by Ronna Gage
“I know.” She rolled onto her back.
He pulled her into his arms. “Why haven’t you ever done that before?”
“I never trusted anyone enough to even try.”
On the inside, Carter flinched. He caressed her cheek with the soft pads of his thumb. Gazing into her eyes, he slowly bent to her lips, all the while wondering if he should tell her the truth about his past and his intentions. Looking into her eyes, he decided to wait.
“What should we do now?”
She took his hand and guided it to her pussy. His gaze captured her shyness. “It’s your turn.”
Carter pulled up onto his knees and positioned himself between her thighs. His hands grasped her legs under the knees and bent them high up to her hips. In this position, she lay open, showing every beautiful fold to his eyes. Gazing at her naked body, “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Inside the triangular thatch of hair, he saw the dewy nectar of woman waiting for him to sample. “I want you to…”
“Come on your face?” She finished for him.
“Exactly.” He inserted a finger deep inside her pussy. She bucked up.
“Then do it right,” she managed between gentle pants of breath.
“I don’t do anything half-assed.”
She raised herself up on elbows and watched his finger enter her, and then glide out again. When he added a second finger, Carter heard her moan of approval. She glistened with a slight sheen of sweat. He lowered his head. She opened her legs wider for him. The moment his tongue touched her, she bore down on it. He had no doubt in his mind she was his. He sucked on the swollen nub of her clit and watched her. Her head fell back. His teeth teased her bud, skimming over her with gentle pressure. His tongue went inside her, and she rose up on her hands to get a better view. Her eyes locked with his. He reached out and took her right breast in his left hand. His thumb pulled at her nipple, arousing her further while she still looked on with growing tension and less curiosity. He continued to eat her until the tremors in her body built to an all-time high. The power of it made him aware she was on the downhill battle to erupt. “Let it go, baby.” She fell back on the bed, panting. He pinched her nipple and scraped her clit with his teeth at the same time. Suddenly, without warning, she screamed and released a shuttering orgasm, coating his face with her cum.
He watched her regain control—first of her breathing and then of her shuddering body. He wiped the last bit of cum off his face. She opened her eyes and blushed.
“What is it?” he asked of her new bashful coloring.
“I’ve never done that before,” she said shyly. She grabbed a pillow from the bed.
Carter took it away from her. “No, don’t hide from me.” He liked to see her blush and her eyes after she came. “What have you never done?” He placed the pillow under her head.
“Come like an erupting volcano that had laid dormant for most of its life. Was that too much?”
He lay above her. “I can’t get enough of you, baby. No matter how much I get, it is never enough.” He eased the head of his cock into her.
“Hello, Cocky.” She breathed a sigh of complete satisfaction and surrender to Carter.
* * * *
Carter made love to her two more times before he finally let them get some sleep. “I think I could fall for you.”
At his admission, a thrill of her emotions ran through her. She didn’t have any doubt he knew she loved him. He is so different from Larry. But fear of another heartbreak kept her from giving him more. The idea of his using her for a little while until something better came along scared her. She once believed relationships lasted forever--that’s all she wanted. Not too long ago, she learned the hard way that they didn’t. “I think we should let it happen, not rush it.”
He cupped her cheek in his palm. “I think that is an incredibly wise decision.” He pulled her close and kissed her soundly.
Kelli rolled and cuddled against his chest. Feeling his strong heartbeat and muscled heat lulled her to relax and linger on the threshold of sleep. Next to her, his body relaxed.
“Good night, Carter.”
“Good night, Kelli,” he mumbled in her ear and hugged her one more time. Seconds before she fell asleep, she thought she heard him say, “I love you.”
In a natural response, she said the first thing to come to her head, a message from her heart. “I love you, too.” She laced her fingers through his.
Do I dare hope that maybe me and Carter will work out? Time will tell.
Chapter Thirteen
Kelli looked at the clock and counted the minutes until she saw Carter again. Thirteen minutes. Her heartbeat sped up. She looked forward to the time she’d come to expect him to knock on her door. If there was a time when she had been happier, it was in her distant memory. In the three weeks since she and Carter became lovers, she found herself falling in love with him more and more each day. She did fight it at first. She kept telling herself to take it slow, but her attraction for him won out, along with their common attachment to the team from the sidelines. He loved her. He said so. In her heart, she knew it to be true. His loving words were so endearing she welled up with tears when she thought about it. Believing in love again, Kelli sighed with anxiety. First, before she could find complete happiness, she had to tell him a secret.
The doorbell rang. She took one final calming breath and braced herself for the challenge that awaited her on the other side of the door. The dreams of a future come true.
“Hi!” she greeted with a sigh of happiness. His handsome face smiled in satisfaction of seeing her. His dark chocolate eyes registered appreciation to see her. He came forward, and immediately, his firm, desire-invoking arms wrapped around her and she felt safe within them. She held on one more second longer than usual, enjoying the feel of his body next to hers.
“What is it, Kelli?” He pulled her back. “Is everything all right?”
Her heart fluttered with growing love. She pulled him close again. “Yes, I’m all right. It’s just that I have to tell you something. I think you have a right to know. A secret I’ve been keeping.”
