“I couldn’t decide what to do about you. About us.”
“And now?” Her spiky eyelashes collected water droplets and let them fall, looking like tears.
Her smile was shaky. “I don’t want to be serious right now. I’m like Cinderella at the ball. My time in Royal is running out. Let’s have fun this weekend, Carter. That’s all.”
He should be happy. No-strings sex. With a beautiful woman who made him laugh. Why did her answer disturb him? “If that’s what you want.”
“It is,” she said.
* * *
Abby curled her arms around Carter’s neck and kissed him. Like every time before, the taste of him went straight to her head. Like hard liquor. She felt the strength in his gentle hold and sensed his frustration that was perhaps even more than physical. Neither of them liked the way this was playing out, but they were both trapped.
She loved the feel of his body against hers. The differences were stark and arousing. Carter was a man in his prime, his muscles the product of hard physical labor. She was rapidly becoming addicted to his flashing grin and twinkling blue eyes.
But was she really the kind of woman who would give up everything for a man?
He seemed fond of her. And yes, they were dynamite in bed. But if she even considered making such a huge change in her life, it would have to be for one reason only. Love.
She shuddered in his arms, relishing the way he commanded the kiss and changed it from playful and affectionate to intense and erotic. Their bodies recognized each other. Whether it was the novelty of being with someone new and different, or a deeper connection, she and Carter were made for each other when it came to sexual chemistry.
His heavy erection pulsed at her belly. “I want you,” he rasped, his chest heaving against her breasts.
They hadn’t been in the pool long at all. Abby didn’t care. All she wanted was Carter. “Yes,” she whispered back.
They took time to play in the outdoor shower, rinsing off the chlorine and stripping off their suits. There was no one to witness the moment when Carter scooped up a naked Abby in his arms and strode back to the house.
She knew suddenly that this precious moment was her swan song with Carter. The poignant knowledge was a knife to her heart, the pain searing her composure.
It took everything she had to conceal her turmoil.
In the bedroom, Carter abandoned her only long enough to grab towels from the bathroom. He dried her carefully, lingering over her breasts, kissing her again and again. She shuddered as arousal wrapped them both in a veil of need.
Carter rifled through his suitcase for protection and joined her on the big bed. He leaned over on one elbow, curling his hand in her ponytail and holding her down. “You’re mine tonight, Abby.”
The slight tug at her scalp made her breath come faster. He was showing her an edge to their passion that they had only skated near before. She craved his forcefulness and would give him everything in return.
When he kissed her once more, she sank her teeth into his bottom lip. “I want to push you over the edge, cowboy. What do you think of that?”
His cheekbones flushed dark red, and his pupils dilated. “I think you talk too damn much.” His lips and teeth and tongue dueled with hers, establishing dominance, but with a dollop of tenderness that promised safety in a storm.
When he entered her with a guttural groan, she felt the sting of tears. Maybe love didn’t come so quickly. But who was to say? What she felt for Carter was an overwhelming tide, a thrilling rush of passion. She loved him. Or she was falling in love with him. What did semantics matter when the ending of their story was so painfully clear?
He took her long and hard and then soft and slow, drawing out the pleasure until she was wild with wanting him, her fingernails marking his powerful shoulders.
“Carter...” She cried out his name when she came, lost to reason, lost in a lover’s embrace.
She felt the moment when his control snapped and he let his own passion overcome him. Holding him as tightly as she could, her body absorbed the aftershocks. Her fingers tousled his hair, and her breath mingled with his.
Gradually, their heartbeats slowed. The sweat dried on their bodies.
Carter mumbled something inaudible and reached to pull up the covers.
In seconds, they were both asleep.
* * *
Abby awoke hours later, disoriented and confused. The bedroom was strange. But awareness gradually returned, and she knew whose big warm body was entwined with hers.
It was 5:00 a.m. She slipped carefully out from under the masculine arm and leg that held her pinned to the mattress. Carter never moved.
With the flashlight on her phone, Abby found clothes in her suitcase and put them on. Cotton pants with a drawstring waist, comfortable, but thick enough to protect her legs if she had to kneel on the ground. A long-sleeve T-shirt to guard against a cool morning breeze. Canvas sneakers that had seen better days.
The whole process took less than five minutes. She decided to let Carter sleep. After all, he had to drive them back to Royal later today. They’d brought no provisions for breakfast. That was an oversight. But she kept energy bars in her camera bag for just such an occasion.
She made it all the way through the house and out to the driveway before she remembered that she needed the keys to Carter’s car.
Muttering under her breath, she stowed her gear in the trunk and returned to the house, stubbing her toe on a loose brick at the edge of the driveway as she moved in the dark. When she reached the top step, the door opened, and there he was, filling the space.
“Are you trying to ditch me, Abs?”
The slight hint of annoyance in his voice could have meant anything.
“No,” she said. “But you were dead to the world. And you have to drive this afternoon. I’m used to being on my own.”
“I’m sure you are.”
Now there was no mistaking his displeasure. “Come on,” he said. “I have the keys. I assume we’re headed to the festival site?”
