“I…can honestly say I’ve never been asked before.”
“You wouldn’t have kissed me like you did before if you weren’t interested,” she said thoughtfully. “That is why a man pursues a woman, isn’t it?”
“It’s in the back of their mind, yes,” he admitted slowly, felt his body react to the sweet smile lighting her eyes.
“You don’t smile all the time, but you have little crinkles at the corners of your eyes…you’re amused…”
“Did you discover boys at the same time Aaron was discovering girls?”
“Boys were annoying.”
“I’m sure that’s a very sanitized version of what you really think, Anna.”
She bit into the side of her cheek, meeting the curious humor in his eyes. “The majority of boys are rude, crude, ignorant and don’t care about their brains or mine. It might be difficult to believe, but I spent more time being lectured about tolerance than I care to think about. If Aaron behaved like boys I watched, he never let me see it. The absolute ignorance of adults when it comes to male behavior was enough to make me scream at times. I loaded my sixteenth year with every class imaginable and got out of high school a year ahead of Aaron because I simply couldn’t deal with them without violence anymore,” she exhaled very slowly. “My reaction was criticized, but their…the way they treated girls…the innuendos and…and subtle pats and…I was so worried because Aaron…”
“He was getting into fights because of how boys behaved toward you,” Carter guessed gently. He knew Aaron’s reaction, because he knew he would have done the same thing.
She nodded reluctantly. “One on one…it might have been stupid on my part, but I wasn’t so worried. But…one time…” She felt the cold seeping inside her. “At a soccer game…Aaron was playing…I finally understood why girls traveled in packs. It was safer.”
“Anna, you don’t have to…”
“I was lucky…I can scream pretty loud,” she ignored the shiver that raced through her at the memory. “Three boys thought they would teach me a lesson…I turned them down for dates…wasn’t interested…their words…the memory and nightmare…it was too much…Aaron was on the sidelines for this game and heard me,” she laughed bitterly. “Over the noise of a field and fans, he heard me scream. He joked that it was that invisible twin thing. They got me as far as the bleachers when he caught one of them, some adults got the others…there was nothing but their threats…words…some tried to get me to go to the hospital…said I was in shock…and maybe I was. I went from screaming to nothing. Aaron told them no…he’d take me home and our parents would take care of me.”
Only there were no parents, Carter heard in his mind.
“I’d always been polite and careful. I didn’t wear really short or…or revealing clothes. I think I was…stupidly believed that what I wore made a difference to how boys would behave. I stayed home for a week and then I was angry. I went to the guidance counselor and made them total my credits. I took a diploma that year and began college the next season. So…” she pushed a long breath between her lips. “You wanted to know my impressions of teen boys…I know all aren’t like that, perhaps that’s the balance.”
Carter realized for the first time in his life, he wasn’t sure of a course of action. He could only imagine the dark nightmares created from words said to a child and then a girl. He put his feet on the tiles, his hand up and taking hers, tugging gently. She came willingly from the wall and onto his lap.
“You’re like Aaron…” She said softly, her head on his shoulder, eyes closed and his palm stroking gently over her head. “You would have gotten into fights because of me…just like him…”
“That’s not so very wrong,” he agreed, his hand falling to her shoulder when she slid back slightly, her face tilted to his. He closed his eyes against the sensation of her palm on his face, slim fingers spearing the hair at the side of his head and urging his mouth to hers.
“It isn’t so very wrong,” she agreed against his mouth, her tongue drawing a very slow path around his lips. “You have a wicked kiss…hard and soft…hungry and patient…”
Carter knew at that instant that words were going to be his undoing where Anna was concerned. The low, husky sound of her voice vibrated, kicking from his mind to his body with rabbit speed. She slid against him, the soft roundness of her behind pressing firmly against the male in him vying for her attention. He wasn’t sure what her reaction would be…he wasn’t certain how much her nightmares would intrude. It piqued his humor when she was the one offering soothing gestures to him.
“I’ve never been molested or raped, Carter…” Anna spoke to him between teasing, biting kisses. Kisses that drew him in and set him back when her mouth moved over his jaw and back again, sweeping against his lips hotly. “I’m not afraid of your reaction to me…”
How did she know what he was thinking? What an unfamiliar part of him was thinking when she wrapped her arms around his neck and settled her mouth firmly over his. Carter tightened his arms around her, sending one palm along her side and onto her face. His thumb stroked over her jaw, felt the tiny sparkling studs in her ear and the silken curls against the back of his hand and willingly lost himself in the heat of their kiss.
“You never answered my question, Carter,” Anna whispered against his mouth, dark lashes lowered when she leaned back to peer into the fog covered glasses. “We keep fogging your glasses…” she watched his hand leave her head to lift the lenses free and set them on the table at his side.
“You manage to fog a lot more than my glasses, Anna…” He replied gruffly, his fingers up and tracing over the fine bones in her face, along her jaw and down her throat. “What was the question?”
“Do you want to have sex?”
“I think that’s a question that requires two answers, Anna….not just mine.”
“I always believed that men didn’t turn down the chance at sex.”
