“Please.” Kat gripped his face and brought his ear to her soft lips. “I want you to fuck me.”

Carter flew upright onto his knees, holding his weight as he pulled Kat’s body flush against his, her breasts crushed between them, gripping her by the hip and shoulder, and began pounding into her, deep, powerful strokes that made Kat scream. She clawed at him while his mouth bit and smothered as much of her as he was able, while the cries of “fuck,” “harder,” and “Kat” filled the room until the walls could barely contain them.

Carter simply couldn’t stop fucking the beautiful woman in his arms. He didn’t want to stop. He wanted this forever. He wanted her forever. He wanted to have this moment on loop for the rest of his life. Her taste. Her smell. The small cries of pleasure she was breathing in his ear. The shouts for more and the sounds of their bodies slamming together.

He gasped when their mouths met again, teeth and tongues everywhere at once.

And then Carter felt it.

Deep in his stomach as his balls tightened again, and his thighs took on a life of their own.

He was coming.

He tried to tell her. But Kat merely held on to him and rode every thrust. Carter buried his face into her hair and grunted in sync with the delicious sound of slapping skin. But suddenly, Kat’s body changed. She became rigid in his arms.

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Oh God. It’s … it’s right there.”

Carter clenched his teeth, willing his orgasm to hold off. This was what he’d dreamed about: Kat, in his arms, coming all over him. And he’d be damned if he’d miss a second of it.

Her head fell back and her hips swiveled, seeking out any kind of friction. Carter’s thumb was immediately on her, flicking, pinching, and rubbing the pleasure out of her. She was so slick. Carter gasped out her name.

“Please,” he begged, biting down on her shoulder. “Please. What can I do?” Carter’s thrusts started to become sloppy and out of rhythm. “Goddammit, Kat, tell me.”

She lifted her head. Her eyes hooded, dark, and full of passion. “Kiss me.”

So he did. With his nose crushed against her face, Carter smashed his mouth to hers, sliding his tongue in and out, fucking her in every way possible. She responded almost instantly. Her arms tightened around his neck, and her legs jerked at his sides as her thighs held his waist in a bone-crushing grip.

“Yes. Yes,” Carter growled, trying like hell to keep his erratic pace.

Kat’s head fell back and Carter watched her take a huge breath and cry out at the top of her lungs as her orgasm crashed into her. “WES!”

At the sound of his name ripping from her throat, Carter’s spine snapped, and he exploded inside of her with such force that he fell over, landing on Kat’s body. Waves of euphoric release crashed over him, leaving him breathless, groaning, and crying out for his Peaches while she mumbled unintelligible words into his sweat-covered neck and shoulder.

Nothing had ever felt that fucking good. Nothing would ever come close. No woman would ever come that close. With a strange feeling of contentment, as he rode the best orgasm of his life, Carter realized he’d been ruined. Kat had ruined him. And he couldn’t have been fucking happier.

“God. God. I can’t.” Carter slowly returned to Earth, not entirely sure all his limbs were attached and in working order. He did realize, however, that his full weight was pressing Kat hard into his bed, and that was just unacceptable. He made to lift off her on shaking arms and knees, but she held him fast, crushing him to her.

“Not yet,” she murmured. “Don’t leave me yet. Just stay a while longer.”

Carter was without the energy to argue. “Mmkay,” he managed into the pillow at the side of her head, to which Kat laughed, a sweet, high sound.

Her hands and fingertips danced lazily across his back. He fought the urge to fall asleep. With a sigh and a small kiss to her neck, Carter slipped his softening body from hers. Despite still being on top of her, he was instantly bereft.

“Damn, woman. That was …” His mouth came to a grinding halt. He opened his eyes, needing inspiration.

“It was,” she finished for him. She was lovely in her postcoital glow. Carter kissed her again.

“You know,” he said, releasing her lips and gazing down at her. “Maybe Donne had it right.” He let his index finger trail down her nose to her gorgeous beestung lips.

Kat tried to suppress her smile, clearly recollecting their session in Central Park. “Oh yeah? About what?”

He tucked her curling hair behind her ear and traced her lobe with his thumb. “About being with someone,” he murmured. “About it being like heaven.” Kat’s eyes closed at his words. “Too much?” he hedged with caution in his voice.

She shook her head. “No,” she replied. “It was exactly like that.” She reopened her eyes.

Carter let his gaze wander from her forehead to her chin, taking in every line and soft edge. He realized that her smile had widened.

“It’s rude to stare,” she chided.

He chuckled at her using his words from earlier that day and rubbed the tip of her nose with his own. “I’m not sorry.” He watched her carefully for a while, looking for any signs of regret. “Are you okay?” he asked. “I mean, about what I told you? About who I am.”

“I’m more than okay.” She pulled his lips to hers and kissed him.

Carter’s eyes closed and he exhaled in contentment. Their tongues touched briefly, tenderly, and Carter’s lips were still moving when she pulled away. His eyes fluttered open to see her gazing adoringly at him. His heart halted for one beat.

Physically and emotionally exhausted, Carter shifted down Kat’s body and rested his ear against her damp chest, smiling when he heard her heart thumping behind her ribs. Her fingers moved leisurely from his shoulders to his scalp. He was almost asleep when he heard her whisper his name.

“Carter?”

“Yeah?”

Her hands stilled. “Thank you.”

He frowned. “What for?”

She didn’t reply or move.

He lifted his head and rested his chin on her sternum. “Sweetheart, what are you thanking me for?”

A lone tear slipped down her temple. She swallowed hard before answering. “For saving my life.”

23

Carter froze, his rough chin resting on her smooth, soft skin. His lips twitched with a response, but, for the life of him, he had no clue what to say. With a soft sigh, he moved back up her body and cupped her face in his hands, resting his weight on his forearms at either side of her head.

“Kat,” he whispered with his nose inches from hers. He waited for her to look at him. “You’re here.” He let his thumb trace her pink cheek and watched the color deepen under his touch. “That’s all that matters.”

There was conflict in her eyes: fear, affection, hurt. Carter felt a sharp twist of unease. He knew she didn’t regret what they’d done. The way she’d held him, ridden him, whispered delicious words into his ear assured him of that. But he was hopelessly aware of the dangers surrounding her because of their actions.

The fact that he cared for Kat would make no difference to how people, her mother specifically, regarded him. He was an ex-con and, as such, was an untrustworthy bottom-feeder. No pretty words or fancy declarations could change that shit. She would never see him as anything else. Her fear and narrow-mindedness would blind her to what he truly felt for her daughter.

Carter’s heart squeezed. He had to pray that whatever the two of them had found together was enough to keep Kat with him for as long as possible. He wanted more with her, from her, and he was willing to step up to get it. She was worth all of the shit that would come his way, and he would be there to protect her as best he could.

Once Kat had been to the bathroom, giving them both a chance to clean up, she crawled back into bed, allowing him to wrap his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. She held him snugly around the waist. His palm rubbed across her back in comforting circles while her fingertips danced around his nipple. As new as the sensation was of cuddling a woman in his bed, the familiarity of it with Kat was as warm as the blankets around them.