by Leddy Harper
My hands gripped his shirt, but instead of leaning over him, I now sat in an upright position with his face close to mine. Humid air billowed against my cheek, turning my skin sticky and unbearably warm from his strained breaths. My fingers found their way to his shoulders where I held on for the ride he provided. No longer were his ministrations slow, but fast and hard. He didn’t just rocket my hips against his, he pushed his hips upward to add even more friction.
More power.
More pleasure.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and held tightly to him, keeping our bodies close together, but he didn’t seem to want that. He made a gentle effort to push me back, to create space between us. Yet I couldn’t let go. I couldn’t release the death grip I had on him, knowing my fingernails had probably already left evidence of what he was doing to me.
“I wanna see your face.” It was more of a growl than actual speech. “Stop hiding from me. I wanna see you come.”
I heard his words, understood them. I knew what he wanted from me, but I couldn’t seem to make myself withdraw from his shoulder. I couldn’t back up enough to look at him or to let him see me. I couldn’t move. The mounting pleasure left me debilitated and prevented me from doing or saying anything.
Carter must’ve grown inpatient with my lack of response, because in an instant, he was on his feet with my legs clinging to his waist. A squeal finally slipped past the boa constrictor around my throat, and ended with a huff of air when my back hit something cold and hard. He flattened his palm over my chest and held me against the icy mirror while he pulled away. He pinned me with his narrowed gaze, filled me with anticipation for his next move.
I was paralyzed.
The pressure of his hand against my chest prevented me from taking in enough oxygen and left me with only short, desperate inhalations. My legs were still wrapped around his waist in a vain attempt to keep from falling, even though the arm he had wound tightly around me kept me up. When I squeezed my thighs on either side of his hard body, he responded by thrusting against me, eliciting another salacious moan.
“Look at me,” he ordered again in that rough, no-nonsense tone.
I blinked and focused on his eyes. His pupils had dilated so much they practically swallowed the green. “I can’t…” I whispered in what sounded to me like apologetic shame. “I can’t…”
He finally released the pressure against my chest, but I was unable to catch my breath. Instead of keeping me restrained between his hips and the mirror, he grabbed the back of my thigh and lowered me to the floor. Except, I wasn’t on the floor. I stood on an aerobic step that had to have been at least four inches considering the height advantage it provided me.
Again, he kept me immobilized and mute.
He wrapped one large, rough hand around my jaw. Four thick fingers extended along one side of it. A thumb dug into my cheek with my chin cupped in the web between them. He used his hold on me to tilt my head back until it fell against the mirror behind me.
My voice, my heartbeat, and my ability to breathe—gone.
Stolen.
Silenced by his hungry gaze.
Without giving me a second to prepare, he covered my mouth with his. I just stood there with my eyes open, watching the way his forehead creased and his eyebrows grew taut. When he inhaled deeply through his nose, his lips separated, parting mine at the same time. That’s when I closed my eyes and allowed my body to experience what he did to me.
Even with his hand on my face instead of my body, I was able to feel him all the way to my toes. His tongue was hot as it tangled with mine in a sensual dance of desire, and the way his beard scratched the sensitive skin around my mouth sent a liquid fire racing through my veins. A soft whimper escaped me, followed by Carter’s ravenous groan, and then he unhurriedly pulled away to press his forehead to mine.
His hands fell to the waistband of my jeans in a blazing trail felt through the material of my shirt. Not once did he remove his forehead from mine as he unbuttoned my pants. Our eyes remained locked while the sinful scrape of my zipper being lowered played between us. Gooseflesh covered me when the very tips of his fingers grazed along the soft skin of my lower belly on their way to my sides. He hooked his thumbs inside the waistband and shimmied them down a few inches, all the while bathing my face in his desperate exhales.
“I wanna see you come apart for me, Kara. And now you get to watch, too.”
