Christmas Bride Read online

  His whole body jerked in response, and he gave a helpless grunt. Then he adjusted his hold on her so he could roll them back over so he was on top. “I didn’t know that before, but I’m very glad to know it now.”

  They were smiling at each other as they started to kiss again. This one lasted even longer. Slower. Deeper. When they finally broke apart, both of them were so far gone they couldn’t sustain the previous conversation. They fumbled with the rest of their clothing until they’d gotten their pajama pants off and were rubbing their bare skin together with shameless enthusiasm.

  Ruth felt around on the nightstand until she’d gotten her fingers on one of the condom packets. Carter took it from her, tore it open, and rolled on the condom.

  She spread her legs to make room for him. He felt her with his fingers, checking to be sure she was ready. She was more than ready. She was so wet it was almost embarrassing. He held himself in position, and she bent up her knees as he eased himself inside her.

  Her spine arched up and her eyes fell closed as she moaned at the tight feel of the penetration.

  Carter was breathing raggedly. “How’s that? Okay?”

  “Okay?” She made a sound that was half laugh and half sob. “Oh God, it’s so good. Nothing’s ever felt so good. Please, Carter, I need you to... to...”

  “To what?” He was holding himself very still, the taut muscles in his arms shaking slightly like he was desperately trying to control himself. “Tell me what you need from me, Ruth.”

  “I need you...” She tried to hold it back since it might be too raw, too shameless for a nice guy like Carter. But the words burst out anyway. “Fuck me. I need you to fuck me. So bad.”

  He gritted out a wordless sound and started to rock his hips. Steady at first. A controlled rhythm. But his face was soon twisting with pleasure and effort, and the motion of his hips got fast and hard.

  She kept whimpering as she kept pace with him, pumping her hips urgently to meet his and digging her fingernails into his shoulders in her attempt to hang on.

  “Like that?” he rasped. They were shaking the bed with the force of their lovemaking.

  “Yeah. Yeah. Just like that.” She wasn’t a screamer in bed. She never had been. But she was making a lot of primal sounds of effort that she couldn’t seem to help. They got louder as she neared orgasm. “Carter,” she gasped. “Gonna...”

  She came before she could get the last word out. Her whole body shook through the climax as she sobbed out her pleasure. Before she’d fully come down from the high, Carter had somehow flipped them over so she was poised on top of them again.

  He was really quite the energetic lover. She wouldn’t have guessed that about him. She shifted her position so she was straddling him more comfortably. Carter’s erection had slipped out of her from the motion, so she lifted up enough for him to fit himself back inside.

  His eyes crawled hungrily up and down her body, from her hot cheeks and tousled hair to her bare, jiggling breasts to the place where they were joined.

  She started to ride him, turned on anew by the look on his face. That raw, hot, awed admiration wasn’t anything she’d experienced before.

  It took a while to get her erotic momentum going again, and her tempo was slow and even. Carter slid his hands over her body, caressing her arms, her breasts, her belly, finding her clit and rubbing it until she dropped her head back and moaned.

  He kept it up until she was about to lose it. Then she braced herself on his shoulders and rode him hard and fast. He had to grip her hips to hold her down in place as he bucked up into her motion.

  Her sounds of effort were louder now. She couldn’t hold them back. She was messy and sweating and so wet between the legs that she knew the moisture would be everywhere. And she didn’t care at all. Because Carter was all the way with her in this. When she looked down at him, he was watching her face as she neared orgasm again.

  The fact that he was watching made it even hotter. She froze for a few seconds, right on the cusp of release, and then she let it all go with a soft exclamation of victory, shaking through the intense spasms of sensation.

  Her orgasm lasted a long time, and it wiped her out. She was just aware enough to focus on Carter as he came too. His body tensed. His features contorted. He let out a loud bellow as his hips rocked hard and fast.

  She could feel his release move through him. When the last of his spasms had passed, she collapsed on top of him.

  He wrapped his arms around her. She could feel his body softening in the same way hers was doing. Relaxing. Letting go of all the tension.

  She was still hot and exhausted and raw between the legs, but she really couldn’t remember if she’d experienced that kind of perfect satisfaction before.

  Maybe never before in her life.

  Carter was stroking her back and hair with one hand. After a while, he let out a low groan that sounded just as sated as she was feeling. Then he took a long breath and let it out with the word, “Fuck.”

  She giggled for some reason.

  “Seriously? You’re laughing?”

  Her amusement simply couldn’t be contained. She raised her head so she could meet his eyes, pleased to see he was smiling too. “I’m not laughing at you.”

  “Then why are you laughing?”

  “I have no idea. Because it was so good, I think. We’re definitely going to have to do that again.”

  “You think so?”

  “Yes, I think so. It was way too good not to do it again.” She paused, suddenly wondering if she’d just babbled out something embarrassing. “Don’t you think so?”

  “Yes, of course I think so. I just didn’t expect you to be so relaxed about it. So you’re not having second thoughts or worried or anything?”

  When her mind started working again, she might have a few worries, but she was feeling too good to process anything else at the moment. She shrugged as she carefully swung her leg over Carter’s hips so she could get off him. “Not really. It was fun. We both enjoyed it. Why not do it again?”

