Chapter 81- Buttons
*A few chapters ago, I mentioned in my "Author Notes" that as I was finishing up my Season 10 finale, I realized I had far too many "moments" playing out in my head between where I had pictured ending my season finale with Nathan and Charlotte's engagement and my corresponding Christmas special.
This chapter was supposed to be the last "bonus" chapter, but well… a couple of those "moments" I had floating around in my head ran a bit away from me when it came time to put them onto my computer screen. That being said… this won't be the last bonus chapter. I hope you don't mind.
We do get a bit steamier in this one… The chapter title should have given you a hint to that (Don't worry… we won't go much past sweet kisses here as these two haven't tied the knot yet, just thought I'd give a small disclaimer if this isn't your thing.)
Now let's dig in- To quote Pharmama- "Cue the pussycat dolls" … Haha!
"Have you ever done this before?" Nathan asked, a slight quiver in his voice.
Charlotte tried to stifle a giggle. "You sound a little nervous, Nate."
"Should I be?"
"Do you want me to do this or not?" Charlotte relished in their playful banter. "If you remember, this was your idea to begin with."
"I know. I know. It's just… scratchy."
"If I'm being honest, I've grown kind of fond of this mountain man look."
"Have you?" Nathan's eyebrow raised, revealing his intentions a split second before wrapping his good arm around Charlotte's waist, pulling her deftly to him so she now sat across his lap and her body leaned deliciously against his.
"Maybe I should keep it then," Nathan's fingers twirled around a piece of Charlotte's hair that had fallen out of place, before tucking it behind her ear out of the way. His fingers lingered at the nape of Charlotte's neck for a moment, then gently caressed along her pulse point to the collar of her delicate green blouse. Nathan heard Charlotte's breath catch and saw her muscles tighten under his touch, his eyes lifted to hers, searching for the lingering effects from her past. The ghosts.
Nathan was surprised to discover it wasn't pain that Charlotte was experiencing, but rather the same desire and pleasure that coursed through his own body. He felt emboldened by her reaction to him. Following instincts, he shifted slightly forward placing a gentle kiss on the sensitive skin just below Charlotte's ear, before trailing his lips further down, following the path his fingers had ignited only moments earlier.
He heard a soft moan escape Charlotte and felt her fingers curl tightly into the edge of his unbuttoned Henley shirt. Clinging to him the only way she knew how to in the moment. Confirming to herself, it would only ever be Nathan who touched her in this way.
Nathan paused his sweet assault along the curve of Charlotte's neck, but refused to pull away, instead moving to carefully rest his cheek against hers. The gesture, giving them both a minute to collect their thoughts and bring their breathing back to a more normal level. He felt Charlotte's chest rise against his own as she took in a deep and shaky breath.
"Yeah," Charlotte's voice was heavy.
"Yeah?" Nathan grinned. "Yeah, what?"
"Yeah. I've grown fond of this mountain man look," Charlotte shifted slightly to look at Nathan. Her eyes were glossy. "It's quite enjoyable."
Nathan tilted his head back and laughed. "I'm pretty sure we can make this enjoyable with or without the beginnings of a beard."
"If you say so," Charlotte wiggled her eyebrows.
"Plus, on top of being on the itchy side, Bill told me, Chief Superintendent Collins is to be arriving in town tomorrow. I don't think this beard will pass his inspection."
"He should understand that you have been a little distracted with other things, to concern yourself with shaving."
"Are you calling yourself a distraction, Ms. Thompson?" Nathan quipped.
"I'm calling you and your kisses a distraction, Mr. Grant," Charlotte winked.
Charlotte had to leave the room for a few minutes. One reason was to collect her wits that seemed scattered across Alberta after Nathan's touch ignited an explosion of desire from within her. The second reason was to collect the supplies needed. She picked up a basin, a kettle of warm water, some shaving foam from Carson, a razor, and a few towels.
When Charlotte returned to Nathan's room, supplies in hand, she was stopped in her tracks. There was Nathan, his towering, muscular frame filling the doorway. It had been over two weeks since she last saw him standing on his own without the assistance of others. He fixed her with a cool blue stare, every inch of him more imposing- more unsettlingly masculine- than she remembered.
"I was just coming to see if you could help me with the buttons on this shirt," Nathan's voice was intimate as his head tilted lower towards her.
It was then Charlotte noticed Nathan had switched his shirt while she had been away. Removing the cream-colored linen Henley that had seemingly become the uniform of choice for his stay at the hospital, to the deep blue button-down that Charlotte loved.
