Page 29 of Cursed Touch
Needing the connection, he kissed her forehead. “True. I meant this pull between us. We barely know each other, and I can’t seem to let you go.”
Vanessa nodded against his chest. “I know what you mean. Is this how it’s supposed to feel?”
“What?”
“Being soul mates or whatever?”
He squeezed her to him before shrugging. “I have no idea. Maybe?”
A moment of comfortable silence passed, and he wondered if she had fallen asleep until she murmured, “Your sister’s pretty badass.”
He grinned. “That she is. Brandy’s definitely the strongest one of the seven of us, but I guess that’s our family line. The women were all badasses. At least, that’s what we’ve gathered.”
“Everyone seems really nice,” she murmured.
“Except when they’re pains in the asses, getting in your business,” he said, thinking of Ethan.
She chuckled. “That’s Georgia.”
The sound vibrated against him, and he grinned. His chest ballooned at the noise, a calm filling him.
“She’s always all up in my business when she’s around… but I can’t imagine her any other way.”
Georgia had obviously never told Vanessa the truth about her family. He was surprised, considering the length of their friendship. Carter supposed it had more to do with keeping Vanessa safe than trusting her with a secret of that magnitude.
Carter cleared his throat. “You know you can’t talk to Georgia about anything you learned tonight… right?”
Chapter 15
Vanessa stiffened in his arms. “Georgia would never tell anyone,” she said, pushing away from him. She crossed her arms under her breasts, her sight going red at his words.
Carter scooted to the edge of the couch and placed his elbows to his knees. “I never said she’d say anything, but it doesn’t matter, Vanessa. Youcan’ttell her anything.”
She tossed her arms in the air and spun on her heels. “You don’t know her, Carter! I tell her everything and she’ll take it all to her grave!”
His head dropped, chin pressing to his chest. “You still can’t tell her…”
“Why the hell not? Give me one good reason!” she snapped. A part of her knew she was being unreasonable, but she did not appreciate being told what she could and could not say, especially to Georgia.
Carter’s hands moved roughly through his hair, his strands sticking up with the action. She wondered what he looked like after a night of screwing. Vanessa shook her head, forcing the thought out of her mind. Sex was the least of her concerns.
The little voice in her head countered.If he can make you forget your name with only his tongue and fingers, are you really going to take sex off the table?
“My family invited you here tonight because of who you are to me. They decided to tell you the truth to protect you. We are trying to keep you safe, and if you tell Georgia—or anyone else for that matter—it will putmy family… all the people I love, in danger!”
He pushed to his feet and walked away from her. His shoulders were rigid and rose with each heavy breath he took. Her instinct was to comfort him, but she could not allow it to happen.
Carter groaned and faced her. “I’m sorry, Vanessa, but it’s not your secret to tell.”
She was completely torn and confused. On one hand, she understood where he was coming from, but on the other, she hated being told what she could or could not say or do. It was not in her nature to bow down to anyone, let alone a man. It was why she had been single for a long stretch of time.
Walking around the couch, she felt his eyes on her.
“What are you doing?” he whispered as she dug inside her purse.
Once she found her phone, she unlocked it and pulled open the Uber app. “I’m calling for a ride,” she muttered and sighed once the area around her showed no signs of a possible ride.
“Please don’t go,” he said, standing closer this time.