  He nodded as he sat up and took care of the condom. “Sounds good to me.”

  They spent a few minutes cleaning up and going to the bathroom. Then they got back into bed, this time under the covers. It was still almost an hour until breakfast. No reason to get up quite yet.

  Carter lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Ruth curled up on her side so she was facing him.

  “When was the last time you had sex?” she asked.

  He turned his head with arched eyebrows. “When was the last time you did?”

  “I haven’t had sex since my mom died,” she told him. “I haven’t really dated much. To tell you the truth, I haven’t really been in the mood. Maybe that was why I was so enthusiastic just now. So what about you?”

  “It’s been a while for me too. Several months. I had a one-night stand earlier this year, but it wasn’t... It was mostly fueled by alcohol, and it wasn’t what I wanted. I wish I hadn’t done it.”

  Ruth’s smile faded at the poignant note in his voice. “Was she drunk too?”

  “Not as drunk as I was. It wasn’t... I tried to treat her well. I don’t think she was hurt or upset by the way it happened. But I wish I had acted differently. I was in a downward spiral. I should have done better.” He sighed and shook his head. “Sorry to be such a downer. We were having a good time.”

  “That’s okay. We can still have a good time. Was this when things blew up with Lincoln and Summer?”

  “Yes. I was a wreck. About them and about my dad’s death and about him leaving the company to Lincoln and about my own stupidity. I really lost it for a while. I hate even the memory of it now. How I could have acted that way. I always thought I was... stronger than that.”

  “I don’t think anyone’s really strong enough to deal with so much all at the same time. No one would have gotten through it without breaking at least a little. And at least you didn’t hurt anyone.”

  He met her eyes. “I hurt Li
ncoln and Summer.”

  “Maybe a little, but not in a lasting way.” She reached out to stroke his cheek and then let her fingers trail down to his chest. “Carter, you can’t hold yourself up to impossible standards. You’ve always been a good guy, but that doesn’t mean you’re a perfect guy. You’re human just like the rest of us, and you were really hurt. It actually...” She cleared her throat. “It actually makes me feel a little better.”

  “What does?” He covered her hand on his chest.

  “Knowing that you kind of fell apart like the rest of us do occasionally. It makes you feel more real to me.”

  “I’d rather be good than real.”

  She stretched up to kiss his jaw. “You are good. You’re the best guy I know.”

  His body grew very still for just a second. His eyes flew to her face. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. And I’ll be happy to have sex with you again if that’s something you want. Because for a nice guy, you’re pretty damn good in the bedroom.”

  He chuckled. “Maybe nice guys have always been better in the bedroom, and you just didn’t know it because you didn’t give them a chance.”

  “Maybe so.”

  Carter gave a leisurely stretch, obviously returning to his satisfied good mood and then looked at the clock. “I guess I better take a shower. Mom’s excited about having us all together for another day, and she’ll be upset if we’re late for breakfast.”

  “Okay. I need to start getting dressed too.”

  He got out of bed but leaned back over to give her a quick kiss. “Thank you for this morning. I had the best time I can remember.”

  “Me too. So thank you.”

  AT NINE, BOTH RUTH and Carter were showered and dressed, so they went downstairs together to the breakfast room—which was a cute sunny room overlooking the pool and backyard that was never used for anything but breakfast.

  Summer came down right at nine, and a heavy-lidded Lincoln strolled in a few minutes later. It was a quiet, pleasant meal, and the quiche, waffles, and fruit were delicious. Mrs. Wilson told them all about a new yoga class she was planning to organize, inspired by the retreat she’d recently completed.

  Ruth wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do after breakfast. When Mrs. Wilson had invited her, it had sounded like just for the night, so maybe she was supposed to go home now. That would be fine with her, except she wanted to have sex with Carter again sometime soon, so she was hoping they could plan toward that end rather than leave the whole thing up in the air.

  She wasn’t really an up-in-the-air person.

  Carter walked with her back to her bedroom. She wasn’t sure what he wanted. He wasn’t making a move on her or anything. He just stood there like he was waiting for something. Ridiculously nervous, she went to her overnight bag and pretended to check something inside it.

  “Do you need to take off?” Carter asked quietly from behind her.

  “What? No. Not really. I was just...” She trailed off since she didn’t have a valid explanation for what she was doing with her bag other than “fiddling nervously.”

  “Do you have plans for today?”

  She turned to face him, her heart bouncing at the question. “No. Not really. I’d originally planned to catch up on some paperwork, but I don’t really feel like it.”

  “Lance just texted a few minutes ago,” Carter said. He sounded casual. Light. But there was something a little stiff underlying the pose. “He wanted to know if we wanted to go out on the lake with him and Savannah. He’s got a sailboat.”

  “Oh.” Ruth searched his face, trying to find evidence of whether he wanted her to accept the invitation or not. She couldn’t tell. “Did you want to do that?”

  “I’d like to go. It’s always fun. But if you don’t want to, we can do something else.” He cleared his throat. “Or we don’t have to do anything if you’d rather take off.”

