Revel (Second Chance Romance #1) (6 page)

He pressed his finger against her lips, “Charlotte. It’s okay. I’m just surprised. There’s nothing lame or ridiculous about it. I just want to know you want this and that I’m not pressuring you.”

Charlotte nodded, “I want it so bad, Declan. More than anything. I just didn’t want you to wonder why I wasn’t good at it or whatever. I don’t know what I’m doing.” She threw an arm over her eyes. God this was a nightmare. She was ruining everything.

Gently, but firmly, Declan took her wrist in his hand and pulled her arm away from her face and positioned it above her head. He moved her other hand in a similar fashion, crossing them above her head and holding them fast with one of his large hands.

He cradled her face with his other hand, staring deep into her eyes. “Charlotte. I’ll be as gentle as I can, but this is going to hurt. You understand that, right? The first time always does, I imagine.” As he spoke, she could feel the power of his erection again rubbing against her. “If it gets to be too much, tell me. If you like something, let me know. I don’t want you to be scared or uncomfortable. Okay?”

With her wrists still loosely restrained above her head, her entire body trembling with anticipation, Charlotte bit her bottom lip and nodded.

Declan replied to her nod by reaching down with his free hand to line himself up with her opening. He didn’t expect to encounter her hymen, he’d heard somewhere that many girls lose them playing sports, riding horses, that sort of thing. Declan had never been one to doubt his sexual prowess, but something about Charlotte made him uncharacteristically nervous. He’d realize later that it was the fact that he truly wanted her to feel special, to make it memorable, for her to have no regrets. That for the first time in his life, he had genuine feelings about the person he was fucking. Or in this case, making love to. He wanted her to experience pleasure even more than he wanted it for himself. 

He entered Charlotte slowly, finding that their combined arousal had everything so wet that he slid inside more easily than he expected to. She gasped and winced, but only for a moment. As he began to ease in deeper, he spoke in a voice just this side of a whisper. “Look into my eyes, Charlotte. I want to share this moment with you completely. Look right into my eyes.”

Her eyes were glassy, difficult to focus, but Charlotte tried. It seemed to take an eternity, but finally he’d stopped his forward motion. There was pressure, and definitely some pain, but it was a delicious kind of pressure, a sumptuous pain. 
I can’t believe that whole thing is inside me,
Charlotte thought.

So far, so good,
filled Declan’s mind. She hadn’t realized that he still had several inches to give her.

Declan held himself there, engulfed by her, staring into Charlotte’s eyes. Her mouth was open, a small sound escaping, a kind of whimper. He resumed his glacially-slow thrusting, easing another inch into Charlotte, then two. She began to squirm. Declan’s irresistible cock wasn’t finished yet, to Charlotte’s surprise and dismay. The pain and pressure were beginning to mount, and she wasn’t sure how much more of his length her body could physically handle.

Letting go of Charlotte’s wrists, Declan gave her a command. “Reach down and touch yourself. I want this to be so good for you.”

Charlotte had never masturbated in front of anyone else, and she couldn’t stop a fleeting thought of a mortifying moment when she’d almost been caught once by her parents years ago, but Declan was so strong, so in control of her body, that she couldn’t refuse him.

As her hands busied themselves at her clit, Declan finally stopped pushing. The pain was more extreme, the stretching so deep inside her, but the pleasure she was giving herself helped her to compensate. He stayed right there, fully impaled, and kissed her; sweet, soft kisses.

So focused was Charlotte on Declan’s mouth and her own building orgasm, she barely noticed that he’d withdrawn himself halfway and thrust back inside, more quickly. She caressed herself frantically as his rhythm became more forceful, more insistent, and before she knew it he was fairly pounding her, his thrusts no longer restrained by a fear of being too rough with her virgin body.

