He glanced over at me and didn’t say a word. Several moments passed, and suddenly, he pulled off to the side of the expressway.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Before we go any further, I think we need to have a talk. I don’t feel like I’m stuck with you, so get that out of your head. I’m just frustrated. That’s all. It has nothing to do with you and I don’t want you to think that I don’t want you on this trip. I’ve been through a lot, Zoey, and now that I’ve lost my sister, it just makes life a hell of a lot worse. You were there for Nora and I appreciate it. It just makes me mad that this is what she wanted and chose not to discuss any of it with me before she died. I visit the cemetery every Sunday, and now she won’t be there for me to visit her.”
This was the first time since I’d met him that he opened up to me and I was grateful for it. I reached over and placed my hand on top of his. I didn’t care if he wanted me to do it or not, he needed comforting.
“Cemeteries are good places, Mr. Grayson, but you need to understand that your loved ones are around you at all times. It’s only their bodies that are underground and that’s why people think they need to visit cemeteries. They do it out of respect for their loved ones, but their spirits/souls are around you at all times. You can talk to Nora anytime you want and she’ll hear you.”
“I don’t believe in any of that. I’m sorry.” He removed his hand from under mine.
“It’s okay. I can’t make you believe anything you don’t want to. But Nora can hear you wherever you are.”
He took in a deep breath and pulled back onto the highway.
“Can you do me a favor and look up some hotels in Lake Tahoe?” he asked.
“Sure.” I gave him a small smile as I pulled out my phone and noticed I had a text message from Holly.
“Hey, how’s the road trip going?”
“Not good. He’s still the same old Carter Grayson. Mean, arrogant, and filled with anger. So far, I can’t seem to get through to him about anything.”
“You will eventually. Just hang in there.”
“Thanks, Holly.”
“Text me some pictures later when you get to Lake Tahoe.”
“I will.”
I pulled up local hotels around Lake Tahoe.
“Is there a specific hotel you’re looking for?” I asked him.
“Something that’s a five star.”
“There’s a Hyatt Regency Resort, Spa, and Casino that’s a five star.”
I read the description to him and he told me to call and book two rooms.
“They only have a one bedroom cottage available for tonight,” I spoke.
“Of course that’s all they have,” he spoke in a harsh tone. “Just hang up and call another hotel.”
I called the other three that were five-star hotels and all of them were fully booked.
“Now what do you want me to do?” I asked.
“I guess we have no choice. Dial the other hotel and hand me your phone,” he spoke in an irritated manner.
After reserving the only room available, he handed me my phone back.
“Is this the type of problem we’re going to run into this whole goddamn trip?” he angrily spoke.
“I think the best thing to do when we get to Lake Tahoe, is we should look up hotels for all the other places and book them tonight.”
“We’re going to have to. Especially in Hawaii. We’ll be lucky if we don’t have to sleep on the beach,” he spoke.
“Well, hopefully, it won’t come to that. But I’m not sure sleeping on a blanket in the sand with the roaring sound of the waves and the smell of the ocean would be so bad.” I softly smiled.
He looked over at me, and when he saw the smile on my face, the corners of his mouth slightly curved upwards.
****
Carter
The moment she placed her hand on mine, I felt like I was going to jump out of my skin. A bolt of—fuck if I knew—jolted through me. There was only one other time in my life when I ever felt that. I remembered the feeling and I remembered it was many years ago, but I couldn’t remember when or where. Sharing a one-bedroom cottage with her was going to be difficult. But it was only for one night, and as soon as we got to Lake Tahoe, I would immediately book other hotels we needed during the course of our trip.
“I need to pull off and get gas. You should try to use the restroom while we’re there,” I spoke.
“Good idea.” She smiled.
At the next exit, I got off and pulled into the first gas station I saw. I got out of the car and started to pump gas while Zoey went to the bathroom. As I stood there, holding the pump, I looked around, taking in the sight of the mountains. When I was finished, I couldn’t believe Zoey wasn’t back yet, so I went inside the station to look for her.
