Somewhere ... else. Was it possible for two words to be full of so much promise and hope?
But there was to be no thinking further on that subject because there were hands moving over him like an octopus. Mainly in the sense that it felt they were everywhere. All at once, there were ghosts of contact running over him and he couldn't tell what was more damaging to his brain. Her hands in general or her unabashed willingness to touching him so freely. And freely was such an understatement. Everything was an understatement right now. Or an overstatement. He couldn't tell the difference to that either. The thoughts in his head had literally stopped moving as he let Charlie pretty much man-handle him. Maybe he hadn't been self-conscious before about his body but right now, with those fingers, geez, gliding over every possible inch of bare skin, he was starting to wonder if maybe his body didn't have a couple of blemishes he didn't want her to find.
If anyone else would have been doing this, they'd be wearing medical gloves and he'd be two shakes from being tagged. That was it felt almost. Like she was examining him or something. Like he was an animal. He was an animal but she didn't know that. Right? There had been no hint of her knowledge of the darker things and yet, here she was, running her hands across his stomach now like she was looking for something. Looking for a hint of her own. He let out a shaky breath when one hand swept up his side, the breath ending in half a chuckle. "Um, careful. That kinda tickled."
She was still touching! Did he feel violated? Um. No. He was totally being a pervert right now but he was more than just a little enjoying his girlfriend exploring his body. More than happy to let her continue. What guy wouldn't? There were no rings or vows said but as far as he was concerned, his body was her's to do with as she pleased. If she felt like feeling him up like a teenager, who was he to say no? He trusted her, after all. It wasn't like he thought she'd suddenly pull out a knife and gut him like a fish. Because he trusted her. With everything.
Well, almost everything.
The crappy part about this was that this was the most intimate that was possible for them. This was the closest he could be, physically and emotionally. While he kept trying to push those thoughts away, they kept coming back, kept reminding him that this thing that he had wouldn't last. That eventually the truth would have to come out and then what? Then what would happen if she knew? What would she think? Things would change and experience had taught him that change was never for the better.
Charlie had been a change though. She had been for the better. Maybe it would be different. Maybe.
Yeah, maybe elephants would wear pants.
The contact of her skin continuing over his made him shiver again, an involuntary reaction. She was really into this whole exploring thing, wasn't she? It made him wonder about the chance he might have of returning the same curiosity. But he had to be careful. There was a thin line he was dancing on here and he didn't want to break it.
Just when he thought she had touched every part of him, she found a spot on the corner of his hip where bone was. He jumped at the touch at the same time that a loud growl interrupted. "Was that me?" He laughed when Charlie confessed. The tension that had risen at the first stroke of her hand began to fall once she started to speak again. "My stomach isn't complaining." Which was as close as Royce was gonna go to admitting that the so-called molestation had been welcome. He let her pull him into the kitchen, not that he was ready to let her go anyway.
Yeah, he could really get used to this new grabby-side of Charlie. Though, again, grabby was an understatement.