Circle of Friends Complete Collection

by Susan Mallery

  “It’s not a big deal,” Rachel assured her. “We’re not...we’re not that serious.”

  “Really? For someone who isn’t serious, you seem plenty upset.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”

  * * *

  CARTER THOUGHT ABOUT calling first, but he didn’t want to get into it on the phone with Rachel. So he swung by his mother’s house, picked up lasagna, garlic bread and salad, then showed up at Rachel’s place a little after five.

  “I hope you haven’t eaten yet,” he said when she opened the door.

  She wore her hair back in a ponytail and her face was scrubbed clean of makeup. He liked seeing the pale freckles on her nose and the tiny scar by her right eyebrow. She wore a T-shirt and old jeans, an intriguing contrast to her usually prissy teacher clothes. Not that he hadn’t learned to appreciate the subtle sexiness of prissy.

  “What?” she asked as she stepped back to let him in. “I haven’t eaten. I was going to have a salad or something. Why are you here with dinner? We didn’t have plans.”

  He carried dinner into her kitchen and set it on the counter. “I’ve had five phone calls in the past hour,” he told her. “Word travels fast.”

  She groaned. “Jenny called one of your sisters?”

  “Two of them, actually. They called the third and my mom.” He took her hands in his and rubbed her fingers. “I was working. Ellie is my partner. That’s all. We’re posing as a couple for this assignment. I would never cheat on you.”

  She made a halfhearted attempt to pull her hands free. When he didn’t let her, she sighed.

  “It’s fine. I understand. Plus, it’s not like we’re really dating.”

  For once he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. “Whatever we are, that can’t have been fun to see.”

  She shrugged. “I was shocked and then I wasn’t sure I had the right to be upset. Not that I was.”

  He tugged her a little closer and stared into her eyes. “I’m sorry you were upset. I really am doing this for work.”

  Her mouth twisted slightly. “Oh, sure. Talk about a yucky assignment. She’s beautiful.”

  “She’s okay. But I don’t think of her that way. She’s my partner. It’s about as exciting as kissing one of my sisters. Besides, even if I wanted to like it, I couldn’t. Her husband is a big guy and he’d beat the crap out of me.”

  That earned him a smile.

  “I’m okay,” she told him. “Thanks for worrying, but you don’t have to.”

  “Are you sure? Because I grew up with three sisters. I know how to dig up a good worry on command.”

  The smile widened. “Maybe next time.” She tilted her head. “Are you mad because I talked to Jenny?”

  “You’re allowed to talk to anyone you want.”

  “In theory. I wasn’t spying on you or trying to dig up secrets. Honestly, I just didn’t know what to think.”

  “Did she help you feel better?”

  “Sort of. We talked about your past.”

  Not good, he thought glumly. “You can’t hold that against me.”

  “I’m not. However, I think there should be some kind of club, or support group. We could come up with a name and hold meetings. You could be a guest speaker.”

  He released her hands. “You are upset.”

  “I’m really not. It’s just you’re not like any other guy I’ve ever known.”

  That didn’t sound pleasant. “It’s the volume thing,” he muttered, knowing he wasn’t going to apologize for dating a lot. Despite the gnawing in his gut, he hadn’t done anything wrong. “Look, when I’m with a woman, she’s the one I’m interested in. Not anyone else.”

  “I know that. You’re loyal and honest and from what I can tell, you don’t have any flaws.”

  “That’s what I’ve been saying for years,” he told her. “No one listens.”

  She smiled again. “Okay, you do have flaws, but they’re not typical ones.”

  “Which would be?”

  “I don’t know. An obsession about sports. An inability to show up on time.”

  “I’m prompt.”

  “Yes, you are.” She shook her head. “I don’t even know what we’re talking about anymore.”

  “We’re talking about the fact that I’m sorry you were upset before. I should have told you about Ellie.”

  “It wasn’t your fault. It was just...weird.”

  “Recoverable weird?” he asked.

  Her green eyes sparkled with amusement and pleasure. “Yes. Recoverable weird.”

  He gave an exaggerated exhale. “Good, because the other kind of weird is just not for me.”

  “You’re a little crazy,” she said.

  “Also a good thing. See—I have so many good qualities. I’m prompt and charming and totally into the person I’m with.”

  “So if this was real, you’d be totally into me?”

  Awareness filled the room. Carter had a three-second battle with himself and need won over noble sacrifice. “I’m already totally into you.”

  Her eyes widened but she didn’t look away. “You don’t have to be. We’re just trying to fake out your family.”

  He moved closer. “Is that all? So nothing else is required?”

  “Not a thing.” This time she eased toward him.

  “So anything not related to faking out my family would be a waste of time and energy?” he asked as he put one hand on her shoulder and touched her cheek with the other.

  “Totally.”

  “Something I can relate to.”

  He kissed her. Rachel had known he was going to. In fact, she’d counted on it. Maybe it was a complete waste of time and energy, but she couldn’t think of a better way to do it.

  Her body clenched in anticipation of the pleasure she always experienced when he put his mouth on hers. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned against his hard, muscled body. Her breath caught, her lips parted and she prepared herself for the ride.

