13. June
Chapter 13
June
T he car jostled beneath me, sending my arms and legs flying out in front of me as though I were a newborn with a startle reflex.
Sucking in a deep breath, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and glanced around us at the flat plains. Fields of crops as far as the eye could see and the biggest landmark stretched in front of us with black tar lines covering weather-worn cracks.
“Where are we?”
“And she’s awake.” He cupped the back of my head and ran his fingers through my snarled hair. “We are an hour or two outside of Topeka.”
My eyes widened. “Kansas?”
“Do you know of another Topeka in the United States?”
“Um, yeah... three, in fact. Would you like to hear them?”
“I’m good.”
I rubbed my hands over my face and through my hair, following the same path he’d created while sucking in a heavy, deep breath. “I need coffee...” my belly growled on cue, “and some food.”
“We’ll be stopping soon for the night.” He reached behind his seat and pulled out a gas station plastic bag. “In the meantime, I bought some of your favorites while I filled up.”
My brows pinched together as I took the bag and opened it wide. “I slept through you getting gas?”
“Twice.” He held up a large Mountain Dew bottle. “I’ve run through three, and let’s just say it ran through me, too.”
I snorted and pulled out a Snickers bar. “I haven’t had one of these in forever.” As I peeled back the plastic wrapper and bit into the chocolate, caramel, and nuts, a deep groan left me. My eyes rolled back in pure, indulgent bliss.
“Do you always eat it like that?”
I grinned and peered at him. “Like what?”
“Like they should finance the next orgasm that hits when you devour it.”
Laughing, I leaned back in my seat, my arm tucked around my waist and my elbow resting on top, with the Snickers settling near my lips. “I don’t have an orgasm when eating it.”
“Could have fooled me and my cock.”
My gaze sank to the bulge in his pants, warmth slapping my cheeks. “You can’t talk like that.”
“Like I want you?”
“Like we’re friends again.” I winced.
We’d had sex, and I kissed him back at David’s home, but emotions were high. I wasn’t in my right mind.
I am now.
He hung his head for a moment, then stared back at the freeway ahead, his hand resting atop the steering wheel, his elbow on the center console.
“I’m not letting you get away this time, dollface.”
My breath hitched, and my chest squeezed. “I thought you were sincere in your apology.”
“Oh, I am.” He turned the dial on the air. “I’m just not going to let you go. Screw everything that stood in the way for so long. We don’t know what the future holds, but I do know one thing...”
“Yeah, what’s that?”
“You’ll be with me by my side until our dying day.”
Butterflies erupted, causing my skin to flush. I ate the last bite of my Snickers and tossed the wrapper into the bag. “That isn’t your choice.”
“We’ll see.”
Silence slid in between us like the Great Wall of China until he pulled into a hotel on the outskirts of Topeka.
Stretching, he opened the door and stepped out, groaning. He bent over, dipping his head inside the car, his arm resting on top of the door. “Stay here, and I’ll check in.”
“And what if I’m not here when you get back?”
He shrugged, his brow lifting as his gaze dropped to my bare legs. “Somehow, I think you will be.”
I crossed my arms as he shut the door. A frown settled on my face, and he walked through the automatic doors, stopping at the front desk.
My fingers played with the frayed ends of the negligee Ethan bought for me one random day. He’d insisted I wore it last night while he ran his hands over me, and now I couldn’t wait to toss it in the trash and never see it again.
Ethan cheated on me.
But he didn’t deserve to die for it.
“Scumbag.”
I brought Carter’s shirt sleeve to my nose and inhaled in a deep breath of his intoxicating aroma, my head tipping back and resting against the seat.
“Are you smelling my shirt?”
I jerked my hand away. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m trying not to puke.”
He dropped into his seat with a deep, lopsided smile, a dimple appearing beneath the scruff. “Whatever you want to tell yourself, dollface.”
“It’s the truth.”
Chuckling, he started the car and drove around the back of the hotel. “We’re on the bottom floor by the exit.” He flicked over a keycard. “Room 121. Go inside, and I’ll head to the store to get you some clothes.”
I raised a brow. “And you know what size I wear?”
“Of course I do. And I know you like to wear comfortable but fashionable clothes while you’re in the car. Nothing too frumpy, but also nothing that is going to get uncomfortable.”
My upper lip lifted. “Don’t pretend to know me, Carter.”
I snatched the keycard and got out of the car. “I need a pair of shoes, size sev—“
”—seven. I told you, I know your sizes.”
I slammed the door in his face and walked to the side door, his laughter breaking through the closed windows as I pulled his shirt down over my ass.
Jerk.
Sliding the keycard through the door, I entered the tranquil hallway. Three doors down and on the left, I shoved my keycard in the lock and stepped inside.
I could lock him out, slide the bolt in place, and make him sleep in the car...
With a sigh, I flicked on the light and exited the makeshift hallway, freezing in my tracks. “Ass...hole.”
The comfortable hotel room held two nightstands with lamps but one freaking bed made up with six plush pillows and a turned-down duvet.
I spun on my heel and slapped the lock in place.
Dirt and grime coated my skin, my hair matted against my skull, filled with bits and pieces of the forest floor .
I stripped my shirt and tossed the destroyed negligee into the trash can beside the desk, the long mirror in the bathroom seizing my attention.
Caked dirt outlined the back of my knees, wrists, and ankles where my sweat gathered the particles.
Disgusting.
