Sweet Charity Read online

  “I am drunk, yes. If I wasn’t, I’d be pretending that night eight years ago never happened. I’d be pretending it doesn’t bother me that you didn’t make me come. That I ran off and then we didn’t talk to each other for nearly a year and now we circle each other and I think you’re interested but other times you couldn’t be less interested. It makes me very frustrated and there’s only so much masturbating I can do and now apparently you’ve been warning men away. Tsk tsk, Gabriel. Brian might be the guy to give me what I need. Why so interested in telling him to back off?”

  He tried not to smile. She was drunk and slurring her words slightly but she was on a mission and this was the woman he’d known for nearly thirty years demanding an answer. She was damned cute although squirming a lot, which wasn’t helping his cock or his resolve to keep away from her.

  Rafe approached, one of his eyebrows rising as he caught sight of how low Gabriel’s hand rested on Charity’s back, just above the sweet curve of her ass. “I’m going to take Belle home. She’s very fun when she’s been taking tequila shots. Thanks for that, Charity.” He winked and Charity laughed.

  “Merry Christmas from me to you.”

  Gabriel stood, bringing Charity to her feet but keeping an arm around her waist. “I’m going to take you home. You can’t drive like this.”

  “I can take her,” Brian said, wearing a smirk.

  “I’ve got it.” Gabriel glared and walked her out.

  “I’m fine. I can get a ride with someone else since you hate being with me so much.”

  Gabe leaned her against his truck until he got it unlocked and opened. “Get in and stop that now. You know that’s bullshit.”

  She snorted but got in, swinging those long legs inside.

  He walked around, taking a deep breath of the cold air and praying for strength. He hated that she’d think he felt she was unattractive. Especially when the opposite was true. Eight years ago was not her fault.

  “You’re not going to puke in my truck are you?” he asked, starting the truck and putting his seatbelt on.

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m not some college dumbass who can’t hold her liquor. I only had four shots and we both know I’m capable of keeping up with you on that score. I wouldn’t drive just now, but I’m not gonna puke.”

  “Just checking. Don’t get pissy with me. You’re at that new townhouse complex now right?”

  “Yes. I’ll get pissy if I want to. And you haven’t answered my questions.”

  “Because they’re stupid questions. We were kids eight years ago and you know damned good and well you’re a beautiful, sexy woman.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest and fumed the rest of the way to her house, which was fine with him.

  “Take this lane here on the left. I’m the last driveway on the end.”

  He pulled up, turning the truck off. He turned to speak but she practically leapt at him, throwing her arms around his neck, pressing her breasts against his chest and her mouth to his.

  It was over for his self control as those lips of hers touched his. Within moments he was out of his seatbelt and his hands were in her hair. That soft, beautiful hair he wanted to wrap around his fist.

  He let himself kiss her, let himself marvel at her taste when his tongue slipped into her mouth. She moaned, pressing against him more confidently, tossing her leg over his body and straddling his lap.

  White bursts of light pinpricked against his closed eyelids as she ground herself over his cock and it was his turn to groan.

  Firmly but not as hard as he really wanted, he pulled her hair enough to break the kiss. He’d intended to get out and drag her inside and run the other way but her neck was too tempting. Instead, he angled her the way he wanted. He feasted on her frantic pulsebeat just beneath her ear before cruising down the column of her throat where she was warm and smelled damned good.

  The edge of his teeth tested the skin at the hollow of her throat and she moaned, arching into him. Her fingers pulled his hair, keeping him close.

  The sound of a car door closing somewhere else on the small lane broke into his brain, and he grabbed her by the waist and set her on the seat again as he tried to catch his breath.

  “Christ.”

  “Come inside with me.” Her eyes were bright and clear but she was still under the influence of four shots of tequila and there was no way he’d have sex with a woman who’d had that much to drink.

  Still, he wanted to get her inside safely so he helped her out of the truck and walked her to the door.

  The place was nice. He hadn’t been inside it, having been away the weekend she’d moved a few months back. It smelled like her, spicy, like cinnamon.

