She knew if she acknowledged his ties were loose, he’d be on her in an instant, so she played along with him and didn’t stop the barrage on his thick cock. She’d explored him and teased him earlier, but she gave it everything she had now, daring him not to come, wanting nothing more than to make him explode in her mouth.
His guttural groan told her he was getting close. “Carolyn…I’m gonna come.” The way he said it was either an apology or a warning. They had never talked about sex—it was just passion guiding them—so he was probably being a gentleman and didn’t know if she wanted to take his seed in her mouth.
She continued to work his wet cock in her hand as she spoke. She wouldn’t dare lose this momentum. “I hope so, Carter. I’m still hungry.”
“Oh, fuck,” he grunted, and his hips started moving in earnest, thrusting his cock deeper into her mouth, just touching the back of her throat. And then he stopped moving altogether, but his cock jumped with every spurt of his thick fluid onto her tongue. She swallowed it down, but he wasn’t quite finished yet. And even after the last of his come was sliding down her throat, his body still twitched in the aftermath of his orgasm.
Carolyn couldn’t help her wide grin when Carter slumped exhausted into the bed, unmoving, but then his arms fell to his sides.
“Hey!” she cried. He’d been grasping the headboard as she’d suspected.
His eyes were sleepy, and his smile was one a woman could fall in love with. “I think I deserve a belt buckle for that victory. Or a medal, at least. I’ve never had to hold back that much in my life. You owned me, beauty.”
She crawled up his chest, a little unsure what to do next. She’d tried something similar with Richard after they were married, but she’d quickly learned that when he was finished getting what he needed, they were done.
Once, she’d tried to kiss him after going down on him, but he kept turning his head away and finally told her he thought kissing her after she’d swallowed his come was disgusting. And after that she had made herself a deal—if a man thought his own fluid was so disgusting that he wouldn’t kiss her after, then she wouldn’t demean herself by taking it in her mouth.
“Come here,” Carter told her, and he opened his arms to her.
She snuggled up close to him and rested her cheek against his bare chest, not wanting to be disappointed if he felt the same about kissing her now.
He squeezed her tighter. “Are you okay?”
She nodded against his chest. “I’m great. And you?”
“I can say with one hundred percent honesty that I have never been better.” He cupped the side of her face in his big hand. “Carolyn?”
“Yes?”
“Come here, woman.” When she looked up at him, he dragged her up his body until her face was hovering over his. “You are amazing. I wish you could see yourself through my eyes.”
Her only response was a goofy expression, staring straight into his eyes like a lovesick fool. But then he pulled her head down and kissed her hard. His tongue thrust into her mouth, and she sighed against his lips. This was a manly man. He wasn’t scared of anything.
Carolyn hadn’t had any other lovers in quite a while, so she was a little surprised to feel Carter’s cock begin to come to life between the press of their bodies. “You’re up for more?” she asked.
He blinked. “Are you kidding me? You think I would have let you finish me if I couldn’t come for you again later?”
“Well, I’m not sure you had a choice. I did tie you up,” she pointed out.
“Actually, I’m not sure you did.” He chuckled and glanced at the scraps of fabric lying across the pillow. “But if it came to letting you down later, I would have torn that headboard apart before I would have let you get me off.”
“So what you’re saying is…”
He rolled her onto her back and let just enough of his weight rest on her that she was pleasantly trapped, as though he was making his point of who was in charge now. “I’m saying I want to make love to you, Carolyn, if you’ll have me.”
Her pussy had been wet before she’d had Carter in her mouth, but knowing he wanted to be inside her, her body rushed to accommodate his plans. “I want you, cowboy. All of you.”
She loved the feeling of being under his body, safe and wanted. And when he leaned down and kissed her, it might have been her imagination or simply wishful thinking, but it felt like his heart was in it. It wasn’t fair to the female population to have men out there who could kiss like this. There was no defense against it.
“And you’ll have all of me,” he said. “I promise. But I can’t let you out of this bed until I’ve tasted you.”
