Mark (Next Generation Carter Brother #9)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Mark

Waves beat against the side of the cruise ship as I make my way up to the top deck. Sunscreen, sweat and food scent the air, doing nothing to settle my queasy stomach.

Last night is a blur, but throughout the day, more and more pieces of the night have come back to me. Even without all my memories, it was clear we celebrated until the early hours of the morning. I have bruises from being flung from the bull, thanks to my uncle Max. He turned up the speed, catching me off guard. Instead of hitting the cushion, I ended up landing against the podium where the controls were set up.

Although some things are still muddled, there is one memory that is as clear as the sky above.

Freya .

Every caress is burnt into my mind. I can still taste her on my tongue. I’ve had a lot of sex, but nothing else compares to what we did last night. Fucking even sounds tame for what we did together. I didn’t think I could fuck a person harder, but hearing her beg for me, pleading for it and wet for it, I did. I have scratches down my back to prove it—something I wish I had known before I took my T-shirt off to go into the pool earlier.

Waking up alone is another new experience. It’s not something I’m used to. Normally, I will leave before the girl wakes up, but this morning, I found myself reaching for her, wanting more. Instead, all I found was a cold pillow. I felt disappointed, and if I’m honest, a little confused. I thought we were hitting it off, and we both had a good time.

After heading to my own room to get showered and changed, I went to seek her out. My plan had been to gauge her reaction, to maybe let her down gently—or at least, that’s what I told myself. My attempt to do either, failed. All I found was other members of her family, who asked me if I had seen her.

I should have felt better knowing she wasn’t just hiding from me, but I didn’t. I don’t. I’ve tried everything to get her out of my head, yet I’ve found myself constantly searching for her around the pool.

I just don’t understand why she’s avoiding me.

Does she regret it?

Is she embarrassed by me?

I throw myself down on the chair with a little more force than necessary. I don’t get why she’s avoiding me. I should be happy that I won’t need to do the awkward, ‘it was just fun’, speech.

“Someone is still in a mood, I see,” Faith muses.

I don’t mean to glare, but I do. “I’m not in a mood.”

“Sounds like it,” Beau mutters, rolling his eyes.

“Your nose is in my business again,” I snap. Liam laughs, taking the empty chair next to me whilst we wait for the others. It’s bingo and trivia night tonight, so we planned to meet up here before heading down. “I swear to God, if you laugh one more time, you’ll be picking your teeth out of your arse.”

“What’s going on?” Hope asks, her eyes glittering with humour.

“Mark doesn’t like that he was nothing but a one-night stand,” Liam replies.

I punch him in the arm. “Fuck you! That’s not how it is at all.”

Or is it?

Am I just a one-night stand to her?

“Seems to me she has some regrets. I’ve not seen her all day.”

“I saw her after breakfast,” Hayden remarks from where she’s sat next to Hope. “She seemed fine to me.”

“You saw her?” I ask, and groan at how eager I sound.

Her lips twitch as she nods. “Maybe you just didn’t hit the right mark and she’s worried she’ll laugh in your face if she sees you.”

“Never had complaints before,” I argue.

Hayden arches her eyebrow. “There’s always a first.”

“Maybe she isn’t looking for a boyfriend,” Faith declares.

I grab Liam’s drink, taking a sip before I answer. “Who said I’m looking for a girlfriend?”

“If you were, Freya wouldn’t be it,” Hayden states with a smirk. “She’s not your type. She has a brain, for starters, a full-time job, and lives in her own home. Pretty sure you aren’t her type either.”

“What? Why? I’m everyone’s type,” I grouch.

“You annoy the hell out of her,” Liam points out.

“Aiden annoys the fuck out of Bailey but they are together,” I remind him.

He pats my arm, his pitying smile grating on my nerves. “Yeah, but that’s Aiden.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Just that... he has game. Not as much as me, but then again, no one has my charm,” he replies. “You are probably worse than Landon. You glare at Freya a lot. Landon only glares at Paisley’s brothers.”

“I only glare because she’s mean to me,” I reply harshly.

Hayden clucks her tongue. “Are you twelve? Do you need to cry to Mummy and Daddy?”

I grit my teeth. “She put salt in my drink last night, and tried to take my slice of cake,” I snap. “Then she proceeded to argue with me about why the Easter Bunny carries eggs when it doesn’t lay them.”

Hope’s nose scrunches up. “I’ve never thought about that before. What was your argument?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I utter, feeling my cheeks heat. “I just don’t get why she would avoid me. It’s not like I’m declaring marriage.”

“Maybe she’s been hurt one too many times, so before you could give her the ‘it was just a little fun’ speech, she made it easier for you and stayed away,” Faith imparts.

