She’s still riding the wave of her orgasm as I wrap my arms around her, continuing to pump my release until we both still. I realize I could stay in this position forever. Charlie, naked, leaning against me, is sexy as hell, and the feel of her hot, bare skin against mine is something I’ve never wanted to feel before. And I mean that in the literal sense. Every sexual experience I’ve had since I can remember ends the moment it’s over. I’ve never held on tight after getting off. I do just that. Get up, get off, and get out. But with her? I don’t want to let her go, and the thought of finally letting someone in scares the fuck out of me.

Chapter 21

Charlie


WHAT’S THAT old ‘90s song? Don’t wake me, I’m dreaming. Yeah, that song’s on repeat in my brain right now, but the fact that I’m sitting on Knox’s lap with him still buried deep inside of me, still pumping his release, lets me know that this is, in fact, fucking real life. Real fucking life? Real-life fucking? My brain feels like mush right now. Whatever it is, it’s the most amazing sex I’ve ever had, and even though it only lasted about five minutes, that’s all I needed. All we both needed.

The way he demanded that I look at him while I was coming was both sexy and unnerving. I’ve never been with anyone who wasn’t one hundred percent sweet and gentle. It turned me on in a way that I’d love to explore in the future, and I wonder if he feels the same.

He finally stills and he lifts my chin again, forcing me to look at him. As he stares into my eyes, it takes everything in me not to look away. His hand comes up and brushes my hair off my shoulder.

“I knew you’d look sexy when you came, and sweetheart, you took my fucking breath away.”

I’ve always been confident in the bedroom, but something about the way he watches me, my every movement, as if he’s relishing in the entire experience is something new for me. And I know I should be used to his outspoken nature, but he’s making me feel as if I’m the most beautiful woman in the world and that he couldn’t want anyone more.

Deciding to be playful, I place a kiss on his lips. “So it wasn’t just me? You’ve been thinking about doing this, too?” I tease, remembering his words from earlier.

“Sweetheart, you give me thirty minutes and I’ll show you every fantasy I’ve had about you,” he says as I feel him twitching inside me. Rolling back onto the bed, he brings me with him before he turns us on our sides, still facing each other, him still inside me. His hand comes up to cup my face while the other strokes the small of my back. Despite what we just did, I can’t help but shiver at the contact.

We lie there for a few moments, not talking, just enjoying the feel of each other. My mind is racing, trying to process everything that just happened. I never imagined that going on a date with Chris would lead to this. And while I can’t say I’m disappointed, I’m wondering where we’re going to go from here. Sex with Knox was fanfuckingtastic, and I’m hoping I get more of it in the future. And it’s not just sex I want. Sometime over the last few weeks, we found some unspoken truce, and I find myself wishing I could know more about him, that he’d let me in. I’m hoping this is a step in the right direction, praying that he means it when he says I’m his. Feeling anxious, I slide over, trying to get up from the bed, but he’s still holding me down.

“Knox, let me up,” I ask, but he holds me tighter, shaking his head. “No, seriously, I mean it.”

Again, he shakes his head. “Not a chance. I’m not letting you out of this bed.”

“If you don’t let me leave this bed, I’m going to pee my pants…or, well, your sheets since I’m not wearing any.”

He quickly lets go of me, and I roll out of the bed, making my way towards my own bathroom out of habit. Once there, I decide to wash my face, brush my teeth, and do the rest of my nightly routine. When I finish, I see Knox in the doorway, leaning against the frame like he did once before.

“What are you doing?” I ask, wondering why he’s watching me. Without speaking, he walks towards me, lifting my ass up and setting me on the sink. He leans in for a kiss, his lips all over mine as he sucks my bottom lip in between his before he pulls away.

“Just making sure you’re coming back to bed,” he says.

Excuse me while my inner cheerleader shakes her pom-poms. Hell, there might even be spirit fingers. Knowing that he wants more of me after our one sexcapade does huge things to my ego, and I’m more than ready to go back to bed with him.

Noticing that we’re both still naked, I decide to be bold. I love that he gives me the confidence to feel and act this way. My hand finds his cock and strokes it up and down. He’s only semi-hard, which I completely understand, but there are other things I can do until he’s ready.

