by Melody Anne
“. . . about four years while going to school. I just do it as a hobby now.” He looked at her expectantly. She had no idea what he’d been saying.
“Four years what?” she asked, wiping her forehead, probably adding more grime to her already coated skin.
“My dad owns a construction company I worked for while going to school. It wasn’t anything I wanted to do for the rest of my life, but I sometimes miss swinging a hammer. I’m in town for a couple months with my uncle, who’s recovering from hip surgery, and Eileen has been like a surrogate aunt to me my entire life. She said you needed help. I thought I’d offer it,” he told her. There was a sparkle in his eyes she should have been mesmerized by.
“I can’t really afford much . . .” she said, hating to admit that, but needing to tell him.
Though Jenna had never been wealthy, she’d been around wealth, and she knew his shoes cost more than most people’s mortgage payments. The watch he was wearing also wasn’t something he’d picked up at a mall. The man had money.
“I’m just offering my help. No charge. It will get me out of the house for a few hours to break a sweat,” Chaz said.
Before she could respond, the front door opened and Jenna looked over as Carter walked into the room. He was smiling for all of two seconds, and then his gaze zoomed in on Chaz and the three ladies. His eyes narrowed and he quickly walked up to Jenna’s side and put his arm around her.
“Chaz Stratton, it’s been a long time,” Carter said, holding out a hand.
The two men eyed each other and then Chaz laughed as he took a step back.
“Carter. I had no idea,” Chaz said and grinned. Carter visibly relaxed next to her.
“Now you know,” Carter told him. “Want a beer?”
“Sure.”
The two men walked away. Jenna was left standing there wondering what the heck had just happened. When she glanced back at the meddlesome three, they were all grinning at her.
“That was certainly informative,” Eileen said with a chuckle.
“The room certainly heated up,” Bethel added.
“Oh yes, well worth the trip,” Maggie put in.
“What in the world is going on?” Jenna asked, seeming to be the only one out of the loop.
“That’s quite obvious, Jenna. Carter was staking his claim,” Bethel said with a smile.
“What?” Jenna gasped before looking between them again. “His claim? He has no claim on me. That doesn’t even make sense.” She was scared and agitated all at the same time.
“Well, he sure let Chaz know quickly that you’re taken,” Maggie told her.
“He’s only here for a week and then he’s going back to the big bad city,” Jenna said in a fierce whisper.
“I have a feeling he won’t be going far,” Eileen told her.
“Don’t start thinking there’s something more going on here than there is,” Jenna said.
“It’s okay, sweetie. Sometimes we just don’t realize what’s right in front of us,” Eileen told her as she moved next to Jenna to pat her arm.
Jenna tuned out the rest of their comments as they spoke among themselves. She was trying to let Carter go, not hold on to hope that something could become of their short time together. The three ladies were making that very hard for her to do.
twelve
A day later, Jenna still had nothing worked out in her spinning head when they arrived late at the Whitman mansion for the Christmas party. It was already in full swing when Jenna and Carter walked in. They were greeted by Martin, who appeared to have drunk a bit too much of his own eggnog.
“I’m so glad you accepted my invitation, Jenna. I’ve stopped out at the inn a few times, but you haven’t been there. I’m thrilled you’re back home. We must share tea together when there aren’t quite so many people around,” he said with a laugh before pulling her into his arms.
Jenna blushed at the warm welcome. She’d always liked Martin. He was a good man with a heart bigger than the size of Texas. She’d missed him over the years.
“Thank you for having me, Mr. Whitman. It’s a bit more festive here than over at the inn,” she said when he finally released her.
“Well, there are spirits and food down the hall. Help yourself and mingle with your old friends,” he said as another couple stepped through the doors and Martin approached them.
She and Carter walked into the room, and Jenna wanted to step back out. There were a couple hundred people there, dressed in their favorite Christmas dresses and suits.
Mistletoe hung from various places, and she saw a teenage couple making out beneath one sprig in the corner before the girl’s mother caught her and dragged her away. The boy looked love-struck as he leaned against the wall before his friends walked up, obviously teasing him about it. He blushed, but then his eyes trailed after the girl.
The sight made tears come to Jenna’s eyes. At one time that had been her and Carter. She remembered well coming to many of Martin’s parties and rushing off to some private corner to make out with Carter.
Sure, they could do that tonight, but it wasn’t the same. Back then they’d been a couple in love. Now they were bedmates and nothing more. Time had surely changed things, and not for the better, she thought.
She moved quickly toward the eggnog. She needed a nice big glass to settle her nerves. Carter followed, and there was a question in his eyes she didn’t know how to answer. But Michael walked up and saved her.
“It’s so good to see you again, Jenna,” he greeted before pulling her to him in a warm embrace.
“That’s long enough,” Carter grumbled, and Michael pulled back and looked at his best friend as he laughed.
“Message received,” Michael said before he winked at Jenna. “But if you don’t hold on, then good things can be snatched away.”
