Page 23

Bailey

The officers ask Charlie a series of questions, which I can faintly hear through the front door. Part of me swells with triumph that I interrupted him and whoever the girl was that he brought home. The other half — the rational half — is embarrassed that I reacted in such a way.

See it through, my mind tells me. Play the dumb blonde everyone thinks you are and no one will suspect a thing.

When the officers come my way, rapping on the door in front of me, I force a couple deep breaths before opening it.

“Hi, ma’am,” a cute officer with a nice smile says. “We spoke to the owner. Looks like he came home earlier than he had originally intended.”

I pretend to let out a sigh of relief, covering my heart.

“Thank God. I was just so worried someone had broken in. I would hate for him to be robbed, especially when I’m home to stop it.”

“Fucking bitch,” I hear the girl murmur and I suppress a nervous laugh. Whoever she is, she’s sassy. If she stays, the only thing I can hope for is that she chews Charlie out better than I could dream of.

The officers excuse themselves, piling back into their cars. I meet Charlie’s eyes and my body shakes. He’s livid, rightfully so, but I won’t apologize. It was a dick move. His dick for my heart. He can afford to miss out on one orgasm.

I shut the door, not bothering to speak to Charlie, or his angry date, and pad back to the kitchen.

I make some instant coffee, all I have because I don’t know how to work the crazy French press thing Andi put in the cabinet. I pour too much creamer in it for the caffeine to have any effect on me and lean back against the counter.

My phone pings and I almost don’t look at it. I know what it will be. Still, curiosity kills the cat, though and I snatch it off the counter like I’m waiting on a call from the Prince of Egypt.

Charlie: Get over here. Now.

A shiver runs up my spine and I pull my coffee closer. He’s not the boss of me.

However, I did call the cops on him. Avoiding him would just be admitting I’m guilty.

With my coffee cup in hand, I pad around the back to Charlie’s door. It’s unlocked and I step inside cautiously. The house is dark, save for a light over the kitchen stove. I step lightly on the hardwood floor, my footsteps echoing throughout the quiet house.

I sense him before I round the corner, finding him standing in the kitchen, his back to me. His hands grip the counter and a bottle of some dark liquor sits in front of him .

I stop behind him, staying a few feet away, as regret floods through me. I shouldn’t have come. I also shouldn’t have called the cops.

“This game ends tonight, Bailey,” he murmurs, his voice dark and cold.

If this has been a game, it’s the shittiest one I’ve ever played. I sit my mug on the counter and cross my arms over my chest.

“An eye for an eye. You ruined my date, so I ruined yours.” It sounds childish, coming out of my mouth, but it’s all I’ve got right now.

I’ll admit, it was incredibly irresponsible of me to call the cops — and . . . maybe he hadn’t ruined my date. Peter is just an ass. I lost my head when I heard him with another girl — against our shared wall, none the less. Guilt washes through me. Those cops probably have more important matters to attend to.

But I won’t apologize.

Charlie finally turns to face me, watching me with dark, hazy eyes. They coast down my body, almost unwillingly, taking in the pajama shorts and tank top I’m wearing. My heart thrums in my ears when he takes a step closer, his footsteps bouncing off the walls like a deep crescendo.

He reaches for me, his hand wrapping around my throat and he backs me up until my ass hits the wall behind me. “I warned you to stay away from me.”

“I’m not afraid of you,” I breathe, though my body is shaking.

He steps forward until his front presses against mine and his erection digs into my stomach. Stormy, dark grey pools bore into mine as if he’s trying to read me.

“You should be,” he mutters, his lips brushing over mine. My heart flutters in my chest as I fight the urge to surge forward. My body hums as he rolls his hips, pressing my legs further apart. After a breath where our lips hover over each other, he groans quietly. “Go home, Bailey. If I fuck you right now, I’ll hurt you.”

He steps back, releasing me and leaving me cold in the wake of his body and returns to the bottle of amber liquor. He opens it and skips the glass, downing a quarter of the bottle in one gulp.

I shake my head, defiance stirring in my chest.

“No,” I snap. “You always do that.”

Charlie turns around, his jaw so clenched I worry he might break his teeth.

