The Biker's Fate Chapter 102

Cassidy

I was in the club kitchen wiping Maverick's face with a wet paper towel when I felt the temperature in the room change. I glanced up to find Carter walking toward me and my heart raced as he approached.

"Ow, Mom," Maverick whined.

"Oh, sorry, honey." I focused back on him and lifted his chin. "You're good to go play if you want."

He took off into the playroom and I made myself busy with washing dishes and loading the dishwashers. I hadn't been alone in the room, but within seconds I was...the rest of the women scurried out quickly and quietly.

"Cass," Carter said, and settled his hip against the counter next to me.

"Hmm-mm." I stepped to the side, not wanting to look at him.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?" I asked, scrubbing a plate a little harder than it needed.

"Shut me out." He laid his hand on top of mine and pushed the plate back in the sink. "Can we talk?"

Still not looking at him, I shook my head. "No."

"I guess I deserve that," he said.

"And a whole lot more," I mumbled. I noticed out of my peripheral that he crossed his arms which just made him appear even bigger than he was. Good lord, he must have put on a hundred pounds of muscle.

"Talked to Jaxon," he continued.

I paused in my scrubbing, a little taken aback by what he said. Had he not talked to Jaxon before? I set the plate in the dishwasher and went about scrubbing the next one.

"He filled me in on everything," Carter continued.

Scrub, load, scrub, load.

"He thinks it's all your fault."

"What?" I gasped and glared up at him. "He does?"

"No." Carter smiled. "I just wanted you to look at me."

"Jerk." I wrinkled my nose and stared back down at the sink.

Carter chuckled, and I don't really know what came over me, but the sprayer was right there, and he was also right there, and, well, he deserved it. A great sense of relief settled over me as he jumped away from the sink and let out a strangled expletive.

I smiled smugly and went back to the dishes. My mistake. I shouldn't have turned my back on the beast. Without warning, I was lifted and gently thrown over his shoulder, his hand landing with a smack on my bottom.

"Carter!" I squealed, only I couldn't quite get enough breath to say anymore.

I felt air move through my hair as he walked me across the common room and up the stairs. He put me down in front of a door and then unlocked and opened it, guiding me through. "We're gonna talk."

I crossed my arms and waited while he turned the light on and closed the door behind him. "I need to check on Maverick."

"Your son's fine, Cass. Payton will make sure."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because I just sent Hawk a text," he said, and dropped his phone on a nightstand next to a very large bed. He waved a hand toward the chairs at the end of the bed. "Have a seat, babe."

"I'm not your babe," I grumbled, but did sit down.

"Your family still call you 'Sassidy'?"

"What's that got do to with anything?" I snapped.

"Nothin', ba—I mean, Cass." He dragged the chair next to mine to settle in front of me, folding his humongous body into it and leaning forward. I studied my lap. Carter covered my hands with his and squeezed gently. "Hey."

I met his eyes and forced back tears. "What?"

He grimaced. "We have a lot to talk about."

I shrugged and dropped my head again.

"Look at me." When I did, he smiled gently. "I'm sorry, Cassidy."

Those three words broke me. Shattered me into a million pieces and I found myself pulled onto his lap and sheltered in his embrace while I sobbed into his chest.

"Shhh, baby, it's okay," he whispered.

"Why didn't you marry her?" I asked.

"Who?"

"The woman you emailed me about."

"What woman I emailed you about? I didn't email you about any woman."

I shoved myself off his lap with a frustrated growl. "Yes, you did! You said you met someone and it was serious."

"Cass, I never sent you a fuckin' email. There was never any other woman. It has always been you. I should have told you how I felt," he said sadly. "If I had, you would have waited."

I dragged my hands down my cheeks in an effort to dry them. "What do you mean, you should have told me?" I asked with a sniffle. "How long did you feel that way? Was it before... you know?"

"Yeah." Carter sighed. "Remember Shelly?"

"Your senior year girlfriend... the one you took to prom?"

He nodded, pulling me back onto his lap. "I shouldn't have taken her to prom."

"What?" I frowned. "Why not?"

"Because I should have taken you."

"Ohmigod, Carter, don't be a dork." I pushed at his shoulder. "You were totally into her."

"No, I was totally into sex and she gave it up... a lot."

"Ew, okay, I didn't really need to know that," I ground out.

"I thought I could deal with my feelings for you and still screw around. What I realized on prom night was that I loved you and there would never be anyone else."

I scrambled from his lap again. "What?"

He rose to his feet, but I held my hand out to keep some distance. He crossed his arms but didn't come any closer. "I had this misguided sense of something, I don't know what... bullshit really, that if I said out loud how I felt, I'd take your virginity before you were ready, and then I'd feel guilty because I knew I was leaving. I guess I just wanted you to have the freedom to get through high school without that weighing on you."

I shook my head. "You loved me back then?"

"Yeah, Cass. It's why Shelly was the last one... well, until..."

I blinked back tears again. "God! I am so sick of crying!"

"Sorry, babe."

"Still not your babe," I snapped. "Is that why you came over that night? You said Shelly had gotten sick and you drove her home."

"Kind of true... I broke up with her."

I gasped. "You dumped her on prom night?"

"Yeah." He had the good sense to look contrite.

"Wow, that's a dick move, Carter, especially for you."

"I thought you'd be happy!"

"You thought I'd be happy that you dumped a girl for me on prom night?" I asked. "A night that's supposed to be special, but not only did you break her heart, you then didn't feel the need to tell me you'd dumped a girl for me? Think about what you just said, buddy, and let me know if you still think I'd be happy."

"Fuck!"

"Shelly was nice!"

"But she wasn't you!" he snapped. "God damn it, Cassidy, why the fuck can't I win with you?"

"I didn't know this was a contest!"

He settled his hands on his head and scowled. "I think we need to take a minute."

"Why?" I challenged. "What is any of this supposed to accomplish?"

"I love you, you fuckin' nut!"

"You said you were moving on!"

"Never said I was moving on, Cassidy."

"You stopped all communication, Carter. If you loved me, you could have at least kept in touch. Let me know you were okay."

"And if you loved me, you wouldn't have fucked some French asshole and had his baby."

I hissed through my teeth, his barb a direct hit. "Well, you're right about that, I suppose."

"Oh, fuck, Cass," he rushed to say, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

He headed toward me again, but I shook my head. "I think... I think I need to go."

"No, don't. God, Cass, just hash it out with me. I can't lose you again."

"And I can't have my past sins constantly shoved in my face!" I swallowed. "Not by you. I won't survive it."