Secluded with the Rogue

Chapter 13

Thirteen

S omeone walked in the room, but Charlene couldn't be sure who it was as she was half trapped by her sodden dress. Her heart thudded hard in her chest. Was it Drew returning so soon? Damn! She'd hoped to be naked by the time he returned.

He had clearly been so thrown by their earlier kiss that he'd scurried from the bedchamber without helping her undress. Removing the soaked gown would accomplish two things in Charlene’s mind. First, it prevented her from catching her death of cold while sitting around in a slightly slushy wool gown. Second, it made her tantalizingly available—or so she hoped.

“Oh, here now. Let me help you with that.” A familiar feminine voice sounded just before competent hands offered assistance.

Charlene breathed a sigh of relief. It was Polly, not Drew. Whew! It would have been horribly embarrassing to have him find her partially stuck in her own clothing. Within moments Polly had her down to her chemise, which was just as damp as her gown had been. Charlene whipped it off over her head and slipped under the covers before there could be a mention of bedclothes.

Polly chuckled. “Going to tempt the boy off the cliff, are you?”

“I don't have any clue what you mean,” Charlene replied innocently. “I believe it is good practice to get a body out of all wet garments when they are recovering from exposure to the cold as I am.”

“Indeed, indeed.” Polly winked at her before she set a comb on the bedside table and then bustled around, collecting all her garments and her boots. “I'll just be sure to get these freshly laundered—in case you have need of them in the morning.”

“Thank you.” Charlene smiled at the woman.

“Drew should be up any moment with some soup to warm you up from the inside.” And then the industrious woman was gone.

Charlene set about combing her hair out as she waited for Drew's return. It took him far longer than she had anticipated, and for a time she worried he wasn't coming back. But by the time she had all the tangles out and her hair hung down her back in a damp, but drying mass, he finally appeared.

“I went to clean up myself.” Drew said by way of an explanation.

With the bedcovers held tightly to her chest, Charlene wondered if he'd stopped to pull himself together. To perhaps shore up his will to not touch her again ? Oh, that wouldn't do. Not at all.

“Drew.” Charlene hesitated until she was sure she had his attention. “I wanted to apologize for my behavior last night. I was at a loss for how to behave and I am embarrassed to say that when you were amused by that fact, I reverted to old, bad habits with you. I'm sorry.”

Drew set the tray of food down on her lap and stepped back. “The fault is mine. I should never have touched you to begin with.”

Her head snapped up. “What?”

The idiot seemed caught off guard by her dismay at his words. But seriously, was the man apologizing for making love to her? She drew in a slow, fortifying breath and was about to speak when?—

“I mean, I'm sorry for taking your virginity when I have nothing to offer you.” Drew winced as he said the words. “Wait! Hell, I'm making a hash of this.”

“Bloody right you are. Don't apologize to me for something we both wanted to happen.” Charlene glared, fury rising with each of his attempts to fix his words.

Drew sat down on the edge of the bed. “You…you don't regret what we did?”

“Good Lord, man! I all but threw myself at you in this very bed not an hour ago.” Charlene couldn't help but to look at him as if he'd been struck in the head. Was the man dense?

“You did. But you are prone to a certain bravado when backed into a corner. I wasn't sure if that was your need to win that had taken over or if you truly didn't regret last night. You seemed to when you threw me out of your room.”

Charlene started to respond, but he cut her off.

“Though you did just apologize for that, didn't you?” He smiled at her warmly.

She let the covers dip to expose the tops of her breasts. “I did, indeed.”

His gaze was drawn to her display like a lodestone, but forced them back up to her face. “I'm sorry if I was amused by your loss of words. It's just that it happens so rarely.”

She wanted to be annoyed by his pseudo-apology but she couldn't, really. He wasn't wrong. She always seemed to have something to say, even when she should not. “Apology accepted.”

He leaned over to kiss her—or so she hoped— but Drew pulled back. He reached up and tucked the covers tightly around her chest and picked up the spoon for the broth. “We'd best feed you this soup while it is hot and before you end up wearing it by accident.”

Charlene’s mouth twisted in a parody of a smile. She wanted to argue, but perhaps if he was going to do the feeding, she'd allow the delay.

Drew brought the first spoonful to her lips and slipped it past. He watched avidly while her lips slid over the bowl of the utensil as he withdrew it from her mouth. The moment was thick with desire and the promise of what was to come. This might be the most tortuous meal she ever ate, but it would be worth it in the end.

By the time Drew had deemed that she'd eaten enough broth, she was very much over the experience of being fed. As he took the tray and set it to the side, she tossed the covers aside to expose her fully nude body.

When he turned back to the bed, his eyes widened in surprise at her boldness. “I don't know what you are playing at, Charlie, but you need to stop it. You nearly froze to death out there. You need to rest and recover.” His words dropped like a death knell to her plans as he pulled the covers back over her body.

“I've told you, I am fine.” Charlene pulled her arms out of the snug grip of the covers where he'd tucked her in like a child.

“And I'm telling you, I won't risk your health when I can't even get a doctor here to look at you.” Drew looked stubborn as a mule as he sat on the edge of the bed and crossed his arms over his chest.

God, the man was stubborn, always had been, but that didn’t cease her desire to make up for last night, to feel the wondrous things he did to her once more. For all she knew, the storm could end tomorrow and she'd be forced to leave. She didn't want to miss out on a moment of what Drew could show her.

