Lace and Sin (Sinners Series Book 1) (8 page)

“You say good one more time Bunny, I swear to god” he
chuckles.

“Bunny?” asks Carter with a small smirk.

“Old nickname” I simply answer, but Alek feels the
need to elaborate.

“She legally wanted to change her name to Bunny when
she was little, after Bugs Bunny” he chuckles to himself, and finally finishes
messing with his gear. He wipes his palms down his thighs and stands up, his
chair scraping along the wood floor in the process.

“Well, hand it over then” he says as he starts to walk
toward us, the laces on his black military style boots dragging along the floor
as he crosses the room. I look from him to Carter and finally pull out the USB
- I mean no harm, he already knows what I stole anyway.

Alek takes the USB and makes his way to his computer
room without a word. Are we supposed to follow?

Before I make up my mind, Carter gently twists his
fingers through mine and follows after Alek. When we round the corner and walk
into the room, Carter whistles in appreciation when he sees all the equipment.

“Is that the TK software?” he asks enthusiastically,
and I swear the look on Alek’s face is like a kid who’s just found his new best
friend.
Oh no, I’ve been replaced.

“Yeah, but the amended Alek version” he grins, “Can do
a whole lot more now than they say, probably not very legal though” Alek shrugs
like it’s nothing.

“Impressive” Carter chuckles, as I stand there shocked
at their little bonding interaction.

I try to pry my hand free from Carters grip, and when
I finally manage to make a huge deal about it and twist free, he quirks his
brown and smirks at me. His green eyes are faintly illuminated by the glow of
all the computer screens. He runs his hand across his stubbled jaw but keeps
grinning at my stubbornness.

“I … need a drink” I finally say and practically
scurry out of the room, before the confined space really gets to me. Why am I
making such a big deal about holding hands?

This is all too strange. I breathe out deeply as I
lean against the wall just outside the room, and rest my head back on the wall.
When has Alek ever been even remotely nice to anyone I’ve ever been with, if he
even ever got the chance to meet them that is. Carter obviously seems to have
this charm about him that even has Alek wrapped around his finger.

I hear Carter’s soft voice break the silence with a
question I’m guessing I’m not supposed to hear. They probably think I’m in the
kitchen, and not against the wall having a minor freak out just because he was
holding my hand.

“Has she always been this hard to get to know?”

“She’s…difficult. She’s had a hard time letting people
in easily, and she’s just a guarded person that’s all. Just don’t stop trying,
and I’m sure you’ll crack through her hard exterior sooner or later” Alek
chuckles.

Since when has Alek been on team Carter? He’s supposed
to scare them off, tell them all my grizzly tales, and make them run out of the
house like their life depends on it – not this.

“I mean I barely know her, but she’s making it kind of
hard to even get an ounce of anything out of her, you know what I mean?”

“You guys screwed yet?” Alek asks bluntly, and after a
few seconds silence he laughs, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

I quickly peek through the doorway and see Carter
awkwardly rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, “That’s kind of on her, I
tried to do the whole get to know you shit with her and she flat out told me it
wasn’t going to be like that.”

“Hey…if you’re still here after screwing her than
you’re already ahead of everyone else that’s tried, believe me. It’s usually a
onetime thing and then she disappears from your life.”

Oh my god I can’t believe this…Alek is making me sound
like a total slut!

“Not to say she gets around a lot” Alek says awkwardly
and laughs, back peddling from what he just said thankfully, “There’s just
literally never been anyone she’s brought home to meet me, let’s just leave it
at that before I say anything else to make her sound worse than she is.”

They both chuckle and then it’s quiet as Alek clicks
and types away at his computer. I silently tip toe down towards the kitchen,
and then kick my shoes off once I’m there.

“You guys want some Grey Goose?” I yell to them from
the kitchen, as I grab some clean glasses from the rack and put them down on
the counter a little too roughly. Then I squat down and rummage around in the
pull out freezer for some ice and vodka.

I hear a laugh, and then Alek ask “What’s funny?”

“Of course she drinks Vodka” is Carters soft reply.

“Yep, we’ll have some” Alek yells back to me as he
laughs.

I shake my head and chuck in some ice cubes and pour
them both a drink, leaving them on the kitchen counter for them. I grab my
glass and wander down to my room to put my gun away. I twist the lock on my
safe and pull the door open, then slide my gun out of my front pocket and put
it away.

Just as I shut the safe door, I notice Carter walk
over and lean against my door frame, so I stand up from my crouching position
and lean against the opposite wall with my drink in my hand. We stand there
looking at each other, saying nothing at all until finally he lifts his drink
to his lips and says “na zdrowie” in salute, and gulps down his entire drink in
one swig.

“Zdrowie” I say in return, and do exactly the same
thing, grinning at him as his eyes widen slightly. He licks his lips, and in
that moment I kind of find myself wanting more from him. Without a moment’s
hesitation I drop my empty glass on the floor, which is luckily carpet, and
practically jump on him.

He doesn’t miss the lustful look on my face, and he
doesn’t even falter as he grabs hold of my legs as I wrap them around his
waist. He takes a step forward and turns as he presses my back against the
wall, his lips crashing down on mine. Our tongues tangling together, tasting,
licking, as one of his hands skims the exposed skin on my stomach, while the
other slides under my butt to hold me up better. He holds my weight easily, as
if I weigh nothing more than a feather, and for once it makes me feel almost
fragile. Being around 5’8 in height I always seem to be eye level if not taller
than most girls, and sometimes I envied most of them for being the cute, short
girl, for being that vulnerable petite type of girl.

