Mr charming, p.19
Mr. Charming, page 19
The tip of his finger rims my entrance, and the fingers that were on my clit splay across my stomach, keeping me from moving around.
“God, Tweetie,” I beg, needing more. Needing him to take me to the place only he can.
“Just God works.”
I glimpse down, and his teasing blue eyes only get me there faster. I forgot how much I missed this.
He doubles down and sucks on my clit while two fingers plunge and play inside me. My hands grip the comforter until my knuckles ache. Without any more smartass comments, he works me so good that I’m on the edge in seconds and leaping over it minutes later.
Bliss scatters through my body as I cry out—a mix of his name and gibberish until I’m left panting and staring at the ceiling. Picking up my head, seeing my juices on his chin, I only want him more.
“Didn’t anyone tell you to say thank you?” He laughs and crawls on top of me.
“You should be thanking me.”
“Touché.” He kisses me briefly. “Now where are the condoms? Otherwise I can’t thank you properly for letting me go down on you.”
I wrap my arms around his chest, not wanting to let him go. “Top drawer of the nightstand that you knocked the clock off of.”
He wiggles out of my embrace and stretches across the mattress, opening the drawer. “Gonna be honest, don’t love the easy access.” I hear him tear from the strip of condoms. “And I see you haven’t been with anyone with as impressive of a dick as me?”
He gets on his knees, and I watch him open the condom wrapper and roll the condom down his length. “Were you hoping for dust on the box?”
“Expired would have been better.”
I place my hand on his thigh, and he weaves his fingers through mine, our gazes holding for a minute as if it sucks that we allowed all this time to pass while we were apart.
“Me on top?” He blows out a breath, deflecting the moment with humor. “My job is never done.”
“Oh my god, just fuck me already.”
He gives me a wicked grin and pushes open my legs. “I should make you ride me so I can suck on your tits.”
“Next time. After we fuck against the wall.”
He looks down at his dick. “Man, she’s already got a honey-do list for us.”
Then the humor fades as he moves over me. Leaning down, his lips brush along my collarbone, lingering for a moment before he moves lower. The softness of his lips on my bare skin feels like a secret he’s savoring and discovering. I inhale deeply, my fingers finding their way into his hair, gently pulling him closer, silently urging him on.
Tweetie kisses a path down my body, his touch tender and slow. I can’t help but melt under his attention. A shiver runs through me as his hands glide over my sides, moving with a steady rhythm that matches the pounding of my heart. He traces the tattoo of his name with one finger, and his gaze flicks up to meet mine. In his, I see nothing but the weight of the love that still lies between us.
He rises back just as slowly as he moved down until our faces are aligned. “You’re beautiful,” he murmurs.
His fingers dance along my body, and a soft gasp escapes my lips. The way he touches me, so carefully, so deliberate, makes me feel as though I’m the only thing in the world that matters to him. With each kiss, each caress, I’m reminded of what we were together.
His tip pushes against my opening, and he slides in an inch before he kisses me and slides in another inch. Once he’s fully inside me, he gives me the moment I need to adjust.
“Take a minute, I know it’s a lot.”
“Tweetie!” I exclaim, and he laughs, sliding out and back in.
He doesn’t joke anymore as he falls into an easy rhythm in and out of me, casting kisses along my face, my neck, and my ears. His breath rattles in my ear, and I grip his shoulder blades, then lower until I grab his muscled ass and urge him to push into me harder.
He increases his pace, plunging inside me over and over. My breathing hitches when his mouth falls to my breast, taking my nipple into his hot mouth, and it’s all too much. Him, the sensations all over my body. My orgasm comes again, swiftly and without warning, but I hit a crescendo so far gone, I wonder if I’ll ever move away from this state of euphoria.
“God, I love watching you come. I love being the one to make you come.” He crashes his lips to mine, and I hold his chest to me, never wanting this moment to end.
He thrusts into me over and over, whispering sweet things about missing me, being lost without me, and how he finally feels found again until he stills inside me and comes on a curse.
His breathing is jagged as he comes down, laying his weight on me and kissing me languidly without any rush. Minutes later, he lifts his head.
“Thank you,” he says, laughing as he grows soft inside me. With a chaste kiss to my lips, he slides out of me and goes into the bathroom.
I follow him and wait for him to dispose of the condom and clean himself. He stands and waits for me.
“What are you doing?” I ask, waiting to go to the bathroom.
“What are you waiting for?” he asks.
“You to leave.” I motion toward the door.
His forehead wrinkles. “Why?”
“So I can go to the bathroom.”
He crosses his arms and leans against the counter. “Go.”
I walk over and turn him to face the door. “Yeah, we’re not there yet.”
“I’ve seen you pee plenty,” he fights me, walking forward.
I shut the door on him, flicking the lock. He laughs, and god, how I missed that sound so much. More than I’ve been able to admit to myself over the years.
I exit the bathroom a few minutes later, and he’s got his boxer briefs on and his phone in his hand. “So, what do you think? Chinese or pizza?”
It’s always zero to sixty in no time with us.
