I check my watch. "About two hours from now."
"Plenty enough time for me to give you a proper thank you," she purrs against my neck.
"Yeah, but I want you to save it for later," I say, much to her surprise.
"Why?" she asks.
"Well," I mutter as she continues to kiss my neck, "I want to make love to you."
Carly's eyes are sometimes so hard to read, but this time isn't one of them. I tip her chin up and kiss her softly. "I want to take it slow, make you feel me all the way through to your heart. I want to show you what you mean to me, the way you touch me. And not just this," I say, putting her hand on my rock hard cock, "but this." I put her other hand on my heart. "I want you to understand and accept that you're mine and I'm yours."
She folds herself into my arms and I hold her close enough to feel each breath she takes against my chest. It's something I hope I'll never take for granted; the love of a woman who completes me.
§
The night is chilly, but no wind blows to cut through our clothes as we walk the five minutes to The Barn for dinner. Carly's heels make a clicking sound on the cobble walkway as we make our way to the door. Low music drifts through the red walls. Warm light pours through the windows and shines out into the night.
The Barn is all naked wood and subtle sophistication. The exposed beams of wood seem to glow in the muted light offered by three medium sized chandeliers that hang in front of a long serving line. I admire the woodwork every time I come here and can't help but grin when Carly's eyes go wide once we're inside. She whispers how beautiful she finds it.
The roof forms a peak that’s dotted with small track lights to showcase the thick, carved beams that run out from the ceiling. I can faintly smell the wood underneath the layers of food.
I give the hostess my name, the whole time never letting go of Carly's hand. She has her hair up; something I haven't seen, exposing her graceful neck and sexy shoulders. She's wearing the same burgundy dress she wore the night we had our first real date and I catch myself staring at the swell of her breasts.
We follow the hostess to our table in the corner like I requested. The table is semi-private and decorated with two long candles burning on either side of a small arrangement of orange autumn roses.
I thank the hostess as I pull Carly's chair out for her. The lady smiles and retreats to her post by the door.
“Geez, this place is gorgeous,” Carly leans in and whispers. She picks up the intricately folded napkin from her plate and places it in her lap, unable to stop looking around at the rustic beauty of The Barn.
“It’s beautiful alright, but not as beautiful as you. You look amazing tonight.” I reach across the table and take her hand. I can’t even stand how beautiful she looks.
“Thank you for saying that. And thank you again for bringing me here." She smiles and tucks a stray piece of hair behind her ear. The diamonds glint in the low light. Her eyes are exaggerated by the color of her dress and I look into them like a fool.
“It’s my pleasure,” I say, trying to force my eyes to look away. “And you’ll be my pleasure later,” I add. Heat rises to her cheeks and she blushes. It's irresistible.
“I hope so,” she answers with a grin. Her nude lips are glossy and all I can think about is how she looks right now. She has an irresistible charm, hidden underneath a sweet shyness that comes and goes. Carly picks up her menu and starts to look through it before her eyes narrow.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“I’m just not sure what to order,” she admits. She chews her glossy lip a little in concentration.
“Just play it safe and order the chicken dish. That’s what I do,” I confess. “It’s some of the best food in the South, so don’t really worry about what to order.” The waiter approaches and we both get the chicken. I ask for the wine list.
The waiter produces a small folded paper and hands it to me.
"I'll have a glass of brandy, please" Carly says. I love that she isn't afraid to drink something other than water. Rachel never drank and hated when I did.
"Just bring a bottle of Remy Martin," I say, handing the wine list back to the server. He nods and heads toward the bar.
"That's a $250 bottle of brandy, Jack," Carly informs me.
I shrug. "If you want brandy, I'll give you the best they have."
Carly looks around and I realize she's uncomfortable. "Jack, can I talk to you about something? Without insulting all the wonderful things you've done for me?"
"Of course," I say, suddenly finding it a little hard to swallow.