His fingers gently slide against my skin as he moves
his hand further up under my jumper, and finally reaches my breast, his arm
managing to hold the jumper out of the way.
 
He pulls my bra down and his lips make their way down my neck, my
collarbone, and then finally reach my nipple. His lips are cold from the icy
drink, and I find the cool sensation overly stimulating against my skin. He
flicks my nipple with his tongue and finally puts his mouth over it, toying
with it, and biting down a little with his teeth.

I swear I see stars just from that alone and throw my
head back with a soft groan, my head hitting the wall behind me with a quiet
thud.

My hands are all over the place trying to touch every
part of him, holding on to him like a life line. Wrapped around his neck then
sliding down across the firm expanse of his back. I try to reach for the bottom
of his sweater to pull it up, but his hand moves away from my breast and stop
my hand from going further. He pins my hand up above my head and drops his hold
on me to grab my other hand.
 

I slide down his body slowly, feeling every delicious
part of him along the way, and my feet finally touch the soft carpet. I realise
that we’re in my bedroom with the door wide open, and I can’t figure out what
it is about him that pulls me in so much, what is it that I’m drawn to like a
moth to a flame.

He presses himself closer against me, making me feel
how hard he is as he groans a little against the skin on my neck, his face just
inches from mine. I can feel his heavy breaths against my neck, which instantly
sends a chill down my spine.

“Let me touch you” I say softly, my hands still in his
firm grasp above my head. I twist my hands, but his grip tightens around my
wrists.

“Let me in” he replies in answer, leaving me
momentarily confused and quiet as he presses soft kisses along the base of my
neck.

“Let you in where, Carter?”

He doesn’t answer verbally, but instead runs his free
hand along my side and then taps my temple lightly with his finger, then slides
it lower and taps the spot directly over my heart.

Oh. I close my eyes briefly and shake my head. I never
pictured him as the guy to want more from a girl, I would’ve imagined someone
like him to fuck, leave, and never call again. I guess I’ve been really bad at
judging someone.

He loosens his grip and slides his hand down my arm,
then softly presses his forehead against mine. We stand like that for a moment,
before he leans down and presses his lips to mine in a soft sweet kiss once,
twice, and then he steps away from me.

I’m standing there half panting, wanting him all over
me, and the other half wanting to push him out of my room and out of my house,
to save both of us the stupid heartbreak that always accompanies any kind of
relationship. Okay it’s more like seventy – thirty, but either way I do nothing
but watch as he adjusts himself in his jeans, gives me a soft smile, and then
walks out of my room.

Chapter 9

Carter

I don’t know how to explain to anyone the way I’m
acting right now other than I want her, no…
need
her to want to let me in. To open up to me and tell me shit that I’m pretty
sure I’ve already figured out. I need her to trust me, to know deep down I’m
not going to hurt her like it seems she’s thinking.

Whatever the fuck Mikhalov has done in the past to her
has clearly messed with her fucking ability to trust people, to let them in and
love her. I mean, I’m not saying I love her, which would be insane considering
how short of a time I’ve known her. What I am saying, is that she’s so closed
off to feeling anything other than hatred that she doesn’t even expect a little
bit of sweetness from a guy, even if we are just according to her, ‘fucking’.

I may be an asshole to other chicks, but there’s
something about Kayla that has me wanting to try this whole hearts and flowers
kind of bullshit she so desperately wants to avoid. I can’t figure out whether
it’s because she seems to love any kind of defiance, or whether it’s because
there actually is a decent guy in me that I never realised I could be - a
decent kind of human being.

I head outside and tell her I’m just going out for a
smoke, while she sits in front of the TV with Alek. I’m yet to figure out how
he fits in with her life, but clearly they’re not screwing though.

I light up another cigarette, which I leave hanging
between my lips, as I fish out my phone from my pocket. I look up the number
and hit dial, waiting for Jimmy to pick up.

I pace back and forth in front of Kayla’s front door,
peaking in through the window every once in a while to make sure they’re both
still on the couch, and out of ear shot.

“Fuck mate, that’s like fate or some such bullshit”
Jimmy says into the phone after I tell him of my little break in tonight with
Kayla, his British accent much more noticeable when he swears.

“Yeah, not fucking helping man” I say and take another
puff, blowing out the smoke between my almost frozen lips. Fuck, it sure is
cold tonight.

“Well, in my opinion it doesn’t change a thing. If
anything…it helps a whole lot, right?”

“How does it help, Jimmy? She’s just going to get
herself fucking hurt” I say.

“Aww, has Carter got a soft spot for the lass?” he
jokes.

“I guess I fucking do don’t I. Do me a favour and get
some info for me will you?”

“Sure thing, Carter” he replies and hangs up.

I finish off my cigarette and flick it away, then pop
a mint into my mouth as I walk back into the living room, feeling slightly more
concerned for her than I should be. I mean I barely know her, is it just this
connection of similar pasts that has me feeling this weird mushy shit for her,
or am I just getting sappy as I get older?