Whiskey and Lace (Lace Series) by Adriane Leigh Read Free Book Online Page A

saying. 
    "You need to level with me, Carter. If I'm just some girl you dress up to look pretty on your arm, some girl you fuck, you need to let me go. I can't be that."
    "Eva, no." His eyes flashed with a look of shock and pain. "Is that how you think I treat you?" 
    I averted my eyes from his and clenched my teeth together, willing the tears not to fall from my eyes. 
    "That's not what this is. Not to me. You're.... I... No one matters before you. Just you and me." He put his hands on my shoulders and ducked his head to look me in the eye. He smoothed the hair off of my face tenderly and I locked eyes with him for a few beats. 
    "I don't like her," I whispered. 
    "Me either." Carter wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in for a tight hug.
    "All I could think about was you and her in your office, like we'd… and then I saw the picture of you together last night…" a sob escaped my throat. 
    "Christ." He ran a hand through his hair. "Last night was a last minute thing. When Aspen didn't happen… I thought going would distract me from you… I didn't want to see her, she was just there. When a photographer came over she used it to her advantage and posed. Right after they took the picture I walked away." 
    I slumped down on the couch, letting his words sink in. 
    "I'm sorry, Eva." He pulled me into his lap and rubbed my back. 
    "I missed you so much." A lump formed in the back of my throat and I was powerless to hold it in any longer. The tears gushed out of my eyes and I released all of the turmoil that had been simmering the past week. 
    "I don't think it's supposed to be this hard, Carter."
    "What do you mean?"
    "You and me. I've been so messed up. If it was right, I don't think it would be this hard." I tucked my head into his neck. 
    "No, Eva. No, I think it's this hard right now because it is right. I've never felt this way about anyone before. It was so easy before because I turned my feelings off, but with you, I can't. I've never met anyone like you. You're beautiful and smart and stubborn. I've never been so drawn to anyone in my life. It's hard because we're breaking down walls and once they're down, it will be so worth it." Carter held my face in his hands and swiped away my tears with the pads of his thumbs. I nodded my head and sniffed. 
    "Stay tonight, ok? Nothing physical, just you and me. I don't want to let you go, Eva." 
    I nodded again and Carter picked me up and carried me up the stairs and into his bedroom. I felt emotionally exhausted and curled up under the covers, wrapping my arms and legs around Carter's body. He slung an arm over me and traced tiny circles along my back through my shirt. He inhaled deeply into my hair and sighed. 
    "Don't leave again, Eva," he whispered softly. I sighed and fell into the best sleep I’d had in three nights.

Seven

    The alarm clock rang early the next morning and I dug my head further into the blankets, willing the shrilling noise to stop. And then it did and I realized that I’d slept at Carter's last night and his warm body was still next to mine. 
    "Wake up, sleepy." Carter rubbed up and down my arm. I groaned and tucked closer into him, not wanting to break the perfect, peaceful moment. I inhaled his freshwater scent and smiled. My fingers tickled along his lower abdomen and brushed along the hard planes of his stomach. 
    "Eva," he groaned. "As much as I would like to show you how excited I am to wake up with you in the morning, I’ve got to get to work."
    "What time is it?" My fingertips teased below the waistband of his pajama pants. 
    "7:30." His warm hand covered mine and dragged it back up his chest and away from where it had been headed. 
    "What?" I shrieked and jumped out of bed. "I’ve got to go." I ran into his bathroom. 
    "Eva, you work from home." Carter stood and watched me scramble around his bedroom looking for my shoes with a hint of amusement in his eyes. 
    "I’ve got a conference call at 8."
    "Do it from