Falling for Carrick (Working Class Billionaires Book 1)

by Erica Breyer

  ‘She needs to know. She has to know before…before…’ He was tearing himself up inside. What if he told her and everything changed? What if the woman he was coming to care about, turned into…something else? Someone else? Money had that effect on people. He’d learned that the hard way.

  “All good?” he asked as they finished their coffees. When she nodded, he called for the check. She shot him a glance when he signed without looking at it. He stood and moved to pull out her chair, and she reached for her purse, allowing him to guide her from the restaurant. The maitre d’ said something gushing as they walked out, but he didn’t pay attention. The drive home was going to be hell.

  It was only as they made their way onto the road leading back in the direction of her home that she spoke. “You’re taking me home?” she asked, seeming surprised.

  ‘Ahhh, shit,’ he thought. ‘If only…’

  “Yes,” he replied. “Bonnie asked me to get you home at a reasonable hour, and it’s almost eleven.” They’d lingered over dinner, sipping wine, talking. He hadn’t wanted it to end. Kelly made a small sound, and he shot a look at her. Her hands were clasped tightly on her lap.

  “Okay,” she said. “I—” She stopped.

  “Yes?”

  “That’s fine,” she said. It wasn’t fine.

  They barely spoke until he pulled up outside her house. Carrick switched off the engine, and turned to face her in the darkness of the cab. He didn’t try to say anything. The words his mind kept choosing weren’t the ones his heart wanted him to say.

  The moonlight touched the lines of her face, and he reached a hand to stroke her cheek. She pressed into his touch, and he reached out his other hand to cup her face, leaning towards her. When his lips met hers, she moaned into his mouth. He felt the sound deep in his gut and pulled her closer, sinking into the kiss. She tasted so sweet. Skin so soft…

  Kelly slid a hand behind his neck and dragged him forward, reaching to his chest and sliding her fingers past the buttons of his shirt. For all her shyness and reticence, she was brazen when it came to getting her hands on his skin. He loved it. Her nails grazed his chest lightly before splaying over his flesh. Carrick nipped at her lips, and she tipped her head back, letting him trail his mouth over her chin to her throat.

  The silence in the cab was broken by the harshness of their breathing and the creaking of the leather seat as they strained to get closer. He ran his hand down her shoulder and trailed his fingers under the neckline of her dress, slipping dangerously close to the sensitive flesh of her breasts. He cupped one in his palm, feeling her nipple hardening and poking against the fabric. She gasped and squirmed up against him, fumbling with the buttons of his shirt and pulling it free of his waistband.

  Her head dropped to his chest, golden hair gleaming in the silver light. She nipped at him, and it was his turn to groan, his hand moving to the back of her head. She was reaching for the waistband of his pants and tugging at the buttons there, and he had no intention of stopping her…when a sharp rap on the window had her shooting upright. Her head connected with his chin, and he felt his teeth snap shut.

  “Shit!” he cursed. They really had the worst damn luck in the cab of this truck.

  “Hello hello! What’s going on here, then?” a voice called in through the window, and a light shone directly at them.

  “Fuck, Jarrod! What are you doing out here?” Kelly snapped at him, fumbling to straighten her clothes. Carrick pulled his shirt closed, fighting back a chuckle. He’d never heard her curse before.

  “Language, Kelly, language. What would mother say if I told her I’d caught you making out in a pickup outside the house?” Jarrod was remorseless. He was using his phone as a torch and blinding them with the light. Carrick couldn’t fight it anymore and began to laugh. Kelly tried to stay angry, but pretty soon, she was laughing too.

  “Get away from here, you dork!” she giggled. Jarrod had the good sense to head back into the house. “Oh, my God, I could just die!” she laughed.

  “Yeah, that was pretty crazy,” Carrick carried on laughing. “Could’ve been worse, though. Imagine if he’d come a minute later…”

  Kelly giggled for a moment longer, then the sound died off. He could tell she was blushing. Could almost feel the heat radiating from her.

  “Yeah…” she said, more subdued now. He climbed out the car, headed around to open her door and helped her out. They stood in silence for a second.

  “So…I had an amazing evening,” Carrick said softly.