“You always tell me to leave with some excuse as to why you can’t fuck me.”

“Bailey,” he warns, sitting the bottle of liquor down a little too hard. “Get. Out.” I can see he’s barely keeping his anger in check, yet I keep pushing because, dammit, I’m angry, too.

“You and I both know it’s just going to keep dragging this thing out the longer we play games with each other, so let’s just get it over with so we can move on.”

Like a hurricane rolling in fast on the horizon, his eyes go so dark, they almost look black. A shiver ghosts my spine, but I force myself to stay there, force myself to hold his gaze.

“Is that what you think we’re doing? Playing games?” he asks quietly. The whole room seems to stand still around us, like we’re stuck in the center of a vortex and at any moment it would come crashing down on us.

“You heard me. I want this over with.” A small voice in the back of my head tells me I should run while I have the chance, but my feet refuse to move when Charlie stalks toward me. I’ve gone this far. Might as well see it through.

“This?” he asks, cocking an eyebrow at me. He stops just a foot away from me and I can feel the heat rolling off his body.

“You and I,” I say, my voice cracking just a hair. “This cat and mouse game we’re playing. I’m sick of it.”

His voice comes out in a dry rasp. “You don’t know what you’re asking for, princess.”

I know exactly what I’m asking for. Holding his gaze, I reach down, grasping the bottom of my tank top. In an act of defiance, I lift the fabric over my head and let it drop to the floor. Charlie goes still and the only sound in the house is the drip of the bathroom faucet. Steeling myself, I move to my shorts, pushing them down my legs until they puddle on the ground by my feet. Letting Charlie see me completely naked is better than any high I’ve ever experienced.

“I know exactly what I’m asking for,” I breathe, my heart hammering in my ears. Charlie’s gaze is caustic, melting my skin until heat burns up my spine. He moves, stalking around me like a predator, circling his prey. When he reaches the back, my breath catches in my throat when he runs his fingertips up my spine.

“I’ll make you hate me,” he whispers and the vulnerability in his voice makes me falter.

I could never hate him. “I already do.”

Something about saying that tastes sour in my mouth. I made it this far by believing Charlie is the biggest asshole to walk the planet, yet, in the last few weeks, I’ve grown to understand him on a deeper level.

He leans forward, pressing his lips to my ear. I shiver from his stubble against my cheek and warmth pools in my core. My thighs are embarrassingly slick with my own need. At this point, I don’t care what he does, as long as it ends with him inside me. I don’t know that I’ve ever been so turned on in my life.

“I want you to fuck me.”

Charlie lets out a breath through his teeth and steps to my front. He towers over me, intimidating with an almost violent look on his face. With a finger under my chin, he tilts my face up to his and brushes his lips over mine. A rumble resounds low in his chest, sending vibrations through me. I let out a shaky breath, rising on my toes to reach him. I don’t kiss him, instead, running my tongue lightly over the seam of his lips and reaching between us to rub his erection through his jeans.

He lets out a rough breath, looking down to watch where my hand grasps him through his jeans.

Charlie’s voice is gravely when he speaks. “You have no idea what you signed up for, princess.”

I gasp when he slides his hand into my hair and tugs at the strands, angling my head back and nipping at my skin. He tugs my mouth to his, kissing me with a rough growl.

Charlie’s kiss is addictive. Electric. I could kiss him for hours and that’s dangerous.

He moves closer, his hands slipping around my waist to hold me against him. With a moan, I wrap my arms around his neck and he lifts me, cupping my ass. His hands on my bare skin send tingles through me, the fire burning beneath his skin threatening to melt me from the inside out.

He carries me back to the bedroom, but I break the kiss. “Please, not here,” I breathe against his lips. He carries me in, anyway, stopping before the bed.

“There’s been no one in my bed.”

“I forgot. You fucked her against the wall so you could make sure I heard —” he cuts me off, licking me languidly from ass to clit. I moan and grasp the comforter in my fists.

“Don’t run.” He grips my hips and pulls me back from where I had moved up on the bed. He leans in nipping at the swell of my ass. “And I didn’t fuck her.”

He flips me onto my back, climbing between my legs. His hard erection brushes up against my sex when he rolls his hips against mine.

