40. Carter

Chapter 40

Carter

W ith her cheek resting against my bare chest, Lara sleeps soundly, the slow steadiness of her breathing filling my bedroom.

I’m absentmindedly stroking her hair with one hand whilst the other rubs small circles on her exposed shoulder blade. In these quiet moments, Lara curled up in my arms, I find myself wondering how anyone else could ever possibly compare to her.

Sleep evades me. I’d love nothing more than to be exactly how Lara is right now, yet I can’t seem to shut my mind off. It’s hard to be bothered by it though, when it’s Lara’s unexpected takeover earlier playing on repeat. Once she let her guard down, the confidence and dominance oozed out of her.?

It was easily one of the hottest things I’ve witnessed.?

“So you’re telling me she has no real set date to leave?”

“Yes.”

Yesterday’s conversation with my sister floats through my mind. Is it crazy to consider the possibility that this really could be more??

I’m in the kitchen when I hear Lara padding down the hall. When she rounds the corner, I’m awestruck by how beautiful she is. This isn’t new information to me; I’ve known it since the moment I first laid eyes on her, but it’s a different kind of beautiful at four in the morning.?

It’s in the way her hair is unruly, cascading around her like a waterfall. It’s the puffiness of her sleep-deprived eyes, and the way she rubs them as she walks. And it’s especially prevalent in the way she dons the shirt I discarded last night, the material leaving little to the imagination with every button undone. My god, my shirt has never looked better. ?

“Hey, you.”?

Lara covers her mouth as a yawn escapes. “I woke up and you weren’t there.”

The expression on her face is one of vulnerability, but then her brows furrow as though she isn’t impressed she said that out loud. Her fingers begin fiddling with the rings on her middle finger, a telltale sign of her nerves. But why? Is she worried I’ll leave? It’s my house, after all, so there’s little chance of that.?

Don’t be an idiot, Cart.

Unbidden, the sound of my brother’s voice enters my thoughts. Of course, he’s right. Over the almost six months I’ve known her, I’ve discovered Lara has an almost innate desire to keep people at arm’s length. I’m yet to find out why, but I’m hopeful she’ll open up one day. But this is at complete odds with what she’s said—she almost sounded worried that I left her. Some parts of her are still a mystery.

“Don’t worry, love, I’m not going anywhere.”

She looks up at me then, her features softening. Her lips part slightly, pulling into a small smile as my words sink in. I can’t be sure whether she caught the double meaning or not, but the way she looks at me gives me hope.

“Tea?” I ask, wanting to break the tension.

“Please.”

As I make up our cups, I picture a lifetime like this. Evenings filled with candlelit dinners, quiet moments, her head on my chest as she sleeps soundly, and all the laughter, love, and orgasms my heart desires.

Though unexpected, the thought doesn’t scare me. If anything, I welcome it. I’m not quick enough to quell the hope that surfaces at the thought of spending every evening, and the early hours that follow, the way I’ve spent this one.