Thorn: Carter Kids #2 (34 page)

“You look real fucking good tonight,” I told her, wanting to put her at ease. It was obvious she was on edge and I didn’t want her to feel that way around me. Clamping my hand down on her smooth, bare thigh, I shifted closer, aligning my body with hers as I leaned into her ear. “Stop hiding your face from me,” I whispered, tucking a curl behind her ear. “Look at me.”

She shivered and looked me up and down slowly before flushing the color of the sun. “You look…dapper,” she choked out. Throwing her hands up, she covered her face and sighed heavily. “The clothes.” She gestured at my attire. “That’s what I…meant.”

“I’m just out of a meeting,” I replied, smirking, enjoying her eyes on me. Fucking loving the way she looked at me with that hungry glint in her eyes. “You know me, Thorn,” I added huskily. “They can put a suit on me, but they can’t change me.”

“I don’t want to change you,” she blurted out of nowhere. “I want to own you.”

Her words caught me unaware and I blanched. “You already do,” I said slowly, eyes locked on her face as I tried to gauge her reaction. She looked so unsure as she searched my face, desperate to see if I was joking.

I wasn’t.

I meant every word.

I felt it right down in my bones when she reached over and took my hand in hers, entwining our fingers. The feel of her flesh on mine fucked with every fiber of my being, and set me on fire. Jesus, I was burning for her. I could smell her – she was all coconut scented shampoo and woman – and I leaned closer, breathing her in, reveling in her. Loving her more than she would ever know.

A large group of women approached us then, shoving their way into the booth and asking for a picture.

Teagan’s face fell when I got up and stood for a photo with the women and I felt weirdly guilty. Like I’d done something wrong by just doing my job. After I politely declined their offers of buying me a drink, I sat back down next to Teagan, and growled in frustration when she slid further away from me. “What?” I asked. “You pissed with me for taking a damn picture now?”

“I’m jealous,” she shot back without an ounce of hesitation. “I don’t like girls throwing themselves at you, Noah.” Looking me in the eye, she tucked a stray curl behind her ear and scrunched her nose up in distaste. “Especially ones with plastic tits and peroxide hairstyles.”

“Yeah.” I grinned. “Those ones are the worst.”

“It makes me sick to my stomach,” she grumbled huffily. “Seeing them touch you and paw you and…ugh!” she threw her head back and sighed, clearly flustered. “We’re supposed to be in a fight and here I am bitching and moaning like some jealous girlfriend when I have no right.”

“Do you know how many nights you’ve kept me up?” I asked in a soft tone, tipping her chin up towards me. “Every. Single. Night.” Leaning in, I pressed a hard kiss to her lips. I couldn’t fucking stop myself. She was so adorable when she was being all pissy and cute. “You have no reason to be jealous,” I told her, stroking her pouty bottom lip with my thumb. “They can look, they can talk, they can invent all the imaginary stories they want, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t change a damn thing for me,” I assured her. “Because I only want you.”

“Really?” She was shaking so bad the vibrations were running up my leg, and causing fucking havoc to my self-restraint.

Looking in her eyes, I wanted so much to give her my all. I wasn’t going to lose her again. “Come back to the hotel with me,” I whispered. Fuck tact. I needed her. Right fucking now. No fucking way was JD getting his hands on Thorn. I didn’t care what I had to do to keep her safe. I would do it and I would do it gladly. She was my goddamn life. I wasn’t letting a hair on her head go astray.

“I can’t,” she moaned weakly, shifting closer to me.

“Why not?” I purred, clenching her hip tightly.

“What about…Sean,” she breathed, eyes dark with lust. “I came here with him.”

“He’ll survive without you,” I told her in a gruff tone, “I won’t,” I finished before crushing my lips to hers. Snaking my tongue out, I licked her bottom lip and immediately she opened up, giving me access. Her fingers dove into my hair, tugging and yanking, as she kissed me back with a desperation that mirrored mine.

“Say it,” I dared her, breaking the kiss, eyes locked on her pretty face. When she shook her head I caught her chin between my thumb and forefinger and forced her to look at me. “Say it, Thorn,” I repeated in a gruff tone. One word. That was all I needed. One fucking word. “Say it and we can move on.” My heart was hammering in my chest. This was it. The moment I had waited seven years for. She believed me. I could see it in her eyes, all the guilt and regret.

People were watching us, obviously noticing she was the woman from the papers, and a few were even going as far as taking pictures with their phones. Fucking let them. I was too immersed in the conversation about to unfold to care. My focus was entirely on
her
.

“Noah, I’m…I’m…” Teagan opened her mouth and then shut it quickly. “I need to cool down,” she blurted out before slipping out of her seat. “I need to… Sean,” she hissed, grabbing her friend’s hand and dragging him out of his seat.

“Stubborn as ever,” I muttered to myself as I watched Thorn escape to the dance floor. Oh yeah, she was sorry. But I needed the words.

“I’ll see you in the a.m., boys,” Quincy piped up with a shit eating grin on his face as he slipped out of the booth, arm in arm with the redhead.

Stopping in front of me, Red leaned into my ear and whispered, “Last chance, big boy.”

“I’ll pass,” I replied flatly, taking a swig of my beer.

“Your loss,” she spat before shimmying out of the booth and attaching herself to my coach.

