2. Carter
2
CARTER
I parked a block away after circling a few times, realizing Rick’s party had drawn quite the crowd. When we talked last week, he told me his daughter was home from Tampa and needed a job here in town, that he’d be hosting a welcome home party for her to help shake some blues she’d been feeling. I didn’t ask many questions. I was grateful to have another competent adult helping out around the clinic, and I owed Rick a few favors anyway.
This afternoon was about meeting her and hearing her qualifications, perhaps getting to know her a bit. I had no idea what to expect, but if she was like her father, I knew my clinic would be in good hands, even if she turned out to be nothing more than a receptionist or nurse’s aide.
I walked across the carefully manicured lawn, past the topiary and birdbath. The home had fantastic curb appeal, but most homes in Malibu did. The monolithic design was interesting. The entire house appeared to be carved from one single stone, and if the winding sidewalk that tucked behind a green wall wasn’t so obvious, I’d have been lost at finding the front door.
Just the land had to cost more than my entire property and home, but I wasn’t intimidated by it. On the contrary, it felt a bit off-putting, reminding me of my childhood and growing up with so much money around me, it had replaced affection and intimacy as the primary way my father interacted with me.
I rounded the corner, tucking my keys into the pocket of my tan slacks, and saw the ivory-colored door. Music vibrated the walls, floating out to give me a hint of what lay on the other side of the door, and I reached to press the bell. The door burst open in a blast of energy, and two young boys dressed for the pool, wearing snorkels and laughing loudly, raced past me. They left dark splotches on the cement as they went, and I chuckled.
“Carter, so good to have you,” Rick said. I turned back to the door to see his broad shoulders fill the doorway. His hand stretched out toward me and I took it, gripping it firmly in a warm handshake.
“Wouldn’t miss it, Rick.” I followed him into the foyer of the home which was no less stunning on the inside. Marble floors, large chandeliers with ultra-modern aesthetics. The home was a masterpiece.
“Soleil is around somewhere, but let me get you a drink first.” Rick gestured past the modern living room with rigid, brightly colored furniture to the far side of the room, divided from the clunky sofa and end tables by an island. The top made of jade, it anchored both spaces, creating a place to gather and talk—which was exactly what people were doing. A lot of them.
I recognized a few faces from previous events Rick and Melanie had hosted, while some of them still remained a mystery. Now approaching retirement, Rick held more gatherings, dinners, backyard barbeques, and even charity events than any person I knew. I always assumed it was to help Melanie deal with her loneliness as they aged and friends moved in and out of their lives. I was too focused on helping people to live the socialite life, but I didn’t mind a good party now and then.
While Rick found a bottle of rum and whipped up a pina colada for me, I let my eyes scan the crowd gathered in his open-concept home. Every time I was around Rick, he tried to set me up. He told me a man my age should have a woman to soften his edges, but I never did much more than go on a single date with the ones he pushed my way. After the things I’d been through, I wasn’t ready for anything serious. I wondered which one of the bronzed beauties sipping alcohol, dressed in a sundress or a bikini, was the one he invited for me. It was sort of a ritual at this point.
“Here ya go,” he said cheerfully, handing me the large, broad-rimmed glass with creamy yellow froth. I accepted it and sipped it immediately.
“Soleil—” I said, nearly choking on my drink. The bits of pineapple pulp stuck in my throat. I chuckled, and Rick picked up where I left off.
“She’s around here. I saw her with a daiquiri somewhere.” He shook his head and sighed as he sipped from a beer bottle. “Came home a bit upset by a few things—I’ll let her explain if she wants to share. I’m worried about her, Carter. She needs to be grounded right now and here in LA is the best place. I’m really grateful for you agreeing to take her in. She needs a firm hand.”
My mind pictured a wild child, hell-bent on rebelling and making her father’s life miserable, but I knew Soleil was no child. Based on things Rick had told me in the past, she was probably around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. More than old enough for Rick to stop worrying about her like this, but it was the way he handled things.
“Don’t worry, buddy. I’ll have your back. I’m sure she’s the poster child for hard work ethic and punctuality if she’s anything like you.” Stroking Rick’s ego was also another way to help him. I’d learned a few years back when we met at that charity golf event that he was a prideful man. But he was also a good man, and a good friend.
“It’s just that?—”
“Rick!” I heard, and I recognized the voice as Melanie instantly. His head jerked to the side and we both turned to see her walking down the hallway from the back door. Even in the dim light with the sun creating a silhouette of her aging form, Melanie was gorgeous. Rick was a lucky man.
“Yeah?” he called, scowling.