“I don’t believe you,” I start, letting out a startled cry when he nips at my nipple before drawing it into his mouth and sucking on the hardened peak.

“If you don’t trust me, then why are you in my bed?”

Touché.

Without warning, he slides a finger inside me, making me gasp from the sudden intrusion. “Fuck,” he breathes. “You’re so fucking creamy. I’m going to fuck you until you beg me to stop.”

“Thank God,” I breathe, a moan clawing up my throat when he leans down and nips at the flesh above my clit with an angry growl. The pain sends little shockwaves of pleasure through me and my back arches off the bed.

Charlie places his big hand on my stomach and presses me down into the mattress. His dark eyes on mine, he slips another finger inside me and starts pumping them in and out. An orgasm already threatens to tear me to shreds when he curls his fingers up, rubbing a spot inside me I’ve never felt before.

My head kicks back and delicious, sweet pleasure envelopes me.

“Should have known you’d be fucking perfect,” he grumbles. When he leans down, diving into my opening with his tongue, white hot light shoots behind my eyes and I whimper. He growls in appreciation, the vibrations making me breathless. “I love the way you taste.”

“If you didn’t fuck her, what did you do?” I ask, my voice cracking.

“Let her suck me while I thought about you.”

The warmth in his voice drifts straight between my legs. My hand fists in his hair while the other desperately searches for something to grab onto. I clutch the comforter in my fingers, arching into his mouth until bliss takes over, catching me by surprise. Charlie murmurs something, but I don’t hear him.

Euphoria crashes through me, destroying everything in its path until there’s nothing any of my senses feel but him. Charlie groans as he pries my thighs apart and continues to suck on the throbbing bud between my legs until I’m so sensitive, I’m trying to climb up the bed away from him.

“Running away, princess?” he rasps, gripping my thighs and pressing my knees to my chest. It opens me up indecently to him, but I don’t have the sense to be embarrassed.

“Charlie, please. I want to touch you,” I stutter, my voice hitching when he sucks my clit back into his mouth. I attempt to lower my leg and he nips my clit between his teeth with a growl .

I jerk, squealing from the pain, but a dark satisfaction fills me. I don’t care if I was asked to testify in front of a court of law, I’ll never admit how fucking sexy the dark, possessive side of Charlie is. My pussy responds to his tongue lapping at the sting and I feel my own desire slipping from my folds and down the curve of my ass.

“Don’t rush me,” he orders, his voice husky. “I’ve waited years for this.”

My heart sputters, but the feeling is interrupted when he slips his fingers back inside me and curls them up, rubbing them over that sweet spot that brings a strangled cry from my throat.

I roll my hips into his mouth, the blazing heat returning until my skin feels like it’s on fire. I can feel tension and desire in his body, the power vibrating just beneath the surface.

As much as he pisses me off, I want to run my hands all over him. I want to memorize every plane and commit it to memory because God knows this won’t happen again. Shamelessly, I watch him feast on me and I’m not sure there’s anything sexier than the grunts of satisfaction coming from his chest.

“Please, Charlie,” I whimper, attempting to get him to move faster. It earns me another bite on the clit and more liquid fire. Pressure builds and builds until I think I might spontaneously combust if I don’t get him inside me.

A bead of sweat slips between my breasts as he works me, sucking my clit into his mouth and pulling back just before I can come. Groaning in frustration, I lean back and clench my eyes shut, fighting the onslaught of electricity soaring in my veins .

Charlie captures my clit between his teeth again, causing me to jerk from the sharp sting. I yelp and my eyes shoot back to his. “You fucking assho—” I’m cut off when he soothes the sting over with his tongue, laving at the sensitive nub until my hips move of their own volition.

“Eyes on me, baby,” Charlie murmurs, his voice raspy and uneven. My chest aches as the tirade of emotions swirl through me until I don’t think I can handle anymore. It’s too much, too good for Charlie and I. Just tonight, we’re fighting and now his tongue is buried inside me, about to make me come a second time.

Charlie holds my gaze while he spreads me open with one of his hands and closes his mouth around me. His tongue flutters back and forth until my body tightens. Just a second more and I’ll fall over the precipice.