She exhaled. “Yes.”
They didn’t speak on the way across the island. Abby asked him to stop a time or two for a quick shot. But what she needed most, with her back to the east, was to see the sunrise bathe the upcoming Soiree on the Bay with mystical light.
The weather was perfect. Only a few high thin clouds to add punctuation to the story she was hoping to capture. Already, she could hear the commentary.
Thousands of festivalgoers will soon descend on Appaloosa Island, eager to eat and drink and rock out to the sounds of America’s popular bands. But do they realize what beauty blossoms here in the sounds of silence?
Carter interrupted her mental flight of fancy. “Where do you want me to park?”
“Closer to the water, please. And you don’t have to get out. I’ll be ranging around.”
His silence lasted two breaths, then three. “I’ll go with you, Abby. I’m sure you don’t need me, but it will make me feel better.”
“Fine.” She grabbed her camera and set up the tripod. After filming a loop of the stars cartwheeling across the heavens, she focused on the ribbon of dawn at the horizon. When she was satisfied, she put the tripod back in the trunk and shouldered the camera. “Let’s go.”
They walked the festival grounds for the next half hour, shooting empty stages gilded in light. Focusing on sawdust paths and eventually, beams of sunlight traveling across the water. The work was exacting and exhilarating in equal measure.
She had assumed she would feel self-conscious having Carter at her heels. But his presence was oddly comforting. She was used to being on her own, that was true. Still, he added something to her routine, something indefinable and wonderful.
By the time the sun was fully up and beginning to warm the moist air, Abby was starving. Carter still hadn’t said much.
He was wearing his clothes from last night as if he had dashed out of the house to catch her and not bothered with his suitcase.
“Thank you,” she said stiffly. “It was nice having company.”
He ruffled her hair. “You’re welcome.” A huge yawn seemed to take him by surprise. “Is it nap time yet?”
“I was hoping you could summon a fast-food place out of thin air. I’d kill for coffee and a bagel.”
He slid into the driver’s seat and turned on the AC. It was amazing how quickly the Texas heat multiplied. “I can do better than that,” he said. “I asked my buddy to arrange for a few supplies in the kitchen. According to him, a local lady cooks for them and delivers whenever they request meals.”
“Great setup!” Abby exclaimed. “Does this car go any faster?”
Back at the house, they found a container of homemade blueberry muffins on the counter and in the fridge, fresh-squeezed orange juice along with a sausage and egg casserole. The coffeepot soon produced a heavenly aroma.
They ate at the island, standing up.
Carter reached over to brush a crumb from her chin. “Not to be sexist,” he said, “but I’m astounded how beautiful you look at this hour of the morning. You’re the opposite of high-maintenance, aren’t you?”
She put her hands to hair that was riotously out of control, because she had gone to bed with it wet. “I appreciate the compliment, but I’m going to need to seriously up my game before tonight. Would you mind if we headed on back to Royal?”
He stared at her even as she kept her gaze on her breakfast. “No morning exercise?” he drawled, his meaning impossible to misinterpret.
Her cheeks burned. What could it hurt? One last time? Of course, that’s what she had told herself about last night. “Sure,” she said, hoping the word was breezy and not filled with indecision. “It’s still early.”
He picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, making her squeal with laughter. “What are you doing, Carter?” she said breathlessly.
His answer was succinct. “Saving time.”
She thought he might suggest a shared shower. But no. Instead, he stripped her naked, undressed himself and bent her over the arm of the settee, taking her from behind.
He did pause at the last second to grab a condom, but after that, things got a little crazy. It almost seemed as if was trying to prove a point or maybe coax her into protesting.
Not a chance. She memorized every frenzied thrust, every touch of his hands on her body. Her heart was breaking, even as she climaxed sharply with his weight pressing her into the soft upholstery.
When it was over, he tugged her to her feet, cupped her neck in two hands and kissed her lazily. “Now that’s the way to start a morning,” he said.
Fourteen
Carter was sleepy on the way back to Royal. Abby had been right about that. And as soon as they left the ferry and made it over onto the highway, she was out cold, her neck bent toward the window at an awkward angle.
It was just as well. Carter needed time to think. He and Madeline had tumbled into a relationship based on sex, and that had ended in disaster. Was he doing the same thing with Abby? He honestly didn’t think so. What he felt for her was different, not even in the same ballpark.
After Madeline walked out on him, he had been furious, but he had repaired his life and carried on.
If Abby left for good, he feared there would be a gaping hole in his chest, his world, his heart. He was in danger of loving her—or maybe he already did, but it was too soon to admit it. How could he let her go?
Could he persuade her to stay in Royal? Surely, she understood what bound him to Texas. The responsibilities he carried, the weight of his heritage and his family’s expectations. But would it matter in the end?
She roused about two hours into the trip and reached instantly for one of the insulated flasks of coffee. After a long drink, she smoothed her hair and rubbed her eyes. “Sorry,” she muttered. “You want me to drive now?”
