The Billionaire Playboy (16 page)

Without breaking
contact with her mouth, he deposited her in the center of his bed. Then with
excruciating slowness Jake made love to her mouth with his lips and tongue
while he teased and caressed the rest of her body. Though she wanted to
reciprocate the sweet torture, he wouldn't allow it. Every time she tried to
reach for him, he pushed her hands away.

“This isn't
fair.” Charlie moaned as she tugged at his thick hair.

“Seems fair to
me,” Jake whispered, his breath warm against her nipple.

She wanted to
argue but the sensations coursing through her body were too exquisite.

Jake seemed to
take his time learning every inch of her body. By the time he was done kissing
and caressing her, Charlie was close to begging him to take her. Then just when
she opened her mouth to beg him to end his torture, she heard the rustling of a
foil package.

***

The heavy fog of
sleep slowly dissipated and Jake opened his eyes. Right away he was aware of
two things. The early morning rays of sunlight were streaming through his
window and Charlie's warm body was pressed up against his. Sliding a hand under
his head Jake replayed the events of the night over in his head, and a smile
immediately spread across his face. Sex with Charlie had been everything he'd
expected and more.

From the moment
he led her off the dance floor she was an active and eager participant in their
lovemaking. She teased him almost to the breaking point when she undressed him.
It was as if he was a teenager experiencing sex for the first time. He stopped
her when he did
 
because he was afraid he
would embarrass himself by coming the second their bodies joined. Yet when he
reversed the tables and undressed her, it didn’t help much. He knew she'd be
sexy as hell naked, but still he wasn’t prepared for the sight of her standing
before him in a lace thong and bra. The woman was a mix of surprises. On the
outside she presented herself as a strong Navy officer who always had
everything under control. Every once in a while, however, he caught a glimpse
of sadness in her, like when she spoke of her family. And her choice of
underwear showed that despite her usual style of dress she definitely had a
feminine side.

Next to him he
felt Charlie move and he looked over at her. The sun coming through the windows
danced across her bare skin making her red hair glow like fire against the
black silk pillowcase. Instantly he felt something in his chest relax and a
complete sense of peacefulness settled upon him. Often disappointment and the
urge to keep searching plagued him. Neither emotion had bothered him for some
time. In fact he hadn't felt either since kissing Charlie for the first time
outside the hospital. He didn't know what that meant. However, he did know that
he wanted to explore this thing between them. She seemed open to the idea. If
she wasn't would she have made the trip this weekend with him? Would they have
made love three times during the night?

As Jake
continued to study Charlie and think about the way she made him feel, her
eyelids began to flutter. Slowly her eyes opened and stared up at him. He could
tell it took her a minute to fully realize where she was and he knew the second
it dawned on her.

Charlie sat bolt
upright in bed and tugged the sheet against her chest. Jake almost laughed at
her attempt to cover herself. The night before he'd seen and explored every
inch of her naked body. It seemed a little late for modesty now.

“What time is
it?” she asked.

His fingers
itched to pull down the sheet she clutched against her chest and pick up where
they'd left off earlier, but he resisted the urge. She didn't appear to be in
the right frame of mind at the moment so instead he glanced at his watch. “Six,”
he answered as he pulled himself into a sitting position next to her.

Charlie groaned
and moved to get out of bed. “I shouldn’t be here. If I wait too long your mom
or someone else might see me going back to my room.”

Jake shrugged. He
didn't see why that should matter. “I doubt it, but so what? We're all adults.”

“Your mom
wouldn't even let Dylan and Callie share a room.” Charlie threw him a look that
would probably stop most people in their tracks. It didn't faze him though. Actually
he found it cute and couldn't help but say so.

“You're adorable
when you do that.” He reached for her before she could comment and pulled her
under him, silencing any retort with a kiss.

At first Charlie
held herself stiff with her hands still clutching the sheet and her lips
pressed tightly together.
 
After a little
coaxing she relaxed under him, and her arms looped around his shoulders.

“Don't go. Stay
a little longer.” Jake trailed a hand down her side to her waist. He felt her
quick intake of breath.
She's going to
stay.
A sense of pure male satisfaction surged through him.

Charlie shook
her head. “Can't. I don't want anyone to know I spent the night here.”
Disappointment laced her words.

“My family
probably assumes we're sleeping together anyway. It's not like they think I'm a
monk.” The words passed his lips and he knew it'd been the wrong thing to say.

Nice going.
Next to him Charlie eyed him. Without
even asking he imagined Charlie was envisioning every headline and every
picture of him ever printed. Time for some damage control, he thought.

“Come on Charlie.
I'm twenty-eight. They know I'm not a virgin. The media has made sure of that.”

She didn't get
out of bed, but she didn't make any move to continue their earlier activities
either. Instead Charlie continued to study his face as if looking for some
hidden answer. “I know that.” Her voice was confident but soft.

Once again he
found himself cursing the media and the false picture it painted of him. Sure
he dated, but the playboy they made him out to be didn't exist. In truth it
never had.

“Really don't
worry about my mom. She wouldn't say anything to you even if she did see you
leaving my room. She'd come to me.”

Charlie narrowed
her eyes at him, and he suspected that she was deciding whether or not she
believed him. After what seemed like an eternity, she relaxed next to him.

“I still don't
want anyone to see me going back to my room.” Leaning over, she kissed him on
the cheek. “I'll see you downstairs at breakfast.”

