CHARLIE
Earthy, consuming lust completely took over my entire being, and I couldn't hold myself back anymore. Not wanting to feel frustrated or left hanging, I took matters into my own hands, guiding him closer to me, utterly impatient to feel him inside me once again.
It infuriated me how easily he could still bend my body to his will.
Ever since we broke up all those years ago, I never once attempted to get close to another man. A few had tried, but I scared them off immediately. Only Christian James had the absolute nerve to approach me, mostly because we had grown up together as childhood friends. He knew me inside and out, and unfortunately, I knew him just as well.
I moved against him as fast as I could because I was chasing something I couldn't quite name. Every movement only made me want more, until the entire cabin seemed to disappear around us.
Nothing filled the room except our raw moans, ragged breathing, and the rhythmic sounds of our bodies moving together, right up until we reached our breaking point at the same time.
Oh my... It felt incredible.
After five years, Christian James had finally made me feel this way again. But this time was different. This time, I wasn't holding myself back anymore.
Back in the day, whenever we were intimate, we were always serious about protection because we were still students. We knew we had to be careful, and neither of us was willing to take unnecessary risks.
But this time was different.
Neither of us had planned for this. He had literally been snatched straight out of his own wedding, and I hadn't exactly expected to end up sleeping with my ex in the middle of a forest. We were completely unprepared, caught up in the heat of the moment before either of us had time to think about anything else.
Besides, I knew he hadn't brought any condoms. Who the hell would? He had been dragged straight out of a church and into the forest.
And somehow, despite knowing all that, I still hadn't stopped myself.
I knew I was probably safe anyway since my period had just ended, but that didn't change the fact that we had been completely unprepared.
And somehow, despite everything that had happened, I still wasn't satisfied.
“I want more,” I murmured lustfully, pressing a warm kiss against his ear.
I let him lay me back down on the mattress as his gaze locked onto my face.
What was going through his head right then?
If he was worrying about how he was going to pay the five million dollars, then he damn well should be.
Yes, I had agreed to pull off this job, but that didn't mean the two brothers were off the hook for owing me.
I wanted my money.
I had risked my life to snatch him away from his own wedding, after all.
He brought his lips back down to mine, and my mind started blurring again.
At first, I had thought what happened between us was purely fueled by physical heat. But the gentle, tender way he kissed me now made something inside me shift.
It felt like we were drifting right back into the past.
It felt like our very first kiss all over again.
The sweet, gentle pressure of our lips moving slowly and cautiously against each other brought back memories I had spent years trying to forget.
Then I felt him move again while our mouths were still fused together.
He kissed me with the same tenderness he had shown me back then.
It was almost identical to our first time together.
We had been so careful because we were each other's firsts. We had been young, nervous, and completely clueless about what we were doing, with our hearts beating so loudly that I could barely hear anything else.
And now, five years later, somehow, it still felt like us.
This wasn't good.
But damn, it felt so good.
I couldn't explain it.
The things we were doing felt amazing, but somewhere at the back of my mind, I knew it was wrong.
This wasn't part of the plan.
This was supposed to be a job.
Yet somehow, we were the ones working each other over.
We were supposed to be resting right now because we had an early morning ahead of us.
Before sunrise, we needed to wake up and begin our trek out of this forest, then head toward the next town.
We couldn't afford to waste time.
We couldn't afford to get distracted.
And yet...
Ahhh.
What he was doing felt so incredible that I couldn't bring myself to stop him.
Because the truth was, I wanted it just as badly.
I let him keep that slower rhythm, savoring every moment, until the sensation gradually became unbearable.
It wasn't enough anymore.
I wrapped my arms tightly around him and whispered,
“Ahhh... keep going, faster... please...”
He immediately responded, picking up the pace.
He gave me exactly what I wanted, and the intensity quickly became overwhelming enough to make my eyes roll back.
“Ahhhh... it's coming... it's right there... right there... ahhh, CJ!”
I practically screamed his name as the euphoric wave crashed over me.
For a few seconds, I couldn't think.
Couldn't breathe.
Couldn't remember why this was supposed to be a bad idea.
All I could feel was him.
When everything finally settled, he collapsed heavily beside me, burying his face into the crook of my neck.
Both of us were panting heavily, our heartbeats pounding in sync.
Then I heard him mutter the words that instantly shattered whatever peaceful haze I had been floating in.
“Ahhh... I love you, Charlie. I love you... I love you.”
My eyes snapped wide open.
I immediately shoved him hard until he rolled off me, though he remained lying right beside me.
“Why?” he asked, his forehead furrowing as he stared straight into my face.
“I love you?! Are you f*****g kidding me, CJ?” I shot back, raising an eyebrow. “After all these years of not seeing each other, you suddenly drop an ‘I love you’ out of nowhere?!”
He stared at me.
I stared back.
Nope.
Absolutely not.
I wasn't dealing with that right now.
I reached down and grabbed the blanket and pillows scattered across the floor.
He had to be joking.
And I wasn't laughing.
I tossed one of the pillows onto the mattress and immediately laid down on it without even bothering to put a pillowcase on.
He hadn't bothered with one earlier because apparently, he had been far too busy making questionable decisions.
I pulled the blanket over myself and wrapped it tightly around my body.
I refused to look at him.
Well, mostly.
I could still feel his intense gaze lingering on me from the corner of my eye.
He didn't say a single word after that.
Good.
He probably finally came to his senses.
He had likely only said those words because he was blinded by intense lust.
At least, that's what I told myself.
I wanted to get up, grab my clothes, and change, but laziness and pure exhaustion won.
I'd change later when I woke up.
My phone alarm was already set. I had prepared everything before this whole mission even started because I had every detail planned out.
Every single detail.
Except for one.
I never planned on sleeping with my ex.
Not once.
And definitely not twice.
Since he had nothing else to say, I turned my back to him, curled up beneath the blanket, and forced myself to sleep.
I had been running on zero sleep since last night.
I needed to save my strength.
Tomorrow, we still had to cross an entire forest, reach the next town, figure out where we were going, and somehow deal with whatever consequences came from kidnapping the groom from his own wedding.
There was no telling what tomorrow had in store for us.
And somehow, I had a feeling it was going to be a hell of a lot worse than tonight.