WindSwept Narrows: #16 Anna Carson & Catherine Jenkins

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  “We’ve been friends for a while,” Anna said, sinking into the warmth of his hold as he moved them between couples on the hardwood floor. “It doesn’t bother you? The things they say…the…the lack of privacy?”

  “I think it used to…then I learned to make it work with what I needed from them,” he told her honestly, meeting the very sexy brown eyes with a soft sigh. “You have the most incredibly sexy, dreamy look in your eyes, Anna.”

  Dark lashes closed when his mouth moved silkily over her lips, touching, tasting and returning for more, their movements stopped but no one complained. Anna liked the feeling of his hands at the lower end of her back, fingers stroking and caressing until someone nearby cleared their throat. Loudly.

  She looked down at the floor, pulled her lip between her teeth and walked with him back to their table.

  “That was embarrassing,” she whispered, giggling at the look on his face.

  “I can honestly say it’s never happened to me before,” he replied gruffly, sinking into the chair and taking a long drink on the remaining wine. “You do something to the control part of me that completely unnerves me.”

  She met the stare he offered with a curious tilt of her head. “Should I apologize?”

  Carter threw back his head and laughed seconds before he swept her up and against him, her feet barely touching the floor. “Let’s go piss off some more people by kissing in the middle of the dance floor, Anna.”

  By the end of four more seductively slow dances, they’d been told to get a room along with a few more subtle suggestions. Anna felt his mouth on her shoulder when he draped the matching wrap around her before they headed for the elevator. They stepped from the buzzing noise of the resort hotel and into a mild wind that was kicking up outside. Carter handed over his ticket to the valet and moved Anna to stand in front of him, his arms around her from behind for a little more warmth since the temperature had dropped.

  “So is it a success if the people on the dance floor invite you to leave?” Anna asked with a soft laugh, watching the approach of the low riding sleek sports car. So would he take her home or to his house? If they went to her house, how did she ask about birth control without sounding eager and willing? Although she was pretty sure some of the kisses she demanded positively showed her eagerness. Such a convoluted path to walk.

  Carter didn’t stop the laugh or the pure pleasure of holding her against him. He had decided he wanted it all and abruptly he knew that package rotated around Anna Carson. He moved his mouth a little further up her neck, scraping his teeth across her pulse and giving her chills.

  “Hmm…it’s gotten a little cold out here,” he murmured, holding the door for her and smiling at the flush of color on her cheeks.

  He slid behind the wheel after tipping the valet and headed them down the road to the main exit. Rain sparkled outside while the flashing of street lights glimmered off the sequins in her gown. He was trying to remember the last time he’d felt nervous with a woman and couldn’t even locate it. He’d been confident in so many things for so long, the racing inside his chest and the hot flow of his blood through him seemed a new and exhilarating experience. It surprised him when he actually jumped slightly when her palm came across the small interior to cover his on the steering wheel. And then she smiled at him, her fingers long and slim inside his palm.

  “I don’t think I have wine…but you can come in and dance with me and no one will complain,” Anna said softly, watching the lights outside her home come into view. His fingers tightened around hers.

  He didn’t know where his voice had gone. His gaze followed her when she stepped from the car as soon as he’d parked it at the side of the house. He heard her heels tapping on the stone walkway, his hand absently patting his inner pocket for the purchase he’d made, his lips pursed into a small frown when he felt his fingers shaking.

  He moved quickly to the front door, closing it firmly behind him at the same time he heard music fill the large interior. Vibrant colors of gold and a soft shimmering forest green reflected off the walls and from the vaulted ceiling. The back of the house arched out in a point and was divided down the center with a two bedroom unit on each side, he remembered her telling him.

  Anna dropped the sparkling red wrap to the end of the sofa and moved to stand in front of him. A part of her wanted to laugh at the expression on his face, stunned in to silence and a little uncertainty.

