“They’re so happy,” I murmur to Carter.
“Yeah,” he says with pride in his voice. “They certainly are.”
“They have it all.”
“No,” he says pressing a kiss to my head. “I have it all.”
I can’t help but smile at his comment. This man is definitely good with his words. “You don’t think they have it all?” I question.
“I guess that depends on what your version of ‘having it all’ means?” he questions.
“Married. A baby on the way. I can’t wait to have that with you.” His body stiffens and his eyes leave mine to look back at Sean and Sara. A crease appears right between his eyebrows and I realise he’s completely freaking out. “Hey,” I say, gaining his attention again. “Stop stressing. I don’t mean I need to have that right now.”
He nods his head and pulls me back into his chest. I rest against him but his body doesn’t fully relax. The poor guy. He’s probably coming up with a million excuses of how to prolong the inevitable. “Relax,” I tell him with a smile as I look up at him. “I didn’t mean to freak you out.”
“It’s ok, babe,” he says as his body finally relaxes. He spins me around, promptly putting the conversation to an end.
At the end of the song, he gives me a gentle kiss on the cheek before heading back to the table with Sean and commencing their drinking at the table while watching our asses sway in these golden dresses. ‘I love you,’ I mouth to him.
He sends me one of those panty-dropping winks and everything is right in the world.
Logan shows up at bridal table and steals the boys away, so us girls do what we do best and keep dancing.
An hour later, Carter and Sean return with no sight of Elle and Logan. I make my way over to Carter and drop down into his lap. He puts an arm around me but something is off. “What’s wrong?” I question. “Where did you guys go?”
“Nowhere, babe,” he says. “Don’t worry about it.”
He doesn’t meet my eyes and I know there’s definitely something to worry about. “Carter?” I prompt. “What’s going on?”
He finally looks at me and presses his lips together. “There was a situation with Elle outside, but she’s ok now.”
“What do you mean ‘she’s ok now’?” I ask.
“Babe,” he groans. “Now’s not the time. Can we talk about it later?”
I look at him and take in the seriousness in his eyes. “Are you ok?” I question.
His eyes soften and I realise there’s some level of pain hidden in there. “Yeah,” he finally says. “I’m fine.”
“You know the bonus of dating hundreds of losers is that I can tell when a man is lying. What’s going on?”
He lets out a sigh and looks around to see who’s close. With only Sean in earshot, he lets it out. “Elle was slipped a date-rape drug by a guy on Logan’s team. We got there just in time, she was unconscious and roughed up but she should be ok.”
“Shit,” I gasp as I hold onto him a little tighter. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No, babe. Just enjoy the rest of the wedding and don’t let Cassie know. I want her to remember tonight as the best night of her life.”
“Ok,” I tell him. “How’s Elle? Can I see her?”
“She’s upstairs with Logan. You’ll be able to see her in the morning,” he says.
“Ok, well, why don’t you get yourself another drink?”
“That’s not such a bad idea,” he says before getting up and heading towards the open bar.
I watch after him with the feeling that something bigger is going on. What happened to Elle is awful but Carter isn’t the kind of guy to get broken up about it. He would have beat the guy to within an inch of his life, made sure Elle was ok and then called the cops. He doesn’t stew about things that have been dealt with. Something else is going on, something that’s eating him up which he’s refusing to talk about.
Maybe it’s the fact we’re at his sister’s wedding, experiencing yet another amazing night that his parents are no longer around to see.
Whatever it is, he will come to me when he’s ready.
At the end of the night, he leads me upstairs to his old bedroom. He loses his suit and lays down on the bed while I put on a show of getting out of my dress and undoing my hair. He watches me with desire in his eyes but it’s still clouded by something I don’t understand.
I strip out of my underwear and make my way towards him. Maybe he needs a release after the massive day we’ve had. I come to his side of the bed and climb on top of him so I’m straddling his waist. His hands instantly find my hips but it seems too robotic, usually, he gives a squeeze and splays his fingers to feel more skin.
I lower myself to him and press a kiss to his lips. His hand slowly travels up the center of my back and comes to a stop in my hair. I deepen the kiss but he’s not into it, instead, he pushes me away. I sit up with a frown as I try to work him out.
“I’m sorry, babe,” he apologises. I don’t reply as quite frankly, I’m fucking confused. Over the past two years, he has never once turned me down. “Can we just… sleep?”
“Um… yeah,” I say. I climb off him and slide in under the sheets beside him. He draws me into his chest and strokes my hair.
We lay in silence, both of us wide awake as we struggle to get out of our own minds.
What the hell is going on here?
Sleep finally comes after going through every possible scenario, trying to work out what’s got him acting so strange.
All I know is, come morning. I wake up to find myself laying alone, in an empty, cold bed.
Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it, please leave a review.
For more information on the Kings of Denver & the Denver Royalty series, find me on Facebook
www.facebook.com/SheridanAnneAuthor/
Other Books by Sheridan Anne
Teen & Young Adult - Paranormal Romance
DESTRUCT – The Guard Trilogy (Book 1) - www.amazon.com/dp/B078X92GXH
DECIMATE – The Guard Trilogy (Book 2) - www.amazon.com/dp/B078X2Z91X
DOMINATE – The Guard Trilogy (Book 3) - www.amazon.com/dp/B079HPV4YC
An Angel’s Trust – Warriors of Light (Book 1) - Coming Soon
An Angel’s Soul – Warriors of Light (Book 2) – Coming Soon
An Angel’s Destiny – Warriors of Light (Book 3) – Coming Soon
Romance
Miller – Kings of Denver (Book 1) - www.amazon.com/dp/B078LCCRWJ
Jaxon – Kings of Denver (Book 2) - www.amazon.com/dp/B078MWD25M
Xander – Kings of Denver (Book 3) - www.amazon.com/dp/B07928QNNF
Tank – Kings of Denver (Book 4) - www.amazon.com/dp/B079Z49YFD
Logan – Denver Royalty (Book 1)
Carter – Denver Royalty (Book 2)
Sean – Denver Royalty (Book 3)
Logan_Denver Royalty [Book 1] Page 21