Moving back to her side, he kissed her again, sliding his tongue inside her mouth, stroking the inside softly as she moaned beneath him. His thumb stroked her nipple, bringing the nub to a hard point before his mouth trailed down her chest to take it between his lips.
“God, Cole—please.”
He lifted his head and flashed his dimples. “Please what?”
“I want you inside me,” she whispered, embarrassed at the desperation in her voice. She knew she had never wanted anyone as much as she wanted him right this moment, right now.
He moved over the top of her, slipping his hips between her thighs, and she groaned softly at the feel of his cock pressed against her belly. She brought her legs up around his hips, arching her pelvis and begging him with her eyes.
With a moan, he shifted, pressing the tip of his cock against her. He rocked forward, pushing inside her slightly before pulling back. Her breath hitched in her throat, and she ran her fingernails down his back while she shifted, wanting him deeper. His eyes closed tightly, and his jaw appeared clamped hard, making his cheek tick as he fought for control. When he lifted her hips, she nipped at his chest with her teeth. A tortured growl ripped from his lips, and he plunged forward, driving his cock inside her until he was fully seated.
He didn’t move for a moment. “God, you feel good,” he murmured.
She whimpered, desperate for him to move and take her over the edge. When he shifted his hips, pulling back before plunging again, she thought she had died and gone to heaven. The friction of his cock inside her was driving her crazy, but when he lifted his chest and pulled her legs up so her calves were across his biceps, she almost squealed in delight.
The slap of flesh against flesh was loud in the room while her sighs and his growls of pleasure mixed together. Her climax hit her almost out of nowhere. Stars burst behind her eyelids, and she arched her back before she screamed his name. He pounded his pelvis against hers several more times before he groaned his own completion.
He let her legs slip down around his hips again before he braced his arms on either side of her shoulders while they tried to catch their breath. They both moaned when he slipped from her warmth and rolled onto the bed next to her. He brought her against his side and she reached down to the end of the bed to pull the sheet over the top of them. She snuggled next to his warmth and sighed.
Before she had a chance to react, the door to her room creaked open, and Jessica poked her head through the opening. “Carrie?” Jessica's wide eyes met hers as she sat up in the bed. “Oh my God! I don’t believe you!”
“Jess, let me explain.” She reached down and grabbed her shirt and jeans from the floor.
“Explain what, Carrie?” The angry, accusing stare Jessica shot her sent her heart to her toes. “You are such a hypocritical bitch!” Jessica whipped around and practically ran down the hall to her own room.
“Jessica!” She quickly slipped her shirt on and yelled again, “Jessica!”
When Carrie’s clothing was in some semblance of order, she quickly headed down the hall after her sister. She tried turning the handle on her sister’s bedroom door, but it was locked. “Jessica, open this door.”
“Leave me alone!”
“Jess, let me explain.”
“There isn’t anything to explain, Carrie. You’ve known that guy for what—two days and you obviously fucked him tonight. Yet you give me the fucking third degree over sleeping with a guy and getting pregnant.”
“Jessica Anne! You will not use that language with me.”
“Go to hell, Carrie!”
Carrie took a deep breath, trying to calm the anger and humiliation she felt before she tried again. “Jessie, open the door so we can talk.”
Silence met her ears, and she knocked again. “Come on, Jess, open the door.” Still nothing. “I’m sorry. I know I can’t judge you now for what happened.” Silence. “Yes, I’m a hypocrite. I threw caution to the wind and had sex with a man I just met. Big difference here, little sister. I’m twenty-six years old and you aren’t even eighteen. I can take responsibility for my actions. You can't at seventeen, but I’m sorry and I was wrong.”
She waited a few moments before she turned around and headed back for her room. Her gaze met Cole’s where he stood at the door, leaning against the doorframe. His clothing was now in place, covering the broad, muscled expanse of his chest, much to her disappointment.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered when she reached his side.
“Don’t be.” He lifted his hand to lightly brush his fingers across her lips. A shiver ran down her back.
“You probably should go.”
“Yeah. I know.” A wry smile crossed his lips. “One problem, though.”
“What’s that?”
“Your truck is still at the bar.”
“Shit! I forgot.”
“Let me run you over there at least so you can pick it up, since our plans have obviously been waylaid.”
Our plans. It’s strange to think of it like that, but I guess it was our plans.
She stepped back, and he dropped his hand. “I would appreciate the lift.”
Distance. She needed to put distance between them. His touch was too intoxicating, and if she spent much more time in his arms, she would give in to the desire rushing through her veins like the rapids on the Colorado River. She wanted his touch, needed it desperately, but her senses returned, and she realized the mistake she just made.
The ride back to the bar was uncomfortable. He didn’t talk, and she felt too foolish for what happened to say anything. Parking next to her vehicle, he slipped his into park and shut off the engine. His gaze focused on something outside the window as if he didn’t want to look at her at all, and her heart clenched.
The bar was still in full swing, the music loud even where they sat, and she wondered if he would go back inside once she left. The thought disturbed her somehow.
He sighed before he opened his door, walked around to the passenger side, and pulled her door open.
“Cole…”
“Carrie…”
They both laughed.
“You go first.”
“No. Ladies first.”
Chewing her bottom lip nervously, she focused on the toes of her boots for a second before she started to apologize again.
“Carrie, it’s fine, really.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s not, Cole. I probably shouldn’t have let things happen the way they did. I’ve always prided myself on control.”
“Are you sorry we made love?”
