Page 74 of The Stolen Moments Trilogy

He looks up at the mention of his name and mouths nice? right before taking my nipple between his teeth. I suppress a moan and close my eyes, trying my best to maintain my composure.

“Oh, Milly, I’m so happy to hear that! It’d be great if you two became friends again. I can’t wait to have all you kids home for Christmas. How great will that be? Not much longer to go. I’ll get to see you again soon.”

I smile against my phone, my heart warming. “Yeah, I can’t wait to see you either. I miss you.”

Helen inhales deeply and I know us being away has been hard on her. “I miss you too, honey. Well, you go and enjoy your day, okay? I’ll speak to you tonight.”

I sigh and bid her farewell, wishing I could be there to console her. What she needs right now is a tight hug, yet I can’t even give her that.

Carter grabs my phone and puts it away before pulling me back in his arms. “Mom will be fine, Minx.”

“You little shit,” I say. “How can you touch me like that when I’m on the phone with your mom? Are you crazy?”

I sigh and snuggle in closer. It’s so surreal that I’m actually lying here with Carter. How long have I been dreaming of this? I know it’s just sex, but I’ll take whatever I can get.

“You know you loved it,” he murmurs. I can’t even deny it, because I did. I’m still sore from last night but I already want more.

“Hey, Emilia? I might not have said this before, but I really appreciate the way you speak to Mom every day. I’ll try to be better too. I’ll try to call her more often.”

I lean in and kiss his neck. “Yeah, that’d be nice.”

I speak to Helen a lot more than I speak to my dad. I call him once a week or so, but if I don’t get in touch with him, he won’t bother calling me. It’s always me reaching out. I want to believe he loves me and just isn’t good at communicating, but it’s starting to become draining to always be the person reaching out.

Carter’s alarm goes off and he silences it. “Weight training,” he murmurs. He kisses me on the cheek and gets up while I lie back in his bed and watch him. His body is magnificent and for the foreseeable future he’s going to be all mine. Will I be able to walk away unscathed when the time comes?

Chapter 17

Emilia

I walk into my dorm room quietly. The curtains are drawn and it’s pitch dark. I can just about see Kate’s head sticking out above the covers, the sharp smell of liquor and hangover in the air. I walk to the window and open the curtains, just enough to let some daylight into the room. Kate groans and throws her arm over her face.

“Hey,” I murmur. “Thought you’d still be at the hotel with Asher?”

She blinks and looks at me in confusion, but then she nods. “Oh, yeah, I ended up wanting to go home,” she says, looking away. I can’t help but feel like she’s lying.

“Did you two argue or something?”

She groans and turns around, ignoring me.

“What happened?” I ask. “Did you end up going out?”

She turns to face me again, annoyance flashing through her eyes. “God damn it, Milly. Let me sleep. It’s like ten in the morning.”

I’m surprised by her outburst and step back in alarm. I’m not sure what to say to that and merely nod as I grab the books I came here to get. I’m flustered all the way to the library. I feel like Kate is being suspicious, but I can’t figure out what’s going on. Is she seeing someone else, maybe? It hurts that we’ve grown so far apart that she won’t let me in anymore. She’s been going out almost every night lately, and every time I ask her where she’s going, she’s vague in her response. It’s obvious she doesn’t want to invite me along, and it hurts a little. I don’t even like partying, but it’d be nice to get an invite.

I’m absentminded as I walk into the library and don’t snap out of it until I hear someone call my name. I turn back to find Mason waving at me and freeze. Now that I know who he is, I’m not sure how to act around him. The way Lisa cried her eyes out was heartbreaking, and I can’t believe he managed to hurt her that much. He waves me over and I walk toward him reluctantly.

“Hey,” he murmurs, patting the seat next to him. I sit down and edge away a little. “So, what ended up happening last night?”

I blush as memories of last night assail me and Mason chuckles. “Carter seemed really pissed off to find us together,” he says, grinning. “I’ve known the guy for years, but I’ve never seen him carry a girl off in anger. What happened? Probably safe to assume he’s the guy you’re in love with?”

I look away awkwardly. “I didn’t realize you knew each other,” I whisper, scared of being too loud.

Mason chuckles and throws his arm over the back of my chair. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. Doesn’t seem like Carter moved on, though. The way he pulled you away from me was no joke.”

I bite down on my lip and nod. “It’s complicated. It’s just… unresolved feelings.” I turn to face him and raise my brows. “You and Lisa?”

His smile drops, and he looks at me cautiously. “That’s also complicated.”

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