Bump and Run (Wide Open #6)

Chapter Eighteen

Jones

I pulled Charlie’s Jeep into the driveway of his house. Excitement had been growing inside of me since I left Charlotte. Almost to the point where it felt like I might explode. I couldn’t believe it. I had signed a contract to start racing in the Xfinity series next year. I was going to need to move closer to Charlotte, which meant apartment hunting. Everything was happening just the way I wanted it to, and it was all because of my boyfriend.

What if I hadn’t been out on the beach that night? If Charlie hadn’t been there, none of this would even be possible. I suppose I had Mama to thank, too. If she wasn’t marrying his daddy, then he would still be up in Boston, and our paths wouldn’t have crossed.

I glanced up to find Charlie leaning in the doorway of the house just watching me, his arms folded over his broad chest. The moment our eyes met, he started toward me, and I swore I couldn’t take my seatbelt off fast enough. I yanked open the door of the Jeep to jump into his arms, laughing as he rained kisses on my mouth.

“Thank you.” I murmured.

“For?”

Charlie didn’t stop kissing me as he started to walk back toward the house, my legs wrapped around his waist as he carried me with him. His hands gripped my backside tightly, and my length plumped up inside my dress slacks.

I clung to his shoulders. “Making my dreams come true.” I gasped when I saw the rose petals inside the foyer that led up the stairs. “What... Charlie, what is all this?”

I wiggled in his arms so he would put me down. I reached for his hand the moment my feet hit the floor and laced our fingers together.

“It’s for you, Jonesy. All of it.” Charlie squeezed my fingers.

I stared at him, and my heart pounded loud and fast against my chest as I looked up at him under my lashes. “Why?”

“Because I wanted to show you how much you mean to me. How proud I am of you.”

We moved into the living room, down the hall, and to the kitchen, which was loaded with more rose petals as well as dozens of red, pink, and silver balloons.

My throat grew tight. “You didn’t... Charlie... You didn’t have to go through all this trouble just for me.” I wasn’t sure what to say. It was so overwhelming. Sweet, caring, and I never expected it.

“Are you saying I can just pop these balloons? Release them out into the world for everyone to see?” Charlie winked at me and let go of my hand. “I mean, if you don’t want them, I’ll just—”

“I want them!” I exclaimed, then let out a laugh. “Please, I want them, this, all of it, and you. No one has ever done anything like this for me before. It’s a little overwhelming, but it’s also”—I turned to look up at him—”very romantic.”

Charlie released my hand so he could cup my head gently. “I wanted to make you feel special because you are. You deserve romance, amazing things, and someone who cares about you. Someone who shows you all the wonders of the world, sweeps you off your feet, and tells the world you’re his.”

“Is that you, Charlie?” I stared into his deep dark eyes, wishing the answer would be yes.

He nodded. “Yeah, Jonesy, it is.”

His lips curved up into a smile, then he grabbed my hips, swung me around, and lifted me up onto the counter. Charlie pushed my thighs apart so he could step between them. “I got your favorite takeout for dinner and your favorite dessert.”

“How do you know those things? Are you a mind reader now?”

“I might have had some help from your friends.”

I smiled happily. “Did you talk to Ollie and Travis?”

I reached up to drag my hands through his dark hair, dragging the tip of my finger over the perfect mole on his face.

“I might have spent a little time with them today. They’re good guys. They care about you.” Charlie chuckled softly and then leaned forward to slide his lips against mine. “They were very helpful.”

I tugged on the front of his shirt to pull him closer. “Thank you, Charlie, for all of this. I know that I said that before, but I needed to say it again. Every moment I’ve spent with you has been everything I’ve ever dreamed about it. ”

“You’re welcome, Bashful. And congratulations on making all your dreams come true,” Charlie murmured, then yanked me against him.

When his lips met mine, I forgot about everything else. The fact that he would be leaving. That he was expected to marry a girl. And that there were things I still didn’t know about him.

Because right now, I didn’t care.

***

“Open wide.” Charlie smiled at me as he cut off a piece of lasagna from my favorite restaurant in town and held it out for me.

He had been so attentive to my needs since I got to his house. He hadn’t left my side. Holding my hand, kissing me, and telling me how special I was. I liked it more than I should have, but it was still strange to me that someone who looked like him felt that way about me. I was so boring, and he was, well, perfect.

I shook my head. “Charlie, I can feed myself,” I insisted, but as I rolled my eyes, I found myself doing as he asked.

“Mm, there you go. Good boy,” he murmured, and when he tipped the fork into my mouth, I groaned softly.

Bursts of tomato and mozzarella cheese hit my taste buds. It had been a long time since I had been able to have this meal. It was expensive and something I didn’t get the chance to eat often. It was usually only for special occasions.

I blushed. “Now you.” I reached for the fork to return the favor .

“You want to feed me?” Charlie popped a brow as I nodded. “I bought this for you, Jonesy. I don’t expect anything in return.”

I gave him my saddest eyes and even pouted. “Please?”

“Only because you asked so nicely.” He smiled at me as I raised the fork up to his lips.

Charlie kept his brown eyes glued to my hazels as he took a bite of the lasagna, chewed, and swallowed, his mouth curving up into a smile. “That’s really fucking good.”

