Carter glanced at me. “Is that true?”
“I had a few drinks,” I murmured. “I want to go home now.”
Gasping, I remembered my BFF. “Valerie’s still inside!”
Rushing forward, Carter caught me around the waist and lifted my feet off the pavement.
“Carter!” I yelled, feet still running even though they weren’t on the ground.
“She’ll be right out,” he retorted, amusement in his voice.
“Your time’s up,” Aaron told Alan. “Get lost.”
“Why are you even here?” he asked. “What’s going on with you and these guys, Nora?”
I giggled. He made it sound like I had a harem of men.
“I called them,” Valerie announced, marching up behind us.
“Val!” I was so relieved. “I tried to find you.”
“I saw you right as jackass was dragging you off the dance floor.”
“You called them?” Alan demanded.
“Just Carter.” She confirmed. “I told you to leave her the hell alone.”
Alan lunged for Valerie, and I screamed. Carter blocked me, but before I could get mad, Aaron stepped in.
Grabbing Alan by collar of his polo, he yanked him back, slamming him up against the building. He leaned in so close, with such menacing vibes that I stared even though I couldn’t hear anything he was saying.
A second later, Alan’s shoulders slumped and the top of his head bobbed. Aaron stood there a second longer before stepping back so Alan could walk away. Which he did. Without looking back.
“He has my phone!” I called, pointing at his retreating figure.
“I got this.” Knox jogged after him.
Practically collapsing against Carter, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
“Who are you?” Val asked, staring wide-eyed at Aaron.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Carter scolded.
Shushing him, I turned back to watch Aaron introduce himself to Valerie. Val giggled—she actually giggled—when he held his hand out for her to shake.
Elbowing Carter, I pointed at them. He rolled his eyes, then turned all his focus back on me.
Rotating, he crossed his arms over his chest to glare. Almost at the same moment, Knox moved beside him, mirroring his position, my phone in one of his hands.
“Well?” they both demanded.
“I don’t have to explain myself to you!” I huffed.
“You do when I get frantic texts from Valerie saying your ex is dragging you out of a club and onto the street!”
“Valerie,” I groaned.
“Well, he was! And after what happened at the apartment…”
“He was at the condo?” Carter’s deadly quiet voice made me shiver.
“I mean at our apartment in Georgia.” Val corrected
“What happened in Georgia?” Aaron asked.
“Nothing,” I said, giving Val an I will kill you look.
“Let’s go,” Carter said, taking my hand and drawing me toward the curb where he whistled for a cab.
One pulled over almost instantly, making me scowl. “Do you know how long it took to get one earlier?”
Not saying anything and yanking open the back door, he looked at the other three on the street. “I’m taking Nora to our place. You stay at hers in case he shows up there.”
Aaron nodded.
“Wait, what?” Valerie and I both exclaimed.
“What about me?” Knox asked, handing over my phone.
“You’re off the clock ‘til morning.”
“Amen,” he muttered.
“Traitor!” I called.
“See you tomorrow, ma’am.” He winked.
“I’ll bring you a coffee.” I promised.
“Get in the cab. You’re drunk.”
“I am not,” I argued, ducking into the car. I would have hit my head on the roof if Carter hadn’t smoothly injected his hand between my forehead and doorframe.
“Drunk,” he repeated.
After giving directions to the driver, he sat back against the seat. When I rested my head against his shoulder, he glanced down. “Why do you keep doing things that make me worry about you?”
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, rubbing my cheek against his T-shirt.
Sighing, he lifted an arm, draping it around me and pulling me close.
“Alan followed me to that club,” I told him.
“Yeah.”
“I’m glad you’re here.”
“Don’t go out like this again without me or some of my security.”
I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to argue. I just wanted to sit in the back of this stinky, strange cab against a man who was anything but.
“I like you so much I don’t even care this cab is stinky and weird.”
My body bounced against his quiet laughter, and I liked that, too.
Carter
The second Nora stepped into the lobby of Ansoft, she searched for me. I liked watching the way she evaluated every person in her line of sight, quickly disregarding them when she knew it wasn’t me.
She wasn’t wearing a dress or skirt today, which frankly made me happy. Instead, she wore solid lemon-yellow pants that only came down to her calves and a button-up white top that kind of flared out around her hips and got longer at the back. As she walked, the fabric billowed behind her, making her look like a summer angel.
The second she saw me leaning against the wall behind security, her eyes narrowed and her footsteps increased.
“What’d you do?” Aaron asked, noting her aggressive reaction.
“Beats the hell outta me.”
Paul moved out of her way as she approached, calling out a good morning.
“Can’t talk now, Paul,” she told the security guard. “I have a fish to fry.”
“Hey, wait!” Valerie called when she was intercepted by security.
“ID please,” Paul said dutifully.
Nora stopped right in front of me, tapping her foot on the floor like I was in for a good scolding.
Amused, I half smiled. “About time you wore some sneakers,” I drawled, glancing down at the white shoes.
Now that she was up close, I could see the tiny yellow polka dots on her top.