Carter kissed a path down her neck, pushing her negligee to the side and stopping at each breast in turn, taking her nipple in his mouth and testing it against his tongue. She was so beautifully made, each pert nipple a warm, soft bud between his lips. He was a man on a mission to taste Carolyn’s sweet pussy, but when she moaned and clutched his head to her, he chuckled against her breast and sucked harder. If she was enjoying this, then he was sure as hell enjoying giving it to her.
He ground his face into her just a bit, growling against her breast and suckling harder, and as his reward, she spread her legs wider and her hips rose to meet his. He loved the feel of her fingers clutching his scalp. He grabbed one breast in his hand and met her eyes, watching her while he sucked her hard nub into his mouth and then released it with a pop of suction.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he told her. And it wasn’t just her looks—it was her inner beauty, her sweet, indomitable spirit despite getting the short end of the stick when it came to the men in her life.
She deserved to be cherished and adored and never let down. He only wished he could be that man to her. But he was from a different world than Carolyn. An ex-military man who was trying to keep an oversized cattle ranch afloat was about as good a match for Carolyn Ashford as well…an heiress was for him. No matter what it would do to that spot in his chest near his heart—this woman had to leave. And he had to let her.
But she wasn’t gone yet. And while he had her here in his bed, he was going to give her everything she needed and let her know she was everything he needed.
Despite Carolyn’s whimper, Carter pushed the black lace up her stomach and continued lower, kissing her stomach as tenderly as a rough man like him knew how. She shivered when he got to her pubic bone and took the edge of her panties in his teeth, sliding them down and off. Then he kissed his way back up her legs and burrowed his nose into her little strip of hair. He knew waxed pussies were all the rage these days, but he found himself wanting to see Carolyn’s blond hair growing wild and natural, so he could drag his fingers and tongue through it. There wasn’t any part of her he wanted to be denied.
When he found her clit and brought his lips and tongue down on her folds, she squirmed under him and sunk her fingers into his hair, pulling him closer. “Carter…” she panted.
And that one word was all he needed. He loved the sound of his name on her lush lips, and he especially loved the sound of the drunken passion in her voice and knowing he’d put it there. “Beauty…” He growled the word against her swollen pussy, letting the vibrations carry through her clit.
She ground against him with a moan, and her slick fluid coated his lips. He worked her clit until she was writhing against his face, then he moved lower and thrust his tongue inside her. Her breathing changed and he knew he’d heard this sound before, that night at Charlie’s. His fairy princess was going to come all over his face and there was nothing that excited him more than that thought.
“Come on, baby,” he ground out, and redoubled his efforts on her clit and her slick channel, adding two fingers and curving them upward, when she began to pant.
And before he knew it, everything was clutching at him, her hands on his head, her thighs squeezing tighter, like she wanted to absorb him through her skin. And when she at last screamed her release, her rush of fluids covered his hungry lips and chin. He licked at her greedily, soaking up every bit of her on his tongue.
His cock throbbed, but he didn’t want to hurry her. She still quivered from the orgasm that had wracked her body, and when she pulled back, he frowned. He eased his grip and let her roll away from him, but thankfully she didn’t go far—only to his nightstand drawer to grab a condom.
She opened the drawer, and her forehead wrinkled. “So this is where you keep my 9 millimeter when I’m not offing bales of hay with it.”
“Nah. Yours is in the safe downstairs. That one is mine. Does it bother you to have a loaded gun in the house?”
“Only if you accidentally shoot a hole in the condoms.”
His laughter was cut off by the sound of Jeff’s voice booming up the stairs. “Carter? You up there?”
Carter ran a frustrated hand through his hair and cursed out loud. “I swear, sometimes living this near the men is like having a house full of kids. I’m sorry, beauty. Just give me a minute.”
She winked at him and tucked the condom into the bodice of her negligee. “Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
Hearing her say it…damn, he wished that were true.
“Carter?” Jeff called again.
Carter threw his jeans on and went to the bedroom door. “Yeah, I’m up here. Just taking a nap. What’s going on?”
