Humbling the Spoiled Billionaire

by Stephanie Street

  “Carter as Jordan kissed Harley as Mila. This Carter just wants to kiss Harley.” He dipped his head, nuzzling his face into her neck.

  Harley groaned. “Well, then I think this Carter should just do it already.”

  Carter felt his body relax, as if a year’s worth of tension drained away. Dragging his lips along her jaw to her chin, Carter tasted her skin.

  “That’s what you think, huh?” he murmured, nipping at the corner of her lips.

  Instead of answering, Harley pressed her mouth to his and kissed him. Carter let her kiss him, accepting what she gave in the sweetest exchange they’d shared yet.

  “I really, really like the way you think,” he said when her lips lifted from his a few moments later.

  Harley grinned against his lips. “I want to go home.”

  “Okay, baby. I’ll take you home,” he said and began walking, her still in his arms.

  Harley laughed. “Carter! Put me down.”

  Looking into her eyes, Carter held her close, her feet still several inches above the ground. “Never.”

  Soon, Carter and Harley stood outside the elevator to their apartments. Carter’s heart had been about to beat out of his chest since she kissed him and he hoped he wasn’t wrong about what was happening between them.

  He hated what had happened with her mom. He hoped they’d be able to work things out in the future, but there was something seriously wrong with Missy. Carter planned to talk to Harley about getting the woman some professional help. She had been out of control when Carter found the two women outside Harley’s trailer. He had scratch marks that would likely leave scars.

  They’d worry about Missy later.

  For now, he was just happy to have Harley in his arms.

  “Have dinner with me?” he asked, his lips against her temple as he led her into the elevator.

  “It’s late.” She snuggled into the curve of his arm, and he knew she didn’t want to be away from him anymore than he wanted to leave her side.

  “I’ll make us something light. Sandwiches.”

  She smiled. “You’re going to make us dinner?”

  “Sure. I can cook. But sandwiches don’t require cooking.” She smelled so good, felt so good.

  “That’s true. I guess I have to see it to believe it, a billionaire who can make his own sandwiches.”

  Carter grinned at her playful dig. “Not just mine, yours, too.”

  Using his thumbprint, Carter started the elevator moving.

  With her body so close to his, Carter felt Harley tense ever so slightly. “I got you,” he whispered in her ear, settling both arms around her and holding her close to his chest.

  “It’s so silly,” she said softly. “I know it is. Nothing’s going to happ- Carter!” she screamed his name.

  Carter cursed under his breath.

  “Harley! Honey, Harley, stop screaming,” Carter held her as tightly as he could. “I’m here. I’m right here. It’s okay.”

  “Carter, the lights are off. Why are the lights off?” She sounded like she was drowning, her words coming out between great gulps of air.

  “I don’t know.” His heart raced. She’d scared him, her fear seeping into him. Carter fought for calm. He needed to reverse the flow, and give her peace.

  “It stopped. The elevator stopped.”

  “I know.” Carter breathed deeply. “I know, but we’re okay. I’m right here. I promise everything is going to be okay.”

  Carter let go of her with one arm so he could reach for his cell phone.

  “What are you doing?” She clawed at his arms and body.

  “Okay.” He put his arm around her again, holding her until her frantic movements stopped. “Baby, I’m going to get my phone. It’s in my pocket, but I need my hand to get it. Can I get my phone?”

  The elevator was silent except for the sound of their uneven breathing. Harley, because she was terrified out of her mind and Carter, because he had no idea how to help her.

  Finally, Harley nodded against his chest.

  “I’m going to let you go with one arm, so I can get my phone.”

  She nodded again, her body tense as though braced for impact. Carter slowly moved his hand to the front pocket of his pants and dug out his phone. He wrapped his arm around her again and turned on the flashlight on his phone with his hand behind her back. The stainless steel enclosure glowed with an eerie light.

  “Is that better?”

  One jerky nod.

  “Okay.” Carter breathed deeply. “Let me get a look at you.” He needed to see her face, needed to know what was going on. She said she didn’t like small spaces, not that she’d have a complete meltdown if she ever got stuck in one. Although, he supposed a lot of people would freak out if they got trapped in an elevator.

  Carter slid his hands up her arms, over her shoulders, to her neck, and onto her cheeks, reassuring himself as he touched her, that everything was fine. He’d been stuck in here before. They wouldn’t be in trapped for long.

  He tipped her face back and what he saw broke his heart into a million pieces. “Oh, Harley,” he murmured, unable to stop himself from pressing gentle kisses to her lips, her cheek, her forehead.

  “I’m scared of the dark, Carter.”

  His heart broke a little more. He kissed her lips again, applying at little more pressure, lingering just a little longer. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “Mama! Please! Let me out!” Harley banged on the closet door, her small fists throbbing from the repeated impact. When no one replied, she tried the knob again even though she knew it wouldn’t turn.

  “Mama!” Her throat burned from screaming. She was so thirsty. And hungry. And hot. The clothes hanging from the bar over her head brushed the top of her hair making it feel staticky. The floating strands touched her cheeks, sticking to the moisture from her sweat and tears.

