Gage, Ronna - Send Her To Me (Siren Publishing Classic) (10 page)

Tonya thought about it for a second. “He doesn’t strike me as the love-them-and-leave-them type. But he does hang around with celebrated sports figures.”
How much did you tell Kelli about yourself last night
? “No, he’s just as cautious as you are in the relationship department.”

Kelli stared at her in disbelief. “Why? He is so perfect. What would he have to be cautious about?”

Tonya looked for the best way to explain the life of Carter Banks. “Let’s simply say, he is afraid of getting his heart broken.”

Kelli looked at Tonya in skepticism. “That Carter worried about getting his own heart broken never crossed my mind.”

“Although you make him out to be your hero, he is human, Kelli.”

“I know that! But I can’t believe that someone as devilishly handsome as Carter. And as virile…and sweet.” Kelli swallowed. “And…sexy.”

Kelli’s eyes became dreamy again. “Well, he has to be.”

“Why?” Kelli snapped out of dreamy state and focused her gaze on Tonya.

“Well, because of whom he is.” Tonya hated being in this predicament
.
She treaded lightly, wanting to give Kelli some insight on Carter but not betray his and Dex’s confidence.

“He is the one that women use to get closer to Dex.”

Kelli seemed to mull over that idea. “I guess that makes sense,” Kelli conceded.

“Good. Honey, I have to go now. I want to get some sleep before the pool party later on this afternoon.” Tonya stood up from the table and took her empty cup to the kitchen sink. “Good night! Or should I say, good morning.” On her way through the dining room, she turned to Kelli. “Look Kelli, there’s more to Carter than a superficial facade. What you think he takes for granted is what he finds endearing the most.”

* * * *

Kelli sat in the dining room thinking about Carter. So many emotions filled her. Shame and mortification for her slutty behavior filled her with regret. Sleeping with a man on the second date and the guilt of wanting to have him inside her again battled for top priority of her promiscuous actions.
Last night was the best sex I’d ever had.
Carter made her come more than once, and each time built to something special. Being with him changed her. She was now, officially, a multi-orgasmic woman, and surprisingly, she reveled in the status. Phantom finger touches lingered on her body, and the taste of his lips still remained on hers. She inhaled the scent of his cologne. Lifting her blouse, she smelled where it clung to her clothes. If she didn’t stop thinking about Carter, she would have an orgasm in the dining room.

“Thank God we used protection along with the pill.” It was not only smart to take the necessary precautions but necessary. The idea of dealing with an unplanned pregnancy on top of a new job would’ve stressed her out. Not only that, but there were STDs she didn’t want to have to worry about.

I’m so glad that Carter is levelheaded enough to take care of the two of you.

What had she meant by that? How well did Tonya know Carter in the first place?
Kelli noticed him sitting alone at the pool that day, and it didn’t seem odd to her at all. Tonya encouraged her to approach him.
Why did the crowd he hung around with keep him at a distance? What was it about him that appeals to me but not to them?
To imagine Carter hanging around the celebrity lifestyle was out of the ordinary scheme of things. He seemed perfectly comfortable in the midst. “Maybe that’s the connection. He’s like me.”

The fact that she fucked him so early into their relationship didn’t bother her as much as the feelings she developed the morning after. She felt like a fool. Something alerted her to take this relationship slowly, but last night she didn’t listen to that inner voice, and now she may have lost her only chance to do something right. “He won’t want to see me anymore.” Kelli prepared herself for the broken heart she would have to deal with in the near future—again. She didn’t want to face another broken heart. This one might break her spirit.

* * * *

Carter walked into his office all smiles. He had woken up in the hotel suite holding Kelli.
She looked so adorable
. Her body still smelled of her sweet orgasms. Her tousled hair fell over her face. Carter eased it back to watch her sleeping. Her lips beckoned him to kiss her. He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. Immediately, she woke up and smiled at him.

