Page 26 of Wild Child
I come up for air and she’s panting hard, a line of perspiration on her brow. Her pink hair sticks to her cheek, and she’s so beautiful my heart aches.
Without her makeup on, Charlie looks vulnerable and young. I pause. Because she is young. It’s hard to remember when she’s all made up with her leathers on strutting about with her big energy and confidence. But she’s only twenty-two, and she’s Raiden’s daughter.
I can’t do this. I can’t take advantage of Raiden’s daughter.
Summoning all the discipline of my military training, I pull away from Charlie. I untangle my limbs from hers and roll over onto my back, breathing hard.
Charlie props herself onto her elbow, and I can’t look at her or I might kiss her again.
“What’s stopping you, sergeant?”
She traces a finger down my chest. Thank God I put a t-shirt on going to bed. Even through the cotton, her touch scorches my skin.
I grab her finger to stop the torture.
“We can’t do this.” My voice is croaky, and I sounds feeble even to myself.
“Do what? Kiss or…” She leans over, and her warm breath skates my ear “…fuck?”
The word sends heat coursing through my body, and my hips jerk off the bed. I sit up, needing to get away from her before I do something we’ll both regret.
“We can’t do that, Charlie. You know as well as I do it’s not right.”
She sits up in bed and pulls the blankets around her. She’s gone from playful to scowling, and I hate that I’ve done that to her.
“No Quentin. You think it’s not right. I don’t see what the problem is.”
I stare at her, wondering how the hell she can’t see that this is all wrong.
“Because you’re fifteen years younger than me, because your father is my friend and the club president. I can’t disrespect him like this.”
Her frown deepens. “Why is that an obstacle? I’m not his property. I’m a woman, Quentin. I get to decide what I do with my life. My father has nothing whatsoever to do with my decisions.”
I run my hands through my hair and grip the ends in frustration. Can’t she see that this isn’t how things are done? There’s a code of honor, and sleeping with your friend’s daughter is definitely not part of that.
“It’s just not right.”
I grab the pillow off the bed and the spare blanket from the closet. “I’ll sleep in the tub.”
I expect Charlie to admonish me, tell me off and get angry at me, but the look she gives me is sadness.
“If that’s what you want, Quentin.”
She’s fed up and tired of me, and that’s worse. She lives her life in the moment, but someone has to think about the consequences. And one night of passion could have grave consequences.
I head into the bathroom and try to get comfy in the tub.
15
CHARLIE
My lips tingle with the memory of the kiss. Not just any kiss. When Quentin’s lips touched mine, my body came alive in ways it never has before. And not just my body. When we connected with our limbs entwined and our lips locked, my very soul felt like it had come home.
I’ve never in my life experienced anything like the connection I have when I touch Quentin, which is why it’s so maddening that he continues to deny it.
I don’t understand his reasoning. Age is just a number to me. I don’t care that there are fifteen years between us. I don’t care that he’s a friend of my father. Those things mean nothing when there’s a connection like ours.
He needs to get over it and explore where this thing can take us. But I get it. He’s fighting years of conditioning, years of doing the honorable thing. But there’s nothing honorable in denying your feelings.
