Chapter 4
By the time they reached Braydon’s building, Charlotte was wondering how they’d managed to make it without getting pulled over. She detached her hands from the dash as he laughed in the driver’s seat.
“Sorry. I have a bit of a lead foot,” he said.
“Yes, I see that. Dear Lord, I should not have had that last shot.”
“If you're going to puke, just do it outside the car.” He laughed until she glared at him. “Only a joke. Take a few deep breaths. You’ll be fine.”
She muttered curses under her breath as he got out and moved around to open her door.
“We’ll take it nice and slow up to my place,” he told her as he escorted her to the front doors.
“Evening, Mr. Keagan,” a man said from behind a large, oak-paneled front desk.
“Evening, James. All quiet here?”
“Yes, sir, no visitors.”
Charlotte listened but didn’t really hear their words. She was too busy staring around the lobby—marbled floors, solid wood paneling, mahogany and oak, and mosaics on the walls in tile. “This place is incredible,” she breathed.
Braydon glanced around and grinned. “Yeah, it’s not bad, but it’s not really home.”
“What is home, then?”
He simply smiled and led her to the elevator. They rode up to the top floor. When he unlocked his front door and motioned for her to go inside, Charlotte had to stop and remember where she was. “Isn’t this supposed to be a penthouse?”
Braydon closed the door behind her and shrugged. “Not exactly my style.”
“So you basically had a ranch house built on top of the building. How rich are you?” she muttered without meaning to. “I’m sorry, that was rude.”
“Nah, not a big deal. So what’s your drink? Wine, beer… I think I have some tequila.”
Charlotte wasn’t sure what she could handle, but she was starting to get nervous and overly excited. “Tequila… Maybe just a bit.”
“Tequila it is.” He brought over a bottle of gold tequila and two shot glasses. “So, Charlotte, what is it you do for fun?”
“Ah, nothing, and apparently, that’s my problem.” She shot back the glassful and set it down for another. “That’s why my friends kidnapped me. I never act like this.”
His green eyes brightened when he laughed. “So you normally don’t get lap dances from men and ask other men for sex? Guess that’s good to know.” He shot back his own tequila as she stared at him, wide-eyed.
“I did say all that, didn’t I?”
“Afraid so. But don’t worry, I’m not judgmental.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
“Stop worrying so much, Charlie, and just enjoy your night of reckless abandon.”
She cringed. “Please don’t call me that.”
“What, Charlie?” he asked, laughing. “What’s wrong with that?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t like it,” she muttered.
“It’s kind of hot, you know… Charlie. Sounds so much less proper than Charlotte.”
“And what’s wrong with being proper?” she snapped and shot back another glass of tequila as she glared at him. What was it about those eyes? She wanted to be annoyed at him, but as she glared at him, she felt her lips turning up into a smile. Had to be the liquor. Had to be.
He held up his hands in surrender. “Fine, no Charlie.”
Charlotte felt fuzzy, and her fingertips were tingling, which made her giggle. She glanced around his homey place and shook her head. “This belongs out west or something.”
“That’s where I’m from, or farther west than here.”
“I thought you said you were Irish?”
“My da is, but he settled down in Tennessee. Liked the open land.”
“Hmm, must be nice. Never been out that way.”
He poured more glasses of tequila and told her she should go one day. She scooted closer to him on the couch. Charlotte had no idea what her body was thinking, but she really wasn’t in a position to argue anymore. She trailed her fingers up his neck, then wrapped them around it and pulled him close.
The second their lips touched, she sighed and leaned into him. The kiss started out gentle until she nibbled his lip, and he picked her up and put her on his lap. Charlotte felt her dress ride up her thighs, followed quickly by his hands. This was all new territory, and every touch of his skin against hers made her yearn for more. She barely knew this man, and all she wanted was to see his body beneath hers. Her hands worked at his jacket, sliding it over his shoulders, and tossed it aside before her fingers went to work on the buttons.
“Wait, hang on,” he said. “I don’t do relationships, Charlotte.”
She stared down at him and smiled slowly, nibbling her lip and liking the way it made him shift beneath her. “I never said I wanted one.”
Her hands still at work on his shirt, he pulled her close and kissed her again, his hands running up into her hair and taking out the pins one at a time until her long brunette locks tumbled down her back. He massaged her scalp, then moved his hands to her shoulders and slowly down her back. They found the zipper to her dress and, just as she pushed his shirt open, pulled it partly down.
Charlotte shivered at the touch of cold air on her bare skin, but it was quickly replaced by his hands, warming her. He pulled away for a second so she could get his shirt undone and off. Breathing heavily, she glanced at his chest and groaned. He was muscled, beautifully so, almost perfectly muscled. With each touch of her hand, she felt his skin clench in anticipation. The warmth she’d felt in the limo intensified, and she shifted against his lap.
“Oh,” she gasped when she felt the bulge against her inner thigh.
“What?”
“Nothing. I just…didn’t know it happened that fast.”
He laughed deeply as he stood, picking her up and wrapping her legs around his waist. “Oh, it doesn’t take long at all.” His voice was husky as he carried her down the long hall and to a large bedroom with floor to ceiling windows.