I open my mouth to deny it but Hayden gets there first. “You know for a fact you were going to deliver that speech. I don’t get why. You’ve finally found a girl worthy of going out with.”

“Hate to agree with my sister, but she’s right. You got lucky with Freya. You stole her cat, for fuck’s sake. That’s pretty unforgiveable.”

“I didn’t steal her cat,” I snap.

“If it were me, and Beau left me to marry Lily, I wouldn’t be so quick to trust another man,” Faith adds with a shrug.

“Would never happen with us, babe,” Beau swears.

“I know that, but I’m just giving an example,” she replies.

“Doesn’t matter anyway. Mark doesn’t know how to have a girlfriend,” Liam declares. “This conversation is pointless.”

“I do know how to have a girlfriend,” I argue.

He does that annoying pat on my arm again. “It’s okay. Not everyone is boyfriend material,” he states. “You haven’t exactly shown her you could want more.”

“Are we talking about Freya?” Lily asks, joining us with Jaxon and Rose. She looks loads better this evening and more chipper.

“Yes,” Hayden answers.

“She’s downstairs waiting for the bingo to start. The others told us to come up and get you,” she replies.

I get up and point to the group. “I’m going to go speak with her. I’m boyfriend material, dammit.”

I don’t wait around for them to reply. I head downstairs, bypassing passengers as they are coming up. It takes a couple of minutes for me to reach the Bella Donna room. I spot Freya straight away. She’s pretty hard to miss in her bright pink crop top. She’s sitting between her parents at a round table, her sister and Danny opposite. She’s glancing down at the book in her hand as I make my way over.

Her parents open their mouths to greet me, but I pull back Freya’s chair, earning a gasp. “You’re coming with me.”

Her lips twist. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”I pull her arm, before ducking so I can place her over my shoulder. “Put me down, you idiot.”

“Nope.”

“Freya, darling,” her mum calls. “We need you for trivia.”

I swing around to face her family, who are openly gaping at my behaviour. “Freya will be joining our team for trivia night.”

She smacks my back. “No, I won’t.”

“You two seem like you’ll do fine,” I comment, addressing her parents. I turn to Danny, my eyebrows bunching down. “You seem like you might be able to contribute.” Esther is next, and she is none too pleased about my presence. I guess her baptism really didn’t help her find God. “I suppose you could get their drinks, since you don’t seem like the sort to participate. Don’t feel bad about losing. Us Carters are competitive.”

“You’ll need this,” her father replies, handing me Freya’s handbag.

I tip my chin down as I take it before heading over to the corner. “Mark, put me down right now.”

I do, gripping her hips before she can escape. “You snuck out this morning.”

Her lips part. “I…I…”

“I’m not a toy. I don’t deserve to be used,” I tell her, cupping her jaw.

“I wasn’t… I was…”

“You were running,” I answer for her.

Her eyes harden, and her jaw clenches. “Don’t pretend like you wouldn’t have done the same.”

I sniff. “I was saving myself for marriage. You used me, then left me to wake up alone.”

“Puh-lease,” she snorts. “Don’t try and act like the innocent one in all of this.”

“Oh, I’m not. I remember your taste as you came against my mouth. I remember how tight you clenched around my cock. And I can still hear the mewling sounds you made right before you came.”

Her breath hitches as a blush rises up her neck and cheeks. “Shush! Someone could hear you,” she whispers.

I lean down, brushing my lips against hers. “Like they heard you screaming my name last night,” I rasp.

“I didn’t scream your name,” she grits out.

“You sure about that?” I question. “I want you, and I know you want me too. I just never pegged you as the type of girl to play mind games.”

“I’m not playing mind games.”

I kiss the corner of her mouth. “Good. Because the only games I like to play are in the bedroom.”

“What? Just because—”

I grip her arse and pull her closer. I lean down, capturing her mouth. After a moment of coaxing, she opens, kissing me back.

Fuck, she tastes like candyfloss.

When I pull back, her eyes are a little dazed. “We are going to happen again, Freya.”

She places her hand on my chest to steady herself. “No, we aren’t. I’m not looking for a boyfriend, and I’m certainly not looking for a fling. Maybe if you lived somewhere else, I would be open to it, but you live across the hall.”

I study her, watching as her lip trembles slightly and the sparkle in her eyes dims. She wants something with me, but she’s too scared to ask for it.

“Why does there need to be labels?”

“What?”

“I’m not saying I want a relationship, but I know I don’t want a fling either. Why can’t we just see where this goes?”

She sighs. “Mark, I get your ego must have taken a hit this morning when you found me gone, but this isn’t the answer.”

“There wasn’t a question,” I point out. “We are going to see where this goes.”

“Why? I annoy you,” she points out.

I shrug. “According to you, I annoy you as well.”

