Saving Charlie (Stories of Serendipity Book 9) Read online

  “Be patient with me,” she whispered, clutching his hand in hers. To her surprise, he squeezed her hand.

  “Always,” a sleep-laden voice replied.

  Chapter 14

  From Charlotte’s journal — February 2000

  The Man used to always call me his diamond in the rough. It came from the Disney movie, Aladdin. That was a movie my parents had on VHS, and they played it for me a lot when I lived with them. Mostly to keep me in my room while they got high in the other part of the house. But I used to love that movie. I didn’t even really mind The Man calling me that, at first. But later, after I saw his mean side, I knew what he was doing by calling me that, but I didn’t dare say anything about it. It was his way of telling me I’d done good. I accepted it as praise, even though it was another way to use me.

  I wish I could see the benefit in continuing to write about this shit. I’m twenty-one years old for fuck’s sake. I’m over all that shit. But the shrinkage says, and if I want out of this hell-pit, I have to do what shrinkage says.

  I miss Adam. I wonder if I’ll ever wake up and not miss him. I guess eventually, I will. But if I had him, I might not be this fucked up. Oh who the hell am I kidding? He left because I’ll never not be fucked up. He saw it. Why can’t I?

  The next morning, they hit the road early, feeling well-rested and fully recovered. They had made good time up until the illness, so taking a day off for rest hadn’t put them in too bad of position as far as making it home in time for previous obligations. The time in the truck was spent in much the same way as it had before: debating merits of music, telling stories, and laughing. Only now it seemed more intimate. The conversation didn’t necessarily take an intimate turn. Charlie didn’t suddenly feel the need to spill her guts to Les about her past, but she would catch Les staring at her mouth or legs occasionally, and he kept his hand across the back of the bench seat, and he twiddled with her hair, touching her nearly constantly. It was nice.

  They were passing a sign for White Sands when Les tugged gently on a piece of her hair. “Let’s stop here for a little bit and stretch.”

  She agreed and when they pulled into the national monument, Charlie was overwhelmed. “Wow…It looks like a beach with no water.”

  Les climbed out of the truck and walked into a pristine patch of sand, unmarred by footsteps. She laughed as he proceeded to mess up the unadulterated landscape by doing cartwheels and whooping. She watched his transformation with blatant amusement and a little bit of jealousy. He was so carefree in almost everything he did. It was breathtaking to watch this grown man play in the desert like a child.

  “Hey, Charlie! Come here!” He called her over to where he was making a snow angel in the sand, flapping his arms and legs wildly. She couldn’t help herself. She stood next to him and fell back with a thud, making her own angel in the sand.

  She was close enough that her hand brushed Les’s when she flapped, and he grabbed it and clasped. She turned her head to look at him and saw his face breaking into a smile that matched her own.

  They gallivanted around, Les piggy-backing her around the park, having sand fights, and stealing kisses. Charlie couldn’t stop the giddy feeling erupting from her. Her entire adult life, she’d tried to stay away from being a part of something like this, and now that she’d finally let herself do it, she felt like a teenager. She wanted to touch Les all the time, walking hand in hand, or better yet, with her arm around his torso. She stole looks at him, and the best were the kisses he pretended to steal from her when she wasn’t expecting them. She was a part of something special with Les, a half of a whole, and the possibilities she allowed herself to ponder filled her with an unfamiliar longing.

  They snapped photos of each other clowning around, and themselves together. Charlie couldn’t remember when she’d had more fun, just laughing at herself and someone else.

  Les deposited her on a hill, with her back to him and told her not to look until he said so. She closed her eyes and nodded, then with a mysterious grunt, he was gone. She waited, a small smile on her face, wondering what he was up to. When he finally called to her from some distance, she looked.

  Les was at the bottom of a hill in an enormous heart he’d made by shuffling his feet in the sand. Inside the heart were the initials, C + L. It was an impossibly juvenile endeavor, and it brought a tear to Charlie’s eyes. She pulled out her phone and snapped a picture.

