Carter Reed

by Tijan

  “Mr. Graham,” Mike spoke up. He didn’t move, nor did Lawrence—whose name I recently learned. Thomas also sidled closer to me. Scott tried to look around them, but this last maneuver put an entire human wall between us.

  I had never been more grateful for those guys.

  “Hi, guys. You’re going to see the boss?”

  Thomas pressed his ear and said something. I couldn’t hear, but it wasn’t long until I heard another voice speak up, loudly with authority, “Mr. Graham, Mr. Reed kindly requests that you leave his guests alone for the evening.”

  “What? But—”

  “You’ve been relieved of your duty for the evening.”

  “What’s going on here, Gene?” His voice rose in anger. “You can’t tell me what to do.”

  “Actually,” Gene spoke again, harshly now. “I can. You’ve got the night off, Scott. I suggest you go on your own two legs.”

  There was silence, and as it stretched onto another minute, the guys stiffened around me. The air grew thick with tension, but then a bitter laugh came from the night manager. “Fine. I’ll go, but I’ll be speaking with Carter himself about this tomorrow.”

  “He’s expecting your phone call tonight.”

  The guys waited another minute before they parted before me. Scott Graham was gone and so was the mysterious Gene. I felt like I could breathe easier again and drew in a deep breath when Mike opened the door and disappeared inside. Three guards from behind me followed him inside. It wasn’t long before some signal was given to the guards beside me and Thomas nodded towards me. “You may go in, Emma.”

  I gave him a gracious smile. “Thank you, Thomas.”

  When I went in, I was taken aback. It was large and grandiose with its own dance floor that extended out like a deck to an apartment. There were couches on one side, a table set on the other, and a bar—Carter’s office could’ve been its own apartment. When I looked to the side, I saw four doors and wondered if they were all bedrooms.

  The other places that we had used didn’t come close to this. The place was extravagant for a nightclub office. I thought I met Carter in his private box before, but now I wondered if he had a few of them.

  The glass doors slid open and Theresa came inside holding two huge drinks in her hand. Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped when she saw me. “Holy crap, Emma. You are hot!” Then a twinkle came to her eyes. “Planning something extra for tonight, maybe?”

  I flushed. “I don’t want to talk about that.”

  “You are.” Her grin turned wicked and she pushed one of the drinks into my hand. “Can’t say I blame you. That man is one fine specimen walking around on two legs. If I hadn’t agreed to a date tomorrow night and if you weren’t my friend, I would’ve thrown my name into the hat. He’s gorgeous, Emma. You’re very lucky to get to ride that man tonight.”

  “Theresa.” I knew she had a little of a wild side, but this was a new Theresa to me. Then I realized how red her cheeks were as I fanned mine to cool off.

  Noah came in around her. “She’s drunk.”

  “I gathered.” So those two were going on a date?

  Theresa snorted. She must’ve caught the look I skirted between them. “It’s not him. I met a nice gentleman this afternoon. He suggested drinks and it’s high time I got something from a man.” Then she threw a dark look to the side.

  Noah rolled his eyes as he poured a drink from the bar. “A gentleman? He’s a dick. Just wait. You’ll see.”

  She drew upright and her shoulders squared back. “I will see, now won’t I?”

  He mumbled something under his breath as he went back to the dance floor.

  Theresa glared at his back until he had stepped beyond our eyesight, then the corners of her lips curved down and her shoulders dropped. “He’s the dick, not Allen. Allen is a gentleman to me. Kind. Considerate. Not like Noah. He’s such an ass sometimes.”

  “What happened today?”

  Her lip started to tremble, her chin quivered, and a burst of tears came out.

  “Theresa?”

  She shook her head, unable to speak, and sat on one of the couches. I sat beside her, placing both of our drinks on the table. With one hand rubbing in circles over her back, I murmured, “What happened? Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

  “No, it won’t.”

  “What happened?”

  “He’s such an ass, that’s what happened.” Her head reared back up and she flicked some of her tears away. “We went back to my place when we got home. I was so excited you’d be working with me again, and I wanted to start celebrating early. Noah said to leave you alone until tonight so fine, we did. We had a few drinks and then,” she took a deep breath as she flicked another tear away from her eye. Her make-up smudged. “And then we had sex.”

  I sat upright, my mouth forming a small o, but I wasn’t surprised. “And it wasn’t good?”

  “No!” she wailed. “That’s the problem. It was amazing. It was agonizing. It was everything those movies make it out to be.”

  “So what’s the problem? Unless he didn’t…”

  “We did it twice, Emma.” She turned to me, eyes still watering and her lip shaking. “I want to do it again, that’s the problem. I want to do it till the cows come home, but he said thank you. He said thank you! Can you believe that? Thank. You.” Her mouth stretched in irritation. “Thank you, like I’m some maid that cleaned his couch. Thank you. My ass, thank you. And then he suggested we go to the gym together. The gym!”

