“In what?” Hector asked what clearly everyone else was wondering since they were all looking at Abel curiously.
“The cruise,” he held up his phone. “My publicist just okayed it. I’m good to go that week.”
Hector laughed. “As if there were ever any doubt.”
Charlee had no idea what Hector meant by that, but as funny as he thought that was, Abel didn’t laugh. As usual, his expression was unreadable. Ignoring Hector’s comment, he slipped his phone in his pocket. “You guys leaving?”
“Yep,” Hector waved.
“Nice seeing you again, Charlee.”
“It was nice see you again too.” Charlee responded, still baffled that she’d so easily and so quickly been accepted into this group of people.
Painless and uncomplicated was what Charlee had been shooting for at most when she decided to do this that morning. But meeting his friends and family so quickly and being completely unprepared had far exceeded her expectations. She hadn’t even had Drew to help her plan her strategy to not screw this up, and she’d gotten through it. In fact, after all the curious questions from both his mother and the girls, Charlee had been able to relax and enjoy the rest of the barbeque. And her pasta salad had been a hit.
“Why are you smiling like that?” Hector asked as he climbed into his side of the truck.
She turned to him and lifted her empty salad bowl. “They liked my pasta.”
Hector laughed, lifting her hand that was already entwined with his and kissed it. “That’s what has you smiling so big?”
Charlee shrugged, unable to tone down the smile. “Well, that and everything else. I was so nervous about how this would go, and it turned out great. I really like your friends. They’re so down to earth, and your mom is a sweetheart.”
Pulling out of the driveway, he glanced at her pinching his brows. “You were nervous? I didn’t pick up on that at all.”
“I was a wreck, but I think I’m getting pretty good at disguising my lame fears.”
“No,” Hector shook his head adamantly. “Let’s not start that. No disguising anything. Remember no guessing games. I suck at them.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder, amazed at how quickly this felt so perfect. “Okay,” she said, taking in a very gratifying deep breath.
Thoughts of the girl at the fight with him came to her again. But she’d since decided to leave well enough alone. This day had gone too perfectly, and she didn’t want to sour it up with that kind of talk. Besides, it wasn’t as if she were worried about it. Bianca’s comment about Hector not ever inviting any girls to even the fights at the gym had only made her curious as to why he’d invited this girl. Curious—not concerned. But she did make a mental note that if it did begin to bother her she wouldn’t be letting anything stew, not with Hector being so adamant about his no guessing games rule. She actually liked the rule.
Her insides had begun to simmer as they got closer her place. Knowing she had the house to herself for the entire night and as fast as things were moving already, she wasn’t sure what to expect. As his hand caressed her thigh, her heart began that thumping that had started to become less severe the more comfortable she felt with him. But now here it was pounding away at her chest as he drove into the driveway of Drew’s dad’s home. Switching the ignition off, he turned to her and smiled. “My mom likes you.”
“I like her,” she smiled back, already feeling the comfort easing back by just looking into his smiling eyes, “and your brother. He’s a bit more serious than you are, but he seemed sweet enough and very polite when he did talk to me.”
Hector raised an eyebrow, running his fingers through a strand of her hair. “That reminds me. I still have a lot to catch up with. I don’t even know if you have siblings.”
She leaned into him and kissed him softly. “Well, if you’re not in a hurry, you can come in, and I can tell you about myself.”
The smile he already wore brightened even more. “I’m in no hurry at all.”
“Good,” she pulled away from him and grabbed her salad bowl. “Then come on in.”
Talking she was good with. It’s what might happen after that she was nervous about. But it was a good nervous: the kind that had her insides going crazy already.
They barely made it into the front room when they were already locked in each other’s arms and Hector’s tongue infiltrated every inch of her mouth. He pulled away, sucking in a very deep and dramatic breath. “I’ve been dying to do that all day.”
