Page 76 of Air Of Mystery
“Jesus,” he groaned, and I fought back a very inappropriate smile.
Somehow, we managed to get through the rehearsal and the family dinner afterward. Mostly because by unspoken agreement we kept our hands to ourselves. I’d been doing a pretty good job of restraining myself until I glanced over from talking to Brynn and Austin and discovered that Charlie was sitting at a table and talking to Philippe and Gabriella. Celeste was asleep on his lap.
The child was completely zonked out, sleeping away in his arms. Her head was leaning against his chest, and her little hands were tucked around Charlie’s arms, as if to pull him in closer while she slept.
Seeing him like that destroyed me. I already knew he was great with kids, but now, I was given a peek into what he would be like as a father.
Perhaps it was hormones, maybe I was swept up in the romance of my sister’s wedding, but at that moment, all I could think was how I would give anything to be his baby mama and love him for the rest of my life...
My heart slammed against my ribs.I love him,I realized.
I was completely and utterly in love with that man.
Shaken at the realization of the depth of my feelings for him, I took a hasty sip of wine and tried to settle down.
Finally, the party wound down. After telling everyone goodnight, Charlie and I began to make our way out a side door that led into the gardens. There was a nip in the breeze that made me shiver and press my side more firmly against his.
We walked together through the dark garden with only the illumination from the solar lights along the pathways to guide us. Above us in the sky, clouds were gathering and obscuring the face of the waxing moon, casting us even deeper into the shadows.
A new breeze came from the south, whispering to me of passion. To our left, the gardens beckoned and with the southern wind at my back, I impulsively tugged on his hand and led him farther into the gardens.
I knew there was a spot way in the back where a fountain splashed and brick walls created a small, private nook. There in the deep shade, purple nightshade bloomed. That’s where I wanted to take him. To show him how much I loved him, and to givehima bit of romance and some magick.
Once we got there, I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him, letting all of my desire and my newly discovered emotions pour into the kiss.
I backed him up as I kissed him, until his shoulders met that brick wall. Dropping my mouth to his chest, I began to unbutton his shirt. From there I kissed his chest and worked my way down. “Charlie,” I told him between kisses. “I’m done waiting. You’re mine.”
His breathing became rough, but he wrapped his fingers in my hair and held on.
With small nips and playful bites, I worked my way lower to his abs. Frantically, I tore open his belt, yanked it aside, and unzipped his slacks.
“Skye…” His voice was ragged as I tugged the zipper down.
“Let me,” I said. Kneeling down in the grass before him, I reached inside of his briefs and pulled him free.
He was long and turgid. I immediately ran my tongue over his length and felt him jerk against my lips in reaction. With a satisfied groan, I wrapped my fingers around and began to pump my hand over him. Charlie threw his head back and groaned.
“We can’t,” he said. “Not here.”
I pressed a soft open-mouthed kiss over him. “Oh yes, we can,” I insisted. Tugging him closer, I slipped my lips around him and took him deep in my mouth.
His head fell back as I took him in as far as I could go, and then I went further.
Charlie had given over total control of himself to me, and I loved it.
His hips thrusted helplessly as his hands tightened in my hair, and I knew he was close. Sucking a little harder I rolled my tongue around him, and that took him right over the edge.
As I held on, I could feel the tremors that went through him as he came. Slowly, after he was finished, I eased back and stayed there kneeling on the grass, looking up at him with the nightshade flowers behind me.
His chest was still heaving up and down while he tried to catch his breath. He was devastatingly handsome standing there in the dark garden, with his clothes undone, and his eyes half closed. That was the look of a man who had just had his world rocked, and I was feeling smug that I’d been the one to do it.
“You are,” I said softly, “the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.”
His eyes opened and he looked down at me. There was an expression in his eyes that had my heart skipping a beat.
Pushing away from the wall, Charlie slowly stripped off his jacket. He flipped it out and laid it on the grass a few feet away from me. Then he scooped me up and laid me down on the jacket.
He knelt before me and slowly began to push the skirt of my dress up. When his fingertips reached the edges of my panties, I felt him curl his fingers into them and he pulled them off my legs. Gently, he eased my legs farther apart and lowered his head.
