Carter's Flame: A Rescue Four Novel

by Tiffany Patterson

  “You came.”

  “Shit!” I jumped, startled. “Are you always so quiet? I had no idea you were out here,” I hissed. That was the second time I was completely caught off guard by his presence.

  “Force of habit.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Nothing. Drink?” He held out a glass of champagne as if we were celebrating something.

  “Look, I just came to tell you that I can’t stay.”

  Those blue eyes shone as he grinned. “You stayed late to tell me you couldn’t stay?”

  Well, when you put it like that …

  He turned and gazed out at the darkness of the lake, illuminated only by the moon and the lights behind us. I stared at his profile, drinking in every detail of his face. I even began counting the number of freckles on his face. I got up to number seven before he spoke again.

  “I had my first swimming lesson right here on this pier.” He turned to me with acute eyes. “I was about four years old, and was skipping stones while my father talked business on the phone. I went to reach down to grab one of the fish I saw swim by and I fell in.” He stopped to glance at me and see if I was following him

  I was.

  “My father abruptly ended his conversation. I thought it was to come save me. Instead, he stood over me at the edge of the pier and told me to kick my legs. Stop fighting the water, he yelled to me. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand what the hell he was talking about. I just needed him to save me. I yelled for him to help me and he said I am helping you. He told me to let the water carry me. I did and eventually I began to float. He instructed me to kick my legs and move my arms to propel me farther. I did and was able to get back to the pier’s ladder, where he helped me up. I hated him at first for doing that shit. Ran and told my mom, who got into a huge fight with him. They stopped speaking for a week. It wasn’t until I went away to boot camp that I became grateful for his lesson. He taught me at four years old; I had whatever I needed to survive right inside of me. I didn’t need outside help,” he finished, turning toward me, and I was able to finally release the breath I hadn’t known I was holding.

  “Why did you tell me that?” My voice came out just above a whisper.

  “Because I want you to know everything about me. I want you to know who I am. All of me.”

  I gulped the saliva that pooled in the back of my mouth.

  “Let’s quit playing games, sugar.” He placed the glasses down on the small, wooden table that sat in between two chairs on the pier. He moved, coming to stand over me, staring down at me with such intensity that his gaze alone held me in place.

  “You stayed because, despite your hesitation, you want this just as bad as I do. You want me just as badly as I want you. So, let’s cut through the bullshit. Are you taken?”

  I drew my eyebrows together in confusion. “Taken?”

  “Are you married?”

  I shook my head.

  “Boyfriend?”

  “No.”

  “Then that settles that.”

  And before I could respond and tell him that no, that did not settle the matter, my face was in his hands, and his lips were on mine. My ‘no’ became all jumbled in my head, until it became a resounding yes! I wanted more of this, more of these kisses, more of him.

  “Let’s take this inside,” he whispered against my lips, voice hoarse.

  My belly quivered and my legs trembled, so much so, that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to walk on my own free will. I didn’t need to. With the ease and comfort of a man who never missed a gym session, Carter stooped low and picked me up into his arms. Air flew from my lungs and I stiffened, clinging to his tuxedo jacket, fearful of falling.

  “Easy, sugar. I’d never drop you.”

  Why did that pet name get to me so? I normally hated pet names, but Carter just made everything sound like silk off of his tongue.

  “Hit that light switch for me,” he ordered, after he pushed through the door of the guesthouse.

  I did so, illuminating the space. Their guesthouse was the size of my apartment and I guessed they didn’t have any six year olds running around because, like the main house, this place was spotless. It was decorated beautifully in lots of pastel pinks and blues. Carter easily strolled past the living room, down the short hall, his shoes sounding against the hardwood floors, until we entered the master bedroom. The bedroom was carpeted, and in the center stood a large bed, surrounded by four shiny wooden columns.

  I found myself being lowered to the bed, and I looked up to see Carter’s face hovering just above mine. I yearned for the feel of his mouth against mine again, and he was too, by the way he stole my breath, planting me with another kiss. I opened up for his greedy entrance, lifting my hand to cup his jaw, running the tips of my fingers against the hairs of his beard. I felt myself being pushed against the mattress and in no time he was over me. I moaned when I felt his erection poking against my stomach. That made me come to a little bit, and I pulled back.

  “Carter, I have to go home,” I tried.

  “You don’t have a babysitter?” He nuzzled the side of my face, not moving an inch.

  I hesitated. I did have a babysitter, a highly reliable one. I’d just text my mother and told her I would be in a little later than usual. She told me to stay out as late as I wanted, that she and Diego were fine. I could lie, however. Carter wouldn’t know the difference. I should’ve lied. Done the responsible thing and gotten out of there. But when I felt his massive hand move up my thigh, under my dress, and make its way into the hem of my panties, the lie wouldn’t form. What came out instead was …

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” And with that, my panties―the only barrier between Carter’s probing hand and my sanity―were obliterated, with one hard tug. I heard the ripping of the lace, felt the tears of the fabric against my skin, but couldn’t fully process what was happening because Carter’s tongue was back in my mouth. I moaned, and pulled at his tuxedo jacket, when I felt the first contact of one of his digits against my aching nub. He began rubbing circles against my clitoris, sending sparks through my bloodstream. When his fingers moved lower and he first entered me, I jumped at his intrusion, my back arching off the bed.

