BoldLust

by Sky Robinson

  “I didn’t see you in church Sunday.” Betsy reached down and ran a finger along the metal of a hammer, pretending interest in the contents of the little shop as she was going to go build a house or something. It was obvious her only real interest was gossip.

  “I didn’t feel well.” It was a lie. Kate hadn’t gone to church because she hadn’t felt like struggling to hear a half-hearted sermon by Betsy’s mousy husband and then have Betsy catch her afterward to dish out the latest town gossip. It wasn’t a very uplifting way to spend the day. Kate would rather spend the time reading her Bible alone.

  “It’s the second Sunday in a row you haven’t felt well. Living in that house,” Betsy turned her nose in the direction of Emma’s house, “you should spend every free moment you have in the house of God.”

  “The house I live in is fine.” Living under the same roof as a sporting woman didn’t make Kate any different than she was before. People were stupid to think that it would.

  “But you live with a prostitute.” Betsy hissed the last word. “I know you weren’t aware of that when you moved into the house, but people are starting to talk. I, of course, defend you, but if I don’t see you at services on Sunday, if I don’t see that you are trying to live a good and holy life… Well, I won’t be able to defend you any longer.”

  “Okay.” Kate wasn’t going to stoop to Betsy’s level because of a threat. She shrugged and walked away, pretending to straighten up some rope.

  Betsy was the biggest gossip in town. Not many other people really cared. The town was mostly miners and prostitutes, and Kate wasn’t going to attend Betsy’s church just because the woman had threatened her reputation.

  The way she acted definitely wasn’t very Christian. When Betsy started bad-mouthing Opal, not ever having met her, that was when Kate decided she couldn’t stomach being around the woman any more than she had to. It was a small town, so Kate couldn’t completely avoid Betsy, but she did her best.

  “Well,” Betsy huffed. “I guess I’ll be going, then.” She turned on her heel and walked to the door. “I hope Carter’s business doesn’t suffer because of you.” Another direct threat from a supposedly holy woman.

  Betsy let the door slam before Kate had a chance to reply, not that anything she could say would make a difference anyway. Betsy was pretty stuck in her ways and pretty sure she was right about everything.

  The people who supported Carter’s business probably didn’t give a damn about her reputation or anyone else’s either. But Kate hated the thought that she could harm his income at all. He didn’t deserve that.

  Chapter Six

  Damn, this was an unexpected turn of events. Kate was free, and from her reaction to his touch, definitely interested in Carter. He liked that fact just a little too much.

  A rush of blood set in his cock from just touching her hand innocently. Oh hell, who was he trying to kid. He didn’t have a single innocent thought when it came to Kate. He wanted to tie her up, fuck her and make her his forever. End of story.

  He stood at the window, staring out over the endless expanse of ocean. She was too pure, too innocent for a man with desires like his. She was a lady, raised in a good home, and just because they seemed to share a mutual attraction didn’t mean she could handle him.

  Every time he looked at his rope supply and she was in the room, his mind went down a single naughty track. Kate would be beautiful tied up, taking his commands, taking his cock into her mouth, into her sweet wetness. But could she handle it? There was only one way to find out. And making her fully his once could mean losing her forever.

  Was the risk worth the reward? Damn, he was in trouble.

  Customer after customer and task after task consumed the rest of Kate’s morning until it was time to take Carter his lunch. A nervous knot formed in the pit of her stomach. Could she really do this? Could she put her heart on the line and let Carter know the feelings she had for him? It didn’t seem smart, especially after what Emma had told her.

  Carter smiled that gorgeous smile that always took her breath away as she walked into the room. He stood up to help her set lunch out on the table, always chivalrous.

  His hand brushed hers and she felt it again, that zap of electricity she couldn’t deny anymore. Or at least didn’t want to.

  Carter cleared his throat and looked at her with a serious expression that made her a little nervous.

  “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but I’m glad that your fiancé left.” He looked into her eyes as he said the words, but they didn’t give her any clue to his true emotions. He kept those well-hidden.

  “Glad?” Maybe she wouldn’t have to be the one to approach the subject of the attraction, but why in the world would he be glad her fiancé left?

  “Yes, glad. I’ve wanted to let you know how I feel about you since the first time I saw you. I’m drawn to you, to your beauty, to your charm. I knew there was someone else, so I’ve kept it to myself, but I don’t want you to leave town without knowing how much I care about you.”

  He said the words she wanted so badly to hear, felt the same things she did, and a piece of her heart started to warm.

  Carter stepped closer, grabbed both of Kate’s hands in his. “I’ve been falling for you every minute I’ve been able to spend in your presence. The day you came to work for me was one of the best days in my life, but it’s also been torture knowing you were spoken for.”

  His eyes pierced into her soul. She had been thinking the same things, wanting the same things, but was unable to act on them out of loyalty.

  She’d been promised to another man, but now she didn’t owe Sean anything. She could let herself feel the connection, the lust, without guilt.

  Carter pulled Kate against his solid, lean, muscled body. She inhaled sharply. She wanted Carter, and to know he felt the same thing was freeing. The physical proof that he wanted her was even better.