Removing his arms that held her and taking her hand in his instead, he led her to Drew’s dad’s big fluffy recliner. “There’s definitely more of that to come, but first we talk. It dawned on me when my mom started mentioning some of the things you two talked about today that she knows more about you now than I do.” He sat down on the chair and pulled gently on her hand, patting his lap.
Feeling the excitement bubbling in her again, she sat down across his legs, and he promptly pulled her legs up so they’d hang off the side of the recliner. “You know there’s plenty of room to sit in this house,” she said, smiling.
He smiled then leaned in and kissed her neck softly. “I know, but then I couldn’t do this.” Feeling the shivers race down her body, she tried not to tremble, but it was impossible. “Okay,” he said, rubbing his hand up and down the side of her thigh. “Let’s do this. So how many siblings do you have?”
“One,” she said, trying to relax and not have her body go into spasms every time his fingers grazed her neck while he played with her hair. “He’s older than me and probably what I miss the most about not being home.”
Hector stared at her, suddenly looking very serious. “Really? How old is he?”
“Twenty-five.”
Sitting up, suddenly Hector stared at her, looking a little annoyed. “Shit. I don’t even know how old you are. I’m assuming eighteen-nineteen since Walter said this is your first year in school.”
She nodded. “ Eighteen. You too, right?”
“Nineteen,” he said, looking at her now as if he’d just thought of a bunch of other things he didn’t know. “So that’s a pretty big gap between you and your brother.”
Nodding, she ran her finger across his brow. It was now something that made her feel at ease. She did so slowly, feeling the same way she did when she used to rub her mom’s earlobe as a little girl. It was almost lulling. “Ryan is actually my step-brother, and I didn’t even meet him until my mom married my step-dad when I was nine and he was fourteen. I only ever get to see him once in a while. His mother has always had full custody, so I only saw ever him every other week for a couple of days and then a little longer during the summer and the special holiday arrangements.”
“But he’s twenty-five now. You still only get to see him once in a while?”
The last twenty-four hours had been such a thundering storm of emotions, and Charlee had barely been able to sleep last night, thinking about everything that had happened yesterday. As she continued to run her fingers across his brow, she now felt as if she could easily fall asleep right there on Hector’s lap. “He has Down Syndrome,” she explained, “a severe form of it. So he’s still in the care of his mom. As he got older, my step-dad petitioned less and less to have him over, so I got to see him even less, but I still miss him.”
She didn’t want the conversation getting so heavy, and she knew talking about her step-father could go there, so she kissed Hector before he could ask anymore. Sitting up a little, Hector let his head fall back against the chair, and this time Charlee did the devouring of his mouth. Running her fingers through his soft hair, she kissed him deeper and deeper until she could feel how undeniably aroused he’d become. Feeling him against her thigh, she was tempted to lower her hand and really feel. But her heart felt as terrified as it did excited.
Adjusting herself in his lap so that she could better angle herself and he could hold her even closer, Charlee was done talking. She had no deep dark secrets that needed to be aired o
ut. Her life for the most part was vanilla compared to others. There was nothing about her that would have any effect on their relationship that couldn’t wait until later, but her body didn’t want to wait anymore for this.
When she pulled away to catch her breath after an especially long kiss, Hector moved so that her head fell back, and he cradled it on his arm. He kissed her neck then sucked for a moment, making her squirm. “You sure you wouldn’t rather talk?” He murmured against her neck.
“Yes, I’m sure,” she gasped as she felt him bite down just under her earlobe with a groan.
He worked his way up her jaw again and latched on to her mouth. His big hand moved up and down her thigh just over her leggings. She’d yearned for far too long to feel his hands on her, touching her in places she couldn’t even say out loud. His hand moved up her inner thigh slowly as he sucked her tongue softly then a little more roughly. Creeping slowly, she felt his hand making its way up higher. Her body trembled as she burned for him to touch her there.
