Chapter 39 #3
After a brief, thoroughly satisfying phone call to the Dean that effectively ended Mr. Hubbard's academic career, I walked into the bedroom.
Alex was sitting on the edge of the mattress, having folded her jeans with an uncharacteristic, nervous neatness. She was wearing nothing but her knickers, a vest, and her button-down shirt hanging completely open.
"You are so literal sometimes, darling," I mused, leaning against the doorframe with a fond smile.
"Well, you only ordered me to take the jeans off," she smirked shyly. "I’m a very obedient student, Dr. Carter."
I let out a low hum of amusement, reaching up to unclip my hair. I shook my head, letting the dark waves spill over my shoulders, entirely aware of how intently she tracked the movement.
"You are really so beautiful, Caroline," she said, her voice raw, stripped of all its usual bravado.
My hands paused in my hair. A sudden, unexpected warmth rushed up my neck, a faint blush that I rarely permitted anyone to see. But Alex wasn't just anyone.
I crossed the room and sank onto my knees on the floor directly between her thighs, looking up into her beautiful face. I combed my fingers gently through her hair, smoothing the stray strands away from her forehead.
"Well," I began softly. "Before we had such an... eventful end to the day, I had wanted to discuss the end of your first year at university, my darling. I think it’s about time we went out to dinner. A proper celebration. We could bring your parents along, too, if you’d like? My treat, of course. I want to reward my princess for working so hard this year. You’ve earned it, Alex. "
The emotional depth in her eyes flared, and before I could anticipate it, she hooked her fingers into the collar of my dress and pulled me up into a fierce, desperate kiss. My balance shifted, and I crawled further onto the mattress, hovering over her as our lips connected.
"It sounds perfect," she murmured against my mouth. "I would love to. They’d love it."
Every ounce of my academic armour entirely disintegrated. I trailed soft, worshipful kisses down her neck, letting my hair fall like a curtain around us. "I just want to make you happy, Alex," I whispered against her skin. "I want you to have everything."
She placed her hands gently against my chest, pushing me back just enough to lock her deep, expressive eyes onto mine.
"Carrie, seriously. Just you. You make me happy," she said, her voice thick with conviction.
"Neither of us had done this before, right? We’d never done the relationship thing.
I know I hadn't—I never even wanted to. But when I met you, it was like my body recognised you before my mind could even catch up.
It just knew I was meant to be with you. The universe was pulling us together."
She let out a small, disbelieving laugh.
"Seriously, you appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the night while I was dragging a very drunk Holly home.
I didn't know who you were then. I didn't know you had money, or that you were this incredibly powerful woman people were intimidated by.
I just saw the woman I was desperate to make smile.
I just wanted to hear you laugh and find any excuse to be alone with you again. "
She suddenly looked away, her cheeks burning. "God, I have no idea why I’m being so soppy right now. Do you see what you do to me? I have lost every ounce of my cool. I’m a disaster."
I didn't laugh. I leaned down, pressing my forehead firmly against hers, my own breathing completely shallow.
"If you've lost your cool, Alex, then I’ve lost my entire foundation," I confessed, the admission tearing from my throat with a raw honesty that terrified and exhilarated me.
"You didn't just make me smile. You woke me up.
And if the universe really did put me in that street at two in the morning just so I could find you...
then it's the only thing the universe has ever gotten right. "
I slid my hand into her hair, caressing her temple, completely surrendered to her. "Don't apologise for being 'soppy.' I want all of it. I want every unfiltered thought in that beautiful head of yours."
I kissed her again, deep and unhurried, tasting the absolute certainty of our future.
"I love you," she whispered against my lips. Then, a sharp, mischievous glint returned to her eyes. "So... since we’re being all honest and romantic... when exactly do I get that puppy?"
The profound, soulful atmosphere completely shattered. I let out a long, agonised groan, dropping my forehead onto her shoulder with a dull thud.
"I hoped you would have forgotten about that," I mumbled into her skin, thoroughly defeated. "I really did. I thought perhaps the 'forever' talk would have distracted you from the four-legged menace."
Alex burst into a loud, triumphant laugh, her chest heaving beneath me. "Not a chance, Dr. Carter. A deal is a deal. You said yes."
I propped myself up on my elbows, attempting to summon my most intimidating lecture-hall glare, though the twitch at the corner of my mouth completely betrayed me.
"I said 'fine,' Alex. 'Fine' is a very reluctant concession, not an enthusiastic endorsement.
And I believe I also mentioned the garage.
Are you prepared to live in the garage with a Golden Retriever that smells like wet wool? "
"You'd miss me too much," she smirked, looping her arms securely around my neck. "Besides, think of the 'atmosphere.' A big, sleepy dog at our feet—downstairs, obviously—while we're curled up on the sofa? It’s the final piece of the puzzle."
I let out a soft sigh, accepting my total, inevitable ruin at the hands of this girl. I leaned down, nipping her bottom lip just hard enough to make her gasp.
"You are going to ruin my life, Alex. My furniture, my schedule, and my reputation as a cold, heartless academic... all gone because of you."
"Best ruin ever," she murmured.
"Yes," I whispered, my heart swelling as I looked down at my beautiful, chaotic future. "Quite possibly. We’ll look at the shelters after your finals are over. Not a day sooner."