"I just," she looks up as though trying to sort out how best to continue, "I appreciate everything you've done; the trip, the earrings, the dinner. I just don't want you to think you have to do any of this for me. I'm perfectly happy at your house, on the couch, underneath a blanket watching a movie and sipping on a Bud Light."
I listen and watch as she chews at her bottom lip.
"Please don't be insulted, I love the earrings," her fingers go to them, "but you don't have to buy me things and spend a lot of money to show me you care. I'm not used to it, and to be honest, I don't know how to deal with it."
I take a second to try and figure out what I want to say to her. I don't want her to feel like this, like I'm trying to buy her affections. And as petty as it is, I want to do all the things for her that Nick never did.
"Carly, I just want to do things for you, because I love you. I never really showed my affection this way to anyone before, but I want to do it for you. If it really makes you uncomfortable, I'll curb my spending for a while. At least until you're used to it."
She smiles, but then almost immediately frowns. "I may not ever be used to it. We didn't have a lot growing up at my grandma's. Money was always tight and it's still tight, at least for me. I'm not accustomed to diamonds and $250 bottles of alcohol. I'm sorry."
I take her hand and pull it across the table and to my lips. "Don't be sorry, I get what you mean. I don't really think sometimes, I just do."
"I'm glad that's out there," she says, letting out a breath of air. "I kept feeling like I should say something about it, but I didn't wanna seem like an ungrateful bitch."
I kiss the back of her hand again and she smiles. "I could never think you were a bitch. Or ungrateful," I assure her.
"Oh, yes you could," Carly starts. "If you'd seen what I had to go through to get off work-" She's interrupted as the waiter arrives with the bottle of Cognac and two glasses of ice. He pours a little of the liquid and I notice it's the same color as Carly's eyes. He assures us our food will be out soon and once we assure him we don’t need anything else, he departs our table.
"What do you mean?" I ask as soon as he's out of earshot.
"My boss is a letch," she says, taking a sip of the brandy. She gives it an appreciative glance. "He didn't wanna let me have this weekend off, but I told him if he didn't, I'd have to report him for grabbing my ass."
"He fucking touched you?" Anger creeps up inside me like a beast. My fist clenches involuntarily.
"Yeah, but he's just a creep. He does it to all the girls. No one takes him seriously." Carly focuses on her glass, but I know she's worried that I won't let this go.
I don't even know this motherfucker, but I want to throw the table across the room at the thought of him putting his hand on her. "That kind of shit is serious, Carly. Not to mention illegal. If he touches you again, I'll fucking kick his ass."
"Jack, it's okay. He leaves me alone most of the time. He's just a horny old pervert. I don't think I'll have to worry about him saying shit to me again."
I work up to ask more questions, ones that are probably best left unasked, when the waiter brings our food. I don't even feel like eating anymore.
"Jack, please," Carly says. "Don't be like this."
I finish off the glass of brandy and pour another larger one. I down it in one drink.
"Like what?" I ask dryly.
"Please don't take this out
on me. Don't think for one second that I'd let him do anything to me. If I'd known you were gonna act like this, I wouldn't have told you."
Carly's looking at me like I'm an alien.
I rub my chin and drop my head. "I'm sorry I reacted that way," I say. "I just don't like the thought of someone else putting their hands on you."
"Jack," she says sternly, "you don't have to worry about anyone doing anything to me. Acting like an asshole to me doesn't show that you love me, it shows me you don't trust me."
"I know," I sigh. "I know. I do trust you. I'm sorry. Forgive me?"
She crosses her arms over her chest and looks at me for a second before giving me the peace offering of her smile. "Okay, but only because you look so sweet when you apologize."
I scowl at her and pick up my fork. The food is good and the conversation stays light while we eat. The server arrives a bit later to clear the mostly empty plates.
"Would you like dessert?" he asks. I look at Carly and she nods. I order one slice of cake and ask the waiter to bring two forks. I wanna watch her mouth as I feed her sweet cake.
"What did you order?" she asks.
