Page 37 of Brazen
Hope
* * *
I reached behind me and unclasped my bra. Charlie dropped his pants and boxer briefs in one swoop, and it was more than clear he was ready for me.
My heart was beating wildly. In Paris, he’d been a sexy stranger. Now I wore a pretend ring, and his touch set off a deeper desire to my soul.
We kissed at the edge of the bed, and Big Charlie brushed against my thigh. My muscles tensed, my nipples hard. I wanted him too. Excitement strummed through me, and I climbed onto the bed.
He followed me, kissing my lips. I sighed and ran my hands down his muscled back. Being with Charlie was like finding a spot in heaven. As our kiss ended, he used those sexy lips of his on my neck, tickling me with his rougher all-day-outside scruff.
Then he found my erect nipples and suckled. I moaned as blood rushed through my veins. I rolled my panties off me, grateful I'd picked the sexier ones.
His cock grew even harder, and I ached to be one with him. My body grew warm and ready. I wrapped my legs around his, urging him to take me. We’d waited long enough. Part of me had known the second he’d walked into the bar that we would end up naked and in bed.
He stopped and slipped on a condom. I had no idea where it'd come from, but it didn’t matter. My clit was sensitive and ready. And my body steamed both from now and from the memory of being completed.
He finished, and I opened my legs wider. When he slipped inside my core, I moaned. My heart fluttered. Hunger for him overtook me, and I held on tighter.
He found a rhythm, and I lost the ability to see beyond him. Warmness rushed through me, and my entire body spasmed. I couldn’t see anything except Charlie. All I heard was my heartbeat. Trembles of desire racing through my fingers and toes. I was Charlie’s for as long as he wanted me.
Chapter Twenty-One
Hope
* * *
I’d lost count of how many times Charlie took me last night. I hadn’t eaten much, and honestly, I wasn’t hungry for anything except more of Charlie. Somehow, we’d both made it through the morning.
He'd gone to work, and here I was, on the street, walking in my black flats and heading down the street to the magazine office. Everyone around me walked fast, and my head was up in the high-rises. My heart and body were still full.
Falling for him was a horrible, horrible idea. I told myself to focus on work. I needed a job to see me through. That way, whenever we shattered, I would have a safety net.
So I took a deep breath. Today, I needed to focus on me. As I reached for the door, my phone rang. I saw my old boss’s name. I walked to the edge of the sidewalk and answered, “Layla, I wasn’t expecting to ever hear from you again.”
People passed me, and I closed my eyes to listen as Layla said, “It seems I was too hard on you, and the partners at Horner and Wallace Advertising want to hire you back. You’d get paid for the days off and keep all your vacation time for whenever you need it.”
My entire body froze. Go back to work like nothing happened? They’d tossed out intimate photos taken of me illegally and said I’d been fraternizing. I shook my head, but I needed backup plans, and Charlie wasn’t sure he had commitment in him. “That’s a nice offer. Can I think it over?”
Layla sounded frantic. “Yes, call me back and let me know. If there is something we can do for you, let me know.”
I squared my shoulders. A few days ago, I would never have agreed to Charlie’s plan. Now, I marched inside and decided to focus on the job interview.
If I got this job, then at least I had a better backup plan. I was supposed to work, not start companies. My heart beat faster as I checked in and they brought me to a waiting room.
As I sat in the chair, I imagined a life where I was beside Charlie and making important decisions, not just watching a clock. It would be nice to be the boss.
My phone rang. I silenced the ringer but answered my friend, “Britney, hey.”
She asked, “How was the interview?”
The magazine office looked busy, but I whispered the crazy morning’s events. “Oh, I’m going in now, but Karla called me and offered my job back.”
“That’s good?” she asked as the secretary who'd checked me in pointed me to a conference room.
I stood and fixed my black skirt. “Maybe. I think it’s because they want the Norouzi family back as clients, and it has nothing to do with me. Look, they’re calling me, and I was in shock. Talk to you soon.”
I hung up and smiled. As I passed the frantic workers, my shoulders tightened. The office felt like the street, where everyone was on a different mission, but we all shared the same space on the way there.