Thirty-Nine
Tedi
My phone alarm blares, and I reach to grab it from the nightstand, but the phone falls to the floor.
“Grr.” I sling my arm over the edge of the mattress and reach for it, but I can’t feel it.
“Cold.” Tweetie tugs the covers back over him. “Turn it off.”
“I’m trying.” I finally feel the tip of the phone, and I slowly bring it closer until I’m able to grab it. I pick it up and right myself on the bed, turning off the alarm.
Sliding up, I rest my back against the headboard and put the phone back down on my nightstand.
Tweetie rolls over, wrapping his arm around my waist and dropping his head in my lap. My hands mindlessly run through his hair, and he practically purrs like a cat under my touch.
Last night was like we took a time machine back to so many years ago. Before the injury, before the trade and our inevitable breakup. We ordered Chinese food, binged a television series, but stopped when the lingering touches became too much and we couldn’t control our libidos. He fulfilled his promise and fucked me against the wall, then I rode him right before we went to finally fall asleep.
I gaze down at him, grazing my knuckles along his strong shoulder blades. I run my finger over the spot where he got the tattoo removed, barely raised and noticeable now. He stiffens under my touch for a moment before I continue my lazy exploration. He tightens his grip on me, nuzzling his head further in my lap.
Being with him again feels so good. I’m not sure I realized how incomplete I felt all these years. As though I had a missing twin out there somewhere. But with the sunrise, my mind fills with doubts. Am I really ready for this? What happens with my job? Not much has changed, because in a few months when the season is over, I head back to New York. With Tweetie’s contract up, he could end up as far away as Los Angeles, playing alongside Cory, for all we know.
“I can feel you thinking. Stop,” Tweetie mumbles.
“That’s an impossible ask.”
He rolls over, keeping his head in my lap, staring up at me. “Do you regret it?”
I should’ve known. The man reads me better than my own father. “I don’t regret it.”
“But?” He runs his finger up and down along the back of my neck. It’s sensual and loving and makes what I’m about to say that much harder.
“There’s a lot to consider here.”
“Nothing we can’t handle.”
I raise my eyebrows. He knows it, and I know it. “What about after this season when I go to New York and you go wherever you get signed or stay here? Long distance isn’t really our thing.”
He huffs out a breath. Not in anger but annoyance. “I think it could be different.”
“How?”
The last person I ever want to be again is that crazed, insecure woman who convinced herself he was making a fool of her. The obsessed woman who thought she was one comment away from finding out he was a cheater. The hockey blogs are still alive and kicking and causing turmoil in good relationships.
“I’m not in the same headspace as when I was dealing with an injury and trying to find my place on a new team.” He doesn’t stop running his fingers through the strands of hair at the back of his head.
“Not now, but if Bud doesn’t sign you, then—”
He sits up and rests his back along the headboard beside me, taking my hand. “Then I go to another team, and it’s a little longer or it’s an even shorter distance. Maybe New York wants me? There are a lot of what-ifs in those scenarios.”
“I think that’s what I don’t like.” I turn to face him. “Last night was great.”
“Uh-oh, I feel the ‘it’s not you, but me’ talk coming on.”
I stare down at our joined hands. “Not at all. I just need to ground myself. If this is really going to work, I think we need to pump the brakes a little. Ease into this slowly. We’ve always played hot and loose with our emotions and actions.”
He doesn’t say anything for a moment, but he also doesn’t pull his hand from mine. “I meant everything I said. I’m not going into this as the same man I left our relationship as.”
“I know that. I do.” I crawl into his lap, straddling him, needing to be close to him. To know that I’m not saying no, I’m just saying slow. “You still trust me?”
“You’re still the person I trust the most.”
I put my hands on his cheeks and rest my forehead against his. “Then trust me that with time, we’ll be there again. You’re like a race car, pedal to the floor, tires screeching around the corners, and I just think this time around, we might need to take the Sunday drive approach. We’re going to reach the same destination, I’m sure of it, but it might take us longer than we’re used to.”
He swallows. “I’m gonna be honest. I’m not sure if I’m built for slow, but if I’m gonna try for anyone, it’s you.”
I smile, and his hands tighten on my hips. “Thank you.”
“I have to know, does this have anything to do with the tattoo thing? Because I can book an appointment right now. And this time I’ll get your full name right over my heart. Fuck it if Cory tells me I’m copying him.”
I shake my head. “It doesn’t have anything to do with the tattoo. You made up for that with what you said last night. It’s actually kind of romantic in a very twisted and weird way.”
“I lo—”
I place my finger on his lips. “Please. Not yet.”
When I remove my finger and draw back, he looks into my eyes. “Me not saying the words doesn’t make it untrue.”
Both of our phones vibrate with a text, but we ignore them.
“All right, let’s go through the rules then,” he says.
I lean back on his lap and tilt my head. “We don’t need rules.”
He nods and holds his hands up. “I am not fucking this up this time, so you give me the rules you want to go by, and if we get to the point that I’m allowed to break them, you’ll let me know, okay?”
“God no, I’m not your teacher.”
“Tedi.” There’s no humor in his voice. He’s serious.
“No more sleeping together.” I cringe.
