Fate and Forever Read online

  Carter laughed at the absurdity of such a place on the idyllic island, as well as the idea that he ever would have entered a place like that before.

  “Come on!” Kat pulled his hand, leading him closer to the music.

  Not that she needed to. He’d have followed her anywhere.

  chapter three

  Their honeymoon was beyond perfect. For almost three weeks, Kat and Carter traveled from one incredible place to the next, without a care in the world.

  London was probably Kat’s favorite place ever after New York. Italy had been insanely beautiful, and Paris was exquisite, as it always was. But there was something about London’s history and regal elegance that just made Kat feel cooler. She’d always wanted to visit it, and didn’t care if she looked like a total tourist geek with her map and camera, even though Carter had made multiple comments about it.

  Yet he’d followed her with a crooked smile as she all but skipped along the South Bank snapping pictures of the Thames, then cooed as they walked over Tower Bridge, and practically fan-girled when she saw Buckingham Palace. He never complained, making sure they fit all the things she’d dreamed of seeing into the four days they were there. He was the perfect adventure partner, and she loved him all the more for it.

  The weather in London was unseasonably warm and sunny for mid-September, and they visited museums and traditional English pubs, rode the tube, took a red double-decker bus and a black cab, and made sure they tried a plate of fish and chips before they left. They ate at all kinds of wonderful restaurants, and Kat knew she’d be at least ten pounds heavier when they got home.

  Not that Carter seemed to mind. He’d become even more insatiable than normal on their honeymoon, constantly touching her and showering her with kisses that always turned heated. The desperate need they’d always had for each other grew hotter every day. At first it worried her that he might be trying to distract her from their uncomfortable conversation in Greece, but as the days passed, her concern turned to relief.

  It was only when she got food poisoning in Hawaii that they didn’t make love. He looked after her as she hugged the toilet bowl for thirty-six hours, making sure she had everything she needed. He was the caring, loving, wonderful man she’d fallen in love with all that time ago, and it was pointless to mull over his obvious fear of the future and their choices about family. They had plenty of time to make those decisions.

  “Your tan is sickeningly gorgeous,” Beth commented, bringing Kat from her musings. “I mean, it’s just rude, flaunting it like that.” She waved a hand in Kat’s direction.

  Kat laughed, looking down at her freckled arms and legs. “Hey, be nice. I worked damn hard on this.”

  Beth grinned while she took a couple of sweatbands from her tennis bag. The two of them met twice a week at a sports club, a routine Kat especially enjoyed since their relationship had been precarious for a long stretch.

  “I need a vacation,” Beth grumbled as she shoved her bag into one of the changing-room lockers. “Adam keeps promising we’ll take one, but he’s so busy with work. At this rate it’ll be the next millennium before he knocks me up.”

  Startled, Kat paused in tying her tennis shoe. “You’re trying to get pregnant?”

  “Trying being the operative word.” Beth rolled her eyes. “We’ve talked about it for a while. We always said we’d be married at least a year first. I came off the Pill about six weeks ago.” She shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe this month will be the one.”

  Kat smiled. “That’s really great.”

  “And think of the playdates you and I could have,” Beth said.

  Kat’s chest gave an unexpected squeeze as Carter’s horrified face flashed through her memory. “I think it’ll be a while for us,” she said, distracting herself by finishing tying her shoe and hanging her work clothes in the locker.

  “Really?” Beth asked. “I thought you two would be on that from minute one. I’ve seen your starry-eyed look when you’re around Lily. You look like a woman whose ovaries are quivering.”

  Kat scoffed, but she knew it was true. She’d hidden her anxiety at Carter’s reaction in Greece; she’d had no idea that he’d be so terrified. True, they hadn’t talked about it, but it couldn’t have been a total surprise that she’d thought about having a family. Was it? She’d always expected to have a baby by the age of thirty. That birthday was three years away, but time was flying so fast.

  She sighed and reached for her tennis racket. “I think Carter’s ideas about family are a little different from mine,” she confessed.