“Hmm…I’m sure I should be insulted…” But he met the smile in her eyes with one of his own. “And if I asked if you wanted to have sex?”
“I’d say yes…” Anna laughed softly at his expression. He couldn’t hide his body’s reaction to her and she found it amazingly erotic. Yet those feelings had never been there for other men.
“Well…” Carter wondered when the things she said would stop surprising him, stop short circuiting his senses.
“I don’t use birth control, Carter,” she whispered against his mouth, drinking in the deep groan seconds before she found herself off his lap and standing on the tiles, blinking.
“Then getting you off my lap is necessary for me to remain sane, Anna,” he grabbed up his glasses, shoved them on his face and stood up with a low growl, adjusting his jeans and striding into the house. He knew she was following and went straight to the kitchen, dousing his face with cold water for a long few minutes.
“I’m not sure if I should apologize or not, Carter,” Anna leaned against the counter, chewing the corner of her cheek. She remained in place, a little tiny bit frozen when he turned from the sink and crossed the room. No, she thought, stalked. His body was long and lean and purposeful. She felt her eyes widen at the same time her breathing came to a very slow almost halt. A tiny whimper broke free when his hands framed her face, his mouth down with the hunger and power she’d named on the patio. “Oh, my…” She breathed when he lifted his head.
“You have nothing to apologize for, Anna,” his forehead rested gently against hers. “How about…I take you to your office…you show me my options for landscaping and we visit your nursery? I think some serious fresh afternoon air will be good for me.” He almost groaned at the studious expression on her face.
“I should consider it a matter of pride…to be able to arouse you…”
His thumb caressed her lower lip. “With a couple large exemptions, Anna. I understand the word NO. I do not see sex with you, I feel making love to you will be beyond anything a mortal male mind could conjure…I look into your
eyes and forget to breathe. My parents know me better than anyone alive and they saw it…felt it…something inside me needs you with a power I’d never imagined before, Anna.” He brought his mouth to hers again, only to realize holding himself in check when she wasn’t would drive him insane. “I’ll meet you at the car,” he shook his head, the fog pushed out firmly as he turned, long legs carrying him to the back of the house before his resolve was tested.
Anna watched him go, taking in the long legs and strong shoulders. He raked his hands through his hair when he was disturbed, she noted, watching the thick straight hair fall into place even as he repeated the gesture. She found her pack and went into the foyer, her light jacket on the coat rack. She didn’t want it on and just carried it with her onto the red, weathered rock that made up the driveway.
Her fingers moved idly over the fender of the low riding sports car. It was a nice shade of forest green with tiny gold flecks catching the sun now and then. And still in the back of her mind was the path she had stepped onto in her life. She saw him behind his desk in her memory, only four days before when she stepped into his office. Just another client. Until she felt the heat wave when their eyes met. She’d never had that kind of explosive sensation inside her before. Something had warmed her through to the core.
“Anna?” Carter set the alarm and gently touched her hand where it rested on the roof of the car.
“All set?” She asked, her smile bright, fingers turned up and clasping with his. “Let’s go to my office first,” she tipped her wrist up. “Won’t take long for you to decide what you want. I think you already have a good idea.”
“I know I fell for the house because it reminded me of Arizona,” he opened the door and went to slide behind the wheel, buckling himself in before starting the car.
“I remember thinking the houses should look like…like they do in Europe on the coast lines,” Anna commented, shifting her knees to the center and watching him drive. “All white but with brilliant bits of color in the window trim and hanging flowers. But the ones around here…it’s such a wide range of styles. I love the adobe colors.” She looked down at her hands for a long minute. “What do they do? Your moms?”
“Gail is a physician’s assistant. She was in the military for a short time and enjoyed being a medic. She was still part of the reserve unit when they….when they acquired me,” Carter put his palm in-between hers, meeting her look with a teasing wink when she tightened the hold. “Charlie owns a fun pagan tourist shop in town. Candles, books, incense, lots of local artist jewelry. I used to clerk there on weekends and during summer break. Lots of girls to flirt with.”
“You’ve perfected your technique,” Anna said with a nod.
“In case you’ve forgotten, I’ve been with you the last few days, Anna,” he began with a laugh. “Not one thing in my arsenal of flirting techniques worked on you. In fact, I’m probably lucky I didn’t have things thrown at me,” he pulled the car noiselessly in front of her office and turned the engine off. He turned to face her, watching the sexy way her lips pursed as she considered his comments. “But I’m a forgiving kind of guy. Come on and show me your sketches.”
“I felt it…when I walked into your office…” she stopped, trying to find the words to explain something she didn’t fully understand herself. She had her keys out, fingers deftly tapping in the code on the other side of the door before she went into her office, opening blinds and a couple windows.
Anna moved to her display wall, making certain light was on it from all angles. She pulled the display up on her computer, turning the large monitor to face them and stepped back, appraising her selections with a thoughtful frown.
“What did you feel when you walked into my office, Anna?” Carter asked the question even as he let himself be amazed at the intricate and detailed drawings.
She had printed off a photo of the house in all angles and cut her drawings to fit, as it would have in an actual aerial shot. The wall she pinned things to show how she got to what she was letting him see as her final rendition. After all the cutting and pasting, she had scanned it into her computer and made it colorful and alive with the plants, rocks and extras she’d added to the landscaping.
