I ate quickly, refusing to look Carter in the eye again before I excused myself upstairs to get ready for the festivities. After I’d showered, I threw on acuteoversized t-shirt from my duffle bag and vowed to burn the princess shirt along with my dignity the moment I got the chance.
My dripping wet hair soaked the back of my shirt as I dumped out my Hermès cosmetics bag onto the glass surface of my makeup vanity, neatly organizing everything into the drawers for the week. There was no way in hell I would be caught looking that haggardever again.
I zoned out, staring at nothing, and thinking about everything. My pulse fluttered as I closed my eyes,he was home.It was bound to happen eventually, I just hadn’t expected to have such a visceral reaction.
It was like my cave lady instincts were kicking in,yoo-hoohere’s a man that could whack dinner over the head with a big stick, and drag it back to the cave for you. I would reprimand myself for noticing, but honestly, you’d have to be blind to miss it. Even then, he had smelled too good, minty and familiar, but more manly and musky. Just entirely toosexy. I was just a mere mortal, and he was like a tempting?—
A sharp knock startled me at the door, and I yelped, banging my knee into the vanity. “It’s me.” Carter’s deep, velvety voice called from the other side, and my stomach flipped.
CHAPTER 7
Stolen Pink Thing
SARAFINA
Hearing Carter at the bedroom door, Jules poked her head out of the sitting room with wide eyes, and I frantically waved her away.
She grinned at me before quietly disappearing around the corner.
“What do you want?” I asked, wincing as my voice came out irritated once again. What was wrong with me? I was glad to see him. More than glad, but I also felt off, weird, unsure of how to act. Jumpy. Neurotic.Need I go on?Because Idefinitelycould.
“Can I come in—are you decent?” Carter asked.
I forced myself to take a slow breath before responding, “Yeah, come on in.” I turned on my tufted stool with arms crossed as the door cracked open.
“Yes?” he confirmed again.
“What do you need?” I asked, and his head finally popped through the doorslowly,making sure the coast was definitely clear.
He stepped into the threshold, filling the doorway as he gripped the frame just above him, and I watched as the sleeves of that obscene athletic shirt were victimized by the biceps he’d mercilessly shoved into them. He’d always been outrageously talland athletic, but now he wasthick, covered in lean muscle that rippled with his every fidgety movement.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” He looked nervous. Carter never looked nervous, and there was something oddly cute about it. Giant hulking man afraid of tiny little woman.Ugh. Stop.
I nodded, any response getting stuck in my throat when he slipped into my room and softly closed the door behind him, before he leaned his massive frame against it—effectively trapping me in!
Just the proximity of him and all sorts of things were shifting inside me with sinful delight. Traitor. Traitor. Traitor! What the hell was wrong with me?
Carter rubbed the palm of his hand with his thumb, his eyes a mixture of emotions as he searched my face, and I broke eye contact first. So much for being the winning primate.
“Are we okay?” He asked softly.
I spun around on my stool to face the mirror and tried to act casual as I started applying makeup, or rather attempting to, because I couldn’t think straight—let alone remember the makeup routine I’d done every day for the past, however many years. “Of course we’re okay. Why wouldn’t we be okay?” My voice sounded high and pitchy, and even I didn’t believe myself.Oy.
I dared a peek at him through the gilded mirror, and he gripped the back of his neck, mouth parting as he searched for the right words. “I uh—I figured Liam and your mom would update you—about what was going on with me.” He winced.
“They did.” I said flatly and dug around in the mother-of-pearl inlaid drawers for absolutely nothing at all, because I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t process anything with him so close. He was sucking all the oxygen out of the room, and suffocation would beoh so sweetright about now.
He was quiet for a long while, and when I finally looked at him in the mirror again, he was just watching me. I droppedmy gaze, feeling my cheeks heat, though I couldn’t explain exactly why.
He pushed his massive frame off the back of my door, and every cell in my being buzzed with awareness as he padded across the plush floral rugstowards me.
Slowly,carefully, he leaned against the edge of my vanity—my bare knee brushed against his leg, and I quickly readjusted, but he didn’t move at all. No, he was exceptionally still. Except for the quick rise and fall of his broad chest.
We both stayed like that, frozen, until he finally grabbed the hair tie off my vanity and played with it for what seemed like an eternity. Just spinning that little pink band, round and round, while I watched, like I was being hypnotized, because maybe I was. His corded arms flexed with the motion, muscles rippling under the floral tattoo inked up one of his arms. He’d never been a mere mortal man. Ever. But me, I was as average as they came. Which is exactly why I needed to remember, why I’d triedso freaking hardto move on back then.
“I’m really sorry if I hurt your feelings—and uh, how I handled that night—there are some things I would have done differently.” He murmured, finally looking at me, and this time I held his gaze even though I felt like I might disintegrate. “You were just so upset with me…” He trailed off, eyes searching mine. “I just—I didn’t know if you’d want to hear from me after I left—after everything that had happened, and uh, I thought maybe I should give you some space.” His Adam’s apple worked as he swallowed thickly and then quickly added. “Maybe that wasn’t the right choice on my part. I just… um.” He wasneverat a loss for words. “I didn’t know what you needed, and I—I guess I was just scared that if I reached out too soon, I’d push you away and…” He searched my eyes, lips parted, desperately struggling to decide exactly what to say.
My shoulders sagged, realizing he was incredibly nervous while I was busy trying to play tough. “I know.” I murmuredquietly, hating that I’d let him leave, thinking we weren’t on good terms. “I’m really sorry too, for letting you leave like that.”