He set the leather briefcase he carried on his desk. He switched on the computer and took a quick peek at the stocks on the NASDAQ. He grinned at the open points of the day and closing points of the stock prices from the day before—
steady increase
. He checked the messages for the day and made a mental prioritized list when Dex’s long frame filled his doorway, interrupting him. The grim face staring at Carter wasn’t the happy-go-lucky Dex he saw last night before he left for his date. He wondered if Dex’s night was as good as his.

“Can I help you?” Carter asked with the steady tone he used to de-escalate temperamental clients.

“That fucking stock I invested in a year ago is taking a big shit.”

Telling by Dex’s tone of voice, Carter knew he expected an explanation from him about the declining stock. “And you are yelling at me because I’m a good sounding board, right?” Carter went back to his notepad and made a few more notes on some stocks he was looking at for his own portfolio.

“You told me that investing my money would be lucrative,” Dex challenged.

“Yeah, but I didn’t tell you to blindfold your eyes and shoot darts at the stock page to pick the companies you want to invest in.”

Dex shrugged off the comment. “I was bored,” he defended in a petulant tone. He walked into the office and plopped down in the chair in front of the desk. “So, how do I get out of it?”

Carter looked back at the computer. The stock that Dex referred to had been under scrutiny by the government due to suspicious irregularity with the company’s financial report. The small airline company was susceptible to a hostile takeover. He turned to his friend. “I think you should count it as a loss and pull out while you can.”

Dex nodded in agreement. “Is that what you did for Tonya’s cousin? Pull out while you could?”

Carter calmly put down his pen and gave Dex a hard look. He didn’t mind sharing the conquests of a good fuck with his friend, who was usually right there with him, but Kelli was off-limits, and he wasn’t about to share the intimate details, not on this one. He needed to set the boundaries now.

“I think that would best be left unsaid.”

“Well, she’s kinda freaked out about it,” Dex informed him.

“What do you mean?”
Last night was one of the most remarkable nights I’ve had in a long time. It was wonderful, in fact
.
Where is her sudden regret coming from?
She hadn’t said anything to him when he left her at the lobby of her apartment building earlier this morning.

“She thinks she’s moved too fast, and you would rather date someone who isn’t so, let’s say, quick to ball you.”

“I’m not sure I like being the gossip mill’s topic of discussion for the day.” He knew he didn’t like his best friend telling him how to date women when he was the stud of the hour for the male population of Fort Worth, Texas.

“You’re not. Just cluing you in.”

“How in the hell do you know all this stuff?”

“Tonya called you this morning. When I told her you weren’t there, we talked, which led us to speculate about her cousin’s relationship.”

Carter fell back into his chair. He gave Dex a long stare. “You do realize that her relationship is also mine.”

“Yep.” Dex sent Carter a sheepish grin.

Carter thought about what his friend said. “How in the world would Kelli or Tonya think that of me? I never treated her with anything but respect.”
Well, maybe toasting to taking her dress off was a bit much. That would be treating her like a…
Suddenly, he knew how Kelli came up with that thought. She didn’t exactly fit the groupie profile. She was a teacher and unused to the world of athletes and super-egos.
Of course, she would have regrets this morning. She woke up thinking she was no more than another piece of ass
.
Of all the stupid, idiotic, non-thinking…

“Carter? Carter?”

Carter looked up at his friend. “What?”

“What are you going to do about her?” Dex repeated.

“Nothing but see her again.” Carter became uncomfortable having his friend dissect his romantic relationship.

A look of concern crossed Dex’s face. “Well, take it easy. She doesn’t sound like a woman that is willing to be in the fuck ’em and leave ’em category.”

Carter smiled. “Yeah, and that makes it all the better for me.” Suddenly, he had a plan. He was going to surround Kelli with love.

Dex smiled. “What should I do about this stock?” He handed a copy of his stock portfolio to Carter.

Although Carter was attentive to the business at hand, his mind wasn’t far from Kelli and his longing to make love to her all over again.

