Another Stroke of Fate (The Carnal Exhibitions Book 2)

by LW Barefoot

  One of the many things I swore to myself was to help Harper with her carefully guarded strength. The wind whipping through the house is a force to be reckoned with and it’s a damn good starting point. The late spring air mixes with the fragrance of baking bread.

  I make myself at home, remembering overseeing the renovation of this place after Katrina. I locate the wine and uncork the bottle, letting it breathe. The timer Lori set for the oven has thirty minutes left.

  “Let’s enjoy the storm on the porch while we wait for the timer to go off,” I suggest, holding my hand out for Harper to take.

  “The wind’s really kicking up,” she says.

  “Precisely.”

  She tentatively slips her hand in mine. There are plenty of seats, but neither one of us move to sit down. I lean against one of the posts holding up the balcony.

  “I’m sorry I dragged you out here. I couldn’t stand the thought of hearing any more about our circumstances,” I tell her.

  “I’m glad you did. But can we not talk about it, if only for tonight?” she asks.

  “Absolutely.”

  The wind pushes her long waves across her face. She reaches up to keep it out of her eyes, but the force controls her hair. I want to help her, but this is kind of the point.

  The roar of rain sounds its arrival. I don’t move away as drops scatter across my exposed shoulder. Harper turns her head to the breeze and closes her eyes, reaching for my hand and squeezing as rain speckles her face.

  I watch in fascination as it darkens her lashes. A single drop lands on her full bottom lip. I study her embracing the incoming storm. The smell hangs heavy in the air and it mixes with Harper’s tempting scent.

  “I know what you’re doing,” she says with closed eyes.

  “And what is that?”

  “You’re wanting me in a wet t-shirt,” she teases.

  A beautiful smile stretches across her damp lips. I laugh at her silly accusation and it widens her grin.

  “I was trying to show you how magical experiencing an incoming storm can be, but if your shirt gets drenched, then it’s an added bonus.”

  “Too bad I’m under the porch far enough the rain won’t touch my shirt,” she smirks inaccurately.

  I pick her up and throw her squealing over my shoulder, walking us down the steps. The rain pounds against the flagstones as I slide her down the front of my body. She blinks away the water dropping on her face.

  Her eyes hold mine captive until they move down my body. I capture her lips and bring her close. I taste her rain splashed mouth mixed with her sinful tongue that drives me wild and pushes everything away.

  Thunder pounds off in the distance and she all but jumps in my arms.

  “Spend the night with me, Harper.”

  “I spend every night with you,” she says.

  “I never want to take one for granted,” I proclaim against her greedy lips.

  She shivers with another loud ripple of thunder, but there’s another alarm going off behind us. Harper lifts her head from mine, pulling away from me.

  “I think we’re burning the bread,” I point out.

  “There’s nothing better than fresh baked bread,” she confesses.

  “I can think of a few things,” I remind her by capturing her luscious mouth for more before pulling away and walking us back to my investment property, not wanting to burn it down.

  Evan

  Harper smooths butter over the steaming loaf of bread. I pull out small packages of cheese and cured meats from the fridge.

  “Are you going to share that bread?” I tease her.

  “If I could eat the whole loaf, I would,” she promises as she cuts a serrated knife through the object of her desire.

  I take deep pulls of wine as I try to focus on anything but Harper’s wet shirt, but her nipples are cold and beg for my undivided attention. I wanted to take tonight off from everything, grant Harper a reprieve, but I have a bad feeling that we don’t stand a chance. When she breaks off a piece of the buttery crust and moans from the taste, I have to look away.

  “Evan this is so good you have to have some,” she groans as she licks her fingers.

  I drain the rest of my glass and pour another one. My attention is on the porch swing bouncing with the force of the wind. The chains clank against the bench. I silently curse when Harper breaks my concentration.

  For once in my life, I’m trying desperately to be the good guy.

