Carson had been right; Elon faced serious charges and lengthy prison time. It wasn’t hard to press him to divorce her. Filing the paperwork to dissolve her miserable marriage was the last thing Lila did before leaving New York.
WITH HER real identification in hand, thanks to the Bureau, Lila left for Philadelphia to see where Carson lived. It was the first trip she had taken as Lila.
Carson had made plans for her to go back to Philadelphia with him while she spent time with her thoughts in the suite in New York City. He wanted to show her his condo before taking her on vacation, to the Bahamas.
Lila was apprehensive. She felt obligated to get back to the club and dance, to help ensure her friends were successful, and she’d never taken a vacation other than an overnight here and there in Red Rock with Asher. Not once had she gone a multicity adventure, let alone out of the country.
One call from Asher, and she was left with no more fears or excuses. He insisted she go, promised he’d take a long trip when she returned, and made her believe she deserved it. It amused her to think how he and Carson had obviously become fast friends.
Carson rented a car, a fast one, to drive them back to Philadelphia. Lila enjoyed the drive, taking in the passing scenery. She’d never been outside New York before she ran away, and when she did leave last time, it was on a bus and dark outside. Her most recent car trip back east was also less than pleasant, plus she’d been heavily drugged during the entire journey.
Once she and Carson left the big city and were on the large expanse of freeway, they sped by farms, green pastures, and gorgeous mountains. Lila took it all in like a little girl. She caught Carson smiling at her many times during the ride, and reveled in it for a second before begging him to put his eyes back on the road.
After shifting into high gear, Carson held Lila’s hand, rubbing his thumb back and forth over hers, lending her his strength and confidence without ever uttering a word. It was such a simple indulgence, holding hands while driving free, but it held such intense significance for Lila. She was free to be Lila and live, love, and move on.
Parking in Carson’s garage brought on a whole new set of jitters for Lila. She was there, at Carson’s place. Walking in from the garage, she caught a glimpse of his motorcycle parked next to the wall. She looked at the bike, then at him, and his brown eyes twinkled. “You want to go for a ride?” he asked, his dimples in full bloom.
She grinned and pretended to shoot her head. “No way. I was thinking with how fast you drive a car, I can’t imagine what you do on that thing. It’s probably scary.”
“Definitely scary. Scary fun. I missed my bike when I was out west, but not nearly as much as I missed being inside you the last few days. Come on.” He lifted her up, threw her over his shoulder like it was nothing, playfully smacked her butt, and carried her to the elevator. She laughed to herself as she remembered the last time he went caveman on her.
Carson lived in a posh, huge condo in the center of Philadelphia. There was nothing compact about it, as she recalled him telling her he had a “small place” when they first had coffee.
The space wasn’t homey like hers, though. She was saddened to see Carson had very little on the walls, nothing but beer in the built-in stainless fridge, and little more furniture than a sectional sofa and a huge entertainment center complete with the largest TV Lila had ever seen. The minimalist decor and feeling screamed lonely to Lila, but she would deal with that later because before she could take in any more, Carson scooped her up for the second time and showed her his bedroom, which held only a king-sized bed.
He gently placed her down on the bed and rested beside her, propped up on one elbow. They just lay there staring into each other’s eyes, Lila’s green and Carson’s brown, and let their gazes do the talking. Their eyes were both filled with equal parts love, lust, need, and want.
Both of them were two lonely, hopeless souls before they met. Neither believed they deserved something to last, a little touch of sweetness, and now that they had more good than they knew what to do with, there were no words to express it. Only actions.
Carson smoothed her long hair behind her back and pressed his mouth to hers. What started out as a soft kiss quickly grew to a delicious blend of lips, tongues, and teeth. They fed off each other’s heat, racing toward more tasting, touching, and melding their bodies together in the most magnificent of ways.
Lila knew he wanted to put his mouth elsewhere, kiss her where he hadn’t been in a while, and make her scream his name. Which she most definitely wanted, but she wanted to be the first to incite the passion. Forcing herself to pull away from his mouth, she kissed along his neck, lapped around his nipples with her hands slowly roaming south, then began inching down his body.