For a second, time slowed, and I was aware of everything. My harsh, unsteady breaths, the electric current of lust that was sparking between us, the goosebumps that were breaking out all over my skin. Then, he was spinning me around to face him, and his mouth was on mine.
I couldn’t resist him even if I’d wanted to. My lips parted, and I let him in, kissing him back, feeling his tongue slide against mine. He lifted me into his arms, and I wrapped my legs around him as he walked us backwards, our lips never leaving one another’s.
Spinning us, he pushed me down onto the bed and climbed on top of me, kissing me again. As he settled his heavy body between my legs, I felt his cock, hard as steel between us. My legs wrapped around his waist. “No brewer’s droop, hmm?” Tearing my mouth from his, I couldn’t resist teasing him, and he laughed against my lips, grinding his hips into me.
Lifting himself onto his elbows, he slid my top up, over my stomach. Dropping his head, he pushed down my bra cup and took my nipple into his mouth. He bit down lightly, and I moaned.
“Fuck, Raine.” His voice was a rough, tormented whisper. “Fuck.”
I slid my hands up his back to his broad shoulders. “Carter.”
At the sound of his name, he stilled, then raised himself above me. He blinked a few times, the haze of lust disappearing, replaced with a dark expression. “Wait. Why are you in my bedroom? How did you get in here?”
Oh. He was asking the difficult questions now. I was pinned in place, unable to move, and as I stared up at him, his jaw clenched. “Answer the fucking question.”
“I…um…” I licked my suddenly dry lips. “I…”
Turning his head, he scanned the room, and when he inhaled sharply, I followed his gaze to the desk. No. The top drawer wasn’t closed all the way. “Have you been snooping in here?” His voice was hard.
“I just wanted to see—”
“Is this about the money?” he interrupted me, hissing the words through gritted teeth.
The silence between us stretched, until it was unbearable, and the word fell from my lips.
“Yes.”
Hauling me off the bed, he shoved me in the direction of the door, sending me staggering into the wall. “Get. Out.”
“Carter, I—”
“Now.”
For a moment, we stared at each other. The unmistakable anger and hurt in his eyes was too much, and I realised what a mistake I’d made in coming here.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, then turned on my heel and left. There was nothing more I could say.
22
The car park in front of the large warehouse was completely full. After circling around fruitlessly, Lena spun the wheel and turned out of the car park, coming to a halt in front of a roll-up door with a “no parking” sign on it. “This’ll do. No one will be around to check at this time of night.” We piled out, and I stretched my arms up in the air, working out the kinks from being crammed in the back seat next to Lena’s friends. My T-shirt rode up, exposing a sliver of skin, and I tugged it back down again. This outfit…it was most definitely out of my comfort zone. Not as skimpy as my Fright Night costume, but the difference was, I couldn’t hide behind a mask this time. I wore a loose black T-shirt, strategically ripped, exposing my cleavage, and tiny black shorts that made me cringe when I’d put them on. Of course, this was Lena’s doing. She wore similar, but with her tall, slim body she looked like a model.
At least I had on flat shoes. Old black Chucks, to be exact. I didn’t know exactly what was going to be happening at this party, but we’d been told to wear clothes that we didn’t mind being ruined.
There was a ball of nerves in my stomach, but overriding that, there was a sense of pure excitement. This party to celebrate the birthdays of three members of the AHS football team was open invite, so even though I knew that Carter would be there, I was hoping it would be busy enough that I wouldn’t run into him. After everything that had happened, he had backed right off, and although I couldn’t stop the way I felt about him, I was starting to realise that maybe things were better this way. We’d had our moments, when I thought we’d really connected, but I was starting to come around to his way of thinking—I was no good for him.
I pushed aside thoughts of Carter and turned to face the reason for my excitement. The party.
People milled around outside the large warehouse, set slightly apart from the others. Flashing lights and the thud of heavy bass spilled from the cracked panes of the small, high windows running down the side of the building.
“I can do this,” I mumbled to myself, and then the old familiar panic rose in me as I took a step closer to Lena.
As if she was aware of my thoughts, she squeezed my arm. “I’m proud of you. All you need to do is fake it until it becomes real, yeah?”
“Okay.” Pushing my misgivings way, way down, I allowed the excitement to bubble up as we entered the building, passing through an entrance foyer and into the main warehouse.
The dark, cavernous space was lit by pulsing neon lights in bright colours. Machines pumped out slow, lazy clouds of smoke, curling and drifting around people’s feet and up into the air, making everything appear hazy. At the far end of the space a DJ was up on a platform, and at the near end, close to the entrance, was a bar area. Bodies filled the space, most covered in splashes of colourful neon paint, glowing under the black lights.
“Drinks first. Can you get them? I’m not legally old enough.” Lena gave me her best innocent look, speaking loudly to be heard over the music.