After we eat, I decide I've had enough of this stuffy crowd. While people bid on items at the silent auction or wander over to the dance floor, I take Charlie’s elbow and guide her over to the elevator.
“What’re you doing?” she asks.
“Going to get some air. I’ve had it with the heated looks Lowe keeps sending your way.”
Her mouth edges up as we step inside the cab. “Do I detect a note of jealousy?”
My eyes narrow and I hit the button for the rooftop. “Maybe,” I admit. “Would you like that?”
“Maybe,” she says and places a hand on her hip.
“Vixen,” I growl.
Thirty floors up, the door opens, and we walk out onto the rooftop terrace. I’m glad to see no one else is up here. Charlie moves past a couple of chairs and a couch and heads straight over to the wrought-iron railing. She leans against it, gazing out over the city, and I join her.
The weather is cooling down and summer is quickly turning into fall. While Charlie admires the view of the Hudson River, I admire her. Christ, she’s gorgeous. Her medium-length blonde hair blows in the cool breeze, and I see goosebumps prickle her bare skin.
“Are you cold?” I ask and run a hand along her upper arm. She hisses in a breath at my touch and when she turns to face me, I can see her nipples through the thin silky material of her dress.Fuck. Instant, raging hard-on. I can’t remember the last woman I wanted this badly. Her effect on me is insane and I lose my train of thought whenever I’m in her presence.
Yeah. I’ve never wanted anyone quite like this. Charlie Langley is on an entirely different level and fucking her just went to the top of my to-do list.
“Jordan was wrong, by the way,” I say, continuing to caress her arm.
“Oh?”
“Stunning doesn't even begin to do you justice tonight,” I say and step closer. “And you’re far more beautiful than Margo Robbie.”
I take her face in my hands, unable to believe how soft her skin is, and lower my mouth to hers. The kiss deepens and she tastes like champagne. Just like the bubbly, she goes straight to my head, and I run my hands over her bare back. “So damn soft,” I murmur between kisses. I’ve never felt skin like hers and I want to feel her silky body beneath mine, completely naked.
Pulling her closer, my lips drop to her the curve of her neck, and I leave a trail of steamy, wet kisses there. She’s driving me to the edge and desire pulses through me. I know this can’t go on much further or I’m going to blow. When my hands round over her ass and squeeze, she moans.
“Nash,” she murmurs, hands gliding through my hair. “What’re we doing?”
“Kissing,” I say and nip her bare shoulder.
“This is crazy,” she says and leans into me even closer.
Fuck.I hold her pelvis against mine and grind, letting her know how much I want her. “But it feels so good, baby.”
With a shaky sigh, she extricates herself from my hold and stumbles back. “That’s the problem.”
When I move closer to pull her back into my arms, she places a hand against my chest. “I don’t need complications right now.”
“Am I a complication?” I ask. And, yeah, it kind of hurts my feelings to hear that.
“A huge one,” she says. “I can’t afford any distractions.”
“So, which is it? Am I a complication or a distraction?”
“Both.” She pushes me back a step and turns around, smoothing her hands down her dress. “I’m sorry, Nash,” she says, not even looking at me. “You and I can’t happen.”
When she starts to walk away, I reach out, grab the silky edge of her dress right where it dips at her lower back and stop her.
“Nash-” She tries to tug herself away, but I’m not letting her go anywhere. Instead, I slide a hand down the back of her dress, and she gasps.
“Your ass is like silk,” I whisper in her ear and caress the round globe. She isn’t trying to pull away anymore and, instead, drops her head back against my shoulder, chest heaving. My finger slides under the flimsy elastic edge of her thong. With a sharp flick of my wrist, it snaps and she gasps again.
I pull the g-string out and it’s a sexy, barely-there scrap of lace. Charlie turns around and watches as I tuck it into my jacket pocket. “I think we can happen,” I tell her in a low voice. “I think we can, and we will. It’s inevitable.”