  He claimed her with a kiss that touched her down to her itty-bitty red blood cells. Heat poured through her making her tremble and want to rip off clothes. Desire exploded until she wondered if a kiss was going to be enough. If this time she would need more.

  He plunged his tongue into her mouth. She met him stroke for stroke, savoring the tingles that accompanied every brush, every inch of contact.

  Apparently he felt the pressing need, too, because he dropped his hands to her hips and urged her closer. She pulsed against him. The second she did so, she felt the hardness of his arousal. Her body remembered what it had been like to be claimed by him and she trembled.

  He kept his hands on her hips, holding her in place, then rubbed against her. She desperately wanted to wrap her legs around him so he could do exactly that to her hot, swollen center.

  He kissed his way along her jaw to her neck, and then down her neck. “We have dinner,” he whispered against her skin. Quick flicks of his tongue followed by little bites punctuated his sentence. “Lasagna.”

  “I love lasagna,” she moaned.

  “So we could stop and eat.”

  Stop? Was he kidding? She slid her hands under his loose T-shirt and rested her palms on his bare belly. “Do you really want to stop?”

  He raised his head and grinned. “I think the pasta will keep.”

  “Me, too.”

  That decided, she expected him to pull her into his arms again. Instead, he grabbed her hand and led her down the hallway. When they were in her bedroom, he sat on the bed and pulled off his boots. After he’d let them fall on the floor, he tugged her between his legs and unfastened the button at the waistband of her jeans.

  “I’ve only seen you in dresses and skirts,
” he said. “Long dresses and skirts.”

  “They’re more practical for my job.”

  She’d been planning on saying more. She had a whole speech that defended her wardrobe, but just then he pressed an openmouthed kiss to her belly and she forgot everything, even how to breathe.

  “I’m not complaining,” he said against her skin. “I like it. Very old-fashioned, but sexy. Still, the jeans are nice. I like seeing the curve of your hips and butt. I like thinking about touching those curves.”

  Her throat went dry, while other parts of her got really, really wet. “You’ve only been here about twenty minutes. How could you have thought all that so fast?”

  He tugged her jeans and panties down to nearly her knees. “I thought it all in the first thirty seconds.”

  Was that true? On the heels of the question came the realization she was kind of trapped. And naked. She couldn’t step out of her jeans and she was still dressed on the top half. This was not how she’d imagined things going between them.

  “Carter, I...”

  “Trust me.”

  He bent toward her and used his fingers to gently part her. She nearly lost her balance and had to put her hands on his shoulders to steady herself. Then, while she tried to figure out how to explain that she wasn’t very comfortable, he licked her.

  The combination of being slightly off balance, seminaked and the erotic kiss nearly did her in. She gasped as she felt him lick her again. Just a quick, wet caress that made everything else seem unimportant.

  “Okay, yeah,” he murmured. “More of that.”

  He moved his hands to her waist, then eased her around until she was on her back on the bed. Her jeans and panties went flying, then he was between her legs and she knew that she would soon be lost.

  He kissed her there as perfectly as he kissed her everywhere else. Openmouthed, slow-moving and thorough. He explored her, teasing, circling, touching until he found all the places that made her gasp and squirm and beg. Just when she started to think this was a game for him, he settled over her center and picked a rhythm that made the bottoms of her feet burn.

  Over and over, he touched her. As her body tensed, he moved a little faster, making her push them to the next level. She began to pulse her hips as every part of her focused on the perfect pleasure.

  Her breathing quickened. She tossed her head from side to side. Nothing had ever felt so good.

  Then, just as she knew the end was as inevitable as the tide, he slipped two fingers inside of her. The unexpected fullness pushed her over the edge and she lost herself in her climax.

  Her release poured through her. It went on and on, making her writhe and cry out and beg him to never stop. Finally the shudders slowed enough for her to catch her breath and open her eyes.

  He’d braced himself on one arm and was lightly kissing her stomach. When he looked up, she saw the fire in his eyes and knew he was a man on the edge.

  “Don’t feel you have to wait,” she told him.

  He hesitated about an eighth of a second, then unfastened his belt and his jeans and pushed them, and his boxers, down.

  “One day we’re going to do it like regular people,” he said as he positioned himself between her still trembling thighs. “You know, get naked first. Have a conversation.”

  She reached down and guided him inside of her.

  He was thick and hard and he filled her until she knew she was going to have to come again.

  “Conversation,” she gasped as he plunged in again, “is highly overrated.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  RACHEL WOKE UP to find bright sunlight flooding her bedroom and a heavy arm draped across her stomach. She felt a delicious combination of contentment and exhaustion. Despite the fact that she’d slept in, she’d barely gotten four hours of sleep in the night. She would be dragging all day. But as the reason for the dragging was fairly spectacular, she wasn’t about to complain.

  She rolled on her side and saw Carter already awake and watching her.

  “Morning,” he murmured.

  “Morning.”

  She ran her fingers across the stubble on his jaw, then fingered the stud earring.

  “Such a bad boy,” she told him.

