Carter Reed(26)

I flushed. I was an idiot sometimes.

When I bent forward and sat beside Theresa, Mike folded into the seat beside me. We had to scoot over for him and Theresa giggled behind her hands. “It’s like you have a bodyguard. Are we giving him a ride home too?” She patted my leg a few times, but then jerked forward. “Who’s driving this car?”

I cringed. I didn’t want to say it to her. I didn’t want her to look at me differently. Who else had a driver and bodyguard?

Mike answered for me, “An associate of mine. It’s a new car service offered by Joe’s.”

“Really?” She frowned. “I never knew about this before. I would’ve used this. A lot.”

“It’s only for the night, ma’am.”

“Ma’am.” More giggles came from her. She slapped my leg again. “I had one pitcher too many, Emma, but I had fun. Did you have fun? I think we’ll make a great team for this account. Noah’s going to be so proud of us. I’m glad he picked you for the account.” She leaned close and whispered loudly, “I don’t have a lot of female friends at work. Those girls were fun tonight. We should do that again sometime.”

I patted her arm as she turned back to her window and asked Mike, “Do you need her address?”

He didn’t look at me as he spoke, “We already know it. Thank you, ma’am, for asking.”

I sat back, stunned. I felt snubbed by my own bodyguard. Had I been? Or was the beer speaking to me too?

Theresa lived in a newer building. As she teetered her way inside, the car waited until she had been let inside by her doorman. I sunk low in my seat. I was back to the home that wasn’t home. It was then that everything slid back into place. I wasn’t some fairy princess with new friends and a new job—well, kind of, but as we progressed across the city, I remembered my place. I had killed a man, and I was in hiding from his family. I sighed and closed my eyes. We would arrive at Carter’s home soon enough, and I doubted I would have a restful night’s sleep.

When the car dipped down into the basement, I didn’t wait for Mike to open the door or even for the car to stop. I opened the far door and hopped out. I had hit the elevator button before Mike had his own door shut. Both of them hurried for me, but I stood back and watched as the elevator door slid shut. For some reason that made me feel better. I had escaped them, for a second, and in Carter’s own home, but it was a little burst of victory for me.

My stomach twisted and churned. I didn’t know what was wrong with me, but when the elevator opened to my floor, I stepped out into the little hallway with trembling legs and shaking hands. My palms were sweaty and my pulse had started to race again. It was Carter. If Mike wasn’t happy with me then I knew Carter would be furious, but I had no idea why. What had I done wrong?

It was my life.

I could live how I wanted.

I tried to reassure myself that. Carter couldn’t be mad at me. He didn’t have control over my life. But it was a lie. My heart raced even faster and my body started to feel sick as I opened my door. Then I stopped in shock. My floor was dark. There were no lights on, and as I made my way towards the stairs, I couldn’t see any lights on throughout the rest of the building either.

I was alone. There was no Carter.

I wasn’t sure what to feel about his absence, and I refused to believe I was disappointed. Instead of dwelling on it, I showered and headed to bed. It was nearing midnight and tomorrow was a full day at the job again.

It was later, much later, when my blanket was ripped off of me and I jerked upright. I caught a glance at the clock. It was after four in the morning. Carter stood above my bed. His icy blues glared down at me. He was dressed all in black again with a hood over his head. It covered his blonde hair, but I couldn’t notice anything more. I was caught and held captive by his eyes. They had turned into those of the stranger’s and he was livid with me.

I scooted against my headboard, but didn’t say a word. I didn’t dare. I didn’t reach for the blanket. I had gone to bed in a tight white top and I was in my panties, but I couldn’t cover myself. I knew Carter wanted that. I remained still and took a quiet breath. I felt like the prey being caught by the predator. A wild animal stood above me, and then he took a step closer. His pants brushed against my bed. He was so close to me.

He bent down to the bed and placed his arms on either side of me. He grasped the headboard into fists but kept himself off of me. His knees never touched the bed as he bent forward. His breath brushed across my skin. He spoke in a low growl, “I was on my way to Greece tonight when my men called me. You disappeared tonight.”

I drew in another breath. It left me shaking. “I didn’t.”

“You did.” His breath tickled against my lips. He never blinked. The rage in his was barely contained. “You worked late—”

“—I texted you that.”

His fists tightened on the headboard and his knee touched the bed now. It dipped under his weight, but he held himself above me.

My heart was pounding, but I couldn’t keep his gaze. Too many different emotions were being stirred up inside of me. When I felt the throb start between my legs, I clenched them together and hoped it would go away. What was wrong with me?

“You sent me a weak text and then you never looked at your phone again.”

I clamped my eyes shut. He was right.