Chapter 14.

Wagner hadn"t expected a declaration of love, but he"d hoped that he could at least put Charlie"s doubts to rest.

She kissed him for all she was worth, but he"d seen the doubt on her face.

It hurt. He had no right to that hurt, but it still hurt.

She sucked on his earlobe and he lost the ability to think. She shifted position so she could straddle him, and her body wrapped around him.

The rickety sofa creaked under their combined weight. A lumpy sofa was no place for her. She deserved only the best-champagne, roses, fine linens-but all he had to offer was this guesthouse and his love.

His arms encircled her waist as he wrapped her legs around his hips and stood. He walked them to the bed and laid her down on the purple velvet comforter.

Where had that come from? Must have been another surprise left by Mama, because when he"d left this morning the cotton comforter had been light green.

Charlie ran her hands up and down the velvet. "This is cla.s.sic Mama. My favorite color is purple. She"s into details." She tossed off the blonde wig, and her dark chocolate hair spilled down her shoulders.

His mind took a snapshot of her, and he knew without a doubt that he"d remember this picture of her for the rest of his life.

"What?" Her naughty smile promised oh so many things.

A little embarra.s.sed for having been caught mooning over her, he matched her smile and pointed to the front of her dress. "I"ve spent the better part of the last hour trying to figure out if you"re wearing a bra."

She reached behind her head, unhooked the white straps, and the front of the dress fell open to just below her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. They were bare and full and the nipples were perfect pink raspberries. "Shelf bra. It"s sown into the dress."

He had no idea what a shelf bra was, but tomorrow he was having them sown into all of her clothes. "And the rest?"

His mouth actually watered.

She untied the sash at the front, unzipped a hidden side zipper, and wriggled out of the dress. She lay on the bed and let him look his fill. He stared at her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and his eyes moved lower to a tiny pair of white lace panties barely covering her. His gaze roamed down her legs to the black high heels she still wore.

"I don"t know if I should start from the top and work my way down or from the bottom and go up." He leaned down and kissed her hard. "Any ideas?"

"You certainly have lots of clothes on." Her hands undid the top b.u.t.ton of his shirt and worked their way down until the shirt hung open.

She smiled as her fingers traced his abs. "Nice."

"CrossFit three times a week." He caught her hand before it made it to his belt and kissed her palm.

"I go to CrossFit NOLA on Magazine." She kissed his right pec.

"That"s where I started going." None of the research he had on her had said anything about physical fitness. "What time?"

"I go to the 5:30 a.m. cla.s.s." She snaked her arms around his waist and pulled him down on her. "Why are we talking about CrossFit?"

"Every minute I spend with you, I like you even more." Every minute he spent with her, he fell a little more in love with her.

"So, I have some thoughts on the top-down versus bottom-up plans." She grinned up at him. "I think you should start in the middle and then surprise me."

"That"s the best idea I"ve heard all day." He inched his way down to her belly b.u.t.ton, kissed it, and slid a finger under the elastic holding the itty-bitty sc.r.a.p of lace covering her core. "Do you always wear tiny underwear?"

"Some people are so nosy." She laughed. "Yes, when it comes to lingerie, less is more."

"Great minds think alike." Slowly, he tugged them down. "Know what"s better than tiny lingerie?"

"What?" She reached back, grabbed a pillow, and stuffed it under her head.

"No panties at all." He tugged them down her legs and tossed them onto the floor.

"You know what, I think you"re right." Her eyes raked down his chest. "Why aren"t you naked too?" Her hands reached for his belt, but he batted them away. He wanted this to last for as long as possible.

Leaning back on his heels, he drank her in. From her chocolate hair curling around her pink nipples to the thin line of dark hair between her legs to her sleek, muscular legs-every inch of her was perfect. He parted her legs and all he could think was mine. She"s mine.

He bent low and kissed the top of the thin line of hair and licked his way to her core.

"Wow, okay, so you"re just going for it." Her eyes smoldered as she looked down her body at him. It was one of the s.e.xiest things he"d ever seen.

"Yes, that was the plan. I like to go all in." He lapped at her core and dipped in a finger. She was warm and wet and wonderful. He slid a second finger in. His hand picked up the rhythm of his mouth and soon her hips joined in. She bucked against his mouth as she tightened around his fingers. He increased the pressure and he could feel the o.r.g.a.s.m pound through her. Once wasn"t enough for him, so he kept up the rhythm until she went over the edge again.

She was trembling and vulnerable and so very wet. He"d done that to her. She was his.

He wanted all of her. He unhooked his belt, popped the b.u.t.ton on his trousers, stood, and let them fall to the floor. He wanted to be inside of her to give her pleasure and to take some for himself.

He reached across her for the condoms, managed to grab the box, but it took two tries to rip one open.

