by Anya Summers
Carter cleared his throat, but his deep bedroom voice carried a hint of lust as he spoke. “Yes, actually. I have to head back into town for a meeting at the club. Was there anything you needed?”
It wasn’t lost on her that his gaze dropped to her lips. Nor that her pulse spiked. She sputtered, “No. I’m good. Thanks for asking. Here’s the credit card you gave me this morning.”
“You ordered stuff for Liam?” he asked.
“Don’t sound so surprised. I did as you asked, and his things should be here at the end of the week.”
“Will wonders never cease? Good. We’ll get you both outfitted in no time. Don’t wait for me to eat dinner but I should be back in time to read to Liam before he goes to sleep.”
“Okay, have fun.”
Carter leaned forward then, eliminating the small distance she’d erected. And, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, he kissed her. Just a brief, gentle brush of his lips against hers. More startling and pronounced because it was unexpected and short. The kiss removed whatever imaginary boundaries she thought she could maintain, and rocked her foundation with its simplicity.
When he withdrew, his hazel eyes blazed with banked heat, like an iron forge smoldering.
Their gazes locked on each other, kinetic energy swirling between them. How could she have thought for even a second that she didn’t want him, that she could keep it casual and friendly between them without muddying the waters with lust?
The waters were already murky and infused with enough sexual energy to power the state of Alaska. And she wanted him, in an all-consuming way. Her gaze trained on his mouth, she started to lean forward for more, but before her lips could touch his, Liam emitted a tiny cry.
Jerking back, she climbed off the chaise and lifted Liam from his carrier, swaying a bit to soothe her little man. Carter stood, his big body dwarfing hers.
“See you later tonight then,” Carter murmured. He reached for her. To do what, she wasn’t certain, but he then seemed to think better of it and course corrected so that he caressed Liam’s cheek instead. With a last heated glance at her, he swiveled on the heels of his boots and strode from the room.
Jenna was teetering on a ledge with Carter. She craved him. Loved him. A single push, and she’d jump. Toss caution to the wind and hope that, when she did finally land, she wouldn’t be too broken.
Chapter 13
Later that evening, Jenna and Liam were in her room. She’d just settled into the rocker, Liam excitedly straining in her arms because he knew he was about to get fed, when a knock rapped on the door.
“Come in,” she replied, covering her exposed breast. Liam petulantly waved his fists. The door swung inward as she stood and approached to discover who was there. Carter was on the other side of the doorframe. He hoisted a piece of wooden furniture and hefted it into her room.
“What’s this? Do you need help?” Jenna asked, advancing toward him, cradling Liam against her chest.
“It’s a proper changing table for Liam. That way you don’t have to use the top of the dresser anymore,” Carter explained, positioning it up against the wall near the dresser and diaper genie.
It was very sweet of him and rather practical. She had to admire that.
“Thank you. I’m sure it will be wonderful,” she said as Carter adjusted the table.
“It’s no big deal. There’s also one in the bathroom downstairs near the kitchen, one in the sunroom, and there will be a fourth for his room,” Carter said, hands on his hips.
“You bought four changing tables tonight?” she asked, staring at him like he’d lost his mind.
“Well, yeah. It’s needed, right? I also picked up more of those genie things and put one in each room with the tables.” He shrugged, like it was no big deal. Didn’t he realize how huge it was?
“Carter, I—”
He held up a hand, his gaze stern and immovable. “Don’t tell me it was too much. This will help you out and make life a little bit easier. That way, when you’re studying in the sunroom and Liam needs a diaper change, you don’t have to run all the way back up here. Dottie will help keep them stocked.”
Make life easier for her. She blinked back the onset of moisture filling her gaze. It shouldn’t make her cry that someone wanted her taken care of, but it had been so long. Her voice thick with emotion, she said, “Thank you, Carter. Truly.”
Liam fussed in her arms at being denied his nightly meal.
“If you give me five minutes to take a shower, I will be back in to read to him. I just want to wash all the dust off before I hold him,” Carter said.
