Page 43 of Released from the Sin Bin

He moves around the room and starts laying out the bundle of wet clothes in the corner to dry off in front of the fire. Luckily, it’s a gas fireplace. Last year, some cabins still used wood burning ones, but the old resort recently updated them. Carter checks the gas and raises the flames to increase the heat.

“What’s wrong?” He looks back, noticing me shifting to get comfortable.

“My ass is numb,” I answer honestly. Any decorum I had before being stripped down and pressed against Carter’s naked body is gone. The floor is hard even with the blankets over the thin rug. My foot being raised isn’t helping either.

Carter jumps over and takes the hot mug from me to place on the table they moved out of the way.

“I’m going to lift you onto the couch.” He squats down next to me. “Are you ready?”

No.

“Sure.”

With one arm around my back and the other under my knees, Carter lifts me up.

“Ow.” I whimper before I’m able to cover the pain with my clenching teeth. My fingers dig into his flesh as he sets me down.

“Is that better?”

I nod with my eyes squeezed shut, willing the pain in my ankle to go away. Carter sets up a pillow on the table for my foot and wraps a blanket around me before folding the rest.

“Hey, Carter.”

“Yeah.” He stops what he’s doing to check on me. “What do you need?”

“As much as the others appreciate you walking around in your underwear, can you put some clothes on now?”

He looks down at himself and smirks up at me.

“I’m back,” Callie sings into the room holding up a freshly wrapped clove and lighter.

Penny follows behind her and kneels down on the floor in front of me. “Hey, hot stuff.” She calls out to Carter while tucking the pink ends of her hair into a messy bun. “Do you want a hit?”

Carter still hasn’t put clothes on and stands off to the side with his veiny arms crossed over his thick pecs. “No.”

“Party pooper,” she mutters with the clove between her lips, lighting it up and taking a puff. “Callie had me test this out before we came out here.”

“I didn’t want to waste too much time, but so far it seems good.” She takes the clove from Penny for her own hit before passing it to me. “Inhale just a little bit and hold it in.”

I do what she says, catching Carter’s eyes on me the entire time. I cough up the smoke, but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.

“Take another, but the same way. Keep it short,” Callie encourages me.

“That’s enough,” Carter barks out, gaining a laugh from Penny and Callie.

“It should be enough,” Callie says while sucking in her lips and snubbing the clove out. “You’re handling the pain really well, but if you want more, I’ll keep it ready.” She winks at me, and Penny giggles as she rises from the floor to give me a hug.

“I’m so happy you’re ok.” Penny tightens her hold before letting go. She waltzes up to Carter and pokes at his abs and waistband while dancing past him.

“Callie’s stuff is stronger than you think.” He scowls at me after they skip into the kitchen to get snacks.

“Carter.” I scowl back at him. “Shirt and pants. Now.”

His scowl turns into another smirk, unable to hold it back.

I felt like a zombie, sitting through dinner, and playing card games with everyone in the cabin. Besides Kandi and Luca, who remained held up in her room the entire night.

Luca kept coming out to check on me, but I’m happy he and Kandi are back together. He’s happier. He’ll be ok as long as he’s happy. He just informed me, he’s going to the NHL after this semester is over in a week. The call came in to start a few days ago.

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