I vehemently nodded. “I know. You made what you wanted very clear.”
“Then why do I feel like you’re about to change your mind about coming with me?”
“When you walked into my space, my sanctuary, all the hurt and pain flooded in with you. I’m not ready to risk my heart. It’s not you...it’s not you at all.” I finally met his worried gaze. “And I’m probably making the biggest mistake asking you to leave...didn’t think that he scarred me this deeply.”
Carter grasped my shoulders, lowered his head to press his lips against mine gently. “Does this hurt?”
His simple kiss buckled my knees. Pleasure swept through my body. All I wanted was another taste of him. My response caught in my throat, and I helplessly stared into his eyes.
“What about now?” He opened my mouth without using his tongue, softly kissing me. His hand drifted to my neck as he deepened the kiss. The sweet ache of desire pulsed through me. When my arms went around his waist, he broke the kiss. “Still pain?”
I shook my head.
His hands then cupped my behind, and he pressed me into him as I tasted his coffee-flavored tongue. Carter’s kiss thrilled and relaxed me. With every lick, nibble, and roll of his tongue in my mouth, my defenses lowered. When Carter lifted his head, his eyes flashed desire and frustration. “He caused you pain. Not me.”
“But...” I protested more out of habit than any real reason. The unexpected hot kiss stole my reservations.
“No. Do you feel me?” He asked firmly, clasping his hands behind my back, holding me to him. The length and the girth of his erect manhood on my thigh punctuated his words. “We can’t move forward with the past tied to our feet. We’ve both been hurt, and that will never change. Is whatever he did to you worth missing out on the possibility of us?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted, finding my words again. “These last few years on my own have been good. Not having to feel guilty because I’m busy with work and training. Making decisions without having to consult anyone. Yeah, I might get a little lonely at times, but I’ve enjoyed being single. You talk about wanting a peaceful and contented relationship. I already have one with myself. I love my career, my mama, and I even like L.A. The only thing missing in my life is sex.”
I dragged my hand down the back of the soft waves of his hair to his neck. “And are you so sinfully fine that I want you to take me right now, ass up? Yes, I do.” A smile cracked the stern line of his mouth. “But all sexing you would do is get me hooked on you, whether we’re right or wrong for each other.”
“Sex doesn’t have to be on the table,” Carter reiterated.
“With all due respect, Mr. St. Patrick, you have a big dick and exude, you know exactly what to do with it, energy. You think I can spend the next two days with you and we don’t have sex?”
He suddenly sat down on my oak coffee table and pulled me between his legs, and I gripped his shoulders to stop from falling into him. Carter looked up at me. “Have you been smiling as I have since yesterday?”
Rolling my eyes, I reluctantly answered, “Yes.”
“Were you smiling like that before you met me?”
“No.”
“Why?” His large hands curved to my hips like my body already belonged to him.
“Because,” I answered stubbornly.
“You’re a doctor, and that’s the best answer you have?” He implored, “Yeah, I can say that I have it all... Cars, houses, beautiful children, and created generational wealth for my family, and did what most little boys dreamed of. But I don’t have someone to hold on to at night or someone to argue with me when I’m being an ass. Or to take care of me when I’m sick.”
I tapped his shoulders. “You want that because you’ve had it twice before and miss it. How can I miss something I never had? I’ve never been married or even lived with a man.”
He rested his head against my stomach. “Yet, you want children, right?”
“I do.” My hand ached to rub his coiled hair. Being this intimate and close wrecked my senses and my reservations.How did any woman resist when he insisted on anything he wanted?“I want to be pregnant and excited with my husband. You’ve already had children.”
His arms tightened around me, and his head pressed deeper into me. “I love my children and don’t regret them. I hate that there was pain associated with each birth. Drama and mess around the lives I help bring into this world. I will be excited with my woman if and when we have children, as if it’s the first time.”
This time, I tugged on his hair to see his handsome face. “And not, wife?”
“Oh, I want to be married again, and I want my children to be born within the confines of marriage.” He grinned. “I just know how I can be, and my baby might get inside you before the ring.”
“You’re way too much, do you know that?” I groaned.
“I know.” He lifted my shirt enough to kiss my belly and rose to his full height, towering over me. “Come on, Brooklyn, canyou break up with me tomorrow night? Let’s have some fun. If you don’t want to see me after tomorrow, we won’t.”
Before I could respond, he took my hand and pulled me toward the door. “Is that all you're bringing?”
