“I was crying because I loved you but lost you. I saw everything I ever wanted in the kitchen with you and Tanner looking so adorable in your aprons as you cooked. I wasn’t a part of that, and I wanted to be. But I ruined it. That’s why I was crying.”
I swallowed hard and put my hand over hers on my chest. I watched her face intently. “Tell me again.”
Her other hand pressed to my cheek. “I love you, Carter. I always have.”
I closed my eyes as her words cloaked me in warmth. I opened them to see her watching me. “I love you too, Jess.”
For a moment we simply stood staring at each other. In that moment, all the tension and fear dissipated, replaced by hope and joy.
She smiled. “Will you forgive me and give me another chance?”
How could I not? I answered her by dipping my head and kissing her. Any lingering doubt left as I drank in her taste. Her fingers gripped my t-shirt as her lips slanted and took the kiss deeper.
I pulled away only with breath that was critically necessary. “Stay with me tonight, Jess.” Maybe it was too fast to have sex, but my need for her was more than a physical pop of pleasure.
She nodded. “Yes.”
Joy spread, and swept her up in my arms, carrying her to my room. “Tanner knows where my room is, if he wakes,” I said, wanting to alleviate any worry she might have. Even so, I locked the door as I didn’t need my son walking in on me making love with his mother.
“I doubt he’ll wake. He’s had a lot of excitement the last two days,” she said. Her arms wrapped tight around me, and I savored the feel of it.
I set her by the bed. “You look good in my clothes, Jess.”
She laughed. “It’s not lingerie.”
“It’s better. There’s something really sexy about you wearing my clothes.” I tugged the shirt over her head, pleased to find that she was braless.
“I remember when you got this shirt,” she said, as she ran her hands over my chest.
“I hoped you would.”
She smiled so brightly. “You’re amazing.”
I arched a brow and then yanked my own shirt off over my head. “Because I gave you a t-shirt I hoped you’d remember?”
She nodded. “I love your sentimentality. I love how you openly share your heart.” She leaned in and kissed my chest over my heart. “I’ll never hurt it again.”
I hoped that was true, but I knew we still had things to workout. But not tonight. Tonight was about reconnecting. About the possibilities of the future.
We undressed and I lay her back on the bed. I scanned her body, taking inventory of the creamy skin, her rosy nipples, the glistening of wetness on the red nest of curls on her pussy. My hand trailed over her body, taking in the supple softness of her skin.
“Maybe this time, I can lead,” I said as I dipped down and licked a nipple, loving how her body arched in response.
“You don’t like it when I lead?” she asked.
“I love it when you lead. I just want a turn to worship your body.” I looked down at her again. “It’s a fucking beautiful body, Jess.”
“It’s yours, Carter. I’m yours.”
I lay over her, my body flush against hers. I kissed her, drinking in her sweetness. Soaking up her softness. She was mine. Finally.
As I kissed her, my hands caressed over her soft skin. The other times before we’d had sex, I hadn’t been able to fully immerse myself in her body, and I planned to remedy that tonight. My lips followed my hands, trailing kisses over her skin, loving how her body moved in response.
I ran my fingers through her slick folds, and my mouth watered to taste her there. I moved down, settling my shoulders between her thighs.
“Carter,” she said on a breathless gasp.
“Hold on, Jess. I’m hungry.” I dove in, burying my face in her sweet pussy. I licked and sucked, shooting her up to the heavens, once, twice. It was even better than I’d remembered.
“Fuck me, Carter,” she said, gripping my head with her fingers. “I need you inside me.”
In an instant, I was over her, my dick positioned at her entrance. It was painfully hard, but I held off.
“Look at me, Jess. Look at me,” I demanded. I needed her to see me as I claimed her.
Her eyes opened and her legs wrapped around me. “I love you, Carter.”
Love and lust swirled. I kissed her hard and thrust in until I couldn’t fill her any more. Her legs held me in place and the final bit of my heart healed.