“Wha–what?” It was all I could get out before he spun me around to face the mirror. The sudden movement nearly knocked the wind out of me, and his harsh grip on my arm forced a gasp to become lodged in my throat. I thought I couldn’t breathe before, but this…this was the true definition of breathless.
Carter tugged me against him so my back pressed flush to his chest. I could practically feel every ripple, every ridge and dip of his muscles. He wound one arm up the front of my body, fitting his forearm between my breasts and carefully holding my throat in his grasp. The other hand slid inside my jeans, beneath my panties, where he wasted no time at all finding my aching clit.
He slowly dipped one finger into my entrance, gathering my arousal before sliding it back up to my hardened bundle of nerves. When he circled my sweet spot, I bucked against his hand, but he had me so restrained I could barely move at all. His fingers picked up the pace and my head fell back on his shoulder, which he apparently didn’t like, because he pinched my clit to catch my attention.
“What the—?” I screamed in a somewhat strained, somewhat hoarse voice.
“You’re gonna watch me finger you.” His lips were so close to my ear, the rumbles of his words reverberated through me. “Look in the mirror, look at my hand, feel what I’m doing to you. Don’t close your eyes, because I wanna see them roll to the back of your head when you come. And then…you’re gonna watch me fuck you, and I’m gonna watch you come on my dick.”
Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly become any wetter, a flood of warm moisture flooded my panties.
I grabbed his forearm, dug my nails in, and held his hand in place so I could ride it. It was enough to entice him further. He ran a few fingers through my folds before plunging at least two of them deep inside me. The way he curled them gave him the perfect angle to hit my G-spot while his calloused palm tended to my clit.
“That’s it, Kara…I got ya.” He tightened his hold on me. “Just give in and let go.”
“I can’t…I can’t…”
“Yes, Kara, you can; it’s just us.” Carter’s voice filled my ear and soothed me. His body remained behind me and he kept a grip on my neck. He forced my head down just enough so I could get a good view of his hand inside my panties. “Just watch. Feel. Let go.”
I did as he said. I observed the way his arm moved, felt what I couldn’t see, and relaxed into his efforts. A warm wave crashed over me, and I knew it was the beginning of what would be an extremely intense orgasm. It took sheer determination to keep my eyes open and focused on the sensations running rampant inside me. A bomb hid low in my belly, and the more he stroked it, the closer I came to imploding.
He ground his erection against my ass. “Tell me what you want, Kara.”
“I don’t…I don’t know.”
“Yes you do.” With his hand in my pants, his fingers deep inside me, he pushed my bottom into him. At the same time, he pressed his hard-on into me. It caused me to throw the back of my head into his shoulder and clench my eyes shut. “You know what you want, and I’m not gonna give it to you ‘til you come. So tell me, what do you want?”
“I want you to fuck me.”
“With what?” he pressed.
Irritation burned in my chest, because I didn’t want to talk. I wanted him to get me off so he could fill me with the promising erection pressed into my ass. But he didn’t seem to be the type of guy to let things go, so I gave in. “With your cock. I want you to fuck me with your cock.”
He did something with his hand, as if gripping me with his fingers inside and his palm
against my clit. Whatever it was, I found myself teetering on the edge of bliss. “Then come, Kara,” he growled out against my skin and then sank his teeth into my shoulder. That was all I needed to push me over.
My throaty screams filled the otherwise quiet room as the orgasm slammed into me. My muscles turned rigid as I pressed up on my tiptoes, desperately trying to chase the high. My fingernails dug into his arm. And then, as the wave began to recede, my limbs went limp, weighted with lead, threatening to drag me to the ground. But Carter kept his hold on me, preventing me from falling.
“That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” His sentiment followed his lips along my shoulder and up my neck to my ear. “But I’m not done with you yet. I wanna feel you grip my dick the way you did my fingers. I wanna feel you squeeze me. Tell me you want that, too. Tell me, Kara.”
