Chapter Eight

Caroline

 

Carson was frowning at me when we both heard a stirring on the ground. I looked down to see Lucas waking up into consciousness. He groaned and held a hand up to his face, wiping his chin. When he pulled it away and it was bloody, he grunted.

 

“What the fuck?” he hissed.

 

I smirked at him. From where I stood, he seemed like such an insignificant little prick. He wasn’t intimidating or threatening at all. I watched with satisfaction as the blood trickled out of his mouth. When he tried to roll into a sitting position, Lucas’s eyes rolled back in his head. For a moment I thought he was going to pass out again.

 

“Stay awake,” Carson hissed. He leaned down and grabbed Lucas by the throat, yanking him into a standing position. “What the fuck is going on? Who the fuck are you?”

 

Lucas laughed, showing a mouth full of blood and yellow teeth. “Fuck you,” he said to Carson. “I’m nobody to you, asshole. You can’t save your little girlfriend.”

 

Carson shook his head. “She’s not my girlfriend,” he said tersely. “But you didn’t answer my fucking question. Who the fuck are you, and what do you want?”

 

“Nothing with you,” Lucas cackled. He spat blood on Carson’s face and Carson decked him again, sending him flying to the ground. I watched as a tooth dribbled out of his mouth and bounced along the pavement. “It’s gonna take more than that to keep me down,” he said with a grin. “You’re gonna have to work much, much harder, boy.”

 

I watched as Carson’s face twisted into an almost unrecognizable mask of anger. Kick him again, I thought. Harder this time!

 

But Carson restrained himself. He turned to me. “Come on,” he said shortly. “I’m taking you home.”

 

I shook my head. “I can drive,” I told him. “My car’s right here. See?”

 

Carson shook his head. I felt his strong hand encircle my arm and a little shiver of arousal went through my body. “No, you’re coming with me,” he told me. “Come on.”

 

We walked down the steps of the garage without speaking, leaving Lucas in a pool of blood and a few teeth. I wanted to go back and make sure he was really hurt, but something told me Carson was going to start hounding me for more answers.

 

“You really don’t have to do this,” I told him after a few minutes of silence. “I’m totally fine on my own.”

 

“You’re obviously not,” Carson shot back. “I left for what, like, two seconds?”

 

I blushed and ducked my head. “Whatever,” I muttered, not wanting to argue. “Where are you parked?”

 

Carson led me through the trees. His bike was leaned against a fence. “Here,” he said, handing me a half-dome of a helmet. “Put this on.”

 

As we cruised through the streets of downtown, I wrapped my arms around him and held on a little tighter than I should have. There was something really sensual about riding the motorcycle; it almost felt more like a live animal than a piece of machinery. Carson handled it expertly. “Lean with me!” he yelled as we approached a sharp turn. I felt his body angle in the opposite direction and I leaned with him. It was scary—I felt like I was actually close to the ground even though we were fine. It was exhilarating; between our encounter with Lucas and the fast bike ride, my adrenaline was going crazy.

 

Being this close to Carson was making my heart beat fast, too. His hair smelled like tobacco and cologne, and I buried my face in the back of his neck and breathed in deeply. He was muscular and heavy; it didn’t look like there was any fat on his body whatsoever. Holding him through his leather vest, I realized just how bulky he actually was. With Carson, I felt safe and protected. Even though I was getting evicted, I could close my eyes and actually pretend like everything was alright.

 

The ride to my apartment didn’t take nearly long enough. As we pulled in the parking lot, I handed Carson back his helmet. “Here,” I said. “Thanks. Bye.”

 

Carson shook his head. “Oh, no, no, no,” he said, wagging a finger at me. “I’m not leaving now. We’re gonna have a little talk, honey.”

 

I blushed. The thought of him going inside my apartment was almost unbearably intimate. I couldn’t think of what would happen. Was he going to laugh at the way I’d decorated? It was hard to imagine him reclining on my gypsy-ish couch with the purple silk throw.

 

“Okay. It’s this way.”

 

Carson followed me up the stairs and down the hall to my door. The neighbor’s dog went apeshit as usual and barked its fool head off. “I hate that dog,” I muttered under my breath. Carson chuckled.

 

“Yeah, doesn’t seem nearly intimidating enough for this kind of place,” Carson said, raking a hand through his hair. “You must be always wanting to put extra locks on the door.”

 

I shook my head. “It’s not like that, really,” I said. “This is actually pretty safe. I’ve never had any trouble.”

 

“Do you like it?” Carson’s eyes bore holes into mine as he flopped down on the couch. I blushed. He had no way of knowing that I’d be leaving soon, but it was almost like he was trying to get me to say it. I watched as he fingered the edge of a throw pillow.

 

“It’s fine,” I said, looking to the side. “What’s up?” I prayed he wasn’t going to start with the same business again. As I looked at Carson, I wondered just how much of our conversation he’d overhead. There was Lucas threatening me with the pictures and telling me that I had to tell him…it was all pretty damning. Even though Carson was a tough guy in a motorcycle club, I didn’t really want to tell him about the pictures. I felt like it didn’t really make me look very smart. Of course nudes were always going to resurface after you took them. It was honestly a miracle that I hadn’t been blackmailed before.