Carter growled at his best friend and Jenna took a long pull of her eggnog. She never had understood the secret meaning behind men’s words.
“What was that all about?” she asked him.
“Nothing,” he told her sharply.
“You’re in a mood,” she said, and then walked away. If he wanted to keep their little affair a secret, she wasn’t going to fight him about it.
Being at the Whitman ranch was bringing back a lot of memories for her, and though she felt out of place, it was kind of nice, too. She wondered if she really could make a go of the inn and find a home for herself once more.
The more eggnog she drank, the more confident she became. Carter would leave and it would hurt, there was no doubt about it, but she had a couple days left, and then she’d begin the healing process and start her new life. It began by mixing and mingling.
She refused to look through the crowd for Carter, and she even found herself laughing with old friends, making it seem like only weeks since she’d been home, not years. This was truly going to work for her.
Even though she grew more relaxed as the evening progressed, Jenna knew the second Carter came to stand behind her. He didn’t make a sound, but she could feel his presence, smell his unique scent, and her body came right back to life, even though she hadn’t realized her senses had been dulled by his distance.
Before she could decide if she wanted to scurry away or not, his hands wrapped around her, his face nuzzling into her neck.
“It’s getting late. I want to have a dance before we leave,” he whispered in her ear before kissing it lightly.
A shudder passed through her, and there was no chance of her pulling away. Without another word, he led her outside to the barely lit but heated patio, where a band was performing a love song, and then he whirled her around so she was locked tightly in his embrace.
It was right where she’d wanted to be the entire night.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, the words barely loud enough for her to hear.
“For what?” she asked.
He was holding her so tightly she wasn’t able to lean back and look into his face. She wanted to see his eyes, but h
e obviously didn’t want her to. “I’m just sorry.”
Jenna stopped moving as he held her in the middle of the dance floor. Her eyes pricked with tears as she fought them back. A deep sense of sadness filtered through her. She wasn’t sure why. Was it dread? It didn’t matter. She could walk away from him now and then always wonder whether there could have been more, or she could just let the night lead where it naturally was heading.
She snuggled in deeper against him as she raised her face and kissed his neck.
“Take me home.”
She didn’t need to say more.
thirteen
Jenna was nervous but she didn’t know why. She could try to blame it on the eggnog she’d been drinking, but she knew that wasn’t what it was. She stood looking out her balcony doors while Carter stoked the fire, adding more wood and getting the room nice and toasty.
It felt like good-bye. But he wasn’t supposed to leave for a couple more days so she didn’t understand the melancholy she was feeling. Even if it were good-bye, it wasn’t a surprise. They’d both agreed this was a no-strings-attached affair. She wouldn’t renege on that deal. But still she couldn’t face him, not even when the lights turned out, only a soft glow from the fire giving them any illumination.
Just like earlier in the night, Jenna felt Carter behind her. She wanted to step back into him, but she stayed where she was.
His hands came out to rest on her hips and she almost sighed aloud. His touch was magical, and she feared no other man would ever be able to evoke the same kind of feelings he did within her. She went up in flames without much effort at all from him.
“You looked like a dream tonight,” he told her.
She wanted to tell him the same, but the words got stuck in her throat. He pressed against her and she felt his thickness pushing into her backside. She instantly heated at the knowledge that soon he would be inside her.
His fingers slid up her back and he slowly undid the zipper of her dress, rubbing along her skin as he moved downward. The slight chill to the air didn’t affect her at all with the heat rushing through her system.
She couldn’t stop her sigh of pleasure from escaping this time, especially when his skilled hands ran down her legs until they reached the hem of her dress and he began pulling it up. He tugged the soft material away in seconds, letting it float to the floor.
She was standing in front of him in nothing but her bra, panties, garter, stockings and heels. And the gasp escaping him made her feel sensual. She felt empowered by how much he desired her. She wanted to turn and look at his face, but his hands wrapped around her and she realized he was naked when he pressed against her again.
His thickness pushed against the silk fabric of her panties and she wanted to rip them away and have him plunge deep inside her. She didn’t need foreplay, she just needed him buried so deep he would never be able to pull out.
His fingers ran across her trembling stomach as he pushed his hips forward. She sighed again as she raised her arms and wrapped them behind his head. He leaned down and kissed her neck as their bodies swayed together.
One of his hands climbed up and cupped her covered breast, her nipple instantly jutting out, seeking pleasure. He moved, but only to unclasp her bra, and then quickly rid her of the material in his way.
Then he cupped both her breasts, his fingers pinching her nipples as he pushed even closer. With her back arched while she reached behind her, her breasts felt even more heavy and full as he tested their weight.
“Please, Carter,” she moaned as he sucked on her neck.
“What do you want, Jenna?” he practically purred.
“I want you inside me,” she told him. She was too aroused to be ashamed of her begging.
“Soon, baby,” he promised.
He continued kneading her breasts until her knees couldn’t hold her up any longer. She pushed her backside against his thickness, feeling how much he wanted to be inside her, too. He was purposely torturing both of them. But along with the torture came a lot of pleasure, so she wasn’t complaining—at least not too much.