What the fuck was wrong with me? When did I ever notice or care about what a woman wore? Except, you know, when they were strutting across the beach in a bikini. Even then, it wasn’t the bathing suit I noticed, but the skin it displayed.
Azure eyes narrowed, and her finger poked me in the chest. “What did I tell you?”
Aaron snickered.
“You told me a lot of things last night. You were drunk.”
Gasping, she looked at Aaron, her cheeks turning pink. “I was not!”
“You were totally drunk.” Aaron assured her.
“Did you enjoy sleeping over in my apartment last night?” She goaded him, lifting an eyebrow.
Aaron didn’t take the bait. “Your couch is uncomfortable.”
“That’s because Carter picked it out.”
Aaron threw back his head and laughed. Straightening off the wall, I shoved him away. “Go get Valerie from the security line. She’s holding everyone up.”
When we were alone, all my attention focused back on Nora. “You were saying?”
“I told you I wanted real.”
“Gonna have to give me more than that, good girl.”
“You sent Knox to walk us to work.” Flinging her arm out, she pointed toward the lobby doors where Knox was standing as though he were in a time out.
“I couldn’t be there. I had a meeting.”
“I can walk myself to work.” Her patience seemed to be at its limit. It made me want to grab her and kiss her. “Only in fantasies do girls get followed by their boyfriend’s security team to make sure they’re safe.”
“Boyfriend?” I acted surprised. “I thought you said you weren’t my girlfriend.”
“I’m not!” she declared. Then, fluster
ed, she added, “Don’t you try and turn this around on me.”
I laughed.
“Carter!”
I sighed. “I haven’t even had any coffee yet. Could you keep the noise to a minimum?”
Apology filled her eyes, and my heart squeezed. “Here.” She held out her cup. “I’ll share.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded.
Taking the cup, I lifted it to my mouth, putting my lips where hers had been.
Aaron and Valerie approached, and behind them lurked Knox. “Is it safe?” he asked.
Aaron hit a button for the elevator, and it dinged open almost immediately.
“Come on.” I put a hand at Nora’s back, guiding her forward. “We’re drawing too many stares.”
All five of us loaded into the elevator, and I hit the button for Nora and Val’s floor.
“No more babysitters,” Nora declared.
“Yesterday we were friends,” Knox muttered.
“This isn’t personal.” She assured him.
“If I can’t be there, then Knox will be,” I told her, finality in the decision.
She gasped, completely offended.
The elevator stopped and the doors slid open.
“Let’s go.” I gestured.
“You’re getting off, too?” she asked, wide-eyed.
“I have an announcement.”
Aaron and Knox stepped out but stayed near the elevators while I went with the ladies into the design team offices.
As expected, everyone stopped what they were doing when the three of us walked in. Curious glances were thrown at Valerie, who honestly didn’t seem the least bit bothered.
“Morning, everyone,” I called out.
The few remaining people in the break room came out, including the design team lead.
“Mr. Anders,” he said, rushing forward. “I didn’t realize you were stopping by.”
“I wanted to introduce you to Ansoft’s newest intern, Valerie Harper.”
Looks of shock went around the room.
“Another intern?” someone whispered.
“Ms. Harper will be replacing Nora on the design team.”
Nora made an abrupt sound. I felt her eyes penetrate me with questions.
“She’s fired?” one of the team members asked. She did a bad job of hiding her glee about it.
“I knew they wouldn’t last long,” someone else whispered.
I shot them a look, and they shut up.
“Of course not,” I replied. “Nora is being moved to the special projects team, as I have added more work to their plate and they need some extra help.”
I knew Nora was caught off guard and she probably had a million questions, but damn, if she didn’t do a good job of standing there acting like she’d already been informed of this. That kind of loyalty and the kind she’d shown yesterday when she acted dumb about Zero to Alan was something I valued.
“Since I felt it was unfair to give this department an intern then take her away, we hired a replacement.” Glancing at Valerie, I motioned for her to greet her co-workers.
“Hi, everyone.” She waved. “Looking forward to learning a lot from you all.”
“I trust you will all spend some time today helping her get familiar with our company and all the tasks that were previously assigned to Ms. Williams.”
“Of course.” The team leader assured me.
“If you have anything in your desk, get it now,” I told Nora.
“I don’t.” Just after the words left her mouth, she made a sound and rushed over to her desk. Reaching in the top drawer, she pulled out a pen. “I’ll take this.”
“The special projects team has pens.” I assured her.
Someone snickered.
She shrugged, looking at the black ballpoint pen as though it weren’t plain and boring. “I like this one.”
“Good luck on your first day, Ms. Harper,” I told Valerie.
“Thank you, sir.”
Motioning for Nora to go ahead of me, she took a few steps, then leaned in next to Val and spoke quietly. Val nodded once. Then she continued on.
The four of us got in the elevator, and the second the doors closed, she spun on me. “Why didn’t you tell me I was being transferred?”
“If I told you last night, you would have forgotten.”
“I was not drunk,” she declared, looking at all three of us individually, practically daring someone to contradict her.
