Wanted By You

by Steph Nuss

  He creased his brows and summoned me out of the desk, grabbing my notes and my iPad for me. "Come on, I'll walk you back to my office so you can get your things. And I should really be thanking you; but you're welcome here anytime."

  As I walked the familiar halls of my alma mater on the way back to Justin's office, my mind raced with images of Carter. With each step, my brain flipped through memories, picking out every perfect moment I ever spent with him and flashing it before my eyes. The day I first met him; the many times I caught myself staring at him while we worked out; the parties we went to with our friends; the nights we spent just hanging out and watching movies. I blinked back tears and listened to the tender drum of my heart wistfully beating along to the ballad it played just for him. The amount of memories of one person the brain could store was extraordinary. It wasn't a surprise that my heart beat differently whenever I thought about him.

  When we finally arrived at Justin's office, I took a deep breath through my nose and exhaled calmly in an attempt to push back the memories.

  "Are you sure you don't wanna do lunch?" Justin asked again, eyeing me suspiciously. I must've looked spaced out, but thinking about Carter always did that to me. He made me ten different shades of swoony and I used to be really good at covering it up. Time had thrown me off my game.

  "I'm sure. I need to get back to work," I said, offering him a weak smile.

  "What's up with you?" he asked, concerned. "Did a student say something to you during class?"

  Only two girls doing what girls do best.

  "No, I'm fine," I said, sitting back in the tall brown armchair across from his desk. "But did you know there are girls in your class who think you have lickable abs? It's kinda funny."

  He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm fully aware there're some crazies in my class. There always are."

  "Does that stuff bother you?"

  "No, I've gotten used to it. I try to ward off the students who think I'm lickable." He laughed, furrowing his brows as if he was completely oblivious to how many women wanted to lick him, which made me laugh. A knock at the door interrupted our laughter and he sighed. He tipped his head up toward the ceiling and whispered, "Please don't be a student."

  "Come in," he called, smiling.

  The old wooden door creaked as it opened and a familiar sensation swept over me, making every nerve in my body stand up in alert and my teeth pull at my bottom lip. The beat in my chest thumped louder and louder, rattling every bone in my body, boiling every ounce of blood running through my system like a volcano getting ready to erupt.

  And then I felt it again.

  The fluttering from within.

  The notorious butterflies that I hadn't felt in the past five years were back, and only one guy had that kind of magic.

  Carter.

  "Jameson, what are you doing for lunch? Let's hit up that sports bar a few blocks down," Carter said, standing in the doorway. When I heard his beautiful, familiar voice, it was like a match was thrown between my legs, igniting every corner of my libido into a slow burning pit of desire.

  With the high-backed chair I was sitting in, he couldn't see me. He couldn't see how the crests and troughs of his harmonious voice crashed into me like the tide breaking onto a sandy beach. I smiled and bit my lip harder in anticipation of the next set of waves rolling in, the butterflies flitting around in my stomach making me giddier by the second. Welcome back you beautiful insects! "Oh, I didn't know you had company."

  "No, it's cool. Come on in," Justin said, waving him in and gesturing toward me as my pulse floored it into sixth gear. "We were just talking. This is my friend, Elly Evans. She was the guest speaker today for my class."

  I saw Justin's lips move, but all I heard was the door closing, Carter's footsteps making their way toward me, and my heart beating in my ears. I clenched my crossed legs tighter together as the throbbing sensation pounded harder and harder at my core. Even my body had memories of what Carter did to it and was eager to have him around again so it could drown in him like it used to. "Ellyson?" I snapped my head in his direction at the sound of my name on his lips and my eyes connected with his as he sat down next to me. My chest tightened more as I took in Carter Jennings, the 2013 version, and oh. My. God. Ohmigawd!

  "You know her?"

