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I wind my fingers through his hair and clear my throat. “What do you mean?”
Carter leans back to look up at me, and there’s an unfamiliar glint in the depth of his eyes. “You were right. Everything you said about us not being able to raise a baby in this environment and how there are going to have to be changes.”
I suck in a harsh breath. “So, you… you agree?”
Carter releases my waist and stands up so he has to tilt his head down to look at me. His expression is solemn and serious when he speaks. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about shit over the past few weeks, and you know what’s the one thing I kept going back to?”
I shake my head.
“I want to do this with you, dove,” Carter tells me in a low voice. “All of this. I know neither of us planned for the baby, but I am going to do whatever it takes to protect her.”
My heart misses a beat. “So, you have been reading my messages.”
“I read every message, and I heard every voicemail, and I missed you more each time,” Carter continues in a softer voice. “Not being able to come home to you was hard, but I knew that I had some things to figure out, and I couldn’t do it here.”
“Carter, I—”
He takes a step back and lifts my hand to his lips. “I don’t expect you to forgive me, at least not yet, but I do intend to make it up to you. In every way possible.”
Carter gives me a look then that goes straight to my soul.
“I know I’ve still got my demons to fight, and things aren’t going to change overnight, but I know what I have to do now.”
My mind is still reeling when he sits down on the couch and pulls me onto his lap. I’m still struggling to make sense of his words and everything they mean when he places both arms around my waist. When Carter tilts my head back to kiss me, there’s a familiar unfurling in the center of my chest, and I’m falling.
But this time is different.
Because Carter and I have already battled our way through his enemies, and in spite of everything they’ve thrown at us, he came back.
All those weeks I spent alone, praying and hoping for a miracle, weren’t in vain.
And the longer we sit there, kissing like we don’t need air like we need each other to survive, the surer I am that everything has led to this moment in time.
I want to cry and laugh and climb inside Carter’s skin and stay there.
But I don’t do any of that.
Instead, I shudder when he frames my face in his hands, and his prickly stubble tickles my face. I tilt my head to the side, sigh, and lean into him. His hands move down to circle my waist, sending goosebumps over every inch of my skin. With a sigh, I link my fingers over his neck and melt.
It’s like I’m falling through soft, white clouds. Only I know I’m not going to meet the cold hard ground. Not as long as Carter is there, and not as long as he keeps kissing like that.
When he nips on my lower lip, my mouth parts, and Carter’s tongue darts in. We begin a sensual battle for dominance as wave after wave of desire continues to build within me. Suddenly, Carter stands up and hoists me so my legs are wrapped around his waist. My heart is pounding loud enough to drown out everything else as we move backward and in the direction of the guest room.
There, Carter lingers in the doorway to flick the lights on.
Then he carries me over to the bed, and without breaking our kiss, he lays me down on the mattress. I unlink my fingers from around his neck and move them down the front of his chest, stopping at the waistband of his jeans. Carter growls into my mouth and pins my arms up over my head.
Another jolt of burning hot desire shoots through me. I wriggle and link my feet over his hips.
With a growl, Carter rubs himself against me. He wrenches his lips away and begins to pepper my neck with hot, open-mouthed kisses until he reaches the slope of my chest. One hand keeps my hands in a vice-like grip, and the other reaches for the edges of my dress. The fabric slides like butter until it pools around my waist, exposing the bare skin of my legs.
I shiver with impatience as Carter uses his fingers to graze my sensitive skin. He stops at the waistband of my panties and presses hard. A low whimpering sound falls from my lips as I arch my back and lift my hips off the mattress. Slowly, Carter leans back to look at me, and the hungry and determined look on his face is enough to bring any woman to her knees.
At that moment, I know I’ll do anything he asks. I’ll climb any mountain or swim in any ocean as long as he doesn’t stop touching me. Or making me feel like I’m the only woman alive.
“I’m glad you’ve missed me too, dove,” Carter says into my ear, sending ripples through me. “But I’m going to take my time here.”
I frown. “Why?”
