Higher (The University of Gatica #3) (2 page)

Carter reached the front door and had it open for her before she even made it to the first step of his condo. Music from the party around the corner reverberated through the air.

Jani slipped under his arm and into the hallway. A trail of dropped blood led to the kitchen. She swallowed back the urge to gag and tried to avert her eyes. There would be more in the kitchen. She tried not to picture it and plugged her nose in case she caught a whiff. It was highly unlikely, but she didn’t want to risk it just in case.

Carter followed right behind her, his hands on her hips. “What’s up?”

She crinkled her nose. “Not much of a blood fan.”

He scooped her up into his arms and easily carried her toward the living room. He held her so her head was cradled in between his neck and chest. She couldn’t see the kitchen as they passed it. “Is this better?”

She closed her eyes and inhaled his musky aftershave. “Much.” He was like a knight in shining armor carrying her over the dragon of destruction. Okay. Maybe not. More like a good looking guy trying to get laid. She giggled at the thought.

Carter gently set her down on the sectional sofa. “You want to chill here a minute and I’ll clean up the uh, mess?”

I’d rather be lying in your bed.
She scolded herself for sounding like such a wanton woman. She didn’t sleep around, she worked her ass off in track and, all of a sudden, tonight all she could think about was what it would feel like to run her hands all over his body, feel him inside of her.
Stop it!
Just because they had slept together before, it didn’t mean that she had to tonight. She was clearly physically attracted to Carter and kind of hoped they could hang out, more than just to mess around.

Sleeping with him tonight wouldn’t show that.
Then I need to slow down
.

“Nothing’s going to happen until you know it’s gone, is it?”

She took the moment to organize her chaotic, immodest thoughts. She shuddered and pretended to be grossed out. “I’m not really this wimpy. Only with blood.” She sat up and noticed her water bottle from earlier. She leaned over and grabbed it. “If you don’t mind, I’ll stay out of the way.” She chugged back some water, trying to quench the heat inside of her. “I’d offer to help, but I’ll end up making more mess to clean up.” She shrugged and grinned at him.

He made an “I’m-not-dealing-with-that” face and took a step back, his hands raised in mock protection. “I’m good. I’m pretty sure I can handle this on my own. You hang here and I’ll have it cleaned up in ten minutes.” He disappeared into the kitchen and appeared a moment later with a container of Lysol wipes and some spray and paper towels tucked under his arm. A pair of bright yellow rubber gloves hung over his shoulder. “I’ll start in the hallway.” He grinned and leaned down, brushing his lips against hers. He hovered just out of her reach.

She sighed as she stared at his lips. They were incredibly perfect. Lush without being big. Soft with just the right amount of roughness. A reddish-pink color that begged to be kissed. She licked her own and desperately wanted to taste his again.

Carter pulled back as she leaned in. “Guess I should get this cleaned up.”

Jani huffed and fell back against the couch. Carter chuckled and she knew he was laughing at her. She threw a pillow at him. “You’re a terrible tease, you know?”

He easily avoided the cushion. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

He dropped down to the hallway floor and Jani moved on the couch so she could watch him work. She wished he would take his shirt off. Could mentioning the bleach in the Lysol make him consider taking it off?

“Jani?”

“Yes?” she answered, craning her neck to see him.

He was on all fours, scrubbing a spot he had just sprayed. “How come we never hung out more last year?”

“What do you mean?” Her heartbeat seemed to echo in her ears. “We hung out a couple of times.”

He chuckled and paused in his scrubbing. “I didn’t mean
that
kind of hanging out. I meant, like actually spending time together. Like going to the movies or dinner or something.”

“Like a date?”

“Yeah.” He crawled to the next spot on the floor.

“You never asked me.”

His head popped up. “I didn’t?”

She shook her head.

“Then I was an idiot.”

She smiled, liking him more for admitting that. “It might have been because you were in season competing, and then the next time we
hung
out,” she said, using two fingers on each hand to emphasize the word, “was just before NCAA indoors for me. Then I had a training camp down in Alabama and right after, outdoor track season started. I guess things got kind of busy.”

“That didn’t stop me from thinking of you.”

Sigh.
Score a point for the swimmer. “You thought of me?” She knew she was smiling and couldn’t get her mouth to stop.

He moved to the next area to clean, almost disappearing into the kitchen, just his legs and half his back were visible.

Jani didn’t mind the view.

“I did,” he said, talking a bit louder so she could hear him. “I came by your place once too. Linda said you were out.” He stopped talking. His legs disappeared from her view and water began running. He appeared again, wiping his hands with a clean towel. Carter leaned against the wall that framed the corner of the kitchen and living room. “She also made it clear you weren’t interested.”

Jani stood and marched over to him. “She told you that?”

He nodded.

She shook her head emphatically. Some friend and teammate Linda had turned out to be. “I never said that! I figured you weren’t interested. In me!” She nearly laughed out loud at the irony. “I wasn’t going to go and chase after you if you weren’t into it.”

He stared at her, trying to figure everything out. “Well, ain’t that a bummer?” His blue eyes danced as they flitted back and forth at hers.

“Big time.” She stared back at him, a silly smile pasted on her face as well. Why were they acting so cheesy? And worse, why did she like it? She hated sappy stuff and she was pretty sure Carter wasn’t into it either.

“So, what do we do now?” Carter glanced down at her lips.

“Hmmm…” She ran her tongue over her lips and enjoyed watching him swallow hard. His Adam’s apple dropped down and then back up again. Even the muscles in his neck were strong. The chemistry between them felt about to boil over.

