by C. M. Albert
“It was hard some days,” he said, looking out at the water rolling in, and then being gently pulled back out by the tide. Large sand dunes separated the house from the water, but from our height, nothing obstructed our view. And, honestly, my eyes weren’t fixed on the same spot as Carter’s because I couldn’t take my mind off the handsome man sitting across from me.
“How come?” I asked gently. We’d had such different experiences here. I never thought about how much until now.
“Pres, you know we didn’t have a lot. Yeah, The Grove paid my dad far more than he would’ve earned elsewhere without a college education. And I am grateful for the unusual lifestyle I had growing up on a resort island. But I still had to cross the bridge and go to school with the locals. And I never fit in, really. To the visitors, I was just an island kid. But to the local kids, I was an outcast because I wasn’t around enough outside of school. I always had to come back here to help.”
“I’m sorry, Carter.”
“I’m not asking for your pity, Presley. I’m simply answering your question honestly.” He took another long pull from his beer.
“You had plenty of friends, though, it seemed like.”
“I had a few,” he said, “but my life was mostly helping dad out here.”
“Is that why you wanted to join the military after college?”
Carter laughed. “I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of here. Not that it’s not beautiful,” he said, sweeping his hand at the view before us. “But this wasn’t exactly how I grew up.”
“But you can afford this lifestyle now,” I said.
“Is this an interview question or a you question?”
Ouch. “I was asking because I’m trying to get to know you better, Carter.”
He took another impressive sip, finishing off his beer. Then he stood, stretching his arms into the night air. “I’m gonna go grab another beer. You want anything?”
I could tell he’d shut down, but I didn’t understand why. “No thanks. I think I’m just going to get some sleep if that’s okay. I’m exhausted.”
Carter nodded. I half expected him to make a comment about why I was so tired and maybe offer to help me fall asleep. Disappointment flooded over me when he sauntered back into the kitchen alone and pulled open the refrigerator door. I stood, too, looking out at the calm water. It was so quiet here—something I never experienced back in New York. It’s not called “the city that never sleeps” for nothing.
Tomorrow I would get up early and walk along the shoreline, looking for seashells. It was something my father and I used to love doing. Lauren wouldn’t come out of their bedroom suite until almost eleven each day, and by then she was pulled together and looked country club fabulous. Meanwhile, my dad and I had already been out shell hunting, swimming in the pool, and bike riding. We’d be hot and sweaty. She always let him wrap her in a wet hug, though, and kiss her on the neck. It was the same greeting almost every morning.
But I felt like I got the best part of him every day. It was our special time together, and something I looked forward to all year long. The summer after dad died, Lauren and I tried to come here alone, and it ended up being a disaster. Instead of coming out of her suite by eleven, I wouldn’t see her until almost three. Dinner at the club was lonely without dad. I could tell the staff who had known and liked him felt pity for us as we ate alone, not talking. It just wasn’t the same without his light to hold us together.
A shooting star flashed across the sky over the ocean right in front of me, and I smiled, closing my eyes and making a wish for Carter’s dad.
I was so glad we weren’t staying at the resort, after all. Being out here—well, maybe I could breathe and focus on my job. And maybe, just maybe, not drown in the memories of my father while we were here.
I looked back over my shoulder and Carter was nowhere to be seen. Yeah. I needed to pull my shit together and remember why I was here in the first place.
I locked the French doors to the back patio, then turned off the lights downstairs before heading to my bedroom. I was surprised that Carter had given me my own room while we were here. But, suddenly, I was grateful. It was too soon to be spending every night together. If I’d been in his bed, there would be no rest for the wicked. Carter was like a drug, and I was scared I wouldn’t know what to do when I couldn’t get my next hit. Or that, after Carter, everything else would feel like taking a Tylenol when what I really needed was something much stronger.
And worst of all?
I was already craving my next high.
Carter, meanwhile, was nowhere to be found, and I had no idea what I’d done to close him up like that. I tossed and turned all night long, barely sleeping a wink. Finally, like the desperate junkie I was becoming, I snuck out of my room and went in search of my fix.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Carter
I WAS DREAMING of Presley. She was sun-kissed, standing in a small, coral bikini facing the water. Only it wasn’t her today—it was Presley at thirteen. I’d been surfing all day, and the boys had gone home already. I was dragging my board back down the beach to get to the spot where we always stashed our things. That’s where Presley was, her eyes shifting from the water to me as I drew closer.
“What do you want, brat?” I said, not sure why I felt the need to ruin her peaceful moment. Only, she didn’t belong here. This wasn’t where resort guests normally swam. It was behind our house and all the maintenance buildings on the backside of the golf course. “Don’t you have a dance to get to?”
The dance was a stupid, end-of-summer tradition. All the kids loved it because locals usually came. And it was one night when they could be completely free, with no parents looking over their shoulders. Resort staff chaperoned the dance, so dad always made me show up for a little bit of it. But this year, I refused. I was heading off to college in a couple of weeks. He couldn’t make me do that kind of bullshit anymore.
