Page 16 of And Forever (The Riders and Rings Duology #2)

WILDER

EVERS RIDGE, MONTANA — JULY

W hen I eventually get the skirt of her dress out of the way, I let my fingers roam over the meat of her thighs, then along the crease where her legs are bent.

Finally, I hold her there, my thumbs tracing along the scallop-shaped lace hem of her panties.

She’s so hot against me, it radiates from her.

I also don’t miss the wetness that’s dampened the gusset when I ghost my touch against her as I look into her vibrant emerald eyes.

“No more memories.” I echo her words, and she nods.

I revel in the touch of her hands against my chest, skin to skin.

Needing more, I press my lips against hers, pouring all the love and affection I have for her in it before groaning when Charlotte sucks at my tongue deeply.

It makes the kiss dirtier, and I try in vain to ignore my cock throbbing behind the seam of my jeans.

I’m painfully hard and all my control is slipping away as our tongues stroke against each other practically in time with Charlotte’s thrusts in my lap.

Thoughts cascade through my mind like an avalanche, mixing with the feelings I’ve used an iron will to keep back.

But Charlotte has burned through it; melted my cage with love, desire, hope, and her radiance.

The sheer might of her faith and trust she’s shown me reminds me that I’m unworthy of her.

But I’ll be damned if I let the opportunity to love her pass me by.

Even here, in this gazebo hidden by distance and darkness, I’ll risk the exposure if this is what she wants.

Charlotte’s hips circle and press down, drawing me back to her.

I break away, needing some deep breaths to focus on not coming in my pants the next time her hot center rubs against me. I hold her tight, keeping her still, knowing that I might be leaving fingerprint marks in the flesh of her legs. The thrill of that forces a rumble from my chest.

“Hold still for me, Charlie, please,” I beg.

Charlotte’s mouth curls up in a smirk at the whine in my voice.

I don’t care how desperate I sound. There’s no shame in letting her know how quickly she can undo me.

“I’m really trying not to embarrass myself right now.

” Reluctantly, I pull one hand free from under her dress, raising it to push back the wild strands of her dark hair.

I cradle her face, rubbing my thumb along her high, graceful cheekbone, then drift my fingers along the lean column of her throat.

I don’t resist chasing them with a kiss, my lips sucking light marks along the soft skin.

“As much as I want to, I’m not going to fuck you out here. ”

“Wild…” It’s her turn to protest. She gives a little wiggle, and I pull back from where I’ve buried my head against the top of her chest to laugh.

I get narrowed eyes in return, but I soften the blow by tracing the frilly hem of her summer dress over the rise of her tits.

They’re heaving with arousal and frustration, but Charlotte softens under my touch, especially when I dip my hand between the fabric and her skin.

She sucks in a sharp breath when I find her nipple, hard and pointed; the perfect shape to pluck as I let my other hand return to toying with the cotton of her panties.

Charlotte drops her forehead against mine. “Please.”

Even though the sound goes straight to my cock, I won’t change my mind. After this long without her, I plan to savor our first time together again. I want to feel her under me, over me, wrapped around me for hours. But that doesn’t mean I’ll leave her wanting.

“All right, baby.” I abandon my teasing inside her dress to slide my hand up to her shoulder and push the straps down.

The loose material drops along her arm, and I take the opportunity to maneuver the cup of her bra under her full breast, baring the globe to the night air.

Quickly, I dip my head to swirl my tongue around the tight peak, leaving it with a small nip. “I’ll take care of you.”

With her top half exposed, I set to work on what lies under her skirt.

As if she knows I’m preparing to lavish it with attention, Charlotte rocks against me again.

Her blunt fingernails dig into my chest, and a thrill shoots through me that she’ll have left her marks on me by the time we’re finished, too.

I bring both hands to the apex of her thighs, holding her and alternating my thumbs to stroke over her covered slit.

