Claiming Carter (13 page)

Kelvin strutted over to the couch and placed the two helmets on the black coffee table sitting in the middle of the couches, and removed the leather jacket he had been wearing for the motorcycle ride and threw it on the couch.

“Welcome,” Kelvin said. “Make yourself comfortable.”

“It really is amazing. I can’t believe you get to stay here for free. Must be nice to have all of this space,” I replied as I looked around the large living room.

“I’m certainly not complaining, that’s for sure. The space is nice, but the thing I love most, though, is the view.” Kelvin walked over to the massive glass window and placed his hand on the pane as he looked out into the evening sky. The sun was setting beautifully, casting shadows and streaking orange across the city. “I love how peaceful it is. Something about the way the sun looks when it sets, it’s so calming and soothing. It really is what I love most about living here. Chicago is a beautiful city.”

“It really is,” I replied as I looked out the window. “I don’t get to get deep into the city like this very often. I’m usually so busy with work. It’s nice to get to see the city from this angle.”

“Well, I really am glad you like it. And, the night is just getting started. I’ve got a decent little main course in the oven, and now that we’re here I can get started on the sides.” Kelvin held his hand out in front of me with his palm up. “Follow me, and we’ll get the evening started.”

The look on his face could have melted me as I reached out and took his masculine hand. Kelvin led me over to a table that I’d barely noticed in a small dining area behind the couches. The table in the center of the room was made of a decorative glass with crystal legs. In the center was a gold bucket filled with ice with a golden bottle of Cristal champagne sitting inside. On opposite ends of the bucket were two wine glasses. Kelvin reached out and grabbed the bottle of champagne, opened it, poured a glass and handed it to me.

“Wow,” I exclaimed. “I’ve never had Cristal before. Isn’t this really expensive?”

“It can get a little pricey,” Kelvin answered with a smirk. He placed the bottle back into the ice and held up his wine glass. I took his cue and raised my glass as well. “A toast to happiness, excitement, and passion.”

“I can definitely drink to that,” I replied as I clinked my glass against his. When the cold Cristal hit my lips, I felt a warm sensation trickle down my throat that helped me to relax. Finally, our night together had begun.

Kelvin made his way through the lavish living room and walked back into the kitchen. I followed him, watching him from behind as he stepped with such confidence. He was obviously a man that was very sure of himself. He was in total control, and it showed in everything that he did, and every movement that he made. Fortunately, he seemed to know how to straddle the line between confident and arrogant, and he never crossed onto the wrong side of that line.

I stopped at the kitchen entrance as Kelvin made his way over to the black stove and opened the oven. The aroma rose from the opening and trapped itself inside my nose. I didn’t know what it was, but I could tell from the smell alone that Kelvin knew what he was doing.

“That smells amazing,” I said as I took a seat at the marble counter that doubled as a bar.

“Thanks. It took me a while to decide what I wanted to make. I decided on smothered pork chops as a main course. Should be ready fairly soon. I’ve got baked potatoes in here as well, and I’m about to start the green beans now.”

“Wow,” I exclaimed. “Very impressive, Mr. Carter.”

“Why thank you, Ms. Hayes,” Kelvin responded with a smile. “I felt obligated to show you a little something. I couldn’t have you making fun of me for not backing up my word.”

“I wouldn’t have made fun of you, at least not to your face,” I joked. “It’s still all about how it tastes though. My father can make a casserole look delicious, but once you bite into it you wish you didn’t have taste buds.”

Kelvin let out a cute little chuckle. “Well I hope that doesn’t happen. I put in work to make sure this meal is perfect.”

“I guess we’ll have to see.”

“I guess so,” Kelvin quipped as he began working on the side dish of green beans that he had obviously snapped himself. “Okay, now that this is all started and looking good, I have to go change into something a little more dinner appropriate. So, if you’ll excuse me for a moment. Help yourself to some more champagne if you want, and I’ll be right back.”

Kelvin sauntered down the hall towards the elevator that brought us up to the penthouse, but he continued walking right past the doors. From the looks of it, there was at least one bedroom at the end of the hallway. My curiosity crept up once again as I turned around in my seat and looked around the massive room. I noticed a doorway in the far corner of the living room that I hadn’t seen before. I slowly rose from my seat and made my way over to the dining room and poured myself another glass of the expensive Cristal, which seemed to finally give me the courage to walk over to the doorway I’d noticed seconds ago. I didn’t want to be the nosy house guest who crept around the house when the owner wasn’t around, or looked inside the medicine cabinet after claiming to need to use the restroom. However, a suite this size seemed to almost be on display on purpose—at least that was what I told myself as I walked through the doorway and into a room larger than the one I’d just exited.

The far wall was made of glass, just like the living room, but to the right side of the room was a bar, stocked with every liquor that I could think of, and some I couldn’t. In the center of the room was a large pool table with red felt for the playing surface, and a massive poker table sitting next to it, also covered with red felt. In the far left corner was a black Jacuzzi that looked like it was made of granite and could fit at least eight people. This was obviously the part of the penthouse that was made for partying, which was probably the reason why Kelvin hadn’t bothered showing it to me. Nothing says “bad first impression” like a room that makes your date look like a wild party animal that gets drunk in the Jacuzzi on a regular basis.

I turned around and made my way back into the living room, patting myself on the back for defeating my urge to continue to look around. As I made my way around the couches in the living room, I could hear Kelvin bumping around in the bedroom at the end of the hall. Suddenly, the thought of him changing clothes only a few feet away from me sent chills up my neck. The thought of his naked body made me feel flustered and I could feel the heat sinking into my cheeks. I walked over to the end of the bar and glanced down the hall. I couldn’t tell how many rooms there were at the end of the hall, but I could see the one Kelvin was in, as the light peered through the small gap in the door.

