“Why did you ask me here?”
“You know why.”
“No, I don’t,” he responded, and placed his other hand on her hip. Mere inches separated them, her against the door and him edging closer to her.
“Tell me.”
This wasn’t how she planned the night to go, but nothing ever happened the way she thought it would. Slowly, opening her vibrant, expressive eyes, she spoke the words that had haunted her for five years.
“I need you.”
“I need you, too,” he whispered in her ear as he watched her skin react.
“What else?”
“I still love you.”
“I still love you, too.”
She jerked when his lips touched her collarbone, and his hands left their perch and moved up her rib cage.
“What else?” he asked as he kissed the pulse point on her throat.
“I want to,” she started to say but stopped talking when his thumbs began to search for their intended area.
“Want what?”
“Try again,” she said, and moaned when his thumbs found their target.
“I want to try again.”
Carter continued to stroke her overly sensitive flesh.
“Open your eyes, Gwen.”
He waited to see how she would respond to her name. He’d given a lot of thought on what to call her, but in the end, he knew she’d always be Gwen to him. It didn’t matter if she thought she really was a different person; they both were. And while on the job she was Voodoo, in his heart she was still the woman who stole his breath, who invaded his dreams, and owned his heart. He couldn’t give those over to Maxi. Those feelings had always belonged to his Gwenie.
When she met his eyes, he saw the same hunger and desire that shone in his. She shivered under his intense gaze, but he said nothing. He didn’t move in closer. Instead, he kept his attention on her eyes.
“They’re open,” she said.
“Are they truly open? Are you seeing me?”
“Yes.”
“I see you, too. I don’t care what you call yourself, you are the one I want. The one I love, and the one I want in my life. Can you see that when you look into my eyes?”
Voodoo didn’t answer immediately. She let the lust settle and truly looked into Carter’s soulful eyes. When she answered his question, she told him the truth... the truth she’d been trying to forget.
“I see you, Carter Hughes. I see the man who carried me inside the house when I had a little too much to drink. I see the man who wiped away my tears after visiting my sister’s grave. I see the man who cheered me on when I discovered my passion. I also see the man who loved me even when I didn’t trust him. I see all the good you have inside, but I also see the flaws you carry. I see your insecurities, fears, and doubts. I see your desire and need, but most of all, Carter, I see your love. I see you.”
Carter slid his left hand down and interlocked their fingers and felt the diamond resting on her finger. He knew that ring and what it meant. He never broke their eye contact, as he dropped a light kiss at the corner of her lips. He never broke eye contact, when he kissed the tip of her nose or when his soft breath ghosted over her ear. The sensations sent chills along her spine.
“I’m going to kiss you.”
“It’s about time,” she said. The moan that escaped her was caught when he slid his tongue along the seam of her lips, begging for entrance. Without any hesitation, she yielded to his kiss. She loved kissing Carter. He made love to her with his lips, tongue, and mouth. He left her hungering for more, begging for him to take what she was offering. This time, however, she didn’t have to beg. This time he took without prompting. He filled the hole that had become her permanent companion.
Slowly, he disconnected their lips and rested his forehead against hers.