by Loren, Celia
"What wouldn't be such a big deal?" Carter asks, frowning.
"Carter, why don't you come stand over here? Away from them," I intercede.
"OK..." he replies grudgingly, and walks over to my bedside.
"Or maybe after all that's happened, today wouldn't be such a good day for something else to happen," Jack says to Bree.
"What the hell are you all talking about?" Anne asks, exasperated. "I feel like you're talking in code."
"Carter, just remember that I'm injured right now, and I really need you to stay calm," I tell him.
"This doesn't sound good," he grumbles. I wink at Bree, and she walks over to stand next to Jack, who looks far less confident than she does.
"Well, the thing is..." Bree says, looking around the room and taking a deep breath. "Jack and I are together and we're in love."
Chapter Thirty-Five
A shocked silence settles over the room, then Carter turns to me. "You knew?"
"Just remember that I've been kidnapped and shot today, so again, I really can't stress enough how I need everyone to remain calm and not punch anyone right now," I reply rapidly.
"You're too young!" Anne exclaims.
"I'm nineteen and Jack's twenty-four!" Bree replies.
"How long has this been going on?" Carter asks. His voice is quiet, but his jaw is twitching.
"Since the summer," Jack replies.
"You've been lying about this for months?!" Carter exclaims. Bree moves just in front of Jack, clearly worried that Carter is about to explode.
"You and Mom just would have tried to get us to break up, and we didn't want to!" Bree adds.
"Damn straight!" Carter says, his voice rising. "You've been sneaking around behind our backs!"
"Like you have a leg to stand on!" Bree retorts.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Carter asks in confusion.
"Oh...um, nothing," Bree replies, giving me a panicked look.
"She knows, Carter," I say quietly. "And she's right."
"Who knows what?" Anne asks. "WHAT IS HAPPENING?"
"Anne, why don't you sit down," I suggest, attempting to take control of the situation. Carter hurries over and pulls a chair from the wall. His mother practically collapses into it. "Jack and Bree are together, and I found out a little while ago and promised I wouldn't tell. Also...Carter and I had a, um, fling."
"Woah, woah, what?" Jack exclaims. "Lex, you dirty dog!"
"Not helping, Jack," Bree murmurs.
"I thought I sensed something. But it's over now, right?" Anne asks, glancing between Carter and me.
"Well, it's complicated," I reply. Jack bursts out laughing and Bree punches him in the arm.
"We were just waiting for the timing to work out," Carter explains. "But this is different!"
"Carter, it's not," I tell him. "It only seems different because she's your little sister."
"Are you really in love?" Anne asks Bree quietly. Bree looks up at Jack.
"We are," he replies. "And I'm sorry we lied to you. But I'm serious about her."
"And what about you two?" she asks, turning to her son.
"Honestly, we haven't quite gotten the chance to figure it out...but I think it's real," Carter says, taking my hand.
I'm shocked to see Anne smile. "Well, isn't that something," she murmurs, so quietly I almost can't hear her. "Something beautiful coming out of it, after all. Just when I couldn't see the beauty in the world anymore, now here you all are."
"I was serious about you moving in with us, Anne," Jack says.
"Jack never actually asked me to move in," Bree says with a smile, "but I think it's a good idea, too."
"Oh, right, sorry," Jack mutters, looking bashful. "I was just trying to help."
"I know," Bree replies, gently rubbing his back. I glance at Carter, who looks slightly alarmed at first by this display of intimacy, but relaxes when I squeeze his hand.
"If you two are just moving in together, I don't want to intrude," Anne says.
"It's a really big apartment," Bree says with a grin. "You can have your own floor."
"Well, I certainly don't want to go back to the house right now," Anne murmurs.
"What about you two? Now that we don't need to sneak around, you can use the extra apartment," Bree says, turning to us.
"Wait, hang on a second, this apartment was where you two would sneak off and...?" Carter says, looking shocked.
"Best not to think about it," I murmur.
"Maybe they feel strange now, moving in together if they're sort of dating," Jack points out to Bree.
"Oh, do you feel strange?" Bree asks us, bluntly as ever.
"Um..." I reply, feeling overwhelmed.
"Can you give us the room for a minute?" Carter asks, taking control of the situation. Anne obligingly follows out Bree and Jack, looking dazedly back and forth between them. "Hi," Carter says, turning to me with a smile.
"Hi," I murmur. "Are you alright?"
