"I was thinking maybe you’d take us to Cesare’s," my father said of my brother Hunter’s restaurant, as we sat at the table.
I shook my head. "He spies on people there."
My father looked up and arched a brow. "Spies?" Then he shook his head. "Hunter is out of the country now anyway."
"Yeah, but Noah might be there and he spies too."
Jess looked at me in intrigue. "Is there a reason you don't want to be spied on?"
I had one huge reason sitting right next to me, although since I told my father and my grandmother and especially Andi, it wasn't going to be long before Noah, Hunter and Ryan knew how I felt about Jess. Still, I didn't want to feel like any of my brothers were watching me.
"Actually, I chose this place because I remembered what fun we had in Mexico," I admitted.
She smiled as she looked down, and a pretty pink blush came to her face. The fact that she didn't look embarrassed or concerned about my father, suggested that he’d told her that I had let him know about us.
"Maybe it will be as good as that little restaurant we ate at near Playa del Carmen but without the crazy parrot," I said.
She laughed. "It wasn't just one parrot. It was a whole bunch of them flying loose. I was so afraid they’d poop in my food."
My father belted out a laugh. "Hmmm. Sounds like quite an adventure."
"It was a good time," Jess agreed.
I ordered margaritas for all of us, and they arrived looking even more delicious than I'd anticipated. Most of the time when I had a margarita it ended up looking like a slushy, but these look like the real deal.
"You know my son here likes to go off the beaten path, even if the road is harried. I suspect you found yourself in some unusual positions,” my father said.
I choked on my margarita, not because of the travel comment of my father's, but the one about positions. I'd only had one night with Jess, but we were definitely in a variety of positions before that night was over.
I chanced a look at Jess who was busy reading her menu. "It was nice having a friend there to see things I might not have normally seen."
Her statement took all the wind out of my sails. A friend? Even before we slept together, we’d been more than friends. At least I had. I had to wonder if maybe I was remembering the trip wrong or maybe my experience of it had been so different from hers. But no because that last night, during the times we were recovering from a spectacular orgasm, we did chat. Granted, it wasn't about our innermost thoughts and feelings, but we both shared how we wished we’d gone to bed together sooner on the trip. I pushed all that aside, and tried to focus on the woman that was in front of me now.
We ordered our dinner, and when it came, it looked fancy as one would expect from a nice restaurant in the United States, but I had to admit the food tasted nearly as good as the authentic food we had in Mexico. Jess must've thought so too because several bites she made moaning sounds that I heard straight down to my dick, since they were exactly like I remembered four years ago.
I put my attention on my food, working to keep my hard on down, as my dad told Jess how appreciative he was of her work, and how there had been a time he wondered if he'd be able to ever surf again. Now he knew that it wouldn't be long before he was back on the board.
"I can tell you that me and my brothers are extremely grateful to you. You’ve really helped him. Not just physically but emotionally as well."
Jess had a cheeky smile as she said, "Well, Alex has actually been a wonderful patient, except for the fact of the cookie hoarding."
We all had a good laugh at that.
Having my father here, I think, had made it easier for her, but of course it was frustrating for me. Yes, we were having a lovely conversation, but I wasn't feeling the connection like I had four years ago. Like I’d felt it the other day when I kissed her. It was killing me inside to think that what we once had was dead on her side.
But not the one to give up hope, I took what she was willing to give me. Right now, we were having a lovely dinner, some of it reminiscing about our time in Mexico and other times her telling me stories about my father's recovery. Then there were the embarrassing stories my father was telling her about me as a child.
I lifted my hand to hail the waitress and ordered another round of margaritas for us. If this was all I was going to get, I was going to make it last as long as possible, even if it meant suffering embarrassment.
10
Jess
This entire night felt like an indulgent luxury. The last time I ate out had been in a child's fast-food restaurant playground with Tanner. It wasn’t very often I had an uninterrupted adult conversation. In the evenings, I talked some with Reggie, but usually she had to finish up some of her work she didn’t get to during the day while watching Tanner. So, tonight was the first time in a long time that I had an extended adult conversation.
It didn’t hurt that one of my dates was Carter Strong. I was enjoying this dinner a great deal, but I couldn't deny that it was hard not to get caught up in the memories Carter kept bringing up, or pushing away all the warm feelings I would get as Alex would tell an adorable or hilarious story about Carter when he was growing up.
No one would question that Carter was a strong, fierce man. He was definitely the alpha hero from a romance novel. But remembering the man I’d met four years ago, and based on the stories his father told, and the fact that he had told his father about us, Carter also had a sensitivity to him that many men didn't have. Not sensitive in a way that suggested he was weak or overemotional. Instead, he was a man who was solid in his personhood, and didn't feel the need to hide his thoughts and feelings. He hadn't come right out and told me that he wanted to rekindle what we had, but I'd be an idiot to not have seen it in the way he kissed me or when he looked at me in my bathing suit.