“You told me to tell you if Jeremiah’s mom took a turn for the worse. Well, I think it’s time to call the vet. She ain’t doing too good. I have her in the barn.”
“Aw, shit.” He threw on a T-shirt and socks and slipped his feet into his boots. “Yeah. Okay. Be down in a minute.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” Carolyn asked.
“No, we’ll be okay. You probably need to get back to work on your designs anyway.” He looked at her apologetically. “Sorry about this. It wasn’t how I saw our time ending.”
She kissed him and slapped him on the rump. “Go. Save Beatrice.”
He grinned and cocked a brow. “Beatrice? She has a name?”
“She does now.”
Carolyn changed into a sleek gray dress and got to work. It was a little hard to focus on her designs when she was thinking so much about Carter and Jeff out in the barn, tending to Jeremiah’s mom. But then Jester’s ears went up and he trotted to the attic door just as Carolyn heard the faint pop of gravel on the driveway.
“What is it?” Carolyn asked him. “Oh! My fabric shipment. It’s here!” Jester cocked his head. “Yes, fabric!”
At least she hoped so. Carter didn’t get many deliveries, but she’d gotten her fair share lately, and she couldn’t help her excitement when the doorbell rang. She hustled down the stairs with Jester leading the way.
She peeked out the peep hole just to be safe, and saw a man in a brown uniform holding a tall cardboard box. “Yes!” she said, with a small fist pump. Then she smoothed down her dress and opened the door with a smile.
“Carolyn Ashford?” the man asked.
“That’s me.” She blocked Jester with her knee when he began to sniff the air and his hackles rose. “Jester…no.”
“Sign here, please.” The man extended a clipboard to her and she took the pen from the top and began to scrawl her name next to the X. Jester’s low growl got her attention. He was always foul-tempered with strangers, but this time she didn’t know if she was going to be able to hold him back.
Just then, she looked up and confusion stilled her hand. Why was this man dressed in the typical brown uniform making deliveries from a black Mercedes van? Carolyn’s smiled faded as she stared up at him. Was it her imagination, or was something off?
She handed the clipboard back. “Thank you. Just leave it on the porch.”
The man set the box down and waved his hand at the van. When the passenger door opened and Richard walked around the front of the van and headed toward the house, Carolyn’s knees gave out. She caught herself a second later and jolted into action, trying to slam the front door shut, but the delivery man stuck his thick boot into the threshold to block it.
Jester lunged at the man’s ankle and from the cry she heard, must have sunk his teeth in. The man yanked his booted foot back, then sent it crashing toward Jester’s face. Her dog yelped as his head snapped back and he slid across the wood floor. Then a moment after that, a man she never wanted to see again pushed the door wide open.
It was as though time stood still. There was Richard, the afternoon sun framing him in the doorway. He wore a dark suit, like he always did, and his dark hair was slicked back. All of her friends had said he was so handsome and how lucky Carolyn was. But all it took was one look at his foul heart to know that his beauty was only skin deep. She knew she should be frightened, but it was as if she were suspended in a fog.
“Hello, my darling,” Richard said. “You should have been more receptive to my ideas over the phone.”
Memories of Carter’s first self-defense lesson came rushing back. He’d told her that in emergencies, people usually did one of three things—fight, flight or freeze. He told her that the worst thing a person could do was freeze. And yet, here she stood, staring back at the man who had tried to choke the life out of her. Her gaze went to his hands, remembering the horror of living with his angry abuse.
“Are you going to invite me in, Care?” he asked, then he stepped into the living room anyway, pushed the door shut and came to stand in front of her. She wanted to run or scream, but she couldn’t move.
Jester’s whine brought her head around. He was still on the floor, but he was starting to rise, shaking his head as though it would help clear the blood running down his eye and saturating his muzzle. Oh my God. They’d hurt her dog. He needed help, and if they hurt Carolyn, she wouldn’t be able to get him that help. Clarity started coming back as the blood flow returned to her tingly limbs. “Why are you here, Richard? You must have been in the area when you called. Why are you doing this?”