Carter crushed the distance between them in a heartbeat. His arms wrapped around her, drawing her body tight against his. His fingers sank into her dark hair as he brought his head down to kiss her.

Jani opened her mouth to allow his tongue access. She ran her hands up the sides of his long torso, enjoying the heat she could feel radiating off his hard toned abs, even his intercostal muscles were defined along his ribs. She moved her hands to slip them under his shirt.

Soft skin over powerful strength.

She tugged at his shirt, not realizing she had urged him to pull it off until he pulled his lips away from hers to get the material over his head. She gasped and tried to catch her breath, only to have it catch when she stared at his naked upper body.

Carter dropped his hands to his sides and let her stare.

She raked her eyes over his dark hair that hung slightly into his eyes. She had the urge to run her fingers over it and pull it back over his head the way he usually wore it. She held back, knowing if she touched him she wouldn’t get this chance again to look at him so openly. She watched his chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm over his insanely well-developed pecs and rib cage. She swore he had muscles inside his muscles. No one should have that many abdominal muscles. There had to be eight, no ten. She couldn’t be sure because his black jeans covered part of them. If she reached over and unbuckled them…

A heavy panting sound caught her attention. When she realized it was coming from her, she forced her lungs to inhale deeper, slower breaths.

Carter, apparently amused by the reaction his half-naked body had created in her, gave her a sexy grin. “Do you want to chill out on the couch? Watch a movie or something?”

She did not want to watch a film. Without saying a word, she entwined her fingers in his and sauntered to the couch. Using both hands, she pushed Carter down onto the sofa. He fell gracefully backward, grabbing Jani by the elbows so she landed on top of him.

Their lips locked and Jani hungrily devoured the taste of him. She moaned against his mouth as his hand reached under her shirt and pressed against her breasts. She sat up on his hips, rotating against the hardness growing under her. She moved his hands away and laid them over his head. Winking, she straightened again and slowly unbuttoned her top.

Carter’s eyes widened, but he didn’t move. She wore a black lacy bra with under padding. She didn’t care, it gave what little she had a push in the right direction. She slowly exposed a shoulder and let her sleeve slip before shifting to free her other arm.

She spread her hands over his chest. “I think we need to lay some ground rules.”

He grinned, apparently amused she was trying to set some boundaries while her hips said otherwise. “Do you want scrambled eggs?”

“Pardon?”

“Tomorrow. Morning. Do you like scrambled eggs?”

She chuckled. “Maybe.”

“In bed?”

“Breakfast in bed?”

He nodded once.

“I’m not having sex with you tonight.” She hated saying it, but it needed to be said.

Carter didn’t bat an eye. “I kind of figured. I’m cool with that. Doesn’t mean you can’t spend the night.” He stared at her intently, a sly, there-are-loads-of-things-we-can-do look on his face.

Man, he’s toxic.
“I’m sure we can figure something out.” She lay down on top of him, loving that their bodies fit together almost perfectly. “You seriously offering to make me breakfast?” No one had ever offered her that before. It seemed so… so… gentlemanly.

“Eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, the whole fancy feast.”

Fancy feast? Wasn’t that some kind of cat food? She didn’t say the thought out loud. “Hmmm…” She ran her hand down his chest, over the bumps of his rock hard abs and slipped the tips of her fingers inside his jeans. “I guess we’d better work up an appetite.” She heard Carter’s breath catch as she lightly scraped her nails against his hot skin and then undid his belt and jean button.

Dropping her head to his neck, she kissed him just behind his ear and ran her tongue down as her hand pressed against his erection. He groaned and reached for her. “Come here,” he growled, flipping the two of them over so he could lay on top of her. His mouth covered hers, demanding all of her attention.

Her hands came up to touch both sides of his face. Jani loved kissing. She felt it was very intimate. Kissing had a lot to do with chemistry, the emotions surrounding a kiss and the passion behind it. 

Carter knew how to kiss her.

Toxic.
The word popped into her head again. He was her drug of choice if she had any say to it. She didn’t want to sleep with him tonight because she didn’t want it to just be a one-off thing. She wanted to see him again, and again.

Their kiss deepened and grew in intensity. His hands were touching her everywhere and left her head spinning. She wanted to be closer to him. They were both shirtless and it didn’t feel close enough. If he asked, she was scared she wouldn’t be able to say no.

His hand slid up her thigh under her skirt and rubbed against the thin satin of her panties. His fingers played a perfect rhythm of teasing and tormenting. When his finger slipped inside her, she cried out in pleasure. It took less than a minute for her to climax. She clutched his strong shoulders letting her teeth bite into his skin as she shuddered and surrendered.

She kept her head buried against the side of his neck, embarrassed by how fast it had happened. That had never happened before.
Like some wanton woman
. If Carter noticed, he didn’t show it. His lips sought hers again as his hand trailed up and down her thigh. She let him kiss her and touch her. Soon her hands were reaching for him and tugging the zipper of his jeans down. He didn’t stop her. His body hesitated as he hovered over her when her fingers curled around his cock. Only a moment and then his tongue thrust deep into her mouth as she squeezed and found a rhythm that had his hips following what her hand directed.

She wanted to feel him inside of her, knowing he could probably bring her to climax again in one thrust. The thought made her rhythm quicken. She felt him stiffen and his breath come out in ragged gasps.

He pulled back and out of her reach. He held a single hand up, begging her not to touch him. She watched him, desire pleading her to force him on his back and find a way to satisfy both of them.

It took Carter a moment to compose himself.

Screw it.
Jani sat up and pushed him into a seated position. She leaned forward in the same motion and slid him into her mouth.

“Shit, Jani!” Carter gasped.

She took him by surprise and it was worth it.