Slate (Rebel Wayfarers MC) (14 page)

Charlotte was rounding her back, pushing hard into his fingers. “Alzheimer’s, she doesn’t really remember how to walk anymore, and it’s too hard to get her downstairs and then back up.”

“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry,” he muttered, kissing the side of her neck.

She made a tiny shrugging motion. “I know, and thanks. It’s not fair, but it happened. I feel sorry for Daddy more than anyone, because with all else she’s lost in the past months, she’s forgotten him. So now, he’s lost her too.” They were silent for a minute, and she murmured, “God that feels sooooo good, Andy. I rub and rub at my back, digging my fingers in, trying to work it all out, but nothing I do feels like this.”

He smiled, and quiet descended into the room again as he continued to rub her back slowly and with care. Feeling the knots loosen, he stroked them away from her muscles as he massaged and kneaded her back. Her breathing evened out, and Andy grinned; he was pleased she’d relaxed enough to have gone back to sleep. Maybe this could be her sleep catch-up day.

Sliding out of bed carefully, he brought the sheet up and tucked her in, kissing her temple softly. Headed first to the bathroom, and then into the kitchen, he found a carafe of hot coffee waiting on the countertop. Looking through the cabinets for a cup, he poured himself a mug full, taking it to the backdoor.

Stepping out onto the porch and into the morning, he took in the view, which encompassed several fields and a pond framed in on two sides by thick, dense woods.

A curious, red-colored brindle dog ran up the porch steps, stopping several feet away from him to look at him cautiously. Andy patted his leg, but that didn’t entice the dog closer; it stood with its head slung low and tense. Putting itself between him and the door, the dog was now lifting a lip and snarling at him silently.

He took a step towards the door, and the dog took an aggressive step towards him, keeping one front leg lifted, ready to move again
. Fuck, this dog wasn’t kidding around.
How was he supposed to get back into the house?

The dog’s head swiveled towards the door, ears perking up and stubby tail wagging. A few seconds later, Charlotte stepped out onto the porch wrapped in a terrycloth robe. She absently reached down and rubbed the dog’s head. Her fingers scratched down along the cheek and underneath the edge of its chin, while the dog’s squinted eyes and tilted head gave proof of its enjoyment.

“What kind of dog is that?” He took a step towards Charlotte, and the dog was on full alert again; it whipped around to face him and backed into her legs. Turning sideways, the dog pushed her two steps back towards the door, lifting that silently snarling lip at him again.

“Dammit Dog, knock it off,” she scolded it. Looking up at Andy, she grinned, “We think she’s a red heeler, mixed with Catahoula, mixed with no-one-knows.”

The dog’s animosity had faded again, and it was staring up at Charlotte’s face, waiting on a command, an acknowledgement, or something. He held his hand out, palm down, letting the dog decide to introduce herself or not. “What’s her name?” he asked and Lottie laughed.

“Dammit Dog,” she replied.

He lifted an eyebrow at her. “Is this like a Three Stooges skit, where I’m never going to understand what to call the dog?” Jerking at a cold touch, he looked down as the dog pushed herself under his hand for scratches.

Charlotte laughed again. “It could be a funny skit, I guess. She was a stray; we get a lot of dogs dumped on these country roads. She decided this was her home and we were her family, but Mom didn’t want another dog, so she tried to run her off. About a dozen times a day you’d hear, ‘Dammit dog, get out of there’, or ‘Dammit dog, knock it off’, or sometimes just ‘Dammit dog’.” She shrugged. “The name stuck.”

“So you have a dog named Dog, but not just Dog…she’s named Dammit Dog?” He laughed hard at that, grabbing onto the column at the corner of the porch to steady himself. “That is a fucking awesome name for a dog, and she is this awesome reddish color. What a great story, Charlotte. Your mom sounds fun.”

She nodded, flattening her lips. “She is…was.”

Andy finished his coffee and carried the mug back into the kitchen, washing it in the sink. Lottie followed him in, leaning against the countertop. “What does your day look like, beautiful?” he asked, moving closer to her, sliding the back of one finger down her neck into the folds of her robe and slowly back up again.

