The long, cold shower did nothing to alleviate Carson’s conflicted emotions. Standing on his bedroom balcony with a cold beer, he stared across the open expanse of his property. A full moon had risen, casting silvery light everywhere, reflecting beautifully off the fountain pool. Just when he thought he’d made progress with Sadie, winning her trust again—something gave her reason to retreat behind those defensive walls he’d tried to tear down.
Goddamned past wouldn’t move out of the way to make room for a future they could easily share if she’d let them.
Taking another swig of beer, he sighed when someone knocked on the door. Assuming it was Tamera, he set the bottle on the nearby table and hurried to his door.
He opened slowly, but it wasn’t his housekeeper.
Sadie held up her cell, fresh tears in her eyes.
“What happened?” He rushed to her side, tugging her into his arms and taking the phone from her.
“Read the text message,” she said.
The words You never should have come back filled his line of vision, sparking a new fire inside him. The number was blocked, but Carson knew it was Jason trying to fuck with Sadie and him. He turned with Sadie in his arms and tossed the cell on the bed. Then, as gently as possible, set her away from him so he could cradle her face, forcing her to look up at him. “You’re safe with me, Sadie. That text is just immature bullshit. Jason couldn’t live with the fact that you wanted me and not him. If I ever see him again, I’ll make him regret it. Trust me.”
“You’d punch him for me?” She sniffled but also giggled as she snuggled against his chest.
“I’d break his neck.”
“That’s a little extreme. But I like the idea of you protecting me.”
“How did he get your number?”
“That’s my work cell phone. Anyone can find me on social media.”
He fisted his hands, feeling possessive and desperate to show her he cared. “I don’t like it.”
“What do you want me to do? Tell my boss I can’t deal with my past and don’t want my contact information on a public profile?”
He tipped her chin upward. “Being very public can be a bad thing.”
“Not when your livelihood depends on public perceptions. An image expert who can’t handle a little cyberbullying doesn’t sound like the kind of professional I’d want to hire.”
“You’re the victim.”
“It would raise too many flags, Carson.”
“I understand.” He guided her to the bed. That’s when he noticed what she was wearing—the sexiest fucking lingerie he’d ever seen. The lacy material stopped just below her navel, granting him a peek at the matching, see-through panties. A hint of red hair between her toned thighs gave him an instant erection.
Though he preferred to take the lead, Carson wanted to empower her, to give her complete control. He positioned himself on the edge of the mattress and patted his leg. “Come here, beautiful.”
Sadie didn’t hesitate, she came to him and straddled his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him into a demanding kiss. Her tongue teased his lips open, and he could taste fresh mint in her mouth. She’d always had that clean smell, like freshly washed clothes hung out in the sunshine to dry. Pure—something he had little of these days. It made him want her more, made him remember the younger Sadie he’d instantly fallen in love with the day he rescued her and that damn kitten from the tree.
Enveloping her in his arms, he kissed her, their tongues tangling together, her tiny sighs as satisfying as the wet heat he could feel through her panties. Holding on to her still, he scooted to the top of the bed, undid the knot in his towel, and reclined against the mountain of pillows.
She threw her head back, rotating her hips, her beautiful red hair damp from a shower. The top of her nightie left little to his imagination, revealing more than a hint of her full breasts. He reached, tracing the outline of her hard nipples through the thin material first, then gently pulled it down, revealing her soft, white flesh.
Dipping low enough for him to capture one of her nipples in his mouth, he sucked it hard while he caressed her other breast. Carson growled, shoving her panties aside, filling her with three fingers.
Sadie cried out his name, riding his hand. He closed his eyes, lost in everything about her.
“Carson…”
He didn’t need her to say anything, he could feel how wet she’d gotten as he pumped his fingers in and out of her. Once she came…
As she started to pulse around his hand, he tangled his fingers in her hair, pulling her down for another ragged kiss that expressed everything he wished he could say to her. But how could he speak the words? I love you might scare her off. But he did. The realization hit him hard. She belonged there, with him, not in South Carolina, living a separate life. In fact, the root of all of her inhibitions probably came from denying herself the life she was probably meant to live. He wanted her to have her job, to have her dreams, but he wanted to help her achieve them. To build a life with her.
She broke the long kiss, her hair draped all around his face. Their eyes locked and she smiled, caressing his cheek.
“Do you feel good, sweetheart?”
She nodded.
“Ready for more?”
Instead of speaking, she reached down, gripped his erection, and circled her thumb over the tip of his cock. The pressure made his balls tighten and ache for release. A look of satisfaction lightened her features as she let go of him and slowly maneuvered herself down his body. Straddling his lower legs, she licked his length at first, massaging his balls at the same time.
“You’re so hard,” she said.
“I’m something,” he whispered, fisting his hands in the comforter, waiting for the right moment to strike—to flip her over and fuck her from behind.
He moaned as she wrapped her hot lips around his cock, her tongue flicking down his shaft. Her fingernails followed behind her tongue, tickling and teasing, bringing him closer to exploding inside her mouth. But that’s not what he craved tonight. Carson needed to possess her, to claim every perfect inch of that tiny body—to remind her what it felt like to be loved by him. Wanted. Needed. To know she was safe. Worshipped. And thoroughly fucked.
“Sadie.” He lifted his head off the pillows, loving how she looked with his dick in her mouth.
She stared up at him.
“I don’t want to hold back, baby. Tell me it’s okay.” He’d never hurt her, but sometimes he needed it a certain way—hard and relentless.
Her tongue stroked up and down his shaft a few more times before she released him. “Yes,” she whispered.
Carson launched himself at her, capturing her mouth with his, tearing her panties off at the same time. “Fuck, Sadie.” He smoothed her hair away from her face, gazing deep into her eyes. “This is real, baby.”
She nodded, eager for him to do what she knew was coming. He lifted her hair off her right shoulder, nibbling her soft skin, then bit down.
She squeaked, but dug her fingernails into his shoulders, signaling she liked it. He did it again, sliding his hand down her back and then underneath, grabbing a handful of her tight ass. His ass.
“Take me,” she whispered against his lips, dark need swirling in her eyes.
Carson helped her get into position, nudging her legs farther apart, urging her to arch her back more. Nothing pleased him more than to see her on her hands and knees in front of him, waiting for him to pound inside of her. He trailed a finger down the crack of her ass, kneeling behind her.
“I love you, Sadie.” The words escaped as he slid into her, wild with frustration and tired of holding everything in. His feelings were alive, as uncontainable as his talent on the field. Nothing could steal this moment or convince him to take back his confession.
“Did you hear me?” he asked, hammering deeper.
She turned her head, catching sight of him over her shoulder. “Yes,” she whimpered as he reached around her hip and caressed her clit.
“Good, baby, that’s all I need to know.” And it was. He would never pressure her to say it back, but as he fingered her core, not missing one sigh or cry of his name, he realized it didn’t matter if she repeated his words. He could tell by the way she surrendered to him, let him do whatever he wanted to her body, that she had never stopped loving him. And in Carson’s mind, that was the sweetest victory he’d ever tasted.