“Yes,” I panted out, struggling to catch my breath. “I want that, too.”
He took my hands and pinned them to the mirror above my head. When he seemed to realize I wouldn’t move them—because I had no strength to move anything—he released his hold around my wrists and made fast work of yanking my jeans and panties all the way down. He rolled my tank top up above my bra, but other than that, he left my shirt in place. His body molded against mine until I was left hunched over with my forehead pressed against the cold glass. I didn’t have too much of a view from this angle, other than of his denim-clad legs behind mine, but at least I had the ability to hear what he was doing.
As if it were static from an old television set, the distinct grind of zipper’s teeth came first. Then the muted crinkles of thick plastic, followed by it ripping open. His gasp filtered up my spine, and even without seeing him, I knew how close he was to me. His body heat seared my back. His breaths wafted along my prickled skin. And then his lips fell to my bare spine, where the tip of his tongue trailed a path to my neck.
“You ready for me?” His husky voice filled my ear, and all I could do was nod.
An hour later, we were parked along the curb in front of my sister-in-law’s house.
“Danni’s probably going to freak when I walk inside. I never said where I was going.”
The dim lights on his dash cast a bluish hue across his face, deepening the shadows of his features. His brow knitted in concentration while his top lip curled up. “Who?”
“Danni—Danielle—my sister. Well, my sister-in-law. My brother’s wife. The one I’m—” He cupped my cheek in his hand and placed his thumb over my lips, putting an end to the incessant rambling.
“I think I get it.” His tone had softened, losing the husky edge he’d had in the empty gym. “Can I at least walk you to the door?”
The fog of wine had lifted sometime between my second orgasm and my fifth. And with it went the ability to flirt or come up with any kind of sexy retort. So instead, I sat there and shrugged, feeling foolish.
At least he didn’t bother to ask me again. He opened his door, unfolded himself from the car, and met me on the passenger side. He took my hand in his as he led me through the grass to the porch.
The lights on the outside of the house illuminated the driveway, but the outdoor chandelier hanging above the door was off, leaving the small area in complete darkness. He didn’t release me. Instead, he brought our joined hands to my hip and held me still. With his free hand, he touched my face—gentler than when he’d had me pinned against the mirror—cupped my cheek, and laced his fingers into my hair. The way he held me, all of me, prevented me from moving without using physical force. It increased my heart rate and wiped my mind clear of any thought that didn’t have to do with his lips on mine.
Our bodies touched, melded together. My breasts were pressed against the top of his stomach; his hips gently caressed my lower belly. Using the grip he had on my waist, he pulled me impossibly closer to him while taking advantage of his hold in my hair to tip my head back.
His head lowered and I sucked in a lungful of air. My eyes closed in anticipation of what was to come. Heat from his steady exhales warmed my skin like a slow-burning fire, and it ignited a hunger deep inside I assumed he’d already eradicated.
And then he kissed me.
It wasn’t ravenous like in the gym, but it wasn’t sweet, either. It was slow, demanding. A careful exploration of my mouth without the earlier impatience. The way his lips molded to mine gave me hope for more in the future. This wasn’t a goodbye…but more of an “I’ll fuck you later.”
“Goodnight, Kara,” he whispered against the corner of my mouth before taking a step away, allowing an unwarranted chill to gather around me.
I stood there with my back to the cold front door, my breaths rushing in and out in heaving waves of returning desire. I tried to see him in the darkness, but I could only make out his retreating silhouette.
“Goodnight, Carter.” My whisper floated off into the air.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Wow…was that a Lexus I saw you climb out of?” Danni asked from the dark dining room next to the front door. I hadn’t even made it all the way inside yet. “When I dated your brother, he drove a piece of crap Corolla. I swear I thought that thing would leave us stranded every time I got in it. Or give me tetanus from the rust.”
Ignoring her, I made my way toward the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. I needed something to cool me down. Carter had left me overheated and not at all close to settling down. “Were you spying on me?”