“You test my patience,” she replies. “Doesn’t mean it’s grounds for… for whatever you are asking for.”

“Again, babe, I’m not asking for anything,” I tell her.

She rolls her eyes. “Don’t make me stab you with a spoon.”

My lips twitch. “You do that and I’ll spank you again.”

Her eyes narrow. “You are doing it again. You are testing me.”

“I’m going to do a lot of things to you again,” I rasp, and grind my erection against her. A puff of air slips past her lips. “And you’ll like it.”

Watching me more closely, her eyelids heavy with lust, she replies, “This is what you really want?”

“Yes.”

She sighs. “I’m not making any promises, but I suppose if you want to give me multiple orgasms again, I won’t complain.”

“Good,” I muse, pressing my lips against hers, needing another taste. “Now, are you ready for bingo and trivia?”

“Is your uncle Max going to be on our team?” she questions.

I shake my head. “He’ll have his own table with Lake.”

“Only those two?” she asks. “I thought the minimum had to be three.”

I take her hand and lead her over to where we will be sitting with Charlotte, Drew, Faith and Beau. “Don’t let his behaviour fool you. That man could have had any job he wanted in the world, but he chose to be a coach.”

“Max? Really?” she asks with doubt. “But he’s like a toddler on crack.”

I laugh because she isn’t wrong. “Yep. The one and only. He only let Lake join his team because he felt sorry for her sitting with the losers. Trust me, he’ll win this. The rest of us compete for second, which is basically first place to us.”

“Are you sure the others won’t mind me joining?” she asks.

“Liam, move it. You’re on Hayden’s team,” I order.

He turns, grinning when he spots Freya. “Freya, what a surprise.”

“Move,” I demand.

He shrugs. “Hayden has a better chance than you lot anyway,” he throws out, getting up.

I notice the corner of Freya’s mouth tip up as she takes his seat. I lean in as I take mine. “What is that smirk for?”

“I’ve never lost a game of trivia. I’m good at most categories except food,” she replies.

Faith smiles. “We’ve got food down, so we’ve got this. It’s history we always suck at.”

“That’s okay. I have a major in it,” Freya replies.

“I thought you studied English?” I ask.

“I did, but I get bored easily so I took History as a night time course.”

“We may actually beat—” Faith begins.

“Don’t jinx it,” I warn.

Freya glances around the room, stopping with a smile. I glance in that direction, noticing my dad pulling out a chair for Maya. Mason, Denny and Ashton are with them. “I don’t know, your dad’s table has my nan and she is brilliant. She rarely attends trivia nights with us because the questions are always easy. She won a hundred and twenty-grand on The Chase.”

“No shit?” I ask. “Lake applied on behalf of my uncle Max. He got accepted, but for reasons unbeknown to us, he was sent home. Lake thinks they paid him to drop out because he drove them nuts. Hayden thinks he won more than they were willing to pay. Max won’t tell us. Says he doesn’t like to talk about it. They had to re-record his episode with other contestants.”

“Your uncle scares me,” she replies.

“He scares everyone,” Beau states.

“He’s a big softie at heart. The only time you’ll ever have to be scared of him is if you hurt one of us. He takes it to heart,” Faith declares.

“He put a laxative in my drink at Ciara’s birthday party,” Beau mutters dryly.

Faith ducks her head, hiding her smirk. “You ate the last slice of cake. I did warn you.”

“And the time he tackled me from behind?” he questions, arching a brow.

“Look, he has his reasons. I’m not saying they’re sane reasons. I’m just saying he has them,” she replies.

“Could have been worse. Remember what he did to Clay when he thought he was the reason Hayden was in a pissy mood?” I remind him.

Beau winces, remembering how bruised Clay had been when Max shot him with the paintball gun he modified. “When you put it like that, I guess it could have been.”

“It’s only Drew he’s never touched,” Faith muses.

“Not for lack of trying,” I remark. “Lake had to return over a dozen ladders.”

“Me?” Drew asks, taking a seat with Charlotte. “Who’s never touched me?”

Charlotte smiles at everyone. “We weren’t having sex,” she blurts out.

Faith’s lips twitch. “Okay.”

“Back to me,” Drew prods.

“I was just telling Beau that it could have been worse with Max. He could have been Clay and got the paintball gun. Faith just brought up the fact you are the only one he hasn’t touched.”

Drew’s eyes draw down. “I don’t know. I still say the laxative was worse than the paintball gun.”

Beau nods, agreeing. “I returned the favour, but it seems he has a stomach made of iron because nothing happened.”

Freya jabs her finger in my direction. “Like this one. I swear, I’ve never known someone to consume so much food yet not put weight on.”

Drew clears his throat. “Mark is right though. Max does try to mess with me.”