Charlotte hums with approval at each touch, and groans when I press my thumb against her clit.

I dive for the creamy skin of her throat again, nipping and soothing with my teeth and tongue as I stoke the flames of her arousal.

Every sound from her lips, every shift of her hips makes my own flare with an intensity that’s almost painful.

My cock is leaking so much precum, I can feel the wet spot inside my boxer briefs.

“What do you want, baby? My fingers or my tongue?” I ask as I finally hook her panties to the side and touch her soaking center.

Charlotte jolts at the contact, going rigid from the second of stimulation before she tries to sink down on my thumb.

She’s not going to avoid answering the question, even though I can’t wait to watch her fall apart for me.

I draw back, bringing one hand to the base of her neck to look her in the eye, while the other grips her panties and pulls them tight.

The bunched fabric slips between her sensitive folds teasingly.

“Which is it? Because if you can’t choose which one to ride, I’ll make you come on both. ”

Gasping, she rocks her hips slowly, fucking herself on the ruined fabric I’m using to tease her with. She glides her hands up to my shoulders, holding herself there for a moment before leaning forward as her thighs shake around me.

“That doesn’t sound like much of a punishment,” she whispers in my ear, the wicked edge to her words testing and tormenting me in return. Fuck, this woman is going to kill me. “But we can discuss it after I sit on your face.”

For her sass, I use my hold on her neck and smash her mouth to mine in a bruising kiss.

Breathlessly, I pull away and help her to her feet, pushing her back a few steps so I can slide from the bench to the floor of the gazebo.

The solid bench is supportive behind my back, and the seat hits perfectly for me to rest my head on.

Charlotte watches with interest, then hooks her thumbs under the skirt of her dress, peeling her ruined panties off and tossing them at me. I tuck them into my pocket.

“Come here, Charlie,” I beckon, hands reaching for her.

Carefully, she hitches her dress up on one side to tie it off before setting her knees on the bench, straddling my head.

I flick my eyes to Charlotte’s face as she looks down at me.

“Grab that handrail, baby. It’s been too long since I’ve tasted this pussy, and I’m not stopping ’till I get my fill.

” She hesitates before laying her hands against the wood, a ripple of something flashing through her.

I hook my arms around her thighs, holding her tight, and run my tongue over my lips with anticipation. “Now fucking sit down. ”

Pulling her onto my face, the suddenness prompts a surprised squeak from her before it dissolves in a long, gasping groan.

I run my tongue through her soaking folds, lapping at every bead of arousal left behind by my earlier teasing.

Taking my time, alternating between broad, flat licks and making my tongue a firm point to swirl around her clit.

With every pass, every moan, I’m close to tipping myself over the edge.

When she finally allows herself to relax, dropping further onto my face— nearly smothering me with her swollen, hot pussy—I know I can’t hold back.

“Yes,” I encourage as Charlotte begins grinding and thrusting, setting a rhythm that increases as one of her hands releases the rail to grasp her bouncing tit.

“That’s a good girl, take what you need.

” I keep up my efforts, devouring her completely when I bury my tongue into the slick heat of her channel, fucking her.

“Fuck, Wild!” Charlotte shouts. “I’m so close! Make me come!”

The motion of her hips, the flavor of her making its way down my throat, and the desperation in her words are shredding the last of my control. But I won’t let go until she does, so I turn my face enough to encourage her.

“Drown me with it, baby. Come all over my face!”

At the next thrust of my tongue, Charlotte shatters above me.

A strangled cry is wrenched from her, her legs shake, and she slumps forward onto the rail.

I’m less than a second behind. My balls draw tight, aching for the release I’ve denied them while lavishing my attention on her.

I groan into her pussy, the vibrations of my voice jolting Charlotte into an aftershock as I come inside my jeans.

It’s heaven and hell, but I ride the high, pressing gentle kisses onto the skin of her inner thigh as we both come down.

Charlotte wobbles off the bench, down my body, and into my lap.

