Virgin's Dirty Boss

by Nicole Elliot

  “Scarlett,” her radio hissed as Carter spoke to her.

  “Yes?”

  “Dario found her, asleep in the speedboat. She’s all right.”

  “I’m happy to hear that,” Scarlett said sincerely, her relief evident.

  “Where are you?” Carter asked.

  “The interior of the island. I’m returning now.”

  “How long?”

  “Maybe two hours,” Scarlett guessed.

  Carter sighed. “Do you want me to come find you?”

  “No, I can handle it,” Scarlett assured him before looping the radio through her belt. She turned around to find the trail, worrying she might have lost it. To her relief, it was easily visible, right in front of her. Scarlett thought she saw a way to reach the path with fewer obstacles. She walked through the undergrowth a few feet, veering toward the trail.

  After resuming her course on the trail, Scarlett let her mind wander a bit, no longer worried about finding Cat. She was busily thinking about Carter, imagining him saying he loved her, when she realized she wasn’t walking the same direction as she’d come. She turned around in a circle, unable to see where she’d come from or establish the location of the correct path. If she was lost again, Carter would think she was a complete idiot.

  “It’s an island,” Scarlett said aloud, trying to be logical. “Eventually I’ll come to the shore and can find my way back to the villa.” With that sensible course in mind, Scarlett followed the trail she’d accidentally taken, growing more tired as the time passed.

  Just when she thought she couldn’t stand any more walking, Scarlett heard the sound of water lapping on shore. Impatient to get in a hot bath, Scarlett increased her pace, bursting out of the overgrowth, expecting to see the beach, and the Aegean.

  One moment both feet were solidly planted, and the next she was balancing precariously, one foot extended into space. Scarlett flailed her arms, trying to regain her bearings, but she continued to plummet forward, falling down a high hill. It wasn’t quite a cliff, but it ended abruptly in a sheer drop.

  She crashed onto the rocky shore, lying there, winded, and her breath was slow to return. Her jaw ached from the impact with the hard packed sand, and she’d cut her shoulder on a jagged rock. When her breath returned, Scarlett gingerly sat up, wincing as assorted aches and pains made themselves known. She wasn’t dying, but she sure felt like hell.

  “Why do these things keep happening to me?” Contrary to her recent luck, she was not generally prone to accidents. She looked up the hill she’d fallen from. The side was almost as smooth as glass. She wouldn’t be making it up by herself.

  Knowing she couldn’t put it off, Scarlett reached for the radio to contact Carter. She was rehearsing what she would say and didn’t immediately notice that the radio failed to make a hissing noise when she depressed the button. When she realized, Scarlett shook the radio gently and heard several components rattle around. She hadn’t been too damaged from the fall, but she couldn’t say the same for her radio.

  They would eventually come looking for her, and Scarlett consoled herself with the thought that she wouldn’t drown. The Aegean didn’t have tides like the ocean. She looked at her watch, happy to see it was still working. She’d never set it to Greek time, but she knew close to two hours had passed, and Carter should begin to look for her soon. She wouldn’t be stuck on the beach all night.

  After tearing at the hem of her t-shirt and using the ragged cloth as a makeshift bandage, Scarlett settled in to wait. Darkness came swiftly, and the island she found so beautiful during the day suddenly became ominous. Every shadow was a potential foe, and every noise became the sound of a predator, stalking her in the murky darkness.

  16

  Carter

  Carter looked at the clock on the mantle once again, impatiently noting only ten minutes had passed. Still, Scarlett was over an hour later than she’d said she would be, had failed to answer the radio, and he was worried. Fear, dark and cloying, curled in his stomach, and he’d already imagined several dire possibilities. Jumping to his feet, Carter said abruptly, “I’m going to look for her.” He wouldn’t wait any longer. Not if she was in real danger.

  After this, that girl would never be allowed in the woods again.

  “I’ll come with you,” Darren offered. Dario and Elias were quick to offer their assistance, and Athena provided flashlights. They split up into groups of two, searching for forty minutes as they periodically checked in with each other.