  Carter nodded in response but never dropped my gaze. It felt like we were seeing each other for the very first time; like we weren't old friends reuniting after so many years. Things were definitely different now. I could feel the effect time had had on both of us and there wasn't anything friendly about it. The tension rippling between us was intoxicating, and I saw something in his eyes that I'd never seen in them before. Hunger. Maybe it was because it was lunchtime and he was just hungry, but it felt like his eyes were feasting on my soul. As he fed his hunger and raked his eyes over my body, my eyes flew into a full blown visiongasm, running all over his features, gulping down every bit of him that had matured and aged like a fine wine should, enriched to their full, delicious potential. I wanted nothing more than to pop the cork, pour myself a glass, lick the taste of him from my lips, and admire the beautiful work of art he had turned his body into. His muscles were more defined under his black polo, his shoulders broader. His hair was maybe a centimeter longer—yes, I knew his hair length in centimeters—and he had allowed his facial hair to come in a bit, making me crave the burn of his five o'clock shadow against my skin. The rough, brawny look he sported now was even sexier than his clean-shaven look I had cherished in the past.

  The blonde had been right.

  He had morphed into thick, carnal masculinity. I felt like he was Tarzan and I was Jane and neither one of us could shut down our desire long enough to form a coherent sentence. My arousal just continued to climb. My nipples hardened underneath my dress, and shivers trickled down my spine as his dark brown eyes danced over my changes. I sucked in a deep breath when his eyes connected with mine again and slowly let it go in an attempt to dampen my libido before I did something ridiculous.

  And then his lips slid into my favorite smile. His mischievous smirk. The notorious, panty-dropping grin. His sinful leer that made my mouth water. They all combined to form the sexiest smile I'd ever seen, causing me to melt into a puddle of swoon and reciprocate with a fluttery giggle even though it felt like my lungs collapsed and I couldn't breathe.

  "Hey," he said, in a deep and intense voice that stroked over every inch of my aura and warmed me up.

  Hearing his voice again made me want to dance around Justin's office like Maria from The Sound of Music, singing about a few of my favorite things about Carter. I swallowed hard and pressed my lips into a wide smile. "Hi." I continued staring at him for what felt like hours instead of the mere seconds that had passed since he'd walked through Justin's door.

  "Hello?" Justin said, laughing. "Earth to Carter and Elly."

  When Carter heard his name, he snapped back toward Justin and I did the same, like I'd been caught imagining Carter throwing me over his broad shoulder and carrying me off to his office so we could have each other for lunch. I smiled over at our friend who we'd inadvertently put in an awkward position and laughed. Carter cleared his throat and when my gaze slid toward him again I found him watching me in his periphery like he couldn't take his eyes off me. The sweet taste of victory felt like it was on the tip of my tongue, but I hadn't won anything. At least, not yet.

  "So how do you guys know one another?" Justin asked, looking back and forth between us.

  Carter looked over at me, silently asking me if I wanted to answer or if he should. I took the reigns and smiled. "We were good friends back in college."

  "Really?" Justin asked, smiling. "It's a small world after all."

  "Very small," Carter laughed.

  Justin stood up from his chair. "Why don't we all grab lunch together?"

  "Sounds good to me," Carter said, standing and holding his hand out for me.

  I took his hand and stood. As much as I wanted to spend more time with
him, I really needed to get back to work. I had a patient at one and always had lunch with Paige and Tessa. I fished through my purse for one of my business cards and then let it fall back in. It felt awkward giving Carter my card even though I knew he didn't have my new cell number. I only handed them out on business-related occasions, not to guys who I thought were hot and interested. Plus, part of me didn't want to willingly give him my information just to see if he'd ask for it himself or get it from Justin. As they discussed where they wanted to eat, I shook my head and interrupted. "You guys go ahead. I need to get back to work."

  Justin nodded in understanding, but Carter cocked his head as if he was calling my bluff. "You need to eat, too."

  "I'll eat when I get back to my office."

