Tonight, it was time to give in to the recklessness. Time to finally look into his eyes and say, "You. All I want is you."
CHAPTER TWENTY
Sebastian grabbed Charlie's hand and all but dragged her to the elevators. The moment the doors closed behind them, he pushed her up against the wall. Imprisoning her wrists above her head in one hand, he took her lips hungrily, devouring her until she moaned and wrapped her leg around his calf.
"I've been dreaming about doing this all night." He roamed her body with his free hand, stroking her smooth, warm skin. Then he dipped his head to lick along her collarbone. "Tasting you. Touching you."
"Kiss me again. I love how you kiss me."
God, he was dying to kiss her. Every inch of her skin. But first he needed to know-- "Do you believe?" His mouth was drawn to hers like a magnet and he had to taste her even though he hadn't finished his question. "Do you believe I want you as much--no, a hell of a lot more than I want your art?"
"Yes." The word came out more breath than sound. "Yes."
Then her mouth crushed his and, sweet Lord, how he loved the taste of her and the soft purr in her throat as she consumed him with a ferocity equaling his own.
Love. The word he'd always been so wary of. Now it rolled around in his mind as though it belonged. Charlie made him believe that love didn't have to be the way it had been for his parents.
Love could be like this. Love could fill him up from the inside out. Love could make him crazy with need and crazy with awe.
Tonight had been everything he'd wanted for Charlie--the crowd fawning over her, acknowledging her work as brilliant. She'd stepped into his world, conquered it completely, and was the toast of Silicon Valley.
Best of all? Now she would finally be his.
The elevator doors opened to the penthouse and they spilled out together, lips locked, arms tangled.
Charlie fumbled with the buttons of his tux jacket. "I want you, Sebastian. All of you. I don't want to wait anymore."
"No more waiting," he agreed in a voice made raw with both need and emotion. "Considering that I wanted you from the first moment I saw you in your face shield...it's been a hell of a wait."
She laughed, and he drank in the sexy, throaty sound. He loved her humor. Loved her independence. Loved her art. Hell, he loved her everything.
"My face shield and those thick welding gloves weren't sexy," she scoffed.
He framed her face in his hands. "Whatever you've got on, it all drives me crazy. Especially--" He reached behind to undo the slippery zipper on her top. "--this dress."
He pulled the spaghetti straps of her bodice down her arms at the same time as she tugged off his cummerbund and tore at the fastenings of his shirt. Buttons popped and rolled across the marble entry floor. Then she twined her arms around his neck, and he hauled her up, his hands cupping her hips as she locked her ankles behind him. Bare chest to bare chest, her lips on his, her mouth, her tongue, he held her tightly as he strode across the suite's thick carpet to the bedroom, and fell onto the bed with her.
Her hair lay in ringlets on the gold comforter, red and gold like the sun. Her lips were swollen from his kisses, and her nipples were a dusky rose that beckoned to him. He drank in her beauty, his heart beating hard. Beating true. Beating as if it were finally full for the very first time in his life.
"I've never seen anything as magnificent as you, Charlie."
She flushed beneath him, her skin drawing his mouth and hands to her body's beautiful contours. "I thought you said my dragon was magnificent," she teased.
"There are levels of magnificence," he murmured as he lowered his lips to the curve of one breast. "And you are way above the dragon."
Her laughter got lost in a pleasured gasp as he laved one taut peak slowly with his tongue. "Sebastian."
The sound of his name falling from her lips notched up his need to an epic ache. "I've waited so long for you, Charlie."
It wasn't just the weeks since he'd first walked into her yard. It wasn't even since the moment he'd seen her dragon and felt a kinship with her as an artist.
No, the truth was that he'd been waiting forever to find her. He'd never thought there would be someone like Charlie--a woman he wanted so badly that his insides felt like they were coming apart even as he was filled with pure emotion for her.
"I've waited for you too." She put her hand to the back of his head and pulled his lips to hers. "Kiss me again. Kiss me everywhere," she whispered before she took him to heaven with her mouth.