  “There’s something strong pulling me to you. I’ve never felt it before with any other woman. It’s almost inexplicable, but I’ve wanted to kiss you, to touch you every damn day.” His breath was warm against her face. “May I kiss you, Kate?”

  Carter’s head bent to Kate’s, almost touching her lips, his breath warm against her lips as he waited for her answer. Tempting her, making it impossible to say no even if she wanted to.

  “Yes.” The word came out breathy but there was no way she could deny him, deny herself the one thing she really wanted, right now, in this moment.

  Carter didn’t hesitate but captured Kate’s mouth with his, slow and gentle, but with a hunger that left no doubt that he wanted more.

  Kate moved her hand behind Carter’s head, wound her fingers through his hair and kissed him back. Her lips parted, letting his tongue taste her, tasting back. She shouldn’t be doing this, shouldn’t be jumping into something new so quickly, but it felt too good to stop.

  “I’m in love with you, Kate. I want you.” His words were growled, and a definite surprise. She tensed a little, but that didn’t stop the need for him. In fact, knowing that he was in love with her, even though it was sudden, made her want him more.

  He had an amazing power over her body. Not that she was surprised by it. The glimpses of what could be were the reason she’d had to work so hard to avoid touching him for the past three weeks.

  “Umm-hmm.” Kate moaned as his hands rubbed her back in slow, methodical circles. She was losing focus, losing control fast, couldn’t even come up with real words in response to his admission of love. She just needed him to keep kissing her, needed him to touch her.

  The proof that his body was just as affected as hers was pressed hard against her belly. His cock was long and hard and wanting her. A surge of wetness rushed to her opening, proving the need she had for him was real.

  Kate should resist this, shouldn’t be acting so wanton, but her body refused to behave, instead she pressed herself tighter against him, kissed him harder, let all the sensations of pleasure flow through h
er body.

  “I’ve wanted you, needed to touch you for so long.” Carter grabbed Kate’s skirt, bunching it up at her waist, and then ran his hand up the warm skin of her inner thigh, slowly, just barely touching her. He stopped with his thumb against her opening, pressing then releasing rhythmically.

  She should say no, shouldn’t let a man with no promise of a future together touch her the way Carter was touching her, but it felt so good she didn’t want him to stop. Ever.

  He circled her sensitive nub with his finger and heat surged to her opening.

  “Mmm-hmm,” was the only response she could come up with. His touch made her head spin. All she could think about was how she wanted more of him, all of him.

  The man was good with his hands, but she had no idea what that talent could do to her body. Kate had never been touched like this.

  Carter’s mouth moved back to hers, urging her to kiss him back with just as much passion. Just being near Carter made her body hum, but when he touched her, the electricity surged all the way to her toes.

  “I’ve never had a man make me feel so…so amazing.” She hadn’t meant to say the words, but it was the truth. Kate sucked in a sharp breath as his hand went back to work, touching and teasing her sensitive lower parts.

  Carter’s fingers circled her nub again, and again, and the room started to disappear. The only thing she could focus on was his eyes, deep blue and full of passion as he stared intently at her. Her core tingled, skin tingled, everything intensified, about to lose control.

  Carter watched as he brought her right up to the edge and then let her plunge over.

  Kate’s own moans of pleasure echoed off the walls of the little room as her body shuddered hard and wave after wave of pleasure surged through her.

  Carter held her tight against his strong body as she came, his fingers moved to her wet opening, touching her gently, giving her jolts of continuing pleasure.

  It was amazing that he could make her feel this way with just his fingers. What would it be like when he filled her with his cock, when they became one?

  Carter relaxed his grip on Kate but waited until her legs were steady before he let go.

  She didn’t want him to stop touching her. She wanted more of the passion, wanted Carter to make love to her and then hold her in his arms the rest of the day, but she’d already let him touch her more than a respectable lady should. Kate wasn’t going to be any more forward, she wouldn’t beg him to make love to her.

  “I am completely head over heels in love with you, Kate.” His eyes danced mischievously with the statement.

  “You are?” How could he be? They weren’t engaged, he wasn’t really even courting her, but she felt it too. Just wasn’t ready to admit it yet.

  “I’ve lived all over the world, met many women, but none that have affected me the way you do. I’m smart enough to not let an opportunity like this pass me by, Kate. I want you to be mine.”

  The breath sucked from her chest and she didn’t know what to say. She felt the same way about him, but this was all so unexpected.

  “I don’t want anything from you now. You need to take some time. Think about it. I don’t want you to be overwhelmed by the suddenness of all this, but I don’t want you leaving Alaska, leaving me without knowing exactly how serious I am about you.”

  “Okay.” She didn’t know what to say or how to react. She’d thought he was interested in her, but she had no idea of how serious his feelings for her were. He had hidden them very well, just as she had worked so hard to do.

  “Good.” Carter kissed her on the forehead and grabbed her hand in his. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” He walked her toward the door and then down the stairs without any resistance from her, even though she suddenly felt the need to fight it.

  “Tomorrow?” She still had a half day left of work. Why was he sending her away?

