Carter’s kisses are far and away the best kisses I’ve ever been on the receiving end of. And his body, oh good lord his body. I want to climb him like a tree. I still don’t know how it is that I came to be the object of his attention, but I’m done second guessing it.
I’m lying back on my bed with my booted feet on the ground, freshly showered and dressed in a black, figure hugging, mid-thigh length dress with teal stockings. My phone chimes with a text, and seeing Carter’s name brings a smile to my lips. It says he’s out front so I grab my peach kimono covered in butterflies, slide it on over my dress and head out.
He’s leaning against his car with his hands tucked into his jean pockets, and when his eyes find me, they widen, “Hey, gorgeous,” he greets, as his eyes travel the length of my body.
A slow smile spreads across my face, “I take it you like my outfit?” I say, doing a little twirl as I approach.
As soon as I’m within reach he pulls me into his warm body, “Fuck, yes,” he murmurs against my cheek. Dipping his head, he presses a soft kiss to my shoulder, “I like everything about you.”
Inhaling his minty scent, I ask, “Where are we going?”
He takes my hand and leads me around his car, opening my door for me. “Wherever you want. I just want to hang out with you.” When he gets in behind the wheel he turns to face me, “So, where to?”
I grin, knowing exactly where I want to go, “I know a place,” I tell him, then give him the directions to my field on the far side of town.
The further out of town we get, the darker it becomes. Carter glances at me from the corner of his eye, “Are you taking me somewhere dark and dingy to do nefarious things to me, Chance?” his grin is huge.
I laugh, “No, you pervert. I shoot out here a lot. It’s my happy place.”
He nods beside me, “Fine, but for the record, I wouldn’t object to the nefarious deeds.”
Shaking my head at him, I roll my eyes, even though I know he can’t see it in the darkness, “I bet you wouldn’t.”
Five minutes later, we climb out of Carter’s Everest and, using the flashlights on our phones, we walk down the well worn track through the grass to the old outdoor setting I brought out here last year. I walk ahead of him, leading the way. And Carter follows behind me, silently.
When we make it to the giant fig tree in the middle of the paddock, I lead Carter to the table and chairs set up under it, then find the little battery pack for the twinkling lights I have strung through the branches above us. I flick the little switch and the lights come to life, giving the area an ethereal glow.
I close my eyes and sigh with happiness, I love coming out here, especially at night.
Carter’s deep voice pulls my attention back to him, “Hmm, what was that?” I ask, turning back to face him.
“Isn’t it the guys job to do shit like this?” he says.
Taking the seat beside his, I shake my head, “Like what?”
He lifts his hand, gesturing to the lights twinkling around us, “This, it’s romantic. It’s special, you know. I should be the one taking you to places like this, not the other way around.”
I shrug, “I’m not one of those girls who expects to be treated like a princess. This is my little piece of happy. The place I come when I need to breathe. You seem like you might need a place like this too, maybe?”
Carter covers my hand with his own, “Mase has been calling me Princess for years, maybe it’s time I let someone treat me like one,” he says with a grin, then leans over the arm rest between us and cups my cheek in his big palm, “Are you going to treat me like a princess, Chance? Are you going to romance and woo me?”
His mouth is so close I can feel the warmth of his breath, and I want nothing more than to close that little space separating his lips from mine, but his words gnaw at me, “Like a princess? No. But I’ll treat you like my own, personal, dirty prince if you want,” I whisper against his cheek, then run my tongue up the side of his lightly stubbled jaw to his ear, and bite down on his lobe.
A deep guttural groan fills the air around us, and Carter pushes to his feet and stands in front of me. He braces on the arms of my chair as he leans down into my face, “Could you be any more perfect for me? Why the fuck did I not come after you months ago?”
His eyes are boring into mine, searching for I don’t know what. I lick my lips, “I don’t know. Better late than never, right?” I murmur.
“Sorry I was late, my girl,” his lips graze against mine as he speaks, then he’s kissing me with so much gentleness my breath hitches. He takes his time, sucking my bottom lip between his own, “So, fucking, perfect,” he says between peppering my lips with soft wet strokes of his tongue.
My hands slide up into his hair, tugging on the strands, wanting, needing more of him, “Carter,” I whimper.
Lifting me from my seat he turns and drops back into his own, taking me with him. My knees bend by his sides, as I press myself into his chest, taking everything he’s giving me. We kiss and touch each other for a long time, learning what the other likes, memorising each curve and crest.
When we finally come up for air, my lips are swollen but I can’t stop smiling at him, and as much as I’d like to keep kissing him, I want to hear his voice, I want to know more about him, “Tell me about MMA.”
He takes a deep breath, “I can’t talk to you with you in my lap. I’m incapable of thinking clearly with your soft curves so irresistibly close.”
Using his shoulders to steady myself, I push away from him and get to my feet, “Okay, I’ll sit over here then,” I tell him, as I back away from him to a thick low hanging branch, then climb up on it and sit with my back against the trunk.
Carter leans back in his seat, stretching his long legs out in front of him, and slides his hands into his pockets, “What do you want to know?”
“How long have you been doing it? Why do you do it? It looks so gruesome. I looked it up, it’s almost animalistic,” my nose scrunches up, as I tell him what I think of the sport that brings light to his eyes.
He shrugs one big shoulder, “It is a very raw and gritty sport. But nothing brings me peace the way it does. I’ve been fighting since I was about twelve, when Mase and I first saw an open class and went to check it out. I’ve been addicted ever since.”
I can’t help but frown, “How can something so violent bring you peace?”
Removing his hands from his pockets, he links them behind his head, “I’ve got issues, Chance. Issues you can’t begin to imagine,” he pauses, “I’m angry all the time. It builds up inside of me and nothing gives me relief except getting in that ring and unleashing it.” He looks up at the lights in the branches above him as he speaks, his voice is soft, but full of emotion.
Bringing my knees up to my chest, I wrap my arms around them, and lay my head down, looking at him, “Why are you angry, Carter?” My voice comes out in a soft whisper.
I watch his Adam’s apple bob as he swallows, then he licks his lips. The rise and fall of his chest is slow and steady as he turns to look at me, “Because of my sister, Bella.”