Just as my body starts to tighten, Charlie pulls back, removing his mouth from me. I scream in frustration, tears leaking from my eyes. “Goddammit, Charlie!” I snap, slapping my hand into the bed. The tingles of my orgasm fade into a deep throb, leaving me wanting and bereft.

“You were saying?” he asks, standing from the bed and slipping his shirt over his head. My mouth runs dry as the muscles on his abdomen ripple from the movement and I lick my lips. Carefully, he watches me, his gaze so intense I almost look away, then I remember what he said. When he lets his jeans fall, his cock stands straight, impossibly long and thick and my mouth runs dry.

“Scared, princess?” he asks, stopping on the bed in front of me .

Yes. I’m petrified he’s going to rip me in half. Instead of saying what I’m thinking, I sit up on the bed and grip him in my palm, relishing when his breath cracks, and running my tongue over the head. I’ve never cared to have a man in my mouth, but Charlie, to my dismay, tastes amazing, if that’s even possible. I hum around his impressive length, only managing to get half of it in my mouth before he grips my hair with a hiss and tugs me back.

“On your hands and knees,” he grits, a vein in his neck bulging.

“Can’t accuse you of being romantic,” I grumble climbing up the bed and doing as he says. Charlie settles on the bed behind me, landing a slap to my ass. I yelp, but a deep warmth fills me, coloring my cheeks. Despite the sting, my pussy tightens in response.

Charlie notches himself at my entrance, his breathing shaky. “You didn’t ask for romance. You asked me to fuck you.” He grips both my hips in his hands and jerks my hips back impatiently until half his length spears inside me. I cry out at the sudden intrusion, tears burning at the corners of my eyes.

“Charlie,” I gasp, my nails digging into the comforter when he slides back out of me. “It doesn’t fit.”

He stretches me wider than I’ve ever been, slipping back inside me with a punishing thrust. When he pushes further, something breaks inside me and delicious, hot pleasure envelopes me.

“Shit, that’s fucking tight, baby.” He starts out slow and rough, forcing my body to open up for him. “Relax and let me in.” He reaches under me and circles my clit with his thumb. Embarrassingly, I can feel my wetness leaking down my inner thighs.

“It’s big,” I groan, fisting the comforter and arching for him. This allows him to push himself in to the hilt, just past my limits, before pulling back out and surging back inside me.

“You can take it.” Heat floods my core from the lust in his voice. There’s something deeper, something almost sweet that I try not to focus on when he reaches up and grips my shoulder.

“This is what you wanted, princess,” he grits, moving his hips faster until his heavy sac is hitting his fingers on my clit. “Why you called the cops.”

I shake my head, biting my lip, but a whimper manages to break through, leading into a deep moan as he hits that dark part only he’s ever been able to reach.

“I’ve dreamt of this tight little cunt, dripping wet for me.” His groin slaps my ass, shoving me up the bed with each thrust, until he has to grip me and haul me back to him.

God, it’s like I need him.

“Tell me why you called the cops on me,” he murmurs roughly, barely holding onto his control as he slows his thrusts. He removes his fingers from my clit, making me sob from the burning pleasure making my sex tremble.

Really? That’s what he’s worried about right now.

“You know why,” I grit, reaching between us to run my fingers over my clit. I’m so close. A slight touch will bring the orgasm I’m so desperately craving.

Before I can reach myself, though, Charlie grabs my hands in his and tugs my arms behind my back. “Not until you tell me why, Bailey.” He continues the assault on my body, pushing as far as he can inside me until my eyes clench shut from the pleasure mixed with pain.

I shake my head, my fingernails digging into my palms. I try to move my hips, desperate to make him move faster, but he stops, holding himself just past my limits.

I whimper as he holds my hips still with one hand, the other holding my hands immobile.

“Tell me, princess, or you won’t get what you want.”

Tears stream down my cheeks, an ache settling between my thighs.

“Charlie,” I groan, my voice muffled from the hair in my face.

“Bailey,” he warns, tightening his grip on my hip until I’m sure I’ll have imprints of his fingers on my skin forever.

God, I’ll hate myself in the morning for saying this.

