Chapter 8

chapter

eight

Summer

"Harmony, wait!"

I find my sister sitting in the empty sitting room with the bar, curled up on a fringed chaise, shoving dinner mints into her mouth from a bowl on an antique end table. If she was wearing a corset and petticoats, she'd be the perfect picture of a scorned woman in a Jane Austen novel.

"There you are," I say, breathless.

"There you are," she imitates through a mouthful of chocolate.

"You're so good at comebacks when you're mad," I say. I can't help it, because this is so farcical and dumb.

"Shut up, Summer."

I have to remind myself that she's hurt by what she thought she saw.

"Can I sit down?" I ask.

"Evidently, you don't care what I think about anything, so do what you want," she says.

Ouch.

I sit on the edge of the chaise and try to will away the drunken urge to assault her with a lecture.

"Listen. It was a mistake."

She snorts and unwraps another dinner mint.

"I kissed Carter earlier, and then things got awkward. When I came out of the bathroom, in the dark, I thought it was Carter. Cooper was obviously confused but I took that as Carter's shyness. So I kissed him again, I thought."

My sister remains silent.

"I wanted to crawl into a hole when I realized who I'd kissed."

Harmony scoffs. "He sure didn't though, did he? He was beet red."

"He was embarrassed for me, and he pushed me away!"

"Sure he did."

"Harmony, look at me! I'm telling the truth."

Finally, she looks up. "You're the baby of the family. You're the prettier one, the one everyone dotes on. You're the more outgoing and fun one. You have the entire world eating out of the palm of your hand. So maybe try to understand why I assumed the worst when I walked in and saw you kissing Cooper."

I blink at her and think back a few years.

"Oh, sis. No. Don't go there."

"I went there," she says. "I guess I know you well enough now that I should know better but I can't help it. My brain went there."

By "there," she means how the boy who asked her to our high school prom ended up cornering me in the hallway. Jared had tried to grab me, and I punched him. He left my sister stranded at prom, and she had to ride home with my date and me.

She never blamed me for it, but that began her journey of mistrust in men. Her jerk fiancé two years ago was the final nail in the coffin.

"Harmony, I promise you. Cooper is not interested in me."

"Are you sure?"

"Babe, I think I know when someone is interested."

"That's true."

"More importantly, Carter and Cooper are committed to partnering with us," I say.

My sister's smile lights up the room. "Really?"

I nod. "There's just one tiny detail we have to hammer out," I add, wincing. She's not going to like this.

"What is it?"

"Let's go find the guys and go over the contract," I tell her.

Harmony stands up and brushes the chocolate crumbs off her boobs.

We both turn, and standing in the doorway watching us are Carter and Cooper.

"We need to talk." Carter looks strange and out of sorts. Even more than usual. If I had to pick one word to describe how he's looking at me right now, that would be "intense."

Cooper and Harmony make their exit, Cooper saying something about showing the contract to Harmony.

This leaves me alone with Carter, who has the energy of a raging bull.

I should want to run away from this. So why am I approaching? He looks like he could burst out of his skin, making me tingle all over.

"Carter, I can explain," I say.

"Don't," he says as I step closer.

I bite my lip. "Okay."

"Cooper told me it was a mix-up."

He crosses and sits on the ottoman, his cheeks flushed and his gaze is intense. He's breathing heavily, like he's just benched 50 reps at 400 pounds.

I sit beside him and ask, "Then, what's wrong?"

He presses his thumbs into his eye sockets and breathes deeply. "It's tough to explain. Like my brain knows it was a mix-up. I believe you. I believe Cooper. But there's just something that nags at me, right here," he says, rubbing the meat of his palm over his heart. "I can't get my body to calm down about it."

"I see," I say.

"I feel crazy and can't do anything about it."

Hmm. I shouldn't be thinking what I'm thinking, but I'm thinking it anyway.

"Do you…do you need to go for a run or something?" I try.

Carter leans forward, his elbows on his knees. His face is down, and his knees bounce like he doesn't know what to do with himself. From this angle, the rise and fall of his shoulder blades with every breath sends heat down my spine, warming me to my core.

"No," he says. "No, I don't know what I need."

"Can I help you in any way?" I ask.

He huffs out a rueful laugh. "You don't want me to answer that."

Disappointed, I offer to go. "Do you want me to leave you alone?"

Carter's gaze snaps to me as he sits up, leaning forward slightly. "Leave? No. God, no."

I'm at a loss.

"I wish there was something I could do to help you, Carter. I just feel so awful?—…"

"Woman, so help me, you have got to stop apologizing."

"Why?"

"Because it makes me feel guilty," he rumbles.

"About what?"

"About the answer to your other question."

"What other question?"

Carter turns toward me, shifting on the ottoman. The low light from the Tiffany lamp on the side table casts a warm glow to his pink cheeks. The man looks rough and ready to pounce. He answers in a near-snarl, "The one about what you can do to help me."

If this is going where I think it's going, I really, really want in.

"Just say what you really want, Carter. You didn't invite us here to dinner on business because it's better for your concentration. You wanted to get me alone to?—"

He leans in and interrupts me with a feral sound that sucks the breath out of my lungs."I could kiss you so hard I could leave a bruise. I wanted to rip those hot pants off you and fuck you with my mouth."

Oh. Wow.

Gotta watch out for the quiet ones, as our mom always said. I don't think she was talking about this sort of thing, though.

I can't stand the bouncing leg. Not one more minute. I reach over, rest my hand on Carter's knee, then meet his eyes.