  Back at the truck, she watched, amused, as Les tried to shake all of the sand out of his clothes before climbing into her truck. He stripped off his shirt, socks and shoes before shaking everything out. She ignored the flutter in her belly at the sight of his shirtless chest, and instead poked fun at him slapping at his jeans.

  “Are you always so anal about dirt in vehicles?”

  He looked at her, his eyebrows waggling, an impish smirk on his face. “Why, Sweetness, did you just suggest Anal?”

  She blushed furiously, “No.” Getting into the truck, she was suddenly worried. Did he do that sort of stuff? He seemed so sweet, like a missionary type guy, maybe doggy-style, but anal? Was he into the hard-core stuff? Would he want to tie her up? Charlie didn’t do bondage, in any form.

  Back on the road, the silence was uncomfortable for Charlie as she tried to wrap her mind around the alarming thoughts racing through her head. Finally, she decided to just put it out there.

  “Are you into stuff like that? Anal?”

  He snapped his head around, shock evident on his face. “It was a joke, Charlie. I didn’t mean anything by it.” His fingers reached over for a tendril of her hair, and she rested her cheek on his hand.

  “I was just checking. I don’t…” she took a deep breath. “I don’t like sex like that.”

  His hand drifted down to her leg. “I just like sex, Charlie. And I have an idea if it’s with you, it’ll be amazing, no matter what kind it is.” He squeezed where his hand was on her thigh. “I don’t need all that other stuff, blindfolds and toys and stuff. I just like your basic sex.” Just the image in her mind of the two of them together had a warm pool of moisture coating the inside of Charlie’s panties.

  “So, you’re a missionary man?”

  He chuckled and adjusted his crotch while an adorable blush crept up his neck. Charlie liked that the conversation was getting to him, too. “Missionary, cowgirl, doggy-style, I like it all, but I like using the correct holes, and have never felt the need for aids in the bedroom.”

  Charlie heard the exhale of relief from her mouth, as well as Les’s soft chuckle, but she couldn’t concentrate on the relief she felt, she was too busy tamping down the images of Les making love to her in ways she didn’t really want to think about right now. Oh hell, who was she kidding? She totally wanted to think about them.

  “So what’s the timeline?” she managed to ask, even though she wanted to pull over and straddle him right here on the highway.

  “Well, it looks like we’ll be home tomorrow evening, barring catastrophe.”

  “That’s not what I meant. The timeline for relationships. Remember? I’m new to this stuff.” She still didn’t understand exactly why he’d stopped them the other night from having sex. They’d both obviously wanted it.

  Realization dawned and Les got quiet. Shifting in his seat, he turned to her.

  “You think we’re ready for it?”

  “What could happen if it’s too soon?”

  Les heaved a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair, “Sex is sacred, a special part of someone. It’s a shared act of intimacy. You shouldn’t be so willing to share it too soon.”

  “You didn’t answer the question.”

  “It could mess up everything. You can’t go backward.”

  “That doesn’t make sense, Les. I don’t think of sex that way at all. It feels good, and if you like someone, you should share what feels good. Why would I want to go backward?” This made absolutely no sense to her.

  “Most women think that men are only after one thing, and once they gi
ve it up, the relationship has no way to go forward.” Charlie glanced at him, and the look of bewilderment on his face was priceless.

  “Haven’t you figured out I’m not like most women? Besides, I know the one thing you’re after, and you won’t be getting it from me. This is all in fun, so why not have sex? That’s not your end goal, is it? Once we have sex, you won’t dump me will you?” She knew Les was looking for the wife, family, white picket fence, all that. He wouldn’t get it from her. Even though she’d agreed to see where this was going, she was nearly positive that wasn’t it.

  “No, I wouldn’t.” He shifted in his seat so he was facing front again. “Besides, I guess we’ve spent enough time together, we know each other pretty well.”

  “Do you have to talk yourself into having sex with me?”

  “No!” He was quick to answer. “I have to talk myself into not screwing this up.”