  Beth frowned. “He doesn’t want kids?”

  Kat shrugged. “I don’t know. I mentioned it while we were away and he practically turned green.”

  “Maybe that’s just a guy thing?”

  Kat stood, shaking off the disappointment that threatened every time she thought about it. “Maybe. Come on,” she said, slamming her locker door shut. “Let’s play.”

  It was later that evening, curled up on the sofa with a glass of red wine and Nana Boo at the end of the phone, that Kat allowed the worry to creep off her tongue.

  “Sweetheart,” Nana Boo cooed when Kat finished describing the conversation she’d had with her husband, “you’ve been together five minutes. This isn’t something you have to worry about. You’re young. Enjoy your marriage.”

  “I know,” Kat answered. “I just assumed we’d be on the same page with this. We are for most things.”

  Nana Boo’s tinkling laughter flowed down the line. “Kat, if you agreed on everything, I’d be very worried. That’s what keeps a marriage exciting: the disagreements, the small conflicts.” She paused. “And then there’s the making up—that makes it all worthwhile.”

  Kat chuckled and sipped her wine. “I know I’m being silly.”

  “It’s not silly, darling. I know this is something you want. But maybe give him the benefit of the doubt.”

  The sound of the apartment door opening had Kat’s heart rate picking up. She smiled. “Speak of the devil.”

  Carter closed the door behind him and locked it, tossed his keys onto the breakfast bar, then dropped his bike helmet and jacket unceremoniously onto one of the bar stools. His light blue button-down shirt—Kat’s favorite, since it brought out his gorgeous blue eyes—was unbuttoned at the neck, sans tie, and his cuffs were rolled up to his elbows, showing off the extraordinary ink that decorated his skin. The dichotomy was incredibly sexy: professional CEO and badass biker. She wished he worked at WCS every day so she could get her fill of him that way.

  He smirked as he approached, knowing exactly what she was thinking—she’d expressed her thoughts when he was dressed for the office several times—and dropped next to her on the couch.

  “Nana Boo,” she mouthed, gesturing to the phone, as he leaned over and kissed the side of her mouth.

  “Tell her I said hey,” he whispered, nuzzling a spot under Kat’s ear.

  “Carter says hey.”

  “Hey back,” Nana Boo said, a wide smile clear in her voice. “I’ll leave you kids to it. I love you, sweetheart. Stop worrying.”

  “I will. Love you, too,” Kat replied. “Speak soon.”

  She placed the phone and wine on the coffee table and turned to Carter, wrapping her arms around him while he kissed her deeply. She hummed, reveling in the taste of him, the smell of him, all soft cologne and hot bike diesel.

  “Hey,” he said against her mouth.

  She smiled. “How was your day, dear?”

  Carter sighed and grimaced. “Busy. There was math involved. I’m amazed I survived.”

  Kat laughed. Carter was extremely intelligent and number savvy. He worked at WCS only when he was needed—for board meetings, contracts being signed, mergers being discussed—but she knew that he loved it. His love for all things mechanical was a hobby in comparison.

  “You eaten?”
she asked as he sat up and rubbed a hand down his face.

  “No. You?”

  “Yeah, I made pasta. There’s some left on the stove, and bread.”

  “Sounds good.”

  When he made no effort to move, she chuckled and patted his thigh. “Go shower. I’ll heat it up for you.”

  Carter groaned in appreciation and dropped his head back, watching her as she stood up. “I love you.”

  She waved him off, smiling. “Yeah, yeah.”

  Kat was serving up a bowl of pasta with a tuna and tomato sauce when Carter reappeared, cheeks flushed from his shower, wearing black sweatpants and a dark green Black Sabbath T-shirt. He slid a hand down her back as he passed to the fridge, grabbing a beer. “Smells great, baby. Thank you.”