Her breath caught in her chest, and her chin lifted so her eyes met his. “I’m off today, unless one of my jobs calls me in.”

He deliberately brushed the inside swell of her breast with his fingertip. “What do you want to do today, then?”

She bit down on her bottom lip hard, closing her eyes. “I don’t know, Andy,” she whispered, bringing her hand to her mouth, covering it tightly. She turned her head away from him, but didn’t move her body.

Something didn’t feel right to Andy, and he slowly dropped his hand, stepping away. As he moved, he saw the tears begin to flow down her cheeks. He reached out and pulled her into a gentle hug. “Hey, hey. Hey now...stop that...baby, don’t cry. Everything’s going to be okay.” He stroked her back softly. “Beautiful, baby, don’t cry. What did I do?”

She shook her head silently, pressing hard into him.
Fuck me
, he said inaudibly as he tipped his body back at the waist, keeping her belly in contact with his hip, but trying to give her space. “Charlotte, what the fuck have I done wrong?”

“Andy, you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m pregnant,” she laughed at herself through her tears, pulling away, “so my hormones are crazy.” He frowned at her, sensing she was hiding something and had been all along. He was on the fence about what to do, from the basics of stay or leave, to a more advanced notion like pressure her to tell him what she was hiding from. He chose something simpler, something he was sure she would really like. “Charlotte, would you like to go for a bike ride?”

***

They sat down to dinner around the table in the kitchen; Randall asked about their day and listened with interest as Charlotte described the ride they’d gone on. Andy saw real joy on her face as she talked about the places she’d shared with him, and he knew her father saw it too. After they were finished eating, Andy gathered their dishes and washed them in the sink, using his damp rag to wipe down the table too.

Hearing Randall call a goodnight from the living room, Andy wondered again at their easy acceptance of his presence in their home. Neither of them had questioned whether he would be staying another night; it seemed to be a given. Leaning one hip against the countertop, he closed his eyes for a minute; he was tired again, and ready for bed.

There was a feather-light touch on his hand a split second before fingers wrapped themselves around his palm. Without opening his eyes, he brought her hand up to his mouth, running his tongue boldly across the knuckles followed by a kiss. “Charlotte, what are you up to, beautiful?” Opening his eyes, he saw her shy smile and pulled her into a loose hug, rocking back and forth with her in his arms.

“Are you wanting company in bed again tonight, Andy?” she mumbled against his chest.

His sigh was big, but happy sounding; he was sure of it. “I’d love your company again, beautiful. We both slept well last night, so here’s hoping for a repeat.” Her terrycloth robe was gaping open a little, and it looked natural and unconscious. He didn’t think she had a premeditated bone in her body; she was honest and real.

Reaching over and turning out the lights, he tucked her underneath his arm, holding her close to his side. They walked up the hallway like that, turning in when they got to the door that lead to her room. “I need the room down the hall for a minute,” he said. Kissing her temple, he released her and walked down to the room where his things were stored.

He grabbed his bathroom stuff, and headed down the hall. Looking in the mirror, he saw an unfamiliar uncertainty and fear reflected in his eyes. He didn’t know what Charlotte was expecting, and that was unsettling. Hell, the whole past couple of days were unsettling. He didn’t know why he had come here...or why he was
still
here.

Finishing up his bathroom routine, he dropped his stuff off and then walked into Charlotte’s room, again dressed in his sleep shorts. Scanning the bedroom, he saw a puddle of fabric beside the bed, and noted her shoulders were bare above the sheet. She had to be naked under the covers, giving him an idea what her expectations might be.

“Lottie, are you ready for lights out, beautiful?” He paused in the doorway. She nodded, adjusting her belly pillow and pushing her face into the arm folded underneath her head.

Turning out the overhead light, Andy slipped under the covers behind her and found that she was indeed nude, except for her panties. Pressing his chest against her bare back, he gently stroked from her ribs, down to the back of her knee, and back up. Pushing with his leg to bend hers, he slid his groin tightly against her ass, gripping her hip to pull her curves back into him.