  She leans against my chest with a bite of bread soaked in melted butter hovering over my lips. I take the offered morsel and lick the fingers that tease over my mouth.

  She closes her eyes as I suck her fingers deeper and her other hand moves to my belt. As she works my pants free, I feed her bites off the platter. Her nose wrinkles when she tastes the sharp cheese I pulled from the tray.

  “Bread and lips only,” she demands.

  I hold up my glass of wine and she takes a drink. The way her throat moves as she swallows makes my cock shift. My eyes trail down her chest giving up on my good intentions.

  The slick fabric of her shirt comes off in a simple whoosh and she groans as the cool air whisks across her wet bra. I feed her a bite of food and she licks my fingers and sucks the middle one deep in her mouth.

  “I’m hungry for something else,” she whispers.

  Fingers trail down my abs as she holds my gaze and lowers herself to the floor. The sweet sway of her settling herself between my legs almost brings me to my knees. Tentative hands work to free me. Her soft pink tongue licks up the underside of my cock and I lose myself over to her. She casts her spell with silent suction and wide eyes trained on mine.

  A burst of thunder makes her shiver but she hums despite her fear of the storm. She wins me over completely when she slips her bra off. The sight alone is too much to handle. When her cheeks hollow with a deep suck as her tongue swirls, I have to pull her off.

  “I’m still hungry,” she teases, so I feed her a bite of bread and haul her up into my arms throwing her across my shoulder.

  “I’m going to feed you, gorgeous,” I tell her as she squeals. “But right now, I’m fucking starving.”

  I carry her through the house and up the stairs to the main bedroom, losing my pants in the process. I’m thankful Lorraine left every light in the house on.

  I slide Harper down the front of my chest and help her peel off her wet jeans. My fingers graze her exposed slit and my mouth waters when I find her wet.

  “Come up here, gorgeous. It’s my turn.”

  I lean back on the bed after stripping my shirt off. She slowly crawls up my body. A growl escapes me when she brushes her drenched slit against my painful erection.

  My palm meets her ass in a quick tap and she moans, working her heat over my cock. I slap her ass in warning.

  “Harper, get that perfect little pussy on my lips now.”

  She shivers and obeys after a couple of swats. The tip of my tongue tastes the best thing I’ve had all night. I trace her folds and swirl my attention along every single facet of her perfection. I pull her hard against my face because I can’t get enough.

  Thunder clashes outside, rattling the roof, and she’s shaking on top of me. I watch her as she trembles on display. She’s the most breathtaking thing I’ve ever seen. I bury my face and tongue in her pussy, losing my sanity as she starts to shift her hips slightly. Her tits bounce and I’m so rock hard I could burst from this act alone. When she leans back and grips my cock, I almost lose it.

  I twist our bodies so she’s underneath me, enclosing her as I settle my weight between her legs.

  The weather is the only violent force in this moment.

  I know why she drives me crazy and pushes me to the edge. I let my guard down and when that happens she steals something from me. That unwavering control that I haven’t felt since I met her. She upends everything in me, replacing that control with lust-crazed madness. She’s everything I’ve always wanted and never knew I needed.

 
; I suck in a strangled breath when I find her heat. The tip of my cock brushes against her and I feel as if I’m falling into heaven as I sink into her slowly. The sinful slide of our skin eclipses everything. It washes away the effects of today and anchors us to the here and now. Those words that I use to describe every physical action can no longer be used to explain what this is because I don’t even understand it.

  I rock my hips as Harper lifts up to meet me. Her legs wrap around my back and her hands slide to my shoulders, pulling my lips to hers as we consume each other. I brace myself on my elbows and let the waves of passion control everything. I watch and pay close attention to what it is she wants.

  I thrust and pull more delicious sounds from her. My lips conquer her bruised ones. Nature’s sirens pulse around us, propelling our lust, demanding that all-consuming release.

  Harper’s eyes glaze over and something irrevocably changes.

  “Don’t, Harper,” I command her.

