The Grand Duel (The Grand Men #4)
Chapter 24
45%
TWENTY-FOUR
Lissie
I wake only a few hours later to the sound of someone lightly knocking on the door. I go to sit up, but the arm that wraps around my middle stops me.
With the sun only just peeking through the small window, I settle back down to the mattress, twisting my head over my shoulder. Charles is asleep on my pillow, his long body moulded to my side and his arm slung over my waist, tucking in under my breast.
I smile and gently drop my head back to the pillow next to his, careful not to wake him.
I’m not sure who’s at the door or if they hold any importance to myself or Charles, but you couldn’t pay me to move right now.
Pushing back into his warmth, I close my eyes and allow myself to revel in something I’ve not experienced in a long time. A hug. It’s odd because I haven’t craved it. Only really missed it when thinking about Jovie or when wishing my mum would rock up out of the blue and hold me like a mother holds their child. I’ve had one-night stands where they’ve lay there for a while after but only ever under the guise of “thanks for the orgasm,” and those types of hugs don’t really mean as much.
So, I’ve definitely been held in the three years since Jove left, but I don’t think I’ve had a hug in a really long time.
And the only way I can differentiate the two is that it isn’t about the arms, the body, the warmth—that makes me feel so, so good. It’s about the person. It’s my sister. My mum—no matter how much I hate her now. And it’s a man who last night made me feel safe enough to speak.
A man whose actions go beyond his arms, body, and warmth.
I don’t feel good right now because I’m being hugged for the first time in a really long time. I’m feeling good right now because Charles Aldridge asked the questions, listened to the answers, and then stuck around after.
I think the unexpectedness of that might have my head in a spin, but I don’t think I could ever grow sick of this feeling.
I sigh, and he stirs at my back.
I hold my breath, waiting for the moment he realises where he is and who I am, but it doesn’t come. His arm might retract slightly, making my breath catch, but his body only presses impossibly closer. And then his hand is finding a new spot, buried between my ribs and the mattress, his nose dusting the back of my neck.
“Morning, Lis.”
I back into him and smile. “It’s a good morning, Charles.”
He groans slightly, his voice still rough from sleep. “Is it?”
My muscles relax, my eyes closing as I sink into his chest. “Hmm.”
His fingers pinch my side. “Trust you to disagree with the first thing to leave my mouth after waking up.”
I chuckle. “I would not be me, and we would not be us, if I didn’t.”
I can tell he’s smiling. “True. Did you sleep?”
I nod, shifting so that my exposed leg is back under the covers.
Charles flinches at my back, his breathy sigh fanning across my neck. “Careful, you,” he warns, voice shaky.
“Sorry,” I tell him, my stomach twisting at the feel of his hardening cock now pressing against the back of my upper thigh.
I feel his eyes on me for a full minute before he asks, “What’s this?”
I peer over my shoulder to see him fully. His hair is a mess, eyes puffy and sleepy, and his smile… “What?” I force out.
“This.” He leans in and runs the tip of his nose across my cheek, smile growing. “What’s this?”
I twist my head and narrow my eyes at him playfully. “I’m just really warm.”
He grins, dropping his head back to the pillow. “If you say so.”
“Ego need topping up again?” I huff out.
He chuckles into my neck, and I melt in the heat of his body.
“Ass.”
I raise my head to move the hair trapped under my shoulder, and he uses the movement to slip his free arm under my head, laying it across the pillow.
I’m not sure why, maybe because it feels like the most natural thing in the world to do, but I reach for his forearm and pull it down under the duvet, resting it across my chest and nuzzling into his bicep.
And now I am well and truly wrapped up in him.
And I never want to leave this bed.
“Do you think they’ll have pancakes at breakfast?” he says, the hand tucked under my ribs flexing.
“Maybe,” I mutter, my mind not focused on pancakes at all.
“I’m starving.”
If you still wanted this in the morning.
I swallow, running the tips of my fingers over the arm banded around my waist until my hand slips between his and the mattress. I slide my fingers into the gaps between his, and he instantly tightens around them.
I sigh, letting out a quiet moan.
I drag our hands up and across my stomach, him letting me lead, and then I drag them down.
I stretch, arching my back as I push lower, directing our hands between my aching thighs.
The tips of his fingers meet my bared skin first, his lips second—a kiss, barely and gentle at my neck as his hand settles over my pussy. “Look at me.”
I arch back again, desperate as I twist, lifting my gaze.
When our eyes meet, he stares, gaze searching, uncertain, and lost.
“I still want you,” I promise.
He swallows and bows his head as if taking a minute to process the words.
“Charles.” I frown, dragging my hips back to gain friction.
When he lifts his head, his own cheeks are flushed red. He swallows, and I see it then—embarrassment for what he’s about to say. He closes his eyes and drops his forehead to mine.
“Can I touch you, Lissie?”
Something in my chest pangs. “Yes.” And because my gut tells me it’s needed, I add, “You can touch me, Charlie.”