"I'm not the one who's been shot today, so let's focus on you. I know I'd talked about moving in together, but this is different. I want you to feel safe, but I also don't want you to feel uncomfortable in any way. I mean, I don't want it to get in the way of, you know, us. I could try to get Roger to take the extra room as protection—"
"I think I'd feel a lot weirder living with Roger," I reply with a smile. "And honestly, I'd feel safer with you. It can't possibly be a weirder situation that what we've had. At least our parents aren't getting married anymore, right?"
"Right. OK, I'll get our stuff from the house later today."
"I can help."
"I don't want you going back there. Your father nearly got you killed."
"You're probably right. It's weird, though. I don't feel as angry at him as I think I should," I murmur.
"Well, I think I'm mad enough for the both of us," Carter murmurs, his fists clenching.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to have anything to do with him. It's just that I don't feel angry at him anymore. It's like being mad at a lion for being a carnivore. It's just how he is, and he isn't going to change."
"I suppose that's a healthy way to think about it," Carter replies grudgingly.
"So can I get out of here today?"
"The police will want to take your statement, but I can probably get them to wait until you're home."
"Home. With you."
"With me."
I grin. "I think this might take a little getting used to."
Chapter Thirty-Six
Two months later...
"Yes!" Bree exclaims, staring in shock at the diamond ring in front of her. Anne, Carter, and I applaud as Jack slips it onto her finger. My little brother laughs in relief. I've never seen him sweat so much when he wasn't on the field.
"Fuck, I was nervous," he swears.
"You shouldn't've been. This ring is gorgeous!" Bree says, turning it in the light.
"Lex helped me pick it out," Jack says, giving me a nod.
"You knew?" Carter asks, nudging me.
"Hey, this is different," I whisper back.
"There's some champagne in the fridge, I think," Anne says, getting up and heading over to the kitchen. We're at Jack's penthouse having a family dinner to celebrate Bree completing her novel, and Jack took advantage of everyone being in one place to pop the question.
Well, not quite everyone. My father settled things with the cartels, and despite sending Anne lavish gifts, she refused to take him back. Jack and I are effectively cut off from him, but while we've lost a father, we've actually gained a mother – or mother-in-law, rather. Anne doesn't plan to live with Jack and Bree forever, of course, but they've made it clear she's welcome until she feels like her life is back on firm footing.
"Do you know what kind of wedding you want?" Anne asks as she returns.
"Something small, don't you think?" Bree asks, placing her petite hand in Jack's giant one.
"Yeah, nothing too fancy," Jack agrees.
"No, tonight's about you," Carter demurs.
"Oh, please. I can't handle any more attention, honestly," she says.
"Tomorrow," he replies, giving me a look. "Thanks to Alexa."
"I don't think I can take all the credit," I say.
"Don't worry, Lex, I know you're the brains in this operation," Bree says with a teasing smile at her older brother.
I've been helping Carter and Roger start their own private security company, and truthfully, it has been a lot of work. But tomorrow, it should all start to pay off. I drafted a solid business plan for them, and tomorrow they're going in to meet with investors. We've actually made a great team: Roger has the industry connections, Carter has the skills, and I have the business savvy.
Carter was worried about me helping at first because he didn't want me to lose sight of school, but I've still managed to enroll myself in the summer semester, with some help from Jack. I didn't want to take money from him so I made him sign a loan document. He thought it was ridiculous, but I insisted I'd pay him back.
Anne raises her glass of champagne, and we all follow suit. "To Bree and—oh, hell, to all of you. We've all been through a lot this year, and I couldn't be prouder of each of you."
* * *
"Well, goodnight, then," I say to Carter. He's standing at our kitchen sink, filling up a glass of water.
"Goodnight," he replies, then clears his throat.
"Sorry?"
"Hm?"
"Nothing. 'Night." I shut my bedroom door behind me. We've been playing this awkward dance for weeks now. When we first moved in together, he was in full-on protector mode. And I didn't mind – I was jumpy and nervous and needed him nearby. And then things began to settle down, and we became friends. Best friends, really. And then helping him with his business has been a whole additional layer. I'm worried that the romantic stuff has just gotten crowded out.
Or maybe he just doesn't see me like that anymore. Maybe he only thinks of me as a friend. I sigh, and pull my dress off. My fingers slide over the small, raised scar on my upper arm. It's funny how I could be so brave in one situation, when my life was in danger, but now I don't have the courage to even ask Carter if he's still interested in me. Bree has told me repeatedly that I'm being a chicken, but I think her vision might be clouded because she wants us to be together so much.