Chapter Eleven

The quiet apartment echoed with a deafening sound. Her heart floated with happiness, and then plummeted with despair. “God, have I truly ruined everything?” She hit her bowed head. “I’m so stupid!” The vibration of her cell phone broke through the sounds of silence and resonated like a jackhammer on the coffee table. She picked it up, looked at the LED screen, and wondered about the unfamiliar number.

“Hello, this is Kelli,” she answered.

“What are you doing later this evening?” Carter asked.

Her heart raced a notch. Her hands fidgeted with the hem of her shorts. Kelli never expected to see or hear from Carter again. Especially this soon after their last night. “Nothing. Why?” She didn’t think twice to spend more time with him. Her insides quivered with hope.
Does he want to see more of me?

“I thought we could have dinner together.”

“I’d love to,” she answered a little too quickly.
Don’t blow it, Kelli.

“Great. I will see you at, say, six thirty?”

“Sounds great. I’ll see you then.”

“I look forward to it.”

She heard the soft click of the cell phone’s disengagement of the call. Her excitement built up and then exploded in a wild whoop of cheers and hurrahs. “Yes, Yes! Thank you, God, yes.” Kelli danced around the living room. “I’m gonna see Carter tonight!” she sang. Her heart fluttered with the euphoria of walking on air. “I can’t wait!”

* * * *

The ping of the doorbell echoed in the apartment, and Kelli scrambled on the slick tiled entryway to answer the door. Giddy with excitement, she couldn’t get there fast enough. Her feet slipped, and she almost crashed into the wall. Steadying her footsteps, she tiptoed to the door, and then looked through the peephole. Butterflies filled her stomach while she eyed Carter standing on the other side. Her heart soared with the reality that he was actually at her door. She paused a moment, taking the time to admire him through the vantage point. Smiling, she watched him fidget until he finally leaned against the doorframe and waited for her. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she opened the door with a smile. “Hi.”

Carter stared at her with a longing that matched hers. His intent gaze caused a jittery, tingly, drop-your-gut-to-your-knees feeling to run through her body. Suddenly, her palms turned sweaty.

“Where are my manners? Come in.” Kelli felt like a dunce for leaving him standing in the hallway. He smiled, kissed her lightly on the cheek. “Hello.” He entered the small area inside the doorway. The heat that radiated from him surrounded and warmed her with desire. His scent filled her nostrils. The intoxicating smell reminded her of fresh air, clean, lush fields, and man. Longing engulfed her.
I’d like to jump his bones right here on the ceramic floor.

He continued to the living room. She shut the door, watching the way his jeans molded the shape of his ass.

He turned to her. “How was your day?’

She walked to where he stood. “Good. I didn’t do a whole lot. I’m taking it easy and hanging out before I start interviewing for different schools in a few weeks.” She gazed into his handsome face. Their sexual energies wrapped around her, mesmerized her in a strange, euphoric atmosphere.

“You look beautiful.”

His soft words broke the spell she was under and brought her around to reality. She looked down at the simple black tank dress.
Every time we go out, I manage to wear a dress. Does that mean something?
Maybe, it was a subconscious decision, a sexual, sensual, bold way to communicate that she wanted him. Kelli smiled at the significance of such a gesture.

“Thank you.” She continued to stare at him, unmoving, feeling the atmosphere come alive with unseen forces that guided her hand to rest on his arm. The solid mass under her fingers warmed her cool hands. She cleared her throat. “Would you like something to drink?”

His gaze responded to her touch and then her question. His eyes grew turbulent with changing emotions. “Yeah, whatever you have,” he answered at last.

Kelli didn’t attempt to move to get their drinks. Her contentment easily fulfilled to stand in the living room with Carter and continue looking at him.
What would happen if I turned away right now? Would I get these feelings again, or would he disappear, never to be seen again, like a dream my mind made up to entertain my erotic fantasies?