Chapter 25
Carter
"I love you, Elena."
The words left Carter's mouth before he could stop them, carrying the weight of years of restraint finally snapping the moment her hands wrapped around his. He had waited so long to say them. So long to stop holding them back.
For a heartbeat, all he felt was relief.
Then Elena grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down into a kiss.
The relief vanished beneath something far more powerful.
Any chance of taking things slow vanished almost immediately. Years of distance collided in a rush of emotion that neither of them tried to resist. Carter lost himself in the taste of her, his hands mapping her body as they frantically worked together to get their clothes off.
When her dress slipped to the floor, Carter forgot how to breathe.
She was stunning.
The warm light of his office seemed to soften everything about her, casting a golden glow across her skin. Her blonde hair tumbled over her shoulders in loose waves, drawing his gaze to eyes so vividly blue that they were impossible to look away from.
Maybe it was the years he'd spent wanting her.
Maybe it was the fact that she was finally here, standing in front of him instead of living only in his thoughts. Whatever the reason, Carter was certain of one thing.
He had never seen anything more beautiful.
As they got closer, Carter reached up to take his glasses off.
But Elena caught his wrist before he could remove them, her fingers tightening around him as she looked up through heavy-lidded eyes.
"Keep them on."
The words sent a sharp rush of satisfaction through him as a slow smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Elena loved giving him grief, teasing him endlessly about being a nerd. But he knew better.
Beneath all the jokes was a weakness she had never quite managed to hide.
And the way she was looking at him now left no doubt.
She liked the glasses.
A lot.
Carter's smile deepened. If that was what she wanted, he was more than happy to indulge her.
Outside his window, the storm raged across Manhattan, wild and untamed. Inside, neither of them was doing much better.
Under her gaze, desire and something far more dangerous twisted together inside him, leaving him momentarily breathless. He couldn't bear the distance between them for another second.
With a swift sweep of his arm, he cleared the desk. Files, papers, and pens scattered across the study, landing in a chaotic mess on the floor.
He didn't care.
The only thing that mattered was Elena.
Carter caught her by the waist and lifted her onto the edge of the desk.
Driven by a fierce need to worship her, he sank to his knees. He didn't even try to hide the hunger in his eyes as he looked up at her.
As he pressed a hot, lingering kiss to the soft skin of one knee, then the other, slowly her thighs opened up for him.
For a moment, all Carter could do was stare.
No matter how many times he saw her, she still had the power to completely undo him.
"Wow," he murmured, unable to keep the awe from his voice. "You are so gorgeous, Elena.”
Elena's cheeks turned a beautiful shade of pink. She leaned back on her hands, her breasts swelling above the lace.
The sight made Carter feel like the luckiest bastard on the planet.
He traced a single finger slowly up the inside of her thigh. Her skin felt like warm silk, trembling under his touch, and the contrast against his own rough hands was almost enough to make him lose his grip.
Elena let out a shaky breath, her fingers tightening on the edge of the desk. She tried to glare down at him, but the effect was ruined by the playful pout tugging at her lips.
"Don't you dare tease me this time, Carter."
A low, husky laugh rumbled from Carter's chest.
"Wouldn't dream of it, sweetheart," he murmured, his voice rough with amusement as he remembered the last time he made love to her.
From down there, the view was purely sinful.
The intoxicating, musky scent of her arousal hit him like a physical wave, making his dick throb painfully against the tight confinement of his underwear.
He could see the damp, glistening sheen coating her inner thighs, her pink panties already darkened from her own wetness. He swiftly hooked his fingers into the lace, pulling them down her legs and casting them aside.
Leaning in, he parted her pink, glistening folds with his finger, baring her completely to his gaze.
She was soaking wet, a beautiful, messy invitation.
Carter didn't hesitate; he buried his face in her heat, his tongue darting out in deep, swirling, greedy strokes.
He lapped at her juices, his tongue flattening to pressure her swollen clit while he listened to her sudden, loud moans of pleasure echoing in the quiet study.
Elena’s fingers tangled deep in his hair, anchoring him as her hips began to roll against his mouth in a helpless, desperate rhythm.
The intoxicating taste of her—slick, sweet, and entirely his—unlocked the years of agonizing hunger he’d kept buried for so long.
He lost himself in it, drinking her in and pressing deeper, his hands gripping her thighs to steady them both against the frantic pace.
Her entire body melted beneath his touch as she cried out his name in pleasure and let go, her release blooming over his tongue in slow waves.
The sweet, slick taste of her flooded his senses as he licked away every drop of her release, his tongue tracing the soft, sensitive skin while her core continued to quiver helplessly against his mouth.
Carter stayed exactly where he was, his chin resting against her thigh, watching the flush on her skin slowly settle. Finally, as her breathing steadied, her eyes fluttered open. She looked down at him with a dazed, completely wrecked smile.
"So..." she panted, her voice still raspy and thick with satisfaction. "Are you planning on living down there, or are you going to come up here and finish what you started?"
Carter smirked, standing up on heavy, trembling legs. His dick was practically aching to be inside her. He stripped off his remaining clothes, tearing open a condom with his teeth and rolling it on with frantic haste.
He leaned over her, crowding her space until he was pinning her to the desk. He didn't take his eyes off hers as he sank inside her in one slow, agonizingly deep stroke, losing himself in her slick warmth.
Elena let out a ragged sigh, her arms locking around his neck pulling him in until he was buried completely.
Carter started to move, driving into her with deep, heavy thrusts that felt too good to be real.
He was totally consumed by her—until she looked up at his glasses and let out a breathless, teasing laugh.
"Well..." she panted against his ear. "I guess you finally get to live out your library fantasy."
Carter laughed, a dark, breathless sound against her neck. His pace quickened, the tight, wet friction of her squeezing him so hard it nearly took him over the edge.
"Yeah," he growled, digging his fingers into her hips to drive deeper. "But you're the only fantasy I ever cared about."
Elena let out a shaky moan, her eyes losing focus as her playful mood completely melted into pure surrender.
The heat between them snapped. Driven by pure adrenaline, Carter hooked his hands under her thighs and hoisted her right off the desk. Elena gasped, wrapping her legs around his waist as he backed her up, pinning her flat against the wall of bookshelves.
He didn't waste a second. The sound of her chanting his name and the friction of her soft curves rubbing against him made him throb deep inside her. It felt too good, too intense to slow down.
Carter couldn't hold back any longer. He felt the exact moment Elena let go—her body squeezing tight around him as she came, her soft gasp vibrating against his neck.
The incredible feeling sent him right over the edge.
He drove deep into her one last time as a hot wave of his own release rushed through him.
Carter sank into a nearby chair, keeping Elena wrapped securely against him. She smiled and kissed his cheek, the affection in the gesture making his chest tighten.
If happiness had a shape, he thought, it would look a lot like this.