Sweet Possession (Carson-Fox Resorts #2)

Chapter 6

Cora

I startled awake, a choked gasp escaping me as the silhouettes of themen who’d been haunting me faded away into the shadows. With my hands shaking, and my heart pounding, I sat up and let my gaze roam around the luxurious bedroom as it came into focus.

There was no one there.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

It was just a dream.

I squeezed my eyes closed in a bid to shake the lingering images ofDwayne and my dad coming for me. Was this what my life would be like now? A constant fear hanging over methatone day, I’d be snatched off the street and returned tothatwarehouse to be sold again?

But as the question circled in my head, a little voicewhispered a name.

Fox.

He promised me he’d never let anyone hurt me again, and I wantedto believe him, Ireallydid. But I couldn’t ignore the part of methatstill doubted him, still believed he was lulling me into a trap, and one day he’d break every promise he’d made and hurt me worse than anyone else ever had.

I guessed only time would tell, and in the meantime, I’d have to keepmy wits about me. Which, I suspected, was going to be easier said than done.

I’d enjoyed spending time with him this morning. He was easy to talkto, and when I spoke, he looked like he was hanging on to my every word. It was a strange feeling. Aside from Mrs. Tucker, my neighbor who’d taught me how to cook, no one had everreallylistened to me.

And when he gave me a tour of the house and acted the way he didwhen I said I couldn’t swim, I knew in a heartbeatthathe’d suffered some kind of trauma in his past.

He’d frozen on the spot, blood draining from his face. When heasked me to promise himthatI wouldn’t go near the pool without him, I heard the raw pain in his voice. It had made me want to touch him, to offer him comfort in the way he’d comforted me from the minute he picked me up.

So, yeah. Keeping my guard up was going to be hard when Fox wasalready beginning to burrow his way under my skin.

Sighing, I got out of bed, realizingthatdusk had fallen. I’d slept mostof the afternoon away, and if it hadn’t been for the nightmare, I could’ve slept for the rest of the night.

But now I was awake, my stomach growled, reminding methatIhadn’t eaten anything since the pancakes this morning. I quickly showered, washing away the sweat coating my body, thanks to the nightmarethatwas still hovering in the deepest corner of my brain .

Once I was dry, I dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a white tanktopthatSavannah had given me, and made my way downstairs, hoping Fox wouldn’t mind me making some toast for dinner.

As I reached the last few steps, voices echoed from the living room. Irecognized Savannah and Fox’s voices, but the third was someone I hadn’t heard before. I assumed it was Nash, and a pang of unease shot through me, not knowing who he was, or what the three of them were doing.

“Hey, you’re awake,”Fox said, appearing from the doorway before Ihad time to convince myself to run back to my room and hide.

The sight of him made my heart start racing, and my mouth dried inan instant. I hadn’t let myself acknowledgejusthow handsome Fox was as my gaze involuntarily swept over his muscular body.

“Hey...I’m sorry I slept so long,”I replied, my cheeks heating.

“Baby girl, you don’t have to apologize for being tired. If you need tosleep,thensleep,”he replied, giving me a soft smile.“How are you feeling now?”

Why did I like him calling me baby girl so much? It made me feelsomething I’d never felt before.

Treasured.

The little voice telling me to keep my guard up faded to a faintwhisper.

“I’m good,”I replied, before adding,“Actually, I’m a little hungry.”

“Wellthen, good job dinner has arrived.”He held out his hand forme, and I hesitated for only a second, but meeting his eyes, finding them filled with warmth, I took it.

The second our palms connected, tingles shot up my arm, the sameway they’d sparked to life whenever he touched me earlier.

Ignoring my sudden onset of confusion over a simple touch, Foxgently pulled me toward the living room .

“Happy Birthday!”Shouts from Savannah and another man I’d nevermet before nearly made me jump out of my skin. If it wasn’t for Fox holding my hand and steadying me, I would have bolted for the front door.

I cast my eyes around the living room, growing more bewilderedwhen my gaze landed on a hand-painted banner hanging on a wall. It took me a few seconds to understand the words written on it.

‘Happy 18th Birthday, Cora!’