  “I’m sorry, Theresa.”

  “Leave the girl alone about our sex life. She’s got bigger problems to deal with than us,” Noah barked from the doorway.

  She sucked in her breath and surged to her feet. “That was a private conversation.”

  “Not real private when I can hear every damn word. Stop whining, Theresa. I have every intention of bending you over tonight.”

  Her mouth dropped and she wavered on her feet before she squeaked out, “You do?”

  “Yes.” His eyes sparkled from annoyance, and he pulled out his tie to toss on a table. “Finish your drink, get another one, and come out here to dance with me.”

  When he went back outside, Theresa’s hand gripped mine and squeezed. “I know I shouldn’t be excited by that. I know it’s against women’s lib and all that, but I’m going to have sex with that man. I’m going to have sex with him tonight and every night after this, at least that’s what I’m hoping.”

  I chuckled and swatted her on the booty. “Go for it, Theresa. Show him who’s the man.”

  “I’m the man.”

  “Go tell him that.”

  Her smile was dazzling and she embraced me, holding me tight for a second. “Thank you, Emma. I’m so glad that I’ve gotten to know you. You have no idea. I don’t make friends that easily and we clicked so well right off the bat.”

  I hugged her back, patting her at the same time. “Me too.” But as she pulled away with an excited bounce in her step and joined Noah on the private dance floor, I lost the slight enjoyment I had for the evening. I had other friends. Two of them were very near and dear to my heart and I had abandoned them.

  “What’s wrong?”

  I whirled around, and there was Carter. He was dressed in a black sweatshirt with a black shirt underneath. His pants were black as well. I had never been one to critique his wardrobe, but I knew enough to know that he hadn’t come from the office. My throat had gone dry. “Where were you?”

  His eyes switched from concern to an intense perusal.

  I flinched underneath his scrutiny now, knowing he was doing what he always did. He was searching inside of me, trying to read what was wrong with me. His head tilted to the side, his wolf eyes narrowed with thoughtfulness, and his lips thinned. “You’re mad I didn’t come to you?”

  His hand reached for my arm, but I flicked it away. “I’m disappointed you didn’t come to me. I’m mad because there are some things we need to discuss, things you’ve been keepi
ng from me.”

  He stepped close to me, enough so he brushed against me and didn’t move back. His hand circled to rest on my back, urging me even closer to him. A dizzying wave swept over me. It was always like this, the second he came into contact with me. Lust, pleasure, and so many other emotions blinded me until I only felt one emotion. Need. It was overtaking me again and my eyes closed when I felt his head bend towards mine. His lips brushed over mine, so softly, as he murmured, “I’m sure there are, but right now,” his hand cupped the back of my neck, “we’re here to celebrate you and your promotion.”

  My body melted into his. “I haven’t been told the official news.”

  His lips pressed against my mouth, taking my breath away. His hand found mine. He interlaced our fingers before he whispered against my lips, “Then let’s make it official.” He turned to the dance floor and called, “Noah.”

  “Yeah?” He was leading Theresa inside by her hand. Both looked as if they’d thoroughly been kissed. When my eyes caught hers, she gave me a sloppy smile that told me two things. One, she was happy and two, she was indeed drunk.

  Carter curved an arm around my back and pulled me close. He held a hand out—a drink immediately appeared in it thanks to an efficient employee—and he handed it to me before a second one appeared. He held that one in the air. “To a great new product for The Richmond Hotel and to Emma, who received news today…” He lingered as he gave Noah a pointed look.

  “Oh, yeah.” Noah lifted his drink higher. “You’ve been promoted, Emma, but these two already broke the news. Congratulations! You’re now the Head of Project Promotions and you’re partnering with the Head of Innovative Projects right here.” His arm squeezed around Theresa. “Congratulations to you both.”

  Theresa giggled as she raised her drink. “Congratulations to both of us!”

  “Thanks, guys.” I watched as Theresa and Noah clinked their glasses together before taking a sip. She reached up for a kiss, but he batted her away. When her lips formed into a pout, he frowned, but yanked her back out onto the dance floor for privacy.

  Carter and I watched through the glass walls as they kissed in celebration.

  I chuckled, “Do they know we can see them?”

  Carter pulled me to face him and bent his head down. His lips lingered on the base of my neck as he murmured, “I don’t care. As long as we have some privacy.” His hands gripped my hips, and he held me against him, anchored in place as his lips started to explore my neck.

  I closed my eyes as a feeling settled in my gut. It wasn’t one that I was used to, but it wasn’t one that I would reject. It was peace. In his arms, surrounded by two new friends, I was happy.

