Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Eve
As soon as I open my eyes, a wave of embarrassment hits me square in the gut.
I’m sprawled face down on Carter’s couch, drool dripping down my chin. I sit up and wipe my face, my eyes darting around the room as I try to remember exactly how I got here.
The bar.
The guy at the bar.
What was his name? Harlan?
No, Halston…
The copious amounts of margaritas.
The kiss.
Carter.
Oh, my god…
I remember walking in the door of his place and that’s where my memories stop. I look down at my naked body and gulp. There’s a thick blanket covering my body, but I can’t help wondering just what happened after my memory goes dark.
On one hand, Carter is too much of a gentleman to take advantage of an inebriated woman. And boy, I was inebriated last night. I can’t even remember how many drinks I consumed.
But I do remember the look in Carter’s eye as he escorted me out of the bar. He was angry and frustrated. And I’d been slightly amused at his reaction.
When I hear his footsteps coming down the hall, I put my arms over my head and groan.
“You’re up,” he says, flashing me his handsome smile. I barely notice it, though, because he’s naked. Well, as naked as one can be in nothing but a pair of boxer shorts.
Doesn’t he have pajamas he could wear? A t-shirt, at least?
But no. He heads to the coffee machine and I watch as the muscles of his arms flex with every movement he makes. When he reaches up for the coffee from the cabinet, his bicep twitches.
So does my pussy.
When he bends over to get the milk from the fridge, I see how tight his ass and thighs are. He’s a runner, of course he’s fit , I think to myself. Lots of people are fit .
Carter isn’t anything special, I tell myself.
But I know I’m lying to myself. He’s extraordinarily special, in so many ways, and the sober light of morning only seems to highlight that fact.
He didn’t take advantage of me last night. He isn’t making things awkward now. He’s making coffee, like it’s the most natural thing in the world for me to wake up on his couch. No big deal, just the two of us, alone in his home.
Practically naked. Yep. Totally natural.
If ‘natural’ means it makes my body shudder with pleasure just by watching him bend over, then sure. I can see the outline of his cock pressing against the fabric of his thin boxers and the urge to run my fingers over it overwhelms me.
I want Carter. I don’t know if I’m ever going to get him, but I know I want him.
He’s off limits. He’s forbidden. He’s taboo. Having him, the way I want him, is going to ruin both of our lives.
He’ll get fired. My father will disown me. I’ll get kicked out of med school for not paying my tuition. And yet, all I can think when I look at his mostly naked body, is: I want that .
“Do you want cream?” Carter asks.
His words are jarring.
“What?” I ask, bewildered.
“You want coffee, right?” He looks so innocent standing there with his perfect skin, his rippling muscles, his bright smile.
If only, I think. If only basically everything in both of our lives was different, then I could have what I wanted. And yes, I most certainly want cream, too. Lots of it.
“Yes, please,” I murmur, feeling the heat on my cheeks.
He brings the coffee over to me and sits on the couch next to me. He’s so close, all I have to do is reach out a few inches and my fingers would be sliding along his bare skin. Instead, I let my eyes rake along his frame, drinking in the view like a woman dying of thirst.
“About last night…” he begins.
I still don’t remember much. I consider if I should confess that fact while he goes on, hoping his words will shed light on my darkened memories.
“We probably went a little too far, don’t you agree?”
I blink. Just how far did we go?
“I’m not sure,” I finally say. “I don’t actually remember.”
“Look. I know we’d both had a bit to drink last night. But we need to be much more careful.”
“You’re the one that brought me back to your place. I could have gone home,” I remind him.
“I wouldn’t have been comfortable leaving you alone.”
“You’re not responsible for me.”
“Then why do I feel like I am?”
“I’m not sure. Only you can answer that.”
He shakes his head, looking at me thoughtfully.
“Eve, if things were different….”
“— But they aren’t.”
“No, they aren’t.”
“No.”
We look at each other silently, the unspoken chemistry burning between us. His eyes are a storm of desire that I want to perish in. I don’t care about his job. I don’t care about my father. Not in that moment, with him staring at me like that. With him so close I can smell him.
“Why can’t you just relax?” I ask, my voice a whisper.
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe if we just give in once, we can get it out of our system.”
It’s an ambitious plan, I know that. But I present it with sincere hope.
He almost looks like he’s contemplating it for a second, but then he shakes his head. My heart sinks.
“That wouldn’t work, Eve.”
“How do you know?” My words are harsh, flung through the air with the force of my frustration.
He looks at me with a smug smile that I want to kiss away. “You’re all I can think about, Eve. Do you know how much strength it takes not to kiss you again, right here, right now?”
His words steal the breath from my lungs. But they aren’t enough.
“Not much, I guess. You seem to be doing a good job of restraining yourself.”
I’m bitter now. I want to be irresistible to him, and no matter what he says, it doesn’t get us in bed together.
“Trust me, Eve, it is not easy. I already told you that,” he says. My eyes dart down, and I see his cock twitch under his boxers.
He’s erect. He’s ready. And God, so am I.
My eyes snap up to his again and he knows I’ve seen. The heat rolls off of him like steam off asphalt and I can hardly breathe as he steadily holds my gaze.
“Eve…” he whispers, his voice thick with lust, a low warning that I can’t allow myself to hear.
I pounce.
My lips find his in a flash, and they open, welcoming me in. Our tongues collide, tangle, twirl, the passion between us flowing like a raging river. I moan into his mouth, and his hands are everywhere all at once. In my hair, sliding down my curves, gripping my hip. I lay back and he’s on top of me, the heaviness of his cock throbbing against my thigh.
His kiss is electric, hot and wet and sensual. We melt together, our bodies wrapped around each other, our hands clutching like our lives depend on it, while he kisses me with as much urgency as I feel.
Finally. Finally! I’m going to get what I want.
I spread my thighs, wrapping them around him, relishing in the feel of his cock twitching against my pussy. It’s everything I ever imagined and more.
I moan, arching my back, raising my hips. Brazenly. Wantonly. Hungrily.
“Yes,” I hiss, as I break our kiss to catch my breath. My voice must have broken the spell, because he freezes, then pulls away, his eyes searching mine like a lost child.
“God, Eve. Eve!” He growls, pulling away and scrambling to his feet.
He looks down at me. I wonder what he sees. Does he see the hunger in my eyes? Can he see how he affects me? How much I want him? Or does he just see a desperate woman?
I sit up, reaching a hand up to smooth my hair, stunned at his abrupt departure.
“I’m sorry, I just can’t,” he mutters.
“You’re a coward!” I say, anger bubbling up inside me. I know I’m being an unreasonable child about all of this, but I want what I want.
Him.
“Truer words never spoken,” he says, scoffing. “I have to think about my job. Aiden. Everything…”
“Yeah, right. I get it,” I reply, rising to my feet and heading to the bathroom. “I’ll be gone soon.”
“Right,” he mutters to my back.
I close the door with a heavy slam.
I guess I don’t take rejection well.
My body, reeling from his touch, his kiss, hasn’t caught on to the fact that the party is over. My pussy is soaked, my limbs trembling. It’s not fair.
None of this shit is fair.
And I have no idea what to do about any of it.