In a perfect world, I would tell Carter about Tanner and he would be over the moon about it, and then he'd sweep us both off our feet and we'd go live one adventurous happily ever after. But things like that just didn't happen in real life. I'd known that HEAs were for novels for a long time. It was the reason we made the deal we did on the ship because in that week we lived the fairytale that didn't exist in the real world. And I had to remind myself now that the fairytale still didn't exist. Carter wanted to reignite a fantasy. But here in San Diego we had duties and obligations that would get in the way of that.
As the evening wore on, I found it harder and harder, though, to keep my heart from expanding with longing and emotion and I realized it was probably from the fact that I was finishing another margarita. I looked over at Carter, and noted that he had hardly touched his second margarita, so at least he was paying attention as the designated driver.
Inwardly, I chastised myself, for having the second large delicious frosted beverage. I had an occasional glass of wine, but I really didn't drink that much, so having a second margarita, which in all actuality was probably the equivalent of two margaritas, I could feel the alcohol going to my head.
I still felt a little fuzzy as the dinner ended and Carter ushered us out to his SUV to drive us back to Alex's home. I hoped that during the ride, my buzz would dissipate so that I could drive home from Alex's house.
When we arrived at Alex's house, Carter escorted his father inside the house but I said my goodbyes there. I walked over to my car and leaned against it as I realized I really probably shouldn't be driving. The only solution was for me to see if I could sleep in one of the guest rooms in Alex's home. I could ask Carter to give me a ride, but in my current state, it was dangerous because I could fairly easily jump him.
Apparently, I had been standing there for a long time because Carter exited the house and when he saw me, he came over.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
"I think maybe I should stay the night on Alex's couch or something.”
Carter studied me. "You don't seem drunk."
I shrugged. "I still don't feel completely there."
"Let
me give you a ride."
"That's not necessary, really," I said.
His expression turned annoyed. "Are you going to always say no to everything I offer you?"
I felt put on the spot, and rightly so. He was being nothing but sweet and kind, and I was pushing him away. I had a good reason for it, but he didn't know that reason and so I could see it was hurting his feelings. Knowing it would make me a bitch to refuse him, I agreed to his offer, and let him guide me back to his car.
On the ride to my house, I decided that if we talked about the stories Alex told about his childhood, it would help me keep my hormones and check. "That story about you being arrested naked on the beach was hilarious."
A smile came to his lips. "Yeah, well what my dad failed to mention, was that I was there with a girl, and my ex showed up and stole all our clothes while we were skinny-dipping in the ocean."
As it turned out, my strategy of distraction through childhood stories was failing because one, I was now thinking of Carter naked, and two, I was wanting to scratch out the eyes of the girl he'd been skinny-dipping with, and his ex.
We drove along the coastline a little further before I realized this wasn't the direction of my home. Then he turned, pulling off into an overlook. The moon was high and bright, and the road was quiet.
I looked at him as my nerves flittered, not from fear, but from anticipation of why we were here by ourselves.
Carter turned off the car and then undid his seatbelt. He turned his upper body toward me. "Look at the moon over the ocean."
I looked out the window to see the large bluish ball hanging over the water, casting a beautiful glow.
"It looks like that last night on the cruise,” he said.
He was right. The way the waves shimmered under the moonlight brought back that night in full form. All the yearning and sexual frustration filled my body. My nipples hardened and my prussy clamped tight as need roared through my body.
Carter took my hand and squeezed it. "I've had a lot of adventures in my life, Jess, but that week, that night with you, tops them all. It was the most magical night of my life."
I was an idiot to resist this man because I knew millions of women all over the world would die to have a man talk to them the way Carter talked to me. It would be so cruel of me to dismiss it like I'd been trying to do all night.
I looked down at my hand in his. "Me too,” I admitted, although I was unable to look him in the eyes when I did.
"Really? Because most every moment I've been around you, it seems like maybe you have forgotten."
My heart clenched and I felt guilty for making him think that.
"The truth is, Jess, there isn't a day that has gone by since then that I haven't thought of you in some form or another. Sometimes it's a memory of one of the walks we had, and sometimes it's that last night. I relive that night a lot."
My gaze jerked up to his, surprised at his candor, even though I knew this was the type of man he was. "A lot?"
He nodded with a sheepish grin. "The memory of you has gotten me through a lot of lonely nights."
How was it possible I'd be able to resist this man?
"I don't know why you are resistant to me just, but I'm a patient man, and I’ll wait for as long as it takes."
As it turned out, it didn't take him long. I gripped my fingers in his shirt and tugged him to me as I fused my lips to his.
Like Carter, I’d thought of him during lonely nights, and now he was here. In the flesh. Kissing me like I remembered.
“I want you,” he said in a desperate tone as his lips trailed along my jaw. “I want you so fucking bad.”
A woman could go her whole life and not have a man sound like he’d die if he couldn’t have her.
His lips were on mine again as his seat slid back and then he pulled me over him. The thought that I shouldn’t be doing this was quickly vanquished as my pussy rubbed over his hard length. Fire shot through my veins, and I quickly undid his belt as he pulled the panel of my panties aside and his fingers found my aching nub making me moan.
