Fixer: A Bad Boy Romance (45 page)

Not that it seemed to bother Carter in the slightest. He ran his hands over my naked top half, kissed his way across me, and then drew me forward on top of him so that he could take one breast in his mouth. I gasped at the feeling of his warm, wet lips and agile tongue against me, my back arching so that my hips pressed down against the growing lump that I felt in his pants.

"Pants," he gasped out a minute later as he released me, and we both dove for each other's waists. I peeled his zipper down as he grabbed at my ass beneath my own slacks, squeezing it and drawing me down on top of him.

Another moment of fumbling, and the pants slid off. Again, I hesitated for a moment, feeling a little ashamed of my nakedness - and eating all that pasta right before bed certainly wasn't going to do me any favors, either! But Carter drew me in again, his hands tracing patterns across my bare skin, his lips following close behind, and I focused instead on the hardness of his body, how he clearly felt thrilled at seeing my bare and exposed curves.

I knew that he was full of desire for me, that he was probably on the edge of losing control, but he still took his time with me. He explored my curves with his hands and lips, feeling how I molded to him. I reached down for him, but he held my hand back, instead feeling my most intimate areas, tasting me, studying me like I was a final exam in college and he needed to memorize every single inch. By the time he finally moved up to rise on top of me, between my spread thighs, I felt soaked and almost delirious with need to feel him take me, to let him inside.

Finally, we came together, and I knew from the moment that our bodies joined that I wouldn't be falling asleep disappointed tonight. His hand traced a line down my breasts to settle just above where he entered me, his thumb moving softly back and forth to beat out a counterpoint to his thrusts, and I didn't even make it a minute.

"Oh my GOD!" I threw my head back against the soft sheets beneath me, crying out instinctively as I shattered. Warmth flooded me, a burning pleasure so intense that I drifted for a few seconds in sheer whiteness, unable to comprehend anything else in existence besides my own pleasure, my overwhelming tidal wave of ecstatic release. The wave built and grew, washing back and forth over me, until I was certain that I'd lose my mind, that this would shift into pain and sear me into insanity.

But finally, almost mercifully, it faded, and Carter's face came back into view. He smiled down at me, still moving in tempo with me, and I wrapped my legs around his hips to draw him in closer. I bit at his ear, needing to feel his closeness, wanting to give him the same amazement that he just poured into me.

Despite his earlier words about practically exploding at my touch, Carter displayed impressive stamina! By the time he finally collapsed down beside me, both of us panting and soaked with sweat on every inch of our exposed skin, I didn't think that I'd be able to walk again, not without aid.

"Oh my god," I repeated again, a phrase I'd put to good use over the last twenty minutes or so.

"Oh my god," Carter agreed with me, breathing deeply. I turned my head slightly to the side, watching as his muscled, broad chest rose and fell with those breaths. "Becca, you need to come with a warning label - may cause heart attacks in bed!"

I just grinned, panting as I hoped that, eventually, my breathing might return to a normal rate. Now, finally, I felt like I started to see what Portia was talking about when she'd insisted that I needed to get back in the saddle, so to speak.

"So, I did okay?" I asked.

Carter propped himself up on one elbow, looking at me in disbelief. "Did okay? Becca, did you not hear me practically scream at the end of that?" He flopped back, putting the back of his hand across his forehead as if swooning. "Woman, you practically killed me, and if you give me twenty minutes, I think I'm up for letting you make another attempt!"

I couldn't hold back a little giggle at that, sitting up. If I succeed, do I inherit the house?" I asked.

He started to reply, but in my sitting position, I caught a glimpse of the digital clock sitting on Carter's bedside table. The lateness of the hour caught me by surprise, and I felt my warm post-sex glow fade slightly.

"Oh man, it's already that late?" I exclaimed. "Hey, do you think that you could give me a ride home?"

Carter frowned. "You're not going to stay?"

The idea was extremely tempting, especially when I looked over at the man's body, still nude and on glorious display beside me. "I'm afraid that I have to get back," I said. "Salem's going to be worried about me." It was a lame excuse, but not untrue.

"Salem?"

"My cat," I clarified. "He's a total jerk, real taskmaster. He's probably going to be pestering me all night for daring to leave him alone and desert him."

"Well, I suppose that you can't let him sleep alone," Carter said, still not sounding fully convinced. He reached out and coiled his hands around my waist, starting there but immediately sliding fingers towards other, more sensitive locations. "I'm sure that I can convince you to forget all about that kitty, though."

I was certain that he could, but I shrugged his hands off, reaching over the edge of my bed for my hastily discarded clothes. "I know you can - but really, I do want to take this slow," I said, standing up so that I could pull my underwear and pants back on.

"Slow," he repeated, as I tried to stand up.

I nodded. "You know. Relatively." For a moment, my legs wobbled under me and threatened to deposit me unceremoniously back on the floor, but I managed to stay upright.

At first, Carter looked like he was considering trying to lure me back into bed again, but he finally sighed and stood up as well, reaching for where his pants ended up. I paused for a moment to watch him, mesmerized by the movements of his muscles beneath the surface of his skin, how his back rippled with his motions.

"Okay," he announced, pulling on a tee shirt from his dresser instead of trying to attach the button-up shirt, now missing at least a couple of its buttons thanks to my hasty removal approach. "Let's get you back home."

"And again, I'm really sorry," I repeated, as we headed back down through the cozy little house and back out to the car. "I'm sure that I seem like a bitch."

At the car, Carter paused and turned, reaching out and gently pulling my hips against his. "You don't seem like a bitch at all," he said softly, gazing into my eyes. "Look, I get it - you're finally starting to think about putting this divorce behind you, and it's a tough step. I'm willing to go along if you want to take things... slow."

