Ana’s POV

    The wedding was wonderful. The best part? When Charlie stepped out to watch me walk down the aisle. He didn’t try to hide the fact that he loved me. He wanted everyone to know that this wasn’t me trying to save face. Most of them hade to witness my humiliation. Charlie wanted them to know that he wanted me, that I mattered to him.

    I had changed the groom out three weeks ago, and rightly so. I expected to be the talk of the town, and not in a good way. However, Seth assured me that the Cook family and Sasha were the ones who looked bad. Charlie had gone out there to assure them that they would never be able to get past this. Seth even had a picture of Joyce begging him.

    Normally, I would never find humor in someone on their knees. But Joyce has made me do it to her on several asions. The first time was because she said I didn’t deserve to join the Cook family. It was my punishment for asking Roger to marry me. She told me that I had humiliated their family by doing so. Seth told me that it was only after he and Erika told them I was a Caldwell that Joyce understood just how badly she had messed up. She’s always hated me, from the moment Roger proposed. I knew it was because he went crying to her about it. That is what he always did. Whined to her when he didn’t get his way. I see them for the opportunists that they are now. I rxed in my seat, and Charlie rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb again.

    His doing that earlier had really helped at the wedding. I knew that only half the people there actually supported me. The rest were there to see a show. It was funny, they got one, but not the one they were expecting. Charlie made sure that they knew that we loved and cared for each other. I enjoyed taking our photos together, and with the small bridal party, before we took pictures with our family. The photographer would continue taking candid shots throughout the reception.

    Once we leveled off, it got a little chillier on the ne. Charlie asked the steward to bring a throw to me. He then had me follow him further back in the ne to one of the small sofas. The look he gave the steward told him to get lost. Even I knew what he meant. The steward nodded and walked away, pulling the partition to give us privacy.

    Charlie advised him that we were good for the time being. He coulde back in thirty minutes, telling him that he would like some alone time with me. I had flushed, but I agreed. I wanted some alone time with him, too. I thought we were going to snuggle together under the nket and kiss, but I was oh so wrong.

    Charlie sat down on the couch and ced the fluffy nket next to him. He pulled me to him, guiding me down to where I was straddling his legs. He spread his legs further apart, forcing my legs to spread even wider before giving me a wicked smile. I couldn’t help the shiver of anticipation that ran through me. He wrapped the nket around my waist, covering us both. He then pulled my head down to kiss me. He started pulling all the hairpins out of my hair as he kissed me.

    Once he had removed all the pins from my hair, he deepened his kisses. He moaned into my mouth as he gently tugged on my hair. He kissed me like he was a starving man, and I was his next meal. I could feel just how much he wanted me, and that was a heady boost to my confidence. I’d never had someone want me, truly desire me. There was always a reason for it before. Help with the hard courses in college. Befriending me in an attempt to get near Gwen or Emily in college.

    I was enjoying every second of it. Holden had never touched me, not once, until recently, when he finally decided that he wanted me. Roger never touched me. He had only kissed me a total of three times. But those kisses had never been like this. Charlie’s kisses made me feel things. I felt that familiar ache. I wanted more than just a kiss. I wanted more of him, more from him, but I didn’t know how to ask.

    I wasn’t going to have s*x here on the ne. I knew the steward, and I would never be able to look him in the face again if things went too far. He was only 20 feet away, and that small partition was not going to hide anything from him. He probably expected it since we were starting our honeymoon. But I just couldn’t put on that kind of a show.

    I doubted that whatever Charlie wanted to do would be enough to alleviate this ache. I wanted something from him, but I didn’t even know what to ask to get him to do it. So when he broke off our kiss again, for us to catch our breath, I pleaded, “Please, Charlie.”

    Charlie’s half-lidded eyes looked from my lips to my eyes, searching for something before saying, “Of course, my love.”

    He put the nket back into ce as it had shifted during our make-out session. I had worn some flowing linen pants as I wanted to look good as we left. I had a button-down ivory shirt on, which Charlie started to unbutton. I wanted to stop him, but I also wanted to see what he would do once he saw what I was

    wearing underneath. I was hoping that once we got to the hotel, things would progress quickly, and I didn’t want to changeter.

