Carter's Treasure (8 page)

Her mind was spinning, almost as fast as her heart was racing. She’d been kissed before, she wasn’t a complete moron. But not a toe curling, stomach dropping, sparks shooting kiss like that. Oh, wow. Wait, what did he say,
lose control
? Her breath came out with a whoosh.

“Um.”

“It’s okay. I’m teasing, I promise. I didn’t mean to make you nervous,” he said softly while rubbing her back to keep her calm.

You mean more nervous?

“I’m…I’m okay,” she said with as much confidence as she could gather. She took a deep breath. “This seems surreal. I like to know what’s going to happen next, to be in control. You know, have things planned out.”

“Sometimes,” he whispered, “there’s a bigger plan out there and we don’t have the answers to it.”

“Sure feels like that, huh? It’s kinda scary, don’t you think?”

“Why’s that?” He stroked her back. “You’re not scared of me, are you?”

“No, no, not at all. It’s
this
. I mean, twelve hours ago life was very different. I was missing home and my family and I wasn’t ready to be gone for four months.”

She couldn’t help the sickening feeling she just had. James. Ugh. She’d thrown the equivalent of a temper tantrum before they’d left town. She had just gotten home from one contract job to find out that two days later she had to leave for another. And this was a long one. When he found out she not only wasn’t mad anymore, but that she was excited about being here—God, he’d never let her live it down. Then he’d lecture her on men.

She had that one memorized, probably because she’d heard it regularly since she was fourteen years old. She only mimicked it verbatim when his back was turned. She loved the man with all her heart, but she had to admit she was a teensy bit worried about how he’d take the news of Carter. Well, more than a teensy bit. She was more like scared to death for Carter’s safety. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep the smile under control. She didn’t want to scare the man off by explaining what was going through her mind at that moment, especially since he’d stuck out the panic attack.

“But now?” he asked in his low, sexy voice, hugging her to him.

He continued to rub her back and rested his cheek on the top of her head. He didn’t know it, but his voice was such a comfort to her. When he lowered it like that, it could almost slip her into a peaceful trance.

“But now, I want time to stand still.” She pulled in a breath of his cologne, his scent like a magnet.

“Me too.”

“We’re moving really fast, Carter.”

She knew it was one kiss, a hell of a kiss, but
—one
kiss. But combined with other comments he’d slipped in here and there? She knew what he meant when he said she was
the one
. He was talking about something much bigger than just a weekend fling. She wouldn’t have done that anyway, but he was making
this
into
more
. Way more.

Plus, if she had to be honest, he deserved points. Most men would have run like their ass was on fire when they saw her in a heap of tears on the floor. He hadn’t. He’d been sweet, nurturing, and if she wasn’t mistaken, scared to death. He also hadn’t pushed her. He hadn’t made her feel bad when she denied his earlier kiss, he hadn’t pushed her to talk when she wasn’t ready, and he wasn’t pushing for more right now. He seemed happy to go at the pace she was setting.

“Fast is relative. When its right, you don’t measure it, and we aren’t teenagers.” He laughed lightly. “You can’t even consider us
young adults
anymore, Gorgeous. And look at the thousands of people who go to bed together the first night they meet or have one night stands.”

“That’s not me,” she said softly, then shut her eyes.

“I know, baby.” He had figured out that she was only confident and out-spoken around their big group. When he was alone with her, she was quiet, sweet, and vulnerable. He grinned to himself, completely in love with both sides of her already, but also proud that she trusted him. Seeing first-hand how fast she could throw a wall up against men that wanted to be with her.

“Carter, I have never really had a boyfriend before.” She took a deep breath at her admission.

“Never? I find that hard to believe.”

“No. There was never anyone worth the effort of a long distance relationship. We grew up on the road. Hell, I’m still on the road a lot. You live the same way, you know what it’s like. So why bother? I have been on a few dates over the last few years, but just a date and usually just once. It doesn’t take long to figure out that they’re all just the same. But here…tonight…with you? I’ve been acting like a ditzy, flirty girl. I’ve been hanging on you all night. Uh…your friends are going to think I’m easy.”

“I knew you were the kind of girl to worry about that.”

“I do. Look, it started a fight.”

“There was nothing you did that started that fight. I promise you, Molly. That was all on Martins. He’s a jackass. Don’t you dare feel guilty over that. Please? And as for you hanging on me, you weren’t. But I’ll admit, I like it. I like having your hand in mine, my arm around you. I love your head on my shoulder. I could tell you were able to relax around me. If you consider all that hanging on me, I’ll take it.”

“That’s a
man
answer.” She softly chuckled.

With her still in his arms, he whispered in her ear in an even lower voice, one with an edge to it, “I am a man.”

Her stomach did another flip flop, but then her mind caught up and her heart dropped.
Like you need to remind me?
She looked up at him with an eyebrow raised. “Yeah, and I’m sure you’ve got women throwing themselves at you.”

“Not really.”

“I don’t believe that for a minute.”

“I don’t.”

“Carter, you are incredibly good looking and you have killer eyes. So no, I don’t believe you.” A cocky, slow grin danced across his face. “Oh, don’t you look at me like that,” she teased. “You know you’re absolutely amazing, don’t play innocent with me.” His hands slid down to her butt, pulling her as close as he possible could.

“Oh yeah?” He raised his eyebrows up at her a couple of times.

“Yeah.” Her eyes were as wide as saucers, but she wasn’t minding that his hands were on her, and she was loving the crooked grin on his face. It made him appear almost boyish when just seconds before he was—almost—hungry. Boyish she could handle. Hungry scared the shit out of her.

“So…”

“So?”

“Am I worth a long distance relationship?”

Her heart went from zero to sixty from the excitement and the fact he really did like her. Karen had always told her there would be someone. She felt her insides go gooey and her cheeks get warm.