“It’s not my birthday,”I said tentatively to Fox, finding him watchingme with a beaming smile.

“It was last week. Figured you probably didn’t do much to celebrate it,so we thought we’d have a belated party.”

I blinked at him a few times, unable to comprehend what he’dsaid. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a party to celebrate my birthday. Come to think of it, I couldn’t remember the last time anyone hadeven acknowledged my birthday.

Tears pricked at the back of my eyes. How was itthatsomeone I’donly known for a couple of days had decided to do something as kind as throw me a party when my own father couldn’tevenfind it in himself to wish me a happy birthday?

“I…I don’t know what to say,”I said, managing to force the words pastthe huge lump lodged in my throat.

Glancing around the room again, I let myself take in every detail, notbelieving this was for me. Aside from the banner on the wall, pink and silver balloons were tied together and strung up in bunches of threes, and helium balloons in the number 18 swayed in the breeze from the air conditioning.

In one corner was a stack of wrapped parcels of all different shapesand sizes, and on the table, next to several pizza boxes was a chocolate cake, topped with candles making the shape of an 18 .

“This isreallyfor me?”I said, skepticism coating my voice as I lookedback at Fox.

It allseemedtoo good to be true, andthatlittle nagging doubtthatIwas being lulled into a false sense of security roared to life once more.

“Yeah, baby girl, this is all for you. Come on, let’s get you somepizza,”Fox replied, pulling my hand again and leading me over to the table.

Only our path was blocked by the other man.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Cora, I’m Nash,”he said. He was holdingSavannah’s hand but he held out his other hand for me to shake.

I couldn’t help but cower into Fox’s side. Nash was tall and broad, likeFox but slightly smaller. His intense silvery-gray eyes held mine, and although he was smiling at me, all I could think of was how he had blackmailed Savannah into marrying him.

“Cora, Nash is my best buddy,”Fox said, dropping my hand to placeit on my lower back and causing a strange warmth to flood through me. One I’d never felt before.“I know he looks like a bonehead, but I promise you, he’s a good guy. Mostly.”

“That’s rich, coming from you,”Nash said, his tone jovial as I reachedout and shook his hand.“Shall we talk about all the boneheaded things you’ve done in your time? Maybe we should start with the time you got your balls waxed and cried like a girl.”

“Shut your mouth, Junior!”Moving his hand from my back, Foxlunged for Nash and playfully punched him in the gut. Nash responded by grabbing Fox in a headlock, and within seconds, the two of them were fighting, both men trying to get the upper hand while insulting the other.

The only fights I’d ever seen were when my dad was beaten up bymen he owed money to, andthatwasn’treallya fight. My dad never fought back. But watching the two strong men fighting and laughing, I couldn’t help the amused smile from pulling at my mouth.

Savannah rolled her eyes.“You get used to them, they’re always likethis,”she said, waving at the two men.“I swear, this baby is the size of a peanut and is already more mature than these two. Combined.”

She placed her hand on her stomach and the two men froze, all eyesfalling to her.

“You’re pregnant?”Fox said, his brows pulled up in surprise and adelighted smile formed on his lips. But he didn’t let Nash out of the headlock he’d managed to get him in.

“You bet she is. What can I say, my sperm is mighty powerful,”Nashreplied proudly from under Fox’s arm.

“Powerful? Dude, it’s taken you months to knock her up. For aminute, I thought you were shooting blanks!”Fox retorted, rubbing Nash’s head with his knuckles.

“The only thing I’ll be shooting is your ugly face, cocksucker!”Nashsaid before throwing an elbow into Fox’s ribs.

Fox grunted as he let go of Nash’s neck. Once again, they startedwrestling, each trying to take the other one down to the floor.

“Congratulations,”I said, turning away from Nash and Fox to faceSavannah.

She gave me a warm smile, happiness shining in her eyes.“Thankyou, honey. It was a bit of a shock, but a good one,”she said, rubbing her belly again.“Come on, let’s tuck into the pizza, and we can take a bet on who will pin the other to the ground first.”

“You know it will be me,”Nash called out from where Fox had nowmanaged to get him down to his knees, and was hanging off his back.

“We’ll see, Junior,”Fox huffed.“You still fight like you did when wewere in school, like a little pussy!”