Scatches, long and thin marred my legs and arms. My knee shined with the hour’s fresh abrasion, dirt crusting around the bloody edges.
This is going to suck.
I twisted the knob, water spitting out in uneven bursts before settling into a hot, steady stream. Steam coiled around me, reached down my throat and swallowed the air from my lungs. The mirror fogged, hiding the mess of a human staring into it, allowing me a deferment from reality. I tiptoed into the scalding shower and hissed as the heat bit into my wounds.
Pain hacked through the numbness, causing my fingers to tremble as I untangled the mess in my hair. Pine needles and dirt tumbled to the shower floor.
The water darkened as it swirled around my feet, carrying away the filth and his cum. I scrubbed harder, my nails digging into my scalp as I broke. The dam fell away, and the flood of tears destroyed everything in its path.
I wrapped my arms around my breasts and pressed my forehead against the lukewarm tiles, sobbing--Ethan’s vacant eyes burned into my retinas. I pinched my eyes tighter.
Bang.
Wiping my tears from my face, I kept my back to the door and glanced over my shoulder, my hair standing on end.
Carter stood in the doorway, his gaze sweeping over my nakedness with a wide stance and three large white designer bags hanging from his hand. “You locked the door.”
How long have I been in the shower?
“For a reason.” I turned into the water and washed the remaining tears from my face. “Take a picture. It’ll last longer.”
“Let me put the bags down, and I will.”
I flashed him a narrowed look. “You wouldn’t.”
“You offered.”
The camera phone flashed, and a ferocious growl slipped through my clenched teeth. “Carter Morgan, I’m going to murder you while you sleep.”
His smile grew as I turned off the water and pulled back the curtain. “Too soon, dollface.” He faded around the corner, and I grabbed my towel, covering my soaked frame.
I wiped my feet on the bathmat and met him next to the bed where he stood, staring down at his phone with a grin that would melt my panties—if I were wearing any. “Erase it.”
He glanced up with a raised brow, and I swiped at his phone. “Nice try.” He held his phone above his head as I jumped with one hand in the air, the other holding my towel tight against me. “Standing this close to me with only a towel stopping me is a dangerous game.”
I gulped. “If you touch me, so help me, God.”
Carter stepped up to me, his hulking frame towering above, causing my neck to crank back. “Or what, princess?” He leaned in, his phone held high in the air.
I backed off with a scowl. “Actually, you keep it. Use it for your spank bank so you can remember what it felt like to have me.”
The smirk fell off his face as he tucked the phone back into his pocket. “We’ll see about that.”
“You’re sleeping on the floor. I don’t know what you were thinking getting one bed.”
“No way.” He shook his head. “I’m the driver,” his finger dug into his chest, “I need all the sleep I can get.” Turning, he dumped the contents of the bags out onto the bed. “And for the record, this was all they had. We could have had a single queen. Should I change it?”
I glowered. “You’re sleeping on the floor.”
“I’ll tell you what. If you can fall asleep before I get out of the shower, I’ll take the floor.”
“This isn’t a negotiation, Carter.” I crossed my arm over my chest. “No deal.”
“We’ll see.”
He stripped his shirt over his head. His powerful back muscles, corded with tight sinew, shifted with every movement as he worked his belt free. My eyes locked on as though hypnotized.
No, we won’t.
I can’t risk having him in my bed, even if it is for a night.
How will I think things through with his hands on me?
Carter dumped his clothes at the bathroom entryway, gave me one last look, his cock hanging heavy at his thighs, then walked into the bathroom.
The water turned on, and I let my shoulders fall.
Sharp splashes of water hit the shower floor in uneven waves as I turned toward the dumped clothes and perused something for bed.
I held up a buttery soft athletic shirt and yoga pants and another, my teeth digging into my inner cheek.
How did he know so much about me?
How long did he ‘stalk’ me before taking me?
I tore off the ridiculous price tags, folded the clothes, and placed them back into the bag, leaving out the soft cotton shirt and a pair of thin gray pajama shorts.
Tipping an ear toward the bathroom, I let the towel fall to the ground, and dressed in my new PJs, then pulled out the deodorant, a hairbrush, and toothbrushes with paste.
“You forgot to get me underwear.”
“No, I didn’t.” His gravelly voice rushed out of the bathroom over the crash of water.
“Where is it then?”
“I didn’t get you any.”
I raised a brow. “ Tsh. You just said you didn’t forget.”
The water stopped with a squeak, and the shower curtain jingled as he pulled it back. My mind’s eye pictured water rolling down his...
“ Oh, my god. ”
I adverted my eyes as he stepped out of the bathroom, stark-ass naked—the water droplets making him a specimen worthy of tongue service.
“Don’t act like you haven’t seen me before.”
I peeked out of the crack in my fingers. “That was when I wanted to.”
“And you don’t anymore?” He rubbed his hair with the towel, then tossed it to the ground beside mine.
“Nope.”
He drew closer, his naked body radiating heat that soaked into mine, and drew the back of his hand over my nipple. “Because your body says otherwise.”
I shuddered and bit my lip before swiping his hand away. “The girls don’t get a say.”
He laughed, grabbed the remaining bag on the chair, and tossed on a pair of gray sweats to match mine, his hard length giving me serious whiplash.
“Maybe we should listen to the girls more often.”
“Not a chance.” I grabbed the remote on the dresser, jumped into the middle of the king-sized bed, and crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m going to bed.” Turning on the TV, I skimmed the channels as he sauntered back into the bathroom.
I’m so screwed.