He stares at me blankly. And then he brings his hands back to my hips, picking me up and plopping me next to him. “Then you need to sit over there. And put on some underwear. Actually, go put on a snowsuit or something.” He waves his hand as though I should go do exactly that.
“You okay?”
He nods. “Continue.”
“No dinners yet. We can do coffee, walks, maybe a lunch.”
His mouth drops open. “We can’t eat dinner together?”
I shrug. “Okay, no romantic dates. Like, I’m not wearing a dress, we’re not making reservations, and you can’t get me flowers.”
He crosses his arms. “I don’t think you can mandate no flowers.”
“Fine. You can get me flowers. But I can’t promise I’m going to water them.”
“That’s just being a shitty human being. If I got you a dog, would you not feed the dog?”
“Don’t get me a dog, Tweetie,” I deadpan because I know this man.
“You’re really making this whole wooing process difficult. It’s supposed to be enjoyable and make you want to date me.”
Our phones vibrate again.
“We don’t have to put any rules into action, but I’m being serious. I want to take this slow.”
He blows out a breath and puts out his hand. “Fine, Tedi Douglas, I promise to abide by your rules while I try to court you into falling in love with me all over again.”
“Dramatic much?”
He wiggles his hand in the air. “Come on. The faster we agree on the terms, the faster I can work my way around your rules.”
I have no doubt he will.
I shake his hand, then he pulls me in a bit closer. “Looks like me and you are best buds again.”
I playfully push him, and we both laugh.
“Do we have a time limit here?” he asks, and I blow out a breath. “I’m kidding. But can we at least seal this agreement with a kiss?”
“Sure.” I lean forward and kiss him, but he places his hand on the back of my head, keeping me there. I wait for his tongue to slide into my mouth, but he keeps the kiss respectable.
Our phones vibrate again, and we pull apart.
“What the hell?” Tweetie says, both of us leaning over to grab our phones.
We’ve been added to a group message asking us to go to breakfast.
“Well, thank you, Jade.” Tweetie fiddles with his phone. “I just scored your number. Unless that’s against the rules. Can I text you, madam?”
“You may text me twice a day,” I say in my best version of an English accent.
“I negotiate for at least ten.”
I shake my head. “You can text me whenever you want.”
My phone vibrates in my hand, and his response in the group pops up with his name.
He peers over to see. “Uh-oh, someone’s a little liar. You didn’t delete me.”
I hold my phone close to my chest. “I needed it for work.”
“Bullshit.” He gets me on my back, tickling me. After I fall into a fit of giggles, he remains over me. “I’m going to win you back. You know that, right?”
I smile and put my hand on his cheek. “Maybe I’ll win you back.”
“Babe, you never lost me.”
Tears well in my eyes, but I try to push them back. Could we really get to where we need to be? I hope I’m not crazy for believing we can.
“Will you let me take you to breakfast with everyone?” he asks.
“I don’t know.”
“Hey, you said we could do coffee. I’ll starve myself and just drink coffee if that makes you happy. Plus, we’ll be in a group. And you’ll get to see Rowan’s neurotic pancake routine. You don’t want to miss that, do you?”
“Fine, but no hand holding, and you have to sit across the table from me.”
He holds up his hands. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
“Doubtful.”
“Come on. Let’s go.” He gets up and holds out his hand.
This is going to be interesting. I hope I can handle the slow pace. Time will tell.
Forty
Tweetie
The gang is meeting at the usual breakfast place because Bodhi loves to watch the pancake guy make the pancakes through the window. Plus, they know us now and have a table reserved for us every Sunday. It’s become our tradition as long as we don’t have a game.
The rideshare stops at the curb, and I’m still in shock that Tedi’s with me. But there’s one thing we haven’t talked about, and that’s what we’re telling the people inside this restaurant.
So after we climb out, I pull her to the side, out of the foot traffic. “How do you want to play this?”
“And here I thought you were going to kiss me before we went in there.” Her back is to the wall, and I’m standing in front of her.
I lean in. “Do you want me to kiss you?”
“That would really give it away when my lip gloss is all over your lips.”
“I’d go in there with red lipstick stained on my lips.”
She playfully shakes her head. “Okay, well, I have to tell them about Decker, I suppose. So, why don’t we just tell them we’re testing the waters?”
I groan. I don’t love this whole “let’s go slow” thing she’s set on, but I get it. I don’t like it, but I get it. There is still so much up in the air. My contract. Her job in New York. And all the bullshit drama from the past that we need to work past. So I understand why she wants to tiptoe into this thing. But I’m not idiot enough to let any of that stuff get in our way again. Not a goddamn chance.
Hell, I loved getting her to fall in love with me the first time, so I’m excited to do it all over again. Although I didn’t have so many rules to work around the first time, and sex was already on the menu on day one.
“Okay. Testing the waters.” I hold up my hands. “No hand holding.”
I swear a flash of disappointment lines her face before she steps around me, opening the door to the diner.
“Tweetie,” the hostess, Marla, greets me.
I stop, although I know where the gang is. “Hi, Marla, this is Tedi.”