  She gave a silly little giggle. Mostly relief. “I’d be happy to go if you think it would be fun. I like them both, and it’s kind of nice to hang out with people. I haven’t done a lot of that lately.”

  There she’d done it again—said something she should have held back. Now he might think she was giving him some sort of sob story. He might think she’d get too clingy.

  His lips turned up in that little smile, and his posture relaxed. “Okay. Good. I’ll tell him yes then?”

  She nodded. “I’ve never been sailing before, but I’m willing to give it a go.”

  “Don’t worry. Lance will do all the work. It will be fun. Just don’t ask him any questions about it, or you’ll never hear the end of the lectures on how to sail.”

  CARTER WAS RIGHT. RUTH had an amazing time on the lake. It was a brisk, sunny day—still fairly warm for late November. She wore a sweater, and there were blankets on board, so she was perfectly comfortable.

  Lance’s sailboat was bigger than she’d expected. She had no idea how he made the thing go, and she forgot Carter had warned her about asking Lance questions about it. He seemed so pleased about her interest and so patient in showing her how the lines and sails worked that she didn’t even mind the long explanation.

  She’d always liked when people were enthusiastic about the things they loved.

  Savannah was funny and cheerful, and Carter obviously enjoyed hanging out with his friends. They felt like Ruth’s friends too. She reveled in the community.

  Every once in a while a little thought would pierce through her enjoyment, reminding her that this wasn’t real and wouldn’t last, but she managed to push the thoughts back into a dark corner of her mind.

  They were for another day. Not today. Today she was allowed to have fun.

  They drank beer and ate snacks. After a while, Carter came to sit beside her, wrapping an arm around her and letting her recline against him. They stayed like that for a long time, chatting with Lance and Savannah, enjoying the sun, air, and water.

  Ruth wouldn’t have minded if they stayed until nightfall, but it was just after four when Lance took them back to the marina at the country club.

  She thanked Lance and Savannah, and they said their goodbyes before Ruth walked with Carter back to his car. “That was fun,” she said, smiling up at him as they stood next to the passenger-side door.

  “Yeah. It was.” He reached out and smoothed some of her windblown hair behind her ear.

  The simple, intimate gesture made her pulse throb. “Don’t you have a boat? It seems like all the rich folks in Green Valley do.”

  “We had a couple of them. My dad did. But we never went out. They were just status symbols or something. It was stupid to have them when we didn’t use them. So I convinced Mom to sell the boats after Dad died. I did learn to sail when I was younger, but I never got into it the way Lance has. I’m not sure why.” He paused before adding, “Why? Did you like it that much? Did you want to learn—?”

  “Oh no! I didn’t mean that. I’d never have pressured you into getting a boat and taking me out. I was just wondering, since it’s a big Green Valley thing to do, and you’re like the prince of Green Valley.”

  “I’m not a prince.”

  “I said you were like a prince.” She gave him a little poke. “Don’t get huffy.”

  “I’m not huffy.” He was frowning at her now, but there was a smile in his eyes.

  “You’re a little bit huffy. For some reason you don’t like me to call you a prince. Most guys would like that.”

  “Would they? I don’t know why. Who wants to be a flimsy fantasy that doesn’t hold up instead of a real person that... that...?”

  “That what?” She was so caught up in what he was saying that she leaned into his words.

  He glanced away. “That someone might really love.”

  “People love you, Carter. So many people love you. You know that, right?”

  “Yeah. I know that.” He must have read her impatient expression because he added, “I’m serious. I know a lot of people love me. I’m really lucky in that regard. I�
��m not complaining. Just trying to explain why I don’t much want to be a prince.”

  “I get it. I’d probably be the same way. Although no one has ever mistaken me for a princess.”

  “I don’t know. You’d be a pretty good princess, although you might need to learn to not say everything that comes into your head quite so much since diplomacy is part of a princess’s duty.”

  Her mouth dropped open when she realized he was teasing her, and she gave him a playful little shove.

  He laughed and swung her into a brief hug. “So it’s just as well you’re not a princess. It wouldn’t be much fun if you held your tongue.”

  She hugged him back, pulling away after a few seconds instead of extending the embrace the way she wanted. “I think so too.” She was about to say something else when her phone buzzed. She glanced down at the text.

  “Is it important?” Carter asked.

  “Kayla. Just sending me a funny selfie.”

  “What’s she doing today?”

  “Not much, I don’t think. Reading and trying to hide from football on the TV.”

  “We can take her out for dinner if you want. If you think her father would be okay with it.”

  “He wouldn’t care, but you don’t have to...” Ruth was so startled she hugged her arms to her stomach. “I mean, you wouldn’t really want to get dragged along to dinner with me and Kayla.”

  Carter was frowning again. This time in confusion. “Why not?”

  “Why not?”

  “Yeah. Why would I mind having dinner with the two of you? I liked Kayla. She seemed sweet and smart and like she could use some fun in her life.” He sounded almost bewildered. “I had a good time with the two of you last night.”

  She searched his face. She really did. And she couldn’t see anything other than earnest sincerity. “Are you...?” For some reason her voice was cracking. Her eyes were burning just a little. “Are you being serious?”