“Christ, Quincy better not take a leaf out of your book with that one,” Lucky, who had arrived back with two beers, chuckled as he sat down beside me. Passing me one bottle, he took a deep draught from the other before saying, “Women like that are a dime a dozen with an eighteen to life commitment fee.”

“
YOU NOT GONNA TALK TO ME?
” Noah asked, leaning closer. Stretching his hand out to grab his beer, he accidentally grazed my bare thigh and that was all it took to make me squirm. Heat crept through my body, starting in my toes and settling on my cheeks. “Easy baby,” he chuckled. Leaning back with his beer in one hand, he placed his other around the back of my seat. “I’ve touched you in far more intimate places.”

“I don’t really know what to say to you,” I admitted quietly, knowing I needed to lay it all out there, but
really
not wanting to. “Well, obviously I do know what I
should
say,” I rambled, feeling like a tool. “But I really don’t see how it can change things now.” I was far too tipsy for this conversation and Noah looked entirely too good to argue with. If I didn’t get the words out right this would end in disaster and that
terrified
me.

“You look real fucking good tonight,” he told me. Dropping his hand to my thigh, Noah shifted closer to me and leaned into my ear. “Stop hiding your face from me,” he ordered in a soft tone, tucking a curl behind my ear. “Look at me.”

I did look at him and it caused my body to ignite in a raw spasm of lust. He was too much. Too beautiful. Too everything. “You look…dapper,” I blurted out before mentally kicking myself. Throwing my hands up, I covered my face and stifled a groan. “The clothes.” I pointed to the black shirt, tie and suit pants he had on. “That’s what I…meant.”

“I’m just out of a meeting,” he replied, enjoying every minute of my discomfort. “You know me, Thorn,” he teased, gesturing to his clothes. “They can put a suit on me, but they can’t change me.”

“I don’t want to change you,” I heard myself say. “I want to own you.”

My declaration caught us both by surprise and I watched in horror as his brows shot up. “You already do,” he replied slowly, frowning at me like I was a puzzle he couldn’t quite figure out.

Well, he was my puzzle; all six feet four inches of his tattooed, ripped and perfectly molded body. And he was a puzzle I desperately wanted to solve. I searched his face for truth, and when I found it in his eyes, I reached out and took his hand in mine, wanting nothing more than to fall into this man and never resurface.

He only had to look at me and my heart went crazy in my chest, hammering against my ribcage, demanding to get to him. It was like I had no control over it. I felt myself being physically drawn to Noah, edging closer and closer…

“Oh my god, Oh my god!”

“Noah, we love you!”

The chorus of women’s screams as they lunged for Noah enraged me. I watched horrified, as Noah smiled and nodded at the women, and when he stood up to take a group picture with them I thought my head would explode. The women threw themselves at him – they literally fucking threw themselves at
him
. I was burning with jealousy. I couldn’t hide it. It was obvious, etched all over my sour expression, even when he returned to my side. “What?” Noah asked, more like growled in frustration, as he studied my face. “You pissed with me for taking a damn picture now?”

“I’m jealous,” I admitted without an ounce of shame. He knew that about me anyway. I wasn’t revealing a new ugly trait. It was on him if he was surprised. “I don’t like girls throwing themselves at you, Noah. Especially ones with plastic tits and peroxide hairstyles.”

Noah grinned in amusement, which only pissed me off more. He was loving this. I knew he was. It was clear from the smug expression on his face that my discomfort was amusing him. “Yeah,” he purred. “Those ones are the worst.”

“It makes me sick to my stomach,” I hissed cattily. “Seeing them touch you and paw you and…ugh!” I threw my head back and groaned, feeling so damn worked up. “We’re supposed to be in a fight and here I am bitching and moaning like some jealous girlfriend when I have no right.” I was pathetic. Completely and utterly pathetic…

“Do you know how many nights you’ve kept me up?” he asked in a soft tone, interrupting my thoughts, as he tipped my chin up towards him. His brown eyes speared me when he whispered, “Every. Single. Night.” Leaning forward, he pressed a rough, hard kiss to my lips before pulling back to stare into my eyes. “You have no reason to be jealous,” he assured me, stroking my lip with his thumb. “They can look, they can talk, they can invent all the imaginary stories they want, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t change a damn thing for me. Because I only want
you
.”

“Really?” I panted, unable to stop the tremors that were racking through my body.

“Come back to the hotel with me,” he asked – no, he ordered.

“I can’t,” I whispered, though everything inside of me was screaming,
yes!

“Why not?”

“What about…Sean,” I breathed. “I came here with him.”

“He’ll survive without you,” Noah growled, cupping my neck, dragging me closer. “I won’t.”

The minute his lips touched mine a fierce throbbing ignited low in my belly, my pussy clenched, and my body welcomed him home. Plunging my hands into his sexy disheveled hair, I dragged his face closer to me, and clung to him, kissing him back with everything I had.

“Say it…” Noah panted, ripping his mouth from mine. Tipping my chin upwards, he leaned forward, looked into my eyes and whispered, “Say it, Thorn. Say it and we can move on.”

“Noah, I’m…I’m…” I opened my mouth to speak, but the stupid words wouldn’t come out. Dammit, why was it so hard for me to admit that I had been wrong? “I need to cool down,” I finally blurted out before scrambling out of the seat. “I need to cool down…Sean,” I hissed. Needing to get out of the environment that was overwhelming me, I grabbed Sean’s hand and dragged him out of the booth.