“Sure. He’s ready to nurse but that takes a bit, so you have time.”
“Be back in a few,” Carter replied and left her room.
She gathered a few of Liam’s books and placed them on the nightstand for Carter to read, then laid Liam upon the mattress. She climbed into bed and settled against the headboard. Liam wailed his frustration over not being fed.
“I know, my love,” she murmured.
Lifting Liam into her arms, she positioned a pillow beneath him and fit her nipple into his tiny, bow shaped mouth. He rootled for a minute before he latched on and began to drink. Waves of protectiveness and love swamped her. She knew that it was partially a hormonal, biological component that made breastfeeding an activity mothers liked, but it was also so much more than that. She loved this precious time with him and the bond that grew deeper each time. It was unlike anything else in her life.
Even the connection she had with Carter.
Carter returned in sweats and a tank top, his inky hair damp. Sexy as sin. He always had been. Nothing had changed that fact. If anything, he’d grown more handsome. Perhaps it was because Jenna loved him so much. And then there was the teensy fact that she knew the scintillating body hidden beneath his clothing.
He skirted the foot of the bed and joined her. She liked him this way; relaxed, barefoot, the scent of his woodsy soap still clinging to him. Even with the constant livewire sexual tension between them.
“What should we read tonight, son?” Carter said, giving Liam a smile and wriggling his dark eyebrows.
Liam grinned up at him, a small stream of milk drizzling down his cheek before he re-latched and sucked, his stare intent on Carter. Jenna couldn’t deny the bond that was forming between man and boy.
“The counting book? That’s what I was thinking too,” Carter said, lifting the first book she’d put on the nightstand.
The easy rhythm of Carter’s voice filled the room. She felt the timbre and vibrations in her chest. His shoulder pressed against hers. It took everything inside Jenna not to give in to her yearning. She wanted to lay her head on his shoulder. Give him all her cares and worries. And just stay here with him.
When Liam had finished breastfeeding, Carter said, “Here, why don’t you let me take over and you can have a shower if you’d like.”
She wasn’t going to turn him down. Handing Liam over, she headed into the bathroom. Her sister’s words tumbled in her head as she showered. The only thing holding her back from enjoying Carter was she herself. Was she ready for sex again? Was she ready to re-forge that connection with him?
Yes. She wanted him. Needed him like she needed sunshine and oxygen. The first time would likely be painful, yet she’d get past it. Where it would all lead, she had no clear cut answer. And while she could keep attempting to ignore it all, there was a pressure cooker building inside her where she felt like if he didn’t touch her, didn’t put his big hands on her, if she didn’t feel the weight of him over her, she would explode.
Her decision made, she hurried through her shower. By now, Liam should be asleep. In the evenings, on a full belly, he tended to conk out and sleep for a few hours. It was enough time to seduce Carter.
When she emerged from the bathroom in only her robe, Carter was putting a sleeping Liam in his bassinette. At the sight of her in nothing but her robe, he straightened and approached. His hazel eyes scored her with
hunger.
She met him halfway until they stood a foot apart. The air shimmered with expectation.
“Jenna?” Carter asked the question, his gaze roaming over her form.
She gripped one of his big hands and lifted it to her cheek. She rubbed her cheek against his palm and beseeched him, “Touch me, Carter. I want—”
He closed the distance, his mouth claiming hers, cutting off her words. And her body went up in flames. Finally! Finally, his hands were on her again. His mouth, his wonderful, seductive, sinful mouth, moved over hers. His tongue swept inside, thrusting deep, drinking her moans.
She plastered herself against his front. Her arms circled his neck. She leaned up on her tiptoes. But Carter took over control, palmed the globes of her ass through the robe, and hoisted her into his arms. He carried her to the bed and laid her down on the mattress, his mouth never leaving hers as his body followed her down.
He tugged the front tie of her robe and spread it open. Her fingers clutched at his tank. She yearned to feel all of him. Every acre of firm hard muscle. He finally lifted his mouth from hers, his breathing heavy. His eyes raged with lust as he helped her remove his shirt.
