Whiskey and Lace(8)

"A long time ago. In high school." I tried to pull my hand away.

"Did you sleep with him?" Carter's grip tightened on my wrist. I clenched my teeth in anger.

I ripped my hand out of his grasp, "Yes, I lost my virginity to him when I was sixteen." Carter's eyes flamed with anger.

His jaw clenched as the silence stretched between us. "When did you breakup?"

"When I was a freshman in college."

"I don't want you to see him. Ever." His eyes narrowed at me.

"Too bad. He's Cate's brother, he's in my life." I rolled off of the bed and reached for my discarded dress.

"Do you love him?" My head whipped around at his frank question.

"Of course not. I thought I did at one time. But I was sixteen, Carter." I slipped the dress over my head.

He regarded me thoughtfully. "I don't want you to see him. I can't stand the thought of his hands on your body, Evangeline. I can't stand that when he looks at you, he knows what you look like without your clothes on. I can't stand that he's been where I've been." A cold fury settled in his eyes.

I ground my teeth together in anger. I slipped my shoes on and then turned and walked out of Carter's room, down the stairs and straight out of his front door.

I walked across Beacon Street and through the gates of the public garden. I followed the winding path with angry steps. My phone buzzed in my hand and I looked down to see Carter's name flashing across the screen. I worried my bottom lip with my teeth. I hit silent and threw my phone into my bag.



I didn't want to see him. I wasn't interested in talking to him. There was nothing he could say that could excuse his behavior. Thinking he could control who I could and couldn't see was absurd.

Carter had me reeling from the day I'd met him. In the short time I'd known him he'd managed to consume my entire life. At least he'd shown his true colors before I'd gotten in too deep.

I slowed my pace because I knew I already was in too deep. I would need time to recover from the sexy, dangerous, controlling, intoxicating Carter Morgan.

I pulled my phone out of my bag and found eight missed calls and six new text messages in the few minutes it had taken me to cross the garden and exit onto Arlington.

-PICK UP YOUR PHONE! The last text read. I sighed. He was trying to bulldoze me again. I threw my phone back into my bag with force and crossed the street and made my way home.





Four





The next morning I woke up with a massive headache from tossing and turning all night. Carter had been trying to call me and I'd kept hitting ignore. Cate asked me what was wrong, but I wasn't willing to talk about it considering our blowout involved her brother.

My brain needed to process it all first before I made any decisions. Carter and I had gone from a brief introduction at a party to fucking in his office a week later. All I could think of was getting a large dose of caffeine into my system.

I stepped into my walk-in and looked for something warm to protect against the October chill. While I made good money, I wasn't rich by any means. Designer clothing was the one thing I was willing to splurge on, and the other areas of my life had been known to suffer for it. I didn't own a car; it wasn't necessary in a congested city like Boston anyway, so I saved on a car payment and insurance. I was also pretty frugal in other areas of my life. I didn't eat out often and other than rent, my bills were pretty low. Not everything I wore was designer; I adored my worn pair of Gap jeans just like the next girl, and I've never found a consignment store I didn't like. Beautiful clothing was an art form; it had the ability to transform my mood.

I finally settled on a Burberry sweater dress that had black and navy stripes and a scoop neck. It was casual and comfy, but still was fitted enough to be flattering. I put on a pair of ankle boots and headed for the coffee shop in the hopes of chasing Carter Morgan from my brain and getting some work done.





I sat working for a few hours, sipping a triple vanilla latte when a hulking figure loomed over my table.

"Evangeline."

My heart leapt into my throat at his icy voice. I licked my lips nervously and looked up into his steely blue eyes. The air left my lungs. I did not want to do this here. I didn't want to do this at all.

"Is something wrong with your phone?" He ground threw clenched teeth.

"No." I held his gaze.

"Then why the fuck aren't you answering it?" I blinked at his harsh words.

"I'm not doing this, Carter."

"Oh, we're doing this." He closed my laptop and shoved it in my bag. I crossed my arms and huffed at him. "I deserve an answer, Evangeline." He flung my bag over his shoulder and hauled me up by the crook of my elbow.

"I can walk, thank you." I wrenched my arm from his grip and headed for the doors of the coffee shop. He grabbed my elbow again and hauled me into the back seat of the Bentley.