“I just wanted to talk to you, and if you’d been a little more agreeable earlier on the phone, you could have saved me this trip. So here’s your second chance. Let’s come to an agreement on the settlement before our court date. Simply rethink my request and sign these papers.” He glanced back, and the fake delivery man pulled a stack of papers from the clipboard, but his face was pale and his ankle bloody. He didn’t look happy at all, and the way he glared at Jester made her blood run cold.
“Even if I sign those, they’ll never hold up in court,” she told Richard. “They would be signed under duress.”
Richard’s terrifying smile made Carolyn take a step back, but he followed her and clasped her jaw, forcing her to meet his eyes. “You’re smarter than that, Carolyn. You can’t hide from me, and I think you see that now. You don’t want to come home? Fine. All you need to do is sign, and I’ll let you walk away.”
When the delivery man stepped forward with the stack of papers, Jester snarled and launched himself forward again. “Jester!” Carolyn screamed, reaching out for him as he grasped the man’s arm in his teeth and shook his head back and forth. “Help me!” she cried, doubting anyone was within earshot, but having to try.
Instinct made Carolyn cover her face when Richard’s hand flew at her. She turned and darted toward the stairs, slipping in her heels. She only made it a few steps up the staircase before she felt the burning tug on her hair and her head snapped back.
Richard clenched his fist in her hair tighter and tighter until Carolyn’s eyes strained from the force and she swore he was going to tear her hair out by the roots. A shriek of pain tore from her lungs, and in the corner of her blurry vision, she saw Jester and the man grappling on the floor, punches raining down and blinding white teeth flashing and snapping.
Carolyn couldn’t break Richard’s grip. She kicked out with her feet and felt her heel sink in to the flesh of his thigh. When Richard screamed and released her hair, Carolyn kicked off her shoes and scrambled up the steps as fast as her bare feet could carry her.
“You fucking bitch!” he called after her. “You’re gonna regret that!”
She almost went toward the attic, but at the last second, veered toward Carter’s room. She heard Richard’s steps thundering up the staircase, and she pushed the bedroom door closed just as he reached it, engaging the lock. His fists shook the door and she wasn’t sure how long it would be until he knocked it off its hinges. Something hit the door so hard, it could only have been his foot or his shoulder. No, that door wouldn’t hold.
She stumbled to the nightstand, her vision too blurry with tears to see clearly. But she yanked open the drawer and fumbled for the familiar weight of Carter’s 9 mm. She brought the gun up just as the door exploded inward and hit the floor. Richard’s chest was heaving, his thigh a bloody mess, and his expression the most frightening thing Carolyn had ever witnessed. He was going to kill her. She could see it in his eyes.
“Don’t take another step,” she told him. She positioned the gun in her hands and disengaged the trigger lock, just as Carter had shown her.
When he smiled and stepped forward, she aimed near his feet and pulled the trigger. The loud shot echoed through the room like the voice of God.
“The next shot will be through your chest.”
Her hands trembled and her voice was barely a whisper, but she meant what she said. She would shoot her soon-to-be ex-husband, because she had to. It was him or her, and she wasn’t dying in place of this vile human being. She had a full life ahead of her and so many things worth living for. A fledgling business. A second chance at family. And Carter.
Richard paused by the door and laughed. “You’re not going to kill me, Carolyn.”
“No, that’s my job,” said Carter’s deep voice from behind Richard, and suddenly, her cowboy was on him.
His elbow flashed toward Richard’s head and landed with a sick thud. Richard hit the floor in one smooth motion and began to crawl away. Carter hovered over him and grabbed him by the throat. Carolyn saw his knuckles go white as Richard choked out a breath and clawed at Carter’s hand, but Carter didn’t let go. The muscles in his biceps bulged and Richard’s nails made bloody marks down Carter’s arm, but Carter held tight.
“Since you’re a fan of this method,” he said to Richard, his voice low and deadly, “I just thought you might want to know what this feels like before you die.”
