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She didn’t want to argue. She also didn’t want to be in conflict, at least not tonight. “I’m not angry with you either. I wished you could have been there. Wanted you to be, but I’m mature enough to know that it wasn’t our time and place.”
His eyes met hers and turned stormy. “What if it’s not our time and place now either?”
“I don’t give a damn about that anymore. I settled once, or at least I tried to. I’m not going to do that again. So unless you’re telling me that you don’t want this to work, we can figure it out. But if you decide you don’t want to try, you won’t get another chance, Carter.”
His eyes shifted, becoming stormier. However, Carter’s response was a smile. A sinfully slow and dangerous smile that pierced her heart and settled into the pit of her stomach. He was daring McKenna, challenging her, demanding that she understand his position since she had stated hers. She would never be free of having Carter in her life. He wouldn’t allow his total absence to be an option.
The realization caused concern and fear at the same time.
When he stood and reached for the covers, she grabbed them, prompting Carter’s low rasp. “I just want to be close to you for a little while. Whatever you’re thinking, don’t. Just let me have this, Kenni. I don’t care about the things you’re worrying about.”
Sex would complicate their complex situation. She wasn’t ready for those lines to be any more blurred than they already were. They needed to talk about what was happening between them, about the threat on her life, what her world would look like being with Carter.
“Fine.” She inched closer to the center of the bed then felt Carter settle behind her. The heat of his body, the smell of him, and the reminders of those three days were overwhelming. His hand moved to McKenna’s hip and slowly eased down her thigh. The other he shoved under the pillow and cradled his chin in the curve of her neck.
“You’re too comfortable,” she whispered.
The vibration of his laugh soothed her spirit. “You’re mine, Kenni, why wouldn’t I be?” The room fell quiet until he spoke again. “Why did you give him another chance?”
Tevin.
I was lonely and thought he could help me forget. He didn’t.
“There’s only one you. If I couldn’t have you then I had to figure out how to be happy without you. It didn’t matter who the person was because it wasn’t who I wanted. I tried, it didn’t work.”
“You wanted to be happy with him?”
“No, I wanted to be happy…”
With you…
After another round of silence, she asked another question that had been weighing heavy on her mind.
“Where did you go tonight?”
Silence.
“I’m not telling you that.”
“I’m here, Carter. Don’t I deserve to know what’s going on?”
“You do, and we’ll discuss everything at some point. Just not tonight. Go to sleep, Kenni.”
“We need to?—”
“Not tonight.” The pressure of his hand on her thigh increased and the pads of his fingers massaged the area. Another way he soothed something in her spirit.
“We have to talk.”
“We will.” The low rasp of his voice was followed by the warmth of his lips against McKenna’s neck. She had Carter in her life again and this time his presence was connected to expectations she wasn’t sure he had the capability to meet.
The next morning, McKenna woke up centered in Carter’s massive king sized bed. His scent lingered but she was physically alone. The thick, plush bedding was comforting but paled in comparison to the warmth of his body at her back and the weight of his arms around her waist.
After a deep inhale, reveling in the reminder that she was in his bed and he had been there while she slept, McKenna sat up and rubbed her face, slowly taking in her surroundings. The room was quiet, which felt calming and unnerving at the same time. Her thoughts kept drifting to Carter but were interrupted by the reminder of why she’d slept in his bed last night.
You fuck with me, I fuck with you. Let this go Carter or it doesn’t end well for you or her.
The text from last night was still heavy on her mind. McKenna climbed out of bed and made her way down the hall to the room she had been offered for a temporary stay, heading straight for the bathroom. Once she was refreshed, she changed into comfortable clothes—shorts, cozy socks, and a thin, oversized, long sleeved tee—and went to search for the man of the hour.