His furrowed brow, which seems to be in a permanent state of consternation, finally relaxes.

He leans in for a kiss.

Carter's lips are soft yet firm as he presses them against mine.

This man's kiss is not for the weak of heart. It's sensuous and sexy with the slightest bit of tongue, and comes with owning hands on my hip and the other one cupping the back of my neck. His body throws off so much heat but I love it.

He's also surprisingly noisy. Carter is all sighs and growls, his noises filling my ears with the sounds of a man who wants so much more.

What did I say about communicating our needs? Boy, once I opened that door he really went for it.

He pulls me onto his lap and has me straddle him while we kiss.

He lets out a groan of pleasure, clearly happy to be able to touch me anywhere he wants, in any way he wants now.

To my amusement, his hands both go to my ass, each taking a handful of the chubby cheeks he finds there.

"That ass. My god," he groans into my mouth.

The kissing heats up, with his mouth traveling down my throat. I lean my head back and let him kiss me all over—my throat, my chest, over the swells of my breasts, visible above the neckline of my dress.

With his firm hand on the back of my neck, his mouth finds me again, this time with more need, more hunger. His tongue prods my mouth open wider and I accept it eagerly.

Carter's warm tongue slides deliciously against mine. He tastes like chocolate and mint and feels like heaven.

His grip on my ass guides me down so that my body is flush with his. I match his energy; I want this so bad but I can't sit still. I grind against his middle.

"Damn," he grunts. "You feel good, sweetheart."

I gasp when his hard length presses against my core, shivering at how big it is.

"You know what would feel even better, don't you?"

Breathless, he waits a beat. "You mean letting me fuck you, right? I hope you mean that."

I let out a small laugh and kiss him again. "Yes, Carter. It means I want to fuck."

With a groan, he pulls me off his lap and lays me down on the ottoman.

I help him hike my dress up around my waist, but he doesn't need my help.

Carter splays me open, hiking one thigh around his hips. While he unzips and pulls himself free of his underwear, I hastily situate my other leg on the edge of the nearby sofa. He's so big between my legs.

Carter notches his damp tip at my center, where I guide him into my entrance.

It takes him a try or two, and finally, I reach down to part my pussy lips and guide him into me.

My body resists his size initially, and I have to force my muscles to relax.

He waits me out patiently, kissing me through it. His perfect mouth and teasing tongue make my pussy slick and ready.

I open up wider to him and he slides in a little deeper. Soon, I'm taking all of him in.

"Oh god, Carter. You're so big!"

"That's my girl," he says.

His girl. My body and my mind are at odds with each other. I'm not his girl. We just met. We're just messing around.

It's been a while since I had someone dick me down on a whim, so I just go with it. He likes dirty talk, and it's super hot. I remind myself that it's perfectly normal to say possessive sentiments during sex, because it just makes everything better.

But then, Carter takes it to a whole other level. As he slides in and pulls out, a hint of a smile pulls at his lip. He looks deliciously evil.

"You look so pretty when I'm fucking you, sweetheart. So pretty and perfect and mine."

I can barely breathe let alone speak.

I want to contradict him, tell him to ease off the "mine" stuff, but my body is only getting wetter.

"I knew it," he says. "I knew you were so wet, Summer. You're so hot and wet you don't know what to do with yourself, do you?"

"Carter," I choke out, his thrusts making me crazy. "So…good."

He smashes into me as I lay there on the ottoman, struggling to wrap my legs around him because he's moving so fast and so hard. I shouldn't want to milk his cock but my body has other ideas. I give in to the urge and I bear down, pulling him in and tightening around him.

"Shit, baby."

"This is crazy," I rasp.

"Too crazy?"

He slams into me, sending electricity arcing through me, the friction against my clit making me want to grab him and hold on tighter.

And then, he goes there.

"I knew I wanted you from the second I laid eyes on you, Summer. I knew you were my girl."

Dirty talk. It's just dirty talk. If we need to chat about this later just to set the ground rules, then we will. It's perfectly fine to have a fuck buddy be your investor, isn't it?

Sure, why not?

Even if this is so wrong, it's going to happen again. Because it's that good. His cock feels so good, and his arms are steady as granite. He shifts my body exactly how he wants me, lifting my ass up off the ottoman for three strokes, hiking my thigh up to go deeper.

He reaches down between our bodies, fingers fumbling and searching. I'm so full of him, I don't know or care what's happening, until I do.

"Sweetheart, I might need a little help."

It tugs at my heartstrings that he fully admits that he can't find my clit.

A lot of guys would root around aimlessly and never ask for directions.

This also makes me think perhaps he hasn't done this before, which endears him even more to me.

"Here," I whisper, guiding his fingers until he finds it. I'm concentrating so hard on helping him that I'm not actually prepared for him to touch it.

The contact lights me up, and I suck in a sharp breath.

Carter more than makes up for getting a little lost by stroking me expertly.

His two fingers rub back and forth on either side of my aching clit. My nails dig into his shoulders.

The dual sensation of him railing me and pleasuring my clit is almost too much to take.

"God, you feel so good, Summer. So fucking tight and wet for me," he rasps.

While all this is happening, he presses his mouth against my neck, nipping, licking, and kissing my throat.

"I want your mouth, Carter. Kiss me while you fuck me," I say.

"Yes, ma'am."

The kissing is just as wonderful as the pounding.

Carter's hand squeezes my ass cheek possessively as he pushes into me, while his other hand strokes me off between my pussy lips.

My orgasm is so powerful and sudden and deep, I have to fight back the tears.