Read Online Carter (Bourbon & Blood Book 3) by Seraphina Donavan - Free Book Online

bathroom, she saw that he’d moved from the couch to the bed. “I should go,” she said lamely. It wasn’t what she wanted. If she were to do what she wanted, she’d crawl into that bed with him, snuggle against his chest while he held her and rubbed her back until they both fell asleep. And of course, in the morning, they’d have more amazing, mind blowing sex.
    “You can stay,” he said.
    He didn’t tell her he wanted her to. He didn’t ask her to. Instead, he left it totally in her court. She wanted him to demand it, she realized. Some perverse part of her wanted him to be the one putting his pride on the line instead of hers.
    “We both have to work tomorrow,” she protested. “And if anyone saw me— yeah. That’s not a good idea.”
    Grabbing her discarded clothes in the living room, Josie dressed quickly. Her panties were a lost cause. Between the pair he’d stolen from her and the pair he’d destroyed, the man was playing hell on her lingerie budget. As Josie slipped her sneakers back on, he emerged from the bedroom wearing just a pair of jeans, only partially fastened. He wore nothing beneath them. Her eyes followed the line of hair that bisected his perfectly defined abs only to disappear behind denim that looked so damn good on him it made her want to cry.
    “I’ll see you this weekend,” he said. “At your house.”
    “That is not a good idea,” she said.
    “Relax. I’ve got it all worked out,” he offered with a wink.
    “That is the least reassuring thing I have ever heard anyone say.” Josie didn’t want him working things out. She wanted things like they were. Sneaking around like two grounded teenagers was working for her. Some inner kinky bitch that she’d never known about was actually kind of enjoying it.
    “Your privacy fence is falling apart. It won’t make it through the winter,” he explained. “Naturally, you’re not going to be out there fixing it yourself. Hiring a handyman, Josie, is your only option… and after I repair the fence, then we can discuss payment.”
    “Payment?” she asked. “Really? Now I’m supposed to pimp myself for home repair?”
    “It’s really good home repair,” he promised. “It’ll be mutually beneficial. In fact, I’ll guarantee that and the fence.”
    She felt herself caving. All of her protests collapsing under the weight of his wicked grin and the knowledge that he was absolutely right.
    “You do realize we’re crazy, right? That there’s no way whatever we’re doing is going to end well?” she asked.
    His expression grew shuttered, the teasing light leaving his eyes. For a moment, just for a split second, she thought maybe she’d hurt him. But then she dismissed the thought. She was a diversion for him, heretofore unconquered territory. Women were disposable to Carter, they always had been and always would. If she let herself think any differently, she’d wind up broken hearted for sure.
    “Why are you borrowing trouble, Josie?” he asked softly.
    “Just stating the obvious… you’ll get tired of me. Or I’ll get tired of you. The odds of us getting tired of each other at exactly the same time and walking away on good terms? Yeah, those are pretty damn slim.”
    He shook his head. “You can’t control everything, Josie.… I don’t know where this is going. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to spend every minute of the time we have together anticipating the end.”
    She had hurt him, she realized, stunned that she even possess the power to do so. At the very least she’d nicked his pride. “I don’t mean to be difficult… but I have to protect myself, Carter. I don’t want o get my heart broken.”
    “I’m not an asshole, Josie! I don’t make promises and then bail on them,” he said defensively. “I’ve never been anything but honest with any of the women I’ve dated.”
    She shook her head sadly. He didn’t understand, but then he wouldn’t. “For all that, for all the women that just fall at