  “Where the hell is she?” Carter asked Darren as he moved through the greenery.

  “I don’t know boss. You’re worried, aren’t you?”

  “Damn right I am.”

  “Because she’s your bargaining chip?” Darren stopped walking and Carter turned to illuminate him with his flashlight.

  “Of course,” he added gruffly. But he knew the truth, that wasn’t why he was worried at all.

  “It’s getting too dark,” Darren told him after walking another half an hour.

  Admitting defeat, they rendezvoused back at the villa, and Carter called Leondris to ready the chopper. It was attached with night lights, and would be a more efficient way to search.

  Leondris, accompanied by Carter and Darren, searched the island for twenty minutes before the lights swept over Scarlett. She was down on the beach, frantically waving her arms. Leondris found a landing area a quarter mile from her, and she met them halfway. “What happened?” Carter demanded.

  Scarlett explained getting lost and falling down the abrupt drop as they went back to the chopper and bundled her inside. Darren handed her a blanket, and she huddled inside it as Leondris transported them back to the villa. Carter wrapped and arm around her and pulled her close. He noticed that Darren looked out the window instead of watching them. Good man.

  Carter was silent as they departed from the chopper. He was still trying to comprehend that she could have died. Her death would have ended his game with Rocco, but it would have meant so much more than that. He knew it would have been a devastating loss to him. Sometime in her weeks with him, she’d broken down the icy reserve he hid behind and worked her way into his heart. He loved her, and it had taken nearly losing her to make him realize that.

  Enough of Carter’s cynicism was intact to prevent him from blurting out a confession of his love. Chances were excellent that she would be pleased, and that she truly loved him too. Still, doubts plagued him, and he was unable to open himself enough to her to say the words. He wouldn’t hand his enemy a knife and stick out his throat, and he wasn’t completely convinced she wasn’t his enemy.

  They walked to the front door, and Carter slipped his arm around Scarlett, holding her close to him. Athena, Thea, and Vanna came running out to greet them, followed more sedately by an angry-looking Lydia.

  One minute she was standing slightly behind him, and the next she was gone. Carter looked for Scarlett in the milling group of people, but she was absent from them. He met the cold eyes of Lydia and guessed she’d scared Scarlett away. He approached his sister, firmly grasping her arm. “We need to talk,” he said quietly, leading her into the study. He placed her in a chair and took the one beside her.

  “What do you want?” she asked, refusing to meet his eyes. Her face was composed, her spine stiff, and her lips were pursed in disapproval.

  Carter wondered if the feelings he’d recently acknowledged having for Scarlett were displayed on his face. “You have to let go of the hatred you feel for Scarlett,” he said in a steady voice. “She was not the one who killed your husband.”

  “Her father receives his share of the blame for that,” Lydia responded tartly. “But I will not embrace his offspring into my family with happiness. I hate her and her family, and I despise them for what they’ve cost me and my son. Until the debt is paid, and it will never be paid to my satisfaction, I will not relent. I will go to my grave hating all Terinis.”

  “I understand your position, Lydia.” He saw the dart of surprise
in her dark eyes before her face closed once more. “I find myself in the difficult position of trying to trust her while knowing she is his daughter. He has cost me a great deal too, and for that I will extract my revenge. My only concern is that we’ll carry our vendetta too far and injure an innocent girl in the process.”

  “She is no innocent.” Lydia glared at him. “You are a fool if you believe otherwise. She has blinded you with sex and charm, trying to turn you from your purpose. If you allow her to sidetrack you from your sworn duty, then you are no longer my brother.”

  Carter sighed, rubbing his temples to ease the pain building there. “I see reasoning with you is useless, so let me put this another way. My future with Scarlett is uncertain, but I won’t stand by as you try to sabotage any chance we may have together. I’m tired of being alone, Lydia,” he confessed raggedly. “I finally see the opportunity for some happiness, to have love in my life, and I won’t let you stand in my way.”