I wanted to stay with her like this forever, but my dick had other ideas. He’d been put off long enough. My hips pumped and swiveled as I moved in and out of her. Her body moved with mine in a perfect dance.
“Fuck…I’m going come,” I said on a frustrated growl. Not yet, I begged my dick. Not until she came too.
“Yes…yes…Oh Carter…” Her body jerked and her pussy clamped down until I saw stars. I let go, and pleasure rocked my body like never before. It was glorious. Not just because fucking her was always spectacular, but because I loved her. And she loved me.
Slowly we came down, but I wasn’t ready to lose the connection. I slid my forearms under her shoulders to hold my weight as I lay over her, my dick still inside her.
“I love you,” I said, giving her a kiss between our heaving breaths.
“Thank you for forgiving me.”
I saw the sincerity of her words in her eyes. “Do you forgive me for faking a knee injury?”
She smiled. “Yes. Of course.” Then her expression turned sad. “You were willing to do so much and I was a fool to turn away.”
“Yes, you were. But now you’re smarter, right?” I rolled us until she was nestled next to me with her head on my shoulder. As far as I was concerned, this was where she’d be every night for the rest of our lives.
“I’m sorry,” she said, kissing my pec and laying her head back onto my shoulder.
We were quiet for a moment, but on my end, it was because I had questions that I wasn’t sure she was ready to answer. But if this was going to work, I needed to be free and open with her. No hiding.
“Will you tell me about all the parts of Tanner’s life I’ve missed.”
She lifted her head to look at me. There was a mixture of sadness and guilt. “Yes, of course. What do you want to know?”
“Were you scared when you found out you were pregnant?” I ran my fingers through her lovely auburn curls.
“Yes. I knew if I could find you though, that everything would be alright. But the cruise line wouldn’t tell me about the man named Carter in your cabin.”
“I’m sorry, Jess. Was there someone to help you?” The idea of her being pregnant and alone was intolerable.
She shrugged. “My mother and I have always had a difficult relationship. She was young when I was born, and at first was angry that I’d made the same mistake she had. But Tanner isn’t a mistake,” she added quickly. “After he was born, she was better, but I decided I wanted to build a better life for him. That’s why we moved to San Diego.”
“Do you believe in destiny?” I asked. “It seems so impossible that not only would you end up in the city I grew up in, but that you’d be working for my father.”
“It must be destiny,” she said.
I kissed her head. “Was the pregnancy okay?”
She laughed. “He was as busy in my belly as he is now. I had no complications and my labor wasn’t as bad as I’ve heard it could be. He had colic for a month and that was hard, but other than that, he’s been healthy and happy.”
“I don’t want to miss anything from this day forward,” I said. I wasn’t sure how Jess saw our relationship. For all I knew, she’d pad back to Tanner’s room or take him home tomorrow. I wanted her to stay, but also, I understood that our talk and great sex wasn’t going to automatically fix everything that had gone wrong. The truth of it was, I’d had one great week, and then four years of building her up, just as my grandmother had said. Maybe I needed to date her. To take thi
ngs slower.
“You won’t. I promise, Carter.”
We needed to talk about the logistics of our arrangement, but that could wait.
She lifted her head to look at me like she was searching for something in my expression.
“What?”
“I hope you believe me.”
I nodded. “I believe you.”
“Are you sure?”
I laughed. “I’m pretty sure.”
Her smile turned flirty. “Maybe I should convince you.”
My dick perked up at that. “It couldn’t hurt.”
She straddled my thighs. “It’s my turn to lead.”
34
Jess
Dreams did come true. Well, almost. In this moment I had everything I wanted. Carter’s arms around me and our son asleep in the other room. But I knew we still had work to do before I could truly believe in my fairy tale.
Right now, I wanted to show Carter how much I loved him. I dragged my hands down his chest, scrapping over his nipples, loving how it made him hiss.