“Jeb is having a hard time with the grill. Can you come help?” She steepled her fingers under her chin and tilted her head slightly as she smiled at him. Then she winked at me as he ran a hand across his comb-over and balding head.
“Yeah, I’ll come.” Rick glanced at me and said, “Just hang out a bit. When I see Soleil, I’ll find you and introduce the two of you.”
I laughed as Melanie dragged her husband away, then meandered with my drink in hand through the lower level of the house. Two living rooms, a formal dining area with a breakfast nook, two powder rooms, a laundry area, and finally a game room—all decorated in very modern lines and colors.
The noise level in the game room was off the charts. I discovered it was the source of the thumping music, which barely overpowered the shouts of several younger adults engaged in a drinking game. Their volume was what drew me in, but what kept me there hovering at the door was the curvy, shapely form of a buxom beauty who wore a skimpy, bright-red, string bikini—over which she had a white crocheted cover-up.
She tossed her curly hair over her shoulder and looked back at me as a few other women around the table fixed their eyes on me. She was gorgeous—full ruby lips, dark hazel eyes. If I didn’t know Rick so well, I’d have sworn he’d been hiding her from me all this time. Surely this was the woman he’d arranged to introduce me to once our business of meeting with Soleil was finished and the real party set in.
She made my dick twitch just thinking of how incredible her lips would feel wrapped around it. But I knew as well as anyone else, beauty was only skin-deep, that the real treasure was always found in a woman’s soul. While Rick was excellent at picking good-looking women, he failed to find ones who stimulated me intellectually most times, and after the loss I’d suffered, any woman I plowed forward with would have to be incredibly special. I wouldn’t pass judgment on this particular beauty, but it would take a miracle to find someone to break the curse over my heart.
“Hey,” she said, wiggling her fingers. She batted her thick, dark eyelashes at me and bobbed a shoulder. “Wanna play?”
“Nah,” I shouted over the din of music and laughter. I held up my glass that was now half empty and grinned at her. “Gotta pace myself.”
The way she strolled toward me, abdicating her apparent role at the head of the table, looked more like a serpent closing in on prey. Her curves swayed and caught my eye—a little on the thick side, but just the way I liked my women. I liked something to get my hands on, and this woman had that je ne sais quoi. Her eyes devoured me as her lips clung to the hurricane glass in her hand.
“I’m Sunny,” she said loudly, thrusting her hand out.
“Carter…” I shook her hand while I studied her curves. Sunny, you’re a bombshell , I wanted to say, and while I was usually very articulate and able to be bold, the way she approached me had me taking a back seat this time. Her body language wasn’t overly aggressive, but it was suggestive. She found me attractive, and she was letting me know it by the way she moved.
“I’m glad to meet you, Carter.” She nodded her head at the door and passed me, and I followed into the hallway. It wasn’t that much quieter in the hall, but the twelve eyes staring at us lost their power the instant we were tucked into the darker space. “So loud in there,” she breathed, then she sipped her drink again.
She smelled like coconut and butter rum. The way her sun-kissed skin glistened, I assumed she’d been sunbathing, coated in oil and dripping with sweat earlier today. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. It wasn’t like me to be so attracted to someone so instantly that I’d consider devouring them on the spot, but Sunny had my attention.
My eyes trailed over her curves, only barely masked by the cover-up. I wanted to put my hands on them, taste every inch of her. She had my heart racing. “So, Sunny, are you enjoying the party?” I leaned closer as I spoke so I didn’t have to shout. A cluster of twenty-somethings passed by us, nudging me even closer to her. She didn’t seem to mind, and she didn’t back away.
“Well, I was sort of bored…until I saw you.” Sunny reached up and twirled a curl around her finger, and I smelled her breath—heavy with alcohol. I noticed her dilated pupils, the way her eyes looked glassy. Sunny was moderately drunk, maybe not enough to be considered illegal, but definitely enough that she shouldn’t be driving.
“Yeah? You like something you’ve seen about me?” I grinned at her as I took the final sip of my drink, and she snickered and smirked. As far as setups went, Rick had done his homework this time. I knew this was the woman he invited just for me, and based on how she was coming on to me so strongly, I figured he might have clued her in on the fact that it’d been a while since I was with a woman.
“I mean, have you seen the other guys here?” Again with the batting eyelashes. Rick really knew how to pick them. Sunny was hot and flirty, and not a bit shy about any of it.
“I haven’t looked at any of the men, no. I noticed a few pretty girls, but…” I left my words hanging in the air and she sighed, still twirling her finger in her hair.