She arched her body as his hands reached that hot, aching place, and he stopped kissing her to look at her. Spreading her legs gently, his hand cupped her between her legs, and she wondered if her leggings were wet, because she knew damn well her panties had to be. “You a virgin, Charlotte?” She nodded, biting her lower lip, unable to refrain from continuing to tremble as he moved his hand and began to stroke her between her legs. Her leggings were so thin she was certain he could feel just how hot she was. “Well, then, we gotta take this slow.”
Closing her eyes, she gulped, almost ashamed that she didn’t want to take it slow. She needed him to do more, and as if he sensed it, he stopped stroking her up and down. Instead, he focused on the one place that had her body quivering all over and she turned her face into his shirt. “Don’t hide your face, Charlee. I wanna see it.” She turned her face up to him but let her head fall back, needing to spread her legs as he continued to stroke her in a circular motion right there, right where it was building too quickly, and she began squirming, tempted to hide her face in his shirt again so he wouldn’t see her moan. “That’s it,” he leaned in and kissed her, biting her lower lip as the sensation began to erupt, making her gasp and moan a little louder. “Come, baby,” he moved his arm when she began to moan into his shirt, grabbing a fistful of it.
Feeling how hard he was against her ass only heightened the explosion between her legs. She moaned again and again and squirmed uncontrollably as the waves of pleasure continued. Hector now sucked her neck gently. Charlee began to breathlessly plead for him to stop. She couldn’t take it any longer. The sensation ran clear down to her curling toes as he softened the pressure but continued stroking lightly.
He kissed her, groaning against her lips. “Damn, that was hot.” She lay back on his arm, and the waves of pleasure continued but began to weaken. Her heart still pounded as she lay there breathing hard with eyes closed. “When’s the last time you felt that?” Hector whispered against her lips.
No way was she telling him. Purposely she kept her eyes closed and smiled. “I’m not telling you.”
“What?” He poked her ribs, making her jerk sideways, and her eyes flew open. “Ah,” he smiled wickedly, “you’re ticklish.”
He poked her again, and she jerked instantly, laughing. “Stop!” Curse her ticklish ribs!
“I will,” he said, poking her other side now, and she laughed even more, trying to squirm out of his hold, “as soon as you tell me.”
He tickled her again, and she was laughing so much now she could barely get the words out. “Okay, okay, a few days ago!”
Hector froze, staring at her. As her laughter slowly subsided, she noticed the rigid way he looked at her. She’d just admitted she was a virgin. Surely, he couldn’t be thinking . . . and just a few days ago? She rolled her eyes, sitting up since she’d squirmed herself nearly off his lap. “It was D.I.Y.”
With a pinch of his eyes, he looked and sounded almost annoyed now. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Think about it.” She held his chin with one hand and kissed him. “Please, don’t make me say it.”
He thought about it, and slowly the glare turned into a smile so big she nearly blushed. “You can’t ask for details,” she said, already anticipating his next question.
In the next instant, she was laughing again as he poked her several times in her now-sensitive ribs. “Oh, can’t I?”
“No fair!” she said, rolling off his lap onto the plush carpet.
She tried rolling away and making a run for it, but he came after her and pinned her down, placing his hands over hers against the carpet. He stared at her for a moment as her laughing calmed without saying anything. She stopped laughing completely and just stared at him silently before he said the very thing she was thinking of him. “God, you’re beautiful.”
They stared at each other for a few more silent moments until he brought his body down over hers and kissed her. The kiss was so tender and gentle it made her sigh. It wasn’t at all like the feverish kisses they’d shared just earlier, but it held an intensity she’d only felt from him a few times. Extending the gentle kisses down her chin and onto her neck, he stopped at her ear. “I can hardly believe you’re all mine,” he whispered. She smiled, knowing her inner feminist was probably crossing her arms and tapping her foot on the ground. But Charlee couldn’t help it. She loved the idea of being his.
Feeling how hard he was again or maybe still, she moved against it, wanting him to rub against her. She was so hot again she could hardly stand it. Obviously picking up on what she wanted, he began to sway his hips slowly, and if he didn’t still have her hands pinned, she actually would have felt brave enough and the absolute need to touch him there.