Charlotte had only a moment to take in the view of the city before Braydon moved close behind her. He found her dress zipper once again and pulled it all the way down. She turned to face him, expecting to start freaking out, but she stared deep into his eyes and saw… She wasn’t sure what exactly, but it made her relax. She reached up, one hand on each shoulder, and pulled her dress down. The second it hit the floor, Braydon cursed and ran a hand through his red hair.
“What? Don’t tell me this is your first time, too.” She laughed.
“No… No, far from it. You are beautiful,” he whispered and gently pulled her to him. They kissed, long and slow, tongues dancing intricately together, as his hands reached back and undid the clasp of her bra.
She thought she would feel strange, being naked in front of a man, but she was still calm, still relaxed, even as fire started to build within her. Whatever she was doing, it felt right, and she did not want to stop. With two fingers, she held up the black piece of lace and watched as Braydon’s eyes zeroed in on her breasts. He lowered his mouth to one, and Charlotte moaned at the feeling of his lips closing around her nipple. Her hand tightened in his hair.
“This is... Oh, my God!”
His laughter traveled through her body. “I’m only getting started.”
His hands found the edges of her lace panties and started to slide them slowly down. Her hands reached down to catch his as she hesitated for just a second. “Wait—my first time, so you have to lose some more clothes first.”
“Fair enough,” he said, and moved to undo his jeans.
But Charlotte didn’t want him to do it. Her lips curled as she removed his hands and replaced them with her own. It was hard undoing the zipper around his bulge, but she managed and slid his jeans down his legs so he could kick them off with his shoes.
“God, even your legs are muscled,” she muttered.
“You like to say everything out loud, don’t you?” He grinned as she straightened up.
“It’s the tequila. I’m just going to blame it on that.”
He didn’t answer except to place his hands where they’d been. Charlotte’s chest heaved as her body acted on its own, pressing her naked skin against his as he slowly lowered her panties, revealing every naked inch of her. While he was low, he helped her slip out of her heels, but instead of getting back up, he stayed kneeling. Charlotte wondered what he was doing when his hands slid up to her inner thighs.
The moment his fingers found her pussy, already wet and waiting, she sighed and spread her legs a little wider. Braydon held her up with his other hand as his fingers massaged her lips, then slid one inside her. It was a new sensation—tight, but not uncomfortable. The feeling alone almost sent her to her knees. She thought she would fall over, but Braydon quickly scooped her up and laid her back on his plush bed. She’d barely had a second to get comfortable before his hand was back—two fingers this time, stretching and turning.
Something twisted inside of Charlotte, and her hands ran through his hair as his head lowered between her legs.
“What are you—oh, God! That’s… oh, my God,” she breathed when his mouth began doing things she thought no mouth could. She squirmed, her breathing ragged as everything inside of her turned inside out, her body writhing out of control, every inch filling with fire until it was too much and the dam broke.
Charlotte moaned as her body shivered, waves of passion flowing through her, one after the other, as she felt her hips move against Braydon’s hand. When it was over, she lay there, staring up at the ceiling in a state of utter shock. A slow grin crept across her face as she stretched.
“Have you never had an orgasm before?” he asked as he crawled up next to her.
“What—course I have,” she lied and avoided his gaze. “But you didn’t, clearly.”
“No, that was to get you ready.”
Charlotte was going to ask him what for, but he leaned in and kissed her. Everything was overly sensitive, and even her lips tingled at his touch. The kiss grew longer as his lips trailed around her neck, his hands holding her breasts. Her hands seem to have a mind of their own, moving to pull down his boxers so she could see all of him. He let her, and when his cock came into view, she felt her insides tighten with anticipation.
After that, she was lost as they rolled around his large bed, hands everywhere, trying to keep her skin pressed against the heat radiating off of his. At one point, she found herself underneath him and, ever so slowly, she felt him start to enter her. She expected pain, but there was none. It took a few attempts before he was fully inside her, and she felt everything stretch. He let her catch her breath, then he started to move, and it was the craziest feeling she’d ever had in her life.
Her hips moved with his, and soon, they found a rhythm that built quickly, faster and faster. Charlotte felt the same dam break and let it all go just as he groaned above her. She felt warmth fill her, and then, slowly, they stopped, and he rolled to the side, panting.
“Damn, that was pretty good,” she said when she was able to breathe again.
“Pretty good?” he mused, his eyes finding hers as he laid on his back.
“Yeah, pretty good.”
“Is that a challenge?”
For the first time in a long time, Charlotte felt free. She wanted nothing more than to spend the entire night in the arms of this man. “Maybe it was.”
Braydon laughed as he sat up. “Well, in that case, I think it’s time for another round of drinks.”
***
He stared down at her sleeping form in his bed and frowned. Charlotte was amazing, considering she’d been a virgin. But Braydon was puzzled. He felt weird. Different. And he wasn’t entirely sure he liked the new feeling. He was used to one-night stands with all sorts of women, but there was something about the way she’d touched him… No. No strings. No attachments. He did not do relationships.
It was nearing three in the morning, and he knew he should get some sleep if he was going to be any sort of civilized person later that day. If not for his mother, at least for his stepbrother. Quin had his moments, though the guy was bone dry, too good for Braydon’s liking. He never took risks, never stepped out of line. What was the point of living if there were never any crazy moments?
But, unlike Braydon, Quin had grown up with the full support of two parents, rich and never having any real need for anything. Braydon glared out the window, hating them all over again.