24. Sam

The second Carter crosses the threshold, I yank him into me. Our lips crash together in a heated kiss that sends my body into overdrive.

“We should probably move out of the doorway.” Carter nibbles on my bottom lip.

“Mm-hmm. Whatever,” I mumble as my tongue chases after his.

Carter pulls away with a laugh. He turns to close the door, flipping the deadbolt with a snap. Then he wraps his arms around my waist in a hug that is decidedly less passionate than the kiss we just shared. I squeeze him tighter, automatically sinking into the embrace.

He presses his nose into my neck, and an alarm sounds in my head. “Is everything okay?”

“I had a shitty day at work, and I just needed to see you.”

“I’m glad you came over, then. You’re in luck, too. Alice dropped off a batch of her peanut butter blossoms, and I haven’t eaten them all yet. She brought them over to gush about the news that I’d found my forever man. Thankfully, she let me get away with telling her how happy you make me without too many other details.”

Carter chuckles, and I feel like I won the grand prize in life. I turn us, keeping my arm around his shoulder in an awkward embrace. We stumble our way into the kitchen, both of us giggling by the time we make it there.

“We made that way harder than it should’ve been.” Carter grins. I finally let go to grab the cookies and a couple of glasses of milk. I grab out some crackers and cheese to add to our snack tray. While delicious, the cookies wouldn’t likely get us very far.

“Yeah, but I got to keep my hands on you, and it ended with you looking at me like that.” I point at him. When he flushes pink, I send him a wink. “Do you want to talk about your day, or is a distraction in order?” I love being able to offer him the same question he asked me yesterday.

“Distraction first, then we can talk about it. I need a little time to decompress first.”

“You got it.” I hand him our drinks while I take the plate of snacks I just whipped up. We snuggle into the couch and I turn on Supernatural. Turning Carter into a fan of the show will be one of my greatest accomplishments. He’s obsessed, and I find it telling that he has a crush on Jensen Ackles while I find Misha Collins more my speed. He’s also taken to yelling, “Sammy!” at me on occasion. He finds it hilarious.

Two episodes and the whole container of cookies later, we’re horizontal on the couch with Carter’s back to my chest.

“I found some discrepancies at work today, and my boss told me to forget about it,” Carter says out of the blue. I snag the remote for the TV to pause the show.

“How big of an impact do these discrepancies have on the research?” I ask.

“That’s the thing, I don’t know. The potential for the data to be wrong is huge. I wanted to take the time to dig into it, but my boss told me to forget about it. I get where he’s coming from. We’ve got other things to worry about, but the implications of this error could be huge.”

“Would you get in trouble if you talked to the leads of any of the teams who use the program?”

“No. I don’t think so, anyway.” He’s quiet for a second as he thinks this through. “I guess I could let them know I found something strange, and then if they don’t do something to ensure their data is accurate, it’s sort of on them.”

“Exactly. All you can do is ensure they know about the mess up. You can’t force them to change anything about the data.”

Carter turns to face me. “True. I just hate knowing there are potential inaccuracies in their research. This shit could mean life or death for people. If those scores aren’t accurate, it could be saying that a medication is working when it isn’t.”

“I’m sorry your boss blew off your concerns. That’s not the best way to have handled the situation. Especially given the potential consequences.”

Carter shrugs as if it’s not a big deal, but I know this means something to him.

“Your concern is admirable, Carter. Not everyone would give a shit about some random anomaly. Even if the result is catastrophic.”

“I’m too paranoid and anal-retentive for my own good. I shouldn’t care this much. Not even my boss seems phased by this.”

I frown at him. “Has someone told you that?” His words didn’t feel like something he’d say about himself. While he’s not always the most confident person, I’ve never heard him say something that negative about himself.

“My ex used to tell me that sometimes. There would be days when he’d stay over a few nights in a row, and his stuff tended to explode everywhere. It was frustrating because the clutter would start to make me anxious. He’d always tell me I was being too obsessive about things that didn’t matter.”

I raise my eyebrows. “What a fucking asshole.”

Carter barks out a laugh. “Yeah, he was.”

“So, it’s settled. Caring about things that matter to you doesn’t make you paranoid, obsessive, or any other negative adjective you can come up with. And I swear to you right now, I will never make you feel bad for doing the things that help ease your mind.”

