“Give it a few days. It’ll wear off,” Duke told her, earning a slap on the shoulder from me.
“Thanks, buddy.” I turned my attention back to Charlotte. “You want to eat? Dance? Have a drink?” I ran through the list of options for the night, hoping the lust-filled look in her eyes meant she was thinking the same thing I was, which was none of the above.
“Maybe you two need to just get a room,” Molly suggested, breaking the trance that linked the two of us.
“I tried.” Charlotte chuckled. “Your brother is too much of a gentleman.”
“I don’t have to be,” I whispered in her ear with a growl.
Her body tensed, and I could practically hear the excited thump of her heart. We’d tiptoed around this sexual tension for long enough. Just because I’d ended our first night by not jumping into bed with her didn’t mean I was going to do the same thing now. My cock had been begging for days, and I was ready to do something about it.
“Want to get out of here?” I asked.
She gave me a subtle nod and a smile as I laced my fingers through hers. The feel of her petite hand in mine was a natural fit, which added fuel to the fire already building inside me.
“As much fun as this place is, we’ve got to go,” I told Duke and Molly.
“Have fun, you two,” Duke shouted over the music as I led Charlotte through the crowd toward the exit.
As soon as we were outside, I pulled her into my arms and gave her the proper greeting that she deserved. My lips found hers in an instant. My tongue greedily slipped into her mouth as I held her close. Once I knew I’d left her breathless, I resumed the hand-holding and led her to my truck.
“What’s gotten into you?” she asked with a laugh as I opened the passenger door for her.
“Decided I was done wasting time, duchess,” I replied with a smirk. “Too much? Too fast?”
“No, I like it.” She pressed her body against mine as she lifted one foot onto the running board and stood on the tiptoes of the other. “A man who knows what he wants is always sexy,” she added as she pressed her lips softly against my cheek.
The angle of her body gave me the perfect opportunity to show her exactly what I wanted. Looping an arm around her waist, I pressed the steel of my cock against her center. She moaned at the contact as I put my lips on hers. I could feel the heat radiating from her and nearly came on the spot.
I’d been thinking all day about where I wanted to take Charlotte tonight. I broke our kiss and carefully shut her inside the truck. One more second of her temptation, and our first time was going to be in the parking lot of the Drunk Skunk.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked when I situated myself behind the wheel and started the engine.
“Anywhere you want to go.”
I took her hand and drew it to my mouth, pressing my lips against the back of it as my eyes found hers. Dark curls framed her face, and her lips parted as she took in a soft breath. My libido was in overdrive, seriously blurring the reality of what was happening between us.
“To the moon then,” she said with a grin.
“You got it.” I pulled out of the parking lot and headed to the most romantic spot I knew.
? ? ?
“Is this place for real?” she asked when we arrived at our destination. The moon looked close enough to touch as it gleamed full and bright in the inky sky.
Charlotte quickly hopped out of the truck to take in our surroundings. A gentle breeze picked up, stirring the tops of the trees that ringed the open field. There were places out in the middle of nowhere that were like heaven on earth, and this was one of them.
“It’s real.”
I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. The grassy hilltop we were standing on was at the far edge of our property, a place I was always drawn to when I needed some alone time. And alone time was exactly what I wanted right now with Charlotte. No interruptions. Just peace and quiet—and her.
“See that speck of light over there,” I said, pointing across the way. “That’s the house. And over there . . .” I pointed out a ribbon of lights in the opposite direction. “That’s Shady Grove.”
“This is beautiful.” She settled into my arms with a sigh. “It’s so peaceful.”
“It’s a good place to think. I love it out here.” As I spoke, tall grasses swayed, stirred by the breeze, and millions of stars shimmered overhead. It truly was magical here.
“Me too.” She looked over her shoulder at me. “Thank you for bringing me.”
“I may have had some ulterior motives.” I dropped a quick kiss on her lips before heading to the truck for the blanket I’d thrown in earlier. I returned to her side and spread it out on the grass. “This is a good spot for more than just thinking.”
“A picnic?” she teased.
“Yep.” I crouched to take a seat and tugged her by the hand into my lap. “Guess who’s on the menu?”
I didn’t give her time to respond. Instead, I captured her mouth with mine and let my kiss answer the question for her.
Our make-out session turned into more when Charlotte climbed off my lap and lay on the blanket, tugging me by the shirt on top of her. The horizontal position we found ourselves in was giving me all kinds of ideas, especially when she spread her legs and let me slip my hips between them. She lifted slightly, digging her heels into the ground, increasing the friction between us.
Every time I moved against her, she let out ragged little whimpers.
“You trying to kill me?” I said, feeling like I was about to burst at the seams.
“Not yet. There’s something I’d like first.” She reached between us and palmed the bulge between my legs. Her slender fingers gripped me through the denim, and damn, did it feel good.
“You sure about this?” I sat back on my heels.
She gave me a sexy little smirk. “Are you?”
“I’m serious, Charlotte.” And I was. I didn’t want her to do something she was going to regret. This night could change a lot for us. “We still have to work together, and I know you’ll be leaving soon. I just want to make sure—”
“I know what I want, Luke. I want you.” She sat up and quickly tugged her shirt over her head before tossing it on the blanket next to us. “I don’t want to think about anything else right now.”
“Okay,” I said, never one to second-guess a woman whose mind was made up.
Charlotte liked to remind me daily that she was an independent woman who made her own decisions. This was one that I wasn’t going to question. Especially when I got a glimpse of her in that lacy scrap of fabric she called a bra, and the matching panties I found when she lifted her hips and let me slide her jeans off.