Precious Lace (Lace #4) (3 page)

  I pulled away for a moment, lifting my top over my head. His eyes shone with lust as they perused my body. I crossed my arms over my chest sliding the straps of my bra down each arm. 

  "Tease." He grabbed the top of each bra cup and pulled down, exposing my aching breasts to him. My nipples hardened as I felt his gaze devour me. He pinched and pulled, almost to the point of pain, while I arched my body and groaned with pleasure. 

  "You sound so beautiful when I touch you." He leaned up and sucked a nipple into his mouth, teasing with light flicks of his tongue then sucking hard, elongating it even further. My body arched again and I held his head tighter to my chest. 

  "Do you still want me, Evangeline?"

  "Oh God, always." The answer escaped my lips before I even had a chance to think. 

  "I’ll never get enough of you." He fumbled with the button on my jeans. Once they were loose I lifted his shirt over his head then we both stood to slide our jeans down our legs. I landed back on his lap wearing only a pair of lacy underwear and my bra. I rubbed against his now naked form and he inhaled a sharp breath as the rough fabric of the panties scraped along his sensitive flesh. 

  "You're such a fucking tease."

  "Only with you, Mr. Morgan," I groaned and rocked into him harder. He unhooked my bra and flung it on the floor, squeezing the soft flesh of my breast roughly. 

  "This better just be for me." He nipped at the hardened peaks and a shiver ran through my body. "Wrap your legs around me," he ordered. I did as I was told as he moved the scrap of fabric between my legs to the side and eased me onto his erection slowly. I moaned as he filled me, my body adjusting to his size and absence of more than a few days. 

  With my arms locked around his neck and my legs wrapped around his waist, I groaned, rocked, and moaned as Carter filled me slowly and sensually, our position creating an intimacy that we both needed desperately to feel. 

  His arms draped diagonally across my back, one palm holding my shoulder firmly while the other hand fisted in my hair, tugging gently and arching my neck so he could taste the sensitive flesh there. I groaned as he slid a palm above my ribs and pinched a nipple between his fingers, making a shot of fire blaze straight to my core. I arched my back, allowing him to reach me deeper with each thrust, while I rocked on top of him. His pelvis provided the friction I needed for a slow release to overtake my body, starting at my core and radiating down my legs to my toes. 

  Carter continued to suck and caress my nipples causing my climax to linger and prolonging the pleasure. I released a long and low moan and arched my body back all the way. Carter took the opportunity to hold my back and devour my chest with his mouth. He pressed into me faster, bouncing me against his pelvis, then groaned and thrust through his orgasm; finally finished he collapsed onto the couch. I landed on top of him and our bodies melded together as we fought to regulate our breaths.

  "Move in with me," he whispered when his breathing came back to normal. 

  "No." I answered him. A deep chuckle escaped his throat. He ran his hand through my hair and down my bare back. 

  "I love you, even if you are the most stubborn woman on earth. I can't help but love you."

  "It's exactly the reason why you love me." I snuggled against his chest. 

  He laughed again. "You're probably right. Just know that I won't stop asking until I get what I want." His hand palmed my backside roughly. 

  "I wouldn't expect anything less." I grinned happily. 

  "So what have you been up to?" Sawyer slid into the seat at a taco bar near Fenway. Cate and I had arrived just a few minutes earlier. The place was packed with business people and students.

  "Nothing—"

  "Eva got married this weekend," Cate interrupted and gushed to Sawyer. 

  "What?" Sawyer glared at me. I bit my lip; I was not ready for this conversation at all. 

  "Cate, you bitch." I elbowed her. 

  "He's my brother," she shrugged and threw a tortilla chip in her mouth. 

  "You married that asshole?" Sawyer continued to glare. 

  I huffed a sigh and rolled my eyes. "He's not an asshole, Sawyer."

  "Why would you marry him? After the way he was with you at the club and some of the fights Cate told me about."

  I shot Cate a nasty look. 

  "It's not too late to get it annulled." Cate arched an eyebrow at me. 

  "I'm not getting it annulled."

  "Well, just so you know all of your options. The way you came home the other night…"

  "How did you come home? How did she come home?" Sawyer glanced from me to Cate. 