  Not something she would have expected in Carter Shipley. Her hands went to the edges of his jacket, sliding the side further apart until it slid down his arms. She dropped it on top of her wrap and took a step closer, placing one of his hands on her hip and holding the other, their fingers entwined.

  Carter wasn’t the one who told his feet to move to the music. For a brief space, he wasn’t sure who was in control. He could feel each fine curve of her pressing closer, the soft rhythm of the music winding its way into the slow way their bodies stopped moving altogether.

  Tension hardened him when her fingers slid up his arm, touched the bow tie and opened it, tugging it free before those slender fingers opened his collar button, and then another lower on his shirt.

  He’d never felt such a keen electrical shock when a woman touched him, grazed her nails over his flesh and pressed her palm along his throat and into the hair at the back of his head.

  “Carter…” Anna breathed his name against his mouth, dragging her tongue around the full shape of his lips, ending with a teasing nip. “Are you afraid of me?”

  She pressed her palm against his chest, the hard pounding inside taking a wild leap when she kissed him. Her hand drifted lower, opening another button and then another. She swallowed the masculine groan, felt a surge of something urgent coiling inside her when he deepened the kiss, swept her along with the tide of passion that broke from behind the walls.

  Everything inside him opened for her. It was all so new and alive. And he wanted it all and more. Mouth against mouth, he lifted her, cradled her against him with a gentleness reserved only for her.

  “Grab my jacket, Anna,” he ordered, a husky shudder in his words when he stopped at the sofa, waiting until she had his jacket in her fingers before continuing into the bedroom. He let her feet slid to the floor, took the jacket and removed several foil packets from the pocket before tossing the jacket to a chair just outside the walk in closet.

  He took a step forward, his palms on her waist as she drew him down with her to the bed, her palms on his face, caressing along his throat and into the hair at the back of his head. Their sighs became one.

  Neither of them had been abused. Just ignored. Unloved.

  He’d been the lucky one. Gail and Charlie had found him, taken time with him, loved him and taught him how to love. He’d never realized how important that had been until he lost himself in the feel of her, in the depth of Anna’s eyes. She had a brother, but hadn’t been as lucky as him. Until now. Now he would see she was never neglected and always loved.

  His lips met hers, parted and gave himself over to the sweet pleasure she shared with him. Her palms moved over his back, stroking, touching, learning his shape. The contrast of hard and soft, along the hard ridge of muscle as they lay together.

  Tenderness in long, lush kisses and slow, shivering caresses. When his teeth nibbled over the column of her throat, she tilted her head more, granting him access and giving her a shuddering pleasure that wasn’t to be understood, just accepted.

  Carter managed to pull them both to their feet, his hand skimming down her back and taking the long zipper to her gown with it. He watched it fall at her feet, her hands out and on the buttons of his shirt, his attention caught between the feel of her hands against his skin and the ridiculous scrap of black lace circling her hips in a feeble masquerade of a pair of panties. She shoved his shirt from his shoulders, letting the firm feel of him vibrate beneath her palms before she reached for the belt at his waist.

  He met the dark eyes that looked up at him when he took her hands aft
er dropping his glasses to her nightstand, adding the packets he’d bought and quickly shoving his pants down his legs and gliding with her to the surface of the bed.

  Hands caressed, stroked, fired and learned and repeat even as their breathing became names and pleas from them both. Carter watched the deep brown of her eyes as his palm slid between her thighs, the hot moisture making them both groan when he slid his fingers through the damp tangle of down. His mouth nibbled and teased, pulling just hard enough on one aroused nipple to make her gasp aloud seconds before she slid over the edge, her nails biting into his shoulders.

  He felt it, watched the flush of heat surge through her as he fumbled with the foil packet. He could feel the fading ripples as his body teased the taut, hot opening. She lifted one leg, her foot caught at his waist. His palms moved to her hips, trying to stop her when he felt the momentary tension, the sudden realization that her body wasn’t accustomed to this.