"Don't worry, you'll love it," I reassure her.
"You look very handsome tonight, very sexy. I don't think I've told you that yet," she says.
"Do I?" I ask.
"Yep. Unfortunately, I'm not the only one who's realized it. That woman over there keeps staring at you," she nods her head to a table slightly to her left.
"Don't care," I say dismissively. "There's only one pair of eyes I care about and that's your wild ones."
"My eyes are wild?" she asks with a grin.
"They are wild and they drive me wild. They're like honey over chocolate." It's the corniest thing I can think of to describe them, but it's not inaccurate.
"If you say so," she laughs.
I nod at her and watch her eyes go to the couple opposite us again.
"Those people are still looking at us," she mutters. "They've been staring since we sat down and it's starting to get on my nerves."
I finally relent and turn around in my chair to see what she's talking about. The woman smiles at me, a sexy, wanting smile.
"Do you know her?" Carly asks, her voice a little higher, bordering on shrill.
"No, do you know him?" The man is looking at Carly like she's gonna be his dessert.
"No," she says, just as the man rises from his table and heads toward us. "Shit!" she whispers. "He's coming over here."
He's tall and lean with a dark tan and short, spiky blonde hair. He stands next to Carly and adjusts his tie.
"Can we help you?" I ask, looking up at him. He leans down and puts one arm on her chair. I look at it and then back at him. The beast inside me that claims Carly wakes up.
"I'm Will. My wife, Janie," he points at the brunette he left at the table, "and I were wondering if you two would like to join us in the bar after dinner."
"I'm afraid we're gonna have to decline your offer," I say with a forced politeness. If his hand gets any closer to Carly's shoulder, I know I'm gonna lose it.
"That's a real shame," Will says, turning to look at her. His face is long and has a pinched, tight look, as though he's had plastic surgery. He has blue eyes that are so blue, they must be contacts. Carly smiles awkwardly at him and then looks away and into her glass of brandy before shooting me a look that shows how uncomfortable she is.
Will lets his eyes linger on her for a little too long before extending his hand to me. I take it, through some will I have to muster from deep in my gut, and give it a small shake. Will walks back to his table and takes his seat. I watch Will shake his head in a curt 'no' to his wife.
"Oh my god, are they swingers?" Carly whispers.
"I think so," I answer. "Either that, or he thought he could get you away from me long enough to fuck you. He kept looking at you in that dress."
"Jack, are you jealous of him?"
I look at her sternly, flexing my jaw. "Not jealous, I just don't like it when someone thinks they can do shit like that to my girlfriend. Like that asshole Nick or your fucking piece of shit boss." I hear the words come out of my mouth, exactly what I shouldn't say, but I've got a little buzz from the brandy and the anger. I see instantly that I went too far, that I've been unfair.
"I told you, nobody else matters to me," she insists. "Besides, his wife obviously wants to fuck you, too, but you don't see me blaming you for that." She takes the napkin from her lap and tosses it on the table as she stands. "I'm going to the restroom."
"Carly-" I start, but I know I've been a prick and she needs a minute. I sit back at the table and watch her walk toward the bathroom. What the fuck was I thinking? Why did I treat her that way? I sip the brandy instead of downing it. I love this woman and I know she loves me. I know she doesn't want anyone else, so why did I make her feel like I think she'd want that asshole? I can't make her pay for Rachel's mistake.
The woman from the table, Janie, gives me a little wave as she walks toward the bathroom. I watch as she goes inside. What if she says something to Carly? Should I go after her? I debate it, knowing Carly can handle herself, but I'm anxious to head off any trouble.
My gaze is broken as Will walks back to the table and sits down in Carly's seat. I stare at him, not believing the balls on this guy.
"Didn't I make myself clear?" I threaten.
"Listen, I don't want to interrupt your date," Will says. "I just wanted to tell you that my wife won't stop talking about you."
"Well, then I'd say you've got a problem with your wife, buddy." I take a sip of my drink and eye him.