  Truth was, Les had been kicking himself for stopping things the other night with Charlie. She’d been ready and willing, and pretty pissed off when he’d stopped them. He was proud of his current eloquence, what with all the swelling happening in his pants right now. He didn’t want to do anything Charlie could consider a mistake, but she seemed to be completely flabbergasted at his will-power. For that matter, so was he.

  They drove the rest of the way to Big Spring with conversation less fraught with sexual tension, much to Les’s relief. They didn’t get there in time to check on his truck, so they went straight to a motel.

  In the lobby, Les was trying to check in.

  “I’m sorry, sir. We don’t have any more doubles available. All we have are kings.” He turned to Charlie, eyebrow raised in question and saw the smirk on her face that sent a tingle to his balls. Looked like tonight was the night. Even if it hadn’t been the elephant in the truck the entire drive since their conversation this morning.

  “That’s fine.” He reached into his back pocket for his wallet, only to find it missing. He patted both pockets before habitually running his hands up to pat his chest.

  “It’s okay, I got it.” Charlie stepped forward, extending her credit card. They’d agreed to take turns paying for rooms, and tonight was Les’s night. But apparently, his wallet was somewhere in the desert. Fuck.

  His mind ran over everything he’d now have to do: call and cancel cards, replace everything, get his mom to wire him money to pay for his truck. He was such a fucking dumbass.

  “I’m going to have to call and cancel my credit cards,” he murmured to Charlie as she was signing off on the room.

  “Do that first thing,” she said when she turned around to face him. “I’ve got other stuff I want to do tonight.” Her grin was pure sex, and Les eagerly followed her to their room as she sashayed her hips in front of him.

  He tried to be as fast as possible, but even so it still took over an hour to call four credit card companies, sit on hold, and report his stuff missing. It was a pain in the ass, but when he was finished, he turned to Charlie to find her sitting on the chair, one leg hiked over the arm, wearing nothing but her bra and panties.

  He stared, wondering how long she’d been waiting like that for him, and how he’d failed to notice. She grinned at him wickedly, and his balls ached at the sight.

  “Fuck…” He stood and stalked toward her, wanting to prolong the anticipation, but at the same time wanting to sink himself into her balls-deep.

  “My thoughts exactly,” she purred at him, eyes dark with desire. As he walked closer, she sat up and reached for his belt. “No brakes tonight Les. We’re doing this.” She unbuckled his belt while he pulled his tee shirt over his head. As she tugged on his zipper, he was toeing himself out of his shoes. “You’re entirely overdressed.”

  He was about to reach down and pick her up to take her to the bed when her mouth on his cock stopped him short.

  She was licking him, and he nearly lost his mind. She replaced her tongue with her warm, tiny hand, and he looked down to see her studying him.

  “Impressive…”

  “Not what I had in mind, Sweetness,” he breathed down at her.

  She looked up at him, mischief all over her face. “You don’t like blow jobs? You are an anomaly.”

  “Love them, but I want to make love to you first.”

  “Sorry, no can do. I’ve been daydreaming about this all damn day.” She went back to her examination, and he felt himself wilt a little under her scrutiny. Apparently she felt his desire wane because she made a small sound in the back of her throat and took him into her mouth fully, sinking him in until he could feel the back of her throat. Les’s vision faded and his knees went weak.

  As she grasped the base of him, she pulled back on his cock, sucking hard around the tip of it until he saw stars in his peripheral vision. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, swallowing thickly, as her warm, wet mouth pulled him deeper. She had no idea what she was doing to him.

  As she bobbed back and forth on him, one of her hands went around his thighs, pulling him closer, while the other went down and played with his balls, as if weighing them in her hand.

  His knees were shaky, and he couldn’t think about anything besides the warm wet suction playing around his family jewels. And it felt amazing.

  All too soon, he felt the tell-tale tingle at the base of his spine and felt his erection grow harder before he let out a warning.