  He slowly penetrated each and every one of my senses, with his insistent kisses and even more insistent probing of my nether lips. His fingers became coated with the juices that spilled from me, and his movements picked up in speed. I was panting into his mouth, unable to catch my breath. When he let his thumb return to my clit, pressing against it, I came undone. My head fell back against the bed and I felt Carter’s teeth scraping my chin. My vision failed me and I squeezed my eyes tightly, against the tsunami that was my first orgasm in a very long time.

  “Better than a four alarm fire,” Carter murmured above me, as I was regaining my senses.

  I couldn’t form words, so I just stared at him as he moved from the bed, ridding himself of his tuxedo jacket. His shirt was next, and in spite of the weakness I felt all over, I had to sit up on my elbows to watch the show in front of me. My mouth went dry at the vision of his chiseled chest and abs. His upper left chest was coated in dark ink, but I couldn’t fully make out the tattoo in the dimness of the room. My mouth watered at the sight of his pierced nipples, making my own nipples tingle. When he finally pushed down his pants and briefs, fully exposing his monstrous member, I gasped. I watched as he opened the wrapper of a condom he’d pulled from somewhere and rolled it down his shaft.

  “Don’t move,” he growled, grabbing my left ankle.

  I hadn’t even realized I’d begun backing away. It’d been three years since I’d been intimate with anyone and never had I been with anyone his size. I started shaking my head and trying to tell him that this would simply not work, but he pulled me to the edge of the bed, my dress moving upwards, exposing my now bare lower half.

  I was not a virgin. I’d birthed a child, without the aid of any pain medication, thank you very much, but nothing had mad
e me feel as exposed and vulnerable as I felt watching Carter’s eyes hone in on my sweet spot. They darkened right in front of me and the spark that was always between us became combustible.

  “You’re mine,” he declared, eyes moving up my body, along with his hands. He pushed my dress up over my hips, up my belly, until his hands clasped my breast, squeezing them.

  “Oooh!” I groaned, against the pleasure of his touch.

  He stepped closer, pausing to stare at me, and my mouth fell open when he breached my opening with his massive rod.

  “C-Carter,” I panted, voice full of fear.

  “Open up for me, sugar. Let me in.”

  My head thrashed against the mattress as I shook my head no. This wasn’t going to work. He was much too big, too strong, too everything for me.

  “Let me in,” he ordered again, more forcefully this time. He shoved the cups of my bra down, and began squeezing and tweaking my nipples. The pleasure from his hands shot down to my groin at the same time he inched inside of me, pushing all the way until I was completely impaled on him. I lost the ability to breathe.

  “Mm,” I moaned when he bent over, taking my mouth with his. I lifted my knees, wrapping them around his waist just before he moved me upwards to pull my dress up over my head, tossing it over the other side of the bed. Somehow we moved up so that both of us were on the bed, all the while, never breaking our connection at the hips, where he was still deeply imbedded in me.

  He took my hands in his larger, calloused ones and pushed them over my head, leaning in for another kiss, as if he couldn’t get enough of our kisses. I felt the same way, and lifted my head to give him better access. Somewhere in the middle of the kiss, he began pulling out of me, and I screamed into his mouth when he thrust back in. The entire bed shook. Over and over again he plunged into my sacred space. He pulled back to stare at me, his eyes doing all the communication necessary. There was a promise held in those eyes. One that I didn’t want to believe or contemplate, but I couldn’t look away. He held me transfixed while he ignited a wildfire over and over with every stroke of his hips, and completed his hold over me with the looming glare in his eyes. There was a whole world of intrigue and secrets behind those eyes. One he kept pulling me into despite any resistance I tried to put up. Any defiance I may have had of this thing on my part, was annihilated with his final plunge that sent me spiraling out into oblivion. I groaned and moaned, screeching into the crook of his neck, hearing him growl into mine, as we both shook and convulsed, coming together.

  It was evident that I wouldn’t be spending my night anywhere else but wrapped up in his arms.

  ~ Chapter Four ~

  Michelle

  I pushed my head into the plush pillow beneath and snuggled deeper into the sheets, my body seeking to further immerse itself in the source of warmth. I wiggled my hips, trying to seek out more of the comfort I’d felt, and right when I thought I had it, I pushed up against something hard. Very hard.

  My eyes popped open and I sat up, looking around at the unfamiliar room I was in. I squeezed my eyes shut. Please let it have been a dream. Please let it have been a dream. Please let it …

  “Morning, sugar.”

  Nope. Not a dream. I went to turn in the direction of his voice, and the ache between my legs served as further clarification that the night before had indeed not been a dream. I turned, looking back over my shoulder, and I had to suck my lower lip into my mouth, biting it at the picture he made. Hair tousled, a new day’s worth of growth on his beard, and those laser focused eyes were all staring back at me. Add to that he wasn’t wearing a shirt, therefore displaying his very sculpted muscles and piercings, and I found myself very tongue-tied.

