Will wiped his bottom lip as he turned, giving her a slow, sexy smile. “Where you going, Charlotte?”
At least she was pretty sure it would be wrong to have sex with him.
“That was feeling really good to me, and I wasn’t finished.”
Maybe it wasn’t wrong. If he liked it.
A quick glance at the front of his jeans showed he liked it very much, thank you.
Five
WILL WAS FEELING OPTIMISTIC. ALONG WITH TURNED ON, hot and bothered, and good old-fashioned horny. Charlotte had let him kiss her. She hadn’t balked or pinched her lips together or wrinkled her nose. Not only had she let him kiss her, she’d done some mighty nice kissing back, including touching the tip of his tongue with her own. And she hadn’t seemed to mind his hands on her ass, if the way she had been pressing up against him was any indication.
She’d run eventually, but he had expected that. That was workable, fine, something he could overcome. As long as she was attracted to him, interested in taking their friendship to the next level, Will could deal with a case of nerves. But the minute he had pulled her shopping bags out of the trunk of her car and seen the mistletoe lying on top, tied with a ribbon and ready for hanging, he had known that Bree was right. Charlotte did feel something for him more than friendship and the mistletoe he’d scrunched up and shoved into his front pocket was proof. Why else would she buy mistletoe to hang in his place if she didn’t want him to kiss her?
He was feeling so pleased that he didn’t even mind that she didn’t answer him at all when he told her wasn’t finished kissing her, just dove back into her shopping bags with gusto, clearly flustered.
“I think your tree should go in front of the living room window. We’ll move your coffee table over there and set it on top. That way everyone driving by on the road can see it, too.”
“Good thinking,” he said, leaning against the couch, just wanting to watch her for a minute. Charlotte was such a beautiful woman. Her beauty was fresh and natural, and while she cared about her appearance and took care of herself, she didn’t primp and fuss and overprocess. She was also an intriguing blend of confidence and modesty, ambition and shyness, and he appreciated, enjoyed that about her.
“I brought my iPod, too,” she said, yanking it out of her purse and holding it up in front of her like a shield. Her cheeks were flushed pink. “Christmas music. I figured you wouldn’t have any.”
“Wonderful.” Will started toward her, but she moved again, practically jogging to the speaker he had sitting on his end table. “Charlotte.”
“Hmm?” Her back was to him as she switched his player for hers. “Jingle Bells” blared out into his living room. “Oh, too loud. Sorry.”
She bent over a little to adjust the volume, and Will almost groaned. Charlotte’s ass in a pair of jeans was a beautiful thing. His mouth went dry just looking at the way the denim hugged her curves, especially at the apex of her thighs. “Are you just going to ignore the fact that we kissed each other?”
The song switched to “The Happy Little Elf.” Now that was sexy. Not. He moved right up behind her, needing to kill the distracting music.
Charlotte whirled around and held the remote against her chest. “Yes, I was actually totally going to ignore the fact that we…you know.”
“Kissed?” He almost laughed. She looked so embarrassed, you’d think they had done something downright kinky instead of just swapped spit for a minute.
She just nodded.
Will eased the remote from her hand and pointed it over her shoulder, shutting the music off. “I don’t want to ignore it. I want to kiss you again.”
“Why?” Her breath was coming in little urgent gasps, her hands still across her breasts even without anything to hold, and her chest rose and fell rapidly.
“Because it feels good.”
“We’re supposed to be decorating your Christmas tree.”
“We can do that, too.” He reached out and touched her cheek.
She jerked and tried to move away from him, clearly panicked.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her to a halt, then wrapped his arms around her. Giving her a soft kiss, he said, “Hey, what’s the matter? It’s me. Talk to me.”
Her eyes closed briefly, then she opened them and met his gaze. Her blue eyes were troubled. “What are we doing here?” she asked.
“We’re about to make love, Charlotte.” There. He’d said it. No going back.
A strange little squeak came out of her mouth that he found incredibly cute. “We are?”
“Yep.” Nothing he wanted more. Will lifted her hand and kissed her fingers, one by one. “Please say that I can.”
Her skin was soft, her hand trembling a little. She smelled good, a soft fruity perfume scent, and he could feel the tension in her body. He wanted her to relax, so he stayed that way himself, nice and loose, and allowing a good foot of space between them. Lacing his fingers through hers, he leaned forward and brushed his lips over hers. She had a creamy, even complexion, her fair skin the only thing she shared in common with her sisters physically. Will loved the softness of it, the unblemished perfection of her jawline, adored her tiny pink lips, and the perky upturn at the bottom of her nose. She was a truly beautiful woman, inside and out, and he was a lucky bastard to have her as a best friend.
He was also an ungrateful bastard, because he wanted more. Burying his free hand in her hair, he kissed her jaw, the corners of her mouth, her neck.
“Will…”
Maybe it was meant to be a protest, but since she didn’t follow it up with any rejection, or any body language that indicated she wanted him to stop, he choose to take it as a pleasure thing. Especially since her hand pulled from his, but she grabbed on to his waist, hooking her fingers through his belt loops.
He dipped his tongue into her ear and she gave a startled moan. Music to his ears. Better sounding than the corny Christmas songs she was trying to shovel down his throat. Hands free, Will went back to holding her ass the way he had been earlier, though tighter this time, pulling her forward, bumping her jeans against his in a rhythmic little grind that made his erection downright hurt. Wanting her was the freakin’ understatement of the century. He wanted to eat her, to get inside her, to own her body with his, and to show Charlotte everything she meant to him.
It was strange to know her so well, to know her mannerisms, her laugh, her facial expressions, and hand gestures, yet to not know this part of her, the sexual side. To realize that there was something so elemental and huge that they had never seen in each other. Her responses were surprising him. He had expected tentativeness on her part, assumed he would have to coax her to respond, because Charlotte was a thinker. She was successful for the very reason that she was never impulsive. Yet she wasn’t showing the least sign of hesitation, despite her earlier words. She was now moving her hips of her own volition, and she had arched her neck to give him better access. Her hands had made their way around the back of his jeans and were firmly gripping right and left. Not just holding, she was actually copping quite a feel off him, and it was driving his desire even higher.
Yanking her sweater down at the neck in total disregard for the fact that she’d told him it was new and he’d probably just stretched it to hell and back, Will sucked the swell of her breast above her white satin bra. Damn. He wanted more and so did she, given the way she was moving restlessly between his thighs and making little sounds of encouragement. It wasn’t classy, but it wasn’t hard to peel the front of her bra back and expose her nipple. Barely allowing himself a glance, Will flicked his tongue over it for a quick taste, then gave in to temptation, and completely enclosed her with his mouth.