  “Smile when you say that.”

  She laughed. “I’m pretty sure I’m smiling about everything. What you do with a woman could be considered illegal in several states. I don’t think one man is allowed to have that much sexual power.”

  “I can handle it.”

  He could sure handle her.

  He kissed the palm of her hand, then rolled onto his back. “What’s the plan for today? Do you have a lot to do? I’m open. Maybe we could do something together.”

  Her insides gave a little shimmy. “That would be nice,” she said carefully, not wanting to appear too enthused. Hanging out was just that. Two friends spending time together. It didn’t mean anything, except maybe the possibility of a repeat encounter in bed.

  “Shopping,” he said, glancing at her. “Women like shopping.”

  She laughed. “Or we could go to a movie.”

  “That sounds good. I like movie popcorn.” He pulled on her hand, drawing her closer. “Or we could stay in bed. I’m kinda tired. What about you?”

  Before she could answer, there was a knock on her front door. Rachel glanced at the clock. It was only a little after nine. She didn’t usually get visitors. All her friends phoned rather than dropped by.

  She sat up and grabbed her robe, then slipped into it and tied the belt.

  “I have no idea who that is,” she said as she walked into the living room.

  “I do,” Carter muttered from the bedroom.

  He couldn’t possibly know who—

  Rachel opened her front door to find Nina Brockett on her plant-filled front balcony.

  “I know, I know,” Nina said with a bright smile as she passed over a covered basket and stepped inside. “I’m interrupting. Carter’s always saying I should call instead of coming by. But it’s so much nicer to talk in person. Besides, when I went to Carter’s house and he wasn’t home, I knew just where he was going to be and I was right.”

  Rachel opened her mouth, then closed it. Heat flooded her cheeks and she knew she was blushing.

  “I, ah...” She pressed her lips together and struggled for control. “Good morning.”

  “Morning, dear.” Nina tapped the basket. “Cinnamon rolls. Carter’s favorite. Don’t let them get cold.”

  Carter walked out of the bedroom. He’d pulled on jeans and his shirt. “Mama, you gotta stop doing this.”

  “Doing what? A mother isn’t allowed to talk to her only son? I knocked. Where’s the crime?”

  He leaned against the door frame and sighed heavily. “Okay, fine. What are you doing here?”

  “My water heater is broken. Just like that, it stopped working. Gordon is already off buying me a new one, but he’s going to need your help putting it in.”

  “You could have called,” he told her.

  “You weren’t home and I didn’t know if you would be going home to get the message. Besides, I don’t have Rachel’s number.”

  “Cell phone, Mama,” Carter said. “You could have called my cell phone.”

  “Oh. I didn’t think of that.” Nina smiled again. “Besides, it was a lovely drive over here and I’m happy to see you two getting along. It makes an old woman very happy.”

  “You’re not an old woman,” Carter said. “You’re going to outlive us all.”

  “Don’t say that. No mother wants to outlive her children. Now you two enjoy the cinnamon rolls. Carter, you should call Gordon and see when he’ll need you.”

  With that, she waved and left.

  Rachel carefully closed the front door and then
crossed to the sofa. As she sank onto the cushions, she covered her face with her hands.

  “I’m so embarrassed,” she whispered. “That was your mother. She knows what we were doing.”

  “Oh, yeah. She’s real clear on that.” He took the basket from her and set it on the coffee table. “Rachel, it’s okay.”

  “It’s not. She’s your mother.”

  He sat next to her. His mouth twitched slightly and she guessed he was trying not to smile.

  “You think this is funny?” she asked in outrage.

  “It’s not that big a deal. She knows about the baby, so she’s probably not shocked about the sex thing.”

  Oh, yeah. Good point, but still. “It’s just wrong. I felt so awful.”

  “Don’t. She’s the one who barged in here. This is your home.” He grimaced. “Now it’s going to have to be one hell of a fight to convince her we’ve broken up.”

  Broken up? Then she remembered. This wasn’t real. She and Carter weren’t a couple. They were just two people having a baby and trying to convince his family that they were involved, so they could end things later and get back to their original plan of just being two people having a baby.

  “We’ll need witnesses,” she said.

  “And a script.”

  He was being funny, but suddenly she didn’t feel like laughing. Nothing about this situation was turning out how she’d thought. Carter’s family wasn’t supposed to matter, but she found herself hating the thought of Nina thinking less of her. Carter wasn’t supposed to be important, yet she wasn’t sure she was ready for the breakup they’d planned. Which meant what? That she wanted this to be real? That she wanted to get involved?

  No way. Not with him. How could she be with a man who had dated nearly every single woman on the planet? He’d made it clear he didn’t want a relationship with her, so she’d better get the idea out of her head.

  But wouldn’t getting involved with the father of her child be the most logical choice?

  * * *

  THE FOLLOWING THURSDAY, Rachel left work a half hour early and headed for her car. She felt as if an entire team of butterflies had taken up residence in her stomach and were currently arguing on the best way to fly in formation. She was shaky and scared and telling herself that everything was fine, but it didn’t seem to be helping.