  “What time is it?” I croaked out, my voice full of sleep and dread.

  “Just after seven.”

  I closed my eyes again, and then shivered when he began stroking a finger down my bare arm. That was when I remembered I also was naked in this bed.

  “I have to go,” I rushed, pulling the sheets with me as I moved off the bed. I tugged it around my entire body to cover myself and to begin my search looking for my clothing from the previous night.

  “What are you doing?”

  Out of my peripheral I saw him look up and I heard the displeasure in his voice.

  Don’t look at him. Don’t look at him. Don’t look …

  I looked.

  Wrong move. My entire body tingled with electricity at the sight of him completely nude and unashamed, as he sat on the bed. But he wasn’t there for long. Thankfully, just as he reached me, I found my crumpled dress on the floor by the door. I rushed over, pulling it over my head, and dropping the sheet. I spotted my purse on the nightstand by the bed and made a move to retrieve it only to be stopped by him.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Home.” It should’ve been obvious.

  “We haven’t had breakfast yet.”

  “And we’re not going to,” I retorted, not looking at him.

  His hands went to circle my arms, pulling me to him.

  “Carter–” I started, holding my hand between our two bodies.

  “You can’t even look at me?”

  The plea in his voice grabbed me.

  “That’s better.”

  “Carter, I really have to go.”

  “Why?”

  I sighed, growing irritated. “Do you remember when you told me that you wanted me to know everything about you?” I waited for his response.

  “Of course.”

  “Well, there’s one thing you need to know and understand about me. His name is Diego. Last night you asked if I was married or had a boyfriend. The answer is no on both accounts, but I do have someone in my life, and yes it’s a he. He is the most important thing in the world to me and I can’t … No, I won’t allow myself to be another man’s plaything, at the risk of losing my son. I have to go.”

  I broke away from his grasp, retrieved my purse from the nightstand, and rushed to the door.

  Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t …

  That time, I listened to the chant in my head and kept moving forward until I was out of the bedroom door, moving to the front door of the guesthouse. Despite my being out of his line of sight, it was as if I could feel his eyes on my back. Even as I made my way up the walkway and around the front of the property to where my car sat, it felt as if his eyes were still on me. I pushed that feeling down, instead choosing to remember that I was going home to my son, who was the most important person in my life. Nothing else mattered as long as I had him. I would use that knowledge as a band-aid over the heartache I felt driving away from Townsend Manor and Carter.

  ****

  “Heads up, big wig coming in,” Natoi ran to my office, knocking on my door and announcing.

  I frowned at her from behind my desk, and whispered, “Who?”

  “Aaron Townsend, and according to the downstair’s receptionist he does not look happy.”

  Oh shit!

  “I wonder what happened Friday night. Nancy said everything ran smoothly. You heard anything?” Natoi questioned, obviously not picking up on my nervousness.

  “No,” I went back to typing, “not a thing.” Maybe this had nothing at all to do with me.

  “He’s here. Shame that man is always frowning. He would be a looker. I could wipe that frown right off his face,” Natoi giggled.

  “Natoi!” I chastised.

  “I’m just sayin’.”

  “Get back to work. I need the layout of the McDonald event,” I swiftly reminded her, needing something to take my mind off my own anxiousness.

  Natoi left and soon enough I heard footsteps coming down the hall. I turned to look out the glass window of my door and caught the dark gaze of Aaron Townsend. Nancy was already next to him, talking away as she normally did, but his eyes were on me. They narrowed as he passed my door, not leaving me until he was well past. If I had any question as to whether he was there because of what he saw occur be
tween Carter and I, it was just answered. I wondered if it was time to begin typing up a resignation letter, or better yet, update my resume.

  “Michelle, can I speak with you?” Nancy questioned, poking her head in my office about twenty minutes later.

  “Yes, come in,” I stated, sitting up straighter in my chair.

  “In my office,” she returned and exited, moving down the hall toward her office.

  This wasn’t good.

  I hurried from my office down to Nancy’s who was waiting at the door for me to enter. She closed it behind me as soon as I was inside and I just stood there, looking around her spacious corner office. Behind her desk was a wonderful view of the bridge that connected Williamsport to one of its major boroughs. I peered over at the balloons that sat on the circular cherrywood table, from an event we’d done the week prior.

  “Have a seat,” she stated, in a formal voice I hadn’t heard used with me since I started working for the company nearly four years earlier. I took my seat directly across from her.

  “Michelle, it has come to my attention that one of our clients was dissatisfied with your behavior at an event this past weekend.”

  My eyelids lowered and my jaw tightened. I didn’t understand why she wouldn’t just say who the client was. She and I both knew she was referring to Aaron Townsend. Aside from the fact that he’d just departed her office, his event was the only one I’d worked over the weekend.

  “Mr. Townsend.”

  Nancy nodded. “Yes, Mr. Townsend. He stated that he caught you fraternizing with one of his family members. On company time.”

  “Nancy, I know it looks bad but I can explain.” I held up my hands.