10. Cara
Chapter ten
Cara
It wasn’t a serial killer.
It was Ellis!
A wave of relief washed over me when his face appeared in my window, and I unclenched my hands to unlock the door.
He pulled down his scarf and smiled. “Looks like you need a ride.”
I flung myself toward him and wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face in his shoulder, and let out a relieved sob. “I’m so glad you found me. I thought I was going to freeze to death here.”
He rubbed my back. “We got lucky. I’m on my way back from Stenton. What are you doing here in the middle of the night? What happened?”
“I was on my way home from a wedding photo shoot when this damn car broke down in the middle of the road.” I slapped the steering wheel in frustration.
It was my fault. I should’ve brought it to the mechanic when I still had the chance. Not only had I gotten myself in serious danger, but getting it fixed would now be twice as expensive because I had to have it towed to the mechanic first.
Ellis took my hand in his, gently rubbing my fingers. “You’re half frozen. Come on, let’s get you home.”
As I followed Ellis to his car, the thought that I was supposed to be mad at him for pestering Terry and Annette was wiped from my mind.
All I cared about was that he was there. My prince had come to save me, not on a white horse, but at least in a very fancy car.
He opened the passenger door for me, and I climbed in, snuggled into the comfortable tan leather seat, and stretched my stiff legs. The interior was very spacious, and a computer screen was attached to the center console, which looked like it belonged on a spaceship.
“Nice car,” I said as Ellis took the driver’s seat.
“It’s a Mercedes Maybach S-Class,” he explained nonchalantly. I had no idea what those words meant. I wasn’t a car person, but even I could tell this was a luxury model.
“Whatever, as long as it’s warm.”
“It costs around three hundred grand.”
I raised an eyebrow and looked at him. “Do I look like I care how expensive your car is?”
He shrugged and started the engine. “No, you don’t.”
“You didn’t used to either,” I said. “The Ellis I knew hated this posh lifestyle. Remember? You said it was all empty, meaningless posing.”
He sighed heavily as he steered us back onto the highway. “You’re right. Thank you for reminding me.”
“I’m not trying to be mean.”
“I know. It’s just easy to get caught up when everyone around you cares about these things. But you’re right. It’s not important. Sorry for bragging.”
Now, that sounded a lot more like my Ellis.
“It is a very nice car,” I relented.
“Where should I take you in my very nice car? Where do you live? You can just type the address into the navigation system.” He nodded toward the computer screen between us.
I leaned forward, activating the touchscreen with a swipe of my finger. The resolution looked crisper than my very expensive laptop, and the UI reacted buttery smooth to my touch, but I guess one could expect that kind of tech from a three-hundred-thousand-dollar car. “I’m surprised you haven’t found out my address yet. After you showed up at my friend’s ranch and my photo studio, I felt like you were stalking me.”
“The ranch was a chance meeting, and the address of your photo studio was on a public list I found at my hotel.”
“Fair enough.”
“I’m not saying I wasn’t stalking you, because I was.”
His words brought heat to my face and not because the heated seat was warming up my cold body. “Oh, really?”
“Don’t blame me. You know you’ve got a spell on me.”
“Likewise.” I cursed myself as soon as the word left my lips. What was I doing? This was dangerous territory. The plan was to sweet talk him out of this factory project and out of Brightwater, not lure him back into my life.
I hadn’t lied, though. The man still made my heart jump into my throat every time I saw his handsome face, but I couldn’t allow myself to wallow in those feelings. Ellis and I were impossible. No matter how the two of us felt about each other, we were too different, our worlds too far apart, the hurdles too big, especially the hurdle that was his tyrannical father.
Ellis had gone quiet at my words. He gave me a sideward look full of longing, and it made everything even worse. Oh, how I wished we could act on those feelings. But even if the threat of losing Riley didn’t exist, we would never work as a couple. As a deeply in-love college student, I hadn’t wanted to see that, but I had a more realistic view now. As much as I was still attracted to him, acting on those urges would end in a disaster.
“Can we turn on the music?” I asked, just to fill the heavy silence and ease the tension.
“Sure.” With a few quick swipes, he pulled up the music player on the center touch screen. “Pick a playlist.”