  “Yes,” she murmured, then, “Thank you for dinner.” Words hung unspoken between them. Words like ‘I want you’, ‘Touch me’, ‘Don’t go’.

  Carrick turned, got back in the driver’s seat, and left.

  Chapter 13

  “Carrick and Kelly kissing in the car, k-i-s-s-i-n…gar!” Jarrod’s singing, taunting voice broke into Kelly’s Saturday morning coffee start.

  “Quit it, you jerk! That doesn’t even rhyme!” she shot back, sticking her tongue out at him. He flipped her the bird.

  “Yeah? What rhymes with car? Hmmm...bra? That works! Coz that’s where his hands were!” he kept teasing.

  “Jarrod! I wasn’t even wearing a bra!” Kelly retorted.

  “Oh, sis! That does not make it better!” Jarrod was laughing like a hyena, and Kelly threw a bread roll at him. The doughy missile flew across the kitchen, narrowly missing Bonnie’s head as she walked through the door. Chloé seized the moment, catching the bun as it landed and racing out of the room.

  “Children! Children! What is going on in here!” she demanded, softening the words with a smile.

  “Kelly threw a bun at me!” Jarrod blabbed.

  “He started it!” Kelly retorted. The two of them stopped, looked at each other, and buckled over laughing. Bonnie’s grin lit her face. She lived for these moments.

  “How was your date, darling?” she asked, reaching for a cup and heading for the kettle. Kelly took the cup from her hand and steered her towards a kitchen chair. She dotted a kiss on the top of her head and dropped a teabag into the cup, pouring boiling water over it.

  “It was…lovely,” Kelly smiled. She had no intention of telling her mother she’d gone to bed a hot mess and spent the night tossing and turning through dreams that were…well, downright unspeakable.

  “Sooooo lovely!” Jarrod smirked. She shot him a dark stare, mouthing the words, ‘Shut up!’

  “I’m so glad to hear that,” Bonnie said. “Frankly, I was surprised to see you home last night.”

  Kelly blinked then stirred cream and sugar into the teacup. “Well…I…Carrick said he’d promised to get me home, so he did,” she answered as she handed the cup to her mother. ‘She didn’t expect me home? WTF!’ her inner tramp grumbled. She could’ve spent the night with him. Naked. She’d shaved her legs…and more! ‘Dirty thoughts! Stop with the dirty thoughts!’

  “Good man,” Bonnie murmured, “I’m pleased he made the right choice.”

  That was a matter of perspective.

  “Umm, sure, Mom,” Kelly responded, realizing he’d passed some sort of test.

  “So, where did you go?” Bonnie continued. “You know I’m living my youth again through you. Dish the details!” She giggled almost girlishly.

  “We went to Tides. It was a-may-zing!” Kelly sang back. “We had oysters and champagne! Look, I kept the cork!” She waved it in the air, and Jarrod snatched it from her hands, earning a scowl.

  “Holy crap, sis! Cristal? Do you know how much this shit costs?” Jarrod’s mouth was hanging open. Kelly shrugged.

  “I wasn’t looking. It tasted pretty good, though,” she said.

  “It should! It’s like a bazillion dollars!” Jarrod kept on. Kelly frowned, wondering if she’d picked up someone else’s cork.

  “Did you go anywhere afterward?” Bonnie asked. Kelly half-wondered if she suspected they’d snuck off for a quickie someplace before coming home. If it had been up to her, they would have. Dammit.


  “Nope,” she answered quickly, before Jarrod could pipe up with some comment about catching them kissing. “We spent ages there. The food was fabulous, we chatted for hours.”

  “That’s lovely, darling, I’m so glad you finally spent some time with him. I really like that man,” said Bonnie.

  “Sure you would,” Jarrod added. “He got you flowers.”

  “Well, maybe you could take a leaf out of his book, Jarrod. You’re nearly twenty-two now…you can’t live with your mother forever.”

  “But I lovvvve you, Mama!” Jarrod wheedled, wrapping his arms around Bonnie and lifting her off her feet. Kelly remained silent. Her mother’s comment was teasing but struck close to home. At some point, Jarrod was going to have to start taking care of himself. It was a conversation she’d have to have with him another time. Her musings were interrupted by the pinging of her phone. She picked it up off the table and glanced at the screen. Carrick. Her heart thumped madly.