“Are you going to tease me?” he asked, his eyes bright and full of love. It was like that night on the cruise, but better. This wouldn’t end. Not if I could help it.
“Do you like to be teased?” I asked, rubbing my pussy over his dick.
He groaned. “I like whatever you do to me, Jess. You always rock my world.”
“I want to make you feel good, Carter. Like no woman has ever made you feel.” I don’t know why, but for some reason it popped into my brain that another woman would have been better to him. In the last four years, another woman may have been better to him. I couldn’t have that.
“You do, baby,” he said levering up. His hands cradled my face. “It’s always been you.” He kissed me then, and I melted. But this was my seduction, so I quickly took back control, reaching between our bodies to stroke his dick.
His lips tore away from mine to let out a groan. I pushed him back and focused on his dick; using long slow stroked, alternated with quick short ones. It was magnificent and I wanted to taste it.
I moved back so I could lean over and lick the pearl of precome on the tip.
“Fuck…Jess…” His fingers laced through my hair.
I slid my tongue along his length, feeling feminine and powerful when he groaned again. Then I sucked him into mouth. I fucked him with my mouth, as my hands massaged his balls.
“Yes…so fucking good…oh God,” he said on a harsh breath.
I stayed with him, moved with him when his hips began to undulate. I slid my fingers to the soft skin behind his balls and he cried out.
“Fuck…” His fingers gripped my head. “Stop…stop…shit…I’m going to come.”
I gripped his dick hard. “I want you to come, Carter. I want to taste you.”
His head rocked back as he growled. But he didn’t stop me, so I slid my mouth down his length again. And again. And again until he hit the back of my throat.
“Yes…God…her it comes…fuck.”
Warm liquid filled my mouth as I moved over him, as he moved under me. I stayed with him, until his body went limp.
I slowly released his dick and moved up his body.
“I don’t want to know who taught you that trick of rubbing the skin behind my dick,” he said, his eyes still closed as he worked to catch his breath.
“I’m a physical therapist.”
He opened one eye. “You do that to your patients?”
I laughed. “No. But I know a lot about the human body. It’s part of the job.”
He opened his other eye intrigued. “Do you know more tricks?”
“Maybe. You’ll have to keep me around to find out.” The minute I said it, I worried I’d gone too far. We hadn’t talked about our future. I might be presumptuous. Or pushy.
“It’s a deal,” he said, pulling me into his arms.
I relaxed and lay with my head on his chest. A little while later, I got up and dressed.
“What are you doing?” Carter’s voice held a tone of irritation.
“I need to unlock the door in case Tanner gets up. And I don’t want to be naked if he does come in here.”
“Oh. Right.” Carter got out of bed and pulled on sweatpants and then sat on the edge of the bed.
I went to him, dropping to my knees in front of him. “Tell me what you were thinking.”
He sighed. “I thought you were leaving. Withdrawing.”
“No. Not anymore.” I understood why he’d think that, and I was going to make it my mission in life to make his fear of that go away.
He gave me a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”
“I’m the one who’s sorry, Carter. But you’ll see. You won’t have to worry about me withdrawing from you again.”
With that settled, I unlocked the door and then returned to his arms.
I woke with a poke in my arm. I opened my eyes. Tanner was standing by the bed, his thumb in his mouth and his arm around a stuffed teddy bear that Carter had bought him.
“Can I come in with you?”
“Yes, baby.” I reached out and pulled him up on the bed between me and Carter.
“Who’s invading my space?” Carter said, rolling over to face us.
“It’s me, daddy.” Tanner settled between us and then closed his eyes.
I looked over at Carter who was staring at Tanner with awe and love. His gaze lifted to mine. This was the dream.
His hand reached over to touch my face. “I love you.”
I kissed his palm. “I’m so happy.”
He leaned over Tanner to kiss me.
Tanner pushed him back, turning over and snuggling against him.