"I was able to change, but it seems as though fastening these buttons requires a little more assistance," Nathan's body loomed over hers. His bare chest and abs visible underneath the opening of the shirt. Charlotte of course had seen it before, over the past weeks while tending to his injuries, but this was different. The tide had shifted. While Nathan obviously still needed care and assistance with certain things, that kiss earlier had informed Charlotte he was anything but incapable. Her pulse quickened and mouth went dry at the realization.
Sensing a change, Nathan spoke up, "I can try again to get them myself; it was just a bit cumbersome, and I thought…"
"No." Charlotte cut him off. "I'll do it. Just let me sit these things down on the dresser and why don't we move closer to the window here, so I have some light to see."
Nathan followed her across the room, watching Charlotte's scuttled movements as she set the shaving supplies down and then turned back to him. Like a magnetic force pulling them together, Charlotte came forward, reaching to touch the bottom button of Nathan's shirt, her unsteady hands making the task difficult to accomplish. Especially under the careful, intense gaze Charlotte could feel Nathan giving her.
After successfully fastening the first button, Charlotte's eyes trailed up Nathan's body to his face and she inhaled sharply seeing the adoring look he was giving her at that moment. He didn't move. He didn't break eye contact. He simply watched her. His loving expression giving her confidence to continue her task, moving along the shirt's edge until she finished buttoning.
Well, mostly buttoning. Charlotte had chosen to leave the top three fastens undone. One reason being Nathan always seemed more relaxed when his collar wasn't constraining. The second was slightly more selfish, as Charlotte enjoyed seeing a hint of his strong chest beneath the opening of his lapels.
As Nathan tucked the shirt into the waistband of his trousers, Charlotte busied herself shuffling the chair closer to the dresser, preparing for his shave. Carson had removed Nathan's stitches earlier in the day at the same time Faith had removed hers. Dr. Carter continuously complimented Minnie's fine work, commenting that Charlotte would have only the smallest of lingering scars from her injury she had on her upper thigh. When Charlotte returned to Nathan's side, her hands instinctively reached forward, skimming along his torso and shoulders to pull his suspenders into place.
"There," she stated, smoothing her hands along Nathan's sides. "Have I told you before how much I like this shirt on you? It brings out the color of your eyes."
Charlotte smiled up at him. And he smiled back at her, holding her gaze. Her heart performed a queer little somersault. How his face changed when he smiled! There was a sparkle in his eyes and a flash of strong white teeth. A brilliance to make her catch her breath.
With little warning, Nathan bent forward, wrapping his good arm around Charlotte's back he pulled her gently into his embrace, his lips easily finding hers. This kiss was different from the others they had shared over the past weeks.
He had taken the incentive and lead.
Charlotte's eyes fell shut and her breath stuttered. For a moment, she stood still as a statue. But it was impossible to remain so. Not with her hand sliding up his shoulders to curve tightly around his neck. Not with his arms moving to encircle her waist, drawing her flush against his chest. Her lips softened beneath his, half-parting under the gentle, searching pressure of his mouth. She felt the warmth of his breath. The clutch of his fingers at her waist.
And they kissed each other. There was no other way to describe it. They kissed each other. Like equals. Like partners. Both active participants in what had to be the most intimate experience of their entire lives.
When Nathan opened his eyes, desire had burned away every last trace of uncertainty they had. His irises were slim threads of blue rimming dilated pupils, and when Charlotte tentatively rested her hand on his chest again, she felt his heart racing. Those obvious signs of passion reignited her own.
Breathlessly, she remarked. "This feels right. Doesn't it?"
He didn't respond but instead wrapped his good hand around Charlotte's upper arm and kissed her again with distracting intensity, before leaning back slightly.
"Did that answer your question, teacher?" Nathan quipped, playing on the words Charlotte had used after their first, well really their second, kiss. When their roles had been reversed.
"Yeah, I think it did," Charlotte chuckled. "Not that I don't want to do more of... that, but I think we should finish getting you ready to go home today. Sit down in this chair here and I will do my best to not nick you with the razor. Although if I do, I'm going to blame it on your kisses Nathan Grant because they cause my hands to become quite unsteady."
Nathan grinned as he reached to take each of Charlotte's hands and place a gentle kiss across the back of her knuckles. "That's a risk I'm more than willing to take."
Nathan winked before taking his assigned seat in the chair by the window and Charlotte moved to the dresser to prepare her supplies. Pouring the warm water into the basin she dampened one of the towels. Wringing out the excess she moved over to Nathan, tilting back his head she draped the hot towel over his cheeks and chin.
"What's this for?" Nathan murmured from underneath the material.
"Honestly… I don't know," Charlotte shrugged. "I've just read that they do it in the upper-class barber shops in the city. I thought it may feel… nice?"
