CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"Amara." Carter's gray gaze lingers on my cutoff jeans, moving higher up to my red and blue T-shirt. "You should change. Or at least wear a hoodie over your T-shirt. You'll catch a cold."

"Nope." I hop in place, my sneakers hitting the floor in my living room again and again and again. "I'm still hot from the shower. If I pull on one of my hoodies, I'll sweat."

Carter lets out a short laugh, tilts his head, and rubs his jaw slowly. Crazy seductive even when he just watches me.

"Maybe if you stopped jumping in place"—he doesn't move to stop me, only looks me over and smirks—"you wouldn't have to worry about sweating. You'll be cold outside. I'll spank you if you don't grab a sweater from one of these boxes."

He doesn't chide me for being all over the place. Doesn't remind me we're already done packing and should get going.

Love bleeds from his eyes. Love he won't admit to, not yet. But it's there. My family always gave me the stink eye for letting off steam by jumping or running around the house. Carter seems to like it.

By how hard he is, I'd say he's turned on by it.

"Can't." Hop, hop, hop. This time, I shake my arms before dropping them to my sides. "Too nervous. Too much energy. We're moving in together, muffin. I still can't believe it."

"Us, and…"

My whole body sobers in response.

"Oh." I stop jumping, hugging my middle.

Doubts gnaw at my excitement. I have no idea what to expect of Killian. Normally, I wouldn't care. I do now. I don't want to disappoint them or be a burden.

If Killian turns away from me again, I'll blame myself. I won't be able to escape the feeling of being less than. Of being this annoying girl who gets in the way.

"Pet, what did I say about hugging yourself?" He stalks toward me, enveloping me into his warm body. His sandalwood cologne mixes with his delicious Carter scent, and I snuggle into his chest. "You don't get to do that whenever I'm around. I hug you. Me."

"You're right."

"Hey." He draws back to lock my chin between his fingers, angling my head up. He still has one arm looped around me, locking me to him. "What happened yesterday, it was real."

"What was?"

"You're cute when you pretend to be shy, A." His thumb tugs at my bottom lip. Playful. Teasing. Turning my inside into jelly. "The shadow. The grunt coming from the doorway. Don't think I didn't see you peeking beneath Killian's tie."

My eyes widen. My eyebrows shoot up. "You did?"

One blink. "Yes."

A million questions race through my head. Since I have to start with one, I choose, "That's why you two sat close to each other today?"

"Let's make one thing clear." Honesty and fierceness erupt from him like hot lava. "I wasn't cheating on you. I never will."

"I never suggested you did that." I return him the same serious look. My eyes narrow, and I press my lips together. "When Killian and I were in the car, I felt something. But what you and I have is more precious to me than anything. I didn't want to risk us by bringing this up too soon, so I decided to forget the whole thing. Then, in the conference room, you looked like you wanted him and I thought he'd cave. He didn't. He was so mad, Carter. It's fucking with my head."

"Say what's bothering you," Carter commands, his grip brutal. "Explicitly."

"I'm confused. He doesn't want it. He does want it. I don't know. Either way, we can't force him." The pained sigh clutching at my lungs gets snuffed out by my love for Carter. By my need to explain this isn't about Killian. Not just Killian. "I love being yours. You're more than I could've ever dreamed of. No one gets me like you do. No one."

For long moments, Carter slides his teeth over his bottom lip. His gaze drills into my soul. Emotions flash across his expressive face.

Eventually, a smile breaks through. One that I see people around the hotel cowering from. One that makes my knees weak and wobbly.

"He does want…something. He's sorry, too. This afternoon, he asked if I heard from you. Even looked semi-apologetic." Carter leans in, inhaling my cheek, burying his fingers into my hair that I left loose after the shower. "It got me hard, pet. Knowing—fucking seeing—he likes you. Imagining all the ways he's going to defile your hot little body while I make him groan. We have so much to catch up on."

"Like sleeping together," I breathe. I hope. I wish so fucking hard on it. "Having breakfast together. Getting to know each other."

"That too." He nips at my cheek. "And fuck, now you're telling me you had that moment in the car, fuck. It's perfect. Everything's coming together."

His tongue darts out, hot and seductive as he licks me from the corner of my mouth to my ear. I whimper, my fingers digging into the fabric of his black shirt. Tugging him to me. I feel his mouth skating across my skin, his lips brushing on my swollen temple.

"You want the three of us to be together?" he asks before sliding his lips to my parted lips, swallowing my moans.

His hand slides to cup my jaw, tilting my head to give him a better angle. His cock strains between us, and I raise one foot off the ground, pinning it to the back of his strong thighs.

At my demanding touch, he wrenches himself from me. His eyes are a picture of madness. His lips swollen, his breaths laden and hot on my skin. "Do you?"

"It doesn't matter if he doesn't." I can't handle a repeat of today. I won't. "We won't make him."

"Oh, pet." Carter grabs my ass, hauling me to his cock. "We're not making him do anything. He'll come to us on his own. Yesterday, we doused the setting in gasoline. This afternoon, we flashed him the matches. Tonight, we'll light the motherfucking torch."