Not that I don't. Lately, it feels like my skin is on fire whenever I'm near him. I actually have to avoid the living room in the morning because he showers in the hall bathroom and if I see him in a towel one more time I'm going to explode. I didn't think his body could carry any more muscle, but it turns out he'd actually lost quite a bit while his leg was healing.
There's a knock on my bedroom door, and I quickly swing it open. Carter is standing in the doorway, his hand paused in front of him.
"What's up?" I ask.
"I just wanted to thank you again for all your...you do realize you're in your underwear, right?"
I flush. "Oh, shit. I was thinking about...something, and I took—" I stop as his hand moves forward and stops on my bare waist. I stare at him, but he's not looking at my face. His eyes are travelling all over my body in a way that makes me shiver. Suddenly, he jerks his arm back.
"I'm sorry. You had a traumatic experience, and I've been trying to give you space."
"Oh. Oh! So...you still want..."
"Do you?"
"Yes."
"Thank god," he says, and steps forward, wrapping his arms around me. I almost faint with pleasure as our bodies press against each other. Our mouths open and our tongues slide against each other. My fingers quickly find the bottom of his thin t-shirt and I step back for a moment to pull it up over his head. In a moment, his mouth is back on mine.
His hands reach behind my back and quickly unhook my bra. As he leans back and pulls it off my hands, he lets his fingers brush against them.
"You're shaking," he notes.
"I know," I say with a smile. I reach forward and grab his belt, swiftly unbuckling it. He reaches down and pushes his pants down himself, as I let my eyes travel over his muscular torso, his pecs popping out over his etched abdomen, and the trail of hair leading down from his belly button.
He steps forward and turns me around, pulling my hips back against his rock hard member. I grind my ass against him, and feel his hot breath on my neck. His rough palms reach across my breasts, and I arch my back as he twists my nipples in between his fingers. His left hand moves around my neck, guiding my face towards his, as his right hand moves southward, sliding slowly under my panties.
I pant as he playfully flicks his fingers across my bare skin, teasing me, and then cry out as he slides them over my clit. The pleasure is so immediate, it's been hiding under the surface for weeks, just waiting for his touch.
I can feel how wet I am as he slides one finger inside me, leaving his thumb to circle my aching nub. I reach my arms behind his neck and hold on as my knees buckle.
"Oh, god, Carter," I moan, as I feel an orgasm quickly building inside me.
"Fuck, I've wanted you so much," he groans, and my body unspools around his fingers as an orgasm rips through me. Its waves are still hitting me when he turns me back around and yanks down my panties.
I gasp as he pushes me back onto the bed, leaving my legs hanging off, and bite my lip in anticipation as he pushes his boxers to the floor and steps toward me. He takes his dick in his hand and bends over me, finding my slit and pressing into me.
As he enters me, I cry out and he lets out a massive groan. He's stretching me to the limit, and I have to take deep breaths to relax my muscles enough to let him in.
"You feel so good..." he moans, taking a slow stroke back as he reaches forward and grabs my breasts with both hands. "This might be a quick one," he warns me.
"Go for it," I reply with a smile, moving my legs up and resting my ankles on his shoulders. His eyes get a dangerous glint to them, and he pulls his hips back and roughly thrusts forward. My eyes roll back in my head as he makes contact deep inside me, and my hands grip the edge of the bed.
He grabs my hips and presses me down into the mattress, and then really lets himself go, pumping into me over and over again. My eyes close and I'm lost to wave after wave of pleasure. I cry out in orgasm and still he keeps going. The sensations in my body are completely beyond my control as another orgasm builds. I vaguely hear him shout on top of me just as my body spasms with another release.
The next thing I know, I'm wrapping my arms around his broad, sweaty back, and locking my ankles around his back. He lifts me up and places me in the center of the bed, then collapses down on top of me.
"I'd like to sleep in here tonight," he whispers in my ear.
"We've never actually spent the entire night together before," I murmur. He's silent for a minute, and I'm content just to listen to him breathe.
"I've loved you for months, you know that?" he finally says.
Tears spring to my eyes and I don't bother to blink them back. "No," I admit. "But I love you, too."
"Didn't I call it? You're enrolled in school, and we're living together," he murmurs, and I can feel his cheeks move against me as he grins.
"You called it," I reply with a smile.
"Here's another prediction: you, me, wedding...three kids."
"Three? I don't know. Maybe two," I reply giddily.
"Well, I guess we can play it by ear," he says, placing a soft kiss on my cheek.
"Sounds good to me."
THE END
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