Road to Absolution (11 page)

I
HEARD THE buzz of my cell phone and set
my Kindle aside. I couldn’t imagine who would be texting me at midnight other
than Carter, but we’d just seen each other, so hopefully, something wasn’t
wrong.

*Open your
window, babe*

I frowned and
slid out of bed, pushing open the window and peering into the dark.

“Cass?” Carter
whispered.

“I’m here,” I
whispered back. “What are you doing?”

“Comin’ up, give
me a sec.”

I shook my head
and stepped back from the window, forcing down a groan as I watched Carter
shimmy his way out onto the large branch closest to my window and swing into my
room with a thud. “Fuck me, that’s harder than I remember.”

I giggled.
“Well, you are twice the size you used to be.”

“Not quite.” He
turned and closed the window and then slid off his boots.

“You okay?”

Carter sighed
and wrapped his arms around me. “I am now.”

I hugged him
back. “What happened?”

“Just missed
you.”

I pulled away
and frowned up at him. “Honey, you saw me less than an hour ago. What
happened?”

He sighed and
dragged his hands down his face. “Nothin’ for you to worry about, yeah? Just
workin’ some shit out and needed to hold you for a bit.”

“Translation,
your mom’s not happy we’re seeing each other and giving you grief.”

“Babe, it’s not
your problem.”

“It is if you
have to choose between us. I can’t be the reason you’re estranged from your
family, honey, and if I lose you… well…” I couldn’t even verbalize the thought.

His hand slid to
my neck and he pulled me against his chest. “Again, babe, you’re not gonna lose
me. And if my mother doesn’t pull her head out of her ass, any estrangement
that might result from that’ll be on her. She threw my letters to you away.”

“What?” I
whispered. “Why?”

“Who the fuck
knows? She’s obviously demented. But it doesn’t matter, Cass. I love you. She
can’t come between us anymore.”

I hugged him
tighter. “So, are you staying here tonight?”

“If you want me
to.”

“Yeah, I want
you to.” I smiled up at him. “But the rules still apply.”

“I don’t have
any condoms with me, so I’ll keep my clothes on, baby,” he promised. “But I’m
not promising I won’t cop a feel.”

I giggled. “I’m
counting on it.”

The way my
parents’ house was set up was unique. They’d built it to their specifications
and it might be a little weird to some people, but it worked perfectly for us.
On both the first and second floor were bedrooms with attached baths. My
parents’ took the downstairs one and Shannon got the upstairs master since she
was the eldest. I didn’t mind because my room had the tree.

There were two
bedrooms with a jack-and-jill bathroom between, which Mia and I shared. It was
a little different since we each had a toilet and a sink, but the shower, bath
combo was between the toilets. There were also another two bedrooms with one
more bathroom on the second floor which was where all the kids now were. One of
them used to be a TV room, but had been converted when we’d all left.

He grinned and
slid his hands under the waistband of my panties and cupped my bottom. “Fuck,
your ass is incredible.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, baby.
Everything about you is.” He frowned. “Why?”

I shrugged. “No
reason.”

He moved his
hands to my waist. “You get that you’re gorgeous, right?”

I snorted.
“Don’t be a dork, Carter.”

“Baby, look at
me.”

“Let’s just go
to bed,” I said, and tried to pull away, but he held firm.

“Hey, this is
important, Cass.” I met his eyes and he smiled. “There isn’t a more beautiful
woman in the world to me.”

“Well, you
haven’t seen me naked yet.”

“So, let’s make
that happen.”

“Soon.”

He frowned, but
he let me escape and I flipped off my light and slid under the covers. Carter
climbed in beside me and pulled me close.

“I love you,
Cassidy.”

I rolled to face
him and stroked his cheek. “I love you too.”

“You on the
pill?”

I shook my head.
“Not currently, no, but I’ll make an appointment with my doctor this week and
take care of that.”

His hand slid
under my cami and cupped a breast. “That’d be good, baby.”

I arched into
his hand as his thumb slid over my nipple. “Wow. Maybe you should have brought
condoms.”

He chuckled. “I
don’t need condoms to take care of you, honey.”

“Yeah, but what
about you?”

“Tonight’s about
you.” Carter moved his hand from my breast to the apex of my thighs. “No
screaming though.”

I giggled. “I
don’t scream, honey. I told you that.”

“That’s only
because no one’s ever made you scream.” He slipped his hand between my legs,
keeping the barrier of my panties between us, and his thumb circled over my
clit.

 I took in
a deep breath. “Possibly.”

He grinned and
shifted, pushing me onto my back. He sat up and knelt between my legs, shoving
the covers off of us and tugging on my panties. “Lift, baby.”

I lifted my hips
and he slid my underwear off, throwing them to the side. Next came my cami and
I was glad it was dark outside… I just wished the moon would hide as well.
Although, they say that candlelight and moonlight is romantic and always make
people look their best, so I hoped it worked in my favor.

Carter didn’t
waste any time with words or kisses, he went straight for my clit, sucking
gently at first, but increasing the pressure as my body responded. I mewed as
he licked, sucked, and blew me into a near climax, stopping just as it built
and causing me to cry out, albeit quietly. “Don’t stop,” I complained.