She toyed with him, sipped his lips, took his tongue, kissed him hard, then soft, twisted her head to come at him from a different angle. Playing. Tormenting. Seducing. They rolled together until she drew up her knees and straddled him. Leaning over, she licked his skin, ran her fingers through the hair on his chest, tugged gently. Then she sucked his nipple between her lips. She licked, suckled, teased, and finally bit him, just enough to send a shaft of pleasure-pain straight to his core.
He grabbed her hips as his body surged against hers. He was hard enough to burst, desperate to possess. He shoved his hands beneath the folds of her skirt and along her thighs until he found the elastic of her thong, and ripped it off her. She tore at his pants the way she'd gone at his shirt, and when they were both naked, he pinned her to the bed and took her mouth again. The kiss was primitive. Insatiable. Not just for him, but for both of them. And though he already knew he'd never have enough of her, never be able to get his fill, all the weeks of waiting had made him greedy for more than just a taste.
Tonight he needed absolutely everything, wouldn't stop until he'd kissed her everywhere.
His face at her apex, he breathed in the heady scent of her arousal. He tested her with the tip of his tongue, finding her sweetness, then slid off the bed to his knees in front of her, and nuzzled her. "You're so pretty down here too. Everywhere." He took his first erotic taste, delving with his tongue.
"Oh." It was a gasp. "Oh, God."
She clung to his shoulders, her fingernails pricking his flesh, and it was so damned good. She was like a sweet wine whose grapes had stayed on the vine until they exploded with flavor. Her hot little sounds--a cry, a moan, a hoarse groan--drove him deeper. Flicking his tongue over her, he had to have more of her, had to slide one finger inside.
"Please, please, please," she begged.
She quivered and quaked, and he forced her higher. There was only one thing he wanted, needed, and craved in this moment--her sweet release against his tongue.
Her breath hitched, her fingers tangled in his hair, pulled at the roots, until her body clenched around his fingers, released, tightened again. Then she cried out, shaking as she rode out her pleasure.
He didn't let her senses quiet. Instead he moved back over her so that his chest was flush with hers. "Can you feel how much I want you?" he said against her throat, layering her skin with kisses, licks, little bites as she wrapped her fingers around his erection.
She finally opened her eyes and, instead of answering his question, said, "You should have done that to me weeks ago."
He laughed--she would always be able to make him laugh, even when they were making love--and he swelled even bigger in her hand. "I should have done this to you the very first day." He nudged her legs apart and rolled between them. "Taken you in the sunlight." Her fingers tightened around him, stroking him, and he shuddered, pushing hard into her palm. "No, on your workbench. The first time I had my hands on you." The first time he'd made her tremble. The first time he'd felt her come and fantasized about how much more she had to give--and how he wanted every last ounce of her pleasure to be his.
"All those times I could have had you." She pushed her head back, closed her eyes, smiled in bliss. Then she cupped the base of his manhood, squeezed with an ideal touch until he thought he'd lose it all right then. "All those times we could have had each other."
"Inside you," he managed. "I need inside."
He'd never been crazy or out of control before.
Not until Charlie became a recklessness in his blood. He rolled, opened the side table drawer, and withdrew a foil packet. She took it from him, leaving his hands free to run over her gorgeous curves until she straddled his legs, ripped the packet, and took him in her hand.
"So beautiful," she whispered, leaning close as if she were speaking only to that part of him. "So thick. And hard." She swiped her tongue over the crest, and a tremor surged through him. "You taste so good."
And then--finally--she slid down to take him inside.
The feel of her around him, over him, sent him to a place beyond words. He could only groan, arch his head into the mattress, and grab the pillow between his hands, squeezing tight, fingers aching with the effort to stave off his climax.
"Take me, Charlie. Take all of me." It was part plea, part wild, reckless need that wouldn't wait for anything. Not one more second.