  Kat sat across from him while he ate and they talked about their day. It was these moments that she loved the most. The quiet, comfortable domesticity, cooking for her husband, the easy flowing conversation and laughter. With her chin in her hand as she listened to the details of the latest WCS mergers, smiling at how animated Carter was as he spoke, Kat wondered whether Nana Boo was right. There was so much love and contentment in her life—and at that moment, she knew she didn’t need anything else. Family and children would come, and for now, she was willing to pack away her broodiness and disappointment and focus on how lucky she was to have Carter in her life at all.

  “And you’re not listening to a word I’m saying, are you?”

  Kat blinked back into the room, focusing on Carter’s playful smirk around the lip of his beer bottle, his blue eyes dancing in amusement. She smiled in embarrassment and sat up, her fingers trailing a path up the stem of her wineglass. “Sorry.”

  “Where were you?”

  She shrugged one shoulder. “Just thinking about how lucky I am to have you.”

  Carter’s face softened further. He pushed his empty plate to the side and reached for her, cupping her cheek and sliding his thumb across her mouth. “Come to bed.”

  Carter watched his wife undress and slide under the sheets before joining her. They wrapped around one another, kissing gently, hands wandering. He loved it when she traced his tattoos, which she started to do across his chest, her small fingertip whispering around the ink covering his shoulders and arms. The sensation went straight to his stomach and then his groin. The tiredness he’d felt after a hellish day slowly ebbed as he grew hard against her.

  He sighed and slid his palm under her thigh, going all the way up to her delectable ass. He couldn’t help but give it a nice squeeze, which made her arch into him.

  She kissed the tip of his shoulder and hummed in approval. “Can I ask you something?”

  Carter kissed her left earlobe. “Anything,” he rumbled, wanting nothing more than to start grinding his erection against her.

  “Exactly how many tattoos do you have?”

  Carter paused in his kisses and lifted his head to look at her, surprised. “Um . . .” He bit the inside of his lip and began counting them in his head. “About twenty?”

  Kat laughed lightly. “You don’t know?”

  “Not exactly. Some were done when I was . . .” He glanced away from her innocent face. Some he’d done in anger, some in rebellion. Some just because he was an asshole and liked the feeling of the needle. “Well, when I was drunk or . . . high.”

  “Oh.” Kat looked down at the inked arm and hand holding her thigh. “I like these.” Her fingers traced the two black tribal stars on the inside of his bicep. “And this one.” Her hand moved seductively to the thick black vines that ran around his arm to his elbow, her nails grazing the dips and twists of the ink. “I like the red here.” She pointed to the deep crimson on his shoulder and traced it to where the vines thinned into dark, sinister clouds. The clouds covered a little of his chest to his collarbone, but then disappeared onto his back, where there was a large black orchid set among giant waves.

  Carter didn’t know whether Kat had really looked closely at the ones etched down his spine and along his ribs. “You really like them, don’t you?” His question was genuine and, he knew, rather silly considering. Yet his pulse quickened as her small hands explored the markings on his skin.

  “Mm-hm.”

  There was something so unbelievably sensual about his Peaches touching and looking at his tattoos. She’d seen him naked a million times before, but she’d never really seemed that interested. Her face now, however, was entranced. Her eyes were wide and misty, and the pink tip of her tongue poked from the left corner of her mouth.

  Carter wanted to suck the life out of that shit.

  Kat lowered her head and placed a soft kiss in the center of his chest. “They add character.” She smiled. “And they’re very”—she kissed his left pec—“very”—his nipple—“sexy.”

  Carter closed his eyes and let the deep smolder in his stomach start to move outward. Kat’s touch was like electricity, jolting him alive. It was heat, fire, and it burned deep into his bones as her hands started to press harder on his body. How the fuck had he lived without it for so long?

  He moaned as her tongue slid up his Adam’s apple and grunted when their mouths connected: deep, passionate, and needy. His hand slid beneath her ass to the juncture between her thighs, making her gasp as his fingers traced her, soft and wet. He teased, letting the pad of his index finger gently dance between them, caressing her with the lightest of touches. She moaned into his mouth and her fingers dug into his neck.

  Carter smiled when he pinched her clit between his finger and thumb, making her hips jerk and a quiet yelp erupt from her mouth. “That feel good?”

