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“Hmmm… maybe you do have a concussion,” she murmurs, trying to use humor to get out of this. But I shake my head.
“No. I’m serious, Cat. Don’t brush me off. I am this close to ripping these fucking clothes off you and showing you exactly what I mean,” I growl out.
I hear her gasp. “Carter—” she starts, looking at me wide-eyed, but I cut her off.
“I’m dead serious. No one is to talk to you like that, not even yourself. You are strong and beautiful and kind and fucking classy as shit. I have no idea how this”—I point between her and me—“is ever going to work, but the need to be around you, it’s all I can think about. To have you screaming my name over and over again… it’s fucking leaving me harder than I have ever been.” I grit out every word, and I’m made aware all over again just how fucked I am.
She is standing still, her eyes remaining wide with surprise. Just as she’s about to say something, Benji barges in.
“Carter, we’ve got a problem with the—” Benji says, looking at some paperwork and not at us so he has no fucking idea that he is interrupting.
“Benji!” I bark at him, and I don’t miss Cat jumping at my tone. I internally cringe. Benji stops mid-stride and looks between her and I.
“Shit, sorry,” he mutters before turning around and walking back out the door.
Cat takes that moment to stride away from me and back to the table holding her medical kit, and starts packing up. Creating distance between us that I just don’t like.
I slip off the bed and walk to her.
“Carter, I need to go. I have to pick Ivy up from school.” Her eyes won’t meet mine.
“Hey…” I grab her hands from the bag, turning her to look at me. “Don’t be scared of me. I will never hurt you.”
“I’m not scared of you, Carter,” she whispers as she pulls her hands away and zips up her bag. “I’m scared of what I feel when I am with you.” Then she’s turning on her heel and walking out the door.
A grin comes to my face as I watch her leave.
I’m not the only one who feels this connection.
16
Catherine
As Maggie and I walk into the gym for our second class, I see Benji at the front desk again. However, instead of running away to his buddy this time, he actually greets us with a smile.
“Ladies, welcome back!” he says, his voice full of energy. He really is like a totally different person than the one I met weeks ago. It almost feels like we’re friends now.
“Thanks, Benji. This is my sister, Maggie,” I say, formally introducing them, and he nods to her with a smile.
“And this is Ivy!” I state with pride, gripping my daughter’s hand tight in mine. She wanted to hang with us tonight, and I know she would find this class interesting. It’s a good opportunity for her to see women being strong and independent.
“Great to meet you both.” His smile is extra wide for my daughter, which I appreciate.
“You need to follow me,” he says, and Maggie and I look at each other, confused. It took me all afternoon to get my nerves in check. After the last encounter with Carter, I am not sure what will happen tonight if I see him. But I really want to. The feeling of his hands on my body has been in my dreams for days.
“What for? Are we meant to be in a different class?” Maggie asks as we all start following Benji toward the back of the gym.
“Yeah, well, kind of. A special class is a better way of explaining it.” He leads us to the back of the massive gym to a door I haven’t seen yet. When he opens it, we all walk in, and my eyes widen in surprise.
It is another space, completely empty of people, but full of state-of-the-art equipment. It has a large boxing ring in the middle of the room, mats over on one side, a weight room, mirrors, punching bags, everything that is in the front room, although this space looks a little newer, fresher and more professional. Maggie and I look around in awe, having never seen anything like this before.
“This is Carter’s private area. You will both be taking self-defense with him tonight,” Benji says, as my head snaps back to him.
“What?” My jaw would fall off my face if I didn’t have to keep it together in front of my daughter.
I practically bolted from him a few days ago, and I still haven’t been able to reconcile the feelings he brought out in me. And now, he’ll be the one I’m face to face with, in close contact with...
“He will be here in a minute. He is finishing a call with New York,” Benji says, looking at me knowingly, then glancing at Ivy and back to me. I need to take a breath to steady my nerves. The mob. He is part of the mob. I need to remind myself of that fact because it keeps slipping from my mind. Of course, he would be talking to them, of course I am now involved on a personal level with one of the head mobsters of New York. It can all only happen to me. What the hell am I doing?