He felt her responding, the way her hips lifted off the bed when he pulled back, the clutching feeling of her body not wanting to release his girth. He watched her eyes carefully, and he could feel her orgasm begin as they rolled back in her head. He mashed his mouth onto hers as it happened, and he gave her his most powerful thrusts at the same time, and the combination of the kiss, the climax she’d given herself, and the weapon impaled inside her sent her to heights she’d never before reached or even imagined. Her first orgasm was merely a trigger, a catalyst for what came next, a hurricane crashing through her mind and soul, turning everything upside down inside her body and her heart, sending debris flying everywhere. The landscape of Charlotte Sanders’ life reaching, in that instant, a point by which all things would be compared and measured. Events, memories, and experiences could now all be placed into one of two categories – before Declan fucked her and after. As she came down from her trip soaring above everything in the starlit Charleston sky, she wondered, indeed, if anything would ever be the same. Was this her figurative first hit of heroin, a dragon she’d chase forever, or could Declan possibly have more to show her, more incredible things he could make her body do?

She couldn’t ponder long, as his fucking, once gentle and sweet, had become more intense and relentless. His hands were behind the small of her back and down to her ass, and her ankles were crossed behind him even as her hands moved to his chest and face. She mewed and writhed, unable to look at him, lost in a swirl of emotion and sensations.

Charlotte was vaguely aware of a tender sort of soreness down there, like after she’d had a particularly intense workout, muscles that lay dormant her entire life being called into immediate and vigorous action. 

Her orgasms seemed to roll, one into the next, endings and beginnings impossible to discern. Declan’s visage had taken on a peculiar sort of intensity, his teeth gritted below a forehead dotted with sweat. He was growling more than speaking.

“Charlotte, you feel so good, you’re so sexy, oh, fuck … Baby, I’m… I can’t stop…you’re going to make me…”

Charlotte threw her hands behind his neck and pulled him close, kissing him hungrily as she felt a series of his eruptions filling her with his load. He’d sat back on his haunches, pulling her completely off the bed, holding her tight to his chest as her own clenching climax served to milk him of every last drop.

The lovers collapsed onto the bed, stretched out face to face, silly smiles on both their faces, kissing cheeks and noses, fingertips exploring arms and backs, and running through hair. She nuzzled her head into his chest, his protective arms wrapping her up tight, securing her against anything the world outside those four walls could ever throw at her.

Charlotte was right where she was always meant to be. She knew that. Whatever twists and turns her life had taken, to be held by Declan DeGraff in the basking, beautiful moments after their shared bliss was more perfect than syrup on pancakes, a cool ocean breeze on scorching July day, or a mountain of presents under the tree on Christmas morning.

Declan cradled Charlotte, their legs twisted together, and they fell into a deep, contented sleep. Charlotte’s last thought before drifting away was that maybe she’d finally figured out why she’d felt drawn to Charleston.

It was Declan. It would always be him.

Charlotte rubbed tanning oil on her arms and legs. She knew it was an absolutely terrible idea to do it, especially since she was a doctor and knew the possible repercussions, but she longed for sun-kissed skin. She’d tanned so easily when she was younger, but being inside a hospital all the time had left her colorless and drab. If she was going to live by the beach, she was going to look like she belonged there.

In the distance a man had sauntered out to the beach from the house next door.

I guess that’s the blonde’s husband
, she thought.
He looks a little young for her, but to each his own.

Charlotte closed her eyes and basked in the breeze and heat of the perfect southern day. She already felt calmer, being here. But she missed Vanessa. Maybe she could fly her down here in the next couple of weeks; explain what had happened in Nashville and why she’d had to leave it behind.

********

Declan swam a few short laps in his pool and then sauntered down to the water, leaving his towel, phone, and flip flops behind in his gated backyard. He liked having a stretch of beach more or less to himself, and he walked a bit, picking up a few shells to see if the tide had dropped anything interesting at his backdoor overnight. He’d stolen a glance at the girl in the black bikini as he strolled past, and thought she had a killer body, if a little pale for a day at the beach. Her face was obscured by a Kardashian on the cover of People, but he’d be surprised if she was anything short of a knockout with a body like that.

