Not sure what to do with my hands, I lifted them and ran them up the sides of his torso, enjoying the ridges of flexing muscles beneath my touch. Rather than fist his shirt, I gripped his wrists. He deepened our kiss with a groan that I happily swallowed, along with a breath that I’d been holding.
He coaxed my tongue to move with his as he explored my mouth, and I explored his. Then he ran the tip of his tongue from my soft palate to my hard one, sending a shiver to fly down my spine, and a chuckle to escape as my awkward response.
“Sorry,” I whispered. “That tickled.” His pretty blue eyes never left mine. “Please don’t stop.”
“Charlie—”
Before he thought about it, I closed the gap between us, and this time kissed him. I did my best to catalog everything about this moment—the way he smelled, tasted, felt, the way I felt, the emotions that flooded my body. His hips shifted on mine, and I knew by his evident excitement that he wasn’t oblivious to what was happening.
A voice in my head that he couldn’t hear begged him not to stop. I knew for a fact that most women who had been in this same type of situation with him most likely ended up in his bedroom, and for the first time in my life, I wasn’t scared of that happening. I’d been on dates that didn’t get as hot and heavy as this, but going into it, I would know that sex wasn’t even a modicum of a possibility. This… Collin… was different.
I arched and pressed my shoulders into the hard floor. Collin propped himself up on his left elbow, keeping his forearm flush with the hardwood. His right hand grazed my boob so slightly that I barely felt it, yet I couldn’t help sighing.
“I need to stop.”
“You don’t,” I disputed.
Before I knew it, he’d pushed himself up to sit with his back against the front of the sofa. I turned my head and looked at him.
“I’m sorry, Charlie. You deserve better.”
Annoyed at hisI know better than youattitude, I chided, “Better than the guy I’ve always wanted?” He tilted his head to the side. “It’s true, you know.” I gathered myself and sat up. Facing him, I admitted, “You said yourself I used to stare at you.”
“You were a kid.”
“Yes, I know how old I was. But just becauseyoudidn’t notice me didn’t meanIdidn’t notice you. I saw how kind you were to your sister and your mom. I watched how you treated people.”
“I can be an ass.”
I shook my head. “When I stared at you, I remember wanting to mentally record everything about you. Just like I’d done a few seconds ago while we were kissing.”
“Why?”
Not the least bit embarrassed, I admitted, “Back then it was in case I never saw you again. Now it was just in case it never happened again. Please don’t let that happen. I don’t care that I’m younger or that we’re teammates. This is between us, me and you. No one needs to know.”
He ran his fingers through his hair, making it look a bit more disheveled yet sexy as sin. “But weareteammates, Charlie. Let’s not forget, aside from your age, you’re a virgin. There has to have been a reason for you to have waited. The night we went to McNulty’s… when we came home, you said you wanted it to be special. Don’t throw that away because you want to get rid of your V-card.”
Annoyed, I pushed myself up off the floor and looked down at him. I hated that he had heard that conversation between me and his sister. “Fine. You’re right. I did want it to be special. For some reason, I thought you were…” Maybe it was exhaustion or the fact that everything in my life lately had seemed to do a complete about-face, but unwanted tears pulsed behind my eyes, and the last thing I wanted to do was cry. “Never mind. I’m tired. Good night.”
“Charlie.” When I turned, he was standing. His head dropped forward before looking at me. “Good night.”
I climbed the stairs to my room, and once inside, I gently closed the door with a simple click and leaned against it. Collin St. James had to be one of the most infuriating men I’d ever met.
Chapter 17
Collin
Pushing Charlie away felt wrong. I couldn’t remember the last time I rejected a woman I’d been attracted to. Yes. I was attracted to Charlie Nicholson. Rather than go to bed, I went back downstairs, poured myself a drink, and sat on the sofa with my tablet. Maybe if I looked at some game films, I’d feel more like myself. Except twenty minutes in, I still couldn’t focus. Who was I kidding?
The square ice cube slid toward my lip as I drained the amber liquor that didn’t have the normal soothing effect on me. I needed advice, and there was one person who could give it to me. Grabbing my phone off the coffee table, I scrolled through my contacts and tapped the green phone icon.
Two rings in, my sister’s voice greeted me.
“Well, hello there, big brother.”
“Hey, Sal. Got a minute?”
“Of course. What’s wrong? Is it Charlie? Is she okay?”