Still hazy, I help tuck her back into the top of her dress, then guide her to lie against my chest. We both struggle to bring our breathing under control, the effort stealing any words from us.

But we’re together, and I tighten my hold on her, determined to hold her now and forever.

When we reach the foot of her porch steps, I don’t want to let her go.

I squeeze her hand before pulling her against me.

Her hair still smells like peaches under my nose when I press a kiss to the top of her head.

Something about her scent settles part of me, and I band my arms around her to keep her as close as possible.

Charlotte lets out a comfortable sigh, her own arms winding around my middle.

We stand like that for minutes or hours, I don’t care to determine which.

Just the two of us, together again, the way it was always supposed to be.

“Do you want to come in?” She cranes her head back to look up at me.

There’s vulnerability in the corner of her eyes, so I press a kiss to her forehead to soothe it.

She could ask me to lasso the moon from the sky right now and I’d find a rope.

Pulling away, I nod, and her answering smile is bright like the stars.

“Is it going to be okay for Winona if I’m here in the morning?

” I can’t help but check. We might have taken a huge step in bringing back together two halves of a whole life tonight, but it can’t ever mend without Winona as the glue.

She binds us, and I won’t risk that for my happiness alone.

“I want it, Charlie. I want the whole thing: all of us, all of this .” I gesture to the cottage where Winona sleeps.

“But I won’t do it if it hurts her. If it confuses her. I love her too much.”

“I know that,” Charlotte sighs, pulling back enough to look at me straight on. “I wouldn’t offer—wouldn’t have let things get this far—if I thought there was even a possibility of you not being everything she doesn’t know she needs. I know our daughter, and she loves you, too.”

She takes the first step, reaching for my hand. With Charlotte’s confidence bolstering me, I weave my fingers through hers as we enter the house. I’ve been here nearly every day, but nerves ripple through me. This time, it’s different.

It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the soft light from the living room, but when they do, I notice Ada asleep on the couch. Winona’s monitor sits on the coffee table in front of her, the soft whirring sounds of the white noise machine constant through the speaker.

“Some babysitter,” I whisper. Charlotte glares, but I just smile and hold my hands up in surrender. She walks to the coffee table to collect the monitor, then comes back to me.

“She’s free, asshole,” Charlotte chides, but I just shrug.

“I guess it’s true, then: you get what you pay for.”

The sting from Charlotte’s unexpected slap at my shoulder spreads into a warmth at the normalcy of the situation, even as I restrain her against me. Tucked into my side, she grumbles but it’s more a poorly masked laugh. I don’t stop myself from swallowing the sound with a kiss.

“Get a fucking room, you two.” Ada drawls from where she now sits on the couch, rubbing her eyes and pinning us with a half-awake glare. “If I’d known you’d be this insufferable by the time you finally got your shit together, I wouldn’t have been pushing so hard for you.”

Charlotte puts a hand on her hip, the monitor in her grasp, but my shoulders shake with laughter.

I have to choke on the sound, as I’m hyper-aware that Winona is sleeping.

Ada doesn’t seem to have the same compunction as her face breaks and a throaty giggle bursts from her.

She rises from the couch, giving a little stretch before heading past us to the front door.

The tall brunette stops long enough at our side to set a hand on Charlotte’s arm, giving her best friend a warm, secretive smile.

“Happy for you,” she whispers before setting her face with a serious expression and looking at me. “You hurt her again, and I’ll break my Hippocratic oath without an ounce of guilt. Hear me?”

“Loud and clear.” I swallow a little uneasily as the way Ada blinks back the severity of her statement, replacing it with another smile before walking out the door. “I think she likes me.”

Charlotte lets out a laugh that dies on a snort when she remembers it’s nearly the middle of the night. I kiss her, just because I can, and we stand together in comfortable silence. Then, Charlotte takes my hand and leads me down the hallway to her room.