  Lydia’s face softened marginally “I too, am alone, Carter,” she said in a stark tone. “Unlike you, there are no more chances for happiness with Justin. He was taken from me violently, and her father is responsible. I do not wish to cut ties with you, but I cannot find acceptance for her in my heart. I have only love for my son and family in my heart. The rest is consumed by a thirst for vengeance.”

  “Can’t you see that’s not healthy?” Carter asked. “You can’t raise your son like that.”

  “I learned it from you. I watched you stoke the fires of hatred, carefully nurturing each ember until you were strong enough to defeat Terini and repay him for the sins he has committed. Now it is all being undone by that slip of a girl.”

  “I have not lost sight of my desire for vengeance,” Carter said firmly. “I am only allowing for the possibility that Scarlett is not like her father, and some good may come of this. I have asked for your support and it has been denied. So be it.” He slashed his hand through the air angrily. “I demand your silence. Scarlett is not to be told about her father’s actions. No child should ever become that disillusioned of a parent. She doesn’t need to know anything about the past, and I expect you to hold your tongue.”

  “Very well.” She agreed to his demand in an icy tone before rising from the chair she had occupied and exiting the study.

  Carter remained behind, staring into the fireplace, where no fire crackled at the moment, without truly seeing it. Instead, Scarlett’s face was behind his eyes, pale and forlorn. He couldn’t let go of the idea that she had nearly perished today, and it ate at him. It was all well and good to speak of revenge, of keeping his feelings for Scarlett separate from his plans to crush her father, but he knew that was simplistic and unreasonable. Their fate was interwoven with his treatment of Rocco, and he would be a fool to pretend otherwise. She claimed to love him, but how long would that love last once she learned that he remained unwavering in his determination to bring her father to the justice he had eluded for so long?

  Scarlett was curled under the duvet, struggling to chase away the last of the shivers that plagued her, when Carter walked into the bedroom. He closed the door behind himself, turning the lock so that no one else could enter.

  He came towards her, noticing she did not move from the bed. Her hair was wet and wrapped on her head in a bun, so he assumed she’d bathed. He longed for words to express how he was feeling, but nothing came to him besides, “Scarlett.” He saw her tremulous smile and eased himself onto the bed beside her.

  “I was so worried,” he whispered, hanging his head.

  “But you didn’t. I’m fine. I’ve washed the cut on my shoulder, and at most I’ll have a bruise on my face.”

  “Are you really fine? You don’t need a doctor?”

  “I don’t need a doctor,” she dismissed, before taking a deep breath. “I love you, Carter.”

  “Is that true?” he asked softly.

  “If you won’t believe me when I tell you, then let me show you,” Scarlett whispered, pressing her body against his and he could feel his cock harden at her touch. “Believe what my body tells you.”

  17

  Scarlett

  She took his hand and placed it on her chest. “Feel what my heart is saying.” Her heart was racing, and she felt hot and cold at the same time. Mustering her courage, Scarlett moved his hand from her heart to her breast. “Let me show you,” she whispered against his lips before claiming possession of his mouth.

  She was in control of the moment, and he surrendered to her gladly, following her where she led him. It didn’t matter that her eyes hadn’t adjusted to the dimness of the room. She was drowning in darkness. Ready to drown in Carter again. His breath was warm against her cheek as he drew her toward him.

  His hands were firm and strong, tugging at her waist.

  “I want you, Scarlett,” his voice was deep. It sent a shiver along her spine.

  She nodded, wanting his touch. Burning on the inside for him.

  Everything seemed more erotic in the dark. As if what she was about to do was ten times more exciting. It was easier to let go without the lights. It was easier to surrender to him. To give in to the impulse. To the scorching need between her legs. Let the craving he had started the first time he touched her, come to the surface again.

  “Say it,” he commanded. “What do you want me to do to you?”

  Her breath hitched. Her chest tightened. Carter pressed for something she didn’t know if she could give him.

  “I want more,” she whispered.

