Love Beyond the Curve (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (9 page)

Charlotte slowly turned around and leaned her forehead against his, sliding her arms around his neck. “I can’t deny a patient request like that, can I?”

“No, and I’ve been patient long enough, so kiss me, Charlotte,” he commanded her, and she lifted her mouth to his. She hesitantly moved closer to his mouth, but didn’t touch his lips with hers. He didn’t try to close the gap, but waited for her to decide what she wanted to do as they looked into each other’s eyes. She moved closer, pressing her breasts against his chest as she finally covered his lips with hers. He let her have complete control, and as she slipped the tip of her tongue between his lips, a moan escaped from his throat as she began to deepen the kiss, exploring his mouth more confidently as she went along. It took all of his strength and self-control not to turn the tables and take charge, satisfying his own lust for her.

She finally pulled back and loosened her arms from around his neck. She smiled shyly as she looked up into his eyes. “I think getting to know you better may be a good idea after all, Jackson.”

Chapter Seventeen

Reed and Charlotte ate their lunch, casually discussing his progress and what they wanted to accomplish for the day. Charlotte was going to finish a book she had started a few weeks ago, and Reed was looking forward to watching a game on television. After they finished their meal, Charlotte ordered Reed to go prop his leg while she cleaned up the kitchen. When she finished, she walked back into the den and announced that she was going to go on back to her place and tidy up and read for the afternoon since she wouldn’t have much time after she went back to work on Tuesday.

“Can’t you read over here with me? I don’t want you to go. At least if you are here, I can look at you while you read.” He held a hand out to her, motioning for her to come closer. When she did, he took her hand and pulled her down onto his lap, wrapping his arm around her waist so she couldn’t get up.

“There now, that’s better. Don’t go. Stay right here with me today. Please.”

“I’ll stay with you, but I don’t need to be in your lap. You have broken ribs and a sprained hamstring. And I am too heavy to be in your lap.”

“Says who?” he countered, raising a questioning eyebrow.

“Says me, now let me get up. You’ve made too much progress to let me set you back a day.” Charlotte tried to pull herself up without hurting him, but he only tightened his arms around her.

“You
aren’t
heavy, Charlotte. That’s ridiculous. You’re on the
opposite
side of my cracked ribs, so relax. Just let me hold you for a while. You don’t realize how good you feel in my arms. I actually have something to hold on
to
. You are soft and extremely feminine. I like it. It’s a wonderful feeling I can’t describe. It just feels…right.”

“You are good. You said everything right.”

“I meant everything I said. Now, just lean back against me and we’ll watch the game together.” Reed pulled her against him and relaxed as she leaned her head back on his shoulder.

They stayed together like that for a while. When she realized he had drifted off to sleep, Charlotte eased up off of his lap. She grabbed an afghan from the back of a rocker and spread it over him. After kissing his forehead, she quietly went out the back door and over to her place.

* * * *

She was finishing the last chapter of her book when her phone rang. It was Reed.

“Hello, did you get a good nap?” she asked, smiling as she thought of him all tucked in when she left.

“I was, but I am having a horrible charley horse in my bad leg. Can you come over?” He sounded as though he was speaking through gritted teeth.

“I’m on my way.” She tossed the book she was reading on the coffee table and headed out the door.

When she walked in, she could see Reed was in terrible pain. She came over and spoke in her professional voice. “Hang on, I’m going to see what’s going on here.” She lightly ran her fingertips down the injured leg and located the contracted muscle group. “I am going to try to lightly massage the muscles into relaxing again. It may hurt some. If it doesn’t give in a few minutes, I’ll stop. Ready?”

Reed nodded and then gritted his teeth as she began to work out the kink. In a matter of a few minutes, he began to feel the muscles relax a bit. He was slightly pale from the pain, but the color was returning to his face now.

“Better?” she asked as she stood up and placed her hands on her hips.

“Yeah, much better. You’ve got magic fingers there, I see.” He grimaced as he tried to straighten out the leg a bit more.

“I don’t know about that, but I have had charley horses a lot myself, so I tried what I do to myself. I’m going to go run a hot whirlpool bath for you to get into and soak that leg. You can let the water do the work, and just lean back and relax. Stay here, and I’ll come back for you when it is ready. There is no need for you to move until you have to. Try to relax those muscles gradually, so they won’t be so sore. I’ll be right back.” With that, she turned and walked back toward the bedroom where he had been recuperating. The adjoining bath had a Jacuzzi whirlpool tub in it, complete with a handicap rail. The tub had been installed for his grandmother’s use to help with her crippling arthritis. Now, it was going to help her grandson. Charlotte got the temperature as hot as she thought was tolerable and got the jets going full force before going back to get Reed.

When they entered the bathroom, she turned and looked at him and asked, “Do you think you’ll be able to get in the tub on your own? If you’ll just undress right beside the tub and use your crutch to steady yourself as you sit on the side, I think you’ll be able to put down the crutch and slide on down into the water without too much extra pain. The hot water will work wonders for you.”

“I don’t think I want you to go too far. I’ll try it. I’ll call you if I get in a jam.” He winked and gave her a big grin.

“I’ll be in the bedroom. Call if you need me. Don’t take any chances. You don’t need another injury to deal with now.” She laughed, kissing him on the cheek as she walked out and pulled the door almost closed.

She had gotten back into her favorite chair and was looking out over the backyard at the birds playing in the birdbath and swooping down from trees when she heard him call for her.

She opened the door and took a few steps into the room, but still gave him his privacy. “Are you okay? Is it killing you?”

“Yes, come here. I don’t think I can stand it any longer.” He leaned back and closed his eyes. She walked over and sat down on the edge of the tub.

“Do you need me to help you get out?” She took the hand that was resting on the side of the tub next to her hip.

