Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CARTER
Iwake to a deep, rumbling purr and the heavy warmth of a small body on my chest. Peeking one eye open, I spot a tumble of auburn hair tucked beneath my arm and perched right over my heart, a tiny orange furball staring at me with wide, bright blue eyes.
“Good morning, Ginger,” I murmur. The cat licks his paw, shooting me a sidelong glance as if to say, It’s about time, human. I’m starving. The warmth is pleasant enough, but the tiny claws kneading my skin are less so. I don’t want to move, not with Rose’s breath soft against my side.
“Fine,” I grumble, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed as the cool air shocks my skin. I try to disentangle myself without waking her, Ginger’s purr vibrating against my arm.
“Where are you going?” she mumbles, her eyes blinking open.
I hold up Ginger, who peers at me, purr intensifying like I’ve been caught stealing. “Your furry orange menace is hangry.”
“I’m so sorry,” Rose says, her gaze dropping to the tiny scratches on my chest, lips pursing. “He can be grumpy sometimes, but he means well. He’s just a baby.”
“I’ll be right back. Do you want anything?” I pause in the doorway, scratching Ginger’s head, the soft fur a comforting texture beneath my fingers.
“You,” she answers, her voice laced with a hunger that has my morning wood stirring harder than it already was. Her eyes flick down to my favorite appendage straining against my briefs.
I chuckle before heading to the kitchen.
After filling Ginger’s bowl, the clinking of kibble the only sound in the otherwise quiet house, I make a beeline back to the bedroom.
Rose sits up in bed, auburn hair a fiery halo around her face as the morning light catches the strands.
Two quick strides and I’m at her side, our lips colliding in a fervent kiss that leaves us both breathless.
“Goddess, you’re beautiful,” I whisper, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She closes her eyes, leaning into my touch as I trace my hand down the line of her temple to her jaw. “Did you mean it?”
Her eyes open, locking with mine.
“Of course I did. I told you last night—”
“Oh, thank goodness. I worried all night you’d change your mind about quitting our jobs and running away to join the circus. Let’s get packed.”
I pull back, watching her brows pinch together.
“What?”
“Run away with me and join the circus,” I repeat, failing to hide my grin when she slaps my chest.
“I did not agree to that. I said nothing of the sort.”
“Well, you know—you had quite a few glasses of wine and were pretty drunk.”
“I was not drunk last night, and you know it. What are you playing at, Carter?”
I grab her legs and pull her to the edge of the bed. She squeaks, flailing as she falls back, propped on her elbows.
“Oh, I know.” I wedge myself between her knees, and her breath hitches. Her eyes never leave mine as my hands trail lightly up her thighs. I lean down and ghost a kiss over her lips. “Tell me you don’t want this. Tell me to pack my bags and I’ll leave.”
Even if it might kill me to let you walk away again.
“Carter, I want this. I want you. Please.”
“Good,” I growl, nipping her neck before trailing kisses down until I take one of her nipples into my mouth, flicking the bud with my tongue.
Rose arches, and I move to the other breast, lavishing it with attention.
I work my way lower, worshipping her body with kisses until I’m on my knees before her.
She giggles as I lift her legs over my shoulders, taking in my fill of the gorgeous spread before me.
Sliding my hands beneath her, I squeeze her ass as I bury my face in her core.
She moans, thighs wrapping around my head.
“I love the way you taste.”
“More,” she demands, arching on the bed, her fingers grazing my scalp and pressing me closer.
“Bossy today, aren’t we, kitten?” I nip at her inner thigh, glancing up at her lust-glossed eyes.
“You’re the one who made me wait all night,” she pants as I slip a finger through her folds, taunting her.
You’re the one who made me wait over a year.
I take my time, leisurely stroking her, worshiping her with my tongue. She cries out, fists clenching the sheets, hips bucking wildly as she winds into release.
“Damnit, Carter, get in me already.”
“Bossy and impatient. Maybe I should’ve fed you first,” I growl, pushing down my briefs as I rise to my feet. Her eyes rove hungrily down my chest, landing on my shaft as I wrap a hand around it, stroking myself.
“I do like breakfast.” Her tongue darts out to lick her bottom lip as she moves to sit up, but I press a hand to her shoulder, my thumb caressing the pulse in her throat as I ease her back down onto the bed.
“Not today.” My hand drifts down her silk nightgown, sliding between her thighs as I push two fingers inside, setting a steady pace. “One day I’ll see that sassy mouth of yours wrapped around my cock, but this morning is all about you.”
