Let’s talk about the more important matter: I’m in Carter’s bed and he’s asleep, naked. After we both fully lost ourselves in each other, we haven’t been able to stop.
His slow, even breaths fill the thick, quiet air of the afternoon. The sheets are tangled around our legs, the distant sound of rain pattering against the windows, soothing yet somehow heightening the ache in my chest.
I stay still, my head sinking deeper into the pillow, and I stare up at the ceiling where the fading sunlight casts long, soft shadows across the room. I trace the patterns absently with my eyes, trying to ease myself, but my mind refuses tobe still. It spins relentlessly, latching onto the one thought that has been gnawing at me for the past month.
Was I just blinded by the sheer need for him? By the overwhelming thirst that made everything else disappear? Or could this be something real?
Doubt creeps in. A sick, twisted voice whispering that maybe it was just the heat of the moment. Maybe I was just convenient, temporary, adistractionhe will shove away the second I leave back to Los Angeles.
I blame my father for this. Years of therapy, countless journal entries, late-night talks with Layla and Amelia, and still, that feeling still lingers. The fear of not being enough.
Disposable.
Squeezing my eyes shut against the rising panic, I can’t sit here and dissect it. It’s probably nothing, just my brain spiraling again, dragging me down a road I don’t want to travel. I have a shift at the bar tonight, and I need to get my shit together.
I need to be Catalina again. Not this broken, doubting version of myself.
Rolling onto my side, I move slowly, careful not to disturb him as I inch my way toward the edge of the bed. My toes brush the cool floor, and just when I think I’m in the clear, his strong, calloused hand clamps around my waist, yanking me back into the hard, searing heat of his bare chest.
“Where do you think you’re goin’, princess?” His voice is a gravelly rumble against the shell of my ear, thick with sleep.
I swallow, trying to stay focused as my brain falters from the feel of him wrapped around me.
“I need to get ready,” I mutter. “I have a shift, Carter.Gotta save money, remember? Adulting and all that bullshit.”
He chuckles against the side of my neck, his breath dancing over my skin, making me shiver.
“Fine,” he drawls, nipping the shell of my ear. “But I need to eat first, don’t I?”
Is this asshole insinuating I cook for him?
I’m about to throw him some smart ass remark or tell him he can go make himself a goddamn sandwich, when suddenly, he’s flipping me onto my back. His body cages mine in, tattooed arms braced by my head. His eyes, half-lidded with hunger, drag down my body like he’s already undressing me with just a look.
His mouth lowers to my throat, kissing his way down, nipping and sucking at my skin like he’s savoring every damn inch.
When he reaches my hips, his fingers hook into the waistband of my black lace panties.
“These need to fuckin’ go.”
I barely have time to gasp before he rips them clean off my body. The sound of tearing lace makes me moan under my breath, shamefully turned on by how little restraint he has when it comes to me.
“I’m not letting you walk outta this house until I taste this pussy,” he says, dragging his mouth lower. “I’ll lose my goddamn mind if I don’t.”
I push up on my elbows, needing to see him between my thighs—needing to see this man on his knees for me.
And fuck if it isn’t the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. Carter Hayes settling between my legs like he’s praying at a goddamn altar.
I open my mouth, about to taunt him, about to saysomething cocky, but the words barely leave my lips. “Well, go on then, cowboy. What the fuck are you waiting f?—”
A sharp smack to my pussy steals the air straight from my lungs. I audibly gasp, my thighs twitching against the mattress. The words die on my tongue as the second slap lands, making my whole body jolt.
Oh.
“You’re drenched for me already, baby,” he rasps, his voice a dark, sinful sound vibrating against my skin. “Now sit there and shut the fuck up while I enjoy my meal.”
Oh.My.God.
I can barely breathe as he spreads me wider, settling between my legs like he owns me. His tongue licks a slow, deliberate stripe up my slit, tasting me like a man starved, like he’s been dying for this moment. His mouth finds my clit, sucking it hard, the sudden intensity making me fidget in his grasp, my hands scramble for something to hold onto.