  His jaw tightened but he nodded anyway. I waved goodbye to Justin as Carter walked me to the door with his hand on the small of my back, my insides quivering at his touch. I pulled the door open and it felt as if I were opening a door to a whole new realm of possibilities with him. When I turned around I was eye-to-eye with him the added height of my red high heels giving me more confidence, just like heels were made to do.

  "It was really good to see you."

  He held his arms open, inviting me in for a hug, and I slipped my arms around his neck as his came around my waist. My greedy libido begged for me to tighten my grip and press myself up against him just so he could see the woman he brought out in me, but I restrained her. With his warm breath next to my ear, he said in a dark, sexy voice, "You look amazing."

  The seductive vibrations of his voice mixed with his clean, minty smell egged me on, throwing my libido into a temper tantrum between my legs in an attempt to quench her thirst. My stomach clenched at his compliment and held onto it. "Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself."

  He laughed and let his arms fall to his sides as I released him. He looked me in the eyes one more time and brushed a piece of hair behind my ear with his left hand. "We'll have to catch up sometime."

  It wasn't until then, when his hand dropped from my ear, that I looked at his ring finger. I hadn't even bothered to look earlier—I was too busy checking out all his wondrous new features to care about whether or not he was taken. Thankfully, his finger was bare. Relief poured over me and I smiled my approval and nodded. "Definitely."

  I left Justin's office and never looked back, floating down the hall and out the doors as if I were on cloud nine. I hailed a cab, and as I rode back to my clinic, I couldn't get rid of the smile that Carter had put on my face just by walking back into my life. This proved how wonderful my life truly was with him in it.

  Chapter Five

  Carter

  After Elly left, I stood there in the doorway with a stupid smile on my face, basking in the feeling of being in her world again. In the time since I'd last seen her, she had changed in ways that only made me want her more. She looked sexy as hell today in her red heels and tight black dress—two things she never would have worn in college. She still had her slim figure, but with added curves in all the right places. Her breasts were a little fuller, her ass was a little rounder, and the way she walked in those heels could make any man fall to his knees. Maybe it was the dress and heels showing off her assets more, or maybe it was her maturity allowing her curves to come in and her hips to widen, but whatever it was I loved it. The sexy, primitive confidence she wore now was even hotter than her natural innocence that I fell for in college. The small of her back and the way it curved up her small frame made me imagine what it would be like to have her underneath me, grinding into me and begging me to pleasure every inch of her beautiful body.

  I got hard again just thinking about her. When Justin said her name after I'd walked in, all my blood rushed to my dick. Then, once I got my first glimpse of her again, it took everything I had not to pick her up and carry her back to my office like some barbaric Neanderthal ready to devour her. Suppressing my hard-on was not an easy task when it came to Ellyson Evans, but now the pressure was even worse.

  I waved Justin forward as I nodded toward the door. "Come on. Lunch is on me." It was the least I could do since he unknowingly brought her back into my life. I hadn't even been back in New York a week and I'd already found her thanks to him. I knew no amount of money or lunches could thank him enough. She was priceless, and I was done taking her for granted.

  * * *

  Once the waitress set down our drinks and took our order, Justin cleared his throat and smirked. "Okay, are you gonna tell me what the hell just happened in my office?" He swiped at the condensation on his glass and looked up at me. "I'm not buying the whole just friends bit. Not with what I just saw. I'm probably gonna have to open a window when we get back just to get rid of all the sexual tension still hanging around."

  I laughed and took a drink of my water. "Elly and I used to be just friends. I don't know what happened back there, but that's no bullshit." Elly and I hadn't acted like old friends. I saw a glimpse of want burning in her eyes today, and the way her body responded to my presence didn't go unnoticed either. Flushed cheeks. Hard nipples. Clenched thighs. Yeah, "just friends" wasn't even an option for us anymore.

  "Really?" Justin asked incredulously. "Nothing ever happened?"

  "Nope."

  "Seriously?" he asked again. "You mean to tell me that you never kissed her? That you never copped a feel, or made out, or anything? Not even when you were drunk? Elly's really hot."