Presley shook her head. That’s when I noticed a tear sliding down her cheek. I dropped my board and pulled on a long-sleeve T-shirt. The sun was setting, and it was cooling off by the water. “Why the long face?”
She bit her bottom lip, crossing her arms over her nonexistent chest. Well, I couldn’t say nonexistent anymore. She’d started to fill out since last summer, but I felt like a perv for even noticing.
“My dad,” she said, then plopped down onto the sand, her head falling to her bent knees. Her whole body shook as she cried, and I had not one clue how to comfort her.
“Is he . . . okay?” I asked, sitting beside her. I glanced down the beach, making sure my friends were long gone. I’d never hear the end of it if they caught me with Presley. She made it well known that she was mooning over me all summer—even though her bratty behavior would say otherwise. We’d all caught the way she looked at me sometimes. But she was just a kid, and there was no way I was touching that—no matter what lewd things my friends suggested.
She shook her head. “No. I think he’s going to die. I overheard him talking to Lauren today when they thought I was at the pool.”
Oh, fuck.
“Man,” I said, running my hand in the sand in front of me, “that sucks.”
“You think?” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She looked directly at me, and I noticed for the first time that her eyes were green. She still had braces on, though, and her hair was pulled back into a long French braid that hung down her scrawny back.
“Hey, look,” I said, knowing I would regret this later, “I wasn’t going to go to the dance tonight, but maybe I could go with you to get your mind off your dad. You know—as friends.”
She squinted at me, suspicious, before standing and brushing the sand from her legs. “Really, Carter?”
What did I say wrong?
I stood up and almost laughed when Presley put her hands on her hips and glared at me—like the child t
hat she was.
“Never mind, princess. I was just trying to do you a favor.”
There was ice in her eyes as she glared at me. They softened for just a fraction of a second, though, as I studied her. Maybe she was going through puberty and was just overly hormonal.
“I have no desire to hang around a bunch of little kids and sweat all night. But if you really want to do me a favor, I have a different one I’d like to ask.”
Little kids, huh?
“And what’s that?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. I didn’t know how she wasn’t cold by now. That’s when I noticed the goose bumps racing up her thin arms. I pulled off my T-shirt and tossed it to her. “Put this on.”
“Thanks,” she said, tugging it over her head. The sleeves dangled past her hands it was so big on her.
“What?” I finally spit out. “What favor could you possibly ask me that I’d actually do?”
She lowered her eyes to the sand, and I knew that I was in trouble. She took a deep breath. I watched as her chest rose and fell as she gathered the courage to ask me whatever was on her mind.
My subconscious knew what was coming in my dream because I’d already lived it once.
“I want you to kiss me,” she finally said, looking up at me.
I didn’t even know what to say to her. Her green eyes were filled with vulnerability and hope. And I’d be the one to crush it. There was no way I could kiss Presley Kincaid—not in a million years. I couldn’t because of who her father was and his relationship to my dad’s boss. I couldn’t because, secretly, I tossed off almost daily while thinking about her stepmom’s large, round tits.
But most of all, I couldn’t because—fuck!—Presley was only thirteen. No matter how horny I was, it was a line I wouldn’t cross. I was going to college this year, and she was going into the eighth grade. Yeah, some guys might’ve done it. But I wasn’t some guys. And Presley wasn’t just some girl I’d never see again. If I came home for breaks, I’d have to face her and her dad next summer. That is—unless what she said was true.
I shook my head, trying to figure out how to let her down easy. Presley didn’t seem like the kind of girl who fooled around at thirteen. In fact, she was usually out shelling with her dad, skimboarding the waves, and giggling with her friends as they ate popsicles by the pool, playing stupid, babyish games like Marco Polo.
“Why me?” I asked.
“Because, Carter, I may not be back again after this summer if it’s true. And, I’m pissed, okay? I’m pissed that they’re keeping something from me. And that I can’t do a damn thing about it.” Her chest was heaving now.
“I’ve never been kissed before, okay?” she admitted. “And I just—I don’t know,” she said, twisting my sleeves into her palms. “I feel like I can trust you. You know, with something like that.”
Shit! I ran my hand through my hair, feeling like a dick.
“I can’t, Presley.”
“Why not?” she demanded, taking a step toward me. “Your stupid friends aren’t here. No one will know, and your cool reputation won’t be ruined because of me. I just—please, Carter?”
I shook my head no again, but I felt a sexual pull in my dream that I didn’t have as a teenager while turning her down. When I glanced back at her, her breasts were larger. She ran her tongue over her top lip and batted those big, green eyes up at me.
“Carter?” she whispered.
I wanted to. God, did I want to now. What was happening to me? My dick swelled under my surf shorts, making them uncomfortably tight. Presley reached down and stroked my cock, and I groaned. I shouldn’t be doing this, I thought.
Then, teenage Presley stood on her tiptoes and brushed her lips across mine. It wasn’t so bad. It was kind of nice, actually. I looked down at her, and the sadness was still in her eyes, but now they were blazing with lust too. How did she know what lust was?
Fuck it.