Soon he couldn’t take their slow dance either. He began moving them to the bed. He didn’t allow her to turn around, didn’t allow her to throw herself against his chest. He kept her back pressed to him, and when they reached the bed, he pushed her forward with one hand while holding her hip with the other, her chest falling forward, her ass high in the air.
She whimpered as the movement cradled his thickness between her thighs, rubbing along the silk of her panties. She wanted them gone.
“I love this garter,” he growled as his fingers traced the lace edges on her thighs. She’d worn it last-minute, hoping he would strip her and see it, hoping to arouse him. Apparently it’d worked.
He leaned down and kissed a trail along her spine until he reached the dent of her ass, where her panties rested. With a hard tug, he shredded the delicate material, his last barrier falling away. She grew even wetter.
He pushed her legs apart while her tender breasts rubbed against the comforter on the bed. She wanted to twist around, but he was holding her in place. She felt the hot tip of his tongue slide down the crack of her cheeks, making her face redden at the intimacy.
But even embarrassment evaporated when he reached her hot folds and pushed his tongue inside her. Her body shuddered as he spread her legs even farther, his face between her opening as he laved his tongue along her folds and sucked on her swollen flesh.
She cried out as she grew closer to release, but he stopped just before, making her want to scream. His tongue traced its way up her backside, and then he was standing behind her, his hands gripping her hips firmly.
She wiggled beneath his touch in anticipation.
With a groan of impatience, he surged forward and his thickness penetrated her with force, shifting her body forward on the bed as he rested deep inside her. He didn’t stop for long, though. He began moving in a pleasurable rhythm that she quickly adjusted to.
She pushed against him as he thrust forward, and soon she felt her body tightening. She could make love to him all night long—wanted to, in fact—but she wouldn’t hold off her first release. She knew he would give her more.
With a cry, she let go, her body clamping against his as she made it nearly impossible for him to move. She shook from the power of her release and then cried out as he continued pumping in and out of her.
He reached between her legs and began rubbing her swollen flesh as he pounded even harder inside her, giving her pleasure on the outside and in. This time when she let go, it was even more powerful. This time, he let go with her. His moan mingled with hers as she felt his hot jets of pleasure shooting inside her.
She collapsed on the bed, her body loose and satisfied. She didn’t even have the energy to crawl up on it, half on, half off. But he picked her up, turned her around, and laid her in the middle of the bed.
For a moment he stood over her, looking down at her sweat-soaked body, the only light a swirling of colors cast by the fireplace. There was still passion in his eyes, and his beautiful steel looked like it wanted to go some more. So she held out her hands to him. He slowly climbed up to her and took her in his arms.
Their night wasn’t nearly over yet.
fourteen
Never before had Jenna been so sore—not even when she’d taken that Crossfit class over the summer and she’d thought she would die from exhaustion. It had nothing on a sex marathon with Carter. He’d seemed to not be able to stop. They’d made love three times the night before; then he’d woken her and taken her again, almost angrily, before they’d both passed out.
She stretched her arms and wondered if it meant something. Maybe he was just as reluctant to leave as she was to have him go. Maybe they were both just being stubborn about it and someone needed to call a truce.
Could she suck up her pride and be the one to do that? Would it have made a difference ten years ago if she’d begged him not to walk away? Would she regret it if she
just let him go again without even trying? She had plans to be the first to walk away but that wasn’t really what she wanted.
She didn’t think it was what he wanted either—not if the night before was saying anything.
He couldn’t have been gone too long, because the pillow beside her was still slightly warm. His scent drifting off it soothed her nerves. She might be hurt for trying, but she might get what she truly wanted.
Maybe it was time to take a risk.
Stretching one more time, she heard a buzzing sound on the nightstand on his side of the bed. She ignored it, but a minute later, it buzzed again. She knew curiosity never led to good things, but she couldn’t help herself from moving across the bed and peeking down at the screen.
She read what she could and then paled, all the warmth of her thoughts just seconds before evaporating and leaving a chill inside her that she didn’t think would ever leave. She slowly picked up his phone, not even caring at this point if he walked in.
She opened the message that had come through and read all of it. Tears filled her eyes as she read it again. Then she dropped the phone, unaware of where it had landed. She sat there in the bed, the blankets pulled up around her as she shivered.
What had he done?
Jenna wasn’t sure how long she sat there staring at the fire he must have stoked before going downstairs, but when she heard movement, she turned to see him walking in the door with a tray of coffee and pastries. He was smiling, but it quickly faded.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he set down the tray and moved to the bed.
She held up her hand. She didn’t want him to touch her. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle it.
“Check your phone,” she said, her voice flat.
She watched him stiffen, and she knew she hadn’t made a mistake. His eyes searched the nightstand and found the phone wasn’t there. His expression hardened. Then he noticed the phone lying on the bed. He picked it up and scrolled for a moment. He must have been reading the message, because she watched a mask appear on his face as he turned to look at her again.
