by Pamela Ann
Smiling widely, I typed the message. I loved the playful side of Bass.
Bass: Indeed, Ms. Emma. Indeed, I am… can’t get your smile out of my mind. Did you cast a spell on me? For there is no other alternative reason for this raging delirium.
I bit my lip as I tried to conjure a response. Did I cast a spell on him? Ha.
Me: No witchcraft involved. Sorry to disappoint. Indeed, it is all crafty me, the one and very same. Maybe it’s been a while? Suppose you need to get laid or something?
Yeah, I was hella fishing for information, but I couldn’t help it. I was curious.
Bass: Why, Emma? Do you want me to stop?
Stop what? Stop him from having sex? Shit, who had he been sleeping with?
Me: No, Bass. Your life is your own. That’s solely up to you.
I searched for him the other night on Google and there hadn’t been any news of him hooking up with anyone. Who had he been sleeping with? I guessed he could get laid without having it splashed online. I mean, he could easily hook-up with another pretty actress without getting caught.
My phone vibrated.
Out of nowhere, Carter snatched the phone out of my hands and shoved it in his pocket. “Give it back!” I furiously demanded of the man next to me.
“No.” His lips pressed together in a straight line, clearly determined and not budging an inch.
Dickwad!
“Give Emma her phone back, Carter! Stop being such a tool!” Lindsey chimed in. Her brother was unyielding.
“Do you honestly think I’m going to sit here idly while you talk to another guy, Emma? Try to be a little sensitive here. I’m trying to drive, but I can’t help being distracted when you smile stupidly at his messages. I fucking hate it!”
Okay, maybe I was being a little insensitive, but confiscating my phone was going overboard. “I apologize. That was rude of me. Can I have my phone back now?”
“No.” Carter’s eyes were stuck on the road, not even bothering to glance at me.
“What the fuck, Carter!” I yelled at him, but he was unmoving. What the fuck!
FML!
Oh, he was definitely going to face my wrath once we got to his uncle’s cabin in Tahoe. My anger was brewing fiercely. Once we were out of the car, I was going to erupt like Mount St. Helens!
“Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it’s cracked up to be. That’s why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.”
~Erica Jong
Chapter Seventeen
“Finally! My butt is killing me! I hate long car rides! They’re the most uncomfortable things, like, ever!” Lindsey declared as Carter finally parked right outside cabin McMansion, which was big enough to hold all twenty guests for the weekend. It was beautiful. I’d seen pictures of it before, but they didn’t do it justice. I remembered Carter promising to take me here, but again, that never happened.
It was almost eight at night and the long drive was beyond exhausting. I was ready to unpack and unwind.
“Hey, Lindsey! I need to talk to you for a minute,” Carter yelled out to his little sister, as she headed toward the other parked cars on the driveway.
She halted. “Sure, what’s up?” Lindsey asked as Carter pulled her off to the side to talk.
“I’ll get the rest of the things, Em. Go on up and relax,” Cooper said. He sounded a little sad. His usual flirty self was nowhere in sight. Guess he really was fighting for Lindsey and trying to be on his best behavior. Well, I wasn’t on anyone’s side. I used to be on Team Brody, all the way, but that went down the drain the moment I found out he ran his tractor through Cece’s rotten infested field. I was a little reserved now.
“Thanks, Coop.” I stretched my body and yawned. The smells of fall were floating in the crisp autumn air. Sleep was calling me, but from the looks of things, it would be hours from now before I would get any. I followed everyone towards the house.
When am I ever going to catch up on my much needed sleep? I wondered.
~E~
“Who’s up for some hot tub?” Brody asked everyone.
It had been three hours since we’d arrived and everyone seemed to have the same goal—to get wasted.
At ten, I decided to call it a night when a few drunk girls—I had no clue where they had come from—took off their clothes and ran naked towards the lake. Of course, some of the guys from the soccer team followed them. Ah, living the good life! I shook my head towards the screaming crowd, amused.