“I…it’s a wave…it sweeps over me like I was in the shallows on the beach,” she stopped looking at the monitor and looked through the glass behind her desk. “It’s always been there. I didn’t know what it was at first but it was like cause and effect…I’d have this feeling and then…something would change. Something would shift in our lives…sometimes…like the day of the explosion…it was so strong, so intense…I was afraid I wouldn’t move us fast enough, get us away from the feeling soon enough for my head to stabilize,” she swallowed and turned to find him staring at her. “I’ve never told anyone…no one knows but Aaron. I think he only accepted because he grew up with me…he knew…”
“I think this is where I dazzle you by telling you how brilliant your suggestions are,” he turned from the smile on her face to look at the screen where she’d projected the landscaping. “And I find your brain fascinating.”
“There are three…actually…this first one…” she moved her hands on the keys. “This one…and last…but…you need something along the outer wall in back that can dig its roots in and hold the soil together. It might sound odd, but I think some fruit trees would be good…despite how you want the rest of the landscaping to be,” she made a few sweeps with the pointer, pulled things from someplace else and changed one of the drawings to show what she meant.
“You can move things around?”
“Easily…you pin point one you prefer and we take things you want out and things you want in, I replace,” she assured him with a shrug. Anna watched him, perching on the edge of her desk. “Don’t you even want to know the cost of each? That’s mainly why there are three different ones.”
“No,” he went over them slowly, taking in the colors and shapes before selecting the one he wanted. “You’d put fruit trees here?” He gestured to the western corner of the back along the rock wall.
“Yes…apples would be good…they’re strong and sturdy. The thing about your location is the good and bad of it. When the weather co-operates, you have great sun. When it doesn’t you’re pretty much screwed like the rest of the state. The rock wall is good and I’m betting they put it in for this reason, the winds that rip along the Sound. You’re located almost at the top of the hill. You’ll get wet, warm winds in summer but in winter, Canada and Alaska winds are killers. So making sure things are firmly and securely rooted keeps them from visiting your neighbors…who just might frown upon it a little.”
“You have a delightful and visual presentation,” he said with a laugh. “Can we get trees that aren’t going to drop fruit on my neighbors?”
“Hmm…how about these…American Holly. Never loses leaves, nice little pointy suckers with beautiful red berries for the birds. Plus, you create a nice habitat, which that neighborhood is sorely lacking. Everyone’s cut all the places for birds and critters to live,” she replaced the fruit trees with the holly, adjusting for growth and nodding.
He liked the variety of grasses. They seemed to come in every conceivable shade and mixed color and she used them in tiers of shape and size. She went with wide, unevenly shaped rock with some kind of white gravel in-between everything else.
“Oh…and my presentations vary from client to client…I’m usually much more sedate when I’m making a sale,” Anna had her notebook out, checking for things in stock at the nursery. She pulled up the ending invoice, including labor and winced. “Carter, let me print the pending cost of this…”
“I want this one,” he announced simply, nodding at the choice and seeing the layout around the house in his mind. “Do you need half up front or how’s it work?”
“Well, I don’t…you really might want to take a look…” But she leaned back a little more on the desk, actually sitting in an attempt to move when he came forward, a hand on either side of
her hips and his face....no, she realized with a little breathless gulp, his lips were moving against hers with each word.
“I don’t care what it costs, Anna. I can afford it and that is what I want…do you like it?” He asked, laughing at the surprise on her face. His palms left the desk and framed her face. “If it were your yard and your choices…what would you put there?”
Anna saw the humor in his eyes, but there was something else there. Something warm and even a little challenging. She never broke their gaze, never blinked.
“If it were my yard…I would have the luxury of redecorating anytime I felt the urge,” she whispered against his mouth, moaning softly when he closed the gap, his teeth nipping her lower lip and pulling it slightly until she opened her mouth to his request. Hard and hungry; coaxing and arousing until both backed up breathless. Dark lashes rose lazily.
“A tour of the nursery?” Carter asked gruffly, his palms sliding down her throat, over her shoulders and down her arms until her hands were in his.
“You know where it is…I’ll meet you there in my car,” she told him, sliding until her feet touched the floor and her head stopped spinning. She stared at him, her head shaking slowly. “You totally mess up my equilibrium. I don’t understand it…”
“That makes two of us, Anna,” he carried her palm to his lips. “I’ll meet you there.”
She nodded and watched him stride out, the sound of the sports car sliding off into the distance as she collected the notepad and her bag. Anna slid behind the wheel and automatically locked the doors. Alone, she couldn’t stop the thoughts about the people who had hired him. The people who had brought them together, she thought with a sigh. Her head rested against the half open window while the car rested at the light.
Chapter Nine
How do you fix the past? She knew they were too old for a minder. That had been her excuse when they were fourteen. She knew there had been a feud of some sort between the grandparents. They had listened to it, but never understood it. She had written about it in her journal.
WindSwept Narrows: #16 Anna Carson & Catherine Jenkins Page 7