She moaned deep in her throat at his nude chest.
Flames battered her core. Passion speared her veins. Drawn to him, of their own accord, her hands touched his chest. At the tingle created by his chest hair against her palms, she mewled. Then she caressed his pecs, circling the flat disks of his nipples, loving the grumble of pleasure he emitted. She traced down over his lats, the lines and ridges of his stomach, before she trailed her fingertips along the waistband of his sweats. The firm ridge of his cock pressed against her hip.
He placed kisses over her jawline. Down the sensitive hollow of her neck. Over the slope of her breasts. Her boobs were so much more sensitive now that she was breastfeeding. When he flicked his tongue against a nipple, pleasure coursed through her. He sucked the bud into his mouth. He licked and nipped at her flesh, and then he was drinking from her tit. There wasn’t much left over. But she’d never considered Carter would want to taste her this way.
“Now I know why our son loves suckling your tits so much. Christ, I never thought it would be a turn on,” Carter growled and moved his mouth to its twin, giving it identical treatment that left her gasping and writhing beneath him.
He traveled further south. Kneeling, he spread her thighs wide, then ran a finger through her folds. She hissed at the pleasure.
“Fuck, you’re drenched. I promise I will be gentle. Let me know if anything causes so much as a twang, understood?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, what?” he growled, giving her a dark heated glance.
“Yes, Sir,” she murmured.
“Your safeword still red?”
“Yes, Sir.” She nodded and gulped in a breath.
“Good. Your hands are to stay here,” he directed, placing them on either side of her body on the bed.
“Don’t move them for any reason, understood? Relax and let me love you. This is about reintroducing your body to the delights of the flesh,” Carter ordered, his gaze intense and suffused with hunger.
The inherent command, the domination in his touch, caused shivers to erupt in her. She’d missed this, missed him being like this. Then he spread her thighs wider and wedged his broad shoulders between them. She dug her fingers into the mattress to keep them in place. Her breath clogged in her throat as his mouth descended. At the first swipe of his talented tongue through her intimate folds, her breath expelled in a rush.
Pleasure curled inside her core. Carter circled her nub of desire, teasing her with the promise of ecstasy. His tongue slid under her hood, lapped over her labia, before finally flicking over her clitoris. Pleasure rocketed inside her. He’d always enjoyed giving her oral. And goodness, but he was as hungry for her as she’d been for him.
He ate her pussy with relish. Like it was the best thing he’d ever tasted, and he wanted to dine on it for the rest of the night. He savored her, sucking her engorged bud into his mouth. She clawed at the mattress, needing surcease, her climax just out of reach.
He held her hips firm in his grasp and plunged his tongue inside her quivering folds. She tried to rock her hips into his thrusts but he wasn’t allowing it. Her pleasure was at his command. It drove her wild.
“Sir.” She gasped, her back arching at the waves of pleasure riddling her frame.
“Stop trying to control everything, Jenna. Surrender. Let go for me,” he ordered, his tongue driving her out of her mind with need.
Was she trying to hang on to control? And if so, why?
She wasn’t alone in this anymore. Hadn’t he proved that? Carter had never done anything to warrant her mistrust. Somehow she’d forgotten what it truly meant to be submissive. She’d held on so tightly for so long. But she was denying them both—even when they’d been on the island she’d denied him. He, more than anyone, any Dom she’d ever known, deserved her complete submission. The ledge she’d been holding on to for so long her fingers ached crumbled and she inhaled a deep breath and just let go, trusting that Carter would be there to catch her as she fell. Her body went fluid beneath his touch and relief swamped her.
Carter lifted his head, his chin coated with her dew, his face hovering over her mound, and gave her a seductive grin, pride infusing his gaze. He winked and lowered his mouth back down to her pussy. His gaze trained on hers, he ramped up his speed, thrusting inside her channel with wild abandon at her surrender. Jenna couldn’t stop her moans.