I scoured the party looking for Lindsey and was relieved to find her in the kitchen. “Hey! Can you tell me where my room is? Cooper took my bag to a room, but I don’t know where it is, unfortunately.”
Lindsey stopped smiling then. “Um… I have no clue. I’m rooming with Amanda.”
HUH?
“What do you mean? You dragged me here! Now, who do I have to room with?” There were like twenty random people here and I only knew a handful of them. The thought of sharing a room with a stranger seriously freaked me out. I should’ve just stayed home. Maybe I’d have been with Bass right now…
“You have to ask Carter and the boys. They’re the ones that arranged it.” I stared at my friend, not knowing what to say.
“How could you invite me and not room with me? This just doesn’t make sense at all!”
“I know and I’m sorry, but it was just such a last minute thing and I had been paired with her months ago. I’m so sorry!” Just then Brody joined us with a bottle of beer in his hand.
“Want to join me in the tub, pretty ladies?” Brody grinned at us. Hmm… was he trying to score some with Linds? Well, he’d have to try harder than that.
“Actually Brody, do you think you could show Emma to her room? She doesn’t know where it is.”
“I will, but I need you to stay put. We need to talk,” Brody spoke to Lindsey. Her smile wavered.
“Yeah, of course,” Lindsey murmured. Brody looked like he meant business and he seemed to be very determined to talk to her.
“Here you are. Everyone’s been looking for you.” Carter strolled in the room in nothing but a pair of jeans, displaying his tanned pecs and rigid six-pack. My cheeks burned when I stared at his body a little longer than I should have. Nice…
Dammit!
“Oh, great, man! Emma wants to turn in. Can you show her to her room?” Brody asked.
What? What? He’s handing me over to Carter?
“You’re ready to sleep? It’s still early.” Carter’s dark gaze landed on me, burning holes, searing right through me.
“Yes. I want to sleep. I’m exhausted.”
Carter nodded. “Okay, then. Let me show you to your room.” He exited the kitchen and climbed up the wooden stairs. I followed silently behind him, not wanting to make unnecessary chitchat.
The house was humungous and I would’ve easily gotten lost by the time I got to the second floor. There were three wide carpeted hallways that were adorned with black and white abstract paintings. They were a striking contrast amongst the woodsy theme. I followed Carter as he turned right and made another right down a long hallway. There were two large, dark, wooden doors at the very end of it.
“Here you are, Emma.” Carter opened the doors and he ushered me into a massive room with a fireplace and a big king-sized bed with a large bay-windowed lounge area that overlooked the lake. It was gorgeous! When I looked back, Carter was just standing in the middle of the room, observing me.
“Can I have my phone back?”
He pulled out my phone from his front pocket. “You mean this?”
“Yes. Can you hand it to me now?”
“No. I’ll give this back to you once you set foot back in Santa Barbara. For the time being, though, you’re phone free.”
Incorrigible man! I just wanted to kick him in the nut-sack!
I went over to him. “What the hel
l is your problem, Carter? I don’t get why you’re acting like a petulant kid!” With another angry whine, my finger poked his hard muscled chest. “You. Are. Being. Ridiculous.” I emphasized each word with my finger poking on his skin before I withdrew my finger, his hand caught it.
“You ask what my problem is?” He leaned forward, closing the gap between us. “You. You’re my problem.”
I swallowed. “You have to let this go, Carter.”
“It’s not over until I say it is.” Arrogant jerk!
“Well, fuck you! We broke up already. You kicked me out of your house!”
“You wanted out. I didn’t. It was my ego talking.” We stared at each other. Carter gently reached out and caressed my cheek with the back of his finger. “You’re beautiful, Emma. You don’t know how lonely I’ve been without you.”
Carter was lonely? What a joke! There were rumors flying that he got it on with Amanda. I wasn’t stupid.
I licked my lips. Wrong move because his eyes darted there and he stared at them. “I think you should go. I want to rest.”
Carter hesitantly dragged his eyes away from my lips and brought his darkened gaze to mine. “If you want to, go ahead. You can use the right cabinet to unpack, mine’s on the left.”
