Road to Absolution (14 page)

“Holy shit!” he
hissed.

“You okay?” I
asked.

“Fuck, you doin’
those kale things?”

“Kale things?”

“Fuck, baby.” He
grabbed my hips and groaned. “Your pussy’s… ahhh…”

I contracted
around him. “Kegels, baby, and yes, I do them.”

“Cassidy,” he
whispered, reaching for a breast with one hand while thumbing my clit with the
other.

I raised up and
then lowered myself again, the sensation of him filling me while his thumb
worked my clit was overwhelming.

I lowered again
and quickly found myself on my back and yanked gently to the edge of the bed.
Carter stood between my legs and drove into me so fast and hard, I came before
he was done. I cried out and gripped his wrists, but he broke my hold and
spread my legs wider, sliding his hands just below the back of my knees,
tipping my hips up a bit, so he could go deeper.

He let out a
grunt and then a yell before collapsing on top of me and rolling us on our
sides, facing each other, still connected. I felt him still pulsing inside of
me, the walls of my vagina squeezing him as we came together.

“Fuck!” he
breathed.

“Indeed.” I ran
a finger over his forehead and down the side of his cheek. “You’re illegally
pretty, Carter.”

“Am I?” He
caught my fingertip in his mouth and gave a gentle suck.

I nodded. “I
don’t know if you’re pretty enough to pass as a woman—”

“Well, thank God
for small favors.” He grinned and kissed me. “I love you.”

“I love you,
too.” I rocked against him, feeling him grow hard again.

He cupped my
breast and kissed me. “I wanna have a hundred babies with you.”

I giggled, but I
was cut off when his thumb stroked my clit again. Facing him, I had room to
move and I hooked a leg around his hip and pressed in.

“Your cunt’s so
fuckin’ tight and wet,” he breathed out. “God, so good.”

I flattened my
palms against his chest and closed my eyes as he cupped my breast. He rolled a
nipple between his fingers and I dropped my head back in ecstasy.

“I’m gonna move
you, honey.”

“Huh-uh,” I
complained.

He grinned and
nodded. “You’ll like this better, trust me.”

“I can’t imagine
liking anything better than this.”

“On all fours,
baby,” he directed, I did as he said. “Cheek to the mattress.”

As I did, he
slid into me from behind and I whimpered at the feeling. Ohmigod, it was
amazing. One hand ran down the length of my back while the other gripped my
thigh. He slid out and in slowly before reaching forward and cupping my breast.

“You okay?” he
asked.

“Harder.”

“Yeah?”

“Hell, yeah,” I
encouraged.

Carter slammed
into me, holding my thighs steady and then he began to move, surging in and out
of me faster and faster. I screamed his name as I came around him, but he wasn’t
done and he ran a finger over my clit, building me up again.

“Grab a tit,
baby, let me see.”

I braced on one
arm while I kneaded my breast with the other, rolling the nipple between my
fingers and panting as another orgasm built.

“I’m close,” he
rasped.

“Come, honey,” I
demanded as I exploded again.

I felt him pulse
inside of me and then roll us onto our sides, my back to his front, our bodies
still connected.

He kissed my
shoulder. “You screamed.”

“I guess I did,
huh?” I giggled and tried to catch my breath. “That was mind-blowing, honey.”

“Told you.”

I squeezed my
eyes shut. “Was it okay for you?”

“Baby, I came
four times in less than an hour, yeah, it was fuckin’ great.”

“You haven’t
done that before?” I felt his body shake with laughter and slapped his arm.
“You
have
done that before?”

“Technically, I
can go all night, but, no, I’ve never come that fast or gotten that hard so
fast after.”

“Oh.” I felt
quite smug with that information.

His hand slipped
between my legs and he rocked into me. “And now I’m ready again.”

He made love to
me twice more and then it was time to get dressed and pick Maverick up, but
Carter promised more of what he gave me, albeit much more quietly, when we got
back to my place. He was lucky I wasn’t driving or we’d have been jailed for
speeding.

T
HE FIRST MONDAY back to work after our
romantic weekend was tough for me. I wanted to live in the erotic cocoon Carter
had built for us over the past few days, but I had a living to make and a child
to support, so it was back to the grind for me.

It had been a
weird day, one I wasn’t entirely sure I should (or could) process. The morning
had started with an anonymous box of chocolates left gift-wrapped on my desk, a
somewhat inappropriate note, which I knew wouldn’t have come from Carter. One,
he knew I hated that particular brand of chocolate, and he would have signed
the note with “Bolt” or something of that nature… this one was signed, “All my
love, your future lover.”

Lover? Really.
God, it was so gross. Soon after I’d logged into my computer, I got a few texts
from a blocked number that kind of freaked me out a bit, and I knew I was going
to have to talk to Carter about it eventually.

The cherry on
top of my shitty day, however, was when I walked out of work to find two flat tires.
I pulled out my cell phone called Carter.