I smiled back at him, fighting against the sudden mistiness that crept into my eyes. "Thanks. That really means a lot."

He leaned in and planted a soft, feather-light kiss on my forehead. "Just tell Barry, if this ever comes up, that I'm a million times better than him in bed," he said, releasing me.

I rolled my eyes as I climbed in on the passenger side. "Men and their egos. So fragile."

"Are you saying that I'm wrong?"

I bit my lip, thinking back. "No, you were definitely a million times better, but it's still so sad that you want me to brag about it to another guy."

"I could invite him to come by and watch for himself, but I don't think you'd be on board for that-" Carter held up a hand to block my mock punches, laughing. "Easy! No need to attack me! I'll crash the car!"

He easily kept the car on the road, however, and soon we pulled back up at my apartment. Carter brought the car in against the curb and put it into park, although he didn't take the keys out of the ignition as he climbed out to walk me the short little distance to the front entrance of the building.

"So, is this the last, or are you going to give me another spin at some point?" he asked.

"A spin? What are you, a car?"

He shrugged. "I'm just noting that you didn't seem all that eager to stick around after we finished. Give it to me straight - am I really that bad in bed?"

I closed my eyes for a moment as I thought back to how Carter took his time with me until he'd driven me almost completely mindless. "No, you're definitely not suffering from any problems there," I said, and something in the tone of my voice must have given away how I truly felt. Carter grinned at my dreamy words, but he didn't turn away.

"So it's something else. What's bothering you, Becca?"

I took a deep breath. I'd kind of hoped to have this conversation at some other time and place - preferably over the phone, to his answering machine - but this would just have to do. "I guess I'm just still not ready to dive all the way into a full relationship yet. Not so soon after getting Barry out of my life."

"I'm no Barry," Carter pointed out, possibly the understatement of the century.

"Oh, I know. But you could be Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt merged together, and I think I'd still need a little bit of time." I put on a smile, even though I suddenly didn't feel especially cheery any longer. "Just have patience with me, okay?"

For an instant, I thought that Carter might refuse, might say that he didn't want to be strung along. If he had said anything of the sort, given even the slightest indication that he wanted to push me faster than I wanted to advance - well, that would have been the end of the relationship, barely even after it had begun. I didn't want to deal with another pushy, demanding man, another Barry in disguise.

But instead, Carter just smiled at me, a smile that, although maybe tinged ever so slightly with frustration, didn't waver in the slightest. "For you, I think I can handle taking things as slow as you want," he murmured, and leaned in to kiss me.

I expected this kiss to be warm and hungry, like all the other times that we'd come together - but Carter surprised me. Instead, he was gentle and light, taking care with me as if my skin was made of porcelain. He held me in his arms, but as someone might hold a baby bird, as if he feared that he'd break me somehow. He held me gently, kissed me carefully, and smiled down into my eyes as he let go.

"Have a good night, Becca Grace," Carter whispered, and then turned and headed back to his car. He didn't look back over his shoulder, although I thought that I caught a slight spring in his step that I didn't remember seeing before.

I watched him drive away, still remembering the warmth of his bed, of his body. Only after the lights of his car vanished around the corner did I finally turn around and draw my apartment key out of my purse to head back inside.

Chapter Twenty-Six

*

Up in my apartment, I carefully closed the door behind me, my every step dogged by Salem as he meowed insistently and wound around my legs. If I didn't know better, I'd swear that the damn cat was doing his best to trip me up and drop me down onto the floor as punishment for daring to not come home for most of the night!

"Easy, easy! I know that you're hungry!" I told him, which had no effect except to make him meow back at me as if trying to communicate. "Just give me a moment!"

After several close calls of nearly stepping on my pet, I managed to refill Salem's food and water bowls, placing them down on the tiled floor in the kitchen area. As soon as he heard the clink of the metal bowls on the ground, Salem lost all interest in my legs, dashing forward to bury his head in his food dish.

"I see what really matters to you," I told him, bending down and petting him to take the sting out of my words. Salem didn't look up as he noisily swallowed mouthfuls of his food, but he did arch his back and lean in towards my fingertips.

Watching him eat, I considered making a snack for myself as well. I still felt stuffed with Italian food, however, and with a pang of regret, I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten my leftovers at Carter's house. He'd taken them out of my hands and carried them out of the restaurant for me, so I hadn't thought twice when I left his house to stop and glance in the fridge for the styrofoam container.

"I could really go for maybe one more bite," I told Salem, who burped up at me in response. I reached for my phone, but hesitated for a moment before placing the call. Was this inappropriate, calling too soon?

Nonsense, I decided after a second of thought. This wasn't our first date, and I didn't need to fret about ruining how Carter thought of me by calling too soon. I took one last deep breath and then clicked on his icon in my phone.

"Well, that was sooner than expected," Carter said when he answered the line. "Suddenly finding your own bed too lonely?"

I did consider that my bed would be much colder and less fun than his, but I kept up my mental conviction. "Actually, I realized when I got home that I left my leftovers in your fridge," I said, dropping down onto my couch.

He laughed for a minute. "No worries. I'll bring them over to the gallery tomorrow. You can devour them for lunch."

"Thanks," I said, laughing along with him. "Sorry, not to bother you about them, but I just figured-"

"No worries. It gives me an excuse to see you again tomorrow, anyway." A note of naughtiness crept into his voice. "You know, there's a back storage area in the gallery with a lock on the door..."

"Not happening," I told him, as my mind danced with fantasies, Carter pulling up my naughty little black dress and pushing my thighs wide as I leaned back on the desk, Uncle Preston's papers scattering in every direction beneath me...