Page 66 of Trusting You

18

Locke

When I return with Lily, Carter’s practically out the door again.

“Hey, how’d the picture hanging go?” I ask her. I’m still focused on Lily and getting her out of the stroller and onto the floor before she tangles herself permanently in the straps.

“Great,” she responds, and when she walks by me, I get a trail of her perfume.

It’s a gorgeous musk, a floral drift I can’t discern, but there’s a sweetness there, like vanilla. In short, it’s delicious, and I want to lick it off her.

I try to clear an itch in my throat instead.

“Okay, buddy pal, you’re free,” I say to Lily. She shrieks and crawls toward Carter, and that’s when I lay eyes on her.

She’s in red. That much, I register.

A red dress, with a deep-V down the center, showcasing the perfect curves of her breasts, with some gold sparkle she rubbed into her exposed cleavage.

That same glitter spreads down her thighs, her shins until she curves into black high heels that show off her calf muscles in a way that makes me want to bite between the lines.

Her shoulders are covered by her mermaid hair, messy with curls, and when she heaves it to one side with her hand, exposing her neck, it takes every logical fiber I possess not to stalk over and lay my claim on her.

Carter made her eyes golden just like the rest of her but painted her lips scarlet. I picture the stain of her lips on my chest and smearing her lipstick with my finger before I take her with my mouth.

Christ, I think instead. Christ, she’s everything.

“Uh…” I say. Out loud.

Carter’s mouth parts. “Is it too much? Astor texted that it was a cocktail place we were going to, so I thought—”

“Perfect,” I said, then recover enough to add, “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

She blushes under that fake sparkle and my dick twitches. Hard.

“You’re all set, then?” she asks, bringing my attention back to her. Not that it ever wavered. Lily’s in my periphery, but this girl, this woman, is quickly overriding every synapse.

“You bet,” I say, and I don’t think I’ve ever said you bet to anyone in my life—ever.

And will never again.

“Good.” She visibly relaxes, and for the first time, I’m noticing the trust she’s putting in me to take care of Lily by myself.

“She’ll be fine.” To add to my point, I pick up Lily and jiggle her, eliciting a laugh. “She and I…we’re on good terms.”

Carter smiles, and I want to tell her there’s no need to add any outward glitter because all the gold sunlight she needs is in that smile. “I can see that.”

She comes forward, and I have to resist encircling her with my free arm and bringing her against me. Carter kisses Lily’s chubby cheek, then laughs as she strokes the red imprint off with her thumb.

“I know I’m wearing lipstick, but I can’t resist her,” she says.

Join the fucking club.

“Have fun tonight,” I say. I want to bury my face in Carter’s hair, make it more of a whirlwind than it already is. “Astor can be intimidating. She doesn’t have many women friends.”

“Then she and I have more in common than I thought,” Carter responds, then freezes, as if she’d stated more than she expected.