“I’m fine.” He squeezed her hand briefly. “Abby?” His heart pounded. “Have you thought about maybe staying in Royal longer than you first planned? You could move in with me until the festival is over and even after that. I have plenty of room to set up a studio for you.”
Her silence echoed inside the car. It lasted for ten seconds. Or fifteen. Maybe an eternity. She had gone still as a bunny rabbit caught in headlights. “Well, I...”
The leaden weight of disappointment settled in his gut. “You don’t have to decide right now. Just think about it.”
He was glad that controlling the car gave him an excuse not to look at her.
Abby kicked off her shoes and curled her legs beneath her. She sighed. “I would love to stay longer, Carter, I really would. But as soon as the festival is over, my father has blocked off some time to help me with editing and postproduction of my documentary. And that will be in California.”
He knew it was time to change the subject. “So have you settled on an angle for the film? A theme?”
Again, he experienced that unsettling lag between his seemingly benign question and her response. Abby tapped her fingers on the armrest. “I have. Dad and I looked at some of my early footage. I talked it over with him. He thinks the missing money angle could be a hard-hitting hook. Possibly even make my project more commercial.”
“Abby, no. You’re getting into something that could be dangerous.”
“Who would hurt me, Carter?” There was a little snap in her voice.
“Money makes people do strange things. Besides, I think you’re way off base. Nobody on the festival advisory board needs money. Billy Holmes is rich. You saw the evidence of that. The Edmond kids are each loaded, not even taking into account what they’ll inherit from their father one day. I truly believe the whole missing money thing is nothing more than gossip, despite what Billy said. It’s probably a few hundred bucks.”
“Pull over, please,” Abby said, her voice tight.
He swung the wheel immediately, steering them into a state rest area. They both got out and faced each other over the top of the car.
Abby’s gaze was stormy. “You don’t have any respect at all for my professional integrity, do you?”
“Of course I do, but you’re—”
She made a chopping motion with her hand, cutting him off. “No. You don’t. You think of this documentary as Abby’s little hobby. I may be young, Carter, but I’m neither immature nor foolish. I have goals and dreams. Which is more than I can say for you.”
His temper lit. “You don’t know me. Don’t pretend like you do. Sunset Acres is my ranch now, not my parents’. It’s a huge part of who I am.”
“Ah, yes. A Texas rancher. An esteemed member of the Texas Cattleman’s Club. There’s more to life than cattle, Carter. Maybe that’s why your precious Madeline left you.”
Though the flash of regret on Abby’s face said she regretted her harsh words, Carter sucked in a deep breath and counted to ten. They were both exhausted, and if he read the situation correctly, they were each fighting an attraction that was bound to hurt them both. Why keep pushing?
His fists were clenched on the roof of the car. He relaxed them and stepped back. “Do you need to use the restroom?”
Abby glanced at the squatty brick building baking under the afternoon sun. “Yes. I’ll make it quick.”
Carter didn’t move. As he waited for her to return, he tried to find a way out. But every idea he pursued mentally ended up a dead end.
Besides, he had no proof that Abby was as caught up in him as he was in her.
As she walked across the sidewalk in his direction, he studied her as a stranger would. Her graceful long legs covered the distance quickly.
When she slid into the passenger seat and closed her door, he got in, as well. Thankfully, he had left the engine running. The day was hot as hel
l. It might set a record.
He rested one arm on the steering wheel, tasting defeat. “I don’t want to fight with you, Abs. Especially with so little time left. Maybe we should call a truce.”
She half turned in her seat, her expression heartbreaking. “Yes,” she said. “My father told me something recently that resonated. He said some people come into our lives for a season. I think that’s you and me, Carter. As much as we l...like each other, there’s no future in it.”
She stumbled over the word like. Had there been another word on her tongue? Had Abby been considering love?
He turned the radio on, covering the awkwardness. The last thirty minutes of the trip felt like an eternity. At the hotel, he got out to help Abby with her bags. Although she protested, he carried the two heaviest items upstairs, waited while she unlocked the door and then dumped everything on the extra bed.
She shifted from one foot to the other. “You can skip the reception tonight. I’m fine on my own.”
Her words seemed prophetic. She didn’t need him. “No back-sies,” he said, hoping his smile was more genuine than it felt. “You invited me, and I said yes. What time should I pick you up?”
“Six thirty will work. Remember, it’s black tie.”
“Got it.”
They stared at each other across what seemed like an acre of thick carpet. Her bed was mere steps away. He wanted her with a raw ache that didn’t let up.
Abby was visibly nervous. Did she want him gone? Was that it?
“I should go,” he said, hoping she would try to change his mind.
She nodded. “I’ll see you at six thirty.”
He carried the memory of her with him as he said a terse goodbye and made his way back downstairs. A woman of secrets, a woman of mystery. What thoughts raced behind those dark brown eyes?
He crashed hard when he got back to the ranch. The way he counted it, he’d barely managed four hours of sleep last night. Weaving on his feet, he knocked the AC down a few degrees and climbed into bed. But the hell of it was, Abby had taken up residence in that bed. He couldn’t forget the taste of her skin, or the faint scent that was uniquely hers.
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