Feeling a little braver, she said, “Depends.” She grinned up at him, getting a small thrill off the control.

He squeezed her butt. It was a total possessive move on his part and she knew it. “Oh yeah? On what?”

“On how long it takes you to kiss me again.”

“That I can do, Gorgeous.”

She slid her arms up to his neck and smiled at him. Then she bit her bottom lip. He smiled his slow, sexy grin that kept driving her insane. There went the control, back to Carter—she had no power against that smile. “What? You’re staring.” She giggled nervously. She gave herself a mental slap upside the head for sounding like a goofy teenage girl.

He smiled down at her and she melted all over again. “I’m just…”

“Just making me nervous,” she finished for him.

“I just can’t get over the fact that I get to be the man holding you. I get to be the man to kiss you.”

“I was thinking that I’m the lucky one.”

He leaned down to kiss her and she slid one palm to his cheek. With her other hand, she threaded her fingers through the back of his hair just as she parted her lips to kiss him. When he pulled her even closer to him, she sighed. The move was intentional. He needed her to know how much he wanted her—to feel how badly he wanted her. A part of him needed her to know how hard he was struggling to keep himself under control, to silently prove to her she was safe with him.

He broke the kiss and pulled her tight to him, the man in him wishing she wouldn’t object to going back to his motorhome. But he knew she wasn’t ready for that. He drew back. “Oh my God.” He breathed heavily, just standing there holding her, willing himself to behave. Carter finally caught his breath and pulled away a few inches to look at her before he leaned his forehead to hers. “Oh girl, what you do to me.”

She looked up at him and graced him with the sweetest smile he had ever seen. “I don’t want to let you go,” she whispered.

“So…” he replied just as quietly, “Don’t. Tell me I’m worth it, that you’ll do long distance. Please.”

She reached up to kiss him gently. “You’re worth everything.”

Chapter Five

“He should have been back by now. I’m going to go check on them.” Brody started to stand, but Erin reached out to stop him.

“Brody…don’t. Let them be. She’s fine.”

“Erin. You don’t understand.”

“Excuse me? I don’t understand
what
? That she’s a twenty-six-year-old woman? That she has a drop dead beautiful man following her around like a puppy dog. That he’s probably kissing her goodnight. I get it Brody.” She rubbed his leg. “I also get that she’s a grown woman, one that deserves this. You have to let her be. If not now, when?”

“But Erin.”

“She’s lonely, Brody.”

“She has us. She has Mom and Dad.”

“You’re forgetting I’ve been around the last twelve years. I know why you and your parents are so protective. But she talks to
me
. I know she’s lonely because she’s told
me
. I know she wants what we have because she’s told
me
. And she can’t find it because
you
won’t let her.”

He didn’t need to stick around and listen to this shit. He was going to go check on his sister.
Probably kissing goodnight
. Hell. He’d watched Sterling all night. There was no
probably
to it. Just the thought of that had his blood starting to boil. He stood up.

“Fine, Brody…go. But that guy has sat here all damned afternoon and evening, putting up with your shit, without even one nasty remark. We could all see and feel it…you’ve been a jackass to him. The closer he got to her, the bigger ass you became. Add to it that he defended her honor and risked getting in trouble without so much as a second thought. He deserves some respect. You need to cut the guy some slack.”

He stood holding the back of the chair, his knuckles turning white from gripping it so hard. He narrowed his eyes at his girlfriend, took a breath in, and gritted his teeth even harder. Erin was right. But it didn’t make it any easier and Molly was still his to protect, whether Erin or Molly liked it.

“You’re suffocating her. You have to let her go. She
needs
space.”

“She needs
me
,” he slapped back.

Erin stood and walked around to face him. He loved and hated the way she stood up to him. She never backed down from a fight, but as much as he loved her, he wished she wouldn’t square off with him, not here. Not on this subject.

“Brody, she’ll
always
need you.” Her voice was calmer, but he still heard the force behind it. “Just not the same way as she did when she was younger. She’s made a lot of progress today. The fact she’s even giving Carter a chance, that’s a good thing. We’re here. Nothing’s going to happen to her. I promise. If he hurts her, I’ll kill him myself. In the meantime…space. You
have
to give her space.”

She tried to wrap her arms around him. He held stiff for half a minute and finally cracked. Pulling her to him, he took a deep breath. He knew he could trust Erin’s judgment. If she was so adamantly defending this…whatever this
thing
between Carter and his sister was, then he should listen. It was just a damn shame that his sanity went right out the window wherever Molly was concerned. What could he say—he’d learned from the best. He pulled away and patted Erin’s arm.

“I’ll be back.”

“Don’t you embarrass her, Brody Noland, or pull the bully treatment on him. I have no problem killing you, either.”

He nodded at the threat and turned to walk toward his motorhome. He chuckled nervously to himself. He wasn’t scared of Erin killing him, he was more nervous of what she’d do prior to the long, tortuous death. She didn’t fight like a girl, she went straight for his balls and squeezed until she got what she wanted. It was too bad they didn’t see eye-to-eye on this subject.

He rolled his shoulders, trying to shake some of the unnecessary panic. After Molly was safely tucked in the motorhome, he needed to call his dad. There was no way around it. It already sounded like his dad had picked up on something earlier when they spoke to him after the fight. But he had to lay it out there. Brody was done dealing with
this
by himself.

He rounded the corner and his jaw dropped. He stood stock still, he legs suddenly heavier than concrete as he watched his sister. She had one hand up Carter’s neck, her fingers in his hair. The other was on his jaw. Sterling’s hands were of course on her ass. Of course. Where else would they be? He watched as they kissed…intimately. His heart started pounding almost as hard as pain in his head.
Oh my God. What the hell?