Fox and Nash gave up fighting when they were both breathless, anddecidingthatthey wanted pizza, they called it a truce. Joining Savannah and me at the table, they loaded up their plates with slices of different pizzas, my eyes going wide withjusthow much they could both eat.

No wonder they were both the size of a house, although there wasn’tan ounce of fat on either of them.

Savannah and the two men made small talk about the news of thebaby before talk turned to Nash and Fox’s casino business, and how Savannah’s new fashion line was coming along.

They encouraged me to join in, andeventhough most of the time Ididn’t understand what they were talking about, it felt nice to be a part of something.

I couldn’t remember the last time someone asked me for my opinionand listened when I gave it.

“What about you, Cora?”Savannah said after she’d finishedtelling me about the fashion show in Paris she’djustgot home from.“What do you dream about doing?”

My cheeks began to burn as all three sets of eyes fell on me. Thetruth was, I did have a dream, butthatwas all it was; a dream. I didn’t have an education, and I certainly didn’t know the first thing about running a business. I always figured I’d end up working in a place where I didn’t need any qualifications.

Thatwas if I couldevenget a job to start with. I hadn’t managed tofind any work leading up to now, something which my dad took full advantage of, reminding me how useless I was whenever he could.

“Oh, I don’t know,”I said, shrugging and not able to meet any oftheir curious gazes.

“There must be something you always wanted to do, baby girl?”Foxsaid, his tone gentle as he sat forward in his chair opposite me.

I met his eyes across the table, an encouraging smile on his face, hisbeautiful orbs sucking me in. Inthatmoment, I wanted to tell him everything. Notjustmy hopes and dreams for the future, but my deepest darkest fears.

There was something about Foxthatmade me want to crawl into hislap and feel his arms around me as he held me tight, and promised he’d never let me go.

“I want to open my own bakery,”I whispered, neither of us tearing ourgazes away from the other.“I want to bake cupcakes and muffins, cookies and brownies. I want to make fancy wedding and novelty birthday cakes. And I want to own bakeries in every state across the whole country.”

As I spoke, I imagined the bakery I wanted to open, and before Icould stop myself, the words tumbled from my lips.“I’d want it to be a place where couples can go on dates and enjoy coffee and cakes, or a place where kids can hang out with their friends. A place where you could sit for hours on end and watch the world go by in complete peace. I’d have a huge glass counter where customers could see all the delicious cakes on offer while music played in the background, and the staff would wear aprons with the name of the bakery…Cora’s Cakes.”

I trailed off when I realized I’d rambled pure nonsense, and mycheeks burned until they were scorching. Unable to hold Fox’s blazing eyes any longer, I looked away, remembering Nash and Savannah were also at the table. For the longest time, no one spoke.

“It’s a stupid dream,really,”I said, needing to fill the silence asmortification flooded me.

“No, it’s not,”Fox replied, reaching over the table to take myhand.“Baby girl, it’s not stupid at all. And there is absolutely no reason why you can’t achievethatdream.”

There were plenty of reasons why I would never be able to makethatdream a reality, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment. It was nice to believe it could happen,evenif it was only for tonight.

“Hey, Cora,”Nash said after a few heated seconds of Fox and mestaring at each other across the table. Itseemedevery time we got lost in each other’s gazes, the rest of the world fell away. Nash speaking my name broke the spell we’d fallen under.“Seeing as you have more experience with cooking than what we three have, tell me. Do you think pineapple should go on a pizza or do you agree with my weirdo wifethatpineapple should be barred from all pizza menus?”

Fox tutted as Savannah rolled her eyes at Nash’s smirk.Justlikethat, the charged atmospherethathad descended between me and Fox a few minutes ago vanished.

“It’s an ongoing argument, Cora. My husband can’t acceptthathe is so wrong about pineapple being acceptable on a savory pizza.”

“I quite like pineapple on my pizza,”I said, doing my best to ignorethe way Fox was still watching me intently.

I didn’t want to acknowledge it, but I liked knowing his eyes were onme. It made my body clench in a way I’d never felt before.

Savannah’s face fell as Nash punched the air. Next to him, Foxchuckled, finally looking away .