“Babe, you
okay?”

“Not really,” I
grumbled.

“Where are you?”
He sounded panicked.

“I’m still at
work. I’m okay, honey, just a little stranded. I came out to find two flat
tires and I only have one spare.” I glanced up at the sky, grateful it was
clear and acting like an actual summer day.

“We’ll be right
there. Stay put.”

“Okay. Can you
grab my dance bag, please?” I asked. “I’m going to have to go straight from
here.”

“Sure, babe.
Give me fifteen minutes.”

“Okay, thanks.
Love you.”

“Love you too.”

We hung up and I
dropped my phone into my purse.

“Cassidy?”

I turned to see Tom
walking toward me. I smiled at him and waited for him to reach me. “Hey, Tom.”

“You okay?” he
asked.

He really was
one of the best looking men I’d ever met. His father was British and his mother
was Korean, which was a beautiful combination, and since he’d been raised in
London, he had the sexiest accent in the world. He’d been helping to implement
a few of my suggestions for better workflow and I found him easy to work with,
funny, and very kind.

I sighed. “Car
trouble, I’m afraid.”

“Let me drive
you home.”

“No, I’m fine.
My boyfriend’s on his way.”

He frowned. “You
never mentioned a boyfriend in our previous conversations.”

I was a little
taken aback by how irritated he sounded. “I don’t typically discuss my private
life at work,” I said.

He stared at me
as though he was trying to memorize me. It was a little disconcerting.

“Anyway,
Carter’s on his way, so I’m all good,” I added.

“How about I
wait here with you until he gets here?”

“You don’t need
to do that.”

“I’m happy to,”
he said. “Can’t leave a beautiful woman to wait alone.”

Well, that was a
little inappropriate, professionally speaking. On a personal level, though, it
was kind of flattering. Working in a predominantly female department, rumors
abounded about Tom, but he had a reputation as being pretty buttoned up and
unapproachable. All of this information had come from Janie, who’d helped
organize his move from our New York office. I thought it was a little weird
that he’d been with the company for less than a month and chose to move from
such a big city to Vancouver, Washington of all places, but I never voiced my
thoughts. I just listened to the women titter on about him and wonder if he
were single, married, or perhaps open to a one night stand.

None of it
really mattered or applied to me since I was never in the market for a man… I
had always needed one of those about as much as I did the plague, but then
Carter showed up and I was done.

“So, tell me a
little about yourself,” Tom said. “I know you have a son.”

“I do.” I
smiled. “He’s almost six and he’s awesome.”

“And is your
boyfriend the father?”

He stepped
closer to me and I found myself moving away. I don’t know why, but I felt a
little weirded out by him. Luckily, I didn’t have to answer his probing
question when I saw Carter’s truck driving towards us. He pulled up behind my
car and climbed out. I couldn’t help but shiver. Dark jeans, motorcycle boots,
tight, white T-shirt, and his cut, he was incredible.

“Hey, babe,” he
said as he eyed Tom and closed the distance between us.

“Hi, honey.” I
had planned on keeping things low-key, but Carter had other ideas and pulled me
close for a mind-blowing kiss. I blushed and broke our connection, clearing my
throat. “Where’s Mav?”

“I told him to
wait in the truck with the dog.”

“Good idea.”

Tom reached his
hand out and smiled. “I’m Tom Dale.”

“Ace.” Carter
studied him, ignoring his greeting, and Tom lowered his hand.

“I thought you
said his name was Carter?” Tom countered.

“It’s Ace,”
Carter said, his voice low in warning.

I watched the
two men and it dawned on me they were having a pissing contest of sorts. I
rolled my eyes and gave Carter’s arm a squeeze. “Did you bring another spare?”

“Knight’s
bringin’ a truck, babe. He’ll tow it back to the shop.”

“You a tow truck
guy?” Tom asked.

“No.” Carter
turned toward him slowly. “Are we holding you up from somethin’, man?”

Tom gave him a
strange smile. “No, just making sure Cassidy didn’t need anything.”

“Well, I’m here,
so she’s good.”

Tom nodded and
turned to me. “You sure you don’t need me to stick around.”

I felt Carter’s
body lock and I shook my head. “No, but thanks anyway.”

“Alright, love,”
Tom said.

“Did you just
call my woman ‘love’?” Carter demanded.

“It’s an English
thing,” Tom said.

“She’s not your
fuckin’ love, get me?” he demanded.

Tom crossed his
arms and smiled. I shivered. Creepy.

“Have a good
night,” Tom said. “
Love
.”

Carter struck so
quickly, I didn’t see it coming, therefore, had no time to react. Before I knew
it, Tom was on the ground, blood spurting from his nose, and still, he grinned
like he was demented.

“You ever
fuckin’ look at her again, I’ll fuckin’ kill you,” Carter threatened, standing
over Tom.