  ‘When can I see you again?’ It said simply.

  ‘OMG, right now!’ Kelly thought.

  ‘Anytime,’ she typed back, adding a winking emoji. She was getting tired of playing the waiting game.

  ‘How about lunch? Today? I’ll pick you up at 12.’

  She glanced at the time. It was only nine. Plenty of time to shower and get ready.

  ‘How about I come to you?’ she sent back, biting her lip slightly. She was absolutely not giving him another chance to bring her home to keep Bonnie impressed. Long moments passed before a reply came back.

  ‘Damn,’ she thought, ‘too much?’

  Her phone pinged, and she released a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

  ‘Sure. I’m taking care of a friend’s place for the week. I’ll drop you a pin.’

  A second later, another ping rang out with a map link. Somewhere uptown. She saved it and turned to her mother and brother.

  “Carrick wants to have lunch,” she said, beaming. Jarrod shot her a thumbs-up, and Kelly did a little dance. She gave her mother a quick hug before dashing to her room. “I’ll be leaving in a couple of hours. And, Mom…don’t expect me home.” She winked, and Bonnie shook her head and laughed.

  ∞∞∞

  Kelly’s heart was racing when she drove into the parking bay of the building at Carrick’s pinned address. The apartment block was small, and the intercom showed just a few names on the various floors when she went to press the buzzer. It seemed that each floor was individually owned. She pushed the black button marked with an ‘X’ at the top of the list and waited, looking around while she did. The building overlooked a park on one side and would probably have an ocean view from the other if she’d read the map right.

  “Fancy!” she breathed, then jumped when the door buzzed to open. Her nerves were a mess. She’d walked across the foyer just as the doors to the small elevator opened. Carrick was inside, leaning against the mirrored back wall, his arms folded across his broad chest. She took in the sight of him, tall and lean, another dark collared shirt pulling across his shoulders. Kelly licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry. She ran a hand down the front of her dress, smoothing it over her belly. Soft, white cotton, the skirt to her knees. It would be demure if the neckline didn’t plunge between her pert breasts.

  “Wanna come up?” he asked, his voice low. She skipped forward, not bothering to answer. By the time the elevator doors closed, his arms were wrapped around her waist, and she’d threaded her fingers into his hair to pull his face down to hers.

  When the doors opened on the top floor, she had his shirt halfway down his shoulders. Buttons had flown off in the process, but he didn’t seem to care. Her lips were burning a trail down his throat, fingers kneading his biceps. She was panting. He felt so damn good…

  The doors opened directly into the entrance of the apartment, and as the lift hissed to a halt, he slid his hands down behind her thighs and lifted her, hooking her knees over his hips. She clung to him, still pressing kisses down his neck as he carried her effortlessly into the living area. She got a vague impression of raw brick walls and sleek black leather furnishings but had little interest in the décor. His shirtsleeves were hooked at his wrists by the cuffs, and he had to lower her to the ground to tug them free. It felt like she’d waited her whole life to see his chest stripped bare. Her eyes devoured him as he stood shirtless in front of her.

  “My God, look at you,” she breathed, reaching out to stroke a fingertip over a dark tracery of ink that spelled out a string of words.

  ‘La vida loca’…the crazy life…

  ‘Sounds about right,’ she thought. She was feeling a little mad. Mad with need. She’d never acted so impulsively. So brazenly. The expression on Carrick’s face echoed her thoughts as he toed off his shoes and kicked them beside the fallen heap of fabric that was his shirt. It didn’t make a difference to his height; he still towered over her. They stood a foot apart now, motionless for a moment aside from the heaving of their chests. The heat of that kiss hung over them, waiting…

  Carrick lifted a hand and slid one strap of her sundress down her shoulder. He watched the movement of the strap as it slipped down, then glanced up and held her gaze as he slid the other strap down. Chocolate meeting blue. The bodice of her dress dropped in soft folds down her chest then caught on her hips. She sucked in a breath as she felt cool air caress her nipples. He held her eyes as he stroked a hand down her bare chest and traced a finger around one nipple. She whimpered. Then he lowered his hand and tugged the fabric of her dress past her hips. It dropped free, slid down her thighs, and pooled around her feet. She stood, unmoving, hardly daring to breathe. She wasn’t in bad shape, but standing in front of him, naked aside from white cotton panties and her silver sandals, she had a tiny moment of insecurity.

