Page 111 of Hometown Hottie

54

CARSON

Wiped out after all the excitement of the night, I got back to Nova’s place about an hour after I’d left, opening the door slowly and as quietly as I could. All the lights were still on but the woman herself was fast asleep on the couch.

I watched her for a bit, not walking in just yet for fear of waking her. Her face was pale. Slight purple bruising under her eyes was an obvious sign that she hadn’t been sleeping so well recently. I hadn’t noticed it before, but with the lights having been dim at Moe’s and then having been distracted by an actual fucking fire, I wasn’t surprised.

I guess that makes two of us that have been struggling to sleep.

I drew in a deep breath and finally moved inside, locking her front door silently behind me. After digging through some of the debris with the firefighters, I was filthy again and I went to grab another shower and donned a fresh pair of shorts.

When I came back out, she was still sleeping. Her golden blonde hair fanned out against the sofa as she lay on her back with her mouth slightly open. I smiled, comforted by the fact that she was sleeping so well after the night she’d had.

The only thing left to do was to switch off the lights and put her to bed. No way I was leaving her on the sofa and taking her bed.

Nova let out a soft snore and I smiled again, hoping I wasn’t about to bother her too much when I moved her. Going back to the sofa, I carefully slid one arm under her knees and hooked the other behind her neck, then lifted her gently against me.

She stirred and made a happy noise as she burrowed into my chest, breathing me in as a whisper escaped her. “Carson.”

The sound of my name on her lips when she was asleep—and the fact that she sounded so happy while she said it—made my heart clench. This girl.

Holding her tighter, I carried her upstairs to her bedroom and laid her down. I looked again and saw her eyes were open. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. Go back to sleep, sweetheart. I’ll be right downstairs.”

She shook her head lazily, her eyes on mine. She scooted up to make space and then patted the mattress. “Stay with me. Just for a little while.”

I knew I shouldn’t do it, but I climbed into bed with her anyway. Didn’t even try to resist.

In the dark of her bedroom with only silver moonlight shining in through her window and with her by my side, it felt like everything was going to be okay again. It was just for a moment and then it was gone, but when she lifted her head to rest it on my shoulder, I wrapped my arm around her and held her close, hanging onto that moment for as long as I could.

Neither of us said anything at first, and I was convinced she’d fallen asleep again until she suddenly spoke up. Her voice was soft and husky with sleep, but there was no missing or misunderstanding what she said.

“Do you really not want to try this anymore?” she asked, tilting her head on my shoulder to look up at me.

“No, I’m sorry, Nova.” My heart cracked as I glanced down at her, not sure this was the right time to have this conversation but we needed to have it. “I’m so sorry for the way I ended things. If it means anything, I didn’t want to do it.”

“Then why did you?”

I breathed out, trying to find better words than what I’d used before. Obviously, I hadn’t been nearly as clear with her as I’d thought I had been. “I felt like it was the right thing to do.”

“Why?”

“It just felt like the odds were stacked against us and that being together was doing more harm than good.”

She rolled over to face me. “What does it matter now? All I had was the bakery and that’s gone, but in a way, losing you felt even worse.”

Her eyes bounced between mine as she tried to explain. “It sounds so silly when I say it like that, but I guess losing you put things in perspective for me. No matter what else is going on in my life, I want to be able to share it with you. If I can’t, it just feels incomplete. It feels like I’m waiting for my real life to start, and I’m tired of waiting, Carson.”

“So am I.” My heart thumped in my chest. I looked into her eyes and leaned forward, stroking my fingers into her hair to push it back. Then I kissed her.

As soon as my lips touched hers, a bolt of desire tore through me. There had never been any denying that I wanted this girl, but after everything she’d just said, I didn’t just want her—I wanted to ravage her. Claim her. Possess her. And I wanted it to be for good.

In the back of my mind, I knew that our main problem wasn’t solved yet. Ryan wasn’t going to magically come around just because the bakery had burned, but I didn’t want to stop. Being apart from her hadn’t felt right. It’d felt like I’d torn off half my limbs and was just drifting around, waiting for them to be reattached.

I couldn’t live that way and it didn’t sound like she could either. Rolling her underneath me, I parted her soft lips with my tongue and slid my hands along the length of her arms until my fingers wrapped around hers.

“Carson,” she sighed into my mouth. Her body writhed under mine when my hips started moving against her.

So hard, I was liable to lose it before I even got her clothes off, but I forced myself to hold it together. I pressed her hands against the mattress and undressed her slowly, savoring every inch of creamy skin that I exposed. In response, she pulled off my shirt and shorts, her eyes and mouth never leaving my own unless it was absolutely necessary.

I’d fucked a lot of women in my life, but this wasn’t that. This was making love and it was so much better that I was suddenly as nervous as if it were my first time, which it was in a way, but my hands even shook as I rolled off her panties, my mouth dry and my dick aching.

At least that part is familiar.

Yet, as much as I was way out of my depth here, I didn’t break the moment, looking straight into her eyes. She pulled off my underwear and wrapped her legs around me. I lowered my head, slanting my mouth over hers once more and holding her face in one of my hands while reaching for a condom in her nightstand with the other.

I’d left some here before. When my fingers brushed against the smooth surface of the box, I could’ve shouted with relief. Thank the gods, they’re still there.

For the briefest, craziest moment, I considered leaving it and asking her to let me knock her up, but I didn’t want it to happen that way. Nova wanted the traditional love story, which involved a ring and a wedding before a baby and a stroller.

I wanted to give her everything, in the exact order in which she wanted it, so I made quick work of putting on the condom. I felt like I was surrendering my soul to her when I sank inside her heat. Nova’s mouth was gentle against mine as she kissed me like there was nothing we couldn’t do as long as we stuck together—and in that moment, I believed her.

I was in love with Nova Murphy. Absolutely and irrevocably in love with her. Even if I had to take a punch for it every day for the rest of my life, I would do it. As long as I got to spend the time before and after it happened loving her.