Danni pulled a stool away from the bar and sat down. She leaned on the counter with her elbow, resting her chin in her open hand as if readying herself for gossip. “I wasn’t spying. I closed the blinds when I saw the car pull up, and since I didn’t know who it was, I waited in case it was someone coming to rob us.”
I quirked a brow at her while I swallowed a cold gulp of water. “You thought someone driving a brand-new Lexus was coming here to rob you?”
“You never know…maybe he stole it from someone else.”
“I don’t know how Tommy puts up with your paranoia.”
“Are you seriously not going to tell me about your night?” She slapped the counter when I attempted to leave the room. “You were out for hours, and your hair is all over the place. You didn’t tell me anything before you ran out of here earlier. And to make matters worse, I couldn’t freaking see anything other than his shadow when he dropped you off just now.”
I shrugged one shoulder, relaxed against the counter, and leaned toward her. “Not much to tell. He took me to dinner, we had pizza and wine, we talked about my job, his job…a typical date, Danni.”
Sadness washed over her features as her gaze fell away and the small hints of a smile vanished. “Oh, okay. Well, I hope you had fun. I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”
Guilt tightened in my chest when she moved to stand up. Ever since I’d gotten into town, we hadn’t talked about too much other than what she needed from me while I was here. “Danni…wait. What’s wrong? Why do you look like you’re about to cry?”
“It’s nothing, Kara. Really. Goodnight…I’ll see you in the morning.”
“No. You’re upset. I’m not going to go to sleep knowing you’re walking away in tears. What did I miss tonight? Is Logan okay? Oh my God, is Tommy okay?”
She reached out and laid a hand on my arm when my worry became obvious. “If something had happened to Tommy, I would’ve called you. Nothing happened—to your brother or Logan. I’m just lonely and was hoping we could dish about your date. It’s no big deal; I promise.”
“Why are you lonely?”
Danni redirected her gaze to the ceiling, her way of fighting off tears. “I guess I didn’t realize how hard it was going to be without your brother here. Nights are really quiet now, and I’m just not used to it. When you said you’d stay for the summer, I thought I’d have some company, but I’ve barely seen you. You’re gone most mornings before I leave for work, and then as soon as you get back from the gym, I’m rushing out the door. I get home from the hospital after eight,
and by then, I’m scrambling to get Logan in bed. Once I’m done with that, you’re back in your room with the door closed. I don’t know, Kara. We used to be really close. We used to talk about everything. I don’t know when it changed, but I really hoped you being here would mend whatever’s broken.”
“Nothing’s broken, Danni. I had no idea you felt this way.”
She wiped away a lone tear and gave me a weak, pathetic smile. Her lips didn’t even curl all the way, and her chin trembled slightly. “I don’t know…it happened after Tommy and I got married.”
I took a moment and gave her words some thought. But still, I couldn’t understand what she meant. Danni and I had been friends since we were kids. She’d lived next door to us and was my best friend, despite her being two years older than me. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea. You and Tommy got married and then moved away. Then you had Logan and moved even farther away. I honestly had no idea you thought there were any problems in our friendship.”
“So why won’t you tell me about your date? Why head off to bed as soon as you walk through the door?” She cocked her head to the side, but her eyes shone with deep hurt over my actions. She never was very good at hiding her emotions from me.
I huffed and dropped my head, embarrassment dragging me down. “I slept with him.”
“I’m sorry…what? You’re going to have to speak up, please. I can’t hear you.”
I lifted my head and stared right at her. “I said, I slept with him. Well, not really slept. There was no bed. No sleeping. Just mirrors.”
“Jiminy Crickets.” Her mouth fell open and her glistening eyes grew wide. “Mirrors?”
“He had to go back to the gym to replace some battery in the alarm. It was closed so it was just us. I had wine at dinner and felt it necessary to straddle him after forcing him to do some bench presses.”