Without warning, he stopped, and she could feel his pounding heart against her. “But you’re a virgin, and . . .”
He didn’t finish and she froze. Hearing the icy chill of the subtle yet shattering rejection brought back all the insecurities she’d managed to do away with and keep at bay in the past twenty-four hours. Now she was the one wondering what the hell he meant? The new girl she’d been in the last days being around him, the girl who’d actually begun to feel worthy of the affection Hector had given her, was suddenly gone. That girl might’ve had the guts to ask. Instead, she reverted to the old her and cowardly closed her eyes. Bracing herself, she waited silently for him to continue.
Chapter 26
Deliberating on how to explain this exactly, Hector struggled to come up with something that didn’t sound ridiculous. Abel’s words continued to rattle him. Are you sure you’re ready to handle being so hung up on a girl? At the time, he had been. Hell, just a few minutes earlier he had been. He’d been fairly certain just from what little he knew about Charlee that he was dealing with a virgin. It hadn’t felt so alarming until now.
Hector was sure he was ready to be with Charlee and only Charlee. But he’d had his share of experimenting with plenty of girls. Testing the waters—lots of waters. Charlee was only eighteen. Aside from that idiot she’d told him about, this was her first real experience. And this was literally happening overnight. How could she be sure he was the one this quickly? Because if this happened, he wanted to be damn sure he’d be the only one for her after tonight.
Abel was right. There’d be no way he could handle anything otherwise, and, suddenly, that scared the life out of him. Did people really fall in love, break up, and move on? His eyes slowly opened wider with the realization of where his mind had just gone. Love? No way.
Charlee pushed him off her suddenly, derailing his train of thought. He’d been so lost in thought she managed to push him aside and squirm out from under him.
“In what world is a virgin not good enough?” She asked as she stood up, crossing her arms in front of her. “Are you looking for someone more experienced? Less priggish?”
“Priggish?” he asked, getting up on his own feet quickly and noticed the hurt in her eyes now. “No! Whatever that means.”<
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He had no idea what priggish meant, but whatever it did, he didn’t like that it had those beautiful blue eyes looking so sad. Taking a step forward, she took a step back. “So then finish what you started saying,” she said, lifting a very pretty but stubborn little chin. “Remember you’re the one who said no guessing games.”
Taking another step toward her, he stopped when she moved away from him again. “Okay, let’s not do this,” he said, pointing at the recliner. “Can we just sit and talk?”
“No!” She walked around the sofa and stood behind it, making it a barrier between them. “I will not sit on your lap again to talk about this. Just explain yourself,”
She looked so damn cute when she was angry he had to smile. “All right, you don’t have to sit on my lap. Just sit, please.” He motioned at the sofa in front of her.
Considering it for a moment, she glanced down at the sofa, chewing the corner of her lip, then walked around and sat down cautiously. Hector took a few slow steps to the sofa, afraid that she might jump up and bolt. But she didn’t, so he sat down.
He stared at her for a moment again, debating on how best to say this. “I don’t know if I can handle this.”
Her startled eyes stared at him. “You changed your mind?” Gulping hard, he reached for her hand, but she jerked it away, standing up. “Then go!”
The tears in her eyes had him on his feet instantly. “Charlee, it’s not that I changed my mind. I swear it’s just that . . .”
“Go!” She pointed to the front door. “You don’t have to explain yourself. I don’t mind guessing, Hector. Just leave.”
He took her hand, and she tried pulling it away, but he held it tight. “Listen to me.”
“No!” She was crying now, and it killed him, but he wouldn’t let go of her hand even when she continued to try to free herself from him. “I don’t even wanna hear it anymore. Just leave. I don’t want you here!”
“Charlee,” he tried, speaking calmly in order to calm her, but she was really crying now. “Listen to me, baby,” he said as he backed her up to the wall, pressing his body against hers, trying to pin her down so he could talk to her—explain. But she kept squirming and fighting to get away from him. “I think I love you.”