he said, with a grin, stepping toward her and winding an arm around her waist.
Her weird earlier mood had dissipated beneath their banter, and she barely tensed at the gesture. She hoped the instinctive initial reaction was small enough for him not to notice.
He gave her a quick kiss.
“I missed you.”
She twined her arms around his neck and reciprocated his next kiss with a lot more enthusiasm.
“I barely thought of you,” she lied breathlessly after the kiss ended, and he laughed.
“Good. That must mean you had fun.”
“I did.”
He still had his arms loosely looped around her waist and she tightened hers around his neck, getting comfortable as she told him about her afternoon. “Lia’s sister Daff Carlisle, and her, Daff’s, five-month-old baby, Connor, joined us for lunch. We were talking about makeovers for some reason and I mentioned needing a haircut. Lia convinced me to get one today, before I chickened out. I never could resist a dare.”
“No? Well then…I dare you to give me another kiss and see what happens.”
“Oh, I already know what’ll happen,” she countered with a laugh, before giving him a light, teasing kiss. “And that’s not much of a dare, really.”
“Well then, I dare you to…” he paused and seemed to consider his options, his eyes taking a lazy meander over her face and lingering on her lips. His breathing sped up, and she could feel his heart racing against her chest. “Take off your panties.”
Her lips parted in a slow grin, and she unwound her arms from around his neck and hiked up the skirt of her knee length dress. Maintaining eye contact, she hooked her fingers in the sides of her bikini panties and slid them down, deliberately brushing her abdomen against his lengthening hardness as she shimmied out of the scrap of fabric. She slipped off her pumps and stepped out of the silky, white panties.
“Yet another easy dare,” she taunted him, her own voice husky and breathless.
“Well then,” he muttered, clearly trying very hard to keep it together. “Why don’t you show me how it’s done?”
She gave him a long, searching look. The inflexible ridge of his penis was an insistent presence between them, his hair was mussed, his eyes glazed, and he was starting to pant. She wasn’t much better off. Her nipples were so hard, she wondered they didn’t make dents in his chest. She was soaking wet and more than ready for him. She was still shocked by how fast this man could turn her on. Every single time. All it took was a look, or a word, and she was ready to climb all over him.
Their chemistry was mind-boggling.
“I dare you…” She hesitated and licked her lips as she considered her options. Her gaze dropped to where Stormy was staring up at them, her head tilted in confusion and she chuckled.
“Go to bed, Stormy,” she commanded the pup, and the dog whined unhappily. “Go on. Good girl.”
Stormy whined again. She turned away despondently and trudged out of the kitchen.
“Charity, focus,” Miles sounded equal parts amused and exasperated, and Charity buried her fingers in his hair and dragged his head down until his lips were a hairsbreadth from hers.
“I dare you to get on your knees and make me come with your tongue. In under two minutes.”
“Two minutes? I’ll get it done in a minute.”
“You turned my dare into a bet,” she protested.
“Whatever. I’m going win it.”
He sank to his knees in front of her, lifted her skirt, palmed one of her thighs, and unceremoniously hitched it over his shoulder. The move allowed him easier access to the aching heat between her legs. In an attempt to maintain her balance, she planted her hands on the kitchen sink behind her.
He was hidden beneath her skirt, and she couldn’t see what he was doing, but oh God could she feel it. He used his thumbs to part her folds, and she shuddered at the first touch of his tongue on her rigid, throbbing clit.
Charity’s head fell back, and her pelvis tilted forward.
She heard him swearing shakily before he went to work.
“Oh, oh! Oh, yes. Miles. Right there. Right…” She had never been very vocal during sex but for some reason she always found herself encouraging him, talking to him, telling him what she liked. How she liked it.
He lapped at her, like a cat drinking up the richest cream. And it was heavenly.
He won the bet, because after a few strokes of his tongue, she was on the verge…and