"I've got a problem, alright. She's insatiable." He smiles at me like this is something to be proud of.
"You two actually do this," I say, gesturing from his table to mine, "come up to strangers and ask whatever it is you're getting at?"
"We rarely approach strangers, unless they seem open to it, that is."
"Well, we aren't open to it."
Will picks up Carly's glass of brandy and turns it in his hand, looking at the imprint of her lips on the glass. He runs his thumb over it slowly. “She looks like she might be.”
"You'd better put that glass down and get the fuck across this restaurant before I knock you on your motherfucking ass," I warn. My heartbeat increases and my arms tense up.
"She's a beautiful girl," he continues, sitting the glass back on the table. "I like them a little thick, but just a little. Just like her."
I reach across the table and grab him by the shirt collar. Glasses rattle and fall to the floor as the candles go out in puffs of white smoke.
"I said, we're not interested. You look at her again and I'll break your fucking face. She's mine, not to be shared or handed off. You fucking got that?" His eyes are wide and he puts his hands up. A suited man is hurrying toward our table with a look of panic on his face. I let go of his shirt and he topples out of the chair to the floor. I lean back across the table and straighten my own shirt.
"I'm fine," Will mutters, waving his hand dismissively to the man in the suit. He gets to his feet, adjusts his dinner jacket and walks back to his table just as his wife opens the bathroom door. Carly follows behind her looking smug.
"Sir," the man in the suit says, "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."
Carly takes in the collateral damage of the glasses and looks at me in surprise. "What the hell happened, Jack?"
I glance toward Will and Janie's table and see she's attempting to talk to him while looking at us.
"Sir," the man in the suit insists.
"We're leaving," I mutter, grabbing Carly by the hand. "Put the dinner and any damage on my bill. My name is Robert Webster."
Carly keeps looking back and forth between the floor and the swinger couple. "Jack, what happened?" she asks again.
"I'll tell you when we're outside." She accepts that and follows me to the coat room. I feel the eyes of the staff on us as we get into our coats and walk out.
&nb
sp; I fight the urge to kick something as we walk past a line of flower bins that are overfilled with those same orange roses.
"Jack, tell me what happened," Carly begs.
"He thought we'd be interested in joining them, having sex with them." She walks quickly and catches up to walk beside me. "He wanted to fuck you while I fucked his wife, or some such shit."
"Ew, god," Carly groans, taking my hand. "Did you hit him?"
"No, but not because I didn't want to." We're walking quickly and the light of the cabin is just up ahead.
"His wife approached me in the bathroom. Said her husband could do things to me that I'd never dream of."
That stops me in my tracks. I gape at her. "What did you say?"
"What the fuck do you think I said?" Carly rolls her eyes. "I said you had a dick like an anaconda and there was nothing he could do that you couldn't do better."
I grab her and kiss her hard. She grins against my mouth and twists her fingers in my hair. "I love you, Jack. I don't care who or what comes along, all I want is you."
"Do you promise?" I ask.
"I promise."
Moonlight picks up the diamond earrings and her eyes at the same time, both of them twinkling as she looks at me. I kiss her gently then, tasting the distant flavor of the brandy on her lips.
"Now make love to me, like you promised," she whispers.
Carly takes my hand and leads me toward the cabin without another word. I fulfill my promise three times.
CARLY
Chapter 11
"The sun isn't even up yet," I mutter to Jack as he kisses up my shoulder. "Can't we sleep just a little longer?"
"I don't want to sleep," he says. "I wanna do this," he kisses the back of my neck, "and this," he tickles down my spine with his tongue, "and this," he grabs my ass cheek and squeezes.
I turn over and face him in the semi-darkness. "You have to calm that anaconda down," I say.
"I still can't believe you said that to her," Jack says with a chuckle. "Fucking weirdos."
"You think it's weird?" I ask, stifling a yawn. "I don't think it's weird. It's just not something I'd ever wanna do."
Save Me (Saved Series, Book One) Page 15