Chapter 23
23
T he rest of the evening was a blur. Carter took me back to his room and directed me to shower while he called for room service. When I got out, clean and wrapped up in a hotel robe, he gently held an icepack on my cheek while growling at me to eat the food that’d arrived.
More than a little bit, I wanted to kiss him again. I wanted him to fuck me until I passed out from sheer exhaustion, but instead he just…held me. It was unexpected, but not unwelcome.
In the morning, I woke up before him. He slept soundly with his body curled around mine and one hand grasping my bare breast where the robe had fallen open in the night. I lay there for some time, deciding whether to lean into his touch…whether he’d be into waking up with my lips wrapped around his cock. But ultimately my own fear of rejection and guilt over everything that’d happened saw me slide out of his bed and scurry to my own room without waking him.
“Holy crap, Ashley,” I whispered to myself as the door to my room clicked shut behind me. Somehow through all the madness I hadn’t lost my access key because it’d been in my coat pocket rather than my purse. My phone and wallet were probably still in the alleyway, though, which took me into a whole new line of worry.
“Fuck!” I whispered, pacing my room. My phone and wallet were in the alleyway beside the scene of a very violent assault. Surely the police would be here soon to question me?
My stomach churned and I raced to the bathroom just in case the anxiety decided to make me vomit. Thankfully, I had a pretty strong gut and instead I just splashed my face with cold water then cringed to see the bruise shadowing my cheek.
It didn’t hurt too much, though. Probably could be covered with makeup. The ache between my thighs was a different matter, though I was the only one who knew about that.
My face in the reflection turned pink just thinking about how I’d let Carter fuck me against the brick wall of the alleyway. What had I been thinking?
Clearly, not a lot. Just that I was insanely attracted to him, and emotions were at an all-time high. Yeah. That was it. Adrenaline was a hell of an aphrodisiac, and we hadn’t been thinking clearly, either one of us. I’d almost bet that in the light of a new day, Carter would be back to his aloof, bad attitude once more and pretend nothing happened.
With a small sigh of disappointment, I left the bathroom and hunted through my small suitcase for a fresh outfit. According to our itinerary, we had a private tour of the catacombs booked for this morning. Part of me was anxious to see how Carter would behave but part of me was already resigned to the fact I’d be touring alone again.
It was only when I sat on the edge of my bed to put on shoes that I realized…Carter’s room faced the other side of the hotel with no view of the Eiffel Tower. And his room had been noticeably smaller. Had he done that deliberately?
Surely not.
I dismissed the thought as the hotel maybe mixing up our keys and headed down to the lobby to get coffee and a croissant before the tour guide arrived.
A silly little spark of hope stayed alight as I sat in the coffee shop, sipping my café au lait and nibbling on the most buttery delicious pain aux chocolat…watching the door and hoping Carter might show up. But eventually I had to mentally scold myself for being desperate and brush the crumbs off my dress.
Carrying the weight of disappointment, I charged my bill to the room and made my way into the main lobby to meet my guide. It was the same gentleman from the day before, and he greeted me with a warm smile while gesturing for me to accompany him outside.
I murmured a polite thank you as he held the car door open, and I slid inside.
The thump of the door closing made me flinch with its finality. Carter wasn’t coming.
I’d been a fucking idiot to let things go so far last night. He’d been nothing but rude since we landed in Paris, and there I was practically begging for his dick in a dirty alleyway. Talk about leaning into the slander. Nate would have a fucking field day if he found out.
A burst of regret coated my tongue with bitterness as I thought about Heath. What would Heath say?
I desperately wanted to text him…to maybe try and explain myself and blame it all on the adrenaline before Carter could brag to his friends…but I didn’t have my phone, so could do nothing.
The door popped open again, making me gasp in fright and cut my melancholy thoughts short.
“Sorry I’m late,” Carter said, flashing me a totally disarming smile. “Shift over, Spark.”
Stunned, I did as I was told, making space for him to climb into the car and pull the door shut behind himself. He buckled his seat belt, told our driver we were good to go, then turned to me with narrowed eyes.
“You snuck out,” he accused. “I almost overslept this tour.”
I stared back at him with confusion. “I just figured…um…you weren’t coming.”
A flash of a sly grin touched his lips, but quickly disappeared again as he handed me something. “Here, I figured you’d want this back.”
I gaped at the purse he’d put in my hand. It was the one I’d lost in the alleyway. “You—” I cut myself off, opening it to check that my phone, cash, ID—it was all still inside. “How?”
He shrugged. “It’s a mystery.”
I blinked twice. “It’s a mystery?”
He nodded. “I’m very mysterious.”
Words failed me. He was confusing , that was for fucking sure. Still, I had my phone and ID back, which must mean I wouldn’t be questioned by Parisian police about the assault of a mugger.
“Thank you,” I said softly. “Is the guy…?”
“Fine,” he replied, a little frosty. “No lasting harm done.”
I breathed a sigh of relief, my shoulders sagging. “Thank fuck. I was so scared he’d died or something.”
“So…are you looking forward to seeing the catacombs?” he asked, changing the subject entirely, as he picked up my hand from where I’d rested it between our seats.
