29. Lara

Chapter 29

Lara

‘ F aster.’

‘Harder.’

‘That’s it Lara.’

The sound of Carter clearing his throat pulls me out of my dirty daydream. Although, is it still a daydream if it really happened??

“So I’ve been thinking . . .” he begins. Carter’s gaze slides to mine out the corner of his eye, assessing. I haven’t the slightest idea where this is going, but if his thoughts have been anything like mine, it’s nowhere good.?

“Don’t hurt yourself.”

Is it possible to regret something as deeply as you are satisfied by it? That’s how I feel about the three words I uttered. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about Carter that causes any level of eloquence I possess to completely disappear. It’s certainly no way to be around my boss, but in my defence, he’s had this effect on me since the day I first met him.

“I offer to stop for coffee, twice, you insist we don’t need to, twice, and this is how you repay me?”

He mumbles something, sounding oddly like, ‘god, if I could put you over my knee right now’, which sends an unexpected thrill through me. I’m tempted to ask him to repeat himself, but I decide it’s far wiser to pretend I heard nothing.

“Please, elaborate on what you’ve been thinking.”

Carter feigns a dramatic eye roll at my aversion to bite.

“Hear me out; last night should be repeated on a regular basis. Or, at the very least, a couple more times.”

On instinct, I scoff. The second the sound leaves my mouth, I regret it. It wasn’t intentional.

Dragging my gaze from the window, I turn to find Carter watching me. Thankfully we’re stopped at a set of lights on the outskirts of London’s city centre, so I can forgive the fact he’s not looking at the road right now.

“Are you propositioning me?”

“Yes.”

Now I really want to scoff, but I refrain.

“Really? While I’m stuck in a vehicle with you?”

“I can rectify that if you’d like?”

Before I’m able to form a response, we’re going through the now-green intersection. Carter moves to the furthest left lane, turns down a side street, and comes to a stop.?

“There.” Carter gestures to our surroundings, arms spread wide. “Now you can flee if that’s what you want to do.” He turns toward me in his seat, his hand brushing against mine over the console and causing my heart rate to spike. He leans in ever so slightly, eyes bright. “But I don’t think you want to flee, not really.”

“No?” I hate the breathiness of my voice.

“No, not at all. Want to know how I know?” He looks so devilishly handsome right now. There’s the ghost of a smirk on his lips, taunting me, and he’s got the two-day stubble and bed hair combination nailed. There’s no real reason as to why that combination is hot—in all honesty, it shouldn’t be—but the man cannot look bad.?

“No,” I say again, with little conviction.?

“I know because I watched your breath hitch in your throat just then when our hands touched, and I felt the heat radiating off you. I know because your voice is doing that thing it did last night when I had you repeat those four words to me. I know because?—”

“Okay, okay, I get it.” It’s still baffling how full of himself this man is. I can’t fault him on his observational skills though, unfortunately those are finely fucking tuned.

“Look, at the risk of sounding arrogant, it wasn’t exactly rocket science to figure out what you needed last night. But apparently that’s a lot more than the men in Australia can say. I’m merely offering a simple way for you to understand what you like and need in order to get the most out of sex.”

I contemplate this for a moment. As annoying as it is, Carter’s not wrong. He did have me figured out far quicker than anyone else I’ve been with, and certainly far quicker than my ex.

Even so, he must have some sort of ulterior motive. The man could, and does, get any woman he wants. Why me?

“What’s in it for you?”?

“I get to taste you again.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.” Carter leans further over the centre console and snakes one hand along my jaw. “You’re delectable, and it’s addictive. I’d go down on you right now if you’d let me.”

My thighs clench. Is it awful I’m considering his offer? God, of course it is.?

“Carter, you’re my boss. I can’t imagine HR being too thrilled if they found out.”

“I own the company, love. Who’s going to tell me no?”

“You really are a dick.”

“Is that a yes?”

“I really don’t think it’s a good idea.” I’m lying through my teeth. The more I think about it and replay last night’s orgasm, the more I want to say yes. “I live with your sister, remember? I can’t imagine she’d take this well.”

“You what?” He looks as though he’s been slapped, mouth agape, eyes wide.

“I live with Mia. And Harper. I figured you knew, but I’ll take your stunned mullet expression as a hard no.”

One brow raises dangerously high, the space between them furrowing deeply. “I haven’t the slightest idea what you just said, but no. I did not know that.”

I slap a hand over my mouth to stifle the sharp laugh, but I’m not fast enough to hide it from him. “Sorry, cultural differences and whatnot.”

This makes him smile, even if it resembles more of a smirk than anything. “I’d hardly claim cultural differences when it’s England and Australia. But in relation to your living arrangements, I’m not concerned. Why would she need to know?”

“She’s one of my best friends; there’s no way she wouldn’t find out. I don’t keep things from her or Harper.”

“She’ll probably find it a little strange to begin with, but I think you need to give Emmy a little more credit. She’s incredibly open-minded.”

It’s still so strange hearing Mia referred to as anything but Mia. I’m not doubting he knows his sister, probably better than I do, but he didn’t see how the conversation went the other night.

“It’s not that I don’t think she’s open-minded enough. I think it’s a super weird situation to put her in.”

Carter grabs my hand, cupping it between both of his. “Look, I completely understand where you’re coming from. I don’t doubt that eventually she’ll come around to the idea of us, but it’ll be weird for her for a little bit. But right now, this isn’t about her. It’s about you, and whether this is something you want.”

Man, that was a solid speech. I’m running out of reasons to say no.

“It’s not not something I want.” I attempt to pull my hand away, feeling shy, but Carter tightens his hold. “Plus, it would be purely physical. It’s just sex. It’s not as though we’re a couple.”

“I didn’t know you had such a dirty mouth. I’ll have to explore that more next time.”

I give him a stern look, brows knitting together. “Hey, I haven’t agreed to your insanity yet.”

“If you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for me. Don’t I deserve at least one do-over to state my case for not being a one-hit wonder?”

I stifle a laugh; he has a point.

“Strictly casual.”

Carter nods, a faint twitch in his cheek as he speaks. “Strictly casual.”

A rush of adrenaline courses through me at my decision. “Deal.”

Carter doesn’t speak. Instead, he flashes me that beautiful smile and slides the car into drive, taking off once more.

I’m still not convinced this is a great idea, but it’s about time I let loose a little and did something for me. A few good orgasms never hurt anybody. As long as my heart stays out of it, I’ve got nothing to lose.