His eyes widen when he feels my hand wrap around him. “Take me back to bed, Rugged,” I order him in a Southern drawl even Scarlett O’Hara would be proud of, causing him to raise his eyebrows at me. I slightly blush, having never really used that name around him before tonight, and earlier it was in the heat of the moment. But he ignores it and does as I request. Minutes later, he’s sliding into me again, laying claim, and I know I’m one hundred and ten percent all his.


WHEN I wake up, it’s still dark outside, and I’m slightly disoriented as to where I am. It doesn’t take long to figure it out when I feel the arm wrapped around my waist, the body curled around mine. Everything from the last few hours replays in my mind, and I’m reeling at the thought that I’ve had sex with Knox twice in a matter of hours. Hell, I can feel the remnants of him between my legs where a slight soreness reminds me just of how hard he took me the second time.

Recalling the way he was on me so quickly when I got in from my date, I wonder what Chris would think, knowing what he helped set in motion. I’m hoping that Knox doesn’t know who I was out with so things won’t be weird at the gym. The moment that thought crosses my mind, I begin to doubt everything that just happened. Oh god. What if he only did it because he wanted to or because he didn’t want anyone else to have me either?

No, I know I’m an idiot to even think that, but he never made a move after our kiss. I can’t deny that there’s some kind of coincidence here. What about my going on a date changed that? My mind’s working in overdrive, and I know I’m going to make myself go insane with all the wondering. I never got a chance to respond when he told me he wanted me to be his. I’m still trying to process all of it. I truly wasn’t looking for a relationship, but if I’m honest, I can see myself in one with Knox. But that’s not in the cards. He’s not interested in that.

There’s no way I’ll be able to fall back asleep with these thoughts running through my head if I continue to lie here with his naked body pressed up against my own.

I knew when I said goodnight to Chris that I wasn’t ready to date anyone because of Knox, not Drew, but I never, in a million freaking years, thought when I walked through the door that I’d end up in Knox’s bed, having the best sex of my life. And even though I got the whole spiel about him not wanting to be roommates, I’m terrified that he was just talking in the moment.

Glancing over at him, I can’t help but smile as I watch him sleep, remembering the first time I woke up in his bed. Even though I love the memory of it, I don’t think I can wake up in his arms in the morning without feeling weird, knowing that I want more and hoping he really does feel the same. Ready to sneak away, I guide the arm that’s on my waist gently onto the bed before I begin to slip out of the sheets. I’m nearly out of the bed when I feel a strong grip take hold of my wrist, pulling me back.

Knox’s voice fills my ears, and before I know it, I’m pinned against the bed, him hovering over me.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going, Charlie?” he asks, a sleepy yet gruff tone in his voice. His green eyes are staring down at me, waiting for an answer. I can’t bring myself to say anything, to let him know that I want nothing more than to curl up against him, to have him wrap his arm around me protectively as he holds me all night long. “Well?”

Shrugging, I look up at him. “Back to my bed. I woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep. And I didn’t want to bug you with my tossing and turning,” I tell him, and I can hear how lame it sounds.

Shaking his head, he moves to his spot on the bed, lying on his side with his arm propped up, his head in hand. He’s watching me, and as I move to my side, I have the urge to pull the sheet up over my bare skin, but I don’t want to seem nervous or self-conscious. Instead, I lie here, letting his eyes wander up and down my body. He reaches a finger out, tracing my collarbone then sliding all the way down to my belly button before he moves his hand to my back and pulls me closer to him.

“I think I can handle it. I don’t mind a little tossing and turning. What will bug me would be waking up without you next to me. This wasn’t a one-time thing for me, Charlie. You’re in my bed when I go to sleep, and I want you there when I wake up. Every single night. From now on.” He brings my leg up over his and settles in between mine as he continues to stroke my back. I can barely think with his hands on me. I’m floored that he wants me in his bed, because the Knox I envision has never let a girl stay there post-intercourse.

“Knox, I don’t even know what’s going on here. I don’t know what you want, what we are, or what to even think. Sure, we might live together, but I’m not shacking up with you just because we slept together.”