“Beautiful,” he murmured against her neck, “you’ve got to tell me what you want…or tell me if you don’t want anything other than this, to be held. I need some direction, baby, because I know what I want, but this needs to be about you.” Hand sliding down her side again, his fingertips dragged over her ass and down between her legs. “Baby,” he kissed her shoulder, “talk to me.”

“Andy, this feels amazing,” her whisper floated over her shoulder, “but I don’t know what to ask for. That seems so greedy, and you’ve been so nice already.”

“Shhhh,” he said, “tell me what you want. Show me.”

Her fingers wrapped around his hand, tugging it forward and up to her breasts. She wound her fingers into his, pressing his palm against one breast, cupping and molding it gently. “I like that, a lot,” she said, her breath hitching as he pinched her nipple lightly, rolling it between his finger and thumb.

“God, yes. Talk to me, baby,” he whispered, trailing kisses over her shoulder and down her arm. Andy licked firmly back up to her neck, nibbling and biting a trail to her ear. Flexing his hips and pressing his hard cock against her ass, he gently licked the shell of her ear, remembering she had liked that last night.

Her body was shivering, shaking all over, and her breath was coming erratically. He whispered in a rough voice, “I want you, Charlotte. So much. I want to be inside you. Tell me if this is what you want too. I need to stop now if it’s not. The choice is always yours…always, always yours,” he kissed her shoulder again, “but know that I want you very much.”

He knew he had to be honest with her and remind her of something before she made a mistake in the heat of the moment. Taking a deep breath, he growled low, “Baby, Charlotte...you need to remember I’m only here for now, not forever. I won’t be staying long, so please, don’t do anything you’ll regret. I want you, but I won’t leave you sad and lonely.”

Reaching back, she stroked his cock through the fabric of his shorts. “I want you too, Andy.” Turning her face for a kiss, her tongue stroked against his, licking along the edges of his teeth and then letting him dive into her mouth. “I want you,” she repeated, kissing him deeply, and then she pulled back and whispered, “but I don’t have any protection.”

Pressing his mouth against hers desperately, he ate at her for a minute, angling his lips across hers again and again, bringing his hand up to cup her jaw. “I’ll be right back.” He pulled back enough to speak. Standing, he was taking in great gasps of air as he tried to control his desire. Gathering a couple of condoms from his things, he returned to her room and found her waiting, covers thrown back.

Kneeling beside the bed, Andy worked her panties off her body, dropping them on top of her nightgown already on the floor. He tugged her legs towards him, leaving her heels on the bed; his hands pressing her knees apart, and opened her legs further with the width of his shoulders.

Stroking up her legs with both hands, he let his thumbs lightly rub across her labia, pressing barely inside with the tips and then withdrawing. Finding her clit with his fingertips, he slid them in circles around it, never quite touching as it stiffened and came out of its hood.

Dropping his head, he kissed up the inside of one thigh, and then transferred his attention to the other. Keeping the rhythm of his stroking fingers and thumbs, he licked and kissed her legs alternately until he reached his hands. Lowering his mouth to her, he used the broad surface of his tongue to lick her from bottom to top again and again. God, he’d known she would taste sweet; it felt like he’d been waiting for this all day.

Thumbs pressing into her entrance farther with each successive penetration, he used them to spread the wetness through her folds and up to where his fingers teased her nub. He slid and thrust his tongue into her, stiffening it and using it to replace his thumbs while he continued rubbing gently. He murmured against her, “So good, Lottie. Goddamn, you taste so good.”

Sitting back on his heels, his mouth hovering above her, breath whispering out across her hot wetness, he asked, “Baby, is this good for you? Do you like this, beautiful?” He was rewarded by a low “yes” on an outrushing breath.

Dipping his head back down, he pulled her clit into his mouth; he sucked and nibbled at the bundle of nerves, then flicked it hard with the tip of his tongue. Her hands were in his hair now, tugging his face tighter against her pussy, her hips were pumping in time with his touch.