I woke an hour later to Tanner talking to his bear.
“This is my daddy and that’s my mommy,” he said.
I opened my eyes and saw that Carter was watching him with interest.
“He makes friends everywhere he goes, doesn’t he?” Carter said.
I laughed. “Yes, pretty much.”
“Can I go to work with you again, daddy?” Tanner asked.
“No work today. It’s Saturday.” Carter looked over at me. “Are you off?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Yay!” Tanner’s arms shot up in victory.
“What do you say that we get up, have some pancakes and then take a drive?” Carter asked.
“Where are we going?” Tanner asked.
“It’s a surprise,” Carter said, tickling Tanner.
The morning couldn’t have been more perfect. We were a family. I just needed to convince Carter that he could trust in me. That might take time, but I had all the time in the world.
After breakfast, we piled into Carter’s SUV and he drove us to a car dealership.
“What are we doing here?” I asked.
“Buying you a new car,” he said. He put the SUV in gear and turned to me with intent eyes. “I know you don’t want me to give you a car, but I’ll have to insist. The idea of you and Tanner being broken down in your duct taped jalopy scares me to death.”
I smirked. “It’s not as bad as that.”
He didn’t budge.
“Can we get a red one?” Tanner asked from the back seat.
“You can have any color you want and any features. As long as it's top rated in safety.”
I shook my head, but inside I was immensely happy. Not to be getting a new car, but that Carter was so insistent that we were in his life.
My experience with car buying was that it took forever, but I guess having money and paying with cash made the process faster. I drove out of there in a top-rated smaller SUV, in red as Tanner requested. I drove while Carter was in the passenger seat. He called someone to make arrangements to get his car home.
“How about we go to the beach?” Carter said.
“To see grandpa?” Tanner asked.
“Yes.” Carter looked at me. “Are you okay with that?”
I nodded. “Yes.” But when we pulled into the drive awa
y and I saw several cars there, I got nervous. “Is it a party?”
Carter shook his head. “We usually meet up on weekends if we can. I think everyone is town.” He turned to me once I turned the car off. “I want them all to meet Tanner. I want them all to know you not as dad’s physical therapist, but the woman I love.”
I bit my lip but smiled. “Okay.”
We walked in, and the minute Tanner saw all the people out on the terrace, he said, “Carry me, daddy.”
Like he’d been doing it for years, Carter deftly picked up Tanner and carried him out to the terrace. He took my hand as all eyes turned to us.
“Oh my God, he’s like a mini-Carter,” Kellie said, pressing her hand over her belly.
“Tanner, this is the rest of your family,” Carter said, his eyes on Tanner as if he was gauging his feelings. “This is my older brother, Ryan and his wife Kellie. They’re the ones that are going to have a baby soon.”
“Hi Tanner,” Ryan said, holding out his hand.
Tanner buried his head in Carter's shoulder. Carter rubbed his back.
“He’s beautiful, Carter,” Ryan said.
“You’ve scared the kid,” Noah said. “And I have to say, I’m broken-hearted, Jess. I thought you and I had something going.”
Carter gave him the evil eye. “This is my brother Noah. I think he’s a stray my parents took in.”
Tanner lifted his head. “What’s a stray, daddy?”
“God that’s weird,” Noah said.
“What is?” I asked.
“Having a kid call Carter daddy.”
Tanner wrapped his arms around Carter. “This is my daddy.”
The group laughed.
“This is my other brother, Hunter and his wife Natalie.”
As if they knew Tanner was nervous, they stayed back but said their hellos.
“There’s my sandcastle boy,” Alex said. “I’ve got all the equipment out ready for you to build.”
Tanner looked at me and Carter. “Can I?”
“Yes. We’ll all go to the beach in a minute.”
“Let’s all go,” Carter’s grandmother said.
I was shocked. She always seemed too immaculate to get sand on her.
Wrong to Love You: Strong Brothers Book 3 Page 19