I quickly skimmed through the list. Christmas songs. That was the least erotic kind of music I could think of, so that was what I tapped on.
Chris Rea started singing “Driving Home for Christmas” and I relaxed a little.
Ellis smiled. “Already in a Christmas mood?”
“It’s a magical time. Brightwater looks beautiful around Christmas. Folks here really put a lot of effort into decorating. You should stay for the season.”
Wait, what? No, no, no. I wanted him to leave! Not stay for another month. Why was I saying these things?
At the horizon, the lights of Brightwater appeared as we got closer to home.
“I might just do that. It really is a pretty little town. Right out of a storybook.”
I huffed. “It’s a shame you want to ruin it with a big boxy factory.”
Yes, that was more like it.
Ellis pursed his lips. “A project like that will create a lot of jobs. It might be a blessing for the community.”
“Empty PR talk. Brightwater is doing just fine without Horizon Electronics. Thank you very much.”
He remained silent, but I could tell he was holding back, probably for my sake.
We’d reached the outskirts of the town, and the streetlights illuminated his face in a way that made him look even more handsome than usual.
He caught me staring, and I quickly diverted my gaze, keeping my eyes fixed on the dashboard until we reached the Sunset Apartments and Ellis parked his car.
He looked up at the building with a frown. “This is where you live?”
I didn’t like the pity in his voice, and it immediately put me on edge. “Yes? And I like it here very much.”
“Is it a motel? Do you live in a motel?”
“It’s not a motel. It used to be, but it was converted into an apartment building decades ago.”
“It looks pretty run-down.”
What the heck was he talking about? Yeah, the facade might’ve needed a fresh coat of paint, and the lawn could use a good trim, but it was fine. It was a good building, a good home. “I guess to someone who drives a three-hundred-grand car, even the Ritz-Carlton would look shabby.”
Ellis turned off the engine. “Sorry, didn’t mean to offend you. I’m sure you’re trying your best to make ends meet.”
“Could you sound any more condescending?” There was anger in my voice and I didn’t bother to hide it.
I unbuckled my seat belt. “Just for your information, I’d much rather live here, in my tiny old apartment but surrounded by people who love me and care about me than in your oversized mansion, surrounded by no one but your employees and your monster of a father.”
I’d already pushed open the door when I felt his hand on my arm, holding me back.
“Even if that oversized mansion had me living in it?”
I turned around to look at him and was shocked to find his face full of emotion. He looked vulnerable.
“What do you mean?” I asked, suddenly a lot less angry.
Ellis exhaled shakily. “I want you back,” he said, taking my hand. “I want you to come live with me and pick up where we left off thirteen years ago.”
He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it.
The touch of his lips on my skin sent a shiver down my spine, and I had to work hard to regain some composure. “Are you insane?” I asked, my voice shaky. “Why would I just leave everything behind to live with you?”
“Why not?” he said, pressing a kiss to the inside of my wrist, making my breath hitch.
“Because I have a life here. My friends, my business. And did you forget I have a son?”
“He can come live with us too,” he said as he leaned over the center console and wrapped one arm around me.
Our faces were inches apart from each other. I could feel his hot breath against my neck, and his wonderful scent was intoxicating.
I was quickly losing my resolve. With him that close, the things he said were making a lot more sense. Why shouldn ’ t I just go live with him? That man was my soulmate. I’d known that from the start. We belong with each other, so why not? What was the worst thing that could happen?
Carlisle Benton’s face appeared in front of my inner eye and reminded me why not . Because the worst thing that could happen was losing Riley.
Nothing was worth losing Riley, not even finding happiness with my soulmate.
But before I could say anything, Ellis pressed his lips to mine, and every thought vanished from my mind.
His kiss was a perfect mix of exciting and familiar, and I couldn’t help parting my lips for his tongue.
He pulled me closer, and as our lips caressed each other, his hand wandered up my side and brushed my breast. Wonderful electricity surged through my body. I tried to lean into his touch, but the damn center console was separating us.
I broke the kiss, only to whisper words into his ear I could hardly believe myself. “Do you want to come in?”
His eyes went wide, but he nodded eagerly. His hands were a little shaky as he opened his door to climb out of the car.
He hurried around the Mercedes to open the door for me, but I’d already climbed out myself.
