The Billionaire Playboy (15 page)

“That's a
perfect name for a bed and breakfast,” Callie chimed in. “We'll have to check
it out sometime.”

Charlie saw
Callie nudge Dylan in the side and she suspected it was some kind of hint to
change the subject. Whether it had been or not, Dylan's next question wasn't
related to her family or their business.

“I understand
you're in the Navy. How do you like it?”

“Originally I
just saw it as a way to pay for college. Now, I consider it my way of giving
back.”

Although Dylan
might just be making polite conversation, she still felt as if he was
interrogating her.

“Enough with the
questions. Weren't you two going for a walk?” Jake asked.

“Do you think
he's trying to tell us something, Dylan?” Callie asked grinning.

Dylan glanced in
her direction one last time then turned his attention to his fiancée. “You
might be right. See you tomorrow, Charlie. Jake I'll meet you downstairs in
about forty minutes.”

Charlie remained
silent as they walked back up toward the house glad that Dylan and Callie
decided to continue their walk.

“You're lucky to
have such a good relationship with your family.” She hoped he didn't hear the
twinge of jealousy in her voice. She'd never seen such closeness between family
members before. Even prior to her parents' divorce, her family hadn't been this
close.

Jake held open
one of the side doors leading into an empty hallway. “When they're not driving
me nuts, I agree. What about you?
 
You
seem to get along well with your mother and brother.” Jake held her hand as he
led her down a deserted hall.

Opened myself up for that one.
“Not like you.
This is the first time I've visited them in almost a year. My mom and brother
are tight, but I've been a third wheel since …” Charlie paused. How much did
she want to reveal? Her relationship with her family began to change the day
her father walked out on them. She didn't share that with many people. “… my
parent's divorce.”

“How old were
you?”

“The divorce was
official a few days after my thirteenth birthday. It came as a complete
surprise when they separated the year before. A lot of my friends' parents were
divorced but I never thought mine would be.”

He squeezed her
hand as an unexpected emotion squeezed her heart.

“Most kids
probably think like that. Do you see your father often?”

Did she see him
often? She hadn't seen or heard from him since the day he walked out and as far
as she knew neither had Sean. She didn't even know if the man was still alive.
“He didn't bother to keep in contact,” Charlie said as they stopped in front of
her bedroom door. She could hear the bitterness in her voice, but could do
nothing about it. Her father's rejection shouldn't bother her, especially after
all this time, but it still did.

Releasing her
hand, Jake wrapped his arms around her. “His loss,” he whispered inches from
her mouth before moving in to kiss her.

The kiss was
tender but still sent shivers of excitement to every nerve ending in her body. Soon
the excitement from his kiss and touch washed away the bad memories of her
childhood.

“Maybe we should
go inside,” Charlie suggested as he moved his lips away from hers and settled
on her neck. If he continued to tease her like this, she wouldn't be held responsible
for her actions.

Jake lifted his
head just enough to answer. “I'd like nothing more, but …”

Charlie groaned
at the sound of the word but.

“I promised to
take Dylan out for drinks tonight. I missed his bachelor party because of the
hurricane so this is my chance to make it up to him. We leave in less than an
hour so that doesn't leave me much time, and I don't want to be rushed.”

Rather than cool
her passion, his words further ignited it. How much effort would it take to
change his mind? Sneaking her hands under the hem of his shirt, she decided to
see for herself. “Is that so?” She trailed her hands up his back toward his
shoulders. “Are you sure I can't change your mind?” she asked her voice low.

She felt his
lips curve into a smile against her neck.

“You wouldn't
even need to try, but this time I need to go.” He pulled back and dropped a
final kiss on her lips. “But I promise to make it up to you tomorrow, Charlie.”

The desire in
his eyes matched the desire running rampant through her body, and she knew, if
not for the wedding in the morning, he'd come in. Charlie let her hands fall
back to her sides. “Go have your drinks then.” She opened the bedroom door and
took a step inside. “See you tomorrow.”

After she closed
the door she looked around the well-appointed room. What should she do for the
next few hours? Although it was late she knew sleep wouldn't be coming anytime
soon, thanks to Jake. The guy had some nerve to awaken her passion like that
and then retreat.

A well-stocked
bookcase stood in the corner of the room. Selecting a book about the history of
nineteenth century Newport, Charlie settled outside on the balcony. Hopefully a
little reading would get her in the mood for bed.

Chapter
7

The musicians on
the balcony overlooking the outdoor dance floor launched into a slow ballad. Without
warning Jake tugged her onto the dance floor where the bride and groom were
moving as one to the music. Dinner had ended more than an hour before but many
people remained seated, lost in conversation. Given the diverse guests present,
Charlie assumed those conversations ranged from politics to fashion and just
about everything in between. None of it mattered to Charlie though as she
melted against Jake who wrapped his arms around her and moved her across the
dance floor. She'd been looking forward to this moment all day.

“You look
beautiful today,” he whispered, his breath tickling her ear. “Do you know what
I've thought about all day?” His voice took on a husky tone.

Charlie didn't
respond, though she thought she could guess.

“Taking you some
place private and losing this sexy dress of yours.”

The blue of his
eyes darkened with desire and an unexpected bout of self-consciousness rolled
over her. Never in her adult life had she been self-conscious. Yet surrounded
by all these beautiful people, it kicked in. Jake Sherbrooke, world-renowned
playboy, dated beautiful women all the time and the thought of him seeing her
naked suddenly worried her.

“What do you
think?” He ran his tongue along the outline of her ear. “No one will miss us if
we go now.”

