Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
Eve
Three Months Later
When I wake up, Carter’s side of the bed is empty. I roll over and stretch in the early morning sun. My legs ache a little from having such amazing sex last night. But it’s a good ache, one that reminds me of Carter even when he’s not around. Our sex life has gotten even better over the last several months. Last night, we languished in bed for hours before finally drifting off to sleep in each other’s arms, exhausted and satiated.
My alarm starts going off and I casually reach over to turn it off. Carter sticks his head out of the bathroom with his toothbrush still hanging in his mouth.
He’s bare-chested and wearing only soft blue boxer briefs. A true wall of a man, he’s hard in all the right places. Only his sweet lips and devilish eyes are ever soft.
I look at him, still amazed that I get to call him mine. He disappears for a second, coming back to dive onto the bed with me. I squeal as he tackles me, holding me down as he kisses my neck.
“You’re so damn hot in the morning. I don’t know how you do it.”
My cheeks flush. “I think you just like that you have got me trained to wear nothing but a pair of panties to bed.”
He hums, bringing his big hands up to cup my breasts. He molds his hands around them and teases my sensitive nipples. “That certainly doesn’t hurt things.”
“Oooh,” I breathe out. “Don’t start something if you can’t finish it.”
“Oh, I can finish it all right…” He buries his face against my neck, his mouth finding that spot on my neck that makes me moan…
…which is exactly when the doorbell rings.
Carter groans, holding me tighter when I try to escape. “It’s probably no one important…”
My moan turns into a giggle. “At nine in the morning on a Saturday?”
“Exactly. Everyone civilized is still in bed, trying to get lucky with their beautiful girlfriends.”
I roll my eyes. “Let me just check the security screen and see who it is.”
Carter holds me close for one final moment, kissing me on the shoulder. “I’ll look.”
Then he gets up with a groan. Crossing my bedroom, he taps a large iPad attached to the wall. As I stretch my arms over my head, his expression turns serious.
“Uh, Eve… I think your dad is here.”
I’m up faster than I would’ve thought possible, ducking under his shoulder to look at the iPad. My heart is in my throat. I see a white man in a dark suit glowering at the front door. When he flashes a grimace at the camera again, my stomach fills with acid.
“It’s him,” I affirm. “I have to get dressed. Oh god…”
When I finally manage to dress myself and open the front door, my dad blinks at me.
“You left the house I bought you??” are the first words out of his mouth. “Are you crazy?”
My cheeks warm. “Hello, Daddy.”
“Are you gonna invite me in?” His face is this off-putting shade of puce. I don’t move.
“How did you know where to find me?”
He snorts. “You left a forwarding address with the maintenance guys I hired so they could forward your mail. I had to practically beg them for my own daughter’s address. It was humiliating!”
Eyeing him for a moment, I step back and allow him to come in. I lead the way to the kitchen, where Carter is pouring coffee.
“Hello, Mr. Moreland. Coffee?” Carter asks, holding up the pot.
Dad scowls. “What are you doing here?”
“I live here. Technically, this is my house.”
My dad turns to me, gesturing at Carter.
“You left my house to live with him? That’s insane.”
I lean against the counter. “This is getting old. Do you have anything new to say?”
“Geneviéve!” My dad looks so mad he could snort fire and blow smoke. “Put some shoes on. I’m taking you back to the east coast with me.”
Heart hammering, I slowly walk over to Carter. “No, Daddy. I’m not going back. I’m never going back there.”
He bares his teeth. “You are. I will pay someone to bring you back, if it comes down to it.”
“The fuck you will,” Carter growls.
I put a hand on Carter’s chest, silencing him. “Daddy. I’m going to be the one to give you the ultimatum. You can either take everything I tell you today in stride. Or I can lock you out of this house and never look back. I have my own financing for school now. I don’t need your money at all. I’ll get a job to make ends meet. I’ll take out loans?—"
Carter pulls me close. “She won’t take out loans. She’ll live with me and study her ass off.”
I shoot him an impatient glance. “The point is, Daddy, that I can live with or without you. The question is, will you make me walk away from you? And before you answer, you need to know something. I love Carter. I’m not leaving him, no matter what you say or do. And now that I don’t need your money, you have no say in anything I do at all. I’m not a bad daughter, Dad, and you know that. I’m determined to finish medical school and become a doctor. And I want you in my life, I do. But I also want Carter. So think hard before you decide what to do.”
My dad’s face is so red that I think he’s going to blow a gasket. “You’re making me look ridiculous.”
“I won’t come crawling back to you,” I say softly. “You are a lot of things, Daddy. But you aren’t perfect. You know that. And if you are going to make me choose…”
My dad’s eyes dart between the two of us for several seconds. He licks his lips, waiting until I’m about to ask him to leave.
“Wait!” he calls. “Eve, wait.”
My heart thuds against my ribs. I turn back, raising a brow. “Yes, Daddy?”
My dad licks his lips again, glaring at Carter. “Maybe we can work something out.”
Carter starts to say something, but I silence him with a hand. It’s important that I stand firm right now.
“No. No working something out. There’s no negotiating here. It’s my life, and only my life. You either accept me or not. You either accept my choices or not. No more monitoring what I am doing, or who I’m with. No more trying to control me. No more. I’m an adult. Do you understand?”
A grimace twists my father’s lips. For a moment, I think I’ve said too much and he will walk away. But when my dad stiffly nods, I squeeze Carter’s arm.
“Okay,” my father rasps. “Let’s talk.”
My lips curl. “Just a second.”
Pulling Carter outside, I close the door on my startled-looking father. I press up on my tiptoes, arching a brow as I look at Carter.
“Well done,” he rumbles, his hands coming around my waist. “You’re a super human.”
Kissing him gently, I smile. “Just wait until my dad finds out about that big ring that you keep in your bedside table. He will have a coronary.”
Carter gives a surprised chuckle. “I’m biding my time, waiting for the perfect moment. Not now, obviously. But God, I really do love you.”
“I love you, too,” I murmur, kissing his lips again. “I don’t need a ring on my finger to know that I’ll feel this way forever.”
“Oh, princess…” He hugs me tightly. “Soon. I promise.”
He kisses me firmly, grabbing my butt a little. And then I pull back, taking his hand, and lead the way back into the kitchen.