“No, I need for you to get in here with me. I don’t think I can stand being by myself in this huge tub any longer. Not knowing you are on the other side of that wall, looking like a gift on Christmas morning.” He nodded toward her outfit, referring to her red dress and heels.

Charlotte threw back her head and laughed her throaty, sexy laugh that always managed to send tingles running down Reed’s spine every time he heard it. She stood up and placed her hands on her hips and looked down at him, shaking her head.

“Do you know you look like Wonder Woman every time you do that? It’s really a sexy pose, and you do it all the time. I love it. Are you going to get in here with me?” He grinned up at her, looking anything
but
innocent.

Charlotte laughed again and placed her hands inside the pockets of her dress and decided to speak honestly with him. “The woman in me says get in with you, but the ‘big girl’ in me says run like hell if you want him to stick around a little longer. I
do
want you to stick around a little longer to see where this goes. I don’t think I’m ready for the ‘reveal’ yet. You just kissed me for the first time today. A bath together in the same day is rather a quantum leap, don’t you think?”

“No, I think you should listen to the woman in you, because that is the only person I see, or have ever seen, and she’s the one I’m talking to right now. You need to tell that ‘big girl’ chick who talks inside your head to get the hell out of there and not come back. She’s not you, Charlotte. Get in here, and I’ll show you who I see and who has been and is turning me on. Come here to me. I promise you I’ll make you see the light once and for all.” He declared his opinion to her with seemingly heartfelt sincerity.

Charlotte bit her lip as she pondered his words, looking into his eyes as he kept his gaze locked on her face.

“You’re thinking about it. I know the ‘biting the lip’ look. You want to, Charlotte. Just for once do what you want to do. You are safe with me.
That
I can promise.”

Charlotte pulled her hands out of her pockets and reached for her belt buckle. She slowly unfastened it and let it drop to the floor.

Reed took in a deep breath and leaned back to watch her, giving her his full attention. Charlotte continued unbuttoning the buttons of her red dress to just past her waist. She then slipped it off her shoulders and let it drop to the floor. Reed stared in awe at the woman standing before him wearing a red, lacy, barely there bra and matching red, lacy panties that hugged her hips perfectly. She had an hourglass figure, with legs that seemed long as she stood there in the red high-heeled sandals. Her thighs were fully shaped, but obviously toned as he noticed the defined muscles along the sides. She stepped out of the dress and kicked it aside and walked very sensuously over to the tub and placed a red-heeled sandal on the side of the tub for him to unbuckle. He sat up and removed the shoe, then the other one when she offered it to him as well. He was completely throbbing with an erection as he removed the sandal.

“Charlotte, you are more beautiful than I ever imagined,” he said in a whisper as he leaned back to watch her as she continued to undress for him.

His words of adoration gave her the courage to continue, so she reached behind her to unfasten her bra.
I am blowing this from the start. In ten seconds he is going to see the boobs go south and rethink this request.
Charlotte hesitated a moment before releasing her hold on the bra.

Reed literally held his breath. He knew exactly what her breasts looked like from the night he had kicked Matt out. He had seen them through her wet T-shirt when she had doused them both with water from the car-wash bucket. Nothing could have prepared him for the sight he beheld when her bra fell to the floor. She now revealed her large, heavy breasts with thick nipples jutting out, begging to be sucked and laved by his tongue. He ran a hand through his dark hair as he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. When he opened his eyes again, she had tucked her thumbs in the waistband of her panties and had slowly begun to roll them downward past her knees. As she leaned forward to push them on down, her breasts hung suspended, swaying ever so slightly as she stepped out of them, too. She was now completely naked, standing beside the tub with one hand at her throat and the other splayed over her stomach. He dropped his eyes from hers and took in the sight of her from head to toe as he sat up. He was mesmerized by the sight of the dark curls covering her mound. He hadn’t seen anything as enticing in a long time. He reached out a hand to her as she stepped into the tub, facing him. He slid his hands up her legs and pulled her down to straddle his lap. In the water she felt very lightweight, so she didn’t hesitate to follow his guiding hands. When she felt his erection against her bottom, she raised her eyebrows and looked at him with apparent surprise.

He cocked his head to one side and placed a finger under her chin, lifting her eyes to meet his. “I told you I found you incredibly sexy. After that performance, what do you expect from a healthy man? You and your body did that to me. Remember that when you are doubting your effect on the opposite sex.”

He pulled her to him and kissed her thoroughly as he slid his hands up to cover her breasts. She watched him as he lifted and squeezed them and began to roll her nipples between his thumb and forefinger. As they hardened even more, he took first one, then the other into his mouth to suck and pull until she was moaning and holding his head in her hands. He held her full bottom in his hands, gently kneading her flesh. It felt like he was branding her beneath his firm, possessive touch. She leaned forward to meet his mouth and sat wrapped in his arms as he held her and kissed her neck, lips, and throat, taking his time with her. She gasped as he moved his hand between them and slipped a finger between the folds of her femininity and began to explore the most secret part of her. She held onto his shoulders, and they watched each other as he began to stroke her toward a climax. She began to moan and bite her lower lip as he continued to quicken his rhythm. She tightened her grip on his shoulders as she began to ride his hand.

He gazed at her, mesmerized as he watched her move her hands gracefully over her neck and breasts, squeezing them and pinching her nipples. She finally threw her head back and let a strangled sob escape from her throat. She jerked her head up and looked Reed in the eyes and said through clenched teeth, “Don’t you dare stop now, Jackson.”

He looked up at her and said, “I won’t, Hamilton, if you won’t hold back like you’ve been doing.”

“I really don’t want to scare you. I am trying to use some self-control here.” She tried to speak between little gasps as he worked his magic on her.