Chapter 6
1000 Words
“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” the man whispered almost instantly, yet Carmen thought the words were spoken with so much grace and patience.
There was something about him—something incredibly alluring that she found hard to resist when he offered to buy her a drink and made her laugh more than she had in a month. She wouldn’t go so far as to say he was witty or flirtatious, but he had the sophistication of a gentleman, and that was enough for Carmen. If Ronin had been even a tenth of this man...
Carmen shook her head. No. This was so wrong. She couldn’t compare the two men. They had nothing in common. Nothing.
“But I did ruin the mood, didn’t I?” She laughed nervously, wanting to scratch the back of her head but resisting the urge. Instead, she bit her lip and pushed herself off his strong thighs, landing next to him. “I understand if this is over. I’ll leave you alone.”
Carmen saw no reason to stay, there was simply none. Truth be told, she had even forgotten how he looked. It might be the booze in her system or simply her resolve to get through the night, that she hadn’t paid much attention to all those things that once used to matter so much to her.
Deep down, she knew a huge pity party was in order after this dreadful encounter. But right now, she couldn’t care less. She just wanted to leave the hell out of this car and breathe in some fresh air. It felt like years had passed since she had felt a cool night wind on her cheeks.
Ready to push the door open, Carmen moved away from him when she felt something curl around her forearm.
“No. Stay.” The man said, sounding a little less patient than he did a while ago.
Carmen studied his hand on her arm before turning her gaze to where he sat, which was nothing more than a silhouette of a man in absolute darkness.
“Why?” She asked, confused.
“We have the whole night to figure it out, don’t we?”
Carmen paused for a moment to reflect. “I don’t want your pity.”
“I’m many things, Ms Price, but I’m not into sleeping with women just because I feel awful for them.”
Just the way he oh so casually suggested sleeping—as in having s*x—Carmen felt herself growing hot all over again. He seemed like a decent man for her first time, or at least her drunk mind was convinced that he was. Ronin was happy with Jenna. He didn’t think twice before bringing his lover home at the time she was home and still together. He always did what he wanted. Then, why couldn’t she? She would show him that she didn’t need him. She didn’t need him at all.
“Are you in?” The man asked again as if trying to gauge her willingness to take him up on his offer. “I won’t stop you if you decide to go right now. No pressure.”
Carmen merely gave his proposition five seconds of consideration before withdrawing her hand from the door and sitting back.
“I’m in.” She said to him, bracing herself for whatever he had up his sleeve. Hopefully, he won’t turn out to be a lunatic or a deadly criminal. That was bound to dampen the whole mood.
The man exhaled deeply and pulled out his phone, putting it to his ear. “Let’s head home.”
“Home?” Carmen murmured, unsure whether she had heard him right.
The man put down his phone and returned his attention to Carmen. For the third time, she felt his eyes warming her up.
“I wouldn’t mind checking us into some hotel or any other place, but I have reasons not to spend the night out. I hope that’s all right with you. If not, then just give me your address, and I’ll drop you—”
“No. It’s fine. Home is fine.” The home was hopefully safer, too. Hopefully.
The man gave her a nod, never taking his eyes away from her.
Carmen felt the need to slide back into his lap. It felt nice to be there. Her chest pushed against his, her fingers dancing through the silk that was his hair—she couldn’t wait to do it all over again. And this time, without having to pause for any unpleasant revelations.
When the door to the driver’s seat opened, and another unknown man got inside, Carmen recognized him as the chauffeur.
“Can we hold hands?” Carmen blurted out, looking at his large hand lying on his lap. She couldn’t even tell why she asked him such a silly thing — one-night stand didn’t do holding hands, did it? — but the words were out of her mouth before she could help it.
Her acts were officially far ahead of the common need to comprehend them.
But the man only chuckled. The deep sound he emitted only added to his allure.
“Of course,” he replied as he slid her hand into his, and Carmen marvelled at how little her hand appeared in front of his.
The enormity of his palm nearly swallowed her hand.
With a gentle brush of his lips on her knuckle, he whispered. “You’re an interesting woman, Ms Price. Very interesting.”
* * *
The next morning, when Carmen woke up, she was startled to see a small girl no more than five years old staring at her, deep wonder swirling in her lovely green eyes.
“Aunt Will?” the little girl whispered over her shoulder, ignoring the fact that Carmen was only faintly awake and right there. “I think the spell worked.” She grinned excitedly. “I now have mommy too.”
- Writer