What did she
think? She could barely put two words together when their bodies touched. Even
the briefest of touches caused her thoughts to float away. Talk about annoying.
She never lost her head over a guy. She'd always teased her friends for doing
just that. Evidently it was true, what goes around comes around.

Pull yourself together.
He's talking
about sex, not flying to the moon, she reminded herself. “I say what are we
waiting for?” Charlie tried to project as much confidence in her answer as
possible. The last thing she wanted was for him to pick up on how unlike
herself she felt tonight.

At some point
during their dance one of his hands had come to rest on her ass, and now he
gave her a gentle squeeze and reached for her arm that was wrapped around him. No
one paid any attention to them as they weaved between dancing couples. Once
free of the dance floor, Jake picked up his pace. Charlie wished he'd stop long
enough for her to remove her heels. She didn't wear them often and they kept
sinking into the lawn making it difficult to keep up.

Like the night
before, Jake took her in through a side door that led into a hallway near the
back of the mansion. “We'll use the back stairway.”

Raw energy and
excitement rolled off Jake in waves as they walked down the deserted hall,
adding to her building excitement. The trip up the stairs was quick and at the
top he reached for her and pulled her against him. As he kissed her she could
feel his arousal through their clothes. Charlie could feel the pent-up urgency
in his kiss as he teased her mouth open and thrust his tongue inside. Just
knowing she caused his arousal sent a jolt of power to her brain. Never in her
wildest dreams would she have imagined she could stir such desire in man like
Jake Sherbrooke.

Somehow, without
letting her go, they stumbled down the hallway. With one arm still wrapped
around her, he used his other to open the door.

Charlie heard a
distinct click and knew he'd locked the bedroom door behind them. This is it,
she thought. She'd dreamed about this moment since their first kiss outside the
hospital and now it was about to happen.

Jake let go of
her long enough to pull off his jacket and vest. As he did, Charlie took the
opportunity to look around at what she guessed was his room. Slightly larger
than her guest room, it was distinctly masculine including the huge four-poster
bed positioned opposite the bank of windows. A black and red Persian rug
covered much of the hardwood floor and a tall chest of drawers sat between two
other doors in the room.

Later she would
have to check out the view from the windows. She suspected it was even better
than the one from her room. Right now though she had another view she wanted to
see. Turning on her heel, she noticed that Jake had pulled his white dress
shirt out of his pants. Before he could begin to unbutton it, she moved closer
to him and brushed his fingers away from the tiny buttons.

“Let me,” she
whispered against his lips. She heard a deep intake of breath and couldn't
contain her smile.

Charlie took her
time undoing each tiny pearl button. Between each one she placed a gentle kiss
on his lips or caressed his arm or back. The change in his breathing let her
know her actions excited him. As she trailed a hand down his chest she wondered
just how long she could tease him before he turned the tables. Jake didn't give
her the opportunity to do anything else before tearing his arms out of the
shirt as soon as she slipped the final button from its hole. The white t-shirt
he wore underneath immediately followed, both of them quickly landing in a pile
on the floor.

Jake with
clothes on was gorgeous, but half-naked he was simply a sight to behold. Unable
to stop herself, she ran a hand over his powerful chest then down his
sculptured abs. She felt his abs contract and a new feeling of empowerment
flowed through her. Without pausing she let her hand travel down further toward
his belt buckle. With deliberate movements she undid the buckle making sure her
hand brushed over his erection more than once.

After her third
pass, he gripped her wrists. “I suggest you let me finish.” Jake didn't wait
for a reply. Once he undid his tux pants and added them to the growing pile on
the floor he took a step back toward her. “My turn.”

He began by
pulling the pins from her hair. Once the twist she'd fashioned was gone, he
slid his hands over her bare shoulders and back to the zipper of her dress. Inch
by agonizing inch Charlie felt the zipper move downward until the only thing
holding the dress up was the fact that her body was pressed tightly against
Jake.

“I think it's
time we get rid of this.” As Jake whispered in her ear he took a step back and
the dress began to fall away from her body.

Determined to
remain calm, she fought the unexpected urge to grab the dress and yank it back
into place, and when the dress hit the floor around her ankles she deliberately
stepped out of it. Her heart pounded an erratic rhythm as she stood there in
nothing but her white lace thong, strapless bra and heels. Despite her
discomfort she never once looked away from Jake's face.

The raw desire
she saw on his face as his gaze slowly and seductively slid down her body
extinguished any fears and replaced them with a burning desire that set every
inch of her body on fire. Her entire body craved his touch and she wanted
nothing more than to fall into the bed behind them, wrap her body around his
and satisfy her craving. With every intention of doing just that Charlie took a
step toward him, but Jake reached for her first and held her in place. Slowly
his eyes traveled from her face down to her feet and then back again. As his
gaze moved over her it left a trail of pulsing excitement behind on her skin.

“You're sexier
then I imagined.”

Whether because
of his compliment or the way his eyes devoured her, Charlie's confidence grew
stronger. Before she could rethink her decision, she undid the tiny hooks at
the back of her bra and tossed it on the floor. At the sound of Jake's sharp
intake of breath she smiled. Before she could do or say anything else he closed
the gap between them and scooped her off her feet.

The hard muscles
of his chest and arms felt warm and secure against her already overheated skin.
What would it be like to be held like this every day? To wake up in the morning
surrounded by his arms and to fall asleep every night tucked safely up against
his chest? Charlie couldn't dwell on the questions for long because Jake's
mouth once again settled possessively on hers and thoughts of anything but the
feeling of his warm hard body against hers disappeared into the night like
smoke blowing in the wind.