I froze.
We were sharing a room? Dammit! I should’ve known Carter would pull something like this.
“You’re sleeping on the couch. I’m not sharing a bed with you!”
“Too bad, I’m sleeping in the bed. Don’t worry; I’m not going to touch you, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Carter just shrugged and strode towards the bathroom. Within minutes, the shower came on.
Well, great, just great. I groaned. How was I going to handle sleeping in the same room with him for two nights? TWO NIGHTS! This was insane!
I strolled towards the bay windows and stared at the moonlit lake before me. Immediately, my thoughts went to the movie I just signed up for. The thought was daunting, but at the same time, I felt ready for the challenge. I mean, what if I did nail the role? My life, as I knew it, would be gone. Things would drastically change for me. I wouldn’t feel so lost anymore. I would have a direction, a goal to achieve, a passion. My passion, something to give my heart and soul to, as Bass described it. If there was one thing I felt I could put my soul into, this would be it. I didn’t doubt it.
I turned around when I heard the door crack open. “Bathroom’s all ready for you.”
Without responding to the infuriating man, I just strolled past him, gathered my things and locked myself in the bathroom. This was going to be one hell of a long night for him because I sure as hell wasn’t going to waste a blink of sleep over Carter! Hell no.
“Gotcha!” I exclaimed when I found my make-up bag. It was located in the very bottom of my clothes. I popped a Benadryl before I hopped into the shower. The tiny pink pill not only helped with my allergies, but put me right to sleep. After a ten minute shower, I got out and dressed in a pair of white cotton shorts and a large, soft pink, cotton shirt with a huge heart in the middle. Once I was done, I walked towards the bed. Carter was on his side, dressed in his sweatpants and nothing more, staring idly at the ceiling.
HUH.
I went over to my side and slid inside the sheets. Without a word, I turned off the light and sighed when my head hit the pillow. This entire week had been hectic. I’d lost a lot of sleep over Bass, Carter and the movie. Now, though, I was so ready to just knock the hell out.
Why didn’t he go downstairs and party with the rest of his friends? This was their wild idea to begin with and now their Captain was already in bed, ready to sleep—or brood—and it wasn’t even midnight yet.
Semi-unconscious, I heard him say, “I’ve missed you. Goodnight, baby.” With another sigh, he rolled over and scooted closer to me, but not close enough to touch me. I think I dozed off after he sighed the second time.
~E~
When my eyes finally fluttered open, I found myself face-to-face with Carter. He was sleeping soundly. With his relaxed features, he looked like a fallen angel. My eyes traced his naked torso and slowly made their way back to his face. I wanted to reach out and touch him so badly. It had been so long since I had seen him so peaceful.
It caught me off guard when Carter opened his eyes and gave me a beautiful smile. If I hadn’t been so surprised at getting caught, I would have smiled back. “G’morning!”
“Morning.”
“Guess you slept well, huh? You snored—sort of—they were like these tiny little noises coming from you, it was adorable. I stared at you doing that for hours, I think.” Carter’s eyes twinkled as he smiled down at me. Moments like that… I forgot everything. He was being adorable.
“I did not!”
“Did, too! Don’t worry; it didn’t turn me off, if that’s what you’re worried about. I thought it was sexy—cute sexy—but still sexy, you know?”
“Shut up, Carter!” I smacked his face with a small throw pillow. I tried to do it twice to shut him up because I was starting to redden from embarrassment. Carter caught my arm and rolled me over to my back, leaving him on top of me and almost nestled in between my legs, they were barely apart.
Our eyes clashed—dark met blue. “Baby,” Carter grunted when he pushed his hips against my pelvis, I unabashedly moaned. His erection was palpable, hard and hot against me. “Can I make love to you?” Carter rasped out.
Shit cakes.
I stared back at him while my breath escaped me, fully. Did he just say make love? Love. Carter NEVER, EVER used that word when it came to women he had sex with.