“Are you hungry?” I asked as I found her in the candy aisle.
“Just having a little sweet tooth at the moment.” She grinned.
“Pick out anything you want. It’s on me. In fact, I think I’ll grab a couple things myself.”
We both reached at the same time for the Snickers bar and our fingers lightly touched.
“You like Snickers?” I asked as I looked at her.
“I do. I guess you do too.”
“It’s one of my favorites.”
“Mine too.” She smiled.
I grabbed the candy bar from the box and handed it to her. She graciously accepted and picked up a box of Junior Mints.
“These used to be my mom’s—” She suddenly stopped and began to walk away.
A feeling sank inside me. She told me that she was abandoned as a baby on the stairs of a church. In fact, her father, John, told me the same thing. What the hell was going on?
“How could you possibly remember what your mom’s favorite candy was if you never knew your mother?” I asked.
She swallowed hard and walked up to the cash register.
“Zoey, answer me.”
“Sometimes I call my dad Scott ‘Mom.’ It was hard growing up with two fathers and no mother. Sometimes, the kids at school made fun of me.”
She was lying. I could feel it. But I was going to let it go for now. Soon enough I’d find out the truth.
“I see. I’m sure that was hard,” I spoke.
I pulled my wallet from my pocket and handed the cashier some cash.
“Are you ready?” I asked her as I grabbed the bag from the counter.
Chapter Twenty-One
Zoey
I let out a breath. He seemed to believe me. But there was one thing that Carter Grayson wasn’t, and that was stupid. I could trust him to tell him about my past, but he wasn’t ready to hear it, so it was best to keep my mouth shut, at least for now.
Carter pulled up to the valet at the Hyatt Regency Resort & Spa. A nice young gentleman wearing square-rimmed glasses took our bags from the car and set them on the ground. Grabbing mine, I headed through the double doors that were being held open by another nice young man with a genuine smile.
“Good day, Miss.” He tipped his hat.
“Good day.” I smiled.
Carter said hello and I followed him up to the reservations desk.
“How may I help you, sir?” The cute brunette behind the desk smiled brightly.
“Reservation for Carter Grayson.”
“I’ll just need your driver’s license and credit card.” She grinned. “I see you’ve rented our one-bedroom cottage.”
“Like I had a choice,” he spoke with a slight attitude. “It’s the only thing you had available.”
“I’m sorry about that, Mr. Grayson. It’s one of our busiest times of the year. But I can promise you that you’ll love it. Our cottages are so cozy and the view of the lake is amazing. Plus, you’re only a couple of steps away from the beach.”
“As nice as that sounds, it’s only a one-bedroom.”
The cute brunette looked over at me in confusion.
“We aren’t dating or anything. In fact, I do
n’t even think we’re friends, so he’s uncomfortable with the fact that there’s only one bed,” I spoke.
Carter glanced at me with furrowed brows.
“Oh,” the cute brunette spoke. “The couch is very comfortable.”
“Just give us the keys, please,” Carter spoke to her.
“Of course, Mr. Grayson. I’ll have Miguel, our bellhop, take your bags and show you the way. Your cottage is on the lower level, so it does feature a half bath as well.”
“Wow. It sounds better already,” he spoke in a sarcastic tone.
As soon as she handed him the keys, Carter walked away without as so much as a thank you.
“I’m so sorry,” I spoke to her. “His sister just passed away and he’s having a hard time.”
“I understand. I hope you enjoy your stay.”
“I know I will. Him, I’m not so sure.” I gave her a small smile and followed him and Miguel, the bellhop, to cottage number three.
As soon as we stepped inside the cottage, Miguel set our bags down and Carter handed him a tip.
“This is so cute.” I smiled as I looked around.
“If you say so,” Carter spoke in a rude manner. “Why did you say all that to the girl at the desk?”
