Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Carter stifled a smile as Audrey inched the bathroom door open and tried to contort her body through the narrow space. She froze when he shifted slightly, holding her breath to make sure she hadn’t awakened him, then released a soft sigh and slipped out of the room when he didn’t stir.
As soon as the door closed behind her, he dropped the arm covering his eyes and let loose the grin threatening to split his face.
She was truly something else. So open and passionate last night, she scurried around this morning like a nervous little mouse, afraid to wake him.
He’d bet any money that she was terrified to come face-to-face with him, instead trying to usher him out the door like a dirty little secret.
Audrey was strong and independent, but she wasn’t one to act rashly, and he had a feeling that’s exactly how she would see their night together: as a mistake.
It would be up to him to soothe her fears, show her how good they could be together.
Because after last night, he wasn’t done with her. Not by a long shot.
Eager to ease her misconceptions, he swung his legs over the bed and went in search of some clothes.
He had no idea what time they’d finally fallen asleep, but he estimated it to be somewhere around dawn, judging from the faint glow lighting the sky as he’d fallen asleep with Audrey tucked in close to his chest.
She'd felt so perfect there, her head tucked beneath his chin, her warm body fitting perfectly against his. A quick glance at the floor told him Audrey had already picked up his clothes from last night.
A peek into the bathroom confirmed his suspicions.
His clothes were folded neatly on the counter, a silent message that it was time for him to gather his things and get out.
If that’s what Audrey thought, she was in for a rude awakening, because he wasn’t going down without a fight.
He was going to take that fiery little red-headed temper of hers and wrestle it into submission.
And he was going to enjoy every second of it.
A feral grin lit his face at the thought, and he quickly tugged on his boxers and dress slacks from yesterday.
He refused to greet her naked, but there was no way he was going to put all of his clothes on, either.
If he did, that would mean that his time with her was over—and that was the very last thing he wanted.
His plan was to get out there and find her before she had more time to second-guess herself, then take her back to bed and show her how good they were together.
He padded down the hallway to the kitchen, toward the smell of freshly brewed coffee. Audrey stood by the counter, purse over her shoulder and keys in hand, and he immediately tensed. What the heck? She was running out on him?
A floorboard creaked under his foot, and she whipped toward him, eyes wide.
Guilt shone brightly in her blue orbs, and anger flared around his heart.
How dare she? She’d really planned to just cut him out of her life without any explanation at all—just disappear like their night together had meant nothing. Screw that.
Back rigid, he stopped several feet in front of her and crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at her. Her eyes flicked over his bare torso, but he couldn’t find it in him to be pleased by her obvious reaction to his nearness. He was still too pissed. “Going somewhere?”
Her eyes darted back up to his, and she licked her lips. “My friend… I’ve got to go.”
“Running away already?”
“No, of course not. I—”
“No? Because that’s exactly what this looks like.”
She shifted uncomfortably. “Well, it’s… Fine,” she huffed as she threw her hands in the air. “You’re right. Kind of. But I really do need—”
“I can’t believe you were just going to run out. Seriously?” He swept his arm toward her in an agitated motion. “You’re such a coward.”
“I am not.” She stepped forward so she was almost toe-to-toe with him.
“You’re afraid,” he taunted. “You loved what happened between us last night, and now you’re running scared because you’re afraid.”
“What do you think I’m afraid of?” She propped her hands on her hips and stared him down, fire in her eyes. Perfect. She was almost where he wanted her. Just another little nudge and she’d be his.
He’d push her until that red-headed temper of hers snapped, then once she was all good and riled up, he’d take the little wildcat back to bed and settle her the best way he knew how.
He had a feeling that, with a little love and reassurance, she’d turn from a ferocious tigress into the cuddly kitten she’d been last night.
“I think you’re afraid of me. Of us.” He gestured between them. “Tell me you didn’t enjoy last night.”
“I didn’t—”
“Liar.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I was going to say. I was going to say”—she punctuated her words with a hard poke to his chest—“it’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, but I can’t do this right now. I’m not in a good place in my life.”
“We haven’t even talked about what this is!” he exploded.
“Then what is it?”
The question stumped him for a second as she turned the argument around. “I… I don’t know. What if it could be something? You were just planning to run away before you even found out?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said airily, waving one hand in the air as if it meant less than nothing.
“Is this how it’s going to be? You pretend nothing happened between us?”
“I don’t know what you want from me!”
“I don’t either. I just want the opportunity to find out.”
“I don’t want… I can’t do this again.”
“Why not?”
“We shouldn’t have done this. I have to go.” She spun around but froze as the next words left his mouth.
“Really? Because you were more than willing to drop your panties for me last night.”
She turned slowly back to him, her fiery eyes meeting his. Satisfaction at getting a rise out of her flared deep within him. Good. She was as pissed as he was.
“What did you just say?”
The corner of his mouth lifted in a cocky smile. “I said, you stood right here,” he laid a hand on the counter where they’d made out like teenagers, “and dropped your panties around your ankles.”
“God, you’re such an idiot.”
“Yeah?” he sneered. “And you’re an easy lay who used me for sex.”
He didn’t have time to duck or weave or even breathe as her fist collided with his jaw and blackness seeped into the edges of his vision.
“Okay, spill.”
He glanced at Gideon, whose mouth had curled into a mischievous smile. He shook his head adamantly. “Oh, no. I told you before,” he jerked a thumb toward the doorway that Kaylee had just sashayed through. “There’s not a snowball’s chance of that happening.”
