Code of Control (11 page)

“Okay, first off…”
she started.

Nolan sat up,
his pretense of relaxation foiled by the look in her eyes. “Charlotte, please sit
down or I’m not going to tell you anything.”

“Perhaps it
would be better if you did not tell me anything,” she reassured him.

“For who? You?”

This time, she
glared at him, but eventually she caved and sat on the side of his bed, at
least three feet from his reach.

“My wife’s name
was Charity,” he began.

Charlotte
snorted, looking away, her hands balled into fists.

“Seriously,” he
said, leaning toward her.

“Sure it wasn’t
Chastity?” she said rudely, facing him.

Nolan chuckled.
“Positive. My wife was anything but virginal when married to her.”

She looked
appalled, but said, “Continue.”

“Charity and I
married young. Carolyn came along when neither of us was ready. I was just
starting out with
OSHIT
. Then my wife was killed. I didn’t know what to
do with a willful child and because of it, I lost her.”

“Lost her?” she
yelped.

“Not physically.
Emotionally. We don’t connect on the level we should. That kind of lost.”

“I can’t fathom as
to why not,” she answered snidely.

“Do you want to
continue with this conversation or not?” he posed harshly. This checked her
sudden sneering at him.

“Yes. Continue.”

“I will…if you’re
certain the snide remarks are done, at least until I can finish with the
history lesson. I wouldn’t want to take away your fun.”

Charlotte’s eyes
widened but she kept her mouth closed.

“Carolyn went
off, searching for life. I couldn’t stop her from doing it because I didn’t
want to stop her.”

“She’s your
dau—”

He held up his
hand. “Yes, she is, but I don’t control people as you seem to think I do.”

“Then why are to
trying to control me?”

“You’re
different.”

“How?”

Unsure of what
to tell her at this point, he stood quickly, rammed a hand through his hair, and
then turned to look at her. “I haven’t figured out the answer to that, yet.”

Charlotte stood,
as well. “I have.”

Nolan’s brow
rose. “Oh?”

“Yes,
oh
,
Nolan Morgan. Fate brought us together, destiny wants to rip us apart, and
you’re stuck trying to figure out what side of the fence you want to be on when
it falls apart.”

“I don’t believe
in either, fate or destiny,” he muttered, watching her slow movements toward
him. Two feet from him, she stopped.

“I’m going to
give you an ultimatum,” she said.

“Don’t like
them,” he supplied, swallowing hard.

“That’s too damn
bad. You’re going to get one anyway.”

He filled his
lungs, flared his nostrils with the release of air, and waited.

“You, Nolan
Morgan, are going to kiss me. You’re going to make certain I believe you don’t
want me after the kiss. Then, you’re going to let me leave when the kiss falls
flat on its face.”

He shook his
head. “Can’t do any of that, sweetheart.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to
give you a kiss that might fail. I want to rip off your clothes, impale you as
I had before, and listen to you screaming out my name while writhing under me
in the purest form of ecstasy imaginable—same as before.”

Her blush was
the prettiest thing he had ever seen, her gasp the worst thing ever endured.

“Did I shock
you?” he muttered.

She slowly shook
her head. “No.”

“Then what’s the
problem?” he taunted.

Charlotte’s eyes
rose, trapping him deep into her web. “There’s no problem at all.”

“Then why the
gasp? Afraid I might actually go through with this plan?”

“No.”

“No?”
he probed.

“No.”

He stepped
forward, setting his hand on her forearm, feeling Charlotte flinch beneath his
palm. “You wanted a reason. I gave you one. I can’t help it you don’t like the
reason.”

“I wanted
honesty. Instead, you covered it up with sexual demands you won’t actually go
through with.”

His brow arched
high. “I won’t?”

Charlotte shook
her head. “No, you won’t. Pride falleth before all else with a man like you.”

“Daring failure
on me?” he taunted.

“I should not
have to make anything a dare with you.”

“Then I should not
have to hear ultimatums out of you, either.”

She tried to
step back, but his firm grip increased, stalling her exit. “No, Charlotte. You
are not running away from me this time.”

“What are you
going to do? Force me into your bed against my will?”

“Would I be
forcing you against your will?”

His smile grew
as he watched her lick her lips, desperately trying to avoid eye contact with
him. This gave him time to use his other hand to tip her chin up. “Dammit,
Charlotte.”

“Don’t you damn—”
she began, but he cut the remainder of her words in half, crushing his mouth
against hers.

Chapter Twelve

Charlotte melted
against Nolan’s mouth, wishing he would lose this code of control he had over
himself. If he wanted her, he should take her, no holds barred. She’d given him
every signal she could think of that she was interested, and every moment he’d
wasted, pushing her away.

If they are to
be partners, as he said, then should not he, as well, conquer his fears about
relationships as much as she will have to about her claustrophobia, fear of chickens,
and the nightmares that went with the reasons she was as she is—jaded.