  “Anna…” he worked to stop moving, brushed over the faint sheen of moisture on her face. He braced himself on one elbow, his other hand forcing her foot from his waist to the surface of the bed.

  “Again…touch me again, Carter…” she breathed against his mouth, taking his palm and gliding it over her stomach. Their groans rippled together when her hips began rotating, rising a little and back, lazily seating him further and further inside her.

  Anna lost herself in the way he touched her, the way his fingers caressed and stroked and aroused until she felt the coiling inside her, the edge that sent her gasping for breath and his name pulled from deep inside her. Everything inside her was wound tightly when the sensations began to unravel.

  His body surrendered to hers, the sweet sound of his name and the grasping, rippling muscles of her body attacked and collapsed his control. Her body took his control, swallowed him whole and kept stroking him even after he’d flown over the edge with her. He felt the muscles of his arms screaming, taut and locked in place, his head fell forward, his mouth moving over hers.

  Anna could still hear the deep, masculine sound of his voice echoing inside her head even as her body continued to buzz with those wild eruptions. She flexed the feminine muscles and heard him groan, their eyes meeting seconds before she felt him withdraw and fall to her side. She raised a palm, brushing the shank of dark blond from the damp on his forehead, smiling when he caught her palm and kissed the center.

  “Be right back,” he said gruffly.

  Anna stretched and couldn’t recall ever feeling so very relaxed. Now she knew what purring felt like, she mused, standing up long enough to pull the blankets down and slide between them. She pulled the combs from her hair and dropped them to the nightstand before tugging the band free, her fingers massaging her scalp with a long sigh. She felt the side of the bed give and turned to watch him slide in beside her.

  “I hope you’re not planning to go home,” she said easily, leaning on her elbow. Dark lashes closed when his palm rose and five firm fingers took over a strong massage against her head. This time she did purr and slid lower on the bed.

  “I’m not sure there’s anything in existence that could drag me away from you right now, Anna,” Carter assured her lazily, marveling at the silken softness of her hair against his hand. He stroked over her jaw, tilting her face to his. “You should have said something, Anna…are you alright? I didn’t…it never occurred to me…”

  “Alright?” A little puzzled tone made her lips pull together, dark lashes rising to meet the concern in his eyes. “I’m good…you have very talented hands…and kisses that made my middle feel just amazing…” Her voice trailed off when his mouth covered hers, softly teasing and pulling every nerve ending back to life. She wound her arms around his neck, eagerly returning his kiss without hesitation. “I hope that means you enjoyed it, too,” she whispered against his mouth, unprepared when he laughed deeply and rolled to his back, carrying her over him.

  “Oh, my sweet Anna…you have no idea how very enjoyable it is making love with you…” he tugged a curl that fell over her ear until she lowered her head enough for his mouth to nibble along her throat.

  Chapter Eleven

  Anna woke slowly. She’d never been one to just bolt out of the bed. The heavy weight at her waist had her reaching up to push hair from her face as daylight began letting her know it was morning. But it was a very nicely warm something that tightened on her waist and pulled her back. A soft sigh broke from her lips when she felt the faint hint of bristle against her neck, over her shoulder and back to the hollow that made her tremble against him. His palm left her waist, drawing firm fingers around the pink nipple, stroking and bringing the delicate flesh to life.

  “Carter…”

  “You remember what you promised me last night, Anna?” He whispered huskily in her ear seconds before his teeth edged the curve teasingly.

  “You got that promise with unfair tactics,” she murmured, squirming when those delicious sensations began coiling inside her. The rich sound of his low chuckle along with the arousing strokes of his fingers made her moan softly.

  “You said I could take all the time I needed…anytime I had the urge…”

  “Carter…” she shivered against him, his mouth biting along her shoulder. She pushed back, feeling the hard evidence of his arousal as his palm caressed down over the flat of her stomach and into the damp tangle of femininity.