  "He dropped her off, no word why. They got married in Aspen, had an amazing few weeks, they have a fight and he just drops her off, no explanation."

  "Cate, that wasn't what it was like." I cringed because that was exactly what it had been like.

  "It was just like that." Cate arched an eyebrow, challenging me to disagree. 

  "I thought you liked him?" I shot at her. 

  "I do. But I like you more," she shrugged and popped another chip in her mouth. 

  "You need to tell me what the fuck is going on." Sawyer resumed staring at me. 

  "We got married in Aspen," I shrugged. 

  "Okay… you're fucking insane to do that, but what's going on now?" 

  "Nothing, we're okay."

  Cate arched an eyebrow at me. "Is that why you're wearing his ring on your right hand instead of your left?" Cate said. I only glared back and played with the ring on my finger nervously. 

  "We're working on it. We talked last night; we're not fighting. I know why he dropped me off Monday night, we're over that."

  "So you're moving in with him then?" Cate asked. I worried my bottom lip between my teeth. 

  "Not exactly. At some point, but not right now."

  "This is fucked up, Eva," Cate said. 

  "I know, but we just have more to work through. I know we'll get there, but Carter and I always throw ourselves in without thinking first, so now I want to think first. I want to take things slowly," I trailed off. 

  "That's ridiculous. You married him." Sawyer maintained his angry gaze. "Did you tell him about your problem?" Sawyer shot me a nasty glance. 

  "What problem?" I dipped a tortilla chip in salsa.

  "The fact that you can't have kids. I'm sure he's a man who wants an heir to pass on his legacy, I can't imagine he'd be all right with your problem."

  My mouth dropped in surprise. Sawyer didn't usually hit below the belt. "Fuck you, Sawyer. Fuck you." I stood and slammed my chair into the table and walked out the door. I heard Cate reprimanding him as I walked away. 

  It felt like Cate and Sawyer had ganged up on me and I wasn't willing to sit through lunch facing their accusing questions. I slipped into a cab to head for home when I got a text.

 
- How was lunch pretty lady?
 

 
- Have to say, I’m getting very used to your endearments :) Lunch wasn't great. Heading home now. 

  - To Beacon St? :)
I rolled my eyes even though he wasn't there to see. 

  - No. To my apt. Work to do.

  - What happened at lunch?

  - I left early.

  - Oh?

 
- I’ll tell you about it later. 

  - Okay. Can I see you later? We can talk about us.
I heaved an exasperated sigh. 

  - I'm exhausted. I don't think I feel up to talking. 

  - We can do other things besides talking ;)
I rolled my eyes again. 

 
- I just rolled my eyes FYI. Seriously, don't feel up to it tonight. 

  My phone rang an instant later. Carter's beautiful, smiling face flashed across the screen. I'd snapped a picture of him while we were sitting in the hot tub the night before we'd gotten married. He looked young and carefree, the Carter I loved desperately. 

  "Why don't you want to see me?" Carter's angry voice came across the line. I groaned in exasperation. Apparently, I couldn't just take time—he was proving that already. I was going to hit the steel wall that was Carter Morgan whenever I wanted to do something he didn't like.

  "I don't mean it like that. I'm just exhausted. I haven't slept since..." I paused, wondering what to call whatever was going on between us, "since this all happened. I just need the night off." I recognized the error in my words the minute they escaped my mouth. 

  "The night off? From me, Eva? That's ridiculous." 

  I chewed on the inside of my cheek thinking about how to dig myself out of this one until I realized there was no way, because it was the truth. 

  "Maybe it's not. We're hard work. I just need a minute to process."

  "Eva… are you running?" The hurt in his voice was palpable. I wanted to reach out and touch him through the phone. I wanted to run my hand along his cheek, slide my fingertips across his forehead and move the hair that was undoubtedly tousled there. I wanted to comfort him, even though I’d spoken the truth. 

  "I'm not running, Carter. I promise. I really just have things to do tonight. And then I'm going to try to get to bed early. I promise I'm not running, I'll never run from you." I knew it probably didn't make sense; I'd told him yesterday that we needed to talk, and yet here I was telling him I didn't want to talk. It didn't quite make sense to me. The only thing I knew for sure was that I was too exhausted to even consider hashing out the entire future of our relationship tonight. 

