He let her cling to him, let her take what she needed, his own heart aching to feel her against him. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, he wouldn't do for Charlotte; and it appeared, quite suddenly, that hurting her in the long run for a short term fix wasn't even something he could stop himself from doing as he deepened the kiss, his hands cupping her face.

"Char," he breathed between kisses, repeating her name as a mantra, barely audible before his kisses were blazing trails down her neck, along the edge of the neckline of her dress. With deft fingers he had the pearls unhooked and laid to the side before he was scooping her up, standing and moving to the couch in her room - the bed far too an intimate place at the moment for him.

Holding her, cradling her, he met her lips for another assualt, his fingers trailing lightly over the bare skin of her arm as he breathed in her scent. He wanted to feel more of her, more of her skin. More of everything.

He didn't dare to let himself give in.