“Because you can bring her home and I can’t even finish a date because all I’m thinking about is you.” Tremors shake my hands and my knees quiver embarrassingly. Worst of all is the pit forming in the bottom of my stomach.

“Good girl,” Charlie murmurs, his voice uneven. Finally, he brings his fingers back to my clit and fucks me so fast and hard, I fear I might black out. He doesn’t stop until I’m coming so hard that I can’t see straight, don’t remember my name and my legs give out underneath me.

Abruptly, he flips me onto my back and presses my legs open. Instead of sliding back inside me, his lips crash against mine with a low growl. I wrap my arms around his back, my nails digging into the skin at the top of his spine.

“Spread your pussy for me, baby,” he murmurs against my lips, taking my hand in his and guiding it down to my entrance. I do as he says, spreading myself open even though it’s difficult from how wet I am. Charlie looks down and we both watch as he slowly sinks inside me. “Fuck.”

I can feel him slipping past my fingers, driving in and out of me until I can’t fit my hand between us. I run my hands all over him because I may never get the chance again. Tight biceps, the veins in his forearms, and the strength in his shoulders…

“Let me tell you why I brought her home,” Charlie grits, his lips hovering over mine. He doesn’t slow down, instead taking my hands in his and pinning them to the bed on either side of my head. “Because she’s the exact fucking opposite of you and it was all I could do to keep from dragging you out of that fucking restaurant.”

I roll my hips into him, wrapping my legs around his back as the things he says to me play war with my heart. I shouldn’t feel this way. This is too much. Unnatural. I don’t even like Charlie. Why does it mean so much to hear him saying these things to me?

“Don’t let me catch him around here again,” he grits, enunciating each word with a thrust. “Understand?”

He looks like a man on the brink of losing his mind. His hair is falling in his face, sweat dampens his skin, and his jaw is clenched tightly. I fully believe what Charlie is insinuating. He’ll beat Peter if he shows back up here and even if I don’t like Peter, I don’t want him hurt. I also don’t want Charlie back in jail.

“Y—Yes,” I stammer, my pussy tightening and another orgasm building inside me.

“You want to come on my cock, baby?” he asks, kissing me roughly.

“Yes,” I breathe, tightening my legs around his hips.

He molds his front to me, rubbing his groin over my clit until a hurricane rips through me, leaving nothing in its wake. I scream, my body vibrating uncontrollably as pleasure radiates through me.

“Fuck, baby,” Charlie grits, fucking me faster. “Milk my fucking cock,” he grits, pummeling into me with an animalistic growl. Finally, he comes with a deep grunt, thrusting into me one last time before he shoots inside me, filling me until it streams down my legs.

“Shit,” Charlie groans, falling onto the bed beside me. His breathing is heavy and fast, matching the pounding of my heart in my chest.

I allow myself to catch my breath, staring up at the ceiling. God, that was . . . that was intense.

When Charlie doesn’t say anything, I know it’s time for me to leave.

Slowly, I slip from the bed, wincing uncomfortably as my legs struggle to regain their composure.

“Where the fuck are you going?” Charlie asks, his voice clipped.

“To bed,” I murmur, refusing to look at him. God, why did I say all those things?

“Bailey,” Charlie says, reaching out and grabbing my hand. He tugs me back to the bed and wraps an arm around me to lay me back.

“I’m fine, Charlie.”

“You aren’t,” he murmurs, rising and going into the restroom. A moment later, he comes out with a wash rag and cleans between my legs. It’s embarrassing, but sweet.

“I thought you said no romance,” I joke, attempting to lighten the mood, but neither of us is complying. I imagine his head is just as fucked as mine.

“I don’t do romance, Bailey,” he murmurs, discarding of the rag in the clothes hamper and climbing back into bed beside me. He tugs the covers up and snakes his arm under me. I let him pull me into his chest because it’s comforting and I think, deep down, a part of him wants this too. Someone to just be with for the night and not have to worry about them in the morning.

“Night,” I murmur, shutting my eyes, completely and utterly spent.

He uses his arm to tilt my face to his, over my shoulder and presses a single, gentle kiss to my lips. “Night, princess.”

Tomorrow, we can go back to hating each other, but tonight, it was nice to forget for a little while.