“I think he learned his lesson when he sprained his ankle while jumping from the ladder trying to get to you,” Charlotte declares.

“Nah, I reckon it was when Drew lifted him up by the scruff of his T-shirt so they were eye level, then warned him not to fuck around when Charlotte was there in case she got hurt.”

Charlotte melts into Drew at Beau’s words. Drew grunts. “One of these days, she’s going to get caught in the crossfire. I’m still not happy about the slope incident.”

At the beginning of the year, some of us went to a cabin up in the hills. Imogen got payback on the others when her food was stolen, and they decided to take it out on Ben, her boyfriend. It backfired, and in the process, they nearly took out Charlotte on the ski slopes. Drew had been pissed, because if it wasn’t for Ben pulling her out of the way, she would have been injured.

Turning my attention back to Freya, I pull her chair closer. I smile when she glares at me. “Can I help you?”

“I want you closer.”

She arches her eyebrow. “Any closer and I’ll be in your lap.”

“I’m down with that,” I whisper, leaning in close.

She rolls her eyes and turns to Charlotte. “Do you bake cakes?”

I cough into my fist. “Buy one,” I warn quietly.

Charlotte beams at Freya. “I do. Do you need one baking?”

“Don’t do it,” I whisper.

“My friends’ cousins are moving to Coldenshire. They’ve inherited acres of land and I wanted to get a welcome back cake done for them.”

“I can do that,” Charlotte agrees. “Pass me your phone. I’ll add my number.”

Freya hands it over and I use Charlotte’s distraction to lean in. “Charlotte doesn’t always succeed in baking edible cakes. Unless you want your friends to spend a week in hospital, I would buy one.”

She rolls her eyes. “It can’t be that bad.”

“My uncle Max had to have his stomach pumped and was in the hospital for a week.” Her eyes widen. “She has good days, but only when she’s happy and distracted. We know now not to ask for something specifically. She thinks too much about it, which is why she messes up.”

“I can’t tell her no now,” she hisses.

I shrug. “I’ll taste test it for you.”

“What land are they moving to?” Faith asks, interrupting our conversation.

“I think it’s called Bluebird Meadows.”

Faith’s eyes widen. “That’s near us,” she replies. “I think it brushes against the Hayes land.”

“Jaxon’s family?” Freya asks.

“Yes. It’s been empty awhile. I actually made an enquiry about it before purchasing the land we own,” Beau explains. “It needs a lot of work.”

“My friend said the same. They’re making lists right now about what needs to be done,” Freya replies.

“If you ever need a reliable contractor, let me know. I’m sure Maddox will move things around. He’s just finished renovating Paisley’s bed and breakfast,” Mark offers.

Freya winces. “I hope she won’t be offended that Summer’s cousins plan to turn some of the land into a glamping site.”

“God no,” I answer truthfully. Paisley has had to turn people away because of how busy she’s been. She hates that there’s nowhere else to send them. The nearest hotel is miles away. “It would actually benefit her. She has a spa that isn’t exclusive to guests at the bed and breakfast. She’ll be grateful she’ll have somewhere to send guests when they are fully booked. Plus, with all the festivals now opening near us, there’s a demand for glamping sites. They picked a good business.”

“They’ll need security,” Beau mentions. “I’ve been called out to disputes and they can get rowdy.”

Freya laughs. “Yeah, that won’t be an issue for them. They know how to handle themselves. I’ve seen the eldest, Malia, take down a six-foot male. He was built like a house, but she had him on the floor in minutes.”

Faith’s eyes glisten with excitement. “I can’t wait to meet them. Which I’ll need to do anyway. The Hayes have three security dogs and they can sometimes wander. Unless the fences go up soon, we’ll need to introduce the dogs to them.”

“I’ll let Summer know so she can pass it on,” Freya replies.

“Bingo starts in five minutes,” a voice announces.

I glance at Freya. “What would you like to drink?”

“I’ll come up with you,” she offers.

“It’s fine. I need to go grab our bingo cards anyway,” I reply.

“I’ll come up with you,” Beau declares. “What do you want to drink, babe?”

“I’ll have a cocktail, please.”

Freya groans. “How can you drink after last night?”

“I’m a Carter,” she replies, as Beau says, “She’s a Carter.”

Freya turns to me, eyes wide. “Just a coke please.”

My lips twitch as I get up. “One coke, coming right up.”

I’m not worried about her being scared away because of my family. I remember how well she fitted in last night, how she didn’t balk at their crazy antics or get angry when we pushed her sister into the pool.

And I’ll never forget what she did for my sister. Most people would see it as nothing, but to us and to Lily, it meant everything. It just shows what kind of person Freya is.

If anyone can handle being in my life, it’s Freya Baker.