by J. L. Drake
“Myles has a history of violence, and you’re trying to divorce him. So far, that hasn’t gone very smoothly with him, so in that Chester works with him, yeah, look over your shoulder. As for Chester…” He let out a controlled sigh like he was really putting thought into our conversation. It was one of the things I loved about Grady. He was always there to listen and always thought over his advice before he gave it. “I think you should let Carter know. It never hurts to have someone watch your back for you. I wouldn’t get too worried yet. Let the dust settle for a few days, and if he doesn’t show his face again, you probably caught him on a detox day. Sounds like the dude might be on something, Ari. God knows what Myles is putting him through. Maybe he was fired or something. Don’t stress too much, but do let Carter and your brothers know.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“Always here. You know that.”
“I do.” I hung up grabbed my things and headed to my apartment. I wasn’t going to let that strange encounter ruin my plans for this particular evening.
Now, it was shower and prep time.
Chapter Thirteen
Carter
I juggled my bag and an Amazon box in my arms as I opened the door and stopped short as I looked around the place. Kicking the door closed, I saw the familiar green Post-it on my fridge.
Heard you had a date, so I took the liberty of coming over and tidying up. Clean sheets, beer in the fridge, and we will discuss your microwave dinner stash in the morning. Have fun tonight. You deserve a little fun- Mom
I pulled out my phone when I felt it vibrate.
Cook: You know I can’t lie to your mom.
I am a thirty-year-old man, but my mother still found ways to involve herself in my life. I had to smile, though, as I really did appreciate her being helpful. I chuckled when I re-read the part about the sheets. I didn’t have the heart to say I kept my place pretty spotless. She loved to be needed. Plus, she enjoyed playing matchmaker, so the fact that she hadn’t met Arizona yet would be killing her.
Carter: You need to get a backbone. Talk to you later. BTW thanks for everything.
I decided to text my mom while I was on a roll.
Carter: Place looks great. Thanks, Mom.
Mom: Feel free to snap a photo, video, or you know, have her come to Sunday dinner.
Carter: I will work on all that.
I opened the Amazon box my sister sent me and pulled out a three-foot, glass, light-up tree. The note read, “Sorry you don’t have a tree this year. Hopefully this makes up for it. Will miss you this Christmas.”
I dug in my junk drawer and fit two double A batteries in it and set it on my living room windowsill. I had to admit it was pretty festive looking.
I checked the time and knew I needed to move it and get the Chinese food ordered, and I still had to take a shower.
I was just pulling the plates from the cabinet when I heard the knock at the door.
I quickly lit a candle and glanced around the place to make sure I hadn’t forgotten to do anything. All looked good.
“Wow,” fell out of my mouth when I took in her tight black dress and heels. Her hair was mostly straight with a small wave, and she smelled as good as she looked.
“Hi.” She beamed up at me, and I shamelessly let my gaze drop down to admire each one of her delicious curves.
“Hey, come in.” I stepped back and couldn’t help but give some attention to her backside as she turned to put her purse on the chair. “You look amazing.”
“So do you.” She held up a bottle of wine and some chocolate. “Where should I put this?”
“There.” I pointed to the counter and followed directly behind her. When she turned, I pressed my body against hers, not caring how forward I was being.
“I missed you.” I threaded my fingers through her hair and caught her bottom lip with my teeth. When she went to speak, I swallowed her words, just needing to taste her. She didn’t protest. She fell into step, wrapping her arms around my neck.
Using the backs of my fingers, I stroked down her shoulder, the side of her plump breast, across her hip, over her bottom, and fingered the hemline of her dress. Her smooth thigh didn’t help my painful erection. I wanted to lift her onto the counter and sink into her. But…
“Sorry.” I somehow managed to pull my lips away long enough to apologize for my behavior. “It’s just I needed to kiss you so much. This was a long week, and you in that had my head firing off in all directions.”
“Don’t be sorry.” She gave me a long, deep kiss on the lips that left me winded. “That was the best kiss I’ve had in a long time.” Her eyes went high left as she tried to think about something.
“What?” My curiosity got the best of me.
“I just think we should talk first and see if this is still something you want after you hear everything I have to say.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound very good.”
“Not bad, but let’s just clear the air.” She stepped up on her tiptoes and kissed my jawbone then added a small, soft lick at the end. “And then afterward,” she nearly moaned in my ear, “we can play.” Her tongue darted out again and kissed the shell of my ear.
My hands snapped down on her bottom to hold her in place. When she grinned up at me with hungry eyes, I slipped one of my hands under the dress and allowed it to caress her bare backside. I discovered she was in tiny panties, and I could feel the lace that ran up the side.
“Sweet Jesus.” I sucked in a sharp breath and tried not to bend her over the table and take her right there and then. To my surprise, she stepped back, letting my hands fall away while she slowly pulled up her dress, exposing her cheeky panties. Then her fingers plucked at the ties and let the scrap of fabric fall to the floor. With a wicked grin, she pushed her dress back down and headed for the table.
“Shall I open the wine?” She sounded like she was in complete control while I was growing a set of the biggest blue balls ever known to man.