Knox and Aaron melded toward the back of the car, probably hoping she would forget they were there.
“What’s the special project team?” she asked, curiosity winning out over frustration.
“It’s the team working on Zero.”
Excitement sparked in her expressive eyes. Her hand gripped my wrist and squeezed. “You want me to work on Zero?”
“We moved up the launch date, so the team is scrambling to get everything done. I thought you could be of some help to them.”
“Whatever I can do,” she said, instantly ready for the task. “Even if it’s getting coffee while they work.”
“You’ll probably be doing some of that.”
“Of course, that’s what interns are for.” There wasn’t a hint of irritation in her voice.
We reached our floor, the doors opening to reveal the large counter and Meghan standing behind it. Aaron and Knox went ahead, stepping onto the floor first.
“Where is the special project team located?” Nora asked, hesitation in her tone.
Gesturing out, I replied, “On the top floor, where I am.”
Suspicion clouded her face. “Carter Anders, you didn’t move me up here because you wanted to spy on me, did you?”
Aaron snickered. “She’s almost as suspicious as you are, Anders.”
I was not amused. She wasn’t supposed to be suspicious of me.
“I told you. I moved up the launch date. The team needs extra help, and since you already know about the project, I figured you’d be a good fit.”
Aaron and Knox led the way toward the special team’s office. Instead of going left at the counter, we went right.
Aaron rapped once on the door, then opened it.
A team of four people sat in the large square room. A table filled the center, covered in monitors and laptops. Around the edge of the room were more computer stations and various equipment the team needed.
Everyone looked up from what they were doing, eyes going to Nora.
I could feel her sudden nervousness. Glancing down, I watched her take a steadying breath, almost as if she were fortifying herself for whatever this team would think of her.
“This is Nora.” I began. “Bring her up to speed and hand down anything you need done. Even if it’s just coffee runs and delivering materials to my office for approval.”
“Anything you need,” Nora echoed.
“Hey, Nora.” Sean lifted a hand to wave.
The other two guys on the team did the same.
The only woman on the team, Anna, pushed her glasses up on her head and waved Nora into the room. “Thank God you’re here. I’ve been outnumbered for too long. These guys think proper communication is burping and code talk.”
Nora giggled.
Tension I didn’t even know gripped me dissolved, making me feel a hundred times lighter on my feet.
“Burping is not a form of communication.” Nora agreed, moving forward.
“Tech geeks.” Anna shook her head sadly. “I’m Anna, by the way.” She pushed out a chair beside her. “Come sit here.”
“I’ll leave you all to it,” I said. Everyone waved eyes still on their computers.
Frankly, I was hurt Nora didn’t even look up to see me go. I cleared my throat, but that didn’t get her attention either.
Anna pointed to something on her monitor, and Nora leaned in to look.
Stalking over, I towered behind her shoulder until she turned. Without a word, I reached over her, plucking the coffee out of her hand. “I’m takin
g this.”
Nora blushed, her eyes slipping to Anna and then back to me.
“I already told them we’re involved. No one in here is going to bother you about it.”
Her eyes almost popped right out of her head. “You told them what?” she hissed.
“Don’t worry.” Anna consoled her. “None of us are going to be jealous hags like I’m sure you encountered downstairs.”
She made a choked sound.
Cutting a look at her, Anna asked, “I’m right, though, right?”
I felt Nora’s attention even though she didn’t look at me. “It wasn’t anything terrible.”
“Terrible or not, you don’t need to worry about it here. We’re glad to have you.” Anna patted a surprised Nora on the back.
Suppressing a smile, I headed for the door. “Oh,” I said, turning back. “Nora has some ideas I liked for minor modifications to some of the art. Make the changes as you see fit.”
Nora’s eyes bugged out again. “They’re really not that good.”
“Let’s hear what you got.” Devin challenged.
Sipping her coffee that was now mine, we left the team to work. I liked having Nora upstairs with the rest of us. Finally, everything seemed complete.
Nora
The arm wrapped around my body glided upward until his palm cupped my face to gently pull it around. A sleepy sound rumbled out of me, cut off by the velvety sensation of his generous lips covering mine completely. Though I was still caught between sleep and awareness, Carter kissed me slowly and provocatively, eliciting my body to respond in kind.
When I turned toward his warm chest, his hand settled against my hip, rubbing suggestively while he deepened the kiss. As he pulled back to nibble on my lips, arousing even more desire, the lower half of my body turned liquid, making my hands reach around to pull his head fully back into mine.
Tongue delving deep, he rolled so I was pinned beneath him. The weight of his body was so incredibly delicious. The hold I had on his face tightened, and the kiss continued until I was lightheaded.
The second I turned to gulp in some air, his lips took advantage of my exposed neck, sucking on the sensitive flesh and making me tremble.
His hips thrust against me, and raw need rippled through me. I grasped his ass and pushed him closer against my core. Groaning into the pillow beside my head, Carter quivered, and though he didn’t thrust again, I felt the evidence of his want between my legs.
Mr. Fantasy: (A standalone romance) Page 18