Richard’s face turned purple, and white spittle flew from corners of his lips. Carolyn turned her face away, unable to watch, but then a minute later, the sounds of struggle stopped. She glanced back and saw Richard lying limp on the floor. Carter stood over him, his expression pretty damn terrifying. He poised the heel of his boot over Richard’s head. “Carolyn, leave.”
And suddenly she knew what he had planned. This man had killed before and he was going to again…for her. And she couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t let him take on any more guilt and pain than what he’d already endured in his short life.
She set the gun on the nightstand and put her hands out before her. “He’s not moving. You stopped him, baby. You’re done.”
“Go. You’re not going to be safe until he’s gone. Permanently.”
She was still shaking with fear, but not fear of Carter. She loved this man. Lord help her, but in this moment, she was sure of it. Because Richard didn’t matter, whether he lived or died—the only thing that mattered was that Carter not suffer any consequences or be separated from her by jail or his own remorse.
She walked to him, slid her arms around his ribs and pressed her head against his chest. She felt his weight shift when he had to place both feet on the floor to balance them. “Hold me,” she said against his sweat-dampened shirt, but his mind was still in another place, his chest heaving, his muscles rigid. “Carter…” She looked up and met his eyes, let her love for him show, hoping he felt enough for her that it would get through. “Hold me, baby. I need you.”
And then his arms clamped around her, squeezing her so tight she could barely draw a full breath, and his mouth went to the top of her head, raining kisses into her hair. She wouldn’t tell him that it hurt where her scalp was raw. She just clung to him.
Footsteps pounded up the steps and Jeff appeared at the open threshold, his shirt torn down the front. “I tied that fella up but good.”
“Good job,” Carter said.
“What about him?” Jeff pointed to Richard. Richard’s chest was rising up and down, but the marks on his throat were a deep purple. He would need a doctor soon. “Do I need more rope?”
Carter shook his head. “Nah. Let him try to wake up. I dare him.”
Carolyn’s eyes were still leaking, wetting Carter’s shirt. How could she tell him that when she’d looked death in the face, she’d realized she wanted him as a permanent part of her life? She hoped there was still time to tell him later, but for now… “We need to call the police and an ambulance.”
“Paul already called them. They should be here in about—” he glanced at his watch, “—twenty minutes.”
Carolyn shook her head. They really were in the middle of nowhere.
“Oh my God, Jester! Come on!” she tugged Carter toward the hallway.
“On second thought,” Carter said over his shoulder to Jeff, “tie him up for me. Really, really tight.”
Jeff winked. “You got it, boss.”
Carolyn made her way down the steps on shaky legs to find the delivery man already bound and gagged. He was still conscious, but he was bleeding from several bites to his arms and legs, and he looked pissed.
When Jester saw her, he crawled toward her, whining. She didn’t know if she should be happy he was alive, or terrified he wasn’t walking normally. She glanced at Carter. “Call the vet!” Then she went down on her knees and cradled Jester’s face in her lap. There was no stopping her tears now.
Paul came through the front door beside a man Carolyn had never seen, but the man was carrying a black bag. “Holy shit, Halston. You call me out here for a sick cow and I walk in on a home-invasion robbery? And I thought your father was interesting.”
He knelt beside Jester, and the dog’s lips pulled up in a growl. Carolyn smoothed her hand over his muzzle and kissed the top of his head. “It’s okay, buddy. The doctor’s gonna make you better. You’ll be up and about in no time. Okay?” Jester cocked his head, as though trying to understand. “We’ve got lots more work to do before the show. With fabric.”
When he heard the magic word, his tail thumped against the wood floor, up and down slowly until it picked up speed. Jester had to be okay. He was part of Carolyn’s life, and she wasn’t ready to lose him. She hadn’t always known what it felt like to be “family”, but with Kyle and Sara’s help, she was learning. And that’s what Carter and Jester were to her—family. She only hoped she still had enough time left with Carter to convince him of the same.