I darted toward him and wrapped both of my hands around his biceps, trying to stop his momentum. “Let go, Sky.”
“No.” My head swung left and right, sure James would appear any moment. “We need to get out of here.”
“Not until I’ve taught this son of a bitch—”
“There’s no time, Carter. He’s coming.” I pulled in a breath and winced at the twinge in my ribs. “Your dad knows you’re here. We need to leave.”
“No.” Carter backed away a step, leaving Guy lying on the ground. “I’m not leaving.”
“Please,” I begged him, doing my best to portray in my eyes what I felt in my heart. I couldn’t watch him get hurt. I couldn’t allow James to get his hands on him. “For me, Carter. Please.”
He stared at me for several seconds, his hands slowly uncurling from the tight fists he’d had at his sides, and then his shoulders slumped. “I don’t back down from fights,” he told me, his voice deeper than I’d ever heard it. “But I’m doing this because you’ve asked me to.” I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding in. “It doesn’t mean it’s over, Sky. It’ll never be over with him, not until he’s six feet under.”
I heard what he was saying loud and clear, but that was something I couldn’t worry about right now. All that mattered was getting away from here and somewhere safe.
Carter placed his arm around my waist and ushered me into the house. “Grab what you need and leave the rest. Only the essentials.”
I nodded and darted to my bedroom to grab my suitcase. I flung anything in there that I would need, and grabbed my passport. It was the quickest I’d ever packed, and within five minutes, our stuff was in the trunk of my car and we were on the highway. I wasn’t sure how long Carter had driven for, but I must have drifted off, because his hand stroking my face woke me up.
“We can stay here tonight,” he told me, and I turned my head to see the sign for a motel.
“Where are we?”
“Across the state line,” he said, pushing out of the car. “I'm gonna grab us a room. Stay here.” I nodded and stared at him as he walked into the office and came out a couple of minutes later. He headed right for the trunk and pulled both our bags out then opened up my door for me. “Come on.”
Gingerly with my hand on my ribs, I got out of the car and followed him up the stairs to the motel rooms on the second level. I wondered if he’d requested one higher up so we could see the entire lot, or whether it was a coincidence.
He pushed the key inside the room marked 608, and entered with me following him. I took one last look down at the darkened lot, spotting no one hanging around, and then walked past him.
“We need to clean you up,” Carter said, opening up his bag and producing the first aid kit I kept in my bathroom at home.
“I’m fine,” I told him, wincing as I bent down to open up my suitcase.
His chuckle rang out, and for the first time in hours, I felt at ease. “No, you’re not, come on.” He grabbed my hand and my stomach dropped at the contact. After everything that had happened tonight, the way he made me feel felt so tiny in comparison. His dad was tracking him down, not only that, but he’d put Guy in place at my school months before all this had happened, which meant—
“He’s been watching you,” I blurted out and sat on the top of the toilet lid when Carter pushed down on my shoulders. He crouched down in front of me and opened up the first aid kit. “Did you hear what I said, Carter?”
He ignored me and found some alcohol wipes and tore open one of the packets. “I know.” He pressed the wipe to my face and cleaned off the dried blood. “I’ve known for months. It was why I boosted his car.”
“But…” I sucked in a breath as Carter pressed against my ribs over my dress. I was still in the dark-red material that clung to my curves. “I don’t understand.”
“You need to take this off.” Carter’s gaze met mine, his eyes swirling. “So I can check your ribs.”
I rolled my eyes, and even though I wanted to tell him I was fine, I had no idea if I was or not. I’d never been assaulted, and the last thing I needed was for one of my ribs to be broken and penetrating one of my organs. Okay, so I was overthinking everything and being a tad dramatic, but that was what happened when you’d had all of this flung at you.
Carter gripped the zipper just underneath my arm and pulled down on it. The silence stretched between us as the skin on my side was revealed, and then he pulled my straps down and exposed my chest. His large hand covered the bruising forming over my ribs, and he murmured, “They’re just bruised.”
“Okay,” I whispered, scared to even breathe in case I got too close. I’d been this near to him several times, only this time was different. It was the dead of the night and we were in a motel, hiding away from everyone else.
His hand drifted up my side and over my black lacy bra, his thumb rubbing over my nipple. “I’ve wanted to touch you so bad since I saw you in the airport.”
I stared into his eyes, and for the first time, I saw the raw need shining in them. It was wrong to feel what he was, but I couldn’t deny I was feeling the same. I wanted him with every fiber of my being, and for once in my life, I was going to take exactly what I wanted.
“Kiss me,” I demanded, moving my face closer to his.
“You better be sure this time, Sky,” he warned, his nostrils flaring. “Because I had a small taste last time, but this time…” He trailed off and pressed his other hand to my chest. “This time I won’t fuckin’ stop.”
“I don’t want you to,” I told him, pressing closer to him. “I want this. I want you. I...no.” I shook my head. “I need you, Carter. I need you more than anything I’ve ever needed in my entire life.”