He sighs, our noses teasing as his eyes squeeze tighter.
“I want you to touch me,” I rasp, my heart thudding.
He lies motionless at my back for a moment before something must win out. My mouth drops open as the pressure of his palm flattens to my pussy, his fingers sinking into my wetness, gliding with ease through my folds.
He groans as if a man starved.
“I want you,” I repeat, not even meaning to voice the frantic, breathy words, but with the way his body jerks, chest working against my back, I can’t help but think he likes it.
His fingers explore and tease, all the while making my insides ache, desperate for release.
It’s been weeks since I touched myself to the vision of his face. To the thought of all the things he might do to me. And now I’m lying in this bed, the sun barely up, and the sound of the sheets rustling as I squirm at his fingertips.
I’m greedy for more of him.
Rolling my hips, I chase his fingers as they knowingly flutter, drag, and circle my clit. Every time he dips low near my opening, I become more and more desperate.
A whimper slips past my lips, and I feel his smile against my neck.
“Charles.”
“Charlie,” he groans, correcting me. He uses his free hand to squeeze my breast.
I close my eyes and lean further into him, grinding my ass up the length of his cock. “Please, Charlie.”
I twist my neck, finding his eyes closed, frown deep. My eyes drop to his shoulder, the way it flexes, and his arm, working as he touches me, making my pussy throb.
“Don’t be gentle with me,” I whisper, and he opens his eyes.
He groans, circling my clit. He dips lower, my pussy slick with arousal and more than ready. “Lissie.” His free hand dips into my shirt, palming my breast, toying with my nipple.
I arch back, knowing I’ll lose my mind if he doesn’t put his fingers inside of me soon.
His tongue licks up and across my jaw, sucking at the skin behind my ear and making my spine tingle. “You’re perfect,” he rasps against the damp skin.
I open my mouth to speak, but he sinks two fingers inside of me. Slow. Drawn out until he’s to his knuckle, and there’s no more of him left for me to take.
Still, I grind down, needing more.
He groans, using his thumb to tease my clit, circling as he slides out and then in again, keeping his fingers flush as he curls them inside of me. “This not enough, baby?”
I coil in on myself, my orgasm threatening.
He reaches up and takes my neck in his large palm, gently pulling my shoulders and head back to his chest as his other hand stays inside of me, keeping my ass to his groin.
I couldn’t get away even if I wanted to.
With his mouth at my ear, nipping and sucking, he works in and out of me. And with each stroke of his thumb over my clit, I threaten to snap.
“Look at you, Lissie girl.”
I let out a moan as he spurs me on, rolling my hips shamelessly onto his slick fingers, fucking them.
“Don’t come yet,” he whispers, and I whimper.
“Charlie.”
He grinds into my back, and the pressure puts his fingers impossibly deeper.
The need to be inside of me is driving him wild, and it’s clear.
He wants me.
His mouth goes back to my shoulder, teasing up my neck again, and then to my throat where his hand is still wrapped. “God, you’re beautiful.”
I rock my hips in unison with his fingers, his words making my world spin.
And then it reaches the pinnacle. My toes curl. My back arches. My legs shake, my clit throbbing with a beat of its own.
Just as the heat blooms through me, sweat beading, my body jerking, he whispers, heat panting across my ear and cheek, “For me.”
He continues to pump his fingers into me as I come down, each brush of his thumb over my sensitive skin making my body jolt with bittersweet pleasure.
Once I’m still and sated, legs like jelly, he lets his fingers ease gently out of me.
I gasp as he groans, and then he’s sinking his fingers back inside. His body settles, relaxing as he unapologetically lies behind me, holding me in the most intimate way anyone ever has.
He runs his nose up the back of my neck. “Go back to sleep,” he tells me, voice like gravel.
“We have an early flight.”
“I’ll cancel it.”
My lips twist. “You have meetings late this afternoon.”
“I’ll cancel them, too.”
I run my hand between my legs until it lies atop of his again. I lift it, my insides clenching as his fingers slip out of me.
I turn in his arms, looking up at him properly for the first time this morning. “I told you it was a good morning.”
He glances down at me, his blue eyes making my heart flip with the way they spark.
I drop my gaze to his full lips as I reach for his cock.
I can feel his heart pounding against my breasts this close, his own stare bouncing around my face as I lean in, bringing our mouths closer.
“Lissie,” he rasps, almost pained, as I palm him. “I…I can’t.”
I frown, pulling back an inch. “You can’t?” I ask, barely a whisper.
He swallows, the hands on my waist squeezing. “This is a lot.”
My face drops. My heart drops. “Oh.”
It takes a split second for the doubt to come crashing in.
Did I do something wrong?
Did I not do enough?
Have I done something to make them react this way?
I push back out of his hold, hating where my mind goes as I comb over the last few minutes in my head at a million miles an hour.
“Lissie.”