I reached my hand down and wrapped it under her hair and cupped the back of her neck. She whimpered, pressing her tight, little body up against me. “Is this what you wanted, princess?” I asked, my other hand cupping her breast. It had grown considerably and was now a nice handful. Her nipple was rock hard, and I ached to wrap my mouth around it.
“Yes,” she breathed out. “Oh god, Carter. Yes!”
The images were blurring between Presley then and Presley now.
Warm lips parted mine, pulling me from my twisted dream. Presley had crawled into my bed at some point and was now in my arms, kissing me back. I knew I wasn’t still dreaming, but it sure felt like I was. I pushed images of younger Presley out of my mind and blinked a few times, trying to wake up more fully.
“Sorry,” I said, groggily. “I had the weirdest dream.”
“I’m not,” she said, huskily. “You woke me with the hottest, most urgent kiss.”
“I did?”
“Mmm-hmm,” she said, nuzzling even closer. She suckled my lower lip, tugging at it, as she pressed against me. Then her mouth left mine, and she made her way down my chest and under the covers, leaving a trail of kisses along the way
The sensation of her warm, wet mouth flicking the head of my cock and then swallowing me into her throat was enough to confirm I was, in fact, wide awake now and no longer dreaming. I palmed her soft, blond hair, buried somewhere under my comforter, and closed my eyes. I knew I should stop her, pull her up so I could give her pleasure in return, but her mouth was like a fucking beacon, and my dick was happy finding its way home. Her hands cupped my balls, just as they were tightening. I knew I wouldn’t last. I had to pull her up.
“Presley,” I ground out between clenched teeth. I was about to explode. “Get your sweet ass up here.”
“I want to taste you, Carter,” she said, sucking me all the way in and running her tongue up and down my shaft.
I couldn’t have stopped myself if I tried. I arched my hips up, and after a couple frenzied thrusts, my body spasmed as my cock constricted and then released. I was still holding onto Presley’s hair, and she never lifted her head as she drank me in. It was the things dreams are made of, but this time, thank god, I was wide awake. Presley slowly made her way back up when I was done, my legs shaking from the torrent of my orgasm.
“Jesus, that was hot as fuck,” I said, pulling her into my arms. I kissed her lips, tasting myself on there and causing my dick to flex again. Damn that was fast.
“I’m glad you liked it,” she said, suddenly yawning.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?” I asked, my voice still husky from sleep. I couldn’t figure out how or when she’d crawled into my bed. Especially after how I’d treated her earlier. I’d been an ass, and I knew I had to apologize.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she said, her eyes closed. She snuggled into my chest deeper and spooned into me. “All I could think about was you.”
“I’m so sorry about earlier, Presley,” I said, whispering it into her hair as I cradled her in my arms.
She mumbled something incoherent about me being a drug as her arm softened across my chest as she fell asleep. I stroked her hair softly and watched as she sunk deeper into a heavy slumber. Only when I was sure she was out hard did I close my own eyes, falling back into a blissful dreamland where adult Presley was begging me for a kiss again.
This time, I gave it to her. I gave her everything I had.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Presley
“DO YOU WANT me to come with you?” I asked Carter the next morning. Well, mid-afternoon, actually—because we’d spent all morning checking off spots on what I now referred to as my “Down and Dirty” list, thanks to Carter giving it a name. Then we showered and grabbed a quick bite to eat before he needed to scoot to the hospital.
“If it’s okay, I think I’d like to go alone. It’s been a couple years since I’ve seen my dad. And I have no idea what kind of
shape he’ll be in or if he’ll want visitors. Why don’t you hang out by the pool or something? Relax.”
“Well, because technically this is a work trip for me, Carter.”
“True, true. But you can’t exactly interview me until I get home, right? So, why not make the most of your day? When was the last time you took time off? Loosened up?”
“You think I need to loosen up?”
Carter stared at me as if his eyes alone were saying, “Duh!”
“Fine!” I said, throwing my hands up in the air. I put the cream cheese back in the fridge and turned to say goodbye to Carter. I watched his back as he scooped up his wallet and keys from the entry table. I still couldn’t believe the guy I’d embarrassed myself with on this very island was standing here with me now—a full-fledged man. A hottie at that. I needed to figure out a way to write this article in an unbiased way, and I was afraid the more I slept with Carter, the harder that would be.
“See ya later, princess,” he said with a disarming grin before stepping into the elevator.
I stood there, not sure what to do with myself. I wandered around the house, checking out the other rooms we hadn’t explored yet. For an architecture lover, Dex’s beach house was like a wet dream. It was mostly a traditional-style home inside, though the kitchen was open to the great room and dining room. And you could see the ocean from the entire bottom floor. There seemed to be no bad view from this house.
I explored the other two bedrooms on the second floor that Carter and I weren’t using. Then I made my way up to the third floor, where there were four more—along with a library/office combo and access to a small, sky-viewing porch with a railing. It was only big enough for a couple of lounge chairs, but the view from up here at night must be breathtaking. I wondered if Carter knew about it. I couldn’t wait to share it with him. Gazing up at the night sky together sounded like heaven to me, and I knew it was one of Carter’s favorite things to do.