“But?” Her eyebrows rose slowly; she took her last sip.
“But when the prettiest girl in the room looks at you, you sort of take notice.” My body was hot; I loosened my collar, grateful I hadn’t worn a tie today. Rick was off somewhere helping his buddy on the grill. Soleil, wherever she was, could wait. If the woman in front of me was this bold, I could afford to let myself indulge in the attention.
“You think I’m pretty?” she asked, and the smile on her lips made my pulse jump.
“Pretty doesn’t begin to describe it.” I lifted my arm and leaned on the wall over her while her head tilted farther to the side. This had all the makings of a great little fling, something to help me cut loose a little, maybe something more. I’d never just use her—women deserved to be cherished—but everyone needed a little nonsense in their life now and then.
She took another sip from her drink, her eyes never leaving mine, a sly grin tugging at her lips. She was clearly enjoying this, and I couldn’t blame her—there was something magnetic about the way she carried herself, even if she was a little drunk.
“So, Carter,” she said, her voice a little quieter now, but still playful, “what brings you to a party like this? You look like someone who doesn’t exactly need to be here.”
I smiled, leaning back against the wall casually. “I guess you could say I’m here for the…ambiance.” I shrugged, then gestured vaguely around the room. “The music. The drinks. The people.”
She raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. “Uh-huh. So you’re just here for the vibe , huh? Seems like a pretty convenient way to avoid any awkward conversations.”
I chuckled, enjoying the playful push-and-pull between us. “Something like that. But hey, I’m not opposed to a little conversation…especially when it’s good company.”
She smiled wide, her eyes lighting up as she took another sip. “Good company, huh? And what makes for good company in your book?”
I let my gaze linger on her a little longer than necessary, feeling the chemistry between us. “Someone who knows how to have fun without taking themselves too seriously. Someone who can enjoy the moment.” I paused, my tone teasing. “And someone who’s not afraid to let loose a little.”
Sunny’s eyes twinkled. She set her drink down on the counter beside us and took a small step closer. “Well, I’m definitely not someone who takes things too seriously. In fact,” she leaned in just a bit more, “I think I’m ready to…let loose.”
I smiled, intrigued. “Oh yeah? How do you plan on doing that?”
She grinned, a little mischievous now. “Ever done something completely spontaneous just to break free of all the tension? Something totally wild?”
I raised an eyebrow, the corner of my mouth twitching upward. “Like what? What are we talking about here?” I started to get a hesitant feeling in my gut, but I didn’t draw back.
Her fingers brushed against my arm as she took another step closer, her voice dropping to a low whisper. “Something…uncharacteristic. Something a little reckless. Just to feel alive. Have you ever done anything like that?”
I took a breath, caught off guard by how the words she was saying made my pulse quicken. There was a challenge in her eyes, but also something else—something raw and hungry.
I leaned in slightly, meeting her gaze with a grin. “I’ve been known to have my wild moments.”
Sunny’s lips curved into a sly smile as she bit her lower lip. “Maybe I’m craving it. Maybe I’m looking for someone who can show me what it feels like to do something I’ve never done before.”
The air between us felt charged, like everything around us had faded into the background. She was leaning into me now, her body just inches away from mine, and I could tell she was on the edge of making a decision. A decision I wasn’t about to stop her from making, though my better judgment was telling me to put the brakes on.
“What do you have in mind?” Of all the times Rick set me up to go out with a woman, he had never once found one this daring or impulsive; not once was there a woman who seduced me within moments of meeting.
“Ever had sex with a complete stranger?” she asked, trailing her fingers down my chest. I gritted my teeth and held back a grunt of arousal as those same fingers slid down over my crotch and cupped my hard dick. This woman was serious, and it didn’t appear she’d be happy taking no for an answer.
I stood there, my mind a mess of conflicting thoughts. She was right there, so close, the way she looked at me, so eager, so sure of what she wanted. God, I wanted her too—there was no denying that. But something in the back of my head kept warning me. She was drunk, and I wasn’t some guy who just took advantage of a situation like this.
I wasn’t a predator. I’d known her for all of ten minutes, and here I was, already on the edge, torn between what felt like a perfect, dangerous opportunity and what I knew was the smarter, more respectful choice. I was at a friend’s house, a little too far from the line I should’ve been walking. But I couldn’t seem to push her away—not when she was looking at me like that, her breath warm and tempting.
Without saying another word, she took my hand in hers, the warmth of her skin sending a sizzle of arousal through me. Her fingers were soft, but firm in their grip, guiding me down the hall toward a quieter part of the house.