  “Yes. I want you to take the rest of the day off. Take some time to think, to feel. I want you, Kate, but I don’t want to rush you.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she agreed. Not that she had much of a choice. He was her boss, he determined when she came and went.

  Kate walked out, disappointed to be leaving Carter. She moved slowly up the boardwalk to her house. Her legs still felt a little like jelly from his touch, from the pleasure Carter gave her.

  Instead of going inside where Opal was possibly entertaining, she stopped in front of the house and looked out over the water. What was she going to do now?

  Kate stared at the endless dark sea. She was a long way from home, a long way from anything that resembled her previous life, but the ocean always brought this sense of calm to her. She needed that now more than ever.

  Carter was a good guy, but she couldn’t jump into another relationship because she needed to feel loved after being rejected by Sean. It wasn’t fair to either of them. Carter was right. She needed to think long and hard before she made any decisions.

  Chapter Seven

  Carter paced back and forth across his living room floor, nervous that he might have scared Kate away with his aggressive words, with his aggressive actions. He hadn’t meant to ask the girl to be his, hadn’t planned on touching her like he did. She had definitely enjoyed that part, but what about tomorrow, when she had time to think about everything? Would she understand his brash manner?

  He had been lusting after Kate every damn day. His cock went half hard every time she walked into the room, so he’d already suffered weeks of hell, having her so close but just out of reach. Carter knew he had to do something to keep her here, but he might have gone overboard.

  It was too late to take any of it back. The only thing he could do now was wait, and hope she felt just as strongly about him, hope that he didn’t scare her away.

  Carter tore a brown piece of cardboard from some of his packaging, wrote the words Help Wanted in big black letters and then shoved the sign up in his window.

  Either way this whole thing went, he was going to have to find someone new to work for him. If Kate agreed to be his, he didn’t want her to have to work. She’d need to save all her energy for their nights together. He didn’t want to think about the other option. It would hurt like hell to know his impulsive actions had pushed Kate away. And this was just the start of the things that might scare her from him.

  * * * * *

  There was an extra bounce in her step as Kate walked to work in the morning. She was excited to tell Carter that she was going to stay the summer and was willing to see where things would go with their relationship. It was still too early to say yes to being his, but she wasn’t going to say no either, and she was definitely willing to give it a chance. Kate was pretty sure Carter was going to be happy to hear the news.

  When she got to his house, she saw there was a Help Wanted sign in the window. He sure wasn’t wasting any time replacing her. Had he changed his mind already? Yesterday he wanted to keep her and today he just wanted her to go? She couldn’t get tossed away by another man so quickly. It wasn’t right. A lump formed in her throat. What was wrong with her that all the men in her life would treat her this way?

  Kate opened the door slowly and walked in to find Betsy talking to Carter.

  “When would you be able to start?” Carter’s voice boomed through the room while he offered Better-Than-Thou Betsy a job.

  Every muscle in her body tensed and she could feel her face flush red. How could he? Carter was actually going to hire that woman. Kate should speak up, let him know that she wanted to keep her job and that she didn’t want Betsy taking her position, but she just watched silently as Carter gave away her job.

  “I can start today,” Betsy said with a smirk that Kate wanted to slap right off her face.

  “Great, Kate can train you,” Carter offered without her consent. She sure as hell didn’t want to train Betsy, didn’t want to even be in the same room as her for any significant amount of time.

  “I’m sure it can’t be that difficult.” The way B
etsy said the words made Kate’s blood boil. Betsy came in often enough she probably did know all about her job, but the woman didn’t need to be so condescending.

  Kate forced a smile, for Carter’s benefit, tried to hide her true feelings, worked at hiding the heartbreak. “Sure, I can show you what to do.”

  She shot Carter a glance, but he had already started to focus on some papers in front of him and didn’t even notice her. “But I’d like to talk to Carter for a minute.” She paused and then just to make sure Betsy understood. “Alone.”

  Maybe she should just jump on the first boat out of here. Kate was putting her life, her decisions in the hands of a man she barely knew because of some silly little feelings she had for him. She needed to be sensible, needed to think for herself.

  But she didn’t have enough money for the fare home yet. Kate needed to work a little longer, and Carter had taken away her job.

  He didn’t know her financial situation, so he couldn’t be doing it to force her to stay. He wasn’t that kind of guy anyway. At least she didn’t think he was. He did like to be in control of things, though.

  Kate could ask her family for the money, but she wanted to keep her job with Carter, needed to earn her own fare back so her family wouldn’t find out where she was, wouldn’t ever know she had run off with a man. She couldn’t ruin her reputation, couldn’t ruin their reputation. Hell, they might not even pay her fare back if they found out what she had done.

  “Sure. Come upstairs with me.” Carter marched up the stairs and she followed right behind him. When they got into his workroom, he stopped, shut the door and then turned to face her. “What would you like to talk about?”

  “Why did you give my job away?” She said the words a little more aggressively than she intended, but it got across her true sentiments, her frustration with the situation.

  “I didn’t expect to find someone so fast, but I need to get help lined up. You are going to either leave me or be with me. Either way I need someone to take over your job.” He towered over her and kept any emotion he was feeling hidden—other than a little bit of confusion.