He pulled her back. His eyes showed no signs of fear or disappointment. Only strength. “So, tell me this big secret,” Carter encouraged.
Kelli swallowed a large lump that formed in her throat. “Carter, come on in and we’ll talk.” He was all she looked for in a man. He was gorgeous without question, honest to a fault, a gentleman with her in public, and a hot, confident, giving lover in private. Even with all that, what she loved most about him was he didn’t play games with her mind.
What you see is what you get.
“Carter, you know I wasn’t a virgin when we met.” Kelli lowered her eyes, avoiding any lingering disappointments she might see in his eyes.
“Okay, so you dated other men.”
“No, Carter, I only dated one other man before you. I thought he and I would be married.”
Carter took her hand. “Kelli, you don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do, Carter. I love you.” She looked at him. “In fact, I love you more than I ever loved him.” She saw the cocky smile part his lips. Only Carter would smile at a serious moment like this. It was sort of a male-satisfied grin. “He and I had our first sexual encounter on my prom night. We stayed together believing we would get married in the future.”
“But?”
“Well, about December, Larry, my ex, broke up with me. I was devastated. I kept wondering what had I done that was so wrong? One night I got up the courage to ask him. He told me that he had been sleeping with my best friend, and she was pregnant.”
“Oh, Kelli.” Carter pulled her into a loving embrace. Peace and love surrounded her. “How lucky for me! Besides, he didn’t deserve you.”
Kelli smiled, and then looked up into his eyes. “Carter, you are so sweet.”
“No, only a man in love. And Kelli, I love you, too.” He leaned into her and settled a kiss softly on her lips.
Kelli would believe he put every ounce of love he felt, into that one kiss which bonded her feelings of security for a future. “I think I’m ready for you to meet my parents.”
Carter took out his cell phone and handed it to her. “Call them now.”
She looked down at the proffered phone. Her eyes lifted to his, with a shaky smile, she hesitated for a second longer. “I hope you’re ready.”
Ten minutes later, she hung up the phone with a renewed excitement. “They’re excited to meet you.”
He took her hand in his, kissed it softly. “I am, too.”
* * * *
Kelli woke to the familiar ringtone on her cell phone. She reached over to the nightstand, but the phone wasn’t there. Rising upon her elbows, she looked over the side of the bed.
Nothing.
Frantically, she looked for the ringing phone. “Don’t shut off yet.” She stopped rustling the bed covers and listened for the next ring. She turned her head to the muffled sounds under Carter’s pillow. Lifting it, she found her phone. How did you get over there? She questioned a nanosecond before she answered the phone on the last ring. A quick glance at the empty place next to her reminded her that Carter had left early. The past two and a half weeks, Carter had slept at her apartment while Tonya stayed with Dex. Those nights were the best sex she had ever had. And the time needed to know Carter better.
“Hello?” She expected Carter’s voice to greet her but was pleasantly surprised to hear her brother’s voice instead.
“Hello, kiddo, did I wake you?”
“Hey, Joshua! No, you didn’t wake me. How are you?”
Kelli lay back on her pillow and pulled Carter’s over her. The scent of his cologne clung to the pillowcase. The shampoo he used and their orgasms lingered on the material of the sheets. She closed her eyes, longing for his touch.
“Kelli? Kelli?”
Her brother’s voice zapped her back to the phone call. She felt embarrassment burn her cheeks. Does he know what I’m thinking?
“Kelli? Are you there, honey?”
“What? I’m sorry. I must have dozed off.”
Kelli couldn’t believe her behavior! She had to focus on her brother, not on Carter and her insatiate sexual appetite for him. She hadn’t talked to Joshua in weeks. “Josh, the last time I spoke to you was three weeks ago. The afternoon we met for lunch and I told you about Carter.” Joshua had said he was happy for her and Carter, but being the overprotective older brother he was, Kelli knew he wouldn’t be happy until he met Carter face to face and got to know him better. “God, has it been that long since we last saw each other?”
“Yep,” Joshua answered. “About that.”
There was a lull in the conversation.
“Kelli, we need to talk.”
“Okay, but I have a job interview in an hour. Can we talk after?”
“Yes, that will be fine.”
Kelli suddenly got a bad vibe from Josh’s silence. An awkward foreboding settled in the pit of her stomach. “Josh, what is this about?”
“It’s about Carter. There’s something I think you should know.”
“What…what is it?” The shattering feeling of alarm suddenly crept over her.
“I’ll tell you when I get there.”
Josh hung up the phone before she was able to question him further. She felt bile burning in her throat, and dread filled her. Her brother’s words echoed in her mind.
“Josh’s meddling. This isn’t happening,” she whispered.
Kelli jumped out of bed and showered. Josh wasn’t going to spoil her day. Once he arrived this afternoon, she would deal with him once and for all.
