His broad shoulders eclipse everything else as he towers over me, and the sheer power that radiates from him forces a deep urge of need down to my core. The pulse is uncontrollable and threatens to overcome my senses.
It would be so easy to fall into his arms. To get lost in the lusty haze that is Carter Cross.
“I forgive you,” I tell him in a single breath and try to swallow down the desire. Suddenly, I’m hotter than I was before. All over, and all at once.
My nipples pebble and my fingers itch to reach out to him, to spear my fingers through his hair and pull his lips down to mine.
But Carter doesn’t kiss me. He never has. My gaze stays pinned to his lips as he lowers them, oh, so slowly, but they pass my own and travel to my shoulder. His rough stubble grazes my neck and makes my pussy throb. His tongue sweeps along my skin and a heat flows through me that I can’t deny.
If I could hold on to this moment and hide from the pain of my reality forever, I would.
Just as I dare to reach up, to let my fingers travel along his shoulders and then higher, a sudden knock at the door cuts sharply through the moment.
The white noise of the shower dims as Jase’s voice carries through the door, calling out to take Carter away from me.
Don’t go, my heart begs me to plead with him. I can’t be alone right now. I’m not okay.
Carter nudges the tip of his nose against mine, letting a soft hum of approval vibrate up his chest before telling Jase that he’s coming. He lowers his voice and looks me in the eyes as he tells me, “Finish here and wait in bed for me.”
The command and heat in his eyes is something I could never refute. “Yes, Carter,” I answer obediently, and it only makes the heat between my thighs grow hotter.
It’s not until he’s gone that I realize how much I want him.
How much I need Carter Cross right now. I have no one else.
And how much that very fact scares me.
Chapter 4
Carter
“He said he’s cooled off, but the fucker’s already talking.” Jase updates me the second I step into the den. The adrenaline from tonight had subsided. The ringing in my blood had dulled.
Until I saw Aria still shaking.
One look at her delicate form trembling from the aftershocks changed everything. The normal rush of triumph was replaced instantly by something else. Something I don’t care to look farther into right now.
I need a drink. A strong one, at that.
“We knew we couldn’t trust him,” I answer my brother as the ice clinks in the glass. I fill it with three fingers of whiskey and let it sit on the ice to chill. The amber liquid swirls as I consider every aspect of what we could face from Romano.
I know his friends. I know his enemies. And most owe far more to me than they do him.
“Do we need to send anyone a reminder?” I ask my brother as I lift my eyes to his and throw back the whiskey. If anyone wants to prove themselves to Romano, I need to shut down that train of thought before it turns into anything tangible. A small reminder of what we’re capable of could silence any ideas anyone has of turning on us. It’s best not to entertain any delusions of grandeur they might have.
Jase shakes his head but doesn’t return my gaze. Instead, he taps his finger against the back of the chair he’s standing behind before continuing. “He messaged Talvery,” Jase tells me as the whiskey burns its way down to my gut.
I cock a brow at his statement. “Is that intel from our informant?”
“From one of them,” Jase answers with a confidence I respect.
“So, he told Talvery that I allowed his daughter to kill her enemy. That’s interesting, isn’t it?” I can’t hide the amusement that plays along my lips.
“Not exactly. He only confirmed that we have Talvery’s daughter.”
A sneer of cynicism comes out as a grunt. “Of course, he did,” I say absently as I fill the glass once more.
“And then he left a message for us.” I don’t breathe or move until Jase tells me, “He says he understands and that he enjoyed the show.”
“Fucking prick.” I let the words slip out before downing the alcohol in a single gulp. He’s a coward. Pitting Talvery and me against one another while pretending to stay by my side. Revenge will be sweet when it comes time for that.
The whiskey is still burning down my chest as my brother asks, “Are we still with him? The guns have shipped. We have the upper hand. We can still pull back from our deal.”