“No—yes. I don’t know. Being near you confuses me.”
“I see.” He frowned and stepped back further.
“What I mean is I made a mistake tonight. It's been a long time since a man has held me, and I guess I just gave into the temptation of having you here. I've been under so much pressure with quitting school, dealing with taking care of Jessica, and now her pregnancy…I needed someone. That's why I dismissed the fact that you are only here temporarily.” She moved away, her back to him as she let her head drop against her shoulder and sighed.
He stopped behind her and pulled her back into his embrace. She leaned back, letting his heat envelope her while his hands moved down her arms.
“And because we’re attracted to each other.” His whispered words caressed her ear, and shivers rolled down her spine.
“Yeah, but that doesn’t make it right.”
“Sometimes you have to grab on to something as it happens.”
“I can’t keep throwing caution to the wind, Cole.” She turned back around to face him. “It's not right for me to be judgmental of her.”
“She made that mistake on her own a couple of months ago.”
“Yes, she did, and I made the same mistake.” She shivered when his fingers moved down her neck, and she closed her eyes.
Good Lord, what his touch does to me.
“I don’t think what happened between us was a mistake,” he whispered against her lips.
Her eyes opened slightly. “Maybe not a mistake, but definitely an error in judgment.”
He lifted his head but didn’t let her go. “You’re a grown woman. She’s still a kid.”
“I should have known better. I need to set an example…”
He pressed a finger to her lips to silence her and looked deep into her eyes. “There isn’t anything wrong with wanting to make love with someone just because.”
She removed his finger and stepped away. “It wasn’t making love Cole. It was sex—pure and simple.”
“I’m not going to win this argument am I?” He smiled, flashing those devastatingly handsome dimples.
She chuckled slightly and shook her head.
He pulled her against his chest, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her head on his shoulder. For several moments, he held her, stroked her back and she knew it was a moment she would never forget. Sighing heavily, she finally moved out of his embrace.
“I should go.”
“I know,” he whispered, tugging on her hand gently to bring her back into his arms “Let me take you to dinner tomorrow.”
“Aren’t you leaving?”
“Not tomorrow. I’m riding again during the day. We hadn’t planned on leaving until the day after.”
God, I want to. I want to see him again, I want him to hold me, kiss me and make love to me, even if it’s the wrong thing to do.
She closed her eyes as his fingers moved to the hair by her ear and around to the back of her head. His lips played softly along the seam of hers, nibbling at the corners of her mouth, before his tongue coaxed her to open for him. With a tortured groan, he slanted his mouth across hers, taking everything she offered and then some. He pushed her up against the truck, letting one hand wander down her side to cup her breast, his thumb working the nipple through her shirt. He finally lifted his mouth but continued to trail kisses along her cheek and down her neck, nipping softly.
When he finally lifted his head, they were both breathing hard. “Go out with me tomorrow.”
I need to talk to Jess. If I get more involved with him without explaining things to her, she'll never understand. But I can't seem to tell him no.
His words weren't a question, they were a demand—one she would give in to willingly in her need to be near him. “Pick me up at the store at six.”
A small grin rippled across his mouth. “Gladly.” He trailed his fingers down her arm while goose bumps rose along her flesh behind them. “I’ll see you then.”
She sighed as he stepped back, and she walked around his truck to reach her own. Slipping inside the cab, she pulled the door shut and a shiver rolled down her back. Backing out of the parking stall, she waved and gave him a small smile before she pulled out onto the road headed for home. She looked in her rearview mirror and was happy to see him get back inside his own truck and start it, leaving the bar behind.
Chapter Six
Carrie rolled out of bed feeling more alive than she had in months. As her feet hit the floor, the soreness between her legs caught her a little off guard. She hadn’t been with a man in over a year, and her body made sure she was aware of the fact. Grabbing a quick shower, she twisted her hair into a ponytail, slipped on her clothes, and padded down the stairs toward the kitchen. A quick cup of coffee, some toast, and she’d be ready to face the day. She stopped short when her gaze found Jessica sitting at the table nibbling on some toast.
She moved toward her sister, wrapped her arms around her shoulders, and gave her a hug. “I’m sorry about last night, Jess.”
Jessica shrugged, but tears sparkled on her lashes when Carrie stepped back and took the seat beside her. “I never should have judged you. I’ve made mistakes myself in life, and it’s not fair for me to say anything. I really wish you would have thought things through a little before you slept with Jimmy, but it’s over and done now.” She put her hand on her sister’s stomach. “You’re gonna have a baby, and we just have to move forward and deal with it.”
Jessica leaned over and hugged Carrie, sniffing and wiping her tears. “I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have said those things last night. You haven’t even been on a date since you came home from school, much less had a chance to meet anyone and have a relationship.”
Carrie dropped her gaze. She didn’t want her to see what was probably written all over her face.
“I guess you kinda like him, huh?”
“Yeah, but let’s not talk about Cole, okay? I need to get some coffee and a quick bite before I head to the store.” She rose to her feet and moved toward the pot on the counter.
“Can I ask you a question, Carrie?”
“Sure.”
“You weren’t a virgin last night, were you?”
Carrie closed her eyes and bit her lip. She needed to be honest with her sister, but it was a little difficult to talk about where and to whom she lost her virginity.
“No—no I wasn’t, Jess.”
“So when did you?”
She sighed before she turned and faced the quizzical expression on Jessica's face. “When I was sixteen. Remember Dustin?”
“Wasn’t he the guy you were dating when you were a sophomore? The football player?”