* * * *
Kelli’s image popped into Carter’s mind for the millionth time today. He couldn’t stop thinking of her, and the more he tried to concentrate on something else, the quicker the images came. His anxiety to see her later increased. He tried to blame it on the secret he planned to tell her. “Today, everything will be on the right track. I’ll tell her the truth about my money, and we’ll have nothing more to stand in our way.” He didn’t want to leave anything to chance. This is the time to make a clean start with her before meeting her parents. Thinking of the future and all its wonderful possibilities, he couldn’t wait to see her tonight and make plans.
He reached for the phone but set it back on the desk charger without dialing. He’d done that several times today. Every time he thought to call her and tell her he loved her, something came up or he decided against it. Whether it was to keep her interview uneventful or anticipation of telling her his feelings in person, he’d changed his mind. “Why didn’t I call to wish her luck this morning? Or leave a note? Because I lost track of time, and it got away from me.”
A strange feeling filled his gut. One he never experienced before, at least not in his recent recollections. Something’s wrong. He felt like his whole world was about to end. The more he sat around waiting to leave work, the higher his dread. He looked at his watch—four o’clock. He’d expected her to call and tell him how her interview went. Something isn’t right. “I have to get to her.” He switched off his computer. “Why couldn’t she stay home and chill out? Why did she have to interview for a job today?” Looking to the heavens, he implored the only one that could help her. “God, don’t let anything happen to her.”
The moment he left work, Carter jumped into his truck and then raced through town to Kelli and Tonya’s apartment. He felt the nervous vibrations building up in his gut the closer he got, and then the traffic stopped to a standstill—the interstate a virtual parking lot. Carter swallowed down his panic. Slowly, he made his way to the scene of the accident that had blocked the road. The small compact car looked nothing like Kelli’s. “Thank you, God, for not letting her be in the accident.” The panic he felt earlier subsided. However, he still had to see her. Carter whipped in and out of the rush hour traffic in an effort to get to her.
The second he pulled into the apartment complex, he ran through the courtyards. He pulled open the entry door to the dormitory and trotted through the lobby to the elevator.
“Slow down!” the security guard yelled, but he ignored him. He wanted Kelli, and nothing, or no one, would stop him.
In his eagerness to see her, Carter banged on her door. The sound of the disengaged deadbolt caught his attention. This was it.
Kelli opened the door, but instead of a smiling face, his heart sank when he saw her eyes glistening with tears. When she looked at him, her face was hard and impassive. Her body shook with the rage that quickly filled her gaze.
He stepped into the doorway “Kelli, are you all right?” She wouldn’t look at him in such a harsh way if everything were good. “What’s happened?” He tried to wrap her in his arms, but she pushed him away. “What?”
Kelli stepped out of his reach. “You own the Fort Worth Rebels?” She shouted.
“What?” Carter couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Who told you I own the team?” No doubt about it, fate is screwing with me. How did she find out?
He looked around the room. For the first time, he noticed they weren’t alone. Behind Kelli stood Tonya and some man he had never seen before. He didn’t know what emotion to act on first, her anger at his mistakes or his jealousy for this man in her apartment.
He reacted to the immediate potential fallout of his secret coming to light. He looked at Kelli. “I can explain everything.”
He turned to Tonya. “As my legal representative…”
“Save it, you fucking coward,” Kelli roared. “I know everything, even that my cousin is your lawyer.”
Carter looked back at Tonya. She nodded but said nothing. If Kelli learned the truth from someone other than him or Tonya, it would be a matter of time before the public would hear of it through the media. Then, the team would know he was the owner. Everyone would view him differently.
He turned to Kelli. “Who told you I owned the team?’
“Fuck you,” she hissed.
&
nbsp; Carter didn’t expect her to use language like that in front of other people. She’d always acted like a lady, not some brazen redneck with a temper from hell.
“That’s what I like about you, Kelli. Your ladylike manners.”
“Go to hell!” Kelli stomped to the door and opened it. “Get out! I don’t ever want to see your lying face again. Fucker.”
Too stunned to react, Carter stood in the living room of the apartment and gaped at her. He couldn’t believe what was happening. She broke up with him and ordered him out of his own building, not giving him a chance to make it right. The earlier happiness he felt and the plans he wanted to make were slipping through his fingers.
“Kelli, we are going to have this out. I will not let you turn away from me without giving me the chance to explain.”
“Okay.” She walked back to him. “What was the trip to Oklahoma?”
Carter had to mentally take a step back. What was she talking about? “I would call that a good time,” Carter defended.
“Did Dex actually give you a comp card, or did you pay for the whole thing?”
“Yes. Dex gave me the card.” He hadn’t lied about anything. He just avoided telling her the whole truth.
“And the Corvette? The night at the Lux Hotel where did that come from?”
“The car belongs to Dex. Kelli, I’ve never lied to you.” He took a step closer. “I kept…” She rolled her eyes and turned away. “Where are you going?”
“I’m leaving,” she answered.
He grabbed her by the arm and spun her round to meet him. “You will not go anywhere until we have this out.”
“Excuse me. You need to get your hands off her.” The other man, who remained quiet all this time, finally spoke. ”You don’t have a say in the matter. If she wants to leave, she can.”
Carter glanced at the man. “Who are you?”