“My stuff is in the car. I could use a shower before we go anywhere.”
“Nope, you’re not trying to entice me with that hot bod of yours,” I improvised, needing him to stay far from the bedroom. “Besides, I’m starving. I didn’t eat last night because I was too upset with you. Let me get dressedalone,and we’ll go. And after that, you decide what’s next. You down?”
Carter’s full lips spread into a relieved and happy smile. “Always.”
He grabbed me around the waist when I rose and hugged me tight. The side of his face pressed against my belly. I was nude underneath the robe. All he had to do was untie my robe and enjoy my body. My core tingled at the thought of him going down on me. And just as fast, I cleared that thought. I couldn’t have sex with Carter this soon after Grey. I also couldn’t deny that Grey had me wide open for sex, and I was ready to explore it with him or this man holding me right now.
“I can only imagine how hurt and mad you were last night. I’m sorry.”
I rubbed my hand over his thick, wavy hair. “You’re here now. Maybe I can braid your hair later.”
He looked up at me and shook his head.
“What? You didn’t like the way I braided your hair?” I asked, although the way he gazed up at me, I knew whatever the reason he shook his head was deeper than his hair.
“I liked it, and you can braid it later. There’s just so much I want to say to you, and I can tell you’re not ready. May never be ready.” He dropped his gaze and tapped my ass. “Go get dressed, and I’ll get my bag from the car. Need to go to T-Mobile at some point to get another phone.”
Once he left the hotel suite, I scrambled to the bedroom and made the bed look as if I had only slept in it. I called downstairs and asked for housekeeping to ensure the linen was changed while we were gone. I then donned a strapless, deep-red maxi dress and piled my thin braids into a bun on my head.
While I finished getting ready, Carter knocked on the now-open bedroom door. “Can I come in?”
“Yeah.”
While I applied lipstick in the mirror, he checked me out with a pleased smile. He moved behind me and hugged me from the back. We admired our reflection. Carter and I made an attractive couple. Like we belonged together. My brown skin was only a shade or two lighter than his skin. With my heels, my head fit right under his chin. I felt beautiful and sexy in his arms. He kissed my bare shoulder, and I shivered. He tightened his grip around me, and I felt him growing. I quickly eased from his arms and pulled him out of the bathroom and the bedroom.
“I need a little more time, okay?” I swung our clasped hands, hoping he wouldn’t push us to have sex.
Carter released my hand and held the door open for me to pass him. Once we were in the hall, he walked ahead. My much shorter strides were no match for his long ones, especially in these heels. He was pissed, and I couldn’t blame him. He’d planned a romantic weekend for my birthday that had gone horribly so far. He’d lost his phone, slept in his car overnight, and I barely let him touch me when he finally saw me. I wanted to tell him everything, but how do I do that without losing him? With everything up in the air with Grey, I didn’t want to lose Carter, who I was still interested in, for a man who didn’t want the same things in life I wanted.
When the elevator arrived, he let me on first before he followed. Carter pressed the button and leaned against the wall, quietly. I slipped my arms under his and kissed his goatee.“Thank you for everything. For the hotel, for the balloons, and the flowers, for treating me so special. I don’t want to be anywhere else except with you on my birthday. You wanted this weekend to be about getting to know each other really well. Let’s do that. Sex confuses things, and I want to see if what I could feel for you is deeper than how much I want us to smash.” I flirted, “Now that I believe you’re into me.”
Carter kept his hands at his sides, though he grinned. “Smash? That doesn’t even sound right coming out of your mouth.”
“Oh, then what does sound right?”
His gaze zeroed in on my lips. “Making love.”
Desire moistened my panties as I teased, “Guess you really don’t know me at all.”
“Why, because you prefer fucking to making love?” He lifted one brow. “You’d rather I bend you over and hit it hard from the back than slide between those sexy legs of yours and stroke you slowly?”
Geez, he was making this harder than I thought. Both sounded pretty damn good. My body was still sore and had Grey’s name on it, yet I couldn’t deny I yearned for Carter, too. I buried my head in his chest. I was a virgin yesterday, and I'm quickly becoming a ho today. “Breakfast first.”
This time, his arm went around me as he chuckled. “Alright, Ms. Darren. I got you.”