“Because she needed to know why you were being so rude. It’s not her fault they only had this one-bedroom cottage available. In fact, you should be thankful that we even got this. Anyway, I will take the couch tonight.”
“No. I’ll take the couch. You can have the bed. What kind of man would I be making a woman sleep on the couch?”
The pain that radiated through my body as I bit down hard on my tongue jolted through me. Oh, the things I could have said to him. But I didn’t.
“You paid for the room, Carter. It’s only right I take the couch and you take the bed.”
“This discussion is over. Understand? I’m taking the couch.”
“Suit yourself.” I put my hands up. “Wow, look at this view.” I smiled as I walked over to the window.
Carter followed and stood next to me with his hands tucked into his pants pockets.
“It’s nice. I can see why Nora wanted some of her ashes scattered here. Are you hungry? We can head to dinner.”
“That sounds good.”
We went up to the Lone Eagle Grill where Carter ordered the filet and I ordered the roasted chicken. Before our food was even ready, he had already downed two scotches compared to my one glass of wine.
“They have a casino downstairs. How about we go check it out after dinner?”
“I would like that, but how about you call some hotels and make reservations.” I smirked.
“Shit. I didn’t do that yet, did I?” He pulled his phone from his pocket and began searching hotels. “We can stay inside the park at one of these horrific hotels or stay in Sedona at a nice hotel and then drive a hundred miles to the Grand Canyon.”
“That’s about an hour and a half,” I spoke.
“I really don’t want to drive another hour and a half, scatter her ashes, and then drive nineteen hours to Seattle. Fuck!”
“I’ll drive to the Grand Canyon,” I spoke.
He glanced up from his phone and shot me a look of disapproval. The waitress came over and set our plates down in front of us.
“Enjoy your dinner.” She smiled. “May I get you another drink, sir?”
“Yes, please,” Carter spoke.
“If we scatter Nora’s ashes here tomorrow morning around eight, we can be on the road by nine,” I spoke.
“What’s your point, Zoey?”
“By time we get to the Grand Canyon, it’ll be at least nine p.m. and we’ll both be exhausted, so we won’t have time to think about how crappy the hotel is because we’ll go right to bed.”
“Crappy hotels equal crappy, uncomfortable beds. If I’m driving twelve hours, then I want to make sure the bed is comfortable.”
“Okay. Then book a hotel in Sedona and stop complaining,” I spewed as I took a bite of my chicken.
“Fine. I will.” He glared at me.
“In fact, maybe we should just stay two nights.”
“What? Why the hell would we do that?” His brow arched.
“Because you’re already going to be tired from driving twelve hours, and then you’re going to drive another nineteen or even twenty the next day? I know that I’ll need a break from the car, at least for a day. I think if we’re stuck together in the car all that time, we’ll end up killing each other.” I smirked.
“No. We’re only staying one night.” He took a bite of his filet. “And as for the possibility of killing each other, we’ll make some stops along the way and give each other a break.”
“Okay. If you say so. But, it’s going to take us a lot longer to get to Seattle.”
After calling a few hotels with no luck, Carter finally was able to book a two-bedroom suite at the Enchantment Resort in Sedona.
“Thank God,” he sighed.
“I like the name.” I smiled. “It sounds like a fairytale place.”
“I’ll only consider it a fairytale place if the bed is comfortable. Which, for the price it’s costing me for one night, it better be.”
I gave him a small smile and finished my dinner. Before paying the bill, Carter had one more scotch.
“I think we should head back to the cottage,” he spoke. “Forget the casino.”
“Good idea. I’m exhausted anyway.”
When we got back to the cottage, Carter let me use the bathroom first to get ready for bed since the half bath light was burnt out. After changing into my nightshirt, I grabbed a blanket from the closet and a pillow and took it to the couch.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I’ve decided that I’m taking the couch and I don’t want to hear a word about it. You drove all day and we have a very long drive tomorrow. So I want you to get a good night’s sleep.”