  “Ohhh…” he breathed the word out on a sigh. “I’ve had dreams about those shoes…” He stepped closer, his eyes following the movement of his hands now, palming a softly rounded globe. Her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides. The frenzied pace of those first few moments had slowed, but she hadn’t lost the intensity of her lust. She wanted to touch him. Every lean, toned, sinewy, beautiful inch of him.

  It occurred to her that if it was up to her, they would have made love on her office desk two days ago. Probably in the front seat of his car last night if her idiot brother hadn’t interrupted. Maybe even in the elevator if they’d had more than a minute to reach the top floor. He’d been the one to set the speed. The one to pull back each time.

  A little voice inside wanted to wag a finger, tell her that maybe he didn’t really want her. But she’d had enough of that stupid voice. She ran molten eyes over him. His cheeks were as flushed as hers, his eyes as hot. His nipples were puckered even though she hadn’t touched him again…and there was a bulge in his pants that told her that her day was about to get a whole lot better.

  Kelly gave a little growl, pressed her hands against his chest, and pushed him back a step, towards an oversized couch. By the time he sank into the leather, she was straddling him, and her hands were at the top of his pants. She closed her lips over his, tugging his waistband over his hips as he raised them slightly to help. He lifted a knee to kick them free, and she could feel the coarse hair of his legs brushing against her inner thighs. She broke the kiss and leaned back a bit to get a better look at him. He didn’t seem to mind at all...probably used to being ogled. Although she wasn’t wasting time thinking about that now. Barely a pinch of spare flesh covered the lines of his belly, and she ran her fingers down his chest and over his abs. Six-pack? Heck, she was counting eight. And below… Oh, below…below…below… She was going to lose herself in what lay below. Simple black briefs were the only thing standing between her and heaven.

  Carrick’s hands roamed over her with such precision she wondered if he had a map. She lowered her hips down to his and watched as white cotton slid over black. The darkening damp patch over the thick ridge of his cock could have come from either of them. Those shorts
had to come off. Right. Now.

  Her hands slid beneath the elastic and tugged down, releasing him from the cotton confines. What sprang forth was a sign that God really did plan gifts for women. Carrick’s hands had slid along her inner thighs, and she felt his fingers slip past the snug line of her panties. He was going to encounter smooth, slick flesh beneath because she’d shaved every inch of herself, aside from a tidy little strip that was irrelevant right now.

  ‘Yes. Yes. Yes. Touch right there, just there, just there,’ her mind whirled. Her panties were pushed aside, and her hand wrapped around his shaft, aiming the tip to where her pussy lips pouted.

  “Kelly…” His hoarse voice stopped her short.

  ‘What now?’ Horny Kelly yelled in her head. ‘If you make me stop now, I’m going to punch you in the mouth!’

  “Yes, Carrick?” Was that little voice her own?

  “I…”

  ‘What? Don’t make me slap you!’

  “Yes?” Kelly asked.

  “We…need…protection,” he said.

  ‘Jesus wept! Why?’

  “Yes…of course…” said Kelly, amazed at how calm her voice sounded. She sat upright as he leaned past her towards his trousers on the floor, snagging a pants leg and pulling them close enough to reach into a back pocket. He tugged out a small silver square. ‘Cheeky devil…that sure of me?’ She was never going to hold it against him. Ever.

  Strong white teeth tore through foil, and she was watching as he deftly unrolled a slick circle of latex over her new favorite toy, his fingers splaying into coarse dark curls as he stretched it down. She’d waited long enough. Her fingers brushed his as she wound them back around his length, hovering over him. They were nose-to-nose now, breaths mingling, eyes locked.

  “Now?” she breathed, and he nodded. She sank down, dropped…and that was all it took.

  A wave of pleasure rippled out from Kelly’s core as she felt her pelvis grind against his. It shimmered and shivered and swirled upwards and outwards in a wash of sensation that reached her fingers and toes and everything else.