Jesus, why was I jumping to the worst conclusions? Maybe because I’d gone through my fair share of disappointments. But so had Val, hadn’t she? I reviewed the message. Her text read as if she’d given this a lot of thought. I knew my Val well enough to piece things together, understand what was going on through her mind.
Carter: We’ll have a serious talk when you come back. I’m picking you up from LAX.
Val: You don’t have to.
Carter: It wasn’t a question.
I’d offered to do that before, but she’d insisted there was no need for me to endure the traffic. I didn’t want to be apart from her a minute longer than I had to.
I counted down the hours until her landing and arrived at the airport early.
When Val finally walked out, I let out a long exhale. She was alone, because her sisters were returning with a later flight.
Fuck, she was beautiful in that bright yellow dress. I couldn’t wait to get her home. I wanted to taste her mouth and her skin. I wanted to sink inside her until she called out my name and understood that she was mine. I’d show her exactly how perfect we were for each other.
***
Val
Without a word, Carter grabbed my luggage and my hand, intertwining our fingers.
“Hello to you too,” I said. “Where are we going?”
“To the car, and then my apartment. We need to talk.”
My heart had been in my throat ever since our text exchange. He hadn’t even made one move to kiss me, but he’d taken my hand. That had to be a good sign, right?
I took in the sight of him, all tall and handsome, walking with determined strides. God, how I loved this man.
The drive was a nerve-wracking and awkward affair. He’d said he wanted to talk, but he wasn’t saying anything. He was so close, and yet he seemed far. To mask my growing restlessness, I started talking about my trip. By the time we entered the apartment, I was on pins and needles.
When he closed the door to the apartment, I blurted, “Carter, are you angry with me?”
He placed the luggage next to the door before turning to me. His jaw was tight. “What do you think?”
I swallowed, leaning back against the wall, looking down at my hands. When I heard him approach, I blinked up. He braced both palms on the wall, next to my shoulders. He was so close now that our lips were almost touching.
“I thought you were leaving me, Val. Do you know how that felt?”
My eyes widened. “Oh, God, Carter. I hadn’t thought about that. I’m sorry. That was never my intention. I’d just thought....”
“What?”
In a small voice, I admitted, “I was afraid that maybe you’d asked me to reconsider things because you were reconsidering them too. I know I can be overbearing and poke my nose in everything, and... I mean, I practically moved in. We’d never even talked about it, but my shit was everywhere.”
He unhitched his hands from the wall, cupping my face instead. He captured my mouth with his, and the contact electrified me. He was passionate and demanding, his tongue stroking mine until my hands were fumbling at the hem of his T-shirt, desperate to feel skin. Before I knew it, Carter had lifted me off the ground, throwing me over his shoulder.
“Carter, are you crazy?” I half laughed, half shrieked.
“You are driving me crazy.”
He walked to the bedroom, lowering me directly on the bed, then climbing over me, pinning me to the mattress. His knees were at the sides of my thighs, his forearms caging in my torso.
“Trust me to love every part of you, Val, because I swear that I will. Forever.”
I melted into him, wrapping my arms around his neck, holding him close. “I promise to trust you, but I want the same promise from you in return.”
“I promise.”