She meant to
pack, leave, and never look back. Unfortunately, for all of twenty minutes, she’d
sat on his bed with the lights off inside the bedroom, wondering what it would
be like to actually make love to him and not just have sex with him. That’s all
they did in the hotel room. Sex, no strings attached, no remorse, but one hell
of hangover the following morning.

She’d gone out
that night to forget the hauntings in her head, hoping to change the course of
her life. Well, it did change, that’s for certain, and not necessarily for the
better, but not necessarily any worse.

He eased his
mouth away, looked down at her, and then went at her face again, his hands
wrapped tight around her waist.

“Dammit,” he
ground against her lips.

Charlotte ignored
the anger and gave back all she received. Tiny shivers of expectation ran
through her, coursing out a map inside her head to which way she should follow.
He instantly broke the contact just as the heat was pooling between her legs.

“Why did you
stop?” she whispered against his lips.

“Kissing you is not
fixing this huge problem we have. And I needed to catch my breath.”

Her smile was
the brightest she could muster. “I don’t have a problem with catching my breath.
Perhaps you do…”

Nolan’s lips
curved a fraction. “I have a hell of a problem with you, and it stems from the
guy standing outside that door, likely waiting to find out if you are leaving us
or not.”

“Devon is a big
boy. He’ll survive a few minutes wait.”

Nolan’s laughter
reached deep into her heart. “This is not going to be a few minutes, Charlotte.
Besides, my brother does not survive; he thrives on drama like this.”

Charlotte drew
back, staring at him. “Is that what this kiss was about?”

“What?”

“Drama?”

He shook his
head, working them toward the bed. “No.”

“Then what is it
to you? What am I to you?” she countered.

Nolan pushed her
down on the bed, bending over her, setting his lips to her neck, working his
way to her collarbone. She was in absolute ecstasy by the masterful touch of
his lips. She’d waited days to have this happen again with him. Days she
suffered through, hoping he hadn’t been a mistake. Pretending she wanted Devon
was a mistake, but this moment, this one blessed second with Nolan was not.

“Charlotte,
sweetheart?”

“Hmm?”

“Shut up and
kiss me better than you are.”

“You’re not
going to tell me anything, are you?”

He shook his
head.

A stolen breath
later, she did as told, no more questions to mar their truce. Nolan, the player
and seducer extraordinaire had somehow worked off her T-shirt, his hands
cupping the undercarriage of her breast, as his mouth sought and searched for a
response from her.

She gave him a
response, tenfold. A hasty maneuver on her part, she rolled him over and
straddled his hips, while his hands stayed firm on her chest, kneading her
breasts through her bra.

“Take this off,”
he muttered, fingering the lacy material.

“Take this off
me yourself. I’m sure you remember how.”

A half breath
later, her bra was unclasped and headed to the floor.

Charlotte laid
her palms flat against his shirt. One glance at the most amazing expression,
almost serene, urged her on. “You need to take this off, too.”

“The honors are
all yours, sweetheart.”

She checked from
removing his shirt so quickly, however. “Are you certain Devon will wait
outside? You did not lock the door.”

Nolan’s smile
grew. “If he does not stay out he is going to get an eyeful.”

“Oh?”

He shifted his
hips up to torture her, pressing the huge bulge into the juncture of her heat.

“Oh!”

“Yes, Charlotte…
oh!
”
Nolan then reached for her neck, bringing her mouth back to his. “You win,” he
mustered out between pants.

“What do I win?”
she said, parting her lips. Her tongue battled his for a few lingering seconds.
He slowly drew back, licked her bottom lip, and nipped at the corner of her
mouth, moving his lips toward her ear.

“You win our
war. I want you, there is nothing that is going to stop me from taking you, and
when through, we will tell each other our deepest, darkest secrets.”

“I have no
secrets with you,” she said, her breath hitching when his large hand slipped to
her right breast, the nipple hardening more than it was.

“Do you want to
have sex with me, or not?” he demanded roughly. “You have more secrets than a
twenty volume potion manual. Lying to me now won’t solve the problem.”

Charlotte froze.
“Do you want to have sex with me?”

“Hell, yes!”

“Then what’s the
holdup? I’m half naked.”

Nolan’s grin
widened.

“Why are you
smiling at me like that?”

He gave out a
soft laugh. “You’re more than half-naked, Charlotte.”

“Oh?”

“I took the
liberty to hide your underwear after they were tossed into my room. All you
have on is your jeans.”

She slapped him playfully
on the chest. “I was wondering where they went.”

“And you weren’t
going to say a goddamn thing about it, were you?”

“What was I to
say? By the way, did anyone see where my underwear went? It’s not like they
grew legs and walked away.”

“How did you get
the bra?” he inquired, his mirth growing.

“I found one
under your bed.”

Nolan pushed up
on his elbows. “How the hell did your bra get under my bed? Better yet, is it
even yours?”