She couldn't see Nathan's mouth, but his eyes creased with mirth. Charlotte wanted to keep that look upon his face. One of happiness and pure contentment.
As the cloth did its job along Nathan's jawline, Charlotte rolled up her sleeves. Cuffing them at her elbows, before she returned to Nathan's side removing the towel and replacing its warmth with a quick peck on his lips, earning a beaming smile from Nathan. She began to lather the shaving foam over his chin, all the way up to his ears. Charlotte picked up the blade and hesitated a moment over his jaw.
"Are you sure you trust me enough to do this?" She questioned.
Cobalt-blue eyes snagged her, holding Charlotte enthrall with their power. The passion in those depths made her knees week.
"Charlotte," Nathan's voice was heavy. "I trust you."
He closed his eyes and settled back. Charlotte began to scrape gently at his skin with the blade, the silence broken only by the splash as she rinsed the razor in the basinful of water. Charlotte worked in silence, studying Nathan's face as she went, the lines that ran to the corners of his mouth and eyes, lines that seemed prematurely deep for his age. She smoothed the hair from the side of his face as she continued her task. His face began to emerge from under the shaving foam, revealing the mauve shadows that told of nights and nights of lost sleep and worry, the furrow between his brows that spoke of the silent pain he had experienced over his lifetime. A warm sweetness rose from his skin, the scent of the shaving cream combined with the smell of Nathan himself, spicy and clean.
Charlotte worked slowly and carefully, encouraged by the fact that Nathan seemed at peace. The thought flashed by that this most likely was the only time anyone had ever touched Nathan in this way. With the realization, Charlotte let her fingers rest lightly upon his skin, trying as much as possible to make her movements purposeful and full of deeper meaning.
It was a curiously intimate thing, this shaving of Nathan. A sensual experience Charlotte had never expected. It was impossible to be this close to someone, to feel their skin tauten under your fingertips, to breathe in the air that they breathed out, to have their face only inches from yours, without feeling a little unbalanced.
Nathan seemed to read the subtle changes in Charlotte's pressure on his skin or perhaps he was just more attuned to her emotions. But he opened his eyes, searching her face and trying to read her expression.
There was a short pause, and then he said, straight-faced. "Did you shave off my eyebrows?"
"Just the one," she joked, turning to rinse the blade, hoping that the flush would drain from her cheeks by the time she returned to face Nathan.
When her attention came back to him, she gently held Nathan's chin, turning him ever so slightly to analyze her work; making sure she hadn't nicked him or that there wasn't a spot she had missed. Accepting her work as complete, she wiped away a few stray dabs of foam. Cleaning Nathan's face of the last remnants of his shave.
Charlotte slowly ran her fingers along Nathan's now smooth jawline, committing to further memory all the features she had just intimately discovered across his face.
"How does it feel now? Still scratchy?" She mocked gently before removing her gaze from his to begin cleaning up the rest of their mess.
"Feels a little cold," Nathan observed, running his own fingers along his cheek.
"I can imagine," Charlotte chuckled. "It seemed as though you were starting to put on your winter fuzz like the horses have."
"Are you disappointed we got rid of the mountain man look?"
Charlotte turned her attention back to Nathan. Analyzing his face. Other than these past couple of weeks, clean-shaven Nathan was the only one she had known. The stubble did give him a handsome, rugged appearance, but she liked this too. Either way, Charlotte knew she was one blessed woman to be spending the rest of her life loving Nathan Grant. Whether that be smooth-faced or stubbled. She would take him any way she could.
Charlotte looked at Nathan a moment longer before her head bent to his and she kissed him. Nathan brought his hand forward, threading his fingers into her loose hair. She kissed him slowly, deeply, claiming his mouth with a thoroughness that left them both breathless. And he kissed her in return, sweetly, ever so sweetly, until she pulled back to rest her forehead against his.
"Hmmm," Charlotte hummed. "I know I said the scruff was enjoyable earlier, but you were right, Mr. Grant. Both looks are quite… wonderful. All I know is this; I will enjoy loving and kissing you every day of my life, no matter what sort of facial hair you decide to keep."
Nathan's eyebrow raised. "Good to know because I have been entertaining the idea of growing a mustache for some time. I think it would be perfect for the wedding."
It took Charlotte only a moment to pick up on Nathan's jest and she playfully shoved against his good shoulder and rolled her eyes slightly at his mocking. They both erupted into a fit of giggles. Filling the small room with boisterous laughter. The kind that can only be made by two people so incredibly happy and comfortable with one another. Finding and creating sweet joy in a life together.