by Mandy Baxter
Carter plucked the bottle of Corona from Tess’s grasp and set it beside his. He threaded his fingers through the still-damp locks of her hair. Her lips parted invitingly as he put his mouth to hers. Despite his vow not to fall for her, he felt his world slip out from beneath him and he knew that this couldn’t end any other way but badly. As her tongue slid against his in a sensual caress, Carter didn’t care.
* * *
Did Carter realize that he wore his heart on his sleeve? Or that it drove Tess absolutely out of her mind with want? He was the total package. He had the body, the looks, he was thoughtful and sensitive. Truly a good dad whether he thought so or not. And the man had perfected the act of kissing to an art form.
His kisses set her on fire.
What started out as a slow build—tongues meeting, the glancing of lips, soft melding of breaths—escalated into a frenzy. His mouth slanted across hers. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, kissed her deeply, his lips firm and unyielding against hers. Carter laid her out on the couch and hiked her sundress up around her hips. He settled on top of her, and Tess gasped as he jerked her underwear aside and cupped her pussy in his large hand. The pressure of the heel of his palm against her clit caused the bundle of nerves to throb gently. Tess let out a soft moan.
She wound his hair into her fists as she kissed him for all she was worth. He slipped one finger inside of her, withdrawing it slowly before plunging back in and rocking his palm against her clit. Oh … god. Tess’s mind went blank, her thoughts wiped clear by the intense pleasure Carter so easily gave her. He reached for her right leg and guided it up until it hung over the back of the couch opening her fully to him.
“You’re so soft, Tess.” Carter kissed across her jaw to her temple and down to her ear. He took the lobe between his teeth and bit lightly. Chills broke out over Tess’s skin and she whimpered. “So wet. You like this, don’t you? You like what I’m doing to you.”
Was he kidding? She loved it! Couldn’t get enough. “Carter, you’re making me crazy,” she panted.
“I don’t want to waste another second with you.” His words thrilled her. She rocked her hips up to meet the thrust of his finger while pressing her clit harder against his palm. Her own wetness spread over her inner thighs as he worked his finger in and out of her. “I want to fuck you until the sun rises. I want to know every inch of your body, Tess. For tonight, I want you to be mine and no one else’s.”
She’d been his since the day he knocked on her patio window to apologize for his grouchy behavior. Tess couldn’t admit that though. She couldn’t let him know how much of herself she’d already given to him. “Tonight,” she agreed, “I’m yours.”
Disappointment gathered in a knot in Tess’s chest. How could she possibly tell him that she wanted so much more than tonight with him? Or at the very least, a chance at more. If she thought of everything she could lose when reality came crashing down around them tomorrow, she’d fall apart. She had to make the most of the time she had with Carter now. The rest could wait.
Tess let out a contented sigh as Carter continued to work his finger in and out of her pussy with a maddeningly easy pace. He put his lips to her temple and whispered, “Let’s jump in the lake.”
“What?” Laughter bubbled up Tess’s throat. “It’s fifty degrees outside, Carter.”
“I know. We’ll jump in the lake and then get in the hot tub.”
“Naked?” she asked.
“Mmmm.” Carter worked his way back to her ear and sucked her lobe into his mouth. “Yes. The cold water will make your nipples hard and then I’ll suck them.”
As if they weren’t already aroused into diamond peaks. The thought of jumping into the lake with Carter, naked, was too tempting to resist, however. Especially with the promise of his warm mouth on her breasts. “Okay,” she panted as he pressed his palm against her clit. “Let’s do it.”
She let out a whimper when he withdrew his finger from her pussy. She missed the easy rhythm of his caresses, the slick slide of friction, and the slow build of heat that coiled low in her belly.
Carter pushed himself up from the couch and stripped. Tess stared, rapt, at the play of muscles she’d never tire of watching. His erection stood out proud and thick from his hips, and she wanted to take it into her mouth. Suck him hard and deep until he came deep in the back of her throat once again.
“Later,” Carter said with a wry grin.
