Page 35 of 40 and (So Over) Fixing It
“That head of mine? What does that mean?”
He arched his brows. “That you have a head and it belongs to you?”
She didn’t want to have this conversation right now; that’s what was going on. She’d never acted like that in her life, not with someone she barely knew. She and Stephen had been young and impetuous, but they’d known each other for a lifetime before sex had entered the picture. In this town it was difficult to meet anyone she hadn’t at least heard tales about. She’d certainly never expected someone she’d met mere days ago to set her off like a freaking rocket.
Lord.
“Erin.” Carter started across the room.
“Wait.” She put up a hand, one she knew was shaking but couldn’t seem to stop it.
It didn’t stop Carter either. He kept coming until that hand was enveloped in his and he was pulling her to him.
“I don’t want—”
“I’m not coming on to you, damn it.” The words were harsh, but his touch was gentle. “Just let me hold you for a minute.”
Her head jerked up in surprise. She hadn’t expected that from him. Guess there were a lot of things she hadn’t expected from him—and she didn’t know how she felt about any of it.
Carter pulled her in despite the stiffness of her body. It was his heat that undid her as much as the gesture. Warmth surrounded her now chilled skin, sinking inside her, stilling the confusion for the briefest moment, long enough for her to think beyond the panic. Long enough for her to melt against him, and once she had, she found pulling back was impossible.
“I don’t understand this,” she finally admitted, her head tucked against his shoulder.
His chuckle was shaky. “I don’t either, but I’m not gonna get upset about it.”
“I guess you do this often, huh?”
He jerked back enough to look down at her. “What is that supposed to mean?”
She sighed, shaking her head. “Nothing. It doesn’t mean anything except I can’t control whatever’s popping out of my mouth right now.”
His grin was lopsided, almost boyish with the hint of curls falling over his forehead and the tension he’d seemed to carry since he’d arrived dissolved from his face. “Erin Jenkins, speechless?”
She gave the spare flesh at his side a light pinch. “Not speechless. Just…not…” She sighed. “I have no idea.”
He eased closer until his stubble was brushing her cheek and his lips were at her ear. “Me too.”
They clung together there, in the darkening attic, the silence full of an emotion she refused to put a name to. And even when she’d pulled his shirt on, retrieved her ruined sweater, and headed down the stairs, she kept her mouth closed, unsure of what, if anything, to say.
ChapterFifteen
Erin’s gaze met Carter’s as she exited the SUV, but it was too dark to see his expression clearly. JD’s presence kept her from speaking. Regret shimmered inside as she climbed the steps to her porch—not regret for what they’d done, but regret that they hadn’t discussed it, hadn’t spoken since they’d descended from the attic and found JD searching for them on the first floor. Luckily a quick explanation remedied the issue of Carter’s shirt on Erin’s body and her ruined sweater in his grip had covered the wet spot at his crotch. The night had proceeded from there, but that didn’t change the fact that she and Carter had badly needed to talk and hadn’t.
Willard had roosted for the night, allowing Erin to cross the porch unaccosted. Weariness dragged at her limbs. Though she’d always been one of those people that dropped into sleep the minute her head hit the pillow, a fact Stephen had often teased her about, tonight she found herself staring at the ceiling, unable to drift off.
Unable to stop thinking about Carter.
Images flitted across her mind’s eye—the husky note in his voice when he’d asked her to turn around, the gleam of hunger in his eyes as he’d approached her, the strength in the fingers that had stroked her body. It had all been unexpected and yet so, so good. Why? Two days ago she could have sworn he couldn’t stand her.
But that kiss had changed everything. And tonight?
Lord a’mercy, tonight hadn’t just changed everything; it felt like it had changedher.
It wasn’t even so much the pleasure of the act that had her mind blown. Oh, the pleasure had shocked her, no doubt about it, but she’d acknowledged days ago that the two of them had a chemistry that both intrigued and alarmed her. She just hadn’t expected it to be so explosive.
Still, it wasn’t just the pleasure. It was how she saw herself. For so long it had been Erin the contractor, Erin the friend. Erin the daughter-in-law. Not Erin the lover, or mate, or even woman. But there was no denying that those moments with Carter in the attic had been all about Erin the woman. It was an awakening she hadn’t expected, and now, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue being awake or go back to sleep.
Actually, no, she didn’t want to go back to sleep. She simply had no idea what moving forward entailed.
