Page 87 of Poisoned Pawn

Roxy looks at me. “What was that about?”

“I’ve no idea.” I shake my head. “I’ll see you in the morning.” I follow Carter and step into the bedroom just as he’s taking off his trousers.

His back is to me, and I take in the way his muscles flex beneath his tanned skin and the prominent veins in his arm as he tosses his joggers over the small ottoman style stool in the corner of the room. I push the door closed and lean back against it and just look at him.

He turns around at the click of the door closing, and for the first time since our night together at Illicit, he’s wearing underwear. Skintight hipster boxers that leave nothing to the imagination. My mouth waters as I trail my eyes over him. Down over his broad chest, the tightly packed abdominal muscles, the thin line of dark hair leading down into the top of his boxers where his cock bulges against the light cotton and Lycra fabric. I can see every ridge of his Jacob’s ladder. The sight is replicated as a physical feeling between my thighs as my pussy clenches remembering how it feels as he stretches me.

Oh god!

I wet my lips and try to push my dirty thoughts away and focus on what pissed him off.

“What happened down there? And don’t tell me nothing.” I fold my arms and cross one ankle over the other in a gesture that is meant to convey a clear message. Only I don’t think he’s buying it.

He steps toward me, and I fight like fuck with my body to not move away, to not run. I still don’t understand this crazy fucking reaction I have to him. Why he makes me want to run when he looks at me like I’m prey.

Because you are.

He wants to devour you.

It’s the complete opposite of how I should respond to a predator. But not Carter. He’s my predator.

“No, Carter.” My no has him hesitating just for a second. “Tell me about your sister.” The words fall from my mouth before I can stop them.

It’s like a shutter coming down. Every emotion vanishes from his face leaving behind just one.

Fury.

He turns away from me, and I instantly want to go to him because I know whatever it is he’s not saying is hurting him. And I never want to be the cause of his pain. I push away from the door and follow a few steps behind, stopping when he begins pacing the length of the room.

“She’s still alive, isn’t she?” I question, pushing him to tell me. To open up to me and tell me what demons he fights.

“It’s not fucking living!” he spits out, placing both hands on top of his head, linking them together as he stands there in front of me.

“What do you mean? What happened to her?” Pain slashes across his face at my questions. “Carter…”

His eyes snap to mine. “Her pain is your pain.”

Five simple words that splinter inside me.

No.

“He was my first kill! I tore him to fucking pieces.” His face screws up, top lip curling into a snarl. “Now Erica suffers in silence, haunted every day by what that cunt did to her.”

Now I go to him. Latching onto his forearms and gripping tight.

“I’m sorry.” My words feel like a knife to his already damaged heart. They are empty because nothing, no words, can ease the pain of knowing what was done to his sister.

It’s why I’ve never told Roxy what happened to me.

He stares down at me, my eyes filling with tears. I push up onto my toes and drop a soft, chaste kiss to his mouth.

He accepts it for what it is; a simple gesture to let him know I’m here.

“He beat the fuck out of my mum and raped Erica then set fire to our house. I came home just as the flames engulfed one side of the house. I burst through the front door and was met with a wall of fire. It was so fucking hot. I found Erica and carried her outside to the front lawn. She was naked and covered in blood. Parts of her skin had already begun to blister from the fire. Her face… I tried to go back for my mum, but the roof collapsed.”

“Oh my god, Carter. Stop. Stop.” I can feel his guilt breathed out with every word. It’s tangible. A fucking menace, a virus. “Hey, listen to me. This was not your fault.” I shake his arms, then grip his face. “You saved her.”

“Did I, Star,” he asks defeated. “Or did I just trap her in another hell?”

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