I was eager to start our weekend of escape.
Carter greeted me with warmth. He was expecting me, since I’d dropped him off for his shift so he was without his car. Lauren exited with him.
“Have a great weekend,” she called, and waved.
“Thanks,” Carter said as he stepped closer to me and dropped a sweet kiss on my mouth. He pulled back and I stepped away to open the door for him.
“Thanks, Lauren.” I threw her a chin lift and a wink, earning me a confused double take from Carter and a laugh from Lauren.
Before Carter could question me, I ushered him into the front seat and then made my way to the driver side. Before long, the engine was running and we were pulling out of the clinic’s lot.
“Lauren?”
I grinned and threw him a quick wink. “Yeah, she seems great.” From the corner of my eye, I saw him shift in his seat and angle himself slightly toward me.
“She is, but I’m wondering how you know that.”
I gave a carefree one-shoulder shrug and a noncommittal grunt. I was sure he was squinting at me, no doubt a small frown forming between his brows, trying to figure things out. I kept my eyes firmly on the road though, wondering when he’d notice we were heading in the opposite direction of home.
“Music?” I asked as a way of distracting him.
It didn’t work. No sooner had I said the word than his body shifted in his seat. I risked a glance at him and watched as he looked around.
“Erm, Tanner, not that I’m questioning your awesome driving skills or anything, but you know this isn’t the way home, right?”
I grinned and answered with a self-satisfied, “Yep,” while I kept my eyes on the road, determined not to look at him in fear I’d break and tell him where we were heading. Somewhere between my random idea of heading away, to planning the break that had seemed to spiral a little out of control, to me driving the two of us to the cabin as a surprise, honest-to-God excitement had taken hold. It felt so fucking good to be doing something nice for Carter, and I couldn’t wait till we arrived and I could see the reaction on his face.
I’d never done shit like this for anyone. Admittedly, there was no real long-term ex in my past, but still, the idea of pleasing him, being the reason to put a huge smile on his face, yeah, that did something to me.
“Yep?” His tone was amused, which I took as a win. At least he wasn’t freaking out or something.
“Yep.” I nodded. “Why don’t you just sit back and relax. It’ll take us a couple of hours.”
From the slight movement of his body, I saw he was angled toward me again. “Okay.” He reached out, placed a hand on my thigh, and gave it a light squeeze. My heart thudded in my chest at the contact as well as his trust. My hand quickly found his and we continued the journey drifting between companionable silence, and chatting about his day and the renovations.
* * *
“Hey, baby.”I stroked Carter’s cheek, waking him from his nap. He’d closed his eyes just twenty minutes or so earlier. I’d already grabbed the keys to the cabin and had even managed to unload the truck while he’d slept peacefully.
When Carter opened his eyes, his gaze quickly found mine. His expression tender, he stretched and pressed his cheek into my hand. “Hey.”
“Come on.” I stepped back out of the open car doorway.
Undoing his seat belt, he looked around, his eyes no doubt taking in the lake before landing on the cabin and then me. He climbed out and was immediately in my space, his body close to mine, so close he had to tilt his head to look into my eyes. “Something you need to tell me?” His voice was soft, almost a whisper.
My grin turned into a quick of my mouth as I cupped his face and pressed a quick, gentle kiss on his lips. “Surprise.” I ended the word with a shrug and a half grin. I was sure he’d be excited, but still, my heart beat faster, pounding harder in my chest as I waited for his reaction.
His smile was addictive. It was the best damn look I’d ever seen on his face before. Warmth spread across his cheeks, the sort that wasn’t embarrassment but happiness. I had no idea how I even knew it, but that look right there, the one he gave me… heck, my heart stuttered for a moment before restarting with a needy, demanding pound.
“You—” He cleared his throat. “You did this for me?”
It was on the tip of my tongue to be a wiseass and crack a joke; instead, I leaned down, brushed my lips to his, and answered, “Yeah, baby, it’s all for you.”
Apparently it was the right fucking thing to say, as I’d never seen Carter react so fast. In the barest of seconds, his sweet ass had climbed me like a tree. I stumbled as I adjusted to having his whole tight body wrapped around me. His mouth was on mine in a fierce and bruising kiss. My mouth angled to his as I welcomed the delicious assault of his tongue, his lips, and red-hot groans as he ground himself against me.
I gripped his ass to keep him from falling and to hold him closer to me, loving every moment of friction, and everything he threw at me, but I needed to get him into the cabin before I took him in public.
I slowed the kiss down, despite his disgruntled moan, then pulled back, stopping the kiss. My gaze roamed his face, taking in the lust filling his eyes, and focused on his lips. Already they were a little swollen. Pressing my mouth to his neck, I inhaled the scent that was uniquely his. “Let’s take this inside,” I mumbled against his neck.
