I left them to their pre-dinner routines and headed to Briarwood.
Carter had been busy with spending the final day with Marielle and Elisa, so he hadn’t come over.
As I parked my truck in front of his house and grabbed my bags, I was a tiny bit nervous. What if he didn’t like that I brought some of my belongings over?
That thought vanished as soon as I heard his voice from deeper in the house when I stepped in.
“Baby? Can you put the coffee on while I finish this email?”
It was so fucking domestic, I just dropped my bags by the kitchen door and called back, “Sure!”
I could use a cup and then we could figure out dinner. As I took in the kitchen, I realized there was something in the oven. Maybe dinner was taken care of already?
I’d just gotten the coffee maker set up, when strong arms wrapped around me from behind, and Carter’s scruff made a raspy sound when meeting mine.
“Hey,” I said stupidly, turning my head as I took the kiss he gave me.
“Hey, baby.” He squeezed me, pecked my lips again, and nodded to the side. “What’s this?”
I turned to look at my bags. “I’m not moving in,” I blurted out.
Carter chuckled quietly. Then he took my hand and pulled me to the bags. He picked up one and I the other. Then he tugged me to the bedroom and into the walk-in closet.
“That side’s yours,” he said, pointing to the left.
Somehow, even after all the nights I’d spent here, I hadn’t been inside the closet before. Now I saw that he had it divided in two. The right side was filled with his clothing, and the left was empty.
“Did you empty it for me?” I glanced at him as I looked around.
He cleared his throat. “Uh, kind of. There wasn’t much there to begin with.”
His awkwardness caught my attention, so I turned to him fully. “When did you make space for me?”
“I didn’t do it consciously, but a few days ago.” He shrugged and broke eye contact. “I downsized my closet when I moved anyway, so there’s—”
I shut him up with my lips. My sweet, sweet man.
These glimpses of him feeling awkward about something, moments of vulnerability, were hot as hell when contrasted withthe strong-willed, dominant man he was most of the time. He smiled into the kiss and then pressed me against the shelves for a good couple of minutes of making out like teenagers.
“Okay, okay,” I finally said and pulled back, panting for breath and more than a bit hard. “Let’s get coffees and then I’ll unpack here and then dinner?”
Carter smiled widely, his eyes sparkling with joy. “That sounds good. There’s a casserole in the oven. Elisa’s grandma’s recipe.”
I kissed him once more, then tugged him with me back to the kitchen.
Later, when we settled to sleep, I could tell Carter had something on his mind.
It didn’t seem urgent, nor was it about me, so I guessed work things. I didn’t ask, because I hoped he’d come to me with it when he was ready to put it all into words.
“So I’ve been thinking,” I said instead, and he looked at me from the pillow next to mine. Something about that made my chest tighten in a happy way.
“Yeah?”
He took my hand and nipped at my fingertips. We so weren’t going for round two tonight, but my dick tried to rally anyway.
“Every year, we have a Halloween thing at the ranch. For anyone who wants to come. We block off a lot of the place, of course, but there’s the regular apple bobbing and trunk or treating and stuff.”
I must’ve made a face, because Carter laughed. “Not your style?”
