Charlie took the reservation and charmed the clerk into an early check in. The girl looked as awestruck as Christine must with this new tension between them. He hadn't asked with words, nor had she answered with words, but it didn't matter. In the elevator, he raised her palm to his lips, his gaze hot and intense. He raised one dark brow. She trembled and then nodded. No more waiting, no more doubts, nothing but him. She took his hand and gently suckled each of his fingers. He muttered something—she couldn't tell what—and wrapped his arms around her.
Then they were alone in the quiet room just the two of them. Soft music played in the background. How did the music start? Christine didn't care as his navy eyes darkened to black, and his husky male scent surrounded her like a blanket. Charlie kissed her wrist, making tremors shoot down her entire side. "Christine."
"Charlie." How could she have ever believed it was simple flirting between them when he gazed at her like this? She took a breath as his gaze moved over her from head to toe. The brush of their bodies was electric, a charge sizzling in the air. The snap, crackle and pop made the words difficult to say. "I'm yours for whatever we do together in this time, this place, for as long as we both have. I've found my Gem on the Path. It's you. It's me. It's us."
He framed her face with his large palms, fingers hot on her cheeks. "Ku'uipo, Ku'u 'I'ini."
Christine shook her head, not understanding his native language but comprehending exactly what his gaze said. She sighed and opened her mouth under his. Their tongues began a slow waltz of tentative exploration, becoming a rumba which sizzled with promise, then morphing into a fiery tango of twisting and twining. Desire burned throughout. She stroked his hair, caressed his cheek, and slowly trailed down his neck and chest to where their bodies pressed together. She felt his tremors from the passion and excitement of their first time, the next step upon the journey. Christine stroked, feeling him harden.
"My Gem." Charlie traced the same path, his fingers raising goose flesh as they stopped at the hem of her shirt. Christine closed his fingers around the soft material and pulled. Would she be sexy enough to satisfy the need he had? His lips caressed her skin, and she didn't doubt again. She arched as he tongued one breast then the twin. The moist heat of his mouth on her nipple as he suckled and licked ignited everything inside. She moaned and felt his lips curve.
Have to touch him, have to feel him. She managed to pull his shirt up so she could touch hard flesh. His muscles clenched then released as he moved, a preview of what would be. "Too many clothes." She tugged again on the material between them.
"Impatient?" He grinned and held up his arms.
"We've waited too long." Christine yanked his shirt over his head. She kissed him with every bit of passion she wanted to release. His scent became a living thing as it invaded. His indrawn breath became a hiss as her lips and tongue caressed. He nudged them toward the bed. His erection throbbed against her, insistent, wanting to be buried inside her as much as she wanted him inside. His clever, nimble fingers stripped her clothes in seconds. She fumbled with his jeans, finally pushing them down, and glanced with wide eyes at his face.
Whatever expression she wore made him laugh. "Sweetheart, you delight me." He kissed her again, and her breasts flattened against his chest. She leaned into him to stay upright and then lifted a leg to wrap it around his waist. He groaned and brought her closer, fitting her body firm against his as he began to lower them onto the bed. "My God, Christine."
She fell weightless upon the bed, and he collapsed beside her. They caressed, stroked, and kissed in a frenzy of want and need, hands exploring every inch. His fingers slid nearer where she most wanted, yet he stopped. "Charlie." He ignored the breathless plea, his teeth grazing then feasting on one tingling nipple. God. Oh God. God. God. "Charles!"
"Hmmm?" Charlie raised a brow. She urged his hand farther down. He chuckled. "Oh." His fingers curled into a loose fist right at the base of her mound and pressed as his gentle bites made her writhe against him. She couldn't stand the building pressure, the intense need. Now, oh God, now. She cupped his erection in both hands, stroking the shaft, tip, and sides. She rubbed the moisture back on him, up, down, around.
She felt cool air from the air conditioner before his head nestled between her thighs. Oh dear God. His erection pressed against her cheek, pulsing like a heartbeat. He licked the skin of her inner thigh, held off from the dampness of her center where she wanted him most, and murmured her name. "Taste me while I taste you."