  Every time he believed he couldn’t become more aroused, couldn’t possibly feel any stronger desire, any more urgent need, he was proven wrong. Anna lifted her leg, the soft moan ricocheting through him when she whispered his name, her body tensing against the onslaught of emotions sweeping through her when his fingers stroked down and over, sliding into the moist, hot center.

  She lay on her back, eyes glazed and breathing ragged as he prepared himself, sliding sexily into her and taking her over with him again a short time later.

  “I think we need to talk about your negotiation tactics,” Anna lay face down on the bed, the blankets pooled at her waist and Carter stretched out at her side.

  “The end results…that’s all that matters,” he told her with a chuckle, his palm gliding over the creamy skin of her back and back to brush the dark curls from one eye.

  “Taking unfair advantage of a girl after discovering she has a secret weakness…”

  “I plan on remaining her secret weakness,” he told her, meeting the smile in the dark eyes when she lifted her head, resting it on her palm.

  “I am starving…” she sat up slowly, stretching her hands high above her head, oblivious to her nudity. “I’m going to cook stuff…” She climbed from the bed and dropped a turquoise sleep tank over her head and a matching pair of capri pants up her legs.

  “I’m going to shower first…” Carter lifted his glasses, sighing and watching her move around the room, putting clothes on one of the chairs. “We could go out for breakfast, Anna.”

  “I like cooking…I told you that…and I have yummy breakfast stuff in the kitchen,” she leaned in and brushed her mouth over his. “Go shower.”

  Anna was laying things out on the table when she finally glanced at the clock. How in the world had they played and slept through the morning all the way to eleven? She set the juice on the breakfast nook when the connecting door opened. Anna wasn’t entirely sure why, but instincts had her breath catching, eyes shooting to the hall that led to the bedroom.

  “Hey, sis…I smelled breakfast…” Aaron wandered into the room, barefoot, wearing comfortable jeans and a plain tee shirt.

  “I thought you were in Vegas?” Anna felt her voice arc a little, clearing her throat and reaching for the juice with a long swallow.

  “I got back late last night…or early this morning, I guess,” he reached for the other glass of juice, drinking deeply with a long sigh.

  “Oh…well…” Anna leaned into the stool, hands clasp on the counter, mostly to keep them from twisting together nervously. She’d never felt like this around her brother before and it was
bothering her. A lot. “So…how was the trip?”

  “I hate Vegas. Why in the world you’d do something as important as get married in that city, is beyond me. How the hell do you take anything seriously in a place like that?” He was lifting the glass to his lips when the deep voice echoed from the hall.

  “Anna? What’d you do with my pants?” Carter stepped from the hall, a large forest green towel knotted at his waist.

  Anna closed her eyes tightly, opening them to see stunned surprise on her brother’s face and an expression of nothing on Carter’s.

  “Shipley,” Aaron said quietly, his glass making a noisy thump on the counter.

  “Aaron…” Carter brought one hand up, raking the damp hair from his face and dripping some water over his lenses.

  “I…um…check the walk in closet, Carter,” Anna said, striving for casual and sounding like she was choking on her own words. She pulled her lower lip between her teeth, watching the stiff way Carter turned and went back down the hall. Her gaze slid to her brother, the taut line of his jaw and pursed lips making her wince. “Aaron…”

  “He moves fast,” came the clipped, flat words.

  “I…he…we…”

  “You just met him.”

  Anna felt something serious snap inside her. She was vaguely aware of Carter coming in from behind her, fingers fastening buttons when she took a step forward and poked a very sharp finger into her brother’s chest.

  “Don’t you dare…don’t you DARE take that tone with me, Aaron Carson,” she hissed furiously, fingers withdrawn and pulled into a tight fist that had him backing up a step. “Not once…not once…did I ever…EVER…ask you or comment on the…the brainless bimbos you had at your apartment! Not once did I ever make comments about the girls in school that you had twirling around your fingers! How dare you make an assessment…”