  "I wish you were doing those things on Beacon Street, then going to bed early with me," he said quietly. 

  "I know, but just give me some time."

  "Okay… I miss you though," his voice ached over the phone. 

  "I know. I miss you too." I wanted to run into his arms and squeeze him tightly to me, never letting go. He heaved a big sigh. 

  "My sister wants us to come over this weekend. She wants to meet you. My parents are having a barbeque before the weather gets cold."

  "Okay…" I trailed off. 

  "Will you go?" He sounded worried. 

  "I would love to." 

  "I have to get back to work," he sighed. 

  "Okay."

  "I love you," he whispered.

  "I know." 

  "Move in with me," he demanded. 

  "Not yet." I smiled. 

  I heard him chuckle as I hung up the phone.  

***

  "I'm sorry, Eva." 

  I sat perched on my bed with my laptop an hour later when Cate got home from the lunch I'd stormed out of. 

  "It's okay, I know you're concerned. I just didn't appreciate being ambushed by you and Sawyer." I set my laptop on the bed next to me. 

  "I know. I didn't mean for it to be like that. Sawyer's really upset, I think he had some delusion that he still had a chance with you." She shrugged, "I'm worried about you." She frowned. 

  "I know, but I'm not just going to walk away from him, and I don't want to. I married him, Cate. That's important. We just have some things to work out. I want you to support me, though, and not tell Sawyer everything." I glared at her. 

  "I know. I'm sorry. And I do support you, one hundred percent. Do you forgive me?" She gave me a small smile. 

  "Of course. Promise no more telling Sawyer stuff?" I gave her a stern glare. 

  "Promise." She embraced me in a tight hug. "I brought food home for you." She pulled away and passed me a brown paper bag. I scrunched my nose as my stomach lurched. 

  "No thanks. I don't have much of an appetite these days. My brain has been consumed by this whole situation. Even when I do eat I feel nauseous. I think I'm going to have a breakdown." I gave her a small smile. 

  "I saw on the news that there's a nasty strain of the flu going around. Maybe you're getting sick."

  "Maybe. My immune system is probably out of whack from all the stress."

  "You should take a nap."

  "I can't do that either. I'm exhausted but when I finally lie down I can't sleep. My brain races." 

  "I have some sleeping pills. Maybe you should take one and get a good night's rest. You need it. You look exhausted."

  "I am." I heaved a tired sigh. 

  "Here, I'll go get one and bring you some water." She jumped up and headed for the kitchen. 

  "No, it's okay. Sleeping pills scare me. I'll be fine, Carter and I just need to work this out." I pulled my laptop back into my lap. 

  "Are you sure? If you're getting sick sleep is the best thing for you." Cate stood at the doorway with a hand on her hip. 

  "I'm sure." I gave her my best reassuring smile. 

  "Okay. If you need anything let me know."

  "Will do, mom." I smiled before she rolled her eyes and left the room.

  -
I made reservations for dinner tonight. Be ready in twenty minutes.
Carter's text flashed across my screen the following evening. 

  -
You are unbelievably demanding. Maybe I have plans tonight.
I grinned as I texted back. 

  -
Do you like to make me angry?

  - Maybe :)

  - Be ready, MRS. Morgan. 

  - Yes dear.
I rolled my eyes at the phone. 

  We hadn't seen each other since I’d left his house Wednesday morning. We'd left on good terms, and I wasn’t mad at him. I knew he didn't understand that, despite the number of times I'd tried to tell him we both needed time if we wanted this to work. I wished we could avoid talking and live purely in the moment. I just wanted to be with Carter, without having monumental discussions about us, although I knew it was something we needed to do. 

  I gazed down at the ring I was now wearing on my right hand and twisted it thoughtfully. On second thought, maybe we'd done more than enough living in the moment and were paying the consequences for it now. The all-consuming lust we had for each other was what had landed this ring on my finger in the first place.  

  "Is there a special occasion, Mr. Morgan?" I slid into the back of the Bentley. I wore a plain black top tucked into a leather and lace knee-length skirt and black leather booties. I knew the juxtaposition of sweet and sexy would not go unnoticed by Carter. He hauled me across the seat and into his lap, pressing my lips to his roughly.