  “Where’s your bedroom?”

  She smiled up at him, sliding her palm up his chest. “Up the stairs and to the left.”

  He helped her up and then saw the doors to her bedroom standing open. Her bed was covered in a big, fluffy comforter and lots of pillows. The room was more girly than he’d figured it would be and Christ, her panty drawer was open and heaps of lacy, frilly, brightly colored lingerie boiled up and over the edges like a sex explosion.

  He imagined what her ass would look like in those boyshorts, her cheeks peeking out the bottom. Maybe pinked from his hand.

  No. Not now.

  She fell to the bed, kicking her shoes off.

  “All right, well I’m gonna go now. I’ll see you soon.”

  She sat up and pulled her sweater off and his mouth dried up at the sight of her breasts in a delicious bra the same red as the sweater had been. He froze in the doorway, watching her shimmy out of her jeans. The thong was the same color as the bra.

  “You are not going to leave right now.” She fell back to the bed. “If you leave I will hunt you down and kill you.”

  “Charity, you’re drunk. I don’t fuck drunk women.” He held onto the door, his knuckles going white to keep from moving to her. “It’s not right.”

  She opened her thighs and slid her hand down the front of her panties. “Gabriel, if it’s wrong, I don’t want to be right. Come on, I’m not some random woman you picked up at a bar. You know I’m consenting. You know I’d want you any other day too. I’m so wet.” She made a sound in the back of her throat and he stumbled back into the hallway. “I need you.” Her voice tore at him, pulled at him, desire thick. He could see her fingers moving against her pussy through the sheer material of her thong.

  He swallowed hard, trying not to whimper at how much he wanted her, how much he wanted to go to her right then and ease her. That want had lodged in his gut since he was seventeen and it hadn’t ever let go.

  “Don’t do this. We’ll talk later. I’m going to lock up behind myself. Drink some water.” He considered taking her some, but holy baby Santa Claus and his reindeer, he wanted to pull the hand from the front of her panties and suck her fingers into his mouth before pressing his face to her cunt.

  Nope, not enough control to go in there.

  “I’m going now. Get some sleep,” he called out.

  “You’re leaving without making me come again, Gabriel. You suck.”

  He laughed without humor and left, each step a new lesson in pain from how hard he was.

  Chapter Three

  The birds singing outside her window woke Charity up slowly. Her hand was still down the front of her panties and she groaned, remembering how horny she’d been and how Gabriel had walked out on her.

  She couldn’t help but groan as she got out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom, turning on the water for a shower. A clear head was needed to puzzle over what to do next and a shower would hopefully do the trick.

  As she washed her hair and waited for the pain relievers she took to work, she worked up a head of steam just thinking about the night before.

  First of all, hello, the kiss he had laid on her was not the same as before. The kiss last night was hot and hard and sort of dark. She might have been tipsy but she remembered the way he’d yanked on her ha
ir to kiss her neck, the way his hands had trembled as she ground herself over his cock.

  All right, she could admit it, she had some major league feelings for Gabriel. Last night had let them surge through her, past the wall she’d built over the years. There was simply no more denying it.

  He’d wanted her enough to let himself kiss her for real in his truck and yet, he’d walked away. She’d had on her sexiest undies and even started to masturbate in front of him and he left! What was the deal?

  That whole “we’ll talk later” crap made her grind her teeth as she slapped on lotion and wandered into her bedroom to get clothes.

  Charity wanted some answers, and she’d have them! She pulled on a pair of eggplant toned boyshort panties and the matching bra before getting socks and jeans on. Since she knew he’d be at the dairy she pulled on her boots and found a purple sweater with a cowl neck.

  This was a war and Charity Harris meant to win it. To do so, she’d have to swallow her pride and use every weapon she had. First, her looks and her body. She had to do everything just right so she did her hair, making it full with big curls. Just the perfect amount of makeup, Gabe was a farm boy at heart, she’d seen him with super glammed-up girls before, but she knew he liked natural beauty so she’d go with that.

