Chapter 55: Chapter 55

Deliberating on how to explain this exactly, Hector struggled to come up with something that didn’t sound ridiculous. Abel’s words continued to rattle him. Are you sure you’re ready to handle being so hung up on a girl? At the time, he had been. Hell, just a few minutes earlier he had been. He’d been fairly certain just from what little he knew about Charlee that he was dealing with a virgin. It hadn’t felt so alarming until now.

Hector was sure he was ready to be with Charlee and only Charlee. But he’d had his share of experimenting with plenty of girls. Testing the waters—lots of waters. Charlee was only eighteen. Aside from that idiot she’d told him about, this was her first real experience. And this was literally happening overnight. How could she be sure he was the one this quickly? Because if this happened, he wanted to be damn sure he’d be the only one for her after tonight.

Abel was right. There’d be no way he could handle anything otherwise, and, suddenly, that scared the life out of him. Did people really fall in love, break up, and move on? His eyes slowly opened wider with the realization of where his mind had just gone. Love? No way.

Charlee pushed him off her suddenly, derailing his train of thought. He’d been so lost in thought she managed to push him aside and squirm out from under him.

“In what world is a virgin not good enough?” She asked as she stood up, crossing her arms in front of her. “Are you looking for someone more experienced? Less priggish?”

“Priggish?” he asked, getting up on his own feet quickly and noticed the hurt in her eyes now. “No! Whatever that means.”

He had no idea what priggish meant, but whatever it did, he didn’t like that it had those beautiful blue eyes looking so sad. Taking a step forward, she took a step back. “So then finish what you started saying,” she said, lifting a very pretty but stubborn little chin. “Remember you’re the one who said no guessing games.”

Taking another step toward her, he stopped when she moved away from him again. “Okay, let’s not do this,” he said, pointing at the recliner. “Can we just sit and talk?”

“No!” She walked around the sofa and stood behind it, making it a barrier between them. “I will not sit on your lap again to talk about this. Just explain yourself,”

She looked so damn cute when she was angry he had to smile. “All right, you don’t have to sit on my lap. Just sit, please.” He motioned at the sofa in front of her.

Considering it for a moment, she glanced down at the sofa, chewing the corner of her lip, then walked around and sat down cautiously. Hector took a few slow steps to the sofa, afraid that she might jump up and bolt. But she didn’t, so he sat down.

He stared at her for a moment again, debating on how best to say this. “I don’t know if I can handle this.”

Her startled eyes stared at him. “You changed your mind?” Gulping hard, he reached for her hand, but she jerked it away, standing up. “Then go!”

The tears in her eyes had him on his feet instantly. “Charlee, it’s not that I changed my mind. I swear it’s just that . . .”

“Go!” She pointed to the front door. “You don’t have to explain yourself. I don’t mind guessing, Hector. Just leave.”

He took her hand, and she tried pulling it away, but he held it tight. “Listen to me.”

“No!” She was crying now, and it killed him, but he wouldn’t let go of her hand even when she continued to try to free herself from him. “I don’t even wanna hear it anymore. Just leave. I don’t want you here!”

“Charlee,” he tried, speaking calmly in order to calm her, but she was really crying now. “Listen to me, baby,” he said as he backed her up to the wall, pressing his body against hers, trying to pin her down so he could talk to her—explain. But she kept squirming and fighting to get away from him. “I think I love you.”

His words silenced her, and she stopped moving, staring at him as she continued to breathe harshly. He kissed the tears that continued to drip down the side of her cheek.

“I don’t understand,” she whispered, searching his eyes for answers.

Finally letting go of her hand, he cradled her face in his hands now. “I didn’t even realize it until a few minutes ago,” he wiped the corners of her wet eyes with his thumbs. “But I think I’m love with you, Charlee, and if that’s the case, I don’t know if I can handle doing this and you changing your mind later.”

She shook her head, her questioning eyes still searching his. “Why would I change my mind?”

“Sweetheart, you’ve never been with anyone else. How do you know for sure this is it for you?”

“I don’t? Do you?”

He stared at her for a moment, feeling a little disappointed. Secretly he’d hoped she’d say she was, but her throwing it back in his face made him think. Was he?

“I don’t know. All I know is if this happens—if we do this—I won’t be able to handle it if you do.”

She brought her hand up to his face and caressed it. For the first time since she’d become so upset, she smiled. “I think that’s the chance everyone takes when they give into their hearts. I don’t think I’d be able to handle it either if you changed your mind.” She glanced away, giving way to that timid smile he knew he was in love with now. “I think we just got a little taste of how I’d handle it if you did.” She kissed him softly, and he kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I’d still be willing to chance it if you are.”

Squeezing her even tighter, he buried his face in her neck, breathing her in. He loved the way she smelled, loved the way her small frame fit so perfectly against his body.

