Feathers and Thorne Series Books 1 - 3: The Complete Collection

Chapter Twelve

Carter

I stare at the front door, feeling the soft music play out over my tense body. I need a release now more than ever before. It doesn’t matter, though, not unless I get her attention today with the grocery haul. It’s almost midnight, so it’s possible she is still at work, but I’ll stay here until sunrise at the mere possibility that she might show.

“You have a requested visitor, Mr. Blackthorne,” my bouncer huffs, cracking the door open only slightly.

I wave him through, beckoning to see those caramel-brown eyes. I could come just from the look of them, but when she barges into my suite at the club, those eyes are bloodshot and wet.

The door closes on the two of us together, and I leap off the couch, meeting her halfway, but she jolts backward, her back hitting the wall nearby. I keep my distance, seeing this fear in her pretty face only twice before tonight.

“What happened, dove? What did that Lacey prick do now? Did they hurt—”

“You broke into my apartment?”

She is gasping like she’s drowning, the sound precious and a little enticing. She would sound like this if I were fucking her, I just know it, but I clearly have more work to do before I get to that point. I just hope I haven’t made a huge mistake in my act of compassion.

“You needed groceries,” I coo, keeping my voice tamed from the hefty snarl it would be naturally after being spat at with such an impolite tone. “I had a colleague of mine pick up a few things and drop them off. They are very skilled in picking locks; I made sure he secured it back when he left. What is the big deal here, dove?”

She hiccups, falling back when I reach for her, doing everything she can to avoid contact with me. I fight the need to be abrasive, knowing that she is skittish and submissive in nature, and if I squeeze too hard, she will shatter in my hands.

Reminds me all too much of a woman in my past.

I tiptoe around the dove, giving her the space she needs to feel secure.

“My father,” she bites. “Did you go see my father today?”

The old man was so out of it that I was sure he wouldn’t be able to tell her about my brief visit. I may have made a phone call to Lacey earlier today, asking about what Isabella took the money for, and he had grunted through an expletive-filled story about her cancer-ridden father in the hospital.

I was tempted to foot the bill right then, but her job at Lacey Construction is the only way I get to see her in a more natural setup than I had attempted over the weekend. If I wanted to run into her again, it would have to be at work. If I paid that bill, she would quit, maybe even return to college far from here.

Can’t let that happen. She’s mine; she just doesn’t know it yet.

“Did you?”

I grit my teeth at her volume. I’ve been dreaming of her yelling, but not like this. “Do not…”

Her horrified expression is all I need to know that no matter my explanation here, I will look like a psychopath. I’m not going to argue about whether that’s really what I am or not, but watching her tremble in front of me certainly isn’t how I wanted tonight to play out.

I wanted her trembling on her back while I filled her every desire and her every hole, but that assumption is becoming a distant fantasy at this rate.

I force myself to calm down. She can yell at me for now. She’s the only one that I would allow to do so, and I’ll rack that up as a necessary sacrifice.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay, but when I came by the job site, you weren’t there. I caught a glimpse of you visiting the hospital a few nights ago, and I thought I would try there. When I mentioned your last name, the nurse took me to your father’s room. It was a simple mix-up,” I say in an even, tamed tone.

I’ve been a decent liar all my life; that’s one of the reasons I’m so successful.

Her features are calm, but they don’t settle completely.

“Carter, why are you watching me?”

Her eyes are wide and innocent while her lips quiver like I’ve seen before. I have to bite down on my own, hard, to keep from shoving them against hers. After that, I would kiss her throat, then her collarbones that press through her tight blouse, and then I’d roam down to her stomach that’s probably full of butterflies right about now.

I snap out of my trance, realizing that’s becoming a more difficult task as time carries on.

“Why?” she begs. “What do you want from me? Is it the same as Jacob Lacey? Do I owe you a debt because you paid off the money I took from my boss and—”

“Don’t insult me,” I growl. Fuck my temper. “I am nothing like that greedy little cock or his fat, selfish father. If I wanted to fuck you in exchange for saving your ass, I would have already.”

She reaches for the door, intending to sprint away, and I see my stupid mistakes instantly. I slam the door shut, watching her turn against it with more tears in her eyes than when she had come into my club. If she didn’t absolutely fear me before, she does now.

“I’m sorry, dove. I didn’t mean it like that,” I admit, flustered over a woman for the first time in forever.

She stammers her breath, weeping helplessly under my outstretched arm that keeps the door closed.

“Carter—” she sniffles between frightened cries. “You had someone break into my apartment, and you have spied on me walking into that hospital before. Do you see how crazy that is?”

My nostrils flare as I tense my lips into a tight purse. I’m a lot of things, but I will not be called crazy. Not by any man, woman, or fucking human on this planet who tries to understand me. They can’t, and they won’t. I will never allow it.

But if I want this prize on her knees or bent over my bedside, I have to realize that to her, my method of pursuit isn’t hundred-dollar bills rolled up in a rubber band and a late-night deal on the sidewalk. She isn’t impressed by my efforts to get her attention; she’s scared of them.

“I shouldn’t have gone looking for you today,” I manage to sputter out. “And I apologize for entering your apartment, along with the two run-ins we had over the weekend. I don’t want anything in return from you, dove. I just wanted to keep in contact. That’s all. I’m nothing like Jacob Lacey. I don’t expect sex from you to relieve the debt I paid Jacob.”

She nods, seemingly believing that claim for now, but the only play I have left is clear. The desires I have for her tonight will have to be tied down and set aside for the night. I’m not undressing this beautiful body of hers tonight.

I open the door for her, and she leaves in a hurry. I lean against the doorframe and watch her tight ass in that work skirt move down the hall and back into the streets of this poisonous city. I wave the bouncer over at once.

“Have my driver follow her home without contact, just to make sure she gets home safe.”

“Yes, sir. Anything else?”

I consider a quick sidewalk deal for the night in an attempt to sate my needs, but it has been made pretty fucking clear that even if I picture her in their place, it’s nothing like the real thing. I only want Isabella Julis, but I will have to adjust my methods to get her.

“That’s all for tonight,” I groan in defeat. “I’ll be at the bar having a drink. Make sure no one plays in my room. It’s saved for me and that little prize that just ran off crying.”