He didn’t even give me a chance to reply because his lips caught mine. And hell, I reveled in his kiss, drowned in it while wishing for things that were unreachable.
His hands were quick as he pulled up my shirt and grabbed my breasts, kneading and squeezing them. My legs quivered as he pushed himself on me, grinding his cock on my mound. I moaned when he lowered his mouth to my breast and bit my nipple as his left hand sought entrance in the leg of my soaked shorts, pushing them aside so his hand could have full access to my wet silken flesh. The back of his fingers stroked the outer part of my wet folds and the act itself made me quake in anticipation for his assault. My torso lifted off the bed as I pushed my breasts out more for him to take. His hand toyed with one while his teeth and tongue lavished the other. When his tongue circled and bit my nipple, I buckled.
“Carter…” You’re driving me crazy! I thought as his fingers finally separated my silken folds and rubbed against my nub. My hands found his hair and I pulled it and brought his lips onto mine. Our tongues fought as his fingers continued to ambush me. I gasped when he stuck his fingers inside.
“Exquisite,” he murmured. I blinked a few times. Exquisite? Bass. He uses that word—Bass.
Fuck, I needed to stop this. I didn’t know why, but I felt like if I went through with this, Carter would just think I’d be back to being his permanent bootie call. I think not. “Stop! We have to stop.”
Carter stilled. Stilled—inches away from me, eyes searching mine, fingers still inside me.
“You’re not serious? I’m so fucking hard, Em. I’m ready to combust here and you want to stop? What the fuck? I don’t find this funny.”
“Well, I don’t either. Can you please take your fingers out of me?”
Carter kept staring at me and, much to my annoyance; he still hadn’t pulled his fingers out. “Fine, I will stop… after you come apart on my fingers.”
WTF? “No!”
However, he was determined and within a heartbeat, two fingers stroked me as his thumb massaged my nub. I thrashed and whimpered. Loving and hating what he was doing to me; hating him for making my body his slave, but loving him because I just did.
“Look at me!” Carter commanded as his fingers continued their onslaught. My body heightened and exalted. Climbing, reaching higher, for the ultimate quaking nirvana. My eyes searched his. I tried to catch his gaze, but it was hard to focus. His
assaulting fingers were twirling and sliding in and out of me.
“Look. At. Me. Emma!”
“Carter,” I whimpered.
“Don’t hold it back. Just let go. I want to feel your juices gush like a dam on my fingers,” he ordered as his fingers became serious. He took hold of my womanhood, hooking his fingers inside my walls with his thumb on my clit. His other free hand was pressed on my abdomen, pressing me down on the bed as his fingers, rubbing and flicking with purpose, obliterating any thoughts in my mind. I was locked down and didn’t have a choice but to savor the sweet torture he was giving my body.
“Look at me!” Carter ordered again when he felt my muscles contract. His eyes consumed me as an orgasm hit my body. It rippled and pulsated through me and my mind went blank. I had to blink a few times before I looked at him.
Carter beamed at me as he studied the satisfaction on my face. “Shall we see how you taste this morning?” His fingers slid out of me and he immediately placed them on his tongue. He licked them without tearing his eyes off me. “You still taste like heaven, Emma.”
I opened my mouth and shut it again. I couldn’t believe I let him do that to me after I told him not to. Okay, I got that I didn’t reject the idea much when he started to finger fuck me, but still, I was a little bothered right now and more than a tad confused.
Sitting up, I glared at his grinning face. “You shouldn’t have done that!”
“Why not? You loved every second of it. If I really wanted to take you, I could’ve done it with ease, but I didn’t. Look at my cock, it’s still hard. Want to give it a go? I promise to make you come a few more times.”
Arrogant son of a bitch!
“Fuck you, Carter!”
Still grinning, “Well, that was the idea, baby.”
“Ugh! You’re hopeless! I don’t even know why or how I tolerated your absurdity for the last few months!” I exclaimed and made a move to get out of bed, but he caught me and pulled me back to him and I landed on my back.
Hovering on top of me, he spoke, “Don’t leave. Stay.”