“I don’t give a damn what you want, Zoey. I’m taking the couch. I thought we had an understanding.”
“You thought we had an understanding, Mr. Grayson. I’m taking the couch. End of discussion.”
He took a few steps closer to me and grabbed hold of the blanket in my hand. I pulled back and before I knew it, we were playing tug of war.
“I’m taking the couch, Zoey.” He pulled harder. “And don’t take that tone with me.”
“No, you’re not, and I will take any tone I please. From now on, I will treat you with the same respect you treat me!”
He stopped pulling the blanket and his eyes burned into mine. He reached over and softly brushed his thumb over my lips. Shivers ran down my spine and my lips started to tremble. I swallowed hard, for I knew what was to come next. He leaned in and lightly pressed his mouth to mine. Our lips intertwined, and suddenly, everything bad about him seemed to have disappeared. Our kiss deepened and our tongues danced in excitement. A subtle moan escaped him as his hands slightly pushed up my nightshirt and planted themselves firmly on my ass, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“I need sex, Zoey,” he whispered as he broke our kiss. “I need it desperately.”
“Okay,” I softly spoke.
“It means absolutely nothing. I need you to understand that.”
“I do.”
His mouth smashed into mine as he picked me up, carried me to the bedroom, and then set me down in front of the bed.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Carter
Seeing her in that red nightshirt with her hard nipples poking through the fabric sent me over the edge of sexual frustration. I needed to bury my cock inside her because I knew she could give me the stress relief and pleasure I needed.
I stood in front of her as my fingers gripped the bottom of her nightshirt and I slowly pulled it over her head. Instantly, my cock stood tall, rock hard in a matter of seconds. I didn’t even need to touch her. Her perfect petite body and beauty was all I needed. She stood in front of me, her hourglass figure, perfect perky breasts, toned abdomen,
and satin pink panties. I wrapped one hand around the nape of her neck as I softly kissed her lips, while my other hand went straight to her perfect C-cup breasts. A soft moan escaped her as I fondled her and took her hardened peaks between my fingers. Moving my hand down and around her waist, I gently lay her on the bed and let my tongue explore her neck. She tasted sweet and I couldn’t wait to see what she had to offer down below.
While my lips explored her neck, my hand traveled down her torso and down the front of her panties. She was unbelievably wet already and my cock was throbbing with anticipation. As soon as I dipped a finger inside her, her hands tangled through my hair as she moaned with pleasure. I explored her insides, finding her G-spot, which threw her into a rapid orgasm. I couldn’t wait any longer to taste what was waiting for me.
My tongue circled her breasts, paying attention to her hardened nipples as I took each one in my mouth. I took her arms and placed them over her head as I interlaced our fingers tightly together while I made my way down the rest of her body, until I reached her pussy. Letting go of her hands, I placed mine firmly on her hips. With my head between her legs, my mouth explored her. She gasped and moaned while her hands tangled through my hair. I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to bury myself deep inside her. Standing up, I stripped out of my clothes and rolled on a condom. Hovering over her, I slowly placed the head of my cock at her opening, and in one thrust, I was inside. Her pussy greeted me with pleasure and the warmth that enveloped me was incredible. I moved slowly at first with gentle strokes, just to make sure I didn’t hurt her. My mouth was clamped around hers and her legs were wrapped tightly around my waist. I picked up the pace and the sensual sounds coming from her heightened. Placing one hand on the headboard and gripping it tight, I thrust in and out of her as the intensity of both our orgasms grew.
“Fuck, you feel so good,” I moaned.
Her legs tightened around me as she came and a warmth washed over my cock. One more pump and I halted, straining and moaning as I released every last drop of come I had inside me. I let go of the headboard and collapsed on top of her. Our hearts were rapidly beating as our breath struggled to get back to normal. Her arms tightened around me as I lay there and panic began to set in.