“Oh, so you know what I’m thinking now?”
“Uh-huh, and I want your mouth on me again so much I can barely stand it.”
A shiver danced over her skin.
“Get naked.”
He didn’t have to ask her again. Tess got up from the couch and stripped. An appreciative growl gathered in Carter’s chest as his gaze roamed over her body. Tess’s nipples puckered under his perusal. She didn’t need a chilly lake, just the heat of Carter’s unabashed stare. He grabbed her hand and led her through the vast living room and past the formal dining room to the sliding glass doors. He pulled the doors open and the kiss of cool air on her bare flesh coaxed goose bumps to the surface of Tess’s skin.
Carter turned to face her. A wicked smile curved his sinful mouth. “Ready?”
She nodded. “Ready.”
They ran like a couple of stupid kids over the patio and onto the cool grass of the lawn. Tess squealed with both joy and embarrassment as they hit the wet sand of the beach.
“Don’t stop,” Carter said. “You’ll lose your edge if you do.”
He’d obviously done this before. With his wife, maybe? Tess stuffed the sad thought to the soles of her feet and picked up her pace until she was right beside him. They hit the water at full speed and Tess gasped as the icy water met her skin. Carter spun and gathered her in his arms before he brought them both down in a graceful arc into the water. Surprisingly, the water was warmer than the air outside, and she experienced a brief moment of weightlessness before Carter brought them both up to the surface.
They laughed and gasped for air as the chill sank in. The nearly full moon shone down on them, bathing their glistening bodies in silver light. Carter drank her in, his gaze so intense that it—not the cold of the water—stole Tess’s breath. “Beautiful,” he said on a breath before lowering his mouth to her breast and taking her nipple into his hot mouth just as he’d promised he would.
He suckled one breast, and then the other, until Tess trembled in his arms. He mistook her reaction for a chill and carried her from the lake up the lawn, and deposited her in the hot tub. He turned on the jets and settled in beside her before gathering her in his arms once again. He kissed her for long moments that seemed to transcend time. Languorous flicks of his tongue and whispers of his lips against hers. His gentleness, the attention he paid to her, nearly broke Tess’s heart.
He turned and lifted her up so that she sat on the lip of the hot tub. Carter’s gaze burned as he spread her legs and dipped his head to her pussy. “I thought you wanted my mouth on you,” she murmured a moment before his lips sealed over her clit.
A low moan worked its way up her throat as Tess’s head rolled back on her shoulders. He brought his head up and the cool kiss of air sent a delicious shiver over Tess’s skin. “I couldn’t wait to taste you,” he said, low. His eyes sparked with mischief and a wicked grin stretched across his lips. “I’ll let you make it up to me later.”
Carter Christensen was one of a kind. And for tonight, he belonged to her.
Eleven
Bright light penetrated the inside of Carter’s bedroom. Tess stirred beside him and nestled closer to his body. He gathered her close and kissed her hairline at her temple. The past twenty-four hours had been some of the best of his life. That it was all about to come to a close left him feeling too goddamned raw.
Nate and Chloe would be bringing the girls home in a couple of hours. As much as he wanted to lounge in bed with Tess for the remainder of the morning—to kiss, lick, suck, and let his hands roam the soft swells and dips of
her body—they couldn’t be naked under the covers when the girls got there. Reality beckoned and though Carter wanted to tell it to fuck right off, he’d known that this would have to come to an end. And still, the past twenty-four hours had passed far too quickly.
He didn’t want to give Tess up.
Carter held her tight against him as though the simple act could change the reality of his life. He had the girls to think about and he couldn’t risk breaking all of their hearts all over again if things didn’t work out with Tess. They’d gone into this knowing all they’d had was a few borrowed hours together. Tess had agreed that it would be best to keep emotions out of the mix. So why did the thought of going back to the way things had been cause panic to rise like acid in his throat?
“Morning.” Tess’s sleepy greeting drew Carter’s attention.
