"Come with me," she whispered, holding out her hands and leading him back to the bedroom. Wrapping her body around his, she pulled him down to the bed. The delicious scent of their loving still lingered on the sheets. And she wanted more, needed it, had to erase the words that had come between them.
"Charlie." Her name was a whisper of pleasure over her skin as he covered her in kisses.
He pushed aside the robe, baring her body to his lips, his touch. "Your skin is so sweet, so soft." He licked, tasted, and kissed his way over her breasts, finally taking a nipple between his lips, teasing her.
"Sebastian." She cried out his name, arched up, pressing her body hard against him. Begging. She'd never felt so cherished or so possessed. Sebastian didn't just kiss, he savored. He absorbed himself in her pleasure, in every inch of her skin, in her textures and curves, as if she were the only thing that mattered in the world.
How could she have doubted him?
Trailing his hand down her stomach, slipping his fingers over her sensitive flesh, he made her forget all her fears, her worries. Made her forget that she always felt she needed to do everything herself.
"Sebastian, please." She writhed beneath him, his leg thrown over hers to open her body fully to him.
"We have all night," he murmured, sliding a teasing finger inside her. "And I'm going to enjoy every second."
Her desire rose so fast, she couldn't wait. It wasn't enough that he pleasured her. She needed to feel his body connected to hers, completely--inside her, filling her, riding the wave with her.
"Now," she whispered. "I want it all now."
He kissed her hard, consuming her for all-too-brief seconds. "I love it when you're greedy." He arched, retrieved the protection. They hadn't even fully removed the robes, the soft terry caressing her skin along with all his hard muscles.
Then he gave her what she wanted, what she craved, filling her deeply.
And nothing else mattered, not the money, not the things they'd said. There was just this--his beautiful touch, his loving murmurs, and then his mouth on hers as they touched the sky together.
*
Sebastian relished every single second with Charlie spooned into his body, her breathing gentle and even. The moment was made even more sublime because he'd almost ruined everything, coming close to losing her by doing th
e most asinine thing imaginable--talking about money after they'd made love for the first time.
He should have heeded Susan's warning not to push, especially with an independent woman like Charlie...
It was just that making love seemed to tear down all the barriers between them. He couldn't hold back his desire to do everything possible to make her happy and to care for her mother. No formal promises had been made, but they already felt like his family. He had no expectations and wanted no payback for anything he did, and he'd believed Charlie would finally understand that he wanted to help because she meant everything to him.
But he'd proven he was as big an idiot when it came to love as any fool had ever been. All night long he'd wanted to say the words, wanted her to know he was crazy in love with her. But he'd been afraid she'd see it as just another ploy to get his way.
I love you, Charlie.
Soon. He'd tell her soon.
And hopefully, he prayed as he pulled her closer in the dark, breathing in her scent, she'd fall in love with him too.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The weekend with Sebastian had been beautiful. If she closed her eyes, Charlie could still almost feel his touch on her skin, and his scent seemed to linger all over her body. When she breathed, she breathed in Sebastian.
But then there was real life, and the Monday after the gala was not only moving day for Charlie's mother, but Sebastian had also arranged for a new doctor to meet with her. Charlie was thrilled her mother would finally live in a nice home with a garden again, but she was more than a little worried about Sebastian. If his hopes for her mother's health were smashed, would he take it as badly as he had his failure to help his own parents?
Dr. Bengali had kind brown eyes and dark skin that showed nary a wrinkle. In his mid-thirties, he was an eminent surgeon who specialized in ankles. Sebastian had researched the man's career, and though he was relatively young, he was considered brilliant in his field. It still blew Charlie away that Sebastian could convince these prominent surgeons to make house calls. Despite her doubts that anything could be done, she still couldn't help the whisper of an internal mantra: Please help her. Please.
First, the doctor observed her mother's ability to walk. Then, since Charlie was still packing two suitcases and a garment bag for the move, they'd convened in her mother's room. Sebastian leaned against the wall a few feet away while her mother sat in her reading chair as the doctor studied her ankles. Gently, Dr. Bengali removed both her shoes and the braces, then delicately turned each ankle in his long fingers to check her range of motion and pain level with every movement. He palpated and squeezed the flesh, carefully examining right down to the toes.
Finally he rose to sit on the edge of the bed. Sebastian had remained quiet, but, just as with Dr. Hillman, his tension was like a live wire pulsing in the room.
"I've looked at your X-rays, Mrs. Ballard, and I want you to know that you've had a very good surgeon. I couldn't have done better by you. I agree with your doctor's instructions to keep walking. All in all, you're doing extremely well."
"Thank you, Doctor." Her mother smiled like a ray of sunshine.