A Pound of Flesh (A Pound of Flesh #1)(149)

“I can’t believe you have that!” she exclaimed. He sat down and lifted her legs onto his lap. “Hey, Carter, 1988 called, they want their movie back.”

“It’s awesome,” he deadpanned, and hit play on the remote. “Shut up.”

Carter was quickly engrossed in the movie, but all Kat could do was watch him. She could see the child inside him with each snort of laughter. He seemed so relaxed, and never once removed his hand from her knee, circling it with the pad of his thumb while he drank, ate, and smoked with the other.

The connection was wonderful and allowed Kat to reflect on the day they’d shared. Discovering that he had gone to prison for his friend had left Kat reeling. He was loyal and selfless and so much more than she had ever imagined. His trust and honesty with her was the most beautiful thing, and her heart ached to tell him so. She let her eyes wander down Carter’s strong profile, feeling heavy with overwhelming emotion.

“What are you thinking so hard about over there?” Carter asked, his gaze still stuck on the TV.

“Nothin’,” she answered, grabbing a handful of Pringles.

“Liar.” He adjusted himself in his seat, facing her. “I told you before, you’re shitty at that. What’s up?”

Kat shook her head, which only made Carter smile wider. “I have ways of making you talk, you know,” he threatened with a wicked glint in his eyes.

He placed his wineglass on the side table and moved like a predator up onto his knees, pushing her legs apart and moving her hoodie up her stomach to her chest. With a smirk, he placed a tender kiss above her belly button. Kat ran her right hand across the velvet texture of his head. His hands came up her sides and caressed slowly, his rough fingers handling her as though she was breakable. Her eyes drifted shut.

“I have so much I want to say to you,” Kat confessed with a long breath.

Carter hummed into her belly. “So much so that you’ll tell me what the hell has been bugging you since we came back?”

Kat licked her lips watching him shift up her body, placing kisses where he moved.

“Kat,” he groaned in frustration, moving up so he was lying between her legs with his forearms at either side of her head. His face pinched. “Did you not enjoy today?”

“Of course!” Kat cried. “It was fantastic. I had so much fun. I loved being with you. I—”

Carter played with the tips of her hair splayed out over the sofa cushions. “Is it what I said to Petey about you being my friend?” He grimaced.

Kat chuckled. “No. Why?”

“Because it sounded f*cking ridiculous. I was caught off guard,” he replied, and then muttered into her neck, “You have to know you’re so much more than that to me.”

Kat’s heart pounded. She placed her hands on his face and pulled his mouth to hers. “Take off your top,” she said firmly. “I want to feel you.”

Carter whipped the thing off over his head immediately and watched in awe when she, too, removed her hoodie, leaving her bare. She oozed sexiness, and the color of her alabaster skin against the dim lighting made him want to lick her from head to toe.

“Sit up,” she rasped.

He obeyed, slack-jawed, as Kat straddled his waist and assaulted his mouth. He moaned. The sensation of her nakedness against him was incredible. Her nipples shifted, etching his skin with invisible lines of ownership, just as her mouth declared possession with every flick of her tongue and suck of her lips. His hands delved into her hair, gripping her close.

“God, Carter,” she breathed, sending sparks of lust over his skin. “I want to show you. I want—”