  She had no idea how long she’d been in the closet in her mother’s bedroom. It felt like forever. At least a few episodes of her favorite cartoon, maybe even as long as a movie she’d watched with her brother, Nick. Harley wished Nick would come home, but he was at school. Harley was still too little to go to school. She hoped she could start going soon, then maybe Mama wouldn’t put her in the closet so much. Nick never had to go in the closet. Mama said it was because he was big enough to listen and not get into stuff when she wasn’t home.

  No matter how many times Harley promised to listen, her mama still locked her in the closet.

  Sliding down to the floor, she rested her head against the rough grain wood of the door. She wanted some water. Sometimes, Mama gave her a sippy cup before closing the door, but today, she forgot. And sometimes, Harley remembered to hide snacks behind Mama’s pretty shoes, but she already looked.

  Nothing.

  Sniffing back her tears, Harley closed her eyes. Next time, she hoped Mama would listen when she promised to be a good girl.

  “I can’t be in here, Carter.” Panic clawed at her throat worse than she’d felt in years. The light took the edge off and his gentle kisses helped, but she was afraid. “I’m so thirsty.”

  “Do you have water in your bag?” he asked, sounding so rational.

  She lifted her head from his chest. “My bag?”

  He nodded. “Your purse. Do you have a water bottle in there?”

  Her purse. Right. “I can’t see.”

  “I’ll shine the light for you.” With his hands on her shoulders, Carter put some space between their bodies and Harley immediately wanted to pull him back, but she was thirsty.

  It was just a reaction, the thirst. Small spaces, especially, small, dark spaces triggered memories best forgotten. Memories that turned her into a crazy person who couldn’t drink enough water.

  Carter shined the light from his phone so Harley could dig through the purse that hung from her shoulder. She couldn’t remember putting any water in it, but at this point she could barely remember h
er own name.

  “Here, can I help you?” Carter put his hand on hers, stilling her frantic movements.

  Harley pulled her hands away to clutch his side. She watched as Carter searched through the contents of her purse. Under normal circumstances, she’d be embarrassed for him to look through her personal things, but right then, she didn’t care. All she knew, she wouldn’t survive this experience without some water.

  “Look.” Carter held up a full water bottle.

  Harley sagged with relief. “Thank you.” She took it from him and hugged it to her chest.

  “I thought you were thirsty. Aren’t you going to drink some?” Carter asked, his brows pinched.

  “No.” She shook her head. “No. I just need to know it’s there.”

  Carter frowned, a hundred questions brewing in his eyes, but to his credit, he didn’t ask one.

  “Alright. C’mon, let’s sit down.”

  Harley nodded and sat down beside him. She curled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Carter started to put his arm around her, but hesitated.

  Selfishly, she scooted closer, she needed him and thankfully, he didn’t need anymore encouragement to hold her close.

  “How are we going to get out?”

  “An alarm goes off downstairs. Someone will alert the technician and he’ll come fix whatever’s wrong.”

  “This has happened before?”

  Carter sighed. “Not for a while now, but I have gotten stuck in here before. Don’t worry, though, it shouldn’t take any longer than an hour and we’ve already been in here for fifteen minutes.”

  Had it only been that long? Harley could have sworn it was hours already since the elevator stopped and the lights went out.

  “Harley?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I have to tell you something.”

  “What?”

  “My phone’s about to die. Do you have yours?”

  Her eyes stung. She shook her head. “It’s dead. I was going to charge it when I got upstairs.”

  Carter sighed. “I don’t know what’s up with the emergency lights. Harley, I need to turn off my phone. I don’t have service in this elevator, but just in case, I think we should save the battery.”

  Hot tears overflowed and rolled down her cheeks.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he promised. People made promises everyday. Meaningless words meant to reassure in the moment, but once said are soon forgotten.

  “Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” she whispered.

  Carter’s arms tightened. “I can keep this one. I’m turning off the light.”

  Harley closed her eyes tight as the elevator plunged back into darkness. She couldn’t see anything, hear anything.

  “Harley!” Carter’s voice sounded far away. Like from a tunnel. Had he left her alone in the dark? Her body was numb. She couldn’t feel Carter’s arms around her anymore. Her neck couldn’t hold her head.

  “Harley!” She could barely hear him that time. Why did he leave her? She felt like she was floating. It was so dark. She was afraid of the dark. Twenty-five years old and she still slept with the light on and food and water beside her bed.

  Just in case she woke up one morning and things were the way they used to be.

  Hands reached into her lap. She tried to push them away, but she was slipping.

  “Harley!” he shouted again and water splashed in her face.

  Water?

  “Carter,” she gasped.

  “Harley, you’re hyperventilating.” Someone, maybe Carter, lifted her under her arms. It was Carter. He set her in his lap and wrapped his hands around her middle.

  “Breathe with me. Breathe with me. Feel my chest move. In. Out. In. Out.” Harley breathed. Carter’s chest moved behind her.

  In. Out.

  In. Out.

  “That’s better. Keep breathing.” His lips brushed her hair.

  Maybe he didn’t leave her after all.