Carter’s shy smile is the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever seen, and I can’t help but lean in to kiss him.

It shouldn’t be a surprise when our kiss turns dirty. Being pressed up this close to Carter will always set my body buzzing.

Our hands are everywhere and nowhere near where I want them to be. There’s not enough room on the couch to do much of anything. I finally get frustrated after my reach is limited to Carter’s covered ass and back.

I pull away. “Come upstairs with me.”

He nods, scrambling off the couch too fast. He ends up sprawled out on the floor, and I chuckle. His lopsided grin is so much better than the sad Eeyore look he had when he first arrived.

I hold my hand out to help him off the floor, and we make our way upstairs. With the interruption, our hurry to get each other naked has fizzled out some. I push him into my bathroom and flip on the tap to the shower. We strip each other down while the water warms up. I’m never going to get tired of touching Carter. His skin is always soft under my calloused palms.

I stick my nose into his neck to breathe in his scent. He’ll smell like me after our shower, so I try to get my fill beforehand. “I could eat you. You smell so good.”

“I’m never going to say no to that,” Carter rumbles.

I breathe out a laugh. “Good to know.”

We get into the shower, our wet bodies sliding against each other. I can’t stop touching him or kissing him or wanting him. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted.

I drop to my knees and pull his cock into my mouth without warning.

Carter gasps. “Sam.”

Desperation to push him over the edge has me using every trick I know. His hips begin to pulse. I reach up to palm his ass. The fleshy globes clench with every thrust.

My own desperation gets the best of me, and I pull back to stand. Carter whimpers in protest.

“Turn around.” The words are a growl, and Carter shivers. We’ll be exploring that kink when I can think straight again.

I reach out to grab the lube from the shelf in my bathroom and slick up my fingers. Carter is already bent over, his arms braced against the wall of the shower.

“Fuck, you look hot like that,” I tell him. My fingers tease his entrance. I want to slam my cock inside him, but that wouldn’t be fun for either of us. I take my time prepping Carter to take me as hard as I want to go. The noises he makes have my cock leaking drops of pre-cum. I get a sick pleasure teasing Carter until he’s a whiny mess of need.

“Sam,” he whines. “I need you. Please.”

I press my slick head to his ass. “Is this what you want?”

“Yes!”

I thrust, sliding into him with only a few pulses of my hips. I’m so glad we went and got tested together to prove we were clean. Being able to fuck him without a condom is the best goddamn feeling. Not only physically, but emotionally, too.

“Every fucking time.” It takes everything I have not to come immediately. He’s squeezing me tighter than ever before. “I’m not gonna last long.”

Carter doesn’t respond. Instead, he grabs his cock and starts to jack himself off. Our wet skin slapping is a dirty soundtrack that threatens to send me over the edge.

I adjust my hips, angling them to hit the right spot.

“Oh, fuck!” Carter yells. His body convulses around me. Spurts of cum hit the shower wall, and his body clamps tighter around me. It sends me soaring through my orgasm. Pulses of electricity flow through my body, culminating in my balls until all that’s left are the aftershocks that rocket through my limbs.

I drop my head against Carter’s back. We’re both heaving to catch our breath.

“What the fuck was that?” he pants out.

I press a kiss to his spine. “I don’t have a clue.”

Carter straightens, my cock sliding out of his body, causing us both to shiver. I use my hold on his hips to turn him around. He drops his nose into my neck, and we stay embraced for a few minutes. I know the hot water is going to run out soon, but I’m not ready to lose the connection we’ve built.

“Sam…”

I run my fingers through Carter’s wet hair. “I know, baby.” I pull his head back with a gentle tug. “I’m so fucking in love with you it’s scary. And yet, I’ve never been more sure about anything in my entire life.”

Carter’s blue eyes turn watery. “I love you, too. More than I ever knew was possible to love someone. You’re my solid ground when the world is tilting too far, and I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”

I kiss him with everything I have and then some. I pour every ounce of love into this kiss. I want him to know without a shred of doubt that I feel the same way.

“You’re my everything, Carter Ellis. I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you.”

“The rest of your life, huh?” He smirks. “I’m not sure that’ll be long enough.”

“You’re right. No amount of time will ever be enough.”