Page 18 of The Pucking Fake Marriage (The Ice Kings #4)

SEVENTEEN

brEAKING POINT (KEN)

She’s standing by the sink when I walk into the house the next morning. Her back is turned to me as she makes coffee. A host of emotions rise in my chest as I walk past the hall and into the kitchen, my eyes never leaving her. Waves of silky dark hair are cascading down her back, and she’s wearing a shocking pink robe of some slippery material.

I’m going to bet she’s naked underneath. Hell, I’m going to bet that she slept like that, waiting for me to show up.

I don’t want to think about that, though. Because all it does is make me hate Kali more. I could have been here all night, fucking the woman I desperately want more than anything. That’s exactly what was supposed to happen after that look we shared back in the restaurant.

And then my asshole brother walked in and ruined the moment. Like he always does. I couldn’t even bring myself to come back home after seeing them together. It would’ve been too much, just having to imagine what he was talking to her about.

She turns around just as I reach the counter and slip onto a stool. Her eyes are red-rimmed with exhaustion. Good. I’d hate to know I was the only one who had a horrible night.

“Oh. You’re here.”

“Expected a lot more enthusiasm.” I’ve got a feeling that something about Kali has got Charlie veering off the other end. You know, where she starts treating me like the fucking enemy for no reason.

Before I can decide on that thought, Charlie rolls her eyes and gives me the shadow of a smile. “Not to sound like a nineties housewife, but you didn’t come home last night.”

I guess I was wrong. I return her half smile. “As I have been doing all month.”

Her lips twitch for a fraction of a second. “ After a considerably long conversation with a puck bunny.”

Now this is new. Charlie is flat out telling me she’s jealous. It’s an interesting development, one that I welcome with open arms. “Meanwhile, you were talking to my brother.”

A look of alarm crosses her face. I can imagine why. For the first time, all our cards are on the table. Charlie and I have always known each other well, but we never quite keep it straight with each other. That’s changing now.

“I only stayed with him long enough to hear his jackass apology and kick him out.” Another new development, Charlie stating the truth even if it makes her look like she wants me too much.

Somehow, I wonder if this new version of her will last.

Or whether I can finally get her to tell me everything she’s been keeping from me since we were kids.

Charlie always wanted me. After all this time, the realization still fills me with a degree of shock. My crush on her wasn’t just a foolish one-sided fantasy. It was real and it was mutual. Even then, she enjoyed spending time with me more than she ever did with Kali. It was even hard to get jealous seeing them together as adults because they are so obviously mismatched.

She was in love with me. But for some damned reason, she chose him. And as much as I’ve promised myself to not get sucked into my past with Charlie, I can’t just let that go. I need to know.

Thankfully, I know exactly how to get her to fess up.

“So…what happened?” Charlie asks as she pours out two cups of coffee. “Looked like you left with her.”

“I didn’t.” I’m newly distracted by the outline of her breasts under her sheer robe. I was right. She’s wearing nothing underneath it, a fact that my dick registers.

“Interesting,” she murmurs. It’s very clear she doesn’t believe me. But I’m losing track of the conversation, unfortunately.

“Take off your robe.”

Charlie’s eyes widen. “What?”

“Take it off. You can make the rest of your breakfast without it.”

She swallows, her eyes trained on me. Looks like she’s fighting some sort of internal battle. For a moment, I think about the fact that Kali managed to get to her yesterday.

“Only if you take your clothes off first,” she demands after considering my request for a beat.

Now that surprises me. “My body isn’t nearly as interesting as yours.”

Her eyes are boring into mine. “I beg to differ.”

Why does that feel like the most honest thing she’s ever said to me?

“Fine.” I stand up and walk around the counter so she can see me fully. I unbutton my shirt first and slip it off. I quickly shove my pants down next. When I straighten, I’m fully naked in front of her.

Charlie’s breath has suddenly turned shallow and fast. I’m almost amused as she fixes her gaze on my dick.

“Didn’t realize this would do anything for you.”

Her cheeks turn a cute pink shade. “Oh, this does very nice things for me.”

It’s almost absurd how normal this conversation sounds. At least, that’s what I think before Charlie takes off her robe and causes my brain to stop functioning.

She’s stunning. Every time I see her, I appreciate her a little bit more. Her nipples are fully beaded, pointing up to me in a silent offering. As much as I want to go to her, I need to prolong this moment. To make it that much more rewarding for me. For her.

“What were you going to make for breakfast?” I drawl.

She finally tears her gaze from my cock. “I was toying with the idea of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”

I lean against the counter and fold my arms. “Let’s see you make it, then.”

It’s a pleasure like I never knew before, watching Charlie walk around my kitchen, grabbing items from the fridge and working over the counter. I keep my gaze on her, my blood spiking a little hotter every time she bends over and blesses me with a view of her ass that jiggles as she works.

My hands close around my dick. I stroke it once before I pull back again. Something about this torture begs me to see it through.

“Want some?” She looks over at me, and I’m glad to see no teasing smile on her face. On the contrary, she looks every bit as frustrated as I am .

I call the shots on this maddening game, though. At least that brings me some comfort.