“You’re so wet. Fuck…I’m dying here, Jess.” He lifted his ass off the seat to push his pants down. His dick was finally free. It was as magnificent as I’d remembered.
His fingers drew down the zipper of my dress and pulled the sleeves down. “I need to see your tits, baby.” Pulling the cups of my bra down, he sucked on a nipple.
“Oh God,” I gasped as a shot of pleasure tore through me. I gripped his dick and sank over him.
“Yes…fuck yes, Jess…” he said, his hands gripping my hips.
There wasn’t foreplay or a slow ride to heaven. I bounced over him fast and furiously as I chased release.
“Christ you’re tight…fuck I’m going to come,” he said, slipping down in the seat a little bit so he could go deeper.
My fingers clenched his shoulders as I gave myself free reign to fuck him.
“Come on, Jess,” he said with a strained voice. He sucked my nipple again hard and shot me to the pinnacle and over.
“Yes…yes…” I chanted as my orgasm crashed through me.
11
Carter
Jesus fuck her pussy was like heaven. Tight. Hot. Wet. My only regret was that we were in my SUV. I’d have done anything to have her laid out in my bed where I could eat her out until she was a withering mess. Then I’d fuck her slow, fast, and every speed in between until I convinced her to give us a try.
“Yes baby…come on me…come on me…” I said through gritted teeth as I waited for her to fully enjoy her orgasm. Her fingers dug in my shoulders as she rode me, her tits bouncing in front of my face. It was fucking awesome. I would have liked to have stayed like this all night, but my dick reached its limit. She came down, and I shot off like a rocket.
“Yes, fuck…” I growled as my orgasm slammed into me. My hips buck up and up as she continued to ride me and I filled her sweet pussy. I had a moment to worry that once again I hadn’t used a condom with her. I hadn’t the last time either. Because she hadn’t said anything, I figured she’d been on the pill. Still, it wasn’t like me to forget. Although, this was Jess. It seemed wrong to put a barrier between us when making love.
Eventually we both stopped moving except for taking in deep breaths. I wanted to quickly recover because I had so many things I wanted to say to her. Just when I got my breath back under control and I was opening my mouth to tell her all my hopes and dreams for us, she jerked back. Her expression was one of horror and she quickly scrambled off of me and back into her seat.
Immediately I clamped my mouth shut as disappointment replaced the spectacular feelings I’d just had a moment before.
"I can't believe that just happened," she said.
I wanted to respond, but I was not quite sure what I could say. I sure as hell wasn’t going to apologize.
"I need to get home,” she said looking out the window.
I straightened my clothing and then turned on the car. "Sure… Okay…" There was a part of me that was angry at her. I mean what the fuck! She was as much into me as I had been into her, and now all of a sudden she wasn't just withdrawing, but she seemed angry at me too.
I pulled out onto the road and headed back to her place, per her instructions. The quiet hung heavy between us and I hated that as well.
"Look, I know you're worried about your job, but it won't be a problem,” I said, trying to salvage this. “And if it were, I could get you a new job."
Her head swiveled around to look at me, and there was heat in her eyes. "I like my job and I don't need you to give me a job or a car or anything else."
Apparently, I screwed that up as well. Perhaps acting like a Savior to all her problems wasn't the best idea. I knew even four years ago that Jess was an independent woman. At the same time, I wasn’t a monster. I didn’t deserve to be treated like this. At the very least she could tell me what the fuck was going on. The fact that we just had sex, suggested that she felt something between us, but for so
me reason she didn't want to.
"It would be a big help to me if you would tell me why it is that you feel the need to treat me like shit." That probably wasn't the right way to ask it, but I was tired of walking on eggshells around her.
“I told you that I didn't want to do any of this, and I just ended up having sex."
"First, you kissed me. Second, you never told me that you didn't want to see me, you just said you worried about my dad, who, by the way, doesn’t have a problem with us. What you haven’t told me is why you are so resistant to me. You don't mind Noah pretending to hit on you. And I know that you are quite amiable with my brothers. But for some reason with me, you treat me like I'm a jerk."
"I told you that I didn't want to risk my job,"
"And I'm telling you your job isn't risked. So, what is the real reason?"
I pulled up in front of a little bungalow that had the house number she’d given me, and parked the car.
"I don't have to explain anything to you, Carter. I'm sorry the way things turned out.”
Jesus, she really knew how to hit a man where it hurt. I looked at her closely. She looked like Jess, but she was nothing like the woman I’d fallen head over heels for.
“I really shouldn't have had sex with you, and I regret that I've now hurt your feelings. But I've been pretty clear since the beginning that Mexico is in our rearview mirror." She opened the door, stepping out and shutting it before I could respond.
I watched her walk up the sidewalk and into the front door. I considered getting out and following her because it seemed like there was so much more to say. At least, I had things to say and there were certainly still things I wanted to learn, but it was clear that she didn't want to talk about it. So, I put the car in gear, and I headed towards home.
Wrong to Love You: Strong Brothers Book 3 Page 6