“See, it’s just you who doesn’t have any taste, sweetheart,” Nash said, triumphantly.

Savannah’s features twisted into a scowl aimed solely at Nash.“You’re right, I obviously don’t have any taste. I married you, after all,”she replied, sarcasm lacing her tone.

“Ooh, burn,”Fox chimed in, earning the middle finger from Nash.Leaving Nash to glare at Savannah while she smirked at him, Fox stood.“While it’s always amusing to watch the Carsons get into a war of words, I think it’s time for Cora to open her presents.”

He waved a hand to the corner of the room where the presents werestacked. I’d forgotten about them during dinner, still not convinced they were for me, but as I glanced over at them, a thrill of excitement coursed through me.

No one had ever bought me presents before.

I followed Fox over to the couch, sitting where he indicated me to,and Savannah and Nash followed, taking their seats on the other end of the couch.

Nash wrapped an arm around Savannah’s shoulders, and pulled herinto his side before giving her a kiss on the head, their disagreement about pineapple long forgotten.

“Open this one first, it’s from Nash and Sav,”Fox said, handing me abulky parcel.

I took it from him, the weight of it surprising me, and I almost droppedit. With all eyes watching me, I slowly unwrapped it, being careful not to rip the paper.

I didn’t know why I didn’t want the paper to tear, maybe because alittle voice in the back of my head kept telling methatthis was the only time I’d ever get presents, and I wanted to cherish every part of this moment .

When the paper came away, I turned the gift over in my hands. It wasa set of five different cookbooks, each one stuffed full with recipes from all over the world.

I couldn’t imagine the books were cheap. Gratitude coursed throughme at Savannah and Nash’s generosity, but I couldn’t find it in me to tell themthatI’d probably never be able to cook anything from the books.

Not because I didn’t want to, but because I wouldn’t be able to readthe recipes.

How could I tell these three people, who were not only being kind andthoughtful, but were clearly intelligent people,thatI could barely read a sentence?

Between kids picking on me at school, teachers not having the timeto sit down and help me, and my dad not always letting me go to classes, I’d never had the opportunity to learn to read. Or write, forthatmatter.

Mrs. Tucker had tried to help me, enoughthatI could understandbasic words, but complex recipes in cookbooks? No chance.Thatwas why I’d always opted to watch cooking programs, playing them over and over again until the ingredients and step-by-step instructions were seared into my brain.

“Thank you, these are incredible,”I said to Nash and Savannah as Iflicked through the pages, admiring the pictures of mouthwatering dishes.

I gave them the brightest smile I could muster which they bothreturned, thankfully oblivious to my inner turmoil.

“Open this one next,”Fox said eagerly. He was practically bouncingas he pushed a large box in front of my knees, evidently too heavy to lift.“I hope you like it. ”

Nervous anticipation zapped through me as I again started tocarefully peel the paper away, awarethatall three of them were watching me with bated breath.

“Oh my god,”I gasped as I pulled the last of the paper away beforefalling to my knees at the side of the box and gawking at the picture on the side of it.

A kitchen aid.

A very expensive kitchen aid, one I could only ever dream aboutowning. It was the perfect tool to make all the treats I wanted.

“Fox, I can’t accept this, it’s too much,”I whispered, tears welling inmy eyes as part of me wanted to take the words back as soon as they left my mouth.

I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the picture of the mixer and all theattachments it came with. For years, I’d go into department stores and gape at all the equipment I’d one day love to own, and now I was looking at a piecethatcould be mine.

“Baby girl,”Fox said, his voice low and demanding, dragging myattention away from the box. Whenever he called methat, I was helpless to ignore him.“I want you to have it, I bought it for you.”He reached out to cup my cheek, and I couldn’t help but nuzzle against his warm palm.“One day, you’ll learn nothing will ever be too much when it comes to you.”

My heart pounded against my ribcage as his words cascaded throughme like warm sunshine. Without conscious thought, my gaze drifteddown to his lips as a question turned over in my head.

What would it be like to feel his lips pressed against mine?

So much for keeping my wits about me.

Fox was turning me into putty in his hands.

Had.

He had turned me into putty in his hands.