“Sure.”

I couldn’t fucking care less about breakfast right now. All I want is to continue watching her. Opening the fridge, she bends over to grab the loaf of bread, giving me a full view of herself. It takes a lot of control to stay put and not drive myself into her.

Charlie straightens and heads back to the counter. I can tell from the frown on her face that she didn’t think I’d be able to hold back. When she opens the jam jar this time, a considerable amount dribbles down her chest. It’s quite clear that it’s on purpose. However, she’s got me where she wants me.

“Let me,” I say, approaching her. Charlie turns to me, pushing out her chest as I bend over her. My tongue rakes over her nipples, sucking off every bit of fruit preserve from those delectable tits. Charlie moans as I suck, letting myself flick over her pebbled beads one last time before I withdraw back to the counter.

She’s pouting at me in frustration. I can tell she’s not sure why I’m holding back, what I’m waiting for.

To be fair, I don’t know either.

Charlie makes the toast quickly, placing mine on a separate plate. She pushes it over to me. I take a bite, my gaze never leaving her. I expect her to mirror my movements. However, she’s still staring at me.

“Don’t tell me eating with a naked man made you lose your appetite.”

“No.” Her sparkling eyes find mine. “Only…there’s something I’m dying to do before I eat.”

“What?”

In answer, she drops to her knees. My chest tightens as she takes me in her mouth.

My body shatters into two, the sandwich slipping from my limp grasp and onto the floor. I barely notice, not with Charlie working on me, making me feel things I never have before. My hands find the top of her head, guiding her into a steady, rhythmic movement. Not that she needs it. Something about looking down at her as she struggles to take all of me in her mouth makes me want to explode.

I stave off the moment of climax by closing my eyes, focusing on the fact that this is a dream come true. But in the next second, I’m opening my eyes again, wanting to hold her in my gaze. Charlie seems almost as desperate to give me pleasure as I am for her. Her eyes are trained on me, her tongue flicking past my tip as she laps me up greedily.

This girl is going to be the end of me.

“I’m about to come,” I growl.

Charlie replies with a harsh grunt of pleasure.

“I’m about to come,” I repeat. “And I want to do it in your pussy.”

My dick still stuffed in her mouth, she shakes her head in disagreement. She wants me to do it in her mouth, clearly.

“Fine.” My fingers tense on her head. “I’ve got one question to ask you, though.”

Her eyes flicker up to mine. Slowly, I pull away from her heat, forcing myself to focus on how much I’ve been waiting for this. She lets out a sound of annoyance. Damnit, she’s quite literally panting to have me inside her again. Makes me almost want to forget asking her.

Only…I’ve waited way too long to find out.

“Why did you stop talking to me all those years ago, Chapman?”

She stills. Even her eyes don’t move. The air, which was crackling with sexual energy only a second ago, fizzles into severe tension.

She rises to her feet, her eyes clouded in suspicion. She starts to turn away, but before she takes a step, I pull her to me, crushing her against my front and lifting her ass up. Her legs wrap around me effortlessly. My dick finds her slippery entrance, sinking in. Earth-shattering pleasure bursts in my head as Charlie moans, both of us taken by surprise. Still, Charlie makes no move to draw away. In one second, she’s transformed back to a woman in desperate need of me, grinding herself against my dick and urging me to fuck her.

Reaching forward, I grab one of her taut nipples and hold it between my thumb and my index finger. Charlie winces as I squeeze.

“No more,” I whisper in her ear, grinding my hips against hers. She moans loudly, wiggling against me. I can tell it’s one of the fiercest inner battles she’s ever fought, deciding whether to pull back or to stay. “Tell me, Chapman. I deserve to know.”

She’s trembling in my arms. “I can’t…”

I move in her again, and her sentence ends in a high-pitched moan. “You can and you will. I want to know why you froze me out. Did losing a career in ballet make you decide you hated me?”

At the mention of ballet , Charlie finally breaks through. She unwraps her legs from my waist, drops down and pushes herself from me, retrieving her robe and slipping it on. When she turns to me, I’m surprised to see her face is wet with tears.

“What the hell is happening, Charles?”

“Maybe I couldn’t stand to be around you because you ended my career in ballet. ”

I blink. “What?”

“The dumbbells,” she shrieks, totally losing control. Something in her must have unraveled after all of my goading. “ Your dumbbells, Edwards. The ones I tripped over the night I broke my ankle.”

I grab my briefs and pants and pull them on. She’s staring at me with eyes so filled with hate, it’s impossible to believe she wanted me with an equal ferocity only five seconds ago.

“What are you saying?” I finally growl.

“I really need to spell it out?” she hisses. “Let’s put all the facts together, shall we?” She smacks her palms together. “You tell me you love me. I tell you I can’t do it. And then, five minutes later, I trip over your equipment. The day before I was supposed to begin a career that would catapult me into outer space. You sabotaged my life because I rejected you.”

She’s panting hard, her chest heaving.

I stare at her, more dazed than anything. Finally getting hit in the face with why she avoided me for so long, and I literally don’t know what to think. What to feel. Hell, I’ve got no words.

So, I slip on my shirt and march out of the house.