Page 105 of A Forever Love

“Too much?” Carter raises an eyebrow from the counter. He’s wearing a black apron I don’t recognize and has out all kinds of baking accessories. He sets aside a piping bag and trots toward me. “Good morning.”

But I’m still not over the shock. “Are we throwing a party? And since when do you bake?”

“No, and since this morning.” He grins before tugging me closer to the counter. There’s a cake on the counter. Not just any cake, but ours—blackberry lavender chocolate cake.

“I don’t understand. Wh-what is this?”

A fleeting emotion of embarrassment flits over Carter’s face. “You once asked me what would happen if Franny stopped selling our cupcake. Do you remember?”

I nod. Just like everything between us, I remember that day stark and clear. “And you said you’d learn to bake it.”

“If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our past, it’s that life is short and unpredictable. Starting today, I don’t want to make plans and push them off into the future. I want to live in the present. I can’t change the past, and I can’t control the future, but the present moment is in my hands. I want to spend every second of it letting you know how much I love you.” He grabs me by the waist and situates me on the counter before stepping between my legs.

“You didn’t have to bake a whole cake. One cupcake would have been enough for us.” I lock my arms around his neck, and Carter leans in. I close my eyes, waiting for his kiss, which I know will be sugary this morning. Instead, I feel his smile as his lips hover over mine.

“Yes, but I’m preparing for a day when it’s not just us.”

That thought thrills me. I’m definitely not wanting to get pregnant today, tomorrow, or a few years from now, but the idea sends a spark down my spine nevertheless. “In the last twenty-four hours, you’ve mentioned kids and grandkids twice. Has your biological clock started ticking, Carter?”

He chuckles, his laughter muffled against my neck. “I don’t think so. Maybe it’s my way of making it clear that I’m never letting you go, Merida. Even if I have to kidnap you.”

“Hmm, yeah, that didn’t sound criminal at all,” I tease.

Without even a grunt, Carter gets me off the counter. He holds my ass, and my legs lock around his waist as he marches out of the kitchen space. But instead of going to the bedroom, he situates me near the bookshelves. My back presses against the solid frame as Carter leans further in. “I know for a fact how much you love stories about men kidnapping girls and keeping them locked up.”

My breath hitches as he pulls out a discreet paperback of a mafia romance I’d deliberately squeezed between my computer programming books. “Should I be worried that you’re checking out my books while I’m sleeping? What happened to the old art of browsing a woman’s underwear drawer?” My voice is shaking by the time I’m done.

Carter’s index fingers frame my face before traversing past my neck. He continues the journey, tracing my collarbones and then stopping over my soft cotton T-shirt. “Why would I browse your underwear drawer when my girl doesn’t even wear them?” His finger stops right over my breast, and he draws a circular pattern over my spiked nipple through the thin fabric, making my breath hitch.

“You are insane, you know that?”

“Not as insane as some of the things I’ve read here.” Before giving me any warning, Carter hitches me up further. The playfulness disappears from his voice as he groans. “Grab the top edge of the bookshelf.”

I follow his instructions, unable to look away from his blazing eyes. A gasp leaves me when Carter situates me on his shoulders.

Sweet Jesus!

His mouth is perfectly in line with my sex, with only the thin cotton of my shorts separating the two.

“Push it down.” There’s a wicked glint in his eyes.

“Push what down?” I ask slowly, even though I know what he’s asking.

“What do you think, mittens?” He smirks at me. “Push your shorts down so I can give you your first orgasm of the day.”

First means there will be more. Yes, please.

I’m a mix of anticipation and nervousness when my fingers brush against the elastic band of my shorts.

“Faster,” Carter all but growls, his stare hard on my fingers, which aren’t following his instructions at the pace he wants. And when my naked sex finally makes an appearance, he dives in.

The elastic rests under his chin as his mouth covers my sex. To position us better, he lifts me some more so he has access to my entire pulsating core.

“So freaking wet for me.” His breath washes over my core which, like he pointed out, is soaking, and I’m beyond the point of dying from embarrassment.

His tongue parts my sex, and it’s so different to just experience his mouth without his fingers in the mix. He licks the entirety of my sex before his tongue enters my slit and he fucks me like he does with his dick—except these thrusts are shallow, touching every inch of the inner skin.

My hands leave the bookshelf, and I make a grab for his hair.

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