Page 148 of Stranger to Love

Her thumb continued its slow rhythm against my spine, but then I saw a rare, terrifying flicker of vulnerability in her dark eyes.

"Alex," she said, her voice uncharacteristically cautious. "Is this going to be a... bad conversation?"

My eyebrows scrunched together. She thought I was about to end it. She thought I was walking away.

"Shit—no! Carrie, no. Nothing like that." I practically whined the words, my heart hammering. "I didn’t mean to swear, but no. Just... definitely not that.”

Carrie’s posture relaxed slightly, but she still gave me a pointed look. "Watch your language, Alex," she murmured. She guided us to the dining table, her touch light but firm.

I sat down, my fingers starting a frantic dance, twisting and picking at each other.

"Okay," I started, the words tumbling out. "So, I’m going to say a load of things, and I just need you to listen for a minute while I try to explain. Don't jump in yet. I need to make it clear that nothing has happened... like, now. Nothing bad. But I want you to know all of it. Every bit."

Carrie’s eyes narrowed, a sharp, predatory glint entering her gaze as she leaned in. Folded neatly on the table, her hands tightened until her knuckles were white. "Go on," she said, her voice a low register of anticipation.

“Before I started Uni, I slept with someone I met at The Dam. It was just a quick thing. I didn't even know her name.” I forced myself to meet Carrie’s eyes. Her expression was a total blank slate. “When I started Uni, I got the shock of my life when that same woman walked into your seminar. That woman was Billie—Ms. Davies.”

Still nothing from Carrie. Not even a blink.

“She was freaked out too, panicking about how old I might have been. Once she realised I was actually in my twenties, she relaxed. And I... I was my usual ego-inflated self. I’d make her blush. I slept with her again, just once, after Uni started. Even then, I never made it seem like we were dating."

The guilt was a physical weight now. “I hadn't given her a second glance once things started happening between us. Why the hell would I? But... there was that one time. When I was a terrified idiot after our first weekend together. You know I went to see her, but I need to make it absolutely clear: I did not sleep with her, Carrie. I promise. We made out, but I stopped it. I stopped because all I could think about was you."

I pushed through the last bit. “Since then, I’ve completely ignored her. I genuinely forgot she even existed over the break... until today.”

The atmosphere in the kitchen plummeted. Carrie didn't move, but her posture sharpened.

"Today," she repeated, her voice dropping to a dangerous, silky whisper. "What happened today, Alex?"

"I was working in one of the private booths in the library. Out of nowhere, there was a knock. It was Billie. She stepped inside and sat right across from me. I swear I tried to stop it, Carrie. I told her things were different, that I’m seeing someone—that I'm yours. But she changed right in front of me. She wasn't that sweet, blushing assistant anymore. Her whole face went cold. She was... assertive. Ruthless."

I swallowed hard. "She moved her leg under the table. She purposefully brushed it against mine and just... watched me. Like she was testing me. To see if she still had a hold."

Carrie’s jaw set so hard I was worried her teeth might crack. Her breathing became shallow, controlled.

"And?" Carrie prompted, the word vibrating with lethal power. "Did you let her?"

"No! God, no," I said, my voice desperate. "I was in shock, I didn't expect it from her. I pulled away as soon as I could find my footing. She got up to leave, but then she leaned over me... she didn't touch me, I swear, but she got close. She told me to be 'careful' because 'serious things' have more to lose when they break. It felt like a threat."

Silence fell over the kitchen, thick and suffocating. Carrie slowly stood up, walking around the table until she was standing directly in front of me. Her fingers hooked under my chin to tilt my face up.

"She touched her leg to yours," Carrie murmured, her thumb tracing my lower lip. "In a room with a locked door."

"It doesn't lock from the inside, it's just glass—"

"She touched you," Carrie interrupted, her voice a low growl of possessive fury. "After I explicitly told you she was off-limits. After I made it clear that you belong to me. Where? Show me exactly where she touched you."

Trembling, I pointed toward the side of my shin. "There. Just on the side."

Carrie stared at the spot as if she could see a phantom bruise. When she looked back up, her expression was clinical.

"Then you clearly didn't explain the situation well enough," she said, her voice a dangerous purr. "If Ms. Davies has somehow convinced herself that she is in a competition for your attention—or worse, that you are a woman who can be swayed—then I have failed to mark you properly."

"Carrie, I tried to tell her! I was panicked, trying to be professional because she’s staff—"

"Panic is not an excuse for passivity, Alex," she interrupted, stepping closer until our chests almost touched. "When someone attempts to stake a claim on what belongs to me, I expect you to shut it down with ruthlessness. Instead, you sat there. You let her linger. You let her threaten what we have."

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I didn't know what to do."