She enveloped him even deeper with her body, sliding only so far before rising again, squeezing him tight inside her as he held her hips, played her flesh, testing the suppleness of her skin. Desperate for as much of her as he could get, he took her sweet, succulent nipple in his mouth. She let out a breath laced with a little hum of pleasure and took him deeper. But it wasn't far enough. Wasn't anywhere near enough.
He wanted to fill her all the way to her heart, giving over everything that was in him. "More." He rolled, pinning her body beneath him. "I need all of you."
And when she echoed more against his lips, he thrust home, high and deep inside her. His muscles bunched and flexed against hers, their bodies pressed tightly together as though they were welded into one part. One body. One soul. His hands gripping her hips tightly, he rocked with her, taking her higher and higher as he moved deeper. Faster. Harder.
He lifted his head from the crook of her neck. "Kiss me, Charlie. I need you."
Their lips melded, their tongues twined, and their bodies shuddered as their worlds crashed. They rode the tsunami together as she cried his name against his mouth and endless waves of pleasure rolled through them both, head to toe.
She was what he'd been searching for without even knowing it. And now he knew that no matter what happened between them in the future, even if things somehow turned toxic, he would never be able to walk away from her. Because she was his. And he was hers. Forever.
When it came to Charlie Ballard, Sebastian knew to expect the unexpected. Even the most unexpected thing of all: Falling head over heels in love.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Take all of me.
As Charlie wrapped herself around Sebastian, it felt like so much more than the simple act of two bodies coming together. It felt like his soul speaking to hers.
It felt like a promise.
All she'd ever had before was the physical side. Never a connection like this. Never such bliss. Never pure, sweet heaven.
After the last tremors subsided, he'd left her just long enough to dispose of the protection, then returned to pull the covers over them. They'd lain bonelessly in each other's arms for several long minutes. She loved the feeling of being cocooned with him. So safe. So warm. So full of lingering pleasure.
"Mmm." She wasn't ready to speak yet, but she needed to make at least a small sound to let him know how divine making love with him had been.
He stroked his hand over her bare skin, and she shivered with pleasure at how good it felt. "Now that was worth waiting for." He might have sounded cocky--and she knew he could be darned cocky when he wanted to be--but his voice was soft, reverent.
"More than worth it," she agreed, loving the feel of his strong and steady heartbeat beneath her palm. She wanted to snuggle up to him, sleep in his arms, then make love with him again in the deepest, darkest hours of the night.
She would have done all that if the sound of the doorbell hadn't pealed through the penthouse. "Who could that be at this hour?" she grumbled, her delicious dream going down the tubes.
"I'll get it." He kissed her forehead before he got out of bed, and she pulled the covers over her head, but he peeled a corner back a minute later to let her know, "Walter sent us a little gift."
She wrapped herself in the thick terrycloth robe the hotel had provided and followed him out to the sitting room. In front of the sofa, on a trolley draped elegantly with a gold cloth, sat a champagne bucket, two flutes, and a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries the size of plums. "Walter is so sweet. He didn't have to do this." Her mouth watered not only for the chocolate, but for Sebastian, his legs bare beneath his own matching robe, the sleeves rolled up to showcase his muscled forearms.
He popped the cork, expertly catching the champagne in a crystal flute. Handing her the glass, he poured another for himself.
"My God, you're beautiful." He toasted her, his eyes dark with a desire that made her tremble. "The moment I saw you walking down those stairs in that gorgeous dress, I swear my heart stopped beating. I couldn't remember how to breathe. No other woman has ever made me feel like that, Charlie." He set his glass on the trolley and laid his hands on either side of her face. "Only you."
He pressed his mouth to hers, still sizzling with champagne, and she lost herself in his kiss. Their bodies melted together, their lips almost one, their hearts connected.
When he finally drew back, she realized she couldn't let him think she'd bought a designer dress after she'd turned down his offer to buy one for her. "I bought the dress at a consignment store, and my mom designed the alterations."
"You're kidding." She couldn't quite read his tone, whether he was impressed or upset that she'd bought consignment rather than letting him give her the designer dress.
