Page 153 of The Stolen Moments Trilogy

Dad nods. “Carter will show you to your room.”

I shake my head. “Oh, no, we were planning on staying at the house,” I murmur.

Dad looks at me the way he used to when I was a teenager, and I suddenly feel like I’m in trouble.

“No. You’ll stay here, with me,” he says, his voice brooking no argument.

I glance at Sam and he sighs, nodding slightly. He steps closer to me and brushes my hair out of my face gently. “We’re here to spend time with your dad, after all,” he murmurs. He wraps his hand around my waist before turning to Carter, a smile on his face. “Are you sure Emilia and I can stay here?” he asks, and I’m not even sure what I’m hoping for. Am I hoping he’ll say yes, or no?

Carter nods briskly, his eyes lingering on where Sam is touching me. “Of course,” he says, his expression blank. “Your room has already been prepared.”

I’m filled with so many emotions that I can’t even make sense of as I follow Carter, my eyes on his back. I’m filled with disappointment, anxiety and dread, when I should be excited to finally spend some time with Sam.

Chapter 28

Emilia

I glance at Sam and slip out of bed quietly. I’ve been tossing and turning all night, unable to fall asleep. My heart is in disarray.

I walk down the stairs, the marble cold underneath my feet. I hesitate as the glass sliding doors leading to the veranda come into view. I’d be lying to myself if I said that I didn’t expect him to be here. Carter is standing outside, wearing nothing but long sleeping bottoms, a whisky glass in his hand. Something looks off about him, and my heart wrenches painfully. I’m instantly worried, though I can’t quite pinpoint what it is that alarms me.

I slip through the sliding doors quietly, and Carter turns to face me. His eyes roam over my body heatedly, and rage flashes through them. He puts his glass down and approaches me, and I take a step away, my back hitting the wall.

“What is this, Minx?” he whispers, his fingers tracing the edges of my nightgown. “Where is my t-shirt? I know you stole a few more of my newer ones, yet you’re not wearing any of them.”

I gulp, my heart racing. He’s standing so close that I can barely breathe. I turn and slip away from him, but I’ve only taken one step when he’s got his arm wrapped around my waist. Carter pulls me back and against the wall.

I gasp, my eyes widening. “You’re drunk,” I whisper. I raise my hands to his chest, intending to keep some distance between us, but he grabs my wrists and pushes them against the wall, above my head. Carter pushes his body against mine, caging me in. My eyes shutter closed at the feel of him. How many years has it been since I’ve felt him against me like this? I don’t even have it in me to protest. Instead, I melt against him. He’s bigger now. Stronger. He’s all man now, far from the twenty-one-year-old I used to call mine.

“Look at me, Emilia,” he whispers, and I do. I look into his eyes, and all I find is helplessness and anger. “Did you fuck him underneath my roof?” he asks. “Did you let him touch you?”

He drops his forehead to mine, as though he can’t let go of me, but can’t face me either. He inhales deeply, his breath ragged. Carter loosens his grip on my wrists and pulls away from me.

I grab his hand and pull him back. He looks so tortured that my heart breaks. “No,” I whisper. “No, Carter. I didn’t. I wouldn’t.”

He buries his hand in my hair and grips tightly. “Look me in the eye and tell me you didn’t kiss him. That he didn’t touch your body. That he didn’t fall asleep with you in his arms.”

I bite down on my lip and look away, unable to do as he asks. Carter’s eyes fall closed and he inhales deeply. “You say you wouldn’t, but you already have. It’s a kiss today, what is it tomorrow?”

He laughs humorlessly. “Fucking hell… I know you’re his. I know it. But I can’t fucking stand it.”

He lets go of me and turns his back to me, and all I want to do is press my body back against his. I want to wrap my arms around him and reassure him in any way possible — but I can’t. I can’t, and I shouldn’t.

“I can leave. I wasn’t even planning on staying here with Sam,” I murmur, my voice barely above a whisper.

Carter turns back to face me, his eyes flashing with anger. He laughs humorlessly and walks back to me. “What, you wanted to take him to your old house? Share your childhood bed with him? Spend some alone time with him? What exactly did you need all that privacy for?”

He grabs my waist, and before I know it, he’s got me lifted up against the wall. I instinctively wrap my legs around him, and he pushes against me.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he tells me. “You’re crazy if you think I’ll let you to be alone in your old house. It isn’t happening, Emilia.”

I’m breathing hard and my hands find their way into his hair without me even realizing it. “That isn’t it. I just thought it’d be easier,” I whisper.

I want to be unaffected, but my heart is racing from just having him so close to me. I subconsciously tighten my legs around his waist. If he’d held me just a little lower, he’d be pressing right up against me. I pray he won’t notice just how hard my nipples are against his chest.

“Easier?” he repeats. “Fuck that. I’m not making this easy on you. I don’t give a fuck that you’re his. He’s not touching you. He’s not laying a fucking finger on you, you hear me?”

I look into his eyes and nod, and Carter relaxes just slightly. His hands drop to my ass, and he squeezes tightly, almost painfully so. Carter repositions me so I’m wrapped around his hips, and I bite down on my lip. He’s hard, and my body still responds to him the way it always has. I try my best to push down a wave of intense desire and swallow hard.

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