Page 32 of Further To Fall

I rolledmy car to a stop outside of Carter’s apartment and cut the ignition. “Stay where you are, I’ll come around and open your door.”

“I can open the car door, Austin, it’s not like my arms are broken.”

I cringed at the thought of that bastard breaking one of Carter’s arms. This all could have been so much worse. She could have fucking died. “Stay put,” I barked out, harsher than necessary. Carter shrank back, and I reached a hand over to brush her unmarred cheek. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m just pissed as hell and worried about you.”

She pushed her face into my palm. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine, but you will be.” I broke away from Carter and got out of the car. She waited for me to open her door, and I helped her out of the car.

We made our way into the apartment, and Carter turned to face me. “I’m going to change into pajamas.”

“Do, uh, you need help changing?” Good God, I really didn’t think I could handle helping Carter undress tonight—or any night for that matter. My restraint only went so far, and her sleek curves were far too tempting. Ford’s words echoed in my head, and I fisted my hands. He was wrong, he had to be wrong.

Carter smiled, oblivious to where my mind had gone. “No, I’ll be fine.”

I checked my phone, it was already past 8 p.m. Damn, this felt like the longest day ever. I slumped into one of the kitchen barstools and massaged the back of my neck while I read over Carter’s discharge paperwork one more time, wanting to make sure I knew when to give her the next dose of pain meds.

The sound of Carter’s door opening had me spinning around. Hell, she was wearing a pair of those super short girlie boxers and a long-sleeved shirt that hung off one shoulder. She was barefoot, and her toes were painted a bubblegum pink. My dick twitched. Shit. I coughed in an attempt to banish images of me ripping those tiny shorts from her body. “Why don’t you go climb into bed, and I’ll get you a glass of ice water. That might feel good on your throat.”

Carter gave me a small smile. “Okay, thanks, and not just for the water. For being with me today and staying tonight.”

I probably shouldn’t stay the night, but instead of making an excuse to leave, my dumb ass just said, “Of course.” After filling a glass, I followed Carter into her room. “Here you go.” I placed the glass of water on her nightstand and sat down on the side of her bed. I reached out and tentatively smoothed the skin around her abused throat. “I’m so fucking sorry this happened.”

She shivered when my hand reached her pulse. “Stop saying that, it’s not your fault.”

“I want to kill him.”

“Please don’t. I would miss you if you went to jail.” A small smile touched my lips. “Can I ask you to do something for me?”

“Anything.”

“Will you just hold me for a little while?” I couldn’t answer. Carter looked up at me with those wide, innocent eyes. This was such a bad idea. She kept speaking. “It’s just that you make me feel safe.”

How could I deny her when she said something like that? This girl could wield words the way a surgeon wielded a scalpel, cutting right to the quick. “You got it.” I made my way around her bed, slipped off my shoes, and crawled under the covers. I steeled myself, trying to remember my last fight or picture the men’s locker room, anything to keep my dick in check.

As soon as I lay down, Carter shimmied over and laid the unbruised side of her face on my chest. Her “thank you” was muffled by my shirt. I gently squeezed her shoulders. She was quiet for long minutes, and I thought she had fallen asleep when her voice cut through the darkness. “I was so scared.”

“Baby.”

I didn’t know what else to say, but Carter kept talking. “I was so scared, but I just kept thinking about all the things I haven’t done yet that I want to experience. All the places I haven’t gone, all the people I would miss. It was seconds, but it felt like hours. I thought about you. And that’s when I fought.”

Her words shredded me. “I’m so glad you fought, Firecracker.”

Carter tilted her face up to mine, our lips a hair’s breadth apart. “I’m glad, too.” Her words brought a warm breeze across my face.

I don’t know who crossed the distance, if it was her or me, but suddenly we were there. The kiss was soft, but it lit a fire in my gut that I had never experienced before. My tongue parted her lips, and I fought back a moan at my first taste of her. I wanted more, needed more. I wanted all of her. And that’s how I knew I had to stop. I forced myself to pull back, my lips buzzing with the undeniable and indescribable energy that was Carter and me.

“Sleep,” I said, my voice rough with the desire that was pumping through my veins.

“Okay,” she answered, her voice just a little bit shaky.

Fuck, what had I done? I could blame the kiss on the heightened emotions of the day, but the truth was that I had been playing with fire for far too long. Before I knew it, Carter was out, but even the sound of her deep, even breaths couldn’t lull me to sleep, and it was hours before I finally nodded off.

I awoke to a delectable backside pushed into my painful erection, and I groaned. My hand was resting on the smooth skin of Carter’s abdomen, dangerously close to dipping underneath her boxer shorts. Shit. I slowly rolled to my back and tried to slip my arm from beneath Carter’s neck.

She shifted and started mumbling in her sleep, then I heard distinct words. “Don’t go Austin…love you.” I stilled, studying her face. Her eyes were closed, her breathing still deep. She was asleep. Meanwhile, my whole body had seized up. I was suddenly hot and slightly nauseous. I needed some distance to think.

As carefully as possible, I crept from the bed and into her en suite bathroom where I splashed cold water on my face and stared at my reflection. I needed to get out of here. Reaching for my phone, I texted Liam as I swished some mouthwash around in my mouth. As I exited the bathroom, I froze. Carter was awake. I forced words to come out of my mouth, but they were stilted. “How are you feeling?”

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