Take the Chance (Top Shelf Romance #9) - Brittainy Cherry Page 0,320

one hand to her hip to prevent contact from the waist down, and to help keep her upright. She moans against my lips, the sound sweet and needy. As much as I’d like to deepen this kiss and make it last for hours—and I truly would—she needs to be taken care of. And so do I.

I pull back, stroking her cheek as she whimpers her displeasure. “You should choose something from your circle of sex toys so we can play.”

I allow a half-smile to form as I drag a finger from the center of her clavicle, down between her breasts, going lower to circle her navel before I finally dip between her thighs. She sucks in a tremulous breath as I skim past the hood piercing—the one she opted to get during a long stretch of away games. Her legs shake as I brush the inside of her thigh.

“What are you waiting for?” I cup between her legs. “Make a choice, little firefly. Or maybe I should call you little bunny, all considering.”

“But I—” Her eyes roll up as I drag my fingertips past her entrance. She’s so wet. I can feel myself unraveling—the stress of this day, the possibility of potential loss too much to handle. I need to drown myself in the certainty of her.

“Unless you’d prefer I make it for you.”

She exhales a quick breath as I remove my hand from between her legs. I grip her hips to keep her steady and glance to the right. Her eyes follow mine, landing on the ball gag, and dart back to my face.

She tips her chin up, so determined, even though her voice wavers. “I want whatever you want.”

I tap the end of her nose and smile darkly. “I guess we’ll find out whether that’s true or not, won’t we?”

_______________

Two hours later, Charlene is stretched out along my side, her head resting on my chest. Her manicured nails trace the dips in my abs. When she reaches my navel she circles, the sensation sending a rush of goose flesh over my skin. She flattens her palm and smooths it all the way back up, as if it will erase the imaginary lines she draws on me.

“Keep doing that and you’re going to wake the beast,” I warn.

She lifts her head, resting her chin on my pec, her wide hazel eyes meeting mine as she drags her finger back down the center of my chest.

Somewhere downstairs a cell phone buzzes across a hard surface.

I grab her hand before she reaches my navel and thread my fingers through hers. “We need to discuss how to handle our friends.” I bring her fingers to my lips, kissing the tips of each so she doesn’t take it as rejection.

“I’m spending tomorrow afternoon with Violet and the girls.”

“Which means you’ll be fielding questions, I’m sure.” I understand that asking the guys not to say anything excludes their significant others. Charlene is always the exception to every rule, it seems. I’m aware it’s no different for my friends, hence the reason I asked Alex to allow Charlene a chance to talk to Violet—I’m not sure that was a reasonable demand, considering.

Charlene chews on the inside of her lip. “What should I tell them?”

“What do you want to tell them?”

She lifts a shoulder. “I don’t know. I mean, it’s not like we’re superfreaks or anything.”

I fight a smile. We’re far from superfreaks, although Charlene’s collection of toys, outfits, and props would lead some to believe otherwise. “So maybe that’s what you tell them.”

“Violet might be upset.”

“Why?” Violet doesn’t strike me as judgmental. From what I understand, she likes to dress up Alex’s cock as a super hero, which is fucking weird. But then Alex is also a little off center, so there’s that.

“Because she’s always been open with me, and I haven’t been the same with her. I sort of let her come to her own conclusions. I let all the girls come to their own conclusions, but now they’re going to have all these ideas. It’s one thing for them to speculate when there was no evidence to support it, but this is different. It was kind of fun to keep them guessing, and I never figured they would take me seriously. Now they’ll want to know what’s really going on.”

I trail my fingers down her spine, enjoying her shiver. “I can take the blame for all the secrecy.”

“I like the secrecy. I liked that what we had was just ours.” Charlene murmurs, eyes