"My turn." She took the condom from him, sucked it between her lips, and used her tongue to roll it down his shaft.

He nearly exploded right then and there. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"Trust me, you don"t want to know, especially right now." With her hands, she urged him to lie on his back.

"Maybe later then." He pulled her on top of him.

"Oh, I see how it"s going to be." She leaned up on her knees and fitted herself over him. She slid down his shaft. "You"re going to make me do all of the work."

"I"m a firm believer in equal rights." He cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and told himself to slow down, but he wasn"t in control anymore. She rode him harder and harder until the effort of holding back the o.r.g.a.s.m actually hurt. He pulled her head down, kissed her hard, flipped her over on her back, and drove into her, coming so hard he saw stars.

He rolled onto his side and curled himself around her like a spoon.

"I don"t know if that qualified as "earth-shattering ecstasy," but it was pretty d.a.m.n close." She snuggled into him.

He looked at the window. "It"s still daylight. I believe it was a "night of earth-shattering ecstasy." The night hasn"t even begun."

She yawned. "That makes me tired just thinking about it."

"You really should go to a later CrossFit cla.s.s. No one should be up before seven in the morning."

"No other time. I usually have breakfast meetings, which lead to morning meetings and then lunch meetings and then afternoon meetings. If I"m lucky I only have one evening function to go to." She yawned again. "If I skip CrossFit, I can"t eat chocolate, and chocolate is a vital part of my diet. Without all of the feel-good hormones that it creates in my brain, I"d never be able to stay awake during all of those meetings."

"What could you possibly have to talk about in all of those meetings?" He"d thought he had a lot of meetings.

"Everything from sanitation workers in Shreveport threatening to strike to expanding alligator-hunting season." She tucked her hands under the pillow. "I handle anything my father doesn"t want to deal with, which is pretty much everything."

"What"s next after politics?" He couldn"t see her running for office. She was way too principled.

"I don"t know." She yawned again. "Don"t tell anyone, but part of me hopes that Daddy does lose. I"m tired of putting out fires and dealing with messes."

"I bet you"re good at it." He gently combed his fingers through her hair. It smelled like oranges and vanilla.

"That feels nice." She shivered.

He pulled the velvet comforter up and covered them.

She yawned again and wriggled her backside even closer into him. "I had this insane idea when we were inside the Duplantis House. I thought about buying it and renovating it back to its glory days."

"I can see you doing that." And he could see himself right beside her all of the way.

"If I fall asleep, wake me up for the "night of earth-shattering ecstasy." I"d hate to sleep through that." Her breathing turned deep and even.

He kissed the top of her head and held her close. Tomorrow, he was buying the Duplantis House and giving it to her for early Christmas. He might not have the kind of money she did, but he could afford it.

Chapter 15.

Someone smacked Charlie on the b.u.t.t.

"Wake up, sleepyhead." It sounded like Lucky.

Someone pinched her on the b.u.t.t.

"Ouch." She flopped over to find Betts and Lucky staring down at her. Wagner was nowhere to be found.

"What are you doing here?" Was it early or late? Last night had truly been a night of earth-shattering ecstasy.

"I"d say, based on her lack of clothing, that it was a good night." Betts elbowed Lucky. "What do you think?"

"I think she looks morning mussed and very happy." Lucky elbowed Betts right back. "Walking might be difficult for her, but smiling should be easy."

Charlie pressed the sheet to her chest and sat up. "Where"s Wagner?"

"We sent him out to Cafe Dumont for beignet and coffee." Lucky sat on the bed beside her. "You need to get up and get dressed."

"Why?" Charlie scanned the room for her dress and came up empty.

Betts picked up an overnight bag and handed it to her. "We brought you some things from home. You need to hurry."

Her friends were acting stranger than normal. "What"s going on?"

"We may or may not have a problem." Betts wouldn"t make eye contact.

"Why do I get the feeling that I"m not going to like this?" Charlie unzipped the canvas bag to find a red wrap dress, matching heels, and the appropriate undergarments. Wrapping the sheet around her, she carried the bag to the small bathroom. She closed the door and yelled from the other side, "How much am I not going to like this?"

"I don"t know, Lucky, what do you think on a scale of one to ten?" Betts sounded like she was really mulling it over.

"I"d say a fifteen on a normal day, but seeing as how she got some last night, I might knock it back to an eleven."

Charlie quickly threw on her clothes. She finger-combed her hair, tucked it into a French twist, and shoved a clip through it. Inside the overnight bag was her makeup kit. She repaired the damage and thought she looked almost presentable; well, if not presentable, she at least looked like she wasn"t walk-of-shaming it into work.

"Now, where is that daughter of mine?" The male voice wasn"t happy.

Oh G.o.d, it was her father... here... standing on the other side of that door. How in the h.e.l.l had he found her?

She threw her shoulders back and opened the door. "I"m here."