  "I know she is, but, no, nothing ever happened. There might've been a couple drunken nights where I kissed her on the forehead or the cheek or wrapped my arms around her, but nothing we couldn’t blame on the alcohol."

  "So why didn't you ever make a move?"

  I stared into my water and thought about the question that haunted me. "She was my best friend. Someone I hung out with practically every day. We had classes together. Our apartments were right next door to one another. I guess I thought if I made a move and she didn't feel the same way then things would be awkward, and I didn't want to lose her as a friend."

  "Okay, that still doesn’t explain what went on in my office today. I don't think I've ever seen her react like that before. She's usually pretty good at controlling her emotions, but today she was different."

  "How was she different?" I knew how. I saw it all over her, but I wanted to know everything I could about her—everything I missed out on; all the details of her life now. But I didn’t want to hear about those things from her friends. I wanted her to tell me.

  "I don't know. She was just different. Like, she couldn't stop smiling and she kept looking over at you."

  I nodded and ran the back of my fingertips over my jaw in reflection. Why didn't I get her number? I was too caught up in seeing her again that I didn't even ask her how to get in touch. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and scrolled down to her name. "Do you mind giving me her number? The one I have for her is no longer in service."

  He grabbed his phone and scrolled through his contacts. He rattled off her number and I saved it.

  "Are you gonna make a move now?"

  I laughed and slipped my phone back into my pocket. "What do you think?" It was a rhetorical question dipped in sarcasm but I knew Justin would answer. After only knowing him a few days, I knew the smartass in him wouldn't hold back from telling me what he thought.

  "Personally," he said, sitting back so the waitress could place his meal in front of him. "I think you're an idiot for not making a move a long time ago. A girl like Elly doesn't stay single forever. I get why you didn't, but if you hurt her this time around I'll probably have to kick your ass, even though Elly could do it all by herself."

  I laughed and nodded in agreement. He was right. Women like Elly didn't stay on the market forever. I was lucky she didn't have a ring on her finger already. I was even luckier that she seemed excited to see me. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her. "Trust me. If I hurt her, I'll kick my own ass."

  Chapter Six

  Ellyson

  When I got back to my
clinic, I walked straight to my office, still glowing with happiness. I really didn't think seeing him again would feel like this: like my body had been set on fire but I wasn't going to stop, drop and roll. I relished feeling alive again, as if just seeing him and hearing his voice had brought me back to life. The life I needed to start living for me.

  I set my purse down on my desk and kicked off my heels. I pulled up iTunes on my desktop and pressed play on my oldies playlist before walking over to the wall and lying down. I lay on the tile floor with my legs up against the wall. The tile felt nice and cool against my back, mixing beautifully with the warm sensations Carter had sent running through my veins. I grabbed my phone off the floor and texted Paige, wondering where she was.

  Me: Where are you? Please tell me you haven't picked up lunch yet. I was in Justin's office today after speaking to his psych students about my job when CARTER JENNINGS walks into his office asking Justin if he wanted to grab lunch. This calls for ice cream.

  Paige: Seriously!? I just left. Ice cream it is!

  Me: Thank you! Xo.

  Paige: Xo.

  I set my phone back on the tile and shut my eyes as The Miracles sang about a love machine. I sang along and tapped my feet to the smooth, soulful tune. The message of the song was not lost on me. Today was proof that my machine only worked for Carter, and that's the magic of the shuffle feature on iTunes: it was designed to read minds, and right now just proved how truly magical it was.

  It wasn't until Elton and I finished our duet about the gift of our song that I heard laughter coming from the doorway. I opened my eyes and tilted my head toward the door to find Tessa smiling and Paige shaking her head at me.

  "I hope you don't mind. We didn't want to interrupt," Tessa joked as they walked in. She turned the chairs so they were facing me and the TV, and Paige turned down the music. She handed Tessa her cup of ice cream and then walked over to me.