  Gabriel Bettencourt was what she wanted. Had wanted for years now and all this pussyfooting around was for suckers. She was getting older, she wanted to settle down and start her life with someone. She had a house and a business and a lovely family, having a partner was the next logical step. Gabriel was going to be that partner unless he could give her a logical reason why not.

  She got into her car and headed over to the Bettencourt Family Dairy about fifteen minutes away from her place. Where the city wore away and the country began to take over.

  Her parents lived out this way, in the house she and her siblings grew up in. Her grandparents lived about three miles from her parents and they all had a big family dinner every other Sunday. It was pretty old school but Charity felt lucky at having all her family so close.

  While she thought of it, she made a mental note to stop in at her grandparents’ on her way back home. She’d seen her granny for lunch a week back but she liked to keep an eye on them.

  Family was important to Charity, which was one of the many reasons she liked Gabriel. He worked at the family business, he took care of his mother, made sure his father didn’t overdo it but always felt integral to the operations of their business. Family was important to him, too. She liked that in a man.

  Priorities were central to any successful life and she didn’t want to be with someone who didn’t care about the things she did. Plus he was Portuguese like her mother. In fact, Charity’s mom and Beatriz, Gabriel’s mom, were good friends and often worked together on planning festas. Rosemary, Gabe and Rafe’s sister, had been on the festa court along with Charity and they remained close friends to that day. Over Charity’s life, she’d spent a great deal of time with the Bettencourts. They were like her extended family. She enjoyed being with them.

  Despite her annoyance, she still felt lighter for admitting her feelings to herself as she took her left turn. The Bettencourt’s house sat on an acre or so just to the south of the actual dairy farm. They had a little retail storefront there as well as a new milk delivery service Raphael had come up with, along with delivery from some of the other local businesses. Fresh fruits, nuts and veggies were available as well.

  She pulled up and got out, having long since become accustomed to the smell of cows and cow shit. The presence of a world class university didn’t mean Davis wasn’t still a small town at heart. She saw Beatriz Bettencourt, Gabriel’s mother, behind the counter and waved as she came through the door. The woman was in her late fifties and still looked amazing.

  “Morning, Mrs. Bettencourt! I’m looking for Gabriel, is he around?”

  Beatriz smiled as she gave Charity the once over. Sly but knowing, that face. Lucky for Charity, Mrs. Bettencourt liked her and if she thought a romance between Charity and Gabriel was a good thing, she’d be a solid ally. Hmpf, he thought he was so smart. Not so much there, boyo. Yet another weapon in her arsenal. Gabriel Bettencourt was going down.

  “He seemed agitated this morning so he went for a ride. Would that mood have anything to do with you?”

  Charity rolled her eyes. “He’s very stubborn.”

  Beatriz laughed. “He is. So are you. That’s good. He’d run right over any woman who wasn’t as strong as he was. I know it’s been a while, but I remember you riding horses in all the festa parades. Go on, you know where the stable is.”

  Charity smiled and gave the other woman a kiss on both cheeks. “Obrigado.” She thanked Beatriz and grabbed her coat from the car before heading to the stable.

  Beatriz must have called ahead because one of the hands had a horse ready to go when she arrived and she swung up and into the saddle, getting herself familiar with the horse and her lead before they set out.

  Charity hadn’t ridden in two years but she’d done enough as a child and into her young adulthood that it wasn’t hard to find her seat again.

  “Last I saw Gabriel, he was out east,” the hand said as he pointed northeast toward a copse of trees off in the far distance.

  “Thanks!” she called and rode in that direction.

  It was a good ride, enough time to gather her thoughts, work on her mad and at least the cold air helped with her headache.

  The Bettencourts’ land was larger than it appeared. The dairy sat on the southern acres but out to the north it was farmland they leased and past that, wilder land that hugged the riverbed.