“Su…” I cleared my throat. “Sure.”
When her back was turned, I snatched the sexy panties up and hid them in the couch to make double sure they weren’t going to be replaced tonight.
Won, our beloved Chinese delivery man, was right on time and couldn’t help but smirk when he caught Arizona behind me.
“You have a good night, Mr. Carter.” He winked, and I laughed as I shut the door. I could only imagine what was going through his mind.
She poured the wine as I dished up dinner. When she bent over the table, I couldn’t help but stare at her dress, more than aware that there was nothing but that fabric between us.
“For you.” I placed the plate in front of her and sat across the table.
“To new beginnings.” She held her wine glass to mine.
“To new beginnings,” I repeated and watched as she took a sip of wine, enjoying the taste. I wanted to be back in her mouth, but I had to wait and calmed my inner teenager.
“Okay, babe,” I stabbed the chicken ball, “you’re up.”
She nodded and waited until she finished her next bite before she spoke.
“I’m just going to start from the beginning and try not to drag on.” She sighed like it was hard for her to open up. “But you have to promise me two things.”
“Okay, shoot.”
“One, no pity looks.” She gave me a pointed stare. “I’m fine now and am strong enough to get through this.”
“Okay.” But that didn’t mean it wasn’t going to bother me that she was hurting.
“Two, when I get to the last part, you can’t go all alpha male on me again, I’m fine, and I’m sure it was nothing.”
That made me stop eating.
“I’ll agree to number one, but number two is up for debate.”
She shook her head and took a rather long sip of wine. I was sure she needed som
e help revisiting her past.
“When I was eighteen, I started an internship at Young, Incorporated. I loved designing, but I knew I needed to get my feet wet first, and they had a few openings. The owner, Ken Young, had a personal assistant who was dating my mentor at the time, and he helped me get on his radar. He took a liking to me and started to move me around the company. I wore many hats and was well respected with my co-workers, mainly because I was first in and last out every day. Ken was all about working from the bottom up in the company, something not all of us had done.” She paused while she twisted her water cup, thinking.
“Soon, I was working with his son, Myles. Who, at the time, anyway, seemed to be very good with women but he had zero work ethic. Myles and Ken were oil and water, and no matter how many times Ken gave him a chance, Myles couldn’t see that all his father wanted from him was to show he could work hard enough at it so he could take over the family business someday.” She held up a hand. “Don’t get me wrong, Ken is a bit of an ass, too, but he works hard for his money. Anyway, Myles saw an in with his father through me, and long story short, we got married a year later.
“To be fair, I loved him. I just didn’t know what the good kind of love felt like, and because it took three years before Myles first hit me. It was that age-old, what did I do wrong to deserve it? After that, he didn’t like me being at the office. I got too much attention from his father and his co-workers, as they much preferred to go through me than him. The last straw was when Chester,” I noticed she shifted uncomfortably in her seat, “needed some work finished that Myles failed to do, so I finished it, thinking I was helping. Nope. I was told I wasn’t welcome there anymore and that he wanted a stay-at-home wife.” She took another sip of her wine, and I refilled her glass. “Oh, by the way, I failed to point out that Ken had created a position for Myles mainly because he failed at every other job he had.” She grinned darkly. “They stuck him in a position and called him a procurement manager. He is one of four in the company, though, and really they only need three.
“Jump forward a few years,” she continued. “I was lonely. At least I was working, but I was missing something more in my life. I just wanted someone to love me for me. My maternal instincts had kicked in, and I told him I wanted to have a child. He didn’t care really but knew it would keep me off his back, so he went along with it. I enjoyed my volunteer work at the rec center, being around so many kids who just wanted to be loved. I was playing mommy to them all, but I couldn’t take them home.” She laughed at how that sounded, but I could see she was a natural born mother. “Two years of trying, and nothing.”
“It can take time.” I tried to ease the pain that flashed across her face and forced her mouth to turn down at the corners.
“It can,” she lowered her voice, “if you can have children.” Her face flushed, and it took me a half a second to catch on. I opened my mouth and went with whatever came out.
“A love for a child shouldn’t be determined through blood, Arizona. It’s determined through your heart.”
A sad smile appeared, and I knew she heard me.
“Try telling that to Myles.”
“He doesn’t deserve to have a child, then.”
“I agree.” She cleared her throat, and I knew it was a difficult thing to share. “The things he said,” she closed her eyes for a moment, “I still carry them. I know I’m not broken, but the words still stung.”
Motherfucker needed to have someone beat him down a few pegs. My hands balled under the table.
“Needless to say, I left him, and months after I did, I went back to our home to gather my things, only to find him having sex in our own bedroom with his best friend, and to add insult to injury, his male co-worker walked out of the bathroom naked. He obviously had been taking part in the, ah, activity.”
“What?” I was not expecting that.
“Yup, my dear husband, not only an adulterer but a star in his own private dirty porn show.”
“Damn.”