“It’s fine,” I tell him, forcing a smile as I cover my breasts properly. “I need to shower anyway so that we can get to breakfast and home for your meetings.”
I stand from the bed and pause. The shirt clings to the insides of my thighs, wet from my arousal. I lift my eyes to his, the memory of him behind me…
Only he looks haunted as he watches me now.
He looks like he regrets touching me at all.
His rejection slaps me hard, my face burning red with humiliation as I stand at the side of the bed, more vulnerable than I’ve ever been in my life, my heart aching in my chest.
The man who made me feel so safe to speak just hours ago says nothing as I turn and walk into the bathroom.
Charlie
Lissie went to breakfast without me. Or at least I presume that’s where she’s gone.
I sit on the edge of the bed with a towel wrapped around my waist and run my hands through my hair. I should go down and find her. Explain myself.
Only explaining myself will mean telling her about the club, and doing that seems like the worst thing I could do.
She tried to touch me, and I shut her down.
I stand and place my hands on my hips as I pace, my head in tatters.
She’s hurt. I hurt her feelings.
She could barely look at me when she came out of the bathroom dressed in her clothes from last night. She picked up her bag and told me the key must have been posted under our door and that she was going back to our suite.
I heard them post the key when they knocked earlier.
She had woken up and almost climbed from the bed to answer the door, but with the way she felt in my arms?—
My phone chimes with an email, and I walk to where it lies on the side table.
I have a few things to grab in the town before we fly out. I’ll meet you at the airport if that’s okay. Would you mind bringing my case, please? It’s packed and in the suite.
Lissie
Assistant to director
Charles Aldridge Ltd
My heart thumps in my chest as I reply.
Of course.
Are you okay?
Charles Aldridge
Director
Charles Aldridge Ltd
I wait, phone in hand, refreshing my mailbox for over five minutes before her email pings.
I’m fine, Charles.
See you later.
Lissie
Assistant to director
Charles Aldridge Ltd
I chuck my phone to the bed and drop my head back, wanting nothing more than for someone to punch me clean in the face.
Of course she’s fine.
She’s Lissie.
I should have told her the truth. I never should have touched her before telling her that it was me in the club.
I caved, and I’m a fucking asshole for it.
I change and collect her case from the suite, finding mine packed and waiting alongside hers. When I climb on board the plane an hour later, she’s already in her seat.
She sees me and gives me a small, wary smile.
I near, unsure if I should take the seat next to her or not. Instead, I settle for the one opposite.
“Did you get my case?” she asks, the sound of her voice making my blood roar through my veins.
I drop back into the seat, facing her. “I did. Thank you for packing for me. You didn’t have to do that.”
She shrugs, a little awkward. “It’s my job.”
I swallow and watch her, wishing she’d give me her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Lis.”
She’s shaking her head instantly. “No. It’s fine, honestly. I just needed to clear my head this morning, and it gave me time to think.” She keeps her gaze on me, as if trying to tell me without words that she gets it. “Looking back at last night and this morning, I can see I pushed the boundaries, and I hate that I might have made you feel uncomfortable.”
“You didn’t make me feel uncomfortable,” I tell her.
She tilts her head. “I did. Don’t lie.” She frowns, dropping her eyes again. “I know…I know that I made you feel good and that you wanted me. I feel like you meant those things.”
“I do.”
She smiles awkwardly, looking around us but not at me like I need her to. Only when she does eventually look at me, my gut sinks through the seat. “I felt rejected when you said we couldn’t go any further. I panicked and left, and everything is a bit of a blur after that. I’m sorry if I’ve been unprofessional.”
I shake my head. “You haven’t. At least no more than I have. I’m sorry that I upset you.”
She nods, a sad smile pulling up her lips.
I close my eyes, my jaw clenched tight. When I open them again, she’s wearing a frown I know deserves answers.
Jesus . I scratch at my brow, shifting in the seat. “I haven’t been with a woman in the way I was with you these last two days in a very long time,” I explain, letting my stare settle on her. And because it’s the truth, I add, “You run at a million miles an hour, and I don’t want you to stop, but I feel like I can’t keep up.”
“Because you don’t date,” she echoes, remembering our conversation from the ice cream parlour.
I nod. “Exactly. I don’t know if I’d be any good at it, but if I was going to start, you’re the only woman I’d be interested spending time with.”
Her lips twist up, but she dips her head.
“Lissie,” I say, waiting for her eyes again. “I don’t want it to be awkward between us after this. I’d be happy for things to just stay as they are. So long as you can forgive the way I treated you this morning.”
She rolls her lips. “Nothing to forgive, Aldridge.”
A weight seems to lift from my chest.
“I walk, you run?” she says, reaching forward with her pinkie held out. “Maybe we’ll meet somewhere in the middle.”
I carry my smile across the distance between us, moving into the seat next to hers.
She rolls her eyes, and I think I want to kiss her.
Instead, I reach up and join our pinkies. “You walk, I run.”