  His thumb traveled over her bottom lip, gently pushing into her mouth. Scarlett whimpered and sucked lightly.

  “More what?” he asked. His free hand roamed along the small of her back, snaking up her shirt, and unclasping her bra.

  By now she had eagerly leaned into him, gasping for his connection. His thumb made a trail over her lips.

  “Tell me.”

  “I-I want you.”

  Even in the dark she knew he was grinning. That irresistible sexy grin. His blue eyes blazing for her.

  He groaned into the side of her neck. “You’re the only thing I could think about all day, Scarlett. I was so worried about you, but now that you’re back there’s only one thing I can think of. Being inside you again. Fucking you until you come with my name on your lips.”

  “Oh God.” Her knees trembled. If Carter’s arms hadn’t been around her she wasn’t sure if she wouldn’t have fallen.

  “Is that what you want?”

  “Yes, oh yes. So much.”

  As soon as the words were in the air, Carter peeled the shirt from her body, taking with it the bra she had been wearing. He planted a kiss on her shoulder and along her collarbone, before his tongue grazed her breast.

  “These are so perfect,” he growled.

  Scarlett marveled at how her body responded to him. She ran her fingers through his hair while he toyed and teased her nipple, coaxing it to harden and perk in his mouth. She arched backward, sending her breast forward, abandoning shyness. Throwing logic away as he moved to the other side, flicking his tongue over the tight nub.

  She sat before him in nothing but a pair of cotton panties. White. Something that used to represent her pureness. Her innocence.

  Since she had slept with Carter, she didn’t know if that applied to her anymore. She wanted things she didn’t think she was supposed to want. She ached for his body. Longed for pleasure she didn’t know existed before she shared his bed.

  He blew a hot breath over the fabric.

  “Lie down.”

  Scarlett laid down on the four-poster bed. The columns towered over her, but there was no time to take in the richness of her surroundings. Carter inched forward on his knees, leaning into her heat. His finger slid along the fabric, raking it to the side before his tongue circled between her folds.

  “Ohh,” she cried.

  He groaned with pleasure, “so fucking sweet.”

  Scarlett bucked as he pushed a finger inside her as his tongue swirled ov
er her clit. Her hips jutted with the jolt of lightning he shot between her legs. In and out, he pushed, pumping faster. The orgasm climbed higher and higher. She thrashed on the bed, out of control, unable to restrain the sensations sweeping through her veins.

  “Oh, Carter…I can’t. I can’t.”

  “Feel it, enjoy it.” His fingers latched on the corners of the cotton seam and Scarlett heard the panties rip from her hips just as the orgasm came to an epic peak. She arched from the bed, soaring with bliss. Her legs trembled. Her breath was erratic as the vibrations shook her from her core.

  He never let up, pumping his fingers inside her drenched walls while his mouth worked magic over her clit.

  The soothing afterglow began to lull through her limbs, when Carter moved forward on the bed, kicking her legs to the side with his knees. She heard the zipper slide on his jeans.

  Her stomach clenched with the anticipation of his cock. His beautiful wide cock. It had filled her with a kind of satisfaction she was now addicted to. She had to have it. Had to have him inside her.

  She reached for the hem of his shirt, dragging it over his sculpted shoulders and arms. She brushed over the raised marks of his scars. She leaned forward, kissing his arms, pressing her soft lips into his skin.

  He moaned.

  She didn’t care about the scars. She didn’t care about the past. The only thing that mattered was what was between them in this exact moment. The moment when his skin glided against hers. The moment when he pushed into her body, taking her to another universe. Filling her with pleasure.

  His mouth covered hers with a hungry kiss. Their tongues twined as Carter lowered his body to fit against hers. His fingers tangled through hers, taking her hands over her head. There was something freeing about giving herself to him this way. The beauty in her vulnerability. The gift that she wanted to give him over and over.

  He nudged her knees wider, and she sighed when she felt the tip of his cock rest at her entrance. Just one thrust and he’d be inside her. One breath and he’d fill her.