say at the moment. They’d be able to talk about this later. It wasn’t until he took a moment to grab her hand that he realized she was trembling. Pulling her into his arms, he rested his cheek against her head and inhaled her sweet fragrance.

“I promise you that we will finish what we started.”

“Do you?” Charlotte shifted in his arms until she was looking up at him with those beautiful baby blues that contained so much uncertainty within them. “You leave tomorrow and—”

“I’m staying until Tuesday.” Neal brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers, liking that the flush from earlier was still there. He wouldn’t leave Hearth without giving both of them what they wanted. “As long as you know that this ceases come Tuesday. We get each other out of our systems and then go on with our lives.”

“Is that what this is?” Charlotte searched his face as if he held the answers. He didn’t and his chest tightened at the pain in her eyes. “Some therapeutic measure to forget the past?”

“Does it matter?” Neal threw out the question, not with the intention of hurting her but more in the manner of ensuring she understood where they both stood. “We want each other. You said it yourself.”

Charlotte didn’t get to reply when her cell rang from where it was sitting on her nightstand. He let her go to pick it up, although it was obvious that she didn’t want this conversation to end. The long drawn-out sigh and a glance toward the door told him that it was Mandy calling. If she wanted to talk to them that bad, chances were it was in regards to Becky.

“Let’s find out what’s going on.” Neal led the way through the bedroom door and down the hallway to the kitchen where Mandy had just pulled the phone away from her ear. Much to his surprise Garreth was in attendance and leaning up against the living room archway. “Mandy? Has Becky been found?”

“No,” Mandy replied with a shake of her head, her mouth turning down in a frown. Her gaze went past his shoulder to where Charlotte had walked in behind him. She looked well kissed and it was apparent what the two of them had been doing. It surprised him when Mandy didn’t address it but instead she smiled and held up her left hand. “Garreth and I are getting married.”

‡

C
harlotte couldn’t remember
what was said or who spoke first, but she found herself being embraced by Mandy. As she held her sister close and looked up at Neal, she couldn’t prevent the tears that welled up and threatened to spill. Mandy was no longer the little girl that needed her sister to become a mother. She was no longer wearing pigtails, playing with her dolls, or telling her how disgusting boys were. She was a woman who in less than a week would be able to make her own decisions, dead set on proving that she’d certainly outgrown her stilted opinion of boys. Charlotte wanted nothing more than to turn back the clock to a time when what she said had an impact instead of being viewed as nothing more than a quick source of reference and material support.

“Charlotte, I know you’re going to think it’s too soon, but it’s not,” Mandy declared, pulling away far enough to hold onto Charlotte’s hands. Seeing the joyful light in her baby sister’s eyes was almost too much to take. What could be said to make her see the reality of the situation? “Life is too short. The candle ceremony for Becky made us realize that we shouldn’t wait until after I attend nursing school or Garreth takes over his church. We need to make the most of what is here and available to us now.”

Charlotte remained silent, looking down at their clasped hands. It was clear that nothing she or Neal said would get Mandy to change her mind. Hell, those weren’t even her sister’s words. She didn’t talk like that, but Garreth probably did. For the moment he had won and there wasn’t a single thing that anyone could do about it at the moment. Forcing a smile, Charlotte looked up and past Mandy to see Garreth studying her. She could see the surprise when she released Mandy’s hands and walked over to him with her arms extended.

“Garreth, there is nothing more important to me than my baby sister’s happiness,” Charlotte stated through gritted teeth, praying that the words didn’t seem forced but that they were loud enough for Mandy to hear. She could feel the stiff way he held himself and she prided herself on the fact that she caught him off guard with her response. It was time to put a wrench into whatever plan he and his cult had designed. “I wish you nothing but the very best you all deserve.”

Charlotte pulled away from Garreth, ignoring the urge to wipe her hands on her jeans to get rid of the disgusting feeling that clung to her. It was apparent that he was trying to gauge exactly where she was going with this, but it was time to play this game the way it was intended—by any means necessary. She hoped that crossing her arms didn’t give off her apprehension, but it was such an unconscious gesture that she’d done it before realizing what she’d been doing. Five minutes ago she’d been in Neal’s arms where she’d been shielded from reality. She really did need a time machine that could transport them back to a much happier time.