  Carter held Harley until her breathing evened out and he wasn’t worried about her fainting. She’d scared him half to death…again. His mind raced as fast as his heart. This wasn’t a normal reaction. It reminded him of post traumatic stress. Since he’d begun working with Homes for Warriors, Carter had taken an interest in some of the disabilities and conditions soldiers dealt with. Some were things you could see, but so many more were hidden beneath layers.

  On the surface, Harley seemed to have it all, but as Carter thought about it, the signs were there. The vulnerability. Insecurity that seemed so out of place for someone so beautiful and successful. What had happened to make her feel that way?

  Missy.

  “Talk to me, Carter. Please, just tell me something.”

  Carter wracked his brain for something to talk about, so he said the first stupid thing he could think of.

  “I’ve seen every one of your movies at least five hundred times.”

  Harley stilled. “There’s no way you could have seen them all that many times. You’d have to watch them more than once a day.”

  “Sometimes I do. When I’m working. I’ll take my laptop into my theater room and watch them while I look at spreadsheets.”

  “Why?”

  “Do you really have to ask that?” His lips touched hers. She shivered in his arms and her reaction made him dizzy with wanting her. “I’ve wanted you for a long time, Harley.”

  “How long?”

  Carter smiled against her lips. “What day is it?”

  Harley’s arms found their way around his back. “It’s today.”

  “I’ve wanted you for all the days.”

  “Kiss me again. Kiss me until we get out of here.”

  “I’ll kiss you forever if that’s what you want.”

  “Just start here, Carter.”

  And so, he did.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Is she all right now?” Chris asked. Carter called his brother as soon as he had Harley settled into her apartment. He held her, kissed her like she asked, until the technician got the elevator moving again and then he carried her into her room and straight into her bed. She’d clung to him until she fell asleep, which didn’t take long, still clutching her bottle of water.

  He stopped his pacing and stared at the beautiful woman sleeping in the bed before him and wondered the same thing as his brother. Was she all right?

  “I don’t know, man. She freaked out,” Carter whispered, afraid to wake her up and afraid to leave her. He planned to sleep on the sofa in her room. “I’ve never seen anyone so scared. I already talked to someone about checking the emergency lights and making sure we put some water in one of the panels.”

  “Do you want me to bring Oakley over to stay with her?” Chris offered.

  Carter ran his hands through his hair, considering. “No,” he sighed. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think I can leave her.”

  His reply gave Chris reason to pause. “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

  Carter thought about the events leading up to their arrival back at Bragg Enterprises and getting into the elevator. He’d been so happy, hopeful. Why did things have to go sideways?

  He glanced at Harley again before deciding to confide in his brother all that had happened. He stepped outside her room into the hall, leaving the door open so he could hear if she woke.

  “Yeah, and I hope you’re sitting down because you aren’t going to believe this.” Over the next twenty minutes, Carter told his brother everything. He even backtracked and admitted to kissing her the night of the Homes for Warriors gala a year ago. He told Chris about Harley running away from him and how he didn’t talk to her again until the night of Stephen Berg’s party. Carter detailed everything he knew about Brent and Missy and their schemes.

  Carter was glad his brother hadn’t come to the apartment. Chris raised his voice in outrage more than once on Harley’s behalf and would have surely woken her up if he’d been anywhere in the building.

&nb
sp; “I knew I should have punched the guy when I had a chance,” Chris muttered into the phone once Carter had revealed all.

  Carter snorted his agreement.

  “Yeah, well, I feel like one of us should have realized Harley was being manipulated. It never seemed right that she would be with that jerk. I’m beginning to think Brent was a victim of all this, however. He’s a jerk, but Missy used him, too.” He’d already told Chris about Missy and having to restrain her to keep her from attacking Harley.

  Chris sighed. “I don’t know much about Harley, but I don’t think she had it easy growing up. I know her mom’s her manager and she lives with Harley, but I also know her brother, Nick, won’t have anything to do with Missy at all. It’s created a rift between them and I get the feeling Harley’s been alone a lot. I mean, we’ve known her a year and I think we’re her closest friends. Us and Holt Fisher. But who did she have before us?”

  “I don’t know,” Carter murmured, wishing he had all the answers.

  “Look, we’ll get the elevator checked out. I’ll take care of it myself tomorrow as soon as I get to the office. I think I’ve gotten stuck in there once or twice. That’s a lot. Maybe there’s something wrong that’s being overlooked.”

  Carter grinned. “Those are words I never thought I’d hear come out of your mouth. Ever.”

  “What?”

  “‘When I get to the office.’ Isn’t that my line?” Carter peeked through the open door. Harley still lay fast asleep, her hands curled near her face. She looked like an angel.

  “Believe me, I never thought I’d be saying it, either, let alone doing it.”

  “Now, more than ever, I feel like I’m doing what I should be doing. It makes me sick to think what would have happened to Harley if I hadn’t shown up to shake things up.”

  Chris grunted. “Always gotta take credit for everything, bro.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “I know. Hey, I need to let you go, but Carter,” Chris paused.

  “Yeah?”

  “We’re here for you and for Harley. Let us know if she wants to come out and stay with us for a few days. I don’t know how you’re going to get her out of the building tomorrow if she won’t get in the elevator.”