He scooted down farther on the pillow and nuzzled her neck. “Morning.”
Tess reached down between them and took the length of his cock in her palm. Memories surfaced of the previous night. Their time in the hot tub, her thighs quivering against his cheeks as she came on his tongue, the intensity of his own orgasm as she’d taken him deep in her mouth, her nails biting into his thighs. The hours spent in this bed, the way Tess had looked as she straddled his hips and rode him with wanton abandon, and the expression on her beautiful face as she’d come yet again. And the quiet moments afterward when she’d laid in his arms in the total dark and they’d murmured sweet endearments to one another. In the aftermath of their lust, the words had left his lips unbidden. I think … I could love you, Tess.
He’d meant it. Another week, maybe two, and he could easily find himself in love with her.
Thinking back on it, those moments were dreamlike. His chest ached and Carter rubbed at his sternum as though he could banish the emotions that continued to torture him in the harsh light of day.
“I want to make you breakfast.” Tess’s breathy murmur only served to harden his cock and she angled her hip to glide against his erection. The softness of her skin branded him.
His panic resurfaced and Carter rolled away from her with a harsh exhale. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and looked over his shoulder at Tess to find her studying him, her expression a mixture of curiosity and hurt. How could he have ever thought they could do this and come out on the other side unchanged? Unhurt.
“Nate will be here any time,” he said. Realization dawned and Tess sat up in bed, bringing the sheet with her. Carter wanted to tug it away, to bare her gorgeous breasts to him one last time. That would be playing with fire, though. If he started there, he knew he wouldn’t stop until he was once again buried inside of her.
“We should probably get up and get dressed, huh?” He didn’t miss the disappointment in her tone, and Carter’s mood soured. Goddamn it, he didn’t want to be the responsible adult. For the first time in his life, he wanted to be more like Travis. To care only about himself.
That’s not who Carter was, though. He’d never be that guy. “Maybe I could get a raincheck on breakfast.” His heart plummeted from his chest and landed at the bottom of his gut. “It would probably be best if the girls didn’t come home and wonder what you’re doing here so early in the morning.”
“Right. Of course.” Tess averted her gaze and Carter had never felt like more of an asshole.
This was only one of the reasons why he’d avoided jumping back into the dating pool. He refused for his girls to see a revolving door of hookups walk in and out of their lives, and likewise, Carter wasn’t going to be the sort of single parent that constantly sent his daughters away so he could get laid. Tess didn’t deserve this.
Carter stood and retrieved the pair of workout pants he’d left on the floor last night. His gaze wandered to a dresser in the far corner of the room and the framed family picture of him, Steph, and the girls that they’d taken by the lake when Jenny and Jane were two years old. Guilt flared in his chest, squeezed his lungs until he couldn’t take a decent breath. Steph was gone and Tess was right here, warm, willing, and so caring. And instead of letting her stay to greet the girls with him and share a nice breakfast, he was kicking her out as if he was ashamed of her.
Carter wasn’t equipped to deal with any of this. He felt as though his heart would explode at any minute. He didn’t want to hurt Tess but damn it, he didn’t know what else to do.
“Maybe after the girls get settled back in, we could do lunch or something? I could make sandwiches and we could do a picnic down by the water so the girls can play in the sand.”
God, even now Tess was trying to salvage the day. Carter pulled his pants up over his ass and turned to face her. “Yeah, maybe.”
Her hopeful expression fell. Her lips turned downward and Carter wanted to kiss away her disappointment and the sadness that glistened in her deep blue eyes. He had to think about Jenny and Jane, though. He had to do what was best for them.
Is this what’s best for them … or you?
Carter reached for the dresser beside his bed and searched for a T-shirt. He tried to not notice as Tess slipped out of the bed to dress. His gaze lingered on the smooth skin of her back, the curve of her waist, and the perfect globes of her ass that he’d cradled in his palms.
“We don’t have to do a picnic.” She glanced over her shoulder at him as Carter pulled his shirt over his head to keep from meeting her gaze. “We can do whatever you want. We don’t even have to do lunch if you want to spend the afternoon with them by yourself.”