“Not that. This.” He slashed his hand in front of his face, indicating the bruise on Carter’s jaw.
Carter felt his cheeks heat, but he should have expected the question. He had, actually, but it didn’t make telling the story any easier. And he never could lie to his friend. “You know Ms. Stanton?”
Gideon’s eyes widened. “Jesus, you didn’t get into a fight with the ex, did you?”
“Um, no.” Carter shifted uncomfortably in his chair, intensely aware of Gideon’s scrutiny. He relayed the events of the past weekend, and Gideon’s raucous guffaw echoed through the room.
“She really… You… That’s hilarious.” Gideon panted the words between laughs, and Carter sank lower in his seat.
“Thanks for the support, idiot.”
Gideon finally got his laughter under control. “You’ve gotta admit, this is new.”
Carter rolled his eyes. No kidding. He could honestly admit that, during his almost thirty-five years on this earth, not once had a woman turned him down, much less hauled off and punched him in the face.
Not that he hadn’t deserved it—he’d immediately regretted the words as soon as they’d left his mouth.
He’d been trying to get her attention, to get a rise out of her.
Well, he’d certainly done that. He was so certain she was just nervous and worried about falling into bed with him the night before that he hadn’t paid attention to the little red flags she was throwing up all over the place.
He was too blinded by his feelings for her to see that something wasn’t right.
In truth, he had no idea what he wanted from Audrey—but he sure wanted more than the one night they’d spent together.
Things might fizzle out quickly enough, but he at least wanted the chance to find out.
In hindsight, he now saw that her face had shown signs of distress, but at the time he’d chalked it up to nerves at their confrontation.
Then he’d seen the news. A local woman, one of Audrey’s friends, had been attacked around the same time he’d been with Audrey at her house.
It was no wonder she’d tried to run out on him.
He’d completely misread the worry on her face, mistaking it for shame instead of the true anxiety of a woman fearing for her friend.
He’d felt like a complete and utter jerk as soon as he saw the news and recognized the woman’s name.
He’d called Audrey yesterday and again this morning, but he’d yet to hear anything from her.
After the way they parted, he suspected she’d go out of her way to avoid him at any cost. Which just meant that he’d have to go to her, even if it meant putting his face in harm’s way again.
He resisted the urge to smile as he tested his jaw. The woman’s right hook was proof of her perfection in his eyes. God, he’d almost be willing to go through that all over again just to see that fire in her icy blue eyes—almost. He didn’t have a death wish.
A smile curved Gideon’s face. “Well, I guess that was over before it even started.”
“No.” Carter shook his head. “No, this is just beginning.”
Gideon shot him a skeptical look. “Sure you don’t want to just quit while you’re ahead?”
“Not a chance.”
“Must be good.”
Carter leaned back in his chair and glanced at the open doorway before turning back to Gideon.
He pursed his lips in thought. He’d known Gideon for decades, and he knew he could trust him implicitly.
Despite the fact that Gideon insisted he’d stay a bachelor forever, he was always good to bounce thoughts off.
Right now, he needed to voice his thoughts out loud.
Maybe he really was crazy and overthinking things.
But saying it out loud, weighing the pros and cons of a situation always helped.
He prepped for hours, sometimes days, before making an appearance in court, and the habit was so deeply ingrained in him that he couldn’t help it.
“You have no idea. She’s incredible.” His tone dropped several octaves in sincerity. “Not just the sex—though it was fantastic. But she’s smart and funny, the whole package. I could really like this woman.”
Truth was, he already liked her. He’d liked her from the moment she walked into his office months ago.
“Then I guess you’ve gotta suck it up and go apologize.”
He would, but the stubborn woman wouldn’t answer her phone. Not that he blamed her. He was an idiot, just as she’d accused him. She obviously wasn’t going to come to him anytime soon, so that meant he’d just have to track her down.
He glanced at his watch. He had a meeting in an hour across town, which would put him in the vicinity of the health center.
If all went according to plan, he’d catch her just as she was leaving for the day and convince her to go to dinner.
He wasn’t stupid enough to think she’d fall into bed with him so soon after what had happened last Friday, but all he needed was a chance.
Audrey was the kind of woman who needed to come to a decision on her own; trying to rush her would do no good.
He just needed a few minutes of her time to convince her that he wasn’t a complete idiot—most of the time, anyway.
She’d only really seen the business side of him, except for those few hours they’d spent together.
If he could just plant that seed, make her see that he wasn’t as terrible as she’d decided he was, then he could slowly begin to move in.
He pushed out of his chair and nodded to Gideon. “Come on. Let’s head over to meet with Gallagher.”
“Driving separately?”
“Yep.” He grabbed his briefcase and shoved the files inside before snapping it closed with a decisive click. “I’ve got business on that side of town.”
A knowing grin lit Gideon’s face, and he extracted his wallet before pulling out a small square and tossing it in Carter’s direction. The foil packet bounced off Carter’s chest before he caught it one-handed. “You’ll need that.”
“Nah.” Carter tossed it back to him. “Thanks anyway, man.”
Gideon lifted a brow. “You skipping the makeup sex?”
“No way.” Carter grinned and nodded toward the prophylactic. “It’s too small.”
“Whatever.” Gideon let out a snort, and Carter laughed.
“Seriously, though. Long game, man.”
He rolled his eyes. “Why bother? There’s not a woman in this world worth that kind of torture.”
Could he seduce her back into bed? Probably. Was it tempting? Absolutely. But he wanted more from Audrey than just sex. He wanted it all—and he’d do whatever it took, however long it took, to get it.