    I had a cream and blush bra and panty set on. I also wore the same garter, stockings, and heels that I wore on our wedding day. I heard his hum of approval once he untucked my shirt. I have never been this exposed before, except for the few times I was shamed in the girls’ locker room. There was nothing s**** about that at all. Just a horrible, vited feeling. I stiffened up just thinking about it, and Charlier stopped and cupped my chin to get me to look at him.

    “You are a vision, but you will always be for my eyes alone, love. Nothing bad is going to happen to you again, Ana, not if I have anything to say about it,” he quietly told me.

    I nodded; his words helped. Once you’ve gone through something like that. It stays with you. It rears its ugly head to chip away at your confidence. I decided that I needed to go to trauma therapy. My current therapist had suggested it for me, and I believe that he was correct. I needed to address the issues I had pushed back and buried. It was time to vanquish all my dragons. I had Charlie with me, and he would be there to support me as I went through this.

    I felt his hands on my ribs, right under my breasts, rubbing his thumb as he waited for me to get out of my own head. His hands were slightly rough. A tell-tale sign that he worked for a living. His slight callouses caught my attention as I wondered how they would feel on my breasts. I couldn’t wait to find out. He smiled when he saw that he had my full attention back on him.

    “We can’t do as much as I want to on this ne, but I still want a taste of you before wend. I will take my time with you once we get to our hotel, but I want to see your face as youe undone, love,” he told me.

    He started rubbing my n*****s through my bra, and I couldn’t hold back my moan. They were hard, aching for him to remove my bra and give them the attention they wanted. But he moved slowly, with intention, as he slid his hands back down the sides of my body, and slid the sp on my pants open. I didn’t know what he was about to do, but I wanted him to touch me. Wherever he wanted, and however he wanted, and help the ache go away.

    His hand slid in, and I was suddenly d I hadn’t worn jeans. I wanted his hand to have the freedom to move freely, and I wiggled as his hand covered my mound. I couldn’t stop myself from rubbing against his hand, wanting some friction. I have used my clit to get my release before, but it was always me doing it. I know what and when I’m doing it. I wanted his hand on my most intimate parts. I rolled my hips again, pressing down on his hand. Asking him, without saying a word, for what I needed.

    His hand slipped my panties to the side, and he went right for my clit. Stroking my entrance with two fingers and pressing on my clit with his thumb. I won’t stop him. I wanted this. My legs were spread and ready for whatever pleasure he wanted to give me, and I wanted it all. I felt the familiar pressure building up inside of me as Charlie watched my face. I bit my lip to keep from crying out, but he used his other hand to pull my lip free. “I want to hear you, love,” he told me.

    I wanted more than what I was getting, but realistically, I knew I shouldn’t. I wished Dad’s ne had a bed in it, but he would never do that. It was part of the reason that the whole crew was male. My father loved my motherpletely. He never wanted to give her a moment’s doubt. Charlie slid his two fingers into me again and groaned. “Baby, you’re so tight.” his voice, almost reverent, was low, hoarse. That ramped me up even more. It was like he was barely holding on. He wanted me.

    He spread my wetness up to my clit, and used the same two fingers to rub, tug, and stroke me to the edge. I wanted this release so badly, and he didn’t tease me. He pulled my face down to his and kissed me passionately. His fingers were tight in my hair as if he was about to lose control of himself. He caught my cry of pleasure in his mouth as I went over the edge. My legs shook, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and kissed him back with the same amount of passion.

    Suddenly, I no longer cared that the Steward could hear us. I wanted my husband badly. After our kiss was broken, he slid the two fingers he used on me into his mouth and groaned. “I can’t wait to taste you properly, Ana.”

    My shudder at his words had me wanting him to do just that. I felt his c**k hard against me, and I couldn’t stop myself from wiggling against him. I still wanted more. He leaned forward and said, “I want you so much, Ana, but I want your first time to be special. A precious memory for you to look back on after we return home. So, as much as I would love to take you right now on this couch, I just can’t do it. You’re the love of my life. I’m going to take things slow. I want to cherish your body until you know in your heart that you’repletely and totally mine.”