  “Yes,” she panted, lapping at his bottom lip like a cat.

  He did it again and she moaned louder, moving her hips in a circle, silently begging for more. He kissed her neck and nibbled along her jaw while stroking her, knowing he was tormenting her.

  “More. Please.”

  He moaned deep in his throat. “You ask so nicely.”

  He halted his movements, needing her to look at him. Kat lifted her eyes and, as soon as he saw the desperate yearning and desire for him within them, Carter placed his fingertips against her and began to rub.

  Hard.

  Kat cried out as Carter pulled her leg up farther so that the back of her knee was in the crook of his elbow.

  “Goddammit,” Carter grunted as her palm grabbed frantically at his cock. She grappled and rubbed, but there was nowhere near enough fucking friction for him to be satisfied, and she knew it.

  “Don’t tease me, Peaches,” he hissed at her ear. Kat moaned and brought her hand up his length. “Tighter,” he ordered. She did as he asked and he exhaled heavily in relief.

  “Need you,” she hummed before sucking his tongue into her mouth, pumping her hand faster. Her tone told Carter she was getting desperate; she was close and it wouldn’t take long for her to ignite. Jesus, he loved her like this. He loved her every way, but this was special. No one else saw her like this. No one else made her writhe and moan like this.

  Carter dipped his middle finger into her, right to the knuckle, and they both moaned loudly. As Kat’s head bent backward in ecstasy, Carter slipped in another finger and immediately felt her tense around him. She gripped his cock harder, caressing the wet tip with her thumb in a way that made Carter’s own neck arch back and a growl rip from his chest.

  “Fuck, baby,” he gasped, pushing his fingers into her. Her hips began to move with him, wanting and seeking more. He mumbled nonsense into her mouth and then down her neck. “My Peaches.”

  With a loud whimper, and still facing each other on their sides, Kat shifted her hips away from his hand and pulled on his lower back. Carter obliged eagerly, recognizing the move, knowing she was ready for him, and she cried out when the tip of his cock pressed against her soaked flesh before slipping inside.

  Kat shuddered and moaned as their
bodies moved together. Hard against soft. Carter’s hips pulled back and he grabbed at her waist, begging her to move faster, harder.

  “Do you know how good you feel?” he gasped in wonder, watching his cock disappear into her body.

  Kat groaned in response. Seemingly incapable of words, she wrapped herself around him, getting as close as she could, her knee pressing into his armpit.

  Carter thrust firmly, biting her collarbone.

  Kat panted in his ear. “Close . . . so close.”

  Carter pumped his hips faster until Kat cried out. There. Right fucking there. Her legs twitched and her fingers dug into his back, holding him in a way he knew so well. He could almost see the orgasm stretch and pull across her skin, her face, her eyes heavy and desperate for what Carter knew was seconds away. She mumbled, murmured, and purred before—with a huge shudder—she exploded around him.

  She gasped and moaned for him while he continued thrusting inside her, his own orgasm tiptoeing to the very edge of release. Never leaving her body, he pushed her onto her back, climbing on top of her, hissing through his teeth when he slipped deeper. Like a magnet, Carter’s mouth immediately found her nipple and he sucked it hard, moaning obscenities as it puckered perfectly against his tongue. Kat curved her body toward him, whimpered his name, and grabbed the back of his head.

  He could taste his sweat on her skin and it drove him wild. Mine. His hips pumped faster, chasing the euphoric feeling racing through his body, gathering deep in the pit of his stomach.

  “Come,” Kat gasped, wrapping her right leg tighter around his waist, holding him with the heel of her foot hard against his ass.

  He snarled against her, his tongue frantic as he devoured her breasts.

  “Come on, baby. I want your cum in me.”

  Carter cried out as he convulsed at her words. He’d never heard anything so deliciously filthy in his life. He began to pant as his eyes met hers: dark and filled with lust.

  “Say it,” he begged, releasing her skin. “Say it again. Tell me you want it.”