I had waited thirteen years for this and had no time to waste on courtesies.
Before I could take a single step toward the Apartments, he pushed me against the car, his arms propped up next to my head, and his lips came crashing down on mine again.
His body was flush against me, and pure desire caught hold of me. The icy December wind whipped up snowflakes around us, but I felt too hot to care.
Unbearably hot, I needed to get my clothes off—and his clothes, too, for that matter.
He groaned in protest when I pushed him away, but I grabbed his hand with a grin and pulled him toward my apartment door.
With shaky fingers, I fumbled the key into the lock while he was pressing up against me. Even through our thick winter coats, I could feel his erection straining against my thigh.
The sensation made me lose my grip on the key. With a clink, it landed on the pavement, but before I could bend down to pick it up, Ellis was on me again, and all I could do was bury my fingers in his hair to steady myself.
He kissed me with a hunger that was absolutely mind-blowing. I felt at the top of the world. The way he kissed me, the way his body responded to mine, left no room for doubt. He wanted me and only me.
Take that all you rich, beautiful high - society girls. The most desirable man in the Pacific Northwest wants me . He ’ s mine. He has always been mine. The thought made me bold.
I reached between us and put my hand on his groin, feeling his hardness, drawing a groan from him.
“We need to take this inside,” he mumbled against my lips, breaking the kiss for only a brief moment. “Or I’ll have to take you right here, against this door.”
As exhilarating as his words were, I didn’t want to put on a show for all my neighbors, so I removed my hand from the object of my desire, disentangled from him, and picked the keys up.
He wrapped an arm around my waist from behind, and I felt his hot breath at the back of my neck as I unlocked the door.
With a giggle and a laugh, we stumbled inside.
“Mom?”
My body temperature had never dropped as fast as in that moment.
Riley stood in his bedroom’s doorframe, his expression a mix of worry and confusion. A split second later, he noticed Ellis as well.
“Who’s that?” he asked with a deep frown.
I immediately shrugged off Ellis’s arm and stepped away from him.
Panic shot through my body, snuffing out the last remnants of desire.
Riley was home. And he was face-to-face with Ellis. The very thing I’d feared the most had just happened because I couldn’t stay out of Ellis Benton’s pants.
I took a quick glance at Ellis, red faced, hair disheveled. I needed to get him away from Riley before either of them noticed how much alike they looked.
Clearing my throat in a desperate attempt to appear unrattled, I said, “This is … He offered me a ride because the car broke down.”
There, not even a lie.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ellis frowning when I called him Mr. Benton , but I ignored that. “Well, thank you very much for your assistance,” I said politely. “Thank you for getting me home safe. Good night.”
Ellis did not move. His eyes were fixed on Riley, who still looked slightly confused.
I held out my hand. Robotically, Ellis shook it stiffly.
To make my point clear, I opened the door for him.
He slowly walked through it, but his eyes were still flicking between Riley and me.
My heart was pounding in my chest. He had to get out now.
With a very final “Goodbye!” I closed the door behind him.
Riley cocked his head. “Are you okay, Mom?”
I laughed nervously. “Yes. Sure. Of course.”
“Where is the car? What happened?”
“Oh, the damn thing broke down in the middle of the road. On my way home from that wedding I was shooting today.”
My son crossed his arms. “And you just got into a car with a random dude? He could have been a serial killer, Mom. Don’t you watch horror movies?”
“No, I do not. And you shouldn’t either. What are you doing here, anyway?”
“Parker threw up, so his mom sent me home, in case it’s a stomach bug or something.”
“Ew. Did you wash your hands? A stomach bug is the last thing we need right now.”
“Don’t worry, that’s not it. He just overate on gummy bears mixed with energy drinks.”
“You know I don’t like it when you gorge on junk food.”
He shrugged. “I was hungry. Actually, I’m still hungry. Can I have a sandwich before bed?”
I sighed, but secretly I was relieved the conversation had moved on from Ellis, so I gave in. “Bacon?”
His face lit up. “You’re the best mom in the world!”
I pressed a kiss on his auburn hair and put on a smile, but on the inside, I felt terrible. Best mom in the world? Yeah, what a great mom I was, risking my son just so I could get laid by my ex-boyfriend.