Tongue-tied, I watched him link our fingers together and the spark of stupid hope within me burst into a fire of delight.
“Um, yeah,” I finally replied, remembering that he’d asked a question.
His smug smile told me that he knew exactly what kind of effect his touch was having, but it didn’t stop him. So much for him pretending nothing had happened between us. He was officially throwing me for a whole damn loop.
It was only a short drive to get to the entrance for the catacombs and for the first part of our private tour Carter mostly behaved himself. He held my hand, our fingers intertwined, but he was polite and curious about the information our tour guide presented.
When the guide’s back was turned, though, he didn’t miss an opportunity to brush against me, cop a quick feel or brush a kiss over my skin, to the point I was flushed and flustered barely half an hour into the tour.
“Stop it,” I whispered eventually, when he’d very casually tweaked my hard nipple and I’d accidentally moaned out loud.
His grin made me roll my eyes and I whacked him with the back of my hand. “Cut it out,” I murmured. “Or I’ll drag you into one of these alcoves to make good on all that teasing.”
Carter’s brows shot up in surprise. “Would you?” He glanced around, gesturing to all the skulls and bones of long dead humans. “Down here?”
I licked my lips, my thighs tightening with anticipation. “Would you ?”
He stared at me a moment, then cleared his throat. “Pierre? You can go.”
Our guide—who had wandered some distance away from us—circled back with a puzzled expression. “Sir?”
“You can go,” Carter repeated, handing him a wad of Euros. “We will find our own way out.”
The guide looked like he wanted to argue, but glanced down at the cash in his hand and nodded slowly. “Very well, sir, please ensure you follow the markings.” He indicated what he meant, then gave me a polite nod and walked away.
My lips parted in shock. “Um…is he leaving us down here?”
“What were you saying about the alcoves, Spark?” His gaze was dark and hungry in the dim light. My breath caught.
I wet my lips, suddenly nervous. “Ah…I feel like they have security cameras down here? What if?—”
Carter tilted his head, giving me a teasing smile as he took a few steps backward into one of the little alcoves in question. “We’d have to be quick, I imagine another tour group isn’t far behind us…Unless, of course, you’re scared?”
I glanced to the side, locking eyes with a skull. Fuck. I was kind of scared, but not of the ghosts and skeletons…I was scared of Carter himself and what this was all doing to me.
“It’s okay, we can just head back to the hotel,” he suggested, letting me off the hook. “I wouldn’t mind getting you— oof !”
“Shut up,” I ordered, shoving him against the alcove wall and gripping the back of his neck, “and kiss me.”
He didn’t need to be coaxed or convinced, crushing his lips to mine in a desperate frenzy. Maybe I wasn’t the only one who’d been turning into a flustered mess with all the casual touches, because the speed that he had my panties around my ankles was shocking.
“Are you going to be quiet this time?” he asked in a dark whisper as I kicked my panties off my feet and he spun me around to face the wall.
I found a smooth section to brace my hands on as he lifted my skirt and spread my cheeks. My only response to his question was a low, barely muted moan as he lined up with my pussy from behind and pushed in just the tip.
“Spark…” he groaned, kissing my throat. “You’re going to be my undoing. I need more.”
He slipped in a little deeper and I gasped. “Carter… please .”
“Fuck,” he exclaimed, then slammed the rest of the way in.
A scream tried to escape my throat, but I swallowed it back, turning my face to bite my own wrist and muffle the noise. But holy shit it wasn’t easy. Carter thrust hard and fast, fucking me with a feverish need and his hand snaked around under my dress to find my clit.
I quaked under his touch, my eyes rolling shut as he played me like a violin. His thumb and index finger pinched my clit savagely, giving me no respite as he fucked me against the skull-lined wall. It was absolutely no surprise when my orgasm detonated barely a minute later and I nearly lost my balance as my legs trembled.
He held me tight, his thick cock buried deep as I convulsed, and he whispered curses as he joined me in release. It was fast but so fucking good it blew my damn mind.
“Shhh,” he murmured in my ear as I gasped for breath, my vision swimming with stars. “Another tour is about to find us.”
“Fuck,” I groaned, pouting as he withdrew from my soaking cunt. “Can we go straight back to the hotel?”
“God yes,” he enthused, grabbing my face in a bruising grip and kissing the breath out of me. “Come on.” He grabbed my hand and started jogging down the seemingly endless corridor. He didn’t give me any time to find my panties, and it wasn’t until we were climbing into the back of a taxi that I noticed…thanks to the slick spill of his cum coating my thighs.
I groaned, biting my lip with embarrassment. “Carter…my underwear.”
His gaze heated like an inferno. “Shit…now I know you’re not wearing any, we’ll be lucky to make it back to the room.”
I couldn’t help smiling like a loved-up idiot. He was disheveled himself, shirt half untucked and lips flushed. Sexy as hell and I’d already forgotten all the reasons why it was a bad idea to become involved with him.
True to prediction, we didn’t make it to the room…but it was me who initiated by hitting the elevator Stop button and pouncing on him. I couldn’t get enough, even though the little voice of reason in the back of my mind warned that it was an awful idea. That I was setting myself up for a world of pain when we got back to Nevaeh University.
I told that voice to shut the fuck up.