  Carter stayed by my side most of the time. He left for phone calls or when an employee would poke their head inside the office, but for the most part it was just the four of us. Noah’s sister came a few hours later. She was a slim girl with platinum hair and twinkling blue eyes. There was a kinship between her and Theresa. As I watched them laugh together, their years of history were obvious and a small prick of envy came to me. When I watched the younger girl interact with her brother, that envy grew into jealousy.

  I missed AJ. I missed the hugs. I missed the hair tussles. I missed how he told me what to do and I would ignore him. And I missed the time we never got. AJ died so long ago that I rarely thought of him, but I did that evening. When a few tears came to me, I let them fall freely. They were healing tears, ones that I wasn’t embarrassed to show.

  Theresa mouthed to me across the room, “Are you okay?”

  I nodded. I was. I really was.

  Carter returned from another call and saw everything. He took my hand, pulling me into one of the back bedrooms. When he flipped a switch, the lighting was soft and low, but I saw that it wasn’t a bedroom. Two large couches were set up along with a sectional in the other corner. The wall was covered with a large flat-screen television. He turned it on, but muted the sound. It was of the club downstairs. Every minute the screen would change to another room in Octave.

  Then he turned and studied me. The multi-colors from the television flashed over him, casting him in a changing canvas of shadows. It made him seem more alluring and dangerous. He asked, “What happened?”

  I sighed. He always knew. “Nothing.”

  “Emma.”

  “Nothing,” my voice rose.

  He took my arm and pulled me close. “What happened?”

  “Nothing.” His hand tightened, but I didn’t feel it. His touches were becoming a second skin to me. “It’s seeing them out there.”

  “Did they do something?”

  “No, it’s their love for each other, and Theresa grew up with them. It’s—”

  “AJ.”

  At that one word, the dam broke in me. I had known that I missed him, but those earlier emotions were nothing compared to the storm that took over me now. I fell to the couch and Carter went with me. He lifted me into his lap and pressed a kiss to my forehead. He brushed my hair back and continued to do so. His touch was tender and soothing, but he was right. It was AJ. I missed my brother.

  “I miss him too.” Carter gave me a smile, but it was haunted. “We don’t talk about AJ that much, but I loved him. I don’t protect you because of him, though. I know you think that, but that’s not why. I protect you because of you, because…”

  My heart pounded and my eyes grew wide. Was he going to say what I thought he was going to say…? I waited, my breath held, but a guarded look came over him.

  He started to look away, but I grabbed his chin. I held him in place. “Carter.”

  The guarded look slid away. “Yes?”

  My hand tightened. “What were you going to say?”

  “When?”

  I moved so I was straddling him. His hand gripped the back of my hips. I was pressed against him, my chest to his, eye to eye and I lingered with my lips just above his. I whispered to him, “What were you going to say to me?”

  His chest lifted and I felt the air that he drew in. My eyes closed. My breath went with him, into him.

  He still didn’t say it.

  “Please,” I wrenched out.

  “Why?”

  “Because I think I know.” I hoped I knew. Every nerve in my body was stretched with want. I wanted to hear those words. The need was blossoming in my chest, ready to explode. “Tell me.”

  He grinned. “Tell you what? That I care about you? You already know that.”

  “Stop teasing me.”

  His smile slipped and his eyes dropped. They lingered on my lips, where I was teasing him. Then he said it, “I love you.” Everything fell away in that moment.

  My eyes caught and held his. My hand fell to his chest, and it stayed there, feeling his heart. He tilted my head back and pressed a kiss underneath my chin as he murmured, “I have always loved you.” Another kiss. “I will always love you, Emma. There’s been no other for me.” His hand slid to the back of my neck and his lips moved back to mine. “Now, do you love me?”

  I grinned against him, unable to hold it in. “You know I do.”

  His hand tightened behind me. “Say it.”

  “I love you.” My body melted to his. I became one with him as I said those words. Then I said it again, because I could, “I love you. I always have.”

  His lips opened over mine, demanding his entrance. I gave it, because I needed all of him, as much as I could get.

  The rest of the night was spent in a mix of anticipation, agony, and adrenalin. I was addicted to Carter and we couldn’t go long without a touch or a look between the two of us. Theresa noticed something was different when we came back to the main dance floor. Her eyebrows went high and she crossed the room to grab my hand. “What happened?”

  “What do you mean?” I was breathless. My body was still tingling with the knowledge that Carter loved me. He loved me. A new set of sensations rushed through me.

  “Emma, I might be drunk, but I’m not stupid. You’re glowing.” Her mo
uth dropped. “Did you guys get it on in there?”

  “No!”

  She shrugged. “A bit kinky, but we are at Octave.” She glanced at Carter as Noah handed him a drink. “And he’s the owner. You