Hometown Hottie, page 23
“Me and you,” he said simply, then walked around me and stepped inside.
I was too shocked to say a word. This was really happening now. Carson and I were finally going to have the talk, and while a burst of excitement shot through me, I was also still scared.
Whichever way it went, this talk was going to be a turning point in my life. It was either going to be the moment we decided to get together, or the moment we decided to walk away forever.
I, for one, had no idea which of those options would be better in the long run.
36
CARSON
Nova was stubborn and tough, but she also got in her head a lot. Ryan must have said some things that made her think I was only after a fling. Something fun for a bit that would never lead to more. I needed to make her see he was wrong about me.
Her brother, who was like a superhero to her, had misjudged me and my feelings for her and he was way off base in his assessment of what was happening between us. And that’s not going to be easy.
As I walked into her cozy little cottage, I was determined to prove it to her, though. Easy or not, here I come.
Nova looked adorable in a pair of pale purple pajamas, the shorts real short and the shirt a sleeveless top that revealed a distracting amount of side-boob. Once she shut the door behind us, I glued my eyes to her face, refusing to get sidetracked.
“Have you given any thought about what you and I are going to look like?” I asked again.
She strode to her kitchen and started making tea. “I don’t know, Carson. Why don’t you tell me what you’ve got in mind, and we’ll take it from there?”
I braced my hands against the stone countertop and watched her fussing with cups and sugar, wishing she’d just fucking look at me. But I didn’t press her.
This woman had a mind of her own and telling her what to do wasn’t going to end well for me. Besides, she didn’t have to look at me as long as she listened. I breathed through the need to see her eyes while I said what I was about to and simply laid it all out for her.
“I want you, Nova. I want to have breakfast with you in public and kiss you whenever and wherever I want. I want to hold your hand and fall asleep next to you at night. I don’t want to pretend you’re not all I see when you walk into a room.” I smiled, even though she couldn’t see me. “Nova, I want to ride jet skis with you.”
Her shoulders stiffened before she shook her head. “We can’t be together, Carson. Everything you’re describing sounds like a relationship, but you and I can’t have that.”
“Why not?” I challenged. “Because of Ryan? Because of the ranch? Give me just one legitimate reason why we can’t have what we’ve both wanted for so damn long.”
“Well, for starters, yes. Because of Ryan,” she murmured. “He’d freak out and I don’t know if he’ll ever get over it, but you’re also buying half the damn ranch to save my family from financial ruin. It’s just too complicated, Carson. There are so many ways we can end up getting hurt—and only one way we don’t.”
My heart cracked in my chest but I wasn’t giving up. “What we have is real and it’s worth fighting for. I don’t know why you can’t see that, but I sure as hell do, and I’m not leaving until you do too.”
With the tea still brewing, she finally spun to face me, her cheeks flushed but not with embarrassment or arousal. Unless I was very much mistaken, they were flushed with anger.
Her eyes narrowed to slits and tears welled on her lower lids. I realized she wasn’t just angry. She was on the verge of sobbing. I had no idea why.
“That’s what you said before, Carson.” Her voice wobbled as she planted her own palms against the counter, clearly bracing herself for a fight. “You told me that you had real feelings for me, but then Ryan found out and you left.”
“You knew I was going to leave, though,” I argued, really not understanding why we were talking about the past at all right now. “I never told you that I was going to stay.”
“No, you didn’t. All you said was that what we had was real and that you were never going to forget me, but you did. As soon as Ryan saw us together, you forgot all about me. Suddenly, you were so focused on his feelings that mine didn’t matter. You didn’t think we were worth fighting for back then. So what makes things different now?”
“You’re not in high school anymore,” I said emphatically. “I’m not the college student about to get drafted whose entire future can be stripped away if someone posts a damn picture online of me kissing a girl who hasn’t even graduated yet.”
She stumbled back a step, but I wasn’t done yet. “My feelings for you have always been real, Nova. Hell, if I could’ve married you back then and taken you with me, I would’ve done it in a heartbeat, but again, you were in high school and you had dreams of your own that didn’t involve becoming the teenage wife to a college ballplayer with an uncertain future.”
“That’s not what happened,” she whispered. “That’s not why you left.”
“Isn’t it?” I asked, my face collapsing in on itself as I breathed hard. “From where I was standing, that was very much part of it. Sure, Ryan finding out was part of it too, but we were at different phases in our lives. That was a massive issue to him that doesn’t exist anymore.”
Crossing her arms, she held her chin up and her gaze on mine. “From where I was standing, it wasn’t like that at all. What I saw was a guy who’d been telling me everything I wanted to hear, and I had such a crush on him that I fell for it. I fell for it hook, line, and sinker, and I know you didn’t make me any promises about a future together, but shit, Carson. The way you were talking, you sure made it seem like you were always going to feel that way. Fast forward to five minutes later, and you’re defending yourself against Ryan, jumping in your truck, and speeding away.”
My heart pounded in my chest. I wanted to yell and rage that it hadn’t been that way, but to her, that was exactly what it had been. I couldn’t argue with the way she’d experienced it any more than she could argue with the way I’d seen it back then.
