Chapter 27
Don’t be afraid to cut people off.
— Lorena Bobbit
ATLAS
We celebrated the day by having a cookout, Carter style.
All of the brothers cooked sans me. There were ribs, brisket, hot dogs, macaroni, and more.
There were all kinds of kids running around everywhere.
Hell , we even had some of Keene’s family there because the circus they co-owned together was off for the holiday the following Monday .
That meant there was utter chaos.
But it was all worth it to see Forest having such a blast.
“ I hate that woman,” Mom said. “ If there was a way to go back in time and take him away from all of that, I’d do it in a second.”
“ Agreed ,” Pepper took a swig of her beer. “ I didn’t think anyone could rival my derision for Sage , but Emory definitely managed it.”
“ That woman who was saying she called about Emory’s actions, and nothing was done”— Mom shook her head. “ That’s my newest mission, to find these calls that slip through the cracks. I’m going to follow up on them personally. I’ve already talked to your father, and we’re allotting me some resources to create a community-type thing that’ll run strictly on volunteer hours. I’ll pay the informants, though.”
“ That sounds like a fantastic idea,” Pepper tilted her beer bottle toward my mother. “ I’ll do anything I can to help.”
“ I heard that congratulations are in order.” Maven came up, a wide smile on her face. “ A billionaire willing to use all his resources to help you get your business off the ground? I guess I should count myself lucky that I had you as long as I did.”
“ What’s this?” Dad asked.
“ I got a call today from the richest man in Dallas ,” Maven said. “ He wanted to check references. And when I’m saying that he’s excited to work with you? That would be an understatement.”
The next ten minutes consisted of Pepper saying it wasn’t that big of a deal every time someone said something about her business, and the rest of us informing her that it was.
“ I would love to be a sponsor,” Keene offered. “ We had a performer come let us know just last week she’d have to take a hiatus because she found out that she had stage-three breast cancer.”
Pepper was almost in tears by the time we made it back inside.
“ This day,” she wiped her eyes hard, hoping to stop any tears from falling. “ I don’t think that it could be any better.”
I pulled her into my arms, my fingers going to the hollow of her back, as I said, “ You deserve everything, Pepper Solomon .”
She lifted a hand and ran it along the dark circles underneath my eyes. “ Ready for bed, Carter ?”
I nodded.
“ Can I join you?” she asked. “ Is it time yet?”
I laughed, picking her up.
She wound her legs around my hips, arms going tight around my neck, and looked at me with pleading eyes.
“ I wasn’t trying to torture us both,” I murmured. “ I just wanted you to know how I feel before we went back to the stuff we knew we could get right.”
Her legs tightened around my waist. “ Really ?”
I walked with her to the bedroom, stopping only briefly to make sure that Forest was fast asleep, before setting the alarm as we passed.
I laid her down on my bed, then followed her, my fingers idly running over the scar on her face.
“ How did you get that scar?” I whispered, praying she’d answer me.
She licked her lips, then told me the story.
By the time she was done, my forehead was resting against hers, and I had this rage—this uncontrollable rage—that felt like it was choking me.
“ Do you have any more scars from her?” I asked.
How had Sage hidden this side of herself for so long?
How had I missed the signs?
Even worse, that night that she’d run out of the woods, I’d all but given her the perfect story to use to get the kind of attention she sought.
What kind of person did that make me?
An accomplice?
All this time, I’d been falling into her illusions.
Meanwhile , there was Pepper , who’d been abused by Sage so many times, trying to make me see.
“ Not ones you can see,” she admitted. “ But inside? There are a whole lot.”
I gritted my teeth, my jaw working at the words.
She pressed both fingers into my jaw and massaged.
The softness of her fingers forced me to relax whether I wanted to or not.
“ She’s in jail,” she told me. “ And just sayin,’ but she has this sick condition. She will never say that she’s insane. She won’t admit it to herself. So there’s no doubt in my mind that the woman is going to be spending quite a bit of time in jail, thanks to you.”
I nuzzled her neck with my nose, and she widened her legs allowing my hips to fall between hers.
I growled, loving the feel of her body against mine.
It’d been a long few weeks.
At times, it felt like we’d never get to this moment.
Where I knew that we would make it.
But I felt the certainty in my soul.
“ How do you feel about waiting for marriage?” I asked, feeling… nervous.
Nervous .
Me , a grown ass man, nervous?
She twisted, ending up on top of me before I could react.
“ I think not,” she said. “ I’ve been a very patient girl, and it’s time. I can tell.”
I grinned then. “ Yeah ?”
She bent down and kissed me. Only when we were both breathless did she say, “ Yeah .”
“ That’s what we were waiting for,” I teased.
Her shirt came off, followed by her bra. Moments later she was standing over me, and her pants came off, followed by her panties.
Then she was gesturing at me to get naked myself.
Unable to deny her anything, I was naked just as fast, and she was in my arms.
I rolled her, pinning her under me, and kissed her until we were once again breathless.
When I pulled away, her eyes were shimmering with unshed tears.
“ What is it?” I asked, running a thumb underneath her eye.
She licked her lips before saying, “ I just feel like this can’t possibly be my life.”
I shifted until my cock was at her entrance, then pushed inside.
She gasped, her back arching into me.
I moved slowly, keeping the pace so slow that I could stay in control, and said, “ It’s real. This is real. I’m real. You and me are real. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Pepper Solomon .”
Her eyes widened.
“ I know it’s not super romantic proposing like this, but I just can’t hide the way I feel from you anymore. And the only way you can know this is real is to realize how I feel about you when I ask,” I rasped. “ Will you be my wife, Pepper ? Will you marry me? Will you stay with me forever?”
Her fingers went to my cheeks, and she pulled my mouth down to hers. And right before our lips met, she whispered, “ Yes .”
I was loathe to admit it, but I lost control at her words.
The moment the word left her lips, and her mouth met mine, my slow and steady love making went rough and intense.
I fucked her until I couldn’t breathe.
I left bruises on her ass when I held onto her.
I held her wrists above her head as I reared up and watched as I took her so hard that her tits jiggled and the bed jolted with my movements.
“ Fuck ,” I growled. “ You feel so good.”
She squeezed me tight with her inner muscles, and I came.
Without her.
When I could think again, I pulled away and said, “ I swear to Christ that’s not how the rest of our life will go.”
She winked. “ Don’t worry, I fully expect you to make up for it in a few minutes.”
“ You’re on.”