  Tears threaten to spill from across her lash line. Her luscious mouth goes to form words and I know exactly what lingers on the tip of her tongue.

  “Don’t you dare complicate this,” I exclaim cutting her off.

  I can’t allow her to say those three precious words to me because I damn sure don’t deserve them from her.

  Hazel orbs plead with me as I fuck her harder than I ever have before and push her hands off me. Gasps change to grunts as she tries to take the sudden change in tempo with my hand over her mouth. A pained cry escapes and a single tear betrays her as it slides down in her hair when I unlock her legs from around my waist.

  I pull out and flip her over, forcing her on her stomach as I lift her hips back and slam into her again. Pain eclipses everything. I hurt my heart and Harper’s body as I pound into her. Her muscles tight and no longer pliable. I wrap her hair in my fist as I hurt her and want to erase her out of my system.

  “Don’t ever say those words to me, Harper,” I hiss.

  The bed shakes as I become uncontrollable. I take her beyond what she can handle but she doesn’t stop me. I sink my teeth in the top of her shoulder and bite down.

  “I’m sorry,” she quietly cries.

  I push her harder to utter her safe word. To make this stop. I bite the soft column of her neck.

  “Did you hear me? Don’t you ever say those fucking words to me,” I roar because no one has ever said those words to me.

  The only sounds in the room are her harsh shrieks and the slap of our bodies colliding. I shove her head down against the mattress and thrust. I chase away the thought of her saying ‘I love you’ as I take something else away from her.

  “I’m sorry,” she sobs as I sink my teeth into another chunk of her delicate skin, pulling another pained scream from her.

  “This could never be love, Harper,” I punctuate the lie with heavy rhythmic thrusts. I think I fell in love with her the moment our eyes collided.

  She lets out a sob and it guts me completely. My love for her is beyond that. It’s obsession that transcends into something entirely foreign, but in blinding clarity, I know she’s the only woman I will ever love.

  She transforms from rigid to supple as she collapses. Her hands go underneath her as she buries her face in them against the bed and the blanket absorbs her cries.

  Harper

  Evan’s right, I almost confessed my love for him. I almost declared my unguarded truths and he can’t handle it.

  His teeth push against my sweaty skin and I scream but he doesn’t stop. I cry when he tells me his truth. I apologize through strangled sobs. I choke back what I dared to believe.

  “I could never love you, Harper,” he says before he bites me again and thrusts harder.

  I know I’m not worthy of love, but hearing those words from him is the worst thing I’ve ever heard before.

  ‘I’ve always loved you, sweet Casey. I will always love you.’

  Evan has nothing more to give me than these fleeting moments of intimacy. But even though I know it should be wrong, even when the blistering heat from our passion subsides, it’s absolutely worth it. I swallow the pride that tries to tell me that I deserve better because I don’t.

  I float away on shallow sensations. My body is connected and used by Evan as I study the storm outside. The furious rain pelts the windows and matches the hammer in my pulse, my lifeline, the thing that constantly reminds me I’m still alive.

  The crack of thunder sounds to the breaking of my already obliterated heart. It’s amazing there’s anything left of it in the first place.

  Evan finishes his lust, his hatred, his desire. He holds me to him as he comes undone. He fills me, but I’m left empty. I shake and tremble when his lips brush over the marks he made and leave my fevered skin awash in cold air.

  I push up from the bed and scoot to get off of it. Evan’s harsh fingers cut in my bicep to stop me. His grip tightens and his fingers bite deeper.

  “Stop,” I hiss the dreaded word and avoid his gaze as he releases me as if that one word just slapped him.

  His labored breath sounds against the pounding rain. I scramble to leave the room and Evan behind.

  After finding a bathroom down the hall, I cry with a washcloth in my mouth as the evidence of Evan’s lust comes rolling out. I bite the cotton hard and sob while I sink in the bathtub and wash away all my foolishness and misguided hope.