A pang speared his chest, and Carter tried to rub it away. She was too damned understanding. Too compassionate. Considerate. So fucking sexy as she glanced at him over the creamy skin of her bare shoulder. The same shoulder he’d sunk his teeth into as he’d taken her from behind. Carter took a deep breath in through his nose and let it out slowly through his mouth. He couldn’t bear to hurt her, but he didn’t think he could open himself up to more heartache.
“We’ll see.” It wasn’t an outright “no” but he could tell from Tess’s expression that she’d gotten the gist. Carter’s gut knotted up so high he swore it had retreated into his throat. “The girls might be tired since I doubt Nate put them to bed at a decent hour.”
“That’s fine.” Tess’s voice became so small that Carter had to strain to hear her. “I’ll be home either way.”
Carter stared at the wall as Tess continued to dress in silence. He couldn’t bring himself to take even a step away from his spot on the other side of the bed because he knew his damned traitorous feet would take him straight to Tess and he’d do everything in his power to assuage her. This was for the best. They’d agreed there didn’t need to be any strings attached.
“You guys can come over if you change your mind.” Tess headed for the bedroom door and Carter’s jaw clenched. “My door’s open.”
Silence and loneliness swallowed him, and his muscles tensed to the point of pain. He’d turned his back on Tess, made her feel as though what happened between them meant nothing. In guarding his own heart, he’d damaged hers. He was nothing more than a selfish asshole who didn’t deserve her.
Steph would be so proud.
* * *
“Daddy! Daddy! We rode in a helicopter!”
“We saw a giraffe!”
“A goat tried to eat Jane’s shirt!”
The girls’ excited voices carried from Carter’s patio. Tess listened through the screen as she poured herself a cup of coffee. The hurt of her exclusion sliced through her and she let out a shaky breath. No walk of shame she could ever conjure in her imagination could have compared to the flare of heartache when Carter suggested she leave. As though she wasn’t good enough for his brother and his fiancée to meet. As though she wasn’t good enough for Jenny and Jane.
Tears stung at Tess’s eyes as memories of the previous night flooded her. Of Carter’s heartfelt words when he’d whispered in the dark, I think I could love you, Tess. She knew better than to believe the things men said post-orgasm. She’d lost count of
the times Jared had said the same sorts of things. He’d told her she was the only woman he’d ever love. The only one he’d ever want. In the meantime, he’d been enjoying a little side action with her best friend.
It’s not as though she’d wanted to move in with Carter, play house, and be a mom to his girls. She’d known him for a little over a week and yeah, the past twenty-four hours had proven that they were more than sexually compatible, but that didn’t make for a relationship. She’d simply wanted more than his not-so-casual brush-off.
Morning gave way to afternoon and before Tess knew it, the sun had set. She sat in her living room, the furniture and floors still covered with drop cloths while she drowned her sorrows in a monster bowl of four-cheese mac ’n cheese and a glass of red wine. In the background, she barely noticed the episode of The Following she’d been trying to watch. Not even FBI agent Ryan Hardy could hold her attention tonight.
The soft sound of someone knocking at the back patio door sent a shock of adrenaline racing through Tess’s bloodstream. She checked the time on her phone—almost eleven. She went to the kitchen, her heart in her throat. Four palms and two little faces were pressed against the glass. Good lord. It was a wonder any part of Carter’s sanity remained intact with those two around. She let a slow sigh and tried to calm the racing of her pulse as she slid the door open to let them in.
“I know for a fact your dad doesn’t know you’re here.”
“He thinks we’re in bed,” Jenny said, sounding only a little guilty.
Jane jumped in to finish her sister’s thought, “But he wouldn’t let us come over earlier and we got something for you at the zoo.”
“I think he’s back to being cranky,” Jenny said.
Jane gave an exaggerated sigh. “He should have come to the zoo and maybe he wouldn’t be in such a bad mood.”