She smirked at
his face. “Yes, it’s mine, and it got under there likely when your ass brother
tossed my clothes into here. I had a hell of a time searching for what I could
find, which was not much. In fact, Squatsville, Mr. Morgan. Why is that?”

“That’s easy to
answer. Any essentials were hidden from you.”

“Why?”

His dimpled grin
returned. “Why not?”

“Nolan Morgan,
do you have an underwear fetish with women’s panties?”

“No.”

“Then where did
you hide them?”

“You’ll have to
sex the answer out of me.”

“I’ll have to
what
?”

“After a thorough
round of sex, I’ll give them back to you. But you will have to satisfy me,
Charlotte. Not pacify me.”

She never got
the chance to answer this. A loud knock sounded on the bedroom door, Charlotte
scrambling off Nolan, darting for her tossed bra.

“Everyone
decent?” Devon rudely inquired.

“Fuck,”
Charlotte yelped, cupping her breasts.

“I wish,” Nolan
grumbled, winking at her face to hide his dissertation.

“Why didn’t you
lock the door?” she whispered, giving him the evil eye.

“I hadn’t known
I was going to have sex with you, now did I?”

“Answer him,”
she warned, “before he just waltzes right in here.”

“Why should I?”

Charlotte glared,
hard. “If you don’t, he might barge in and get more than he bargained for.”

She fumbled with
the clasp on her bra, gaining her goal, then searched for her T-shirt. By then,
Nolan was off the bed and he’d moved toward the door, yanking it open with a
huge smile on his face.

Charlotte
yelped, trying to cover her upper body with her arms.

“No, we are not
decent, but thanks for interrupting a damn good thing when not asked,” he
snapped at his brother’s face.

Devon’s eyes
went from Nolan, to Charlotte cowering on the other side of the bed, dressed
only in bra and jeans, her T-shirt four feet from her reach. He sent across the
room a huge smile.

“Damn, bro, why
didn’t you lock the door? Better still, why the hell did you even answer it if halfway
to the goods?”

Nolan shoved
Devon over the threshold, slamming the door in his face, and then finally taking
the time to lock it.

Charlotte stood,
gathered in a deep breath, muttering loudly, “Why the hell did you let him see me
like this?”

He ignored this,
saying, “Um…where were we, Ms. Raven?” He stalked her, cornering her on the far
side of the room.

Charlotte put up
both hands to hold him back, but he was too strong for her, easing her
backwards, pressing her spine against the wall.

“I’m no longer
in the mood,” she said flatly.

“I sure as the
hell am.” His glance down confirmed this.

“That’s your
problem, not mine,” she snapped.

Her head could
not wrap around the thought his twin could have easily walked in on them while
having sex. She’d been about to get to that point. What was wrong with her?
She’d never been this horny, or this stupid, in all her life.

“Charlotte
Raven,” he rasped near her ear.

“Yes?” she
whispered back.

“Are we taking
up where we left off?”

“I’m sorry Nolan.
I can’t do this.” Apologizing for wanton behavior was just the train headed
down the wrong tracks. She knew it. He knew it. She wasn’t fooling anyone.

“Why not?” he
probed. Strong fingers were brushing away a tendril of hair from her face, the
caress of his fingertip more than she could handle.

“We’d
momentarily lost our minds, that’s why. Your brother is right out that door.”
Her bare shoulder jerked toward it.

“So?”

“He—he, um…”

Nolan pushed
back, giving her breathing space. “I get it, sweetheart.”

“Get what?”

“You go from hot
to cold as fast as I do, even faster. More so, when there is the possibility of
judgment.”

Charlotte licked
her lips, watching Nolan’s retreat with dread. Any antidote to stupidity was no
longer in her reach. “What do you want from me? Jump on the bed and have sex
with you, knowing your brother saw us—saw me—because you’d opened the door for
him.”

“Yes.”

“Well, I can’t
do it. I have my pride to consider.”

He scoffed at
this, running a hand over his face.

“Don’t you dare
scoff at me,” she warned.

He did it again,
then said, “I dare because your pride went to hell in a hand-basket the moment
we fucked each other in a cheap hotel room.”

“Excuse me?”

“It also crashed
to the floor the moment you allowed Devon into your room after wanting me there
instead.”

“Are we again to
that? I told you nothing happened. You pushed me in that direction anyway.”

“Yet you
straddled my cock, ready to screw it if released, and I’m supposed to believe
you did not want an easy replacement to last night.”

“Yes!”

“I can’t.”

Charlotte’s eyes
widened. “Excuse me? You can’t?” she said bitterly.

Nolan’s head
tipped, his mouth twitching. “Does my inability to fall under your spell piss
you off?”

“A little,” she
said, smarting on the inside. In fact, it pissed her off a lot.

“Good. Now come
here.” He motioned she step toward him. Charlotte refused.

“Why?”

“So we can go
back to training you, and this ongoing war you and I have on who will get the
better of the other will end.”

Her mouth
opened, but through will alone she clamped it shut—tight.