I leaned forward to kiss him, dragging my tongue over the seam of his lips. “Not as good as this,” I whispered.

“Is that so?” Charlie tipped my head back as the fork dropped from my hand and clattered onto the table.

I nodded. “Nothing compares to the taste of your mouth, Charlie. I feel like I could kiss you every single day for the rest of my life and it would never be enough.” So, I did it again.

He moaned as our tongues clashed and my hands gripped his shoulders. Charlie’s arms wrapped around my waist as he lifted me up onto his lap without breaking contact. “I had plans, Bashful.”

“Plans?” I looked at him under heavily hooded eyes, my penis hard and knocking against my zipper.

I had changed out of the suit I had worn to the meeting and was currently wearing a pair of Charlie’s shorts along with an oversized t-shirt that kept sliding off my shoulders. I didn’t mind. It smelled like the beach. Like my Charlie.

Charlie nodded. “Yeah, Jonesy, plans. I wanted to feed you, maybe loosen you up with some booze, and then seduce you in the pool. ”

“Se-duce me?” Warmth curled inside my stomach.

He nuzzled my neck and pressed kisses against my skin. “You heard me.” Charlie stopped to suck a hickey against my bare shoulder. My eyes rolled back as my body began to hum with need.

“You don’t have to seduce me, Charlie. I already want you.”

“I know, but it would be fun.”

I swallowed the lust in my throat when he pulled back to stare at me, his brown eyes nearly black. “You can still seduce me.” My voice came out so low I wasn’t sure Charlie heard me, but when he slipped one hand up the back of my shirt to bring me closer to him, I knew he had.

“You want me, Jones?” That was the stupidest question Charlie had ever asked. I had begged him just recently to take me to his bed and have his way with me. “You want me to fuck you so hard that you can feel me for days? Make you come all over my cock?”

I dragged my trembling hands through Charlie’s dark hair. “Yes, please.”

“I want that, too, but not tonight.” He placed a finger over my mouth when I started to object. “Tonight, I wanted to strip you out of your clothes, spread your legs, and taste every inch of your amazing body. Make you come over and over again until there’s not a drop left inside. Feel the way you shiver; hear the way you beg me to stop but not really meaning it. Tell you how special I think you are, how perfect and beautiful you are until you finally believe it.”

My entire body trembled. “Ch-Charlie.” I stuttered over his name. “Now, please. I want that.” I no longer cared about dinner or dessert or anything else. Just the thought of him touching me had me teetering on the edge.

“Stand up for me, Bashful,” he instructed me, and I quickly jumped to my feet. Charlie followed, making sure to take my hand. “I’ll clean this up later,” he told me as he led me out of the room and toward the door that opened to the pool. “I’m not losing out on seeing you in the water naked, Jonesy. You wouldn’t skinny dip with me the first time I asked you.”

I giggled. “Sharks, remember?” I followed behind him in a haze of want and need.

“You don’t have that excuse now.” He held open the door, and I walked outside. “Tonight, we can swim naked until every inch of our skin turns into a prune. No one is going to see us.” Charlie wrapped his arms around my waist.

I noticed there were rose petals out here, too, and I spun around to stare up at him. “Is that lube?”

“I told you that I had a plan tonight.” Charlie chuckled softly as he lifted my shirt. “Raise your arms for me.” He quickly disposed of my top and then reached for my shorts. “I want you naked and in that pool, Jonesy. Wet, ready, and all for me.”

I purred happily. “I’m all for you.”

The shorts slid down my legs as I lifted my left and then right foot. My shoes were currently in Charlie’s bedroom.

“I am the luckiest man in the world.” He dropped a kiss to my mouth before he jutted his chin toward the pool. “Go on. Get in the water. I’ll be right behind you.”

I wasn’t worried about anyone seeing us or being caught. The pool was hidden by a massive fence, and it was already dark out. There might be some stragglers on the beach, but they couldn’t get up here. The pool was huge with a set of walk-in stairs that I maneuvered my way down.

When I turned to look up at Charlie, he was already naked. I took a moment to admire him. The way his broad shoulders looked, his muscles flexing as he started toward me, and how his dark hair flopped down into his eyes. My gaze dipped to his chest, sprinkled with hair, and then to the hard penis that hung between his legs.

Mine. I wanted that. Anywhere he would put it, but mostly inside me.

“I got you something, Jonesy,” Charlie told me as the water hit his waist.

My brows shot up. “On top of everything else? The flowers, balloons, and dinner were more than enough. You paid for my suit and let me use your Jeep. I don’t... Is that a ring?” I stared down at the item that sat in the palm of his hand.

“It’s nothing fancy, I just got it today at the arcade with my tickets.” He stopped to grip the back of his neck. “It’s stupid, right?”

I shook my head. “No, it’s not.” In fact, it was the nicest thing anyone had ever given me. Better than flowers and dinner from my favorite restaurant.

“I thought it could be like a promise ring. For when I leave. So, you know that I promise to come back to you. Be yours and only yours. But that means that you’re also mine. Only mine.” Charlie reached for my hand. “Yes?”

Tears burned my eyes, but for once they were happy. “Heck yes, Charlie. ”

And when he slid the ring onto my finger, I knew that I would never be happier than I was at this exact moment.