I pull my fingers free and reach for my jeans, pulling out a condom and rolling it down my length before lining myself up at her entrance.
“Now who’s the bossy one?”
Leaning down, I brace an arm beside her head and lick up the curve of her neck, savoring the salty taste of her skin.
“I can never get enough of the taste of you,” I growl against the shell of her ear.
“Oh? What do I taste like?” she breathes, writhing impatiently beneath me.
Her gasps tears through the room as I fist a handful of her hair and sink into her with one sharp thrust.
Mine.
“Like warm summer berries under a full moon.” I hold still above her as she adjusts to my girth, admiring the way her hair fans out like a dark, fiery halo around her head. “A sweet, saccharine treat—every bite leaves me craving more.”
Her cheeks flush, lashes fluttering against freckled skin.
“Cat got your tongue?”
“Carter,” she moans, pressing back against me, biting her bottom lip.
“Look at me, Rose.” Her eyes snap open at my command, and I begin to pump slow and deep, holding her gaze captive. “I’m going to take my time, kitten.”
“Gods, Carter,” she cries, her nails raking down my back.
“You keep doing that, and I won’t be able to play nice.” The primal urge to bite and claim her surges through me, but I force myself to stay focused on her.
“Your eyes are nearly golden.” She cups my cheek, her thumb brushing the rough stubble at my jaw.
“You bring the wolf out in me,” I rumble before claiming her mouth in a kiss that’s all teeth, tongue, and raw passion, pouring everything I’ve held back into her. When we break apart, both of us are panting, eyes locked.
“They say, ‘Beware the big bad wolf,’” she whispers, threading her fingers through my hair and tightening her grip. “But I think I might just be falling for you, Carter Abernathy.”
I admire the way her swollen lips curl into a grin. “Just think? I’ll have to do better, then.”
She squeals as I roll to my back, bringing her with me until she settles on top of me, buried deep inside her and enveloped by her warmth.
Eyes closed in ecstasy, Rose throws her head back, hands clutching my chest, a low moan spilling from her lips.
I thrust my hips in a gentle rhythm, restraining the frantic need to take her until she can’t walk for a week. “You like that?”
“Like it? I lo—” Her eyes widen as I cup her breasts, my thumbs rubbing over her peaked nipples. Her hips become jerky as she rides me, and I drop a hand between her thighs, circling her clit. She cries out, clawing at my shoulders as her core milks me, sending me over the edge.
She rolls over to face me and nestles closer, one leg draped over mine. Her fingers weave through the fine dusting of hair on my chest as I trace featherlight circles along her shoulder. “That was amazing,” she whispers, her smile warm against my skin.
“I know I am,” I say with a smirk—which earns me a smack to the chest. “Hey! That’s no way to treat your—”
I bite back the word mate before it slips out and close my eyes, groaning inwardly. So much has been going on; there hasn’t been the right time to talk about that.
“My what?” Rose asks, pushing up and staring down at me. Her face is glowing, hair tousled, lips swollen.
“Your—” I fumble for a witty reply, but my mind goes blank. My wolf—content to be in his mate’s bed—has gone quiet.
“What are we exactly, Carter?” She nibbles her bottom lip as she studies me.
“What do you want us to be, Rose?”
You ran away from me. I’ve always been here, waiting.
Her eyes drop to my chest and my gut clenches, waiting for the rejection—waiting for her to run again. The silence stretches on, heavy and slow, even though only minutes pass.
“Do you…” She looks up and meets my gaze, her nose wrinkling in that cute little face she makes when she’s struggling for words. Rarely have I seen Rose flustered, and I’m fascinated watching her process the question. “I mean, would you like to be—”
Just say yes and kiss the girl.
“Your personal bodyguard?” I grin wolfishly at her.
More like a friendly neighborhood guard dog who wants to rip a certain ex limb from limb.
“Carter, I’m being serious,” she says exasperatedly, though the corner of her lips still quirks as she rolls her eyes and chuckles.
“Rose, I’m yours for as long as you’ll have me. If you want to date, we date. If down the road you want more, then we’ll have that conversation.”
She gasps as I flip her onto her back, pinning her wrists above her head as I crouch over her. I nuzzle the side of her face, scent marking her. Not that I hadn’t already done it a dozen times this morning as I worshipped every inch her body.
“What I don’t want is to lose you again.”