A few gulls shadowed Declan as he walked, hoping he was one of those beachgoers who threw bread into the air, but after circling for a few minutes, they gave up and left him alone with his thoughts.

Wandering down into the surf, Declan let his feet sink in the sand, deeper with each wave that crashed at his ankles. He watched a crab skitter over to him and snap curiously at the exposed part of his right foot and he was suddenly lost in melancholy.
I bet that crab would have no idea if his dad was dying of pancreatic fucking cancer. He’s probably never known what it’s like to lose your father and still not be over losing the one person he ever loved. Ironic. A world filled with people envious of me and my money and here I am, jealous of a crab
, Declan thought to himself.

He walked a while longer until he realized he was nearing the end of the island and then it occurred to him that he didn’t exactly know what his new digs looked like from the beach. He knew his gate code, so getting back inside the house wouldn’t be a problem, but many of the oceanfront mansions looked alike and it would be embarrassing to try to go inside the wrong house or to have to go back up to the street to find it that way.

In the distance he could see people starting to setup canopies and chairs, preparing for a day of fun in the sun. He thought back to the girl in the bikini who he’d been watching from his back porch – if she was still there, he’d know he had the right place. And he might get to introduce himself and see what she looked like beneath a glossy picture of a reality TV star.

********

Charlotte hid behind her magazine as her neighbor’s husband walked past, but she snuck a peek once he was a safe distance away.
Trophy husband
was the first thing that came to mind. She concocted an entire life for the people who lived next door; she was a wealthy widow who’d snatched up a young stud who married her for her money, but who also kept a young girlfriend out in Summerville somewhere. He spent days at the gym and the beach, staying fit and tan to impress all her friends at the country club. She didn’t have to work, but she served on the boards of several charities or maybe the hospital to stay busy between lunch at the yacht club or the occasional round of golf.

Charlotte admired the man’s silhouette framed against the sun hovering over the horizon. He was tall and in good shape, broad-shouldered with an easy, confident gait. She watched him walk, noisy seagulls squawking in his wake.

Before long, he was too far down the beach to ogle and she’d run out of her ideas for the Lifetime movie starring her new neighbors, so she propped herself up on her elbows to watch the waves. The sounds of families unpacking wagons, college guys popping the tops of their cans, and children arguing over beach toys began to fill the air around her, drowning out the ocean for the moment. She finished an article about a woman who ran a rescue for circus animals in Oklahoma and set her magazine down, standing up, stretching, and walking quickly across the hot sand to get down to the water.

She splashed it up onto her shoulders and face, letting the ocean cool her down. She’d never been one to swim out too far, but wading up to her knees or so suited her just fine.

Declan made his return up the beach, looking for landmarks, and although he was disappointed that the girl in the black bikini seemed to be gone, he recognized his house and figured he’d head back up after he went out into the ocean for a few minutes and let the tide buffet him about. 

As he reached the water, he heard a child’s voice call out “Heads up! Sorry!” and saw a Nerf football in flight, heading in his direction.

Never one to pass up an opportunity for athletic glory, Declan drew a bead on the wayward ball, charged forward, and began his leap to make the catch. Displaying the focus that made him an all-county wide receiver in high school, Declan attempted to change direction as the wind made the ball dip, and he reached full extension – only to collide with a defensive back.

Although this defensive back was wearing sunglasses and a black bikini instead of shoulder pads and a helmet. The he was a very attractive she. And Declan had just knocked her down.

As he offered a hand to help her up and an embarrassed, stuttering apology to her, he realized, eyes wide with shock, that there was a reason she’d seemed so familiar to him. Her eyes were the same ones he’d first fallen for on the bridge ten years ago.

The girl in the black bikini was none other than Charlotte Sanders.

As he comprehended this, Charlotte had also come to a similar realization.

Her neighbor was Declan Degraff.

All of a sudden the past was back. And neither of them were sure what to make of it.

Charlotte knew one thing. She had to get out of here. Now.