"The one thing you can guarantee about me, baby. I'll make sure both of us come."
"A sex joke. Funny."
She told him the price, and he gave her a couple of notes.
"I've got a lot more jokes where that came from."
Autumn chuckled. "I bet you have."
"You've not seen anything yet."
She held out his change, and he took it, keeping hold of her hand.
"Carter?"
"Autumn, I've thought about you all weekend."
She stared into his blue eyes. His hair was once again pulled back into a small ponytail at the base of his neck.
"Tell me you haven't."
There was no way for her to look away, or to deny it. She had done nothing but think about their time together. The one encounter that as far as she was concerned had changed her life.
"It was a mistake."
"Do you really believe that?"
"I don't know what I believe anymore."
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm here if you need me." He pulled her close, and his lips pressed against the corner of her mouth. "If you need me for anything at all."
She watched him walk out of the bakery without a backwards glance.
"Now that was fucking hot!" Hilary came around the corner. "If that was me, I'd have come in my pants as well."
Autumn smiled. "It has been a long day. I clearly have other things to do. I'm just going to go on my break."
Grabbing her jacket, she left the back of the shop, and leaned against the wall, taking several deep breaths. This kind of thing never happened to her, and she couldn't believe she was having to deal with it now.
Her cell phone went off, and she considered that was a sign to stop thinking about it. She saw her sister was calling, and accepted.
"Hello, you're still friends with me?"
"Of course. I wouldn't be anything else. Mom and Dad loved their party, and guess who asked about you?"
"The maître d'?"
"No, silly. David. He asked about you."
"David?"
"Please, Autumn, stop being difficult. David, the guy you were talking with for the rest of the night, you know, when you finally arrived."
Autumn frowned. No matter what, she couldn't think of anyone she actually spoke to. "The weirdos at the table where you put me?"
"They're not weirdos, silly. They're part of the financial part of our company. Anyway, I can't go spilling trade secrets. He wants to know if you'd like to go on a date."
"No." She didn't even need to hesitate.
"Autumn!"
"Summer! No. I didn't even talk to the guy, okay? He was playing on his little toy. Probably playing a game because he was bored out of his freaking mind. Why were half of your colleagues there? I didn't see a single one of our parents' friends."
"It was a party, Autumn."
"So? It was a party for our parents."
"They didn't have a problem. They had a lot of fun. Now about David."
"You date him. Don't think of pushing me off on to any of your work colleagues."
"Sweetie, I'm not pushing you off. I just, he's nice, okay? And he's head of the financial division, and if he's-"
"Taken care of, you get everything you want. I get that, and I know what you're saying, but I'm not going to do it, sweetie. The last thing I want is to fall asleep into my dinner." That had happened with one of the favors she did for her sister. Summer was on the phone, nagging because she'd made everything worse.
"Autumn, you'll really like him. He's sweet and kind, holds a steady job, makes a decent living. You wouldn't need to work again if you got together with him."
He's boring, and he'll make you boring.
Guess who isn't boring?
Carter, remember him?
Carter the guy with a massive cock, and he wants me.
"No, Summer. It's not happening, and if you don't want to talk about anything else, then we're done as well."
She hung up the phone before she could actually make a complete and total fool of herself.
"You really shouldn't be hanging around the back of building with your eyes closed," Carter said.
She gasped, opening her eyes to see him standing in front of her. "Carter."
"Autumn. Date trouble?"
"No date trouble. My sister wants a favor."
He stepped closer, and his hand came to her cheek, stroking over the heated flesh. "She's annoyed you."
"She wants me to go on a date, and to settle down with a guy who can make her life easier."
"It's not the first time?" he asked.
"No. I thought you left?"
"I did. Then I came back to talk, and Hilary said you were out here. I didn't want to interrupt your phone call."
"I wish you had. It was nothing important, not really."
His finger went beneath her chin, and tilted her face up to his. "Everything is important. Will you go on this date?"
"No. I've done the boring routine, and I hate it."
"Poor Autumn. Constantly being used by your sister."
"It's fine. I'm used to it."
She held her breath as he leaned down, closing the distance between them.
"It's not fine, but I've got a solution to make you feel better."
"You have?"
"Yeah." His lips slammed down on hers, and she gasped, opening up as he plunged his tongue inside.
Moaning, she cupped the back of his head, dropping her cell phone in the process, not caring about what happened to it. The hand on her cheek moved down her body, grazing the tip of her nipple, and sliding down to cup her between the legs.
Carter shoved his hand down her jeans, sliding into her panties, and finding her clit.
She gasped, pulling away and glancing around him.
"No one is here. No one will see."
"What if they do?"
"Do you really think I'd let that happen?" he asked. "When you're with me, you're safe. Never forget that. I wouldn't let anything happen to you."
She trusted him. Staring into his eyes, she couldn't look away as he started to play with her body. He thrust his fingers inside her, getting them wet before stroking her clit.
"You don't need to do this," she said.
"With how tense you're looking, I think this is something you need, baby. Let me take care of you."
Why are you fighting?
She didn't know why, only that she felt like she had to fight what was happening. What was wrong with letting another person take care of her?
Opening her legs, she took his lips, and Carter brought her to orgasm, there, in the back of the bakery, where she hoped no one would hear her cries of release.
****
"That was a long lunch break, my friend," Denny said.
Carter chuckled, entering his office. "It was a good lunch break." He sat down in his chair, thinking about the sweet sounds of Autumn's release as she came on his fingers. Leaving the bakery, he hadn't intended to go back, but he'd not left how he wanted to. When Hilary gave him the not so subtle warning about hurting Autumn at risk to his special male parts, he'd believed her. None of his intentions meant hurting Autumn. He wanted to protect her and give her everything she missed out on.
Denny walked into the office, smirking. "I know that face. That face is the kind that happens when a man gets laid."
"I didn't get laid."
"Something happened."
He wasn't about to tell Denny, and told him as such.
"You've been in a weird mood for a guy who hasn't gotten laid in a couple of months."
"I've gotten laid."
"Anyone I know?"
"Maybe."
Denny had been around Summer, but his friend hadn't ever seen Autumn.
Denny took a seat. "I'm worried now."
"Why would you be worried?"
"You're acting strangely, and I saw the pair of women's panties locked inside your drawer when you were gone. This whole thing stinks, and I want to know what gives."
"Nothing gives. I've met someone, and I'm having a little fun."
Denny sat back, staring at him.
It was like being a caged animal at a zoo. "What? What is it?"
"I've known you all of your life. I know what you're thinking and feeling. You've never been one to be secretive about who you're screwing. You tend to give me a warning to back off potential women you're after, so now I'm intrigued."
"You think staring at me will give you the answer."
"Over the years I've watched you with different women, seeing how you respond to them. In all of that time there has only been one woman you've defended. I remember it well because it caused you and said sister to have a huge fight. I remember it so well because I called it Summer-Gate."
He wasn't interested in playing anymore. "How is Mrs. Randall's car?"
"I got it right, didn't I? Summer's sister. I can never remember her name. The one that struggles to read and write."
Carter slammed his hand on the desk. "She doesn't struggle at all. It's called dyslexia, and if people found the damn time to care, it wouldn't be so hard for people to understand."