"Mom loves to sew and is great at giving direction. And I only stabbed myself a half-dozen times with the needle," she joked.
He pulled her down onto the buttery-soft leather sofa in front of Walter's extravagant gift. Then he lifted her hands, kissing each fingertip, one after the other. "The dress was exquisite and you were brilliant tonight. Everyone loved you and you were absolutely gorgeous."
Yes, she'd felt beautiful tonight. And she'd loved hearing that he'd lost his breath over her. But at the same time there was a part of her--a really big part--that wanted Sebastian to prefer the real Charlie in overalls and steel-toed boots.
He'd been able to resist her until tonight. Was she irresistible only when she was dressed to fit into his world?
"You outshone every other woman there." He raised an eyebrow. "Which clearly upset Whitney. Sorry she was her usual self when you met her. And you certainly deserve a treat for putting up with her." He plucked a succulent strawberry off the plate and held it up.
Working hard to push away the dark--and surely crazy--thought she'd just had, she bit into the dark chocolate and sweet fruit right from his fingers. It was as delicious and tempting as Sebastian.
But she wanted to know about the Maverick dynamic. "You don't seem to be much of a fan of Evan's wife." Charlie had quickly picked up on the fact that none of the Mavericks felt particularly relaxed around Whitney.
"She treats Evan like crap. He's worth way more than that. Deserves way more." He finished the other half of the strawberry, licking a dab of chocolate from his thumb.
Her mouth watered, wanting to lick him clean herself. She sipped her champagne. Such luxury. She could really love being spoiled. But she'd never take it for granted the way Whitney Collins seemed to. "I can't say I felt drawn to her." Harper Newman--yes. Whitney Collins--absolutely not.
"The woman's toxic. Everything she touches turns bad. No one deserves to live in a toxic, soul-destroying relationship like that. I just wish Evan could figure a way out. To get away from her."
"Whoa." The fervor in his voice as he talked about toxic relationships reverberated through her. "She really upsets you, doesn't she?" Charlie curled her feet onto the sofa, tucking them under the robe.
"Sorry." His tension seemed to ease slightly as he puffed out a sigh. "Got carried away. It's just stuff like that..."
"Reminds you
of your parents?" she said softly, finishing for him when he trailed off. She wanted to touch him, to wrap her fluffy white robe around them both.
"Unfortunately, it does. I couldn't help my parents, but I wish I could help Evan."
"You help so many people every day. Thousands of lives have changed for the better because of you." She smiled at him. "Look at me and my mom, for instance. Everything is different for us now."
"Better too, I hope? Especially now that you have so many commissions falling into your lap."
She wasn't used to being the center of attention, but really, who wouldn't be thrilled to be handpicked for greatness by Sebastian Montgomery?
Only her.
She must be crazy, and when she saw his frown, she rushed to say, "I can't wait to start the dinosaurs for Noah. Next time I need a break from the horses, that's what I'll build." She hoped it escaped his notice that she didn't actually say her creative life was better. She was sure she'd feel that way once she got over her weird reticence.
"We should figure out a price tag for the works you've already got in stock. And then--"
She broke in, almost sharply, without thinking through her words. "I'm not charging for the dino. Or for anything else one of your friends might want." She tried to temper her tone with a smile, adding, "They were all so welcoming. So nice."
"That's the Mavericks for you." Though he seemed a little taken aback by her strong reaction to the idea of putting a price on her work, his voice was gentle. "I could tell they loved you."
"I know your childhood was really hard, but the family you created as an adult is amazing. You're very lucky, Sebastian."
"Luckier than I ever thought I'd be." With the softening of his voice and the way he looked so deeply into her eyes, it felt as if he was saying how lucky he'd been to find her too. "Speaking of family, after you told me your mom finally got a spot at the new facility, I looked at the website and made a few calls. You've said the place will be great for her, and from everything I've seen and everyone I've spoken to, I think you're right. But the start-up cost and the monthly fees are astronomical."