He chuckled.
“I’m not stoppin’, baby, just building you up.”

“Well, don’t do
that either.” I arched into him. “More.”      

Carter tugged my
hips so I’d slide further down the bed and guided my legs over his shoulders.
“My girl’s got a greedy little cunt.”

I nodded and he
slid two fingers inside of me while his tongue swirled my clit.

“Ohmigod,” I
breathed out as his fingers swiped the walls of my vagina. “Yes.”

He pressed in
again and then began to pump his fingers into me as he sucked on my clit. I
felt my orgasm build and then his mouth covered me as I exploded.

“Fuckin’ honey,
baby,” he said as he kissed each thigh and crawled up my body.

“Are you sure
you don’t have any condoms? Like in your wallet or something?”

He laughed
against my neck as he kissed me just below my ear. “Didn’t really plan ahead,
baby. I can run home and grab them, but I’m not ready to burst our little
bubble just yet.” He kissed me. “I’m also not done.”

“Ohmigod,
again?”

“Unless you
don’t want me to.”

I cupped his
face. “I absolutely want you to.”

He grinned and
kissed me again before sliding back down my body and providing me with two more
mind-blowing orgasms before I crashed in his arms and didn’t wake up again
until nature called at around four a.m.

“Babe,” Carter
whispered as I slid out of bed.

“Gotta pee,” I
returned. “Go back to sleep.”

“Confession?
You’ve kicked me four times, so sleep’s not comin’ easy.”

“Ohmigod, honey,
I’m so sorry.”

He chuckled.
“It’s okay, I’ve got a plan.”

“I’ll pee and
then you can enact your plan.”

On my way to the
bathroom, I found my discarded clothing, grabbed a pair of clean panties, and
made myself a little less naked before stretching out next to Carter again.

“Why’d you get
dressed?” he grumbled as he wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed the back
of my neck.

I smiled. “In
case Maverick decides to wake me… us earlier than usual.”

He sighed.

I rolled to face
him. “What do you care? You’re still fully clothed.”

“Yeah, but I
like having your naked body close.”

I giggled.
“You’ll have it again.”

“Can’t wait.” He
grinned, kissing me quickly. “Pill next week, right?”

“Yes, honey.
Promise.”

“Can I go back
to sleep now?”

“You could have
gone back to sleep before,” I countered.

“I need to hold
you to the bed first.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Roll over,
baby.”

I did, so my
back was to his front and he threw a leg over my thigh and his arm over my
waist.

“Mmm, love you,
Carter.”

“Love you too,
baby.”

With his arms
wrapped tightly around me, I fell asleep within minutes and didn’t wake again
until I heard the squeal of children’s laughter filter in through my open
window. I rolled over and found my bed empty, so I sat up and slid out of bed.
Checking my phone, it was past ten, so I peeked outside and grinned. Carter was
running around with Maverick and Kai, throwing a football, and my brother-in-law,
John was close, holding Alana.

Since my child
was in good hands, I showered quickly and then headed downstairs where Mom,
Shannon, and Mia were in the kitchen making something that smelled a lot like
cinnamon rolls. Dad was sitting at the table, sipping his coffee and reading
the paper.

“Why didn’t
anyone wake me?” I asked as I poured myself a cup of coffee.

“Carter said you
should sleep,” Shannon offered.

“Are you gonna
bust her for having a boy in her room?” Mia asked.

“If it were
anyone other than Carter, then probably,” Dad said.

I gasped.
“You’re on the Carter fan committee too?”

“President,
honey,” he said, and raised his mug in mock toast.

“Why am I just
finding all of this out?”

“Because we’ve
been trying not to meddle,” Mom said, and kissed my cheek as she passed me to
deliver a cinnamon roll to my dad.

I heard the
sliding glass door open and turned just as Maverick walked into the kitchen,
followed by Carter and John.

“Morning, Mom,”
Maverick said.

“Hi, kiddo.
Having fun?” I asked and hugged John in greeting, taking the baby from him.

“Yeah, I beat
Carter at football,” Maverick said.

“You did?” I
caught Carter’s eye and smiled when he shook his head before kissing me
quickly.

“He did great,”
Carter said.

“How about you
wash up, Mav, and then you can have one of Grandma’s cinnamon rolls.”

“Okay!” he said,
and headed to the sink.

I slid into
Carter’s arms and grinned up at him. “You let him win, I take it,” I whispered.

He chuckled.
“I’ll never tell.”

“Did you sleep?”

He nodded. “You
tried a few times to pull away from me, but settled quickly. We might need to
buy some handcuffs or something and lock you to the bed.”

I giggled.
“Kinky.”

“Hell yeah,” he
whispered, and kissed me.

The rest of the
morning was spent getting reacquainted with my niece and nephew, and firmly
cementing Carter’s place within our family dynamic. Carter had apparently
talked with my parents about staying with us for the remainder of the trip,
which they quickly agreed to, and Jaxon dropped the dog off before he left
(earlier than planned).

“I feel like
I’ve totally screwed everything up,” I admitted after we put Maverick to bed
that night.

“How so?” Carter
asked, pulling me onto the loveseat (and practically in his lap).