  Evan

  I thought we could both escape today, come here, and things would be normal. But then again, that’s exactly why I insisted the interrogation be held off for one more weekend.

  Everything that transpired today fueled Harper to declare her love and I never saw it coming.

  I hate myself as Harper flees the room, but I did what had to be done. I had to break her heart, I just thought I had more time. I’ve allowed things to go too far between us. If I hadn’t stopped Harper from saying that powerful phrase, there would be no taking back those destructive words.

  I give her time to herself. I sit outside the bathroom door and listen to her muffled sobs. Each sound and whimper of her distress cuts through my chest with sharp shards of glass.

  She chokes and then she scrambles out of the bath. I hear water sloshing out of the tub and splatter across the tile floor. That disturbing sound of the contents of her stomach splashing in the porcelain bowl is enough for me to break open the door as she heaves. I pull her hair out of her face and wipe a washcloth over her mouth within seconds.

  “Stop,” she says as she drops her head back down and obeys the demands of her stomach.

  She shivers leaning with her arms draped over the seat of the toilet. As if I wasn’t already ashamed of myself for the lie I spoke, the bite marks all over her neck and back serve as a harsh reminder of how cruel I really am.

  I grab the plush towel off the rack and wrap it around her.

  “Stop,” she whispers and heaves again.

  I grab a clean towel and wipe it across her forehead.

  “Please, I’m begging you to stop,” she pleads, her eyes never meeting mine.

  She leans her head against her arms, sagging in an attempt to hold herself up. I move to pick her up off the floor but she backs away from me. Eyes wild and burning a blazing fire I’ve never seen in them before. Honey hues swirl with disgust and anger in her eyes that hold me accountable. I push her arms away and scoop her up with her fists searching for purchase.

  “Stop,” she screams through agonized breaths and furious cries.

  Her fist connects with my jaw and I take it. She’s perfection and a beautiful broken mess. I’m crueler than any one of her nightmares. I’ve relieved my father and the Sculptor from their duties to haunt her and hound her steps along with her rest.

  “Stop! Leave me the fuck alone,” she wails and runs her nails down my neck and slaps my cheek.

  “You hurt me,” she confesses on a whispered breath that she scrambles to choke back.

  “I never meant to hurt you, beautiful,” I lie, that’s exactly what I int
ended.

  She fights with everything she possesses and I allow it. The destruction of our simplicity spirals through the whirlwind of her fists and sharp tongue, but I deserve much worse.

  Her fight settles down as she becomes weak and exhausted. I haul her up in my arms and carry her back to bed, never letting her go.

  It feels like hours pass until we drift off to a reluctant slumber and I realize that I’ve never held her tighter.

  When she wakes up from a nightmare, I become the monster she fights. The Sculptor’s name doesn’t fly off her tongue, mine does. She screams and cries for me to stop with her eyes closed. Instead, of her trembling in fear, she’s headstrong and angry.

  “I love you,” she shouts and tears my heart out. “But it isn’t enough. I’ll never be enough,” she mumbles.

  She doesn’t cower. She puts up a fight. I take her pounding fists until her eyes fly open and peer down at me. I have just enough time to wipe the moisture from my eyes before she sees the truth.

  She apologizes and fights to get away from me, but I hold her tight as she cries.

  “Stop,” I command and she does.

  Heavy seconds beat by with the frantic pound of my pulse.

  “I’m sorry about last night,” I whisper and she looks away.

  The howling wind from the storm punctuates the turbulent silence in the room.

  “You have nothing to be sorry about,” she mutters.

  I pull her face to mine. I’d give anything to see something other than the lost look in her eyes.

  “And why would you think that, Harper?”

  “Because you were only being honest. I have no right to get upset about your feelings or lack thereof,” she confesses.

  I brush her wild hair out of her slightly puffy eyes and tuck it behind her ears. I allow the lies to hang between us in the dark hours before dawn.