Whatever I had in me that helped me to resist the desire to look around the suite apparently was gone. I had a desire to look around, but I felt like I was compelled to walk down the hall and look through the crack in the door. The next thing I knew I was taking the softest, quietest steps I could, secretly making my way down the hallway. When I reached the door, I did my best to conceal the rest of my body while I leaned over and looked through the gap.

When I saw him, I gasped, but luckily, Kelvin hadn’t heard me. He was standing shirtless in front of what looked like a closet door, and it was obvious he had just slipped into the black slacks that he was still attempting to fasten. I marveled at the musculature in his back as he looked down at his waistline, attempting to buckle his belt. The top left quarter of his back was decorated with a tattoo of the Chicago skyline, while the bottom right quarter was covered in some sort of elegant script that curved around his waist and came to an end just under his ribs. I couldn’t make out the words, but it didn’t matter. The flow of the tattoos was flawless and the art only added to the beauty that was his physique.

I could see that Kelvin’s arms were also inked, with most of the ink on his left arm, which was virtually covered from his shoulder down to his hand. The images were small and intricate, with the largest image up on the shoulder and outside of his bicep. I immediately recognized the hands of God and Adam from the image on the Sistine Chapel. That’s when it donned on me that every tattoo covering his left arm was an image from the famous chapel ceiling, decorated by Michelangelo. Whoever the tattoo artist was, he must have been paid a fortune, and rightfully so. Each image was crystal clear, and shaded and outlined to perfection.

The tattoo on Kelvin’s hand was smaller and very hard to make out. I remembered I’d noticed it when I first saw the angelic man at Applebee’s. I tried squinting my eyes but I still couldn’t make it out. It looked like it was some sort of text, maybe written in cursive, but I wasn’t sure.

As I inched forward to get a better look, the hand I was using to hold myself up as I leaned over slipped off of the door frame. Before I could catch myself, I fell forward just enough to hit the door with my elbow, pushing it open slightly and immediately grabbing Kelvin’s attention. Before I could gather myself and try to run back into the kitchen area, the door swung open quickly, and there stood Kelvin, staring at me.

The expression on his face was both intimidating and seductive. My heart rate rose to a panic as I looked up at him, his face stern, yet endearing. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak, and I couldn’t control my eyes as they made their way down to his mouth, then down to his bare chest. The permanent image of two winged angels fighting three demons stood out to me as I stared in amazement. The script that I’d noticed from the back, was visible on Kelvin’s front, and the words stopped right where his perfectly defined, six-pack abs began. I felt like my eyes were going to dry out from a lack of blinking. How could a man be so perfect? Kelvin Carter Jr. was like a man in a world full of immature toddler boys. He made every boyfriend I’d ever had look like they were nothing, and I was simply speechless.

To my surprise, Kelvin didn’t say a word. He just stood in the doorway with his hand still on the doorknob, staring at me. I noticed his eyes drop down to my lips, and then pop back up, as he again locked his eyes with mine. We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Then, Kelvin took a step forward and grabbed me by the hand, pulling my body close to his. Our bodies only inches apart, I could feel the heat rising from his naked chest, and the smell of his Dark Obsession cologne engulfed me.

Any control I thought I’d had earlier was totally absent now. I didn’t know if it was the right thing to do or not. I didn’t know if my mother would approve or if I would regret it in the morning. All I knew was that I wanted him. Right here, right now. In this moment, I had to have him. And if his body language was any indication, I knew he wanted me to. So, I slowly lifted my hand and placed it gently on the top of his stomach, letting it slide down gradually, and feeling my body begin to tingle as my fingers seemed to vibrate from sliding over Kelvin’s muscled abs. When I reached his belt, I let my hand rest on the top of his waistband as we made eye contact once again.

Then, Kelvin leaned forward and lightly pressed his supple lips on mine. I felt the air leave my body as our tongues connected and sent a wave of electricity down to my toes. As we kissed, the passion seemed to quickly intensify as Kelvin tightened his grip around me. The strength in his hands and arms was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. I felt the muscles in his arms tighten and I felt ready for anything he wanted to do. I wanted him to take me, wherever, and however he wanted to.

Kelvin held me close and kept kissing me as he pulled me into the massive bedroom. My instincts had taken over and I found myself struggling to pull Kelvin’s belt off as fast as I wanted to. He seemed to recognize my plight and quickly grabbed the belt, and snatched it out of the loops on his pants in one swoop. The pants, however, didn’t fall to his ankles like I hoped they would. Instead, they rested on Kelvin’s waist, teasing me, but never falling down.

Just as I began attempting to pull Kelvin’s pants down the rest of the way, he reached down and stopped me by grabbing my hands and holding them in place. Everything came to a screeching halt as Kelvin pulled away from me and took a step backwards.

“What … what’s wrong?” I asked as the embarrassment began to consume me.

Kelvin didn’t speak, choosing to stare at me with that seductive expression he used so well.

I didn’t know what to do, or what to say. All of a sudden I felt like I’d made a huge mistake by being forward and now he was feeling rushed.

“I … I’m sorry,” I stuttered. “Umm, I don’t know what to say. I …”

Suddenly, Kelvin took a huge step forward and stopped directly in front of me. I looked up at him and noticed he wasn’t looking into my eyes. He was looking at my dress. Slowly, Kelvin reached out with both hands and grabbed my dress at the waist, and began pulling it up inch by inch.

I wasn’t sure what he was doing. Were we stopping or starting?

“Kelvin, what …” I started to say, but he cut me off.

“The first thing I want to do,” he stated smoothly, “is make you come … hard.”