Road to Absolution by Piper Davenport Read Free Book Online

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 humongus 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.
    “I ruined
everything,” I cried.
    “No you didn’t.”
    “Yes I did. I
should have waited. I shouldn’t have been so weak.”
    “And I should
have told you how I felt.” He stroked my hair. “If I had, you would have
waited.”
    I sat up,
dragging 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. “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