 

“I just want to know what’s going on,” Carson said. He shook his head. “And don’t lie to me, I have a good bullshit detector, Caroline. Maybe even better than yours.”

 

I snorted. “I can’t tell you,” I said finally. “I really can’t talk about it. I don’t even know what I’d say that would make it seem understandable.”

 

Carson glanced up. “So you are involved with something, then,” he said. His words hung in the air.

 

I looked at the ground. “Does it matter?”

 

Carson stared at me. His intense blue eyes pierced a hole right through me. “I know you are,” he said carefully. “And you need to be a little more careful, Caroline. I’ve seen people who were planning to commit big heists acting like you did this morning. And the other day.”

 

I frowned. “What other day?” I lied, looking away.

 

“Caroline, come on,” Carson said. He leaned forward and his scent washed over me. It was incredibly difficult to resist the urge to kiss him. I wanted to lean forward and tangle my hands in his masses of blond hair, pull him close, and feel his tongue lick its way into my mouth.

 

“What?” My mouth felt too dry. I swallowed.

 

“You know that I know that you were there,” he said. I giggled nervously. “What? This isn’t funny, Caroline. This is really serious, and you could go to jail for a long time. Come on. There has to be something you can tell me.”

 

I shook my head again. The way that he was pleading with me was tugging at my heartstrings. I was so close to telling him everything—about the eviction, about the pictures, about Lucas being a complete and total creep—but there was something in his gaze that made me stop dead in my tracks. It was like Carson was built on layer after layer of person, and there’s no way I’d be able to break through all of them. I envisioned that he didn’t get close to many people in his life, maybe save for the other members of the motorcycle club. But I wanted to be close to him.

 

“You can tell me,” Carson cajoled. I bit my lip. “And even if you don’t tell me, I’ll probably find out anyway. Don’t you know that, Caroline?”

 

A blush spread over my cheeks. “No,” I whispered. “I don’t think you’ll find out, because I’m not really involved.”

 

Anger flashed over Carson’s face and he closed his eyes, throwing his head back dramatically. I watched as his veiny, masculine hands curled into fists and pounded at his muscular thighs. “Caroline,” he said through gritted teeth, his eyes still screwed shut. “Stop fucking with me,” he growled.

 

A shiver ran down my spine at the way he said my name. I closed my eyes and imagined him riding me hard, my wetness spilling down my legs and making a mess. I knew that he’d tangle his hands in my hair and pull my head back until I was screaming with pain, only to give me the most savage orgasms that I’d ever had.

 

“I’m not,” I said softly.

 

Carson opened his eyes and glared at me. He got to his feet and my breath caught in my throat as he bridged the gap between our bodies with two swift steps. My heart was hammering in my chest as he leaned down and tangled his hands in my hair, pulling my head back so that I was looking right into his blue eyes.

 

“I can tell that you’re lying,” he whispered gruffly. “And I’m going to find out what’s going on, Caroline. Don’t even think for a second that I’ll let you get away with this.”

 

Fear and desire crawled down my spine. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I whispered breathily. My heart started to thud in my chest as Carson leaned closer, without breaking eye contact. I couldn’t tell if he was going to slap me or kiss me, but I impulsively leaned up on my toes and planted my lips on his. For a moment, the kiss was stagnant. It had no life of its own, and just as I was about to pull away in defeat, Carson moved his lips against mine.

 

My whole body jolted with arousal and electricity as he gently tongued his way into my mouth and caressed my tongue with his. I felt my whole body melt as he tangled his hands painfully tight in my hair and kept my mouth smashed against his. His breath invaded my mouth and his taste was enough to set the area between my legs on fire. I moaned softly into Carson’s mouth and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him close with want and need.

 

Carson groaned softly. I licked and nibbled at his bottom lip and he slid a hand down my back and squeezed my ass. In his big hands, I felt delicate and tiny. A shiver of pleasure ran through my body as he kneaded the flesh of my ass with a skilled hand. I could feel my juices soaking through my panties and I squirmed and twisted in his grasp, desperate for more. As Carson groped me, I pressed my body against him. I could feel how stiff my nipples were, and against the silk of my dress they throbbed hotly as we rubbed together. As I ran my hands over Carson’s back, I felt his muscles tense. He was so strong, it turned me on just to touch him. As the kiss deepened, Carson twisted my head to the side. Just as I was about to wrap one of my legs around his strong thighs, he pulled away.

 

“No,” Carson muttered. “Forget it. I have to go.”

 

I stared at him, feeling a blush crawl down my face. My heart was thudding. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, looking down. I kept my eyes on the carpet as Carson’s heavy footsteps walked to the door. He threw it open with so much force that it slammed against the wall, the doorknob leaving a dent in the plaster. I winced as I thought about it coming out of my security deposit.

 

“Caroline?”

 

“Yeah?” I looked up at him, biting my lip. “What?” He didn’t meet my eyes.

 

“Stay out of Tinder’s,” Carson grunted. Then, he was gone.