He decided not
to force the issue. More than anything he wanted her to be comfortable this
weekend. If being seen leaving his room would embarrass her, it was best to
avoid it. If possible anyway. Even if she left now there was no guarantee she'd
make it back to her room without someone seeing her in the same dress as the
night before.

Jake didn't
point this fact out to her. Instead he remained silent, content to watch her
get dressed. Unlike many of the women he dated, she wasn't stick thin. She looked
toned and healthy with curves in all the right places. He could stay here all
day and look at her.

“How about we
spend some time on the water today then head downtown for dinner?” Jake folded
his arms behind his head and leaned against the headboard. He figured a day on
his sailboat would give them some privacy from the members of his family who
planned to stay in Newport for the week. So far, except for the hours they'd
spent in his room, they hadn't gotten much alone time and tomorrow they were
headed back to Massachusetts.

Charlie zipped
up her dress then checked her reflection in the mirror. “Sounds good.” After
running her fingers through her hair she turned toward the bedroom door. “See
you in a little while.”

An unexpected
twinge of disappointment shot through Jake's chest and he couldn't stop himself
from getting out of bed to stop her. “What no goodbye kiss?” He tried to keep
his voice teasing as he reached for her.

“Thought I
already gave you one,” Charlie answered stepping into his embrace.

Jake didn't
argue. Rather he set about giving her a kiss designed to make her regret her
decision to leave.

***

“So what do you
do when you're not rebuilding towns after a disaster?” Charlie asked as they
walked down Deblois Street later that afternoon.

Jake heard the
gentle teasing underlying her words and decided to play along. “Mostly chase
women in my fast cars. You'd be surprised how fast a woman wearing a pair of
Prada heels can run.”

Charlie laughed.
It was a rich full laugh and Jake thought it suited her perfectly. A laugh like
that couldn't be faked. It was genuine, just like everything else about her. Perhaps
that was what drew him to her. There didn't seem to be anything false or
contrived about Charlie. What you saw was what you got.

“I wouldn't know.
They don't exactly go with my uniform and I doubt they would be comfortable for
doing my rounds.” Charlie stopped in front of an art gallery window where
several paintings sat on display. Though each depicted a different landscape
they all captured life in New England during one of its four distinct seasons.

“Seriously what
kinds of things do you work on when you're not out in the field?”

She didn't look
at him when she asked the question. Rather she seemed focused on one particular
painting in the window which featured a family of four on a picnic. From the
city painted in the background there was no mistaking it as a park somewhere in
Boston. Although a nice painting, Jake didn't see what made it so interesting
to her.

“Administrative
business. Fundraising. Follow up on projects. The budget.” Jake turned away
from the glass window, more interested in looking at her rather than the art on
display. “Do you want to go in and look around? You seem really interested in
that painting.”

Charlie's shoulders
slumped ever so slightly and she frowned. “I've never been on a picnic.”

He could hear
the deep sadness in her voice. A sadness that seemed too intense to be caused
by the mere detail she'd shared with him.

“I've eaten
outside but I’ve never been on a real picnic like that one.” She nodded toward
the painting.

Jake opened his
mouth to say something, but then closed it, unsure how to respond. Her slumped
shoulders and mournful voice told him something buried deep down caused her
sorrow. Something that had nothing to do with picnics, but he didn't know what
or how to broach the topic. He was still trying to figure it out when Charlie
turned to face him. Although the frown no longer marred her face, he could see
the deep sadness lurking in her hazel eyes. Eyes that appeared almost green
today thanks to her green top.

“Come on. Let’s
keep walking,” she said as she took a step forward.

In silence they
fell into step next to each other as they continued up the crowded downtown
street. More than anything he wanted to banish the sadness he saw in her eyes. Prior
to their stop she'd been laughing and relaxed. The woman walking with him now
was quiet and solemn, not at all like the Charlie he'd come to know. Somehow he
needed to lighten the atmosphere.

“How about we
skip dinner and go for ice cream instead? Pirate's Cove is open. Nobody has
better ice cream and we can play a round of mini-golf while we're there.” It
seemed like a feeble attempt even to him, but it was better than nothing.

When Charlie
didn't answer he added, “Unless you're afraid you'll lose.” In the short time
he'd known her he'd learned she was not only headstrong and independent, but
competitive. If anything would get her going it was a taunt.

Her reaction to
his words didn't disappoint. Charlie's shoulders went back and the spark
returned to her eyes. “You're on Mr. Sherbrooke.”

They walked the
couple of blocks to Pirate's Cove in silence.

“When you said
ice cream and mini-golf, I expected one of those little outside stands with a
tiny course,” Charlie said as they joined the long line of customers waiting to
place orders. The place they'd walked to was anything but tiny. A large
eighteenth-century stone building with a flashing neon open sign sat way back
from the road. To the left of the building was an enormous eighteen-hole
mini-golf course complete with a windmill and waterfall. Behind the building
were six batting cages and off to the far right was a go-cart track.

“You grew up in
New England and never heard of Pirate's Cove?” he asked feigning astonishment.
“You should be ashamed.” The line moved forward and he moved with the crowd. “I
used to come here all the time in the summer. They expanded the golf course and
added go-carts a few years ago. I think they put in more batting cages too.”

“Really? You
came here in the summer?” Charlie gestured toward their surroundings her
eyebrows raised.

“And that's
supposed to mean what?” Jake knew the joking tone had left his voice and
Charlie's slight blush told him she'd noticed.

Jake watched
Charlie's shoulder's raise and lower. “Nothing. It's just that you could hang
out anywhere in the world and this place seems ordinary. That's all.”