I gasped,
reaching for Carter’s arm. “Carter.”

“Well, aren’t
you the big man,” Tom teased as he stood and brushed himself off, pulling out a
handkerchief and holding it to his nose.

Ohmigod, this
guy was totally weird.

“Have a lovely
weekend, Cassidy.” Tom walked away and I watched in confusion.

I frowned up at
Carter. “What the heck was that all about?”

“You watch that
asshole, Cassidy, and if he gives you anymore trouble I’ll deal with it.”

“What’s that
supposed to mean? I get that he’s weird,” I conceded, “But did you need to hit
him? What if Maverick saw?”

“He didn’t,”
Carter said emphatically.

I sighed and
glanced at the truck. Carter was right. There was no way Maverick could have
seen. There were too many cars in the way.

“Have you never
met
anyone from England?” I accused. “They say ‘love’ after everything.”

“Babe, trust me.
He’s interested in you, not to mention warped in the fuckin’ head, and I don’t
like it.”

“You’re being
ridiculous.”

Carter didn’t
get a chance to argue with me since Aidan arrived with the tow truck.

“You got
anything you need in your car?” Carter asked.

“No, I’m good.”

“Go get in the
truck, then.”

I frowned up at
him. “Are you mad at me?”

Carter sighed.
“No, babe. Just go get in the truck, yeah?”

Aidan climbed
out of the truck and took in the car. “You okay, Cass?”

“I’m fine,
Aidan.”

“Truck, Cass.”
Carter handed me his keys and made his way to Aidan.

I slid into the
driver’s seat of Carter’s truck and tried to shake off his sudden change in
mood. Maverick was bouncing in his seat as I tried to give him a hug. “Hey,
honey.”

“Hi, Mom. Can I
ride in the tow truck?”

“Not tonight.” I
smiled and stroked the dog’s head. “But let me move Carter’s truck real quick
and then you can watch them hook up my car, okay?”

Maverick gave a
little fist pump with his, “Yeah!” and I moved Carter’s truck.

* * *

Knowing that Cassidy (or more
accurately, Maverick) wouldn’t stay in the truck, Ace took a second to make a
phone call before either of them could hear him.

“Yo, Ace,”
Booker answered.

“Hey, Booker, I
need you to check someone out for me.”

“Okay, who?”

Ace gave Booker
everything he knew on this Tom Dale asshole and hung up just as Cassidy and
Maverick made his way to him.

“Mav wanted to
see the tow truck,” Cassidy said. “Who were you talking to?”

“No one,” he lied.
“Hey, Mav, you want to help hook the car up?”

Maverick looked
up at Cassidy. “Can I, Mom,
please
?”

“Of course,
honey. Just do what Carter tells you to do, okay?”

Cassidy watched
them as Maverick helped Ace and Aidan hook up the car. Ace knew she was worried
about his mood, but he was too busy trying to stuff down the intense desire to
kill Tom Dale, that he had no energy to talk shit out with her. She didn’t have
a fuckin’ clue the man was sniffin’ where he didn’t belong. But Ace did. And he
was gonna make sure the dipshit wasn’t an issue.

“We’ll get you
all sorted tomorrow, Cassidy,” Aidan said. “And someone’ll bring your car back
when it’s done.”

“Thanks a lot,
Aidan. I really appreciate it.”

Aidan hugged her
and then took off to the shop.

“Are you going
to tell me what’s bothering you?” Cassidy asked as Ace led her and Maverick
back to the truck.

“No.”

“You are
infuriating sometimes.”

“Just drop it,
babe.”

Cassidy scowled,
but did as he asked and climbed into the truck after Maverick.

Ace lifted the dog
into the bed, then made his way to the driver’s side and drove out of the
parking lot. “Do you have to dance tonight?”

“Um, yes, I have
to dance tonight,” Cassidy snapped. “Just drop me off and I’ll get Kevin to
drive me home.”

“No.”

“Okay, Tarzan,
what do you propose?”

His lips
twitched slightly at her irritation. “Mav and I’ll drop you off and go find
something to eat, then we’ll meet you back at the studio.”

“Sounds great,”
she ground out.

“Great.”

“Great,” she
repeated, and he tried not to laugh. God, she was cute when she was pissed.

The dance studio
was in downtown Vancouver, so he found a spot with a meter and parked. She
kissed Maverick and moved to get out of the truck, but Ace stopped her. “We’ll
walk you in.”

“You don’t need
to do that, Carter.”

“I want to meet
Kevin.”

“It’s fine,”
Cassidy pressed. “You can meet him later.”

“I’ll meet him
now.” Carter turned off the truck and climbed out, walking around the hood to
help her and Maverick out.

She climbed down
and frowned up at him. “You’re a pain in the butt, you realize that, right?”

He grinned and
kissed her quickly. “Yep.”

“Come on, Mav,”
she said. “We’ll be quick and then you and Carter can go eat.”