  The air was clean, fresh, the wind blowing opposite the dairy so all she smelled was earth and water and green from the trees. Sometimes being in town so much she tended to forget this part of Davis was so wonderful even though she saw it as she drove past. This was the part of her life she missed and coincidentally, it was the part of Davis Gabe existed in most often. Rugged, earthy, a place where men and women worked long hard hours to bring the rest of the world the things they needed. Charity had always found farming noble but not exotic like most of her classmates and friends back in LA did. Men like Gabe were different from the boys she dated in college, from the ones she dated here in Davis even.

  There was a wildness in him, at the same time a sturdy reliability, a sort of steadfastness she found incredibly alluring. Gabriel Bettencourt was the kind of man who did things. He made things happen. A silly thought flitted through her head about camping with him. He’d be one of those guys who’d frown on bringing a truck full of gear. He’d make fires and cook fish he caught that day over them. He’d probably look really good naked in the starlight too.

  But for the moment, she had bigger fish of the tall, dark and very handsome persuasion to fry. One who looked remarkably good with his denim jacket lined in wool, faded jeans and scuffed boots. The modern touch of a wool watch cap only made him more sexy.

  It couldn’t be. Gabe heard her voice, calling his name. He needed to have sex or something. Aural hallucinations were clearly a symptom of his useless obsession with Charity.

  “Gabriel David Bettencourt, wait up!”

  He reined his horse around and faced what was a lot more like an angry goddess than a hallucination. She rode toward him, her hair flying away from her gorgeous face, her legs encased in dark denim. She looked natural there seated on the mare but also exotic with her perfectly manicured nails.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked, hoping he didn’t sound as lovesick as he felt.

  “Nice to see you, too,” she snapped, those green eyes flashing. “I’m here because you ran out on me last night.”

  “I’m surprised you remember any of it. I didn’t run out on you. I dumped your drunk ass in bed and went home like a gentleman.”

  “Gentleman! Bah!”

  He nearly laughed but wisely decided she might try to hurt him if he did.

  “Are you insinuating I wasn�
��t a gentleman?”

  “First of all, did I ask you to be a gentleman? If I recall, I asked you to have sex with me. I don’t want you to be a gentleman. Why are you so obsessed with that on my account anyway? When have I asked you to be anything but genuine?”

  “So I’m not genuinely gentlemanly?”

  “Gabe! I am going to kick you in the wedding tackle if you don’t stop being so obtuse. What is the issue? Seriously. This thing has been between us for years. I know I’m not imagining it. I know you kissed me back last night and I sure as hell know it was different than it’s been before. It was hot. You grabbed my hair, you gave me all I wanted and more. How can you be like that one minute and act like I’m stinkier than a cow patty the next? You’re giving me a complex. Am I horrible? Was that your pity kiss?”

  “What on earth would make you think you were horrible? Charity, you’re beautiful. You know that. You’re constantly being chased around by men all over Davis.” He hated the look on her face.

  “Are you my friend?”

  He jerked back. “Of course I am. We’ve been friends since third grade.”

  “Then why are you dodging my questions? Come on. Give me a break. I’ve been chasing you and chasing you and it’s humiliating now. Put me out of my misery if that’s the case. If you don’t find me attractive just say so. Then I can lick my wounds and in a few months we can be friends again, sans the flirting. Because, Gabe, I am crushing on you in a major way. I have been for a very long time. Please. Just tell me.”

  She’d been so bold to come out here and tell him all this stuff, he had to be honest. And the knowledge she’d been yearning for him as much as he had her drove him to clamp down on the smile he wanted to give her.

  “Yes, okay? I am attracted to you. A man would have to be blind not to be attracted to you. But we’re friends and I don’t want to ruin that.”

  The soft look on her face slid away into annoyance. “Friends! You just want to be friends? Why did you kiss me back last night then? You want to have sex with me, just admit it, you big wimp. I came out here, I’m being totally honest and you’re dancing around like a lawyer instead of a dairy farmer. Let Belle do the lawyering, bucko, she’s good at it. Give. Me. A. Straight. Answer.”