Inhaling and exhaling slowly, I tried to calm the fire inside and took a few steps around the counter, trying to gauge her reaction to me coming closer before I closed the distance between us. Her nostrils flared when she noticed I was moving toward her, but she turned toward me instead of backing up.
“We’re adults now, Nova. You’re an adult.” I stopped when we were only a foot apart. “I’m sorry that I hurt you back then. I’m sorry that I gave you reasons to doubt me. I know it doesn’t make it better, but that was never my intention. My feelings for you were as real then as they are now. The only difference is that then, I didn’t have much of a choice about what to do with them. Whereas now, we’ve both got choices. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”
Her eyes bounced between my own, doubt still written in the crease between her brows and the slight parting of her lips. “What if you get bored of Silver Springs? Of me? You can afford to go anywhere in the world without having to work another day in your life. You’ve had women who are worldly and sophisticated. Women who can afford to go on those adventures with you and who won’t be missing their little corner of countryside every minute they’re away.”
“Do you really think I’m going to get bored of you?” I asked softly, gently, and disbelievingly. My head shook, and I reached for her face as I finally took that last step closer. “Silver Springs has always been my home as much as it yours, Nova. I had to go away for a little while because I couldn’t do the job I wanted to do from here, but I’m back now. For good. I promise. If I wanted to travel, I’d have done it. I wouldn’t be here right now.”
I bowed my head with my eyes fixed firmly on hers. “As for getting bored of you, that’s never going to happen. I know I made you feel like I forgot about you after I promised I wouldn’t, but I didn’t. Not even for one day. I could never forget about you. If I’m more than just someone to hook up with for the summer, then I’m in. I’m all in.”
She turned a little red, so I asked again. “Is there something here, Nova? Or am I losing my mind for thinking that there is?”
My heart thudded against my ribs. She stared at me without answering. Her silence was an answer in itself, I thought. Then she leaned into me. Pressing up on her toes, her arms wound around my shoulders and she pushed her fingers into my hair, pulling me down until my mouth met hers.
She kissed me with her whole body, her torso melting into mine as she hung onto me, even bringing one of her legs up to hook it around my thigh. I groaned, relief, joy, and a whole different kind of tension coursing through me.
As I kissed her back, I closed my eyes, but not just because I was kissing her. I sent up a prayer of thanks to whomever had intervened on my behalf. I let go of her face to wrap my arms around her waist. I held her to me and lifted her clear off her feet.
I spun us around, so damn happy that I couldn’t stand still. She giggled. I grinned against her lips, breaking away from them for just a moment to look into her eyes. “Is that a yes?”
“That’s a yes. There’s something here.” She slanted her mouth over mine once more, still smiling.
She kissed me like she was never going to stop. I was okay with that. I was already wondering how we were ever going to leave her cottage again now that it was finally official.
Well, sort of, anyway.
Deciding to figure it out later, I picked her up and gently laid her on the sofa. She pulled me with her, and when she started tugging at my shirt, I grinned and lifted my arms to let her take it off.
I kissed her again, spreading her legs apart with my hips to make space for myself between them. Then I reached for the hem of that cute pajama top of hers and made quick work of tossing it with mine on the floor.
After all these years, Nova and I were finally together, alone in her cottage with a whole night ahead of us to make up for the time we’d lost, and I was planning on putting it to good use.
I had no idea how to be a boyfriend or what she would expect from me going forward, but that was the beauty of all this. These kisses? They were just the beginning of a whole new story for us, and I was really fucking excited to see how it was going to end.
37
NOVA
One thing I’d learned since Carson had been back in town was that he’d grown into a remarkable man since he’d left. That boy who had whispered sweet nothings to me a decade ago had kept his word after all, but he was delivering on those promises as a man who made my knees weak and my heart flutter.
All afternoon, I’d worried that I’d wrecked the deal. That my temper tantrum had cost us the farm. It looked like maybe Ryan had been right after all, though. Carson hadn’t tucked tail. He hadn’t called my brother in a fit of rage and he’d shown up at my house just like he’d said he would.
He pressed kisses along the length of my torso, his hot, firm lips setting fire to my insides. I ran my fingers through his thick hair and wondered if this could really be it. The talk had gone much faster and smoother than I’d ever imagined possible. It was difficult to believe that, after everything, all it had taken was him saying this is what I want and laying his cards on the table.
He made it clear he wasn’t looking for a fling and that what he felt was still real after all this time. My doubts and the insecurities I’d had these last few days had been eradicated. Communication really is key. Who knew?
Carson hooked his fingers into the waistband of my pajama pants and swept them off my legs, taking my panties off at the same time. His fingertips brushed against my legs with the movement and I shivered, needing more of him.
Carson had blown my mind the other night at the lake, making me orgasm harder than I ever had. At the same time, he made me feel the things I thought I’d never feel. I was feeling all those things right then. My body was overheating, but my heart was on fire too.
He kissed my stomach and the insides of my thighs, making me ache with need, but I also felt my heart swelling. It felt so full that I didn’t know what to do with it.