She decided to change her approach. “Very well,” she agreed reluctantly. “Would you at least give me a kiss goodnight?”

Drew eyed her suspiciously as he seemed to consider her request. The silence stretched out until he asked, “What game are you playing, Charlie?”

She huffed out a breath of air. “There is no game, but I can see you are going to be your usual stubborn self about this. I'm letting it go.”

He looked at her a beat longer and nodded. “Fine, a kiss goodnight.” He leaned toward her, but stopped. “On the cheek.”

Charlene pressed a hand to his chest to stop him. “On the lips or I swear I shall come find where you're sleeping and slip into your bed tonight.”

Drew’s lips pressed together in displeasure—or maybe it was to hide an unwelcome smile? In either case, he conceded to her threat-laced demand and leaned closer. His lips met hers and Charlene sighed softly. Then, before he could pull away, she slid her hands around his neck and traced the seam of his lips with her tongue as he had done to her the night before. He groaned softly, but didn't pull away.

Heaven help her . She knew she'd never be able to hold him in place if he truly wished to escape.

Drew opened to her, and she tentatively swept her tongue into his mouth. It was just as it was last night, warm and laced with an earthiness she was sure was scotch. Then he took control of the kiss and delved past her lips and thoroughly explored. She melted into him, the covers dipping as she pressed forward. She unwound one arm from his neck and found his shoulder. From there, she traced his arm down until she found his hand as the kiss continued. Needing more contact, she took his hand and brought it up to her breast where she ached for his touch. Technically it was one of a few places, but it was a start.

After all, this was the first time she'd ever seduced a man.

Drew pulled back from their kiss. “Damn you, Charlie. I was trying to be a gentleman.”

“If I'd wanted a gentleman, I wouldn't have stayed in your bed when you put me here.” Charlene let her lashes lower for a moment, then looked up at him, bold as brass, as he continued to tease her nipple with his thumb. “Now make love to me, Drew. Make me feel all those wondrous things you did last night.” She hesitated a moment. “Please.” The last word came out as a soft plea, and it seemed to break him, to break his resolve.

Pressing her down into the bed, he ravished her mouth thoroughly. The thrill of triumph coursed through Charlene, riding on the rush of desire as the man she'd never known she could want, never imagined desiring in this way, teased her breast and kissed her within an inch of her life.

He kissed his way down her jaw and neck until he arrived at the very nipple he'd been plucking at, and pulled it between his lips. As he sucked on her aching tip, Drew played with the other breast, having pushed the covers down lower. Tingling skated over her skin causing a gentle thrum of need between her thighs. Charlene gasped softly as he sucked harder and tugged on the other nipple at the same time, causing little sparks of pleasure to shoot down to fan the flames of the now throbbing heat between her thighs.

Good God, her pussy ached for him. For his touch.

Without a word Drew slid down her legs, taking the covers with him until she lay naked on his bed. She loved she was surrounded by his scent as he stood up beside the bed and stared. Few men looked upon her rounded curves the way Drew was in this moment. He made her feel like a goddess, not some frumpy, corpulent girl who would never appeal to a man.

Slowly, not taking his eyes from hers, he stripped his waistcoat off as she watched. When he pulled his shirt off, exposing his chest and the hard-won muscles packed there, Charlene whimpered a little with the need to touch him. Unthinkingly, she reached up and caressed her own breasts.

“Fuck yes,” he growled, surprising her. “Touch yourself for me.”

His tacit approval, paired with the glitter of desire in his eyes, had her eagerly doing as he asked. Her nipples pebbled under her touch, but she missed the feel of his roughened fingertips. She wanted more of that. More of him.

Drew resumed removing his clothing, though quicker now as he watched her tug and pull at her own nipples. When he was naked and his long thick cock bobbed against his stomach—because oh yes, the man was already hard—he crawled on the bed between her thighs. As he spread her legs and made room for himself, Charlene reached for him, but he was so far away from her.

“Don't stop touching yourself. I'm going to feast on you while I watch.” Drew’s words landed with an air of command.

She couldn't refuse him—didn't want to, and she hoped she understood what he meant by feast on her. With the haze of desire hanging thickly over her mind it was hard to be sure of anything at the moment. When he slid his tongue along her wet pussy she nearly buckled off the bed. “Drew!”

He chuckled against her aching core, his breath blossoming warm, then did it again as he looked up at her, never breaking eye contact.

She moaned and pinched her nipples harder as he watched. When his tongue swiped over her clit, she pushed her hips into his mouth and moaned for him. “Oh, yes.”

Drew truly went to work, driving her mad with pleasure. Each new pulse of sensation was more intense than the last as he continued to lave her pussy again and again. While his tongue worked her, he slid a finger inside her and she shivered at how good it felt.

But she wanted more, instinctively knew she needed more to push her over that cliff again. “More, Drew. Oh, God, that feels so good.”

Her hips rotated and thrust up to meet him again and again. He added another finger and continued to suck on her clit as her pleasure crested.

Finally, like an immense wave, it crashed over her. “Drew!”

Charlene’s hips bucked uncontrollably, her body cleaving up off the bed as stars danced behind her eyes. Her body was captive to sensation, and she didn't care if it never stopped. His tongue continued to swirl over her sensitive nub as she floated slowly back down from the intense pleasure.

But she knew there was more to come. There had to be, because she wasn't done with him yet.