Her CEO Stalker and Her Second Chance Mate Chapter 49

Briar

Carter helped me unload my groceries as I organized them into cupboards. We didn't say much. There was a relief of not being at odds anymore, but not talking about it directly was also a strain between us. He seemed hyper-aware of my movements, and I felt his eyes on me, studying me every time my back was turned. When it wasn’t, he was checking the locks on my windows, or shoving an old broomstick into the track of the sliding glass door. I suppose I was eyeing him just as much. I got into cleaning the kitchen counters when he came up behind me and grabbed my hips.

“The counter is fine, Briar, come here,” he said, and I turned to face him, concern laced his features. “How about you take the brace off and relax for a while, you're exhausted, and you need to rest, we should talk anyway.”

“Talk about what?” 

“Lots of things, go get comfortable,” he wandered into the living room and flipped on Uncle Jake's old radio. Nirvana wafted through the house, and I smiled as he looked up. He rolled his eyes. “I guess Jake's taste of music rubbed off on you,” he called down the hall as I disappeared. 

“Nirvana is legendary,” I hollered back, as I pulled off my hat and shirt in the bathroom. I pulled the velcro to release the brace, my skin rejoiced at the feel of the air hitting it while my ribs protested at the lack of support, a hiss escaped my lips before I could stop it.

“Briar?” Carter's voice called, his trajectory changed, his footsteps coming down the hall.

“I’m fine!” I insisted, shifting out of my shorts and fishnets. His footsteps paused. Was I that loud? I thought, as I glanced around for something else to throw on. I grabbed a cropped tee I had hanging on the towel rack, throwing it on as quickly as my aching body allowed.

He knocked at the door. Shit.

“I’m fine!” I said again, looking around for something else to put on.

“I don’t believe you.”

I guess I was going out like this. I opened the door and found him hovering there.

“I left most of my new stuff at your house,” I said before looking up at him. His blue eyes surveyed my green ones before he looked down.

“I’ve seen you in less, what’s the problem?”

His words reminding me of the feel of his fingers across my skin as he surveyed the worst of the damage inflicted by Creedon.

“I suppose you’re right, I just don’t want to give you the wrong idea,” 

He brushed the hair out of my face and my body yielded, leaning into it without my permission.

“How are the ribs?” he asked, looking into my eyes, and I found I couldn’t look away, I couldn’t lie. Something told me he’d know. My hesitation was enough of an answer.

“Come in here let me get a better look,” he said, his hand sliding down my arm and catching my hand. I followed him to the living room, where he guided me to the rumpled couch I’d been sleeping on. He sat and pulled me to him. I lifted my shirt on the damaged side so he could view. I hadn’t looked at it, not wanting the reminder; the pain was enough. 

He pulled me close, his bare hands sent goosebumps over my exposed thighs as he settled me to stand between his legs. His fingertips followed a similar path they had before, and I felt my core ache; something bloomed in my chest, but I was startled by the feel of his lips against my rib cage. I went rigid as his forehead leaned into my sternum, and he gathered me close. His breathing rasped for several moments before I found myself gathered gently up and deposited across his lap. 

He looked down at me, his eyes a silver and indigo storm of emotion. I had no words. I wasn’t afraid of Carter; in all honesty, I felt safest with him. Maybe that was stupid of me, however, I was anxious about what his gestures implied. My voice was mute in my throat as the long intense moment passed. I couldn't be stupid again, I told myself, as he bent his forehead to mine and breathed in deeply. The bloom in my chest returned. Carter pulled back, his eyes closed, and that bloom disappeared. He shook his head.

“I'm sorry,” he said gruffly, pulling back.

“Sorry for what?” I asked, completely confused about the entire interaction, my responses included.

“I just can’t bear what he did to you,” he sounded broken.

“I’m here and I’m alive. I will survive what he did to me,” I promised, more for his sake than my own. I wasn’t sure I would be able to live up to that promise, but if that’s what Carter needed to hear, I’d let him think it, and I’d do my damnedest to comply . His stormy eyes looked down into mine. Searching for my resolve. If I couldn’t do it for me, I’d do it for him. I decided. Whatever he saw must have been enough. “Tell me everything, I need to know who we are dealing with, don’t sugar coat anything.”

So I did, from my first meeting with Creedon, to his unsolicited attention, my promotion, and finding out how dirty he was in the business world. I explained all the details of the deals I had made with a company that would steer him in the right direction, to the words exchanged, while I stood in the hall. He flinched before asking me to go on. I explained, in detail, how I rejected Creedon in front of the entire board, how he had reacted, and the last moments I remembered; how his eyes had gone wide, then wild, and how I felt like my anger was a thing ready to burst out of me, before I found myself in the bed of repulsion. Through it all, he stroked my hair, his jaw tightening at the worst of the things I had endured. He listened quietly, intently, and he didn’t interrupt, and I found his presence helped the words flow out more easily. I had gone quiet as my mind churned through the memories that took place in that bed. The ones I wasn’t ready to tell, to say it out loud. 

Rosie scratched at the door before he could press me to go on, saving the next chapter for a new day, I hoped.