“Quiet, or you’ll wake Liam. If I have to gag you, I will,” he warned and nipped at her labia.
She bit her lower lip, attempting to contain her mewls.
Carter’s teeth nipped at her nub and she came apart. Pleasure ricocheted through her body. Her pussy quaked. She strained at the waves as they bombarded her system.
Carter didn’t stop his ministrations. When the vibrations from one orgasm ended, he drove her up another cliff with startling ease. Before Jenna knew what was happening, another climax hit her. He continued to eat her, sending her over the edge of delirium. With the next one, he added his fingers. His tongue flicked over her clitoris as he penetrated her with a single digit.
She hissed at the unexpected slice of pain.
“Carter, Sir,” she whined.
“Relax, darlin’. I’m just trying to stretch you before I fuck you. I will go slowly but I know this time might be painful and I’ll do what I can to lessen it.”
She nodded. He thrust his finger, setting up an even rhythm. Jenna could feel her body relaxing around it, accepting the intrusion. And then he added a second finger, starting the whole process over again.
The pain wasn’t horrible, more of a dull ache. And it eased with time and the way his tongue never stopped lapping at her clit. By the time he inserted a fourth finger, Jenna was sure this having sex again thing was going to be fine. Yes, there was pain, but there was pleasure also.
And she’d always enjoyed a little pain with her pleasure anyhow. With his tongue and fingers, Carter drove her body up another pleasurable peak of ecstasy.
Then he knelt before her. His cock jutted from his lean hips. He gripped his shaft as he spread her thighs further. Propped up on one thick, strong arm, he drew his cock through her wet folds. At his hiss, she glanced at his face.
Heat scored his features. Lust hardened his gaze.
“I will go as slow as I can. Use your fucking safeword if you need it,” he commanded, his teeth gritted.
Then, with more control than she knew he had, he penetrated her channel. Inch by inch, he pressed his cock forward. Pain stole the breath from her lungs and her eyes watered.
“Carter,” she whispered at the agony.
“Deep breaths. You’re doing beautifully,” he said, then moved his hand and rubbed his thumb over her swollen clit.
Pleasure spliced through the discomfort and he slid deeper inside. Carter thrust gently, progressing deeper each time until he
was fully embedded inside, his balls pressed against her bum. She moaned, and not in pleasure. Tears spiked her eyes and coated her lashes.
Carter’s big hands cupped her face.
“Look at me, Jenna,” he commanded softly.
She opened her eyes and stared into his.
“Talk to me. Tell me what you’re feeling, darlin’,” he said.
“It hurts, Sir. I don’t know…” She blinked back her tears.
“Easy, darlin’, just trust me,” Carter instructed.
She nodded through her tears. He didn’t move his hips or withdraw his cock but stayed embedded in her pussy. His thumbs caught her tears. Then he fitted his mouth over hers and kissed her, deeply. The kiss marked her. Took her out of her mind so she relaxed. She returned it with everything inside her, pouring her need for him, her love for him, into it and even giving him her pain. Defying his command, she wrapped her arms around his wide shoulders. She needed to touch him. Jenna adored the sensation of his massive body atop hers, the weight of him pressing her into the mattress. It made her feel inherently feminine and submissive.
Carter continued to kiss her, his tongue dueling heatedly with hers. And still he remained motionless but for his lips upon hers. Slowly, the pain in her vaginal walls started to ease. The man had always known how to kiss her brainless. But now he grew even more in her esteem as his kiss drove away her pain.
Jenna clung to Carter as he delved inside her depths. His hands cradled her face. His mouth dominated her. Took her under. She wasn’t sure how long he kissed her. Time suspended itself. With every thrust of his tongue, he drew her deeper into his sensual web. Pain gave way to liquid tugs of pleasure in her womb.
Her body softened beneath him, accepted his weight, accepted his cock. Her pussy clenched and fluttered around his girth. And still he kissed her. His kisses filled all the holes in her heart and soul.