Oh, holy cow!
My train of thought crashed into solid rock and exploded when he sucked my clit into his mouth. A cascade of pleasure raced through me. His long fingers wrapped around my thighs, and he opened the most intimate part of me. His groan was a deep rumble in his chest as he licked a hot path right through my slick folds.
My muscles tensed up and my back arched. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to control my breathing. Nothing had ever felt as intimate as this, having Carson Drake’s face between my legs. I was enjoying the intimacy almost as much as I was enjoying what he was doing to me.
With his lips sucking at my clit and his fingers teasing at my entrance, I gave myself over to the sea of sensation, letting it carry me away. My toes curled and I moaned his name. With a start, I almost clapped my hand over my mouth to stop the sound, but then I remembered that it was just the two of us and that I could be as loud as I wanted, and that made it even better.
“Carson, yes!” I moaned, my hands burrowing into his hair and my nails pressing into his scalp. “Yes!”
I trembled and shook, so close that I could almost taste the pleasure rocketing toward me. I held on to his head, my hips rolling. The precipice suddenly arrived and I tumbled over it.
He slid a finger into me, hooking it in just the right way to touch that special spot I’d needed pressure on. My climax thundered through me, and I might have screamed, but I didn’t know or care as waves of continuous ecstasy dragged me under.
Breathing hard, I finally managed to open my eyes as the bliss subsided. Blinking his face back into focus, I reached for him, needing to kiss that concerned frown out of existence. I smiled lazily as I pulled him to me, my eyes on his.
I looped my hands around the back of his head. “What are you so worried about?”
At the sound of my voice, the frown eased and he smirked at me. “You. I thought you’d stopped breathing for a minute there.”
“I did,” I admitted huskily, pushing at his shoulders so I could get out from under him. “Your turn.”
“Not yet.” His voice was strained and impatience burned in his eyes, but he didn’t seem to be rushed as he stood up and held out his hand. “Come with me.”
“I’d love to,” I teased, still a little breathless as I placed my palm in his. “We can’t do that standing next to each other, though.”
He chuckled and shook his head as he tugged me toward the stairs. “We’re going to your bedroom.”
“Sofa not good enough for you?” I asked as we ascended the staircase
In a flash, he laid me down on my bed and crawled onto it. “No, it’s not good enough for you,” he murmured. “This isn’t some cheap fuck. I thought it would be better to do it right.”
“And that means on a bed?”
He shrugged, another smirk curving on his lips. His head descended to mine. “For now, yes.”
He kissed me again and my heart and soul went wild. Then my body realized how very hard he was against my stomach. Carson was a big guy in general, but I’d still been stunned when I’d seen his cock for the first time at the lake.
I was stunned again now as I wriggled out from underneath him and rolled us over to pull his jeans off. He kicked off his shoes and lifted his butt so the pants could come off, and then there it was.
In all its glory, his dick stretched proudly toward his belly button, curving slightly and thick enough that my insides were already tingling to have him fill me up again. Transfixed, I wrapped my fingers around the base of his shaft and relished the groans that spilled out of him.
I started stroking up and down. Carson lay back on the bed, letting me play with him. He shut his eyes and hooked a shapely bicep behind his head. “Be gentle with me, Nova. I’m already worked up.”
“You and me both,” I muttered, staring at the wetness shimmering on his exposed tip and feeling my own core heat in response.
Eventually, I realized I was just being cruel to us both at this point and I resolved to continue my exploration later. I grabbed the condoms from my nightstand. There was one left in the box after our adventures at the lake, and Carson’s heated eyes followed my movements as I opened it and rolled it on.
He groaned and tensed until it was in place. Then he took my hands and helped me balance with one leg on either side of his hips. “It’s you, Nova. You’re it for me. You always have been.”
Wow. It’s not quite an “I love you,” but it’s pretty damn close.
I held his hands, lowered myself down on him, and looked into his eyes. Mine filled with tears. “You’re it for me too, Carson. I’ve known it since I was sixteen and that’s never changed.”
He wound his fingers more tightly around my own. His hips moved as he pulled me down for another kiss. It was deep and hard but meaningful and passionate all at once. As we kissed, our bodies came together over and over again. He stretched me out and filled me in all the right ways. His mouth fused to mine and his powerful hips thrust with the perfect rhythm.
I lost all sense of time as he moved inside me. My entire being hummed with a feeling of rightness and belonging I’d never felt before. When my next orgasm hit, he crushed his lips to mine and came with me, holding on to me for dear life. He kissed me all the way through it. Afterward, he stayed in me as long as he dared before going to take care of the condom and coming back to take care of me.
Once he climbed back into bed, I cuddled into Carson’s side, unable to stop myself from wanting to be as close to him as I could possibly get. Glancing up at his strong features in profile, my eyes dragged across the dark stubble on his jaw and the movement of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed when he looked at me.
He smiled lazily, amusement and something softer sparkling his eyes. “What?”
I shook my head without lifting it from his chest. “I don’t know. I guess I just can’t believe that we’re really here.”
