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.#p#分页标题#e#
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.