  “Charlie…I’m fixing to come…” Unexpectedly, she increased her pace and suction. He had never experienced this. No woman had ever let him come in her mouth before. Les tried to pull away, thinking maybe she didn’t understand him through all the guttural moaning he was doing. But when he tried to pull back, she gripped him tighter, holding him still until he had spurted thick hot jets of his seed inside the back of her throat. Instead of the gagging and revulsion he’d experienced the one other time a woman had tried that with him, she continued sucking, licking him clean.

  He sank to the ground in front of her, unable to stand anymore.

  “Ohmygod…I’m yours for life, Sweetness. There’s no way you’re getting rid of me now.”

  She quirked an eyebrow at him smugly before he captured her mouth in a desperate kiss. He wanted inside this woman yesterday. He could taste himself on her as their tongues slid together. Instead of repulsed, he found himself fascinated by the salty tang in her mouth, signifying her willingness to please him. If what she said was true, and she would only break his heart, he knew he would never be able to find another woman like her.

  Determined to repay the favor, he slowed his kiss and carefully slid her bra straps off her shoulders before moving his mouth to her breasts.

  He nibbled and sucked at one nipple while toying with the other, listening as her breathing became more and more ragged. Eventually, she let loose with a little whimper that sent blood rushing to his groin at an alarming rate. At his age, it usually took a little longer to get ready after one release, but it seemed with Charlie’s soft skin under his fingers and her breast in his mouth, it would be sooner than expected.

  Hallelujah.

  Her fingers were tangled in his hair as he moved his mouth lower, making love to her navel with his tongue, swirling it around and inside, watching her abdomen dip under him. Her hands urged his head lower, and he knew what she wanted. He obliged, using his fingers to slip her panties down her legs before flattening his tongue against her sex.

  She arched under him, giving him better access, and he pulled her knees apart to look at her. His fingers traced her folds, pulling them apart before circling the erect nub at the top. She gasped, and he looked at her.

  Charlie’s cheeks were flushed, and her eyes glassy, as she urged him to continue. Her pelvis was undulating and Les found the entire sight before him beautiful. He dipped a finger inside her slick heat as he used his tongue to mercilessly tease her bundle of nerves. Using the flat part of his tongue, the roughness seemed to drive Charlie to madness as she cried out. He closed his mouth over her and sucked, inserting tw
o fingers before using the tip of his tongue to flick her clit up and down. She was unraveling under his ministrations, and he wasn’t going to stop until she screamed.

  He curled his fingers inside her, finding the rough spot on her inner walls, pulsing them in and out until he felt her begin to tighten, and he closed his mouth over her folds, removing his fingers and sucking. She groaned in disappointment, and after he felt her settle, he started in again, bringing her back to the brink.

  He did that more times than he could count—listened to her lose all semblance of control as she rode his face and clutched his hair, pulling her against him. She tasted so good, he could do this all night. But at some point, he wanted to feel her insides on his dick.

  Putting in a third finger, he sucked and flicked at her clit until she screamed his name, coming all over his face in a warm burst of wetness, climaxing around his fingers.

  He suckled the inside of her thigh on his way back up to her mouth where he kissed her thoroughly, enjoying the mingled tastes of themselves on their tongues, before gathering her limp body in his arms and taking her to the bed.

  She wrapped her arms and legs around his body, skin against skin, eagerly returning his feverish kisses. He extricated himself to reach for his pants to get a condom, when a sickening disappointment rushed through him in waves.

  “What?” She propped herself on her elbows to look at him.

  “The condom is in the desert. In my wallet.”

  “It’s okay, I’m on the pill.”

  “Oh, thank god.”

  In one quick thrust, he was inside her and lost completely to the sensations of her wet heat gripping him from the inside.

  He stilled himself to savor the experience and lowered his mouth to her neck, tasting the sweat on her sweet skin. “God, Charlie…I’ve never felt this good.”

  He was answered by her hips rising against him, urging him to move. Slowly, he thrust in and out, rocking against her gently, desperate to relish this experience. He kissed her neck and shoulders, running his hands across her body, not sure where to focus.