“In a nutshell, I married too early, didn’t get out after the first time he hit me, can’t have children, and now he’s threatening me not to tell his father anything because I’ll be going back to him anyway.” She held up her glass with a sarcastic face. “Lucky me!”
“He said that to you?”
“Yeah, the night of the club fire. Which scares me because he saw you with me, and I know that’s mulling around in his thick skull.”
I took a deep, controlled breath and wanted to make a few calls, but now wasn’t the time.
“How’s the divorce coming along?” I had to ask since she was sharing.
“I was smart and started therapy a year before I left him, she was helping me get out even though I was still trying to have a baby with him.” She shook her head. “Amazing how blind you can be. We documented a lot of the abuse, but I didn’t want to go there if I didn’t have to. I wanted a clean split. Only Myles is being difficult, so I just gave the green light to my lawyer and shared everything. She assured me it’s a slam dunk case, but it could get messy before it gets better.”
“Do you think you’re safe here?” I felt uneasy.
“Yes, because my brothers are over a lot, Jessi is a caged tiger, and you’re right next door.”
“True,” I saw my work calendar flip in front of me, “but I’m gone a lot.”
“I’m fine. I have locks, Mace, and a hand Taser.”
I couldn’t help but smirk. She was so tiny it wouldn’t have been hard to take her down.
“I’m a survivor, remember.” She eyed me, so I eased up on the smirk but disagreed. I didn’t think with their history she should be alone.
“Okay, so, now that that’s all out in the open, I have a question for you.”
“Shoot.” I went back to eating and quietly thought of a plan to keep her safe while I was gone.
“I just wondered if you know about Walker’s situation.”
“Huh?”
“Carter, I wonder about you and Walker, especially that he lets you hold him. Do you know Walker’s past?”
“Not really, just that his mom was an ex-druggie and was killed in the fire at the nightclub.”
“Shit.” She let out a long breath and seemed to make a decision. “When Walker was born, his mother dropped him off one night at the center, and he wasn’t found until the morning. It was late October, and he was in one of those baby bathtubs. If it had rained, he would have drowned, not to mention it was cold. Child services came, but they gave him back to her.” Her face told such a sad story. “Weeks later, she was back at the center, claiming it wasn’t her that had left him, that someone else had been looking after him. Of course, our cameras weren’t very good, so we couldn’t prove it. It wasn’t until later that the owners from the store across the street came forward with their video footage to prove she had done it. But she’s his mother, so we couldn’t do much, and the video was crappy, and so child services ended up giving him back to her.
“He’d show up a lot after that, such a sad little guy. No one could hold him but me. He would sit by himself and suck his thumb. I taught him how to walk, you know.” She paused to hold down her emotions, and I wanted to hold her. “I also taught him how to color, and he’s really good with his numbers, but every time I had to let him go home with her, he would cry to stay with me. It broke my heart. Not that long ago, he stopped coming every day, and lately I haven’t seen him much at all. We figured she had moved or something, I had no idea then she had died or that she still had living parents. We’re not really allowed to ask questions.”
“What about his father?”
“No clue. A few guys would come to pick him up, but none stuck around.”
“I found him in the closet during the fire.” I started to tell my story. “He latched on and wouldn’t let go. Wouldn’t even let the EMTs look him over, so I spent the night in hosp
ital with him, until CPS came with his grandmother. However, I don’t know how long that setup will last. They have some major health issues that could change things at any time.”
“Oh, God,” she rubbed her head, “I have a love-hate relationship with the rec center.”
“No, Ari,” I held her gaze, “you are so special to do what you do. Don’t stop. Look at how Walker is with you. He loves you.”
“I really love him, too.”
Chapter Fourteen
Carter
“More?” I leaned forward and filled her wine glass before sneaking a dirty peek at those gorgeous, toned legs that were crossed at the knee. We had started a movie after we cleaned up from dinner, and I was trying to behave. It had proved to be even more difficult than I imagined.
She took a small sip before her eyes shifted to my gaze. Her tongue darted out to catch a drop on her bottom lip. Her earring caught the light as she moved, and her shiny-wavy hair called to my fingers.
Deep breaths, Carter, I reminded myself.
She plucked some chocolate off the plate and sucked it from her fingers. I swallowed hard and gripped the side of the couch.
“Mm,” she moaned quietly, “chocolate is heavenly with wine, don’t you think?” Then she shifted back on the couch and smiled. “What are you thinking?”
“All the wrong things,” I shot back.
“Like?” She was amused at the fact I was this wound up.
“Like how much my hands want to be on you.”
She took a long sip of her wine. “Where would you start?” She paused. “Show me.”
And there was my permission.
“I’d start here.” I slipped my warm hand over her knee and shifted a little closer to her, careful to keep enough distance so I could savor every moment of this. “Then I’d slowly drag my fingers up the side of your thigh.” I mimicked my words and noticed her chest was still. She was holding her breath. I liked the upper hand I had right now. “And then I would watch as my hand disappeared under your dress.” I slipped it beneath the fabric. It was tight, but the material had some give to it. “I would be thrilled to find you were completely naked underneath.” I swiped slowly across her hip and dipped low on her pelvic bone.