Page 23 of Brazen
Maman opened a suite that was warm in tone, with her original portraits of the ocean that could be seen from every window. “I hope this room is okay for the two of you.”
I needed to apologize to Hope, but I waved. “Thanks, Maman.”
I held Hope until the door closed, then I let her go. I would wait for her to kiss and hold me.
She turned on her heels. “Charlie, I’m not sure we should sleep together.”
I scanned the room then pointed at the wall between the windows. “Relax. You take the bed. I’ll take the couch.”
She took a deep breath, and color returned to her face. “Are you sure?”
I hoped she would be more comfortable with me now. I took off my tie. “Let’s go back downstairs, have some wine, and unwind. Tomorrow, we’ll fly back.”
She bounced on her feet but nodded. “Can I change out of this?”
I checked the closet and grabbed a shirt for myself. I unbuttoned my suit and tie as I opened the door wide for her to see her options. “Maman put clothes in the closet. Meet you at the bottom of the stairs.”
“Sounds good. Thank you. Are there swimsuits?”
“Yeah.”
She watched me change out of the shirt. “Maybe we can go swimming?”
I laughed. She’d seen all of me naked not that long ago, and I was still hitting the gym. I grabbed a pair of swim trunks. “Sounds perfect.”
Then I turned away and finished changing entirely. My heart was lighter, since it was clear she still liked what she saw. I hoped this meant she would open up more to me soon.
Chapter Ten
Hope
* * *
The stars were bright. I’d never seen so many while living in New York. Yet the only lights besides the moon and the sky were the lights from the mansion below and the illuminated pool around us. I sighed.
At a bamboo beach chair, I took off the swim covering and revealed the black one-piece I’d found.
Everything was different now where Charlie was concerned. He popped his head out of the water, and water dripped down his muscles.
I’d half not come out after I’d seen his naked body for a split second, since I was tempted. However, if I hadn't come, I would have just imagined those muscles. And he looked like a god among men.
He called me over. “You’re beautiful, sweetheart.”
I dipped my toe in the water then walked into the shallow end. “I’ve not gone swimming in a long time.”
He stood. “I’ll go slow with you.”
The pool was heated, and so was I. A huge part of me wanted to pick up where we'd left off and imagine we were what we pretended. I met his gaze. “You’ve never gone slow with anything in your life.”
I lowered myself into the water. He watched me, and my skin buzzed with awareness. He followed me in. “That’s not true. I’m going slow with you.”
I walked to the deeper end, and it was like I knew I was heading into danger. “But we’re not real, which means we can be honest.”
He followed me. “Why are you shy now?”
“I was always shy.” I swam to the other end. I hadn’t known my muscles even remembered my lessons from the community pool.
He joined me. “The woman steaming up the shower with me wasn’t.”