“I can promise you one thing,” she whispered in his ear as she ran her hands through his hair. She had his attention, and he pulled away to look at her. He sensed a little hesitation before she spoke again, and there was a hint of insecurity in her eyes. “Unless I’m way off, and I have been in the past, unless you are this talented of an actor and the sincerity I’m feeling when you speak of your feelings for me—this trust that you’ve talked about taking so seriously isn’t all real—then I promise you that can’t imagine anything making me change my mind about you.”

Seeing the insecurity in her eyes gave him a little hope that he wasn’t alone in just how damn scared this made him. His brother may be older and wiser, but when it came to love, he was just as inexperienced as Hector. This wasn’t something you just decided you were going to do. It was something that happened, and there was nothing in your power to stop it.

“I love you,” he whispered, and she smiled, her big blue eyes immediately flooding with tears.

“This is crazy, but I love you too.”

His heart pounded away with fear, excitement, and now exhilaration of knowing she was in love with him too. Picking her up like he had yesterday, he kissed her deeply. With both her arms and legs wrapped around him now, he started toward the sofa, but she pulled away and pointed. “My bedroom is that way.”

God help him. This was really going to happen. Screw the fear. Hurrying toward her bedroom, he kissed her madly. He’d deal with his fears later. There was no choice now. Either he learned to handle what Abel thought and what Hector had begun to believe that he couldn’t handle, or he walked away, and he wouldn’t even consider that now.

Laying her down gently on the bed, he scooted onto it with her. Their lips never once parted even as he lifted his body over hers. Continuing to kiss her, he stopped every now and then to stare at her lips. He loved how red and swollen they were. The fact that he was responsible for how damn sexy they looked now drove him nuts.

Bringing her arms up above her head like he’d pinned her down earlier in the front room, he laced his fingers through hers, staring into her eyes. He leaned in and slowly began to kiss her freckles like he’d imagined doing when he first noticed them. He started on her forehead, kissing each freckle softly, and then he worked his way down her temple.

Rubbing himself against her leg, he wanted her to feel just how aroused doing just this made him. She squirmed in reaction to feeling him, and he began to sway his body very slowly against her like he’d begun to earlier but had stopped. Only now, he didn’t stop, and she swayed with him, spreading her legs a bit. Knowing if he adjusted himself just slightly he could be rubbing up against the very spot that would drive them both crazy, he didn’t. He wanted to—needed to—take this as slowly as possible. This may be the first time for her ever, but it was a first for him as well, and he wanted to savor every moment. Savoring it drowned out the enormous fear he’d begun to feel earlier about making love for the very first time, putting his heart out there as he never had before.

Working his way down the warm soft flesh of her face, he reminded himself, as he mentally was already beginning to claim each and every one of her beautiful freckles as his, that he could handle this. He kissed the freckles on her nose just under her eyes and around her delicate cheek bone, and then he worked his way down her jaw but couldn’t help going back to bury his tongue in her red swollen mouth again. She kissed him back urgently, lifting her legs around his so his thigh rested now on the heat between her legs. Imagining burying himself in another red swollen part of her body had him squeezing his eyes shut now. He had to hold it together, or this might get embarrassing.

He began to ease her sweater up, and she sat up, helping him with it. She pulled it over her head and disposed of it quickly over the side of the bed. Awestruck, he stared at the milky white skin on her shoulders, chest, and flat stomach. There were so many more freckles for him to claim sprinkled all across her torso.

Starting just under her chin, he began kissing his way down. He kissed and sucked softly, down to the very edge of each shoulder. Pulling the straps of her bra down her shoulders, he brought it down until both of her beautifully pale breasts were completely exposed. Hector stared at them. They didn’t get any more perfect than this—perfectly full, pure, untouched, and his mind once again went there—all his.

With his breathing accelerating, he focused on the coat of freckles sprinkled all over them. The coat was heavier around her cleavage and the only hint of color on her otherwise powdery white skin, aside from the very pale pink nipples that almost blended with the skin around them. He quickly latched onto one with his mouth, sucking softly then biting down gently. Hearing her soft panting and breathing grow even more frantic only made him suck harder.

Trying desperately to keep moving slowly was a challenge, especially now that her body trembled uncontrollably with every suck of her sweet nipples. He stopped for a second to pull off his shirt, needing to feel her flesh against his. She took that moment to undo her bra completely and took it off. Now she was completely naked from the waist up. He stared down, gulping hard. It took everything in him not to reach down and rip her pants off her. He wanted nothing more than to drive into her now—claim her. But why did the very thought still scare him so much?

Easing himself back down, his heart galloped away furiously.

“The heart is forever inexperienced,” Charlee whispered, and Hector froze, staring at her.

“What did you say?”