“Fuck, this ass looks pretty all flushed pink like this.”

  I wiggle slightly, and he chuckles darkly as he does it again. I’m expecting a third strike, but instead, he thrusts into me. I’m surprised he’s still hard, or hard again when he just came, but there’s no doubt that he is thick and solid. Despite being a mess of cum, I clench at the invasion. Not because I don’t want Carter, but because I want to keep him inside me . . . always. Carter grips my ass, pulling my cheeks apart, and I feel vulnerably exposed. “You should see how well your pussy grips me. Pretty lips clinging to my glistening cock, sucking me back in every time I try to pull out.”

  He’s thrusting in and out of me slowly, as if he has all the time in the world to study what I look like impaled on him. I moan, arching my back to encourage him to go deeper. Take me, mark me, fuck me . . . claim me.

  He doesn’t take the hint but rather runs his thumb through my juices and spreads them up to my ass. He circles the tiny knot of nerves there, exploring my reaction. “Talk to me. Tell me what you want, what you don’t want. I know you know.”

  I do, but saying it is hard. Embarrassing, even, though it shouldn’t be. I haven’t tried anal play on my own, but right now . . . “Finger me . . . there.” It’s all I can manage, but it’s enough for Carter.

  “Breathe, baby. Relax and let me in.” He dips his thumb in gently, and I cry out. There’s pain mixed in this time, but it’s a good pain? It doesn’t make sense, but I don’t care. Carter keeps his steady pace of deep strokes in my pussy and shallow dips into my ass, and intuitively, I move my fingers to my clit again.

  It soothes the pain, turning it into a deep, pulsing pleasure, and in minutes, I’ve relaxed enough that we’re able to go harder, though I sense Carter is being careful with me, watching for signs that it’s too much. But not with his words . . .

  “Shit, Luna. We’ve got forever together, and one day, I’m gonna be the lucky man who fucks your sexy ass. I want to fill you every way you’ll let me.”

  It’s too much, and I scream in ecstasy. The neighbor bangs on the wall again, and I think they yell, but I’m too far gone to be sure.

  Carter puts two fingers in my mouth to keep me quiet, and I reflexively suck at them. It’s like he’s already filling me—in my pussy, in my ass, and in my mouth.

  And your heart.

  That’s what truly makes me come harder than I ever have before.

  Carter comes a moment later, and I moan around his fingers encouragingly as I feel the pulses deep inside me. He collapses, his chest pressed to my back as he pants heavily. I try to catch my breath too, but it’s hard with his weight partially holding me down.

  “Carter?”

  “Now can we talk about us?” he says. I can hear the smile in his voice.

  “There’s more to talk about?” I tease.

  He slips out, and I roll over so I can see him. Carter stretches out beside me, his head propped on one hand as his other fingers dance gently over my skin. “So much more to talk about, wife.”

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-NINE

  CARTER

  I’m sure about this. In some ways, I’m actually surprised at how sure I feel about this. I’m a planner, someone who plots out points of success and tackles life until I reach each benchmark. But here I am, throwing it all in on what amounts to an underdog bet.

  And underdog is not a position I’m accustomed to.

  Approaching the door, I hold Luna’s hand a little tighter, glad she’s here with me because there are going to be questions for us both.

  I ring the bell and clear my throat, ready to plead for my life. Or at least my professional one.

  “Sir?” Stanley’s greeting as he opens the door is less than friendly. In fact, with his expression, I’m ready for him to declare in a booming voice, UNLEASH THE HOUNDS!

  “Hi, Stanley, good to see you again. How are you?” I’m going all-in with the charm, but he’s giving me nothing, staying blank-faced and stone-still. “I was hoping Elena might be available to talk for a few minutes?”

  I smile graciously, assuming he’ll either say yes or at the least, go check with Elena.

  “Sorry, Mr. Harrington. I’ve been instructed that you are not to see Mrs. Cartwright under any circumstances.” His tone is flat, but there’s something in it that tells me he’s not sorry at all and really wishes I’d vanish from his employer’s doorstep.

  “Instructed? Who’d do that?” Luna asks, saying what I’m thinking.

  He cuts his eyes to Luna, vacantly acknowledging her for the first time, and shrugs nonchalantly.

  “Who told you that?” I repeat. But I already know. She told me as much when she came to see Dad and me. “Claire, right?”

  He sighs in exasperation, seeming annoyed that we’re asking. “Yes, Mrs. Reynolds. She’s ‘taking over some things here’, apparently. Seems to think Elena’s judgment is no longer fit.”

  “What? Elena’s sharp as a tack,” Luna argues.

  “You didn’t hear anything from me,” he says, pulling a zipper across his lip and throwing away the key. “You’d best be going. I’d hate for Mrs. Reynolds to hear about your visit.”

  It sounds like a threat, as if he’s the one who would do any tattle-tale telling to Claire, and then he shuts the door in our faces.

  “What the fuck?” I say quietly.

  Luna’s eyes are big and round behind her glasses. “Do you think Elena is okay? I mean, Claire’s a bit entitled, but this sounds more like . . .”

  “A money grab?” I suggest worriedly. If it is, I’m almost tempted to kick in the door and the consequences be damned. Funnily enough, this old lady means something to me.

  Luna presses her lips into a flat line, not liking the sound of that any more than I do.

  We step off the porch, looking around at the quiet property. Off to the right, I see another familiar face. “Come on, let’s ask Bernard.”

  “Hi, Bernard, how’re your roses doing?” I ask. He doesn’t even turn around, ignoring us completely. “Bernard? This is ridiculous. We just wanted to talk, see if you knew what’s up with Elena and Claire. You don’t have to be rude.”

  Completing trimming the bush he’s on, he turns and screeches, jumping a foot into the air when he sees us. “Oh, my good gravy!” he shouts, pulling earbuds from his ears. “You two liketa scared the tar outta me. Why’re you skulking about?”

  He’s angry and scolding us, but I chuckle at his word choice. “Sorry for the scare, didn’t realize you had on earbuds. And we’re not skulking. We’re looking for Elena.” I specifically don’t mention that Stanley said we weren’t welcome here. If Bernard doesn’t know, I won’t be the one to tell him.

  “She’s over in the greenhouse. Come on, I’ll show ya,” he grunts.

  Now that I know he didn’t hear me earlier, I repeat my question. “How’re your roses doing?”

  It’s the right thing to ask because the whole way to the greenhouse, he talks about soil content and nitrogen levels, sounding more like a mad scientist than a gardener, while Luna and I nod along agreeably. When he opens the door, I can hear Elena singing. “We were swingin’. Just a-swingin’.”

  There’s something about chocolate pie and fried chicken too, but I don’t know what song she’s singing. Hopefully, it’s about an actual swing and not some upside-down-pineapple, swapping type deal.

  “Ms. Elena! I found some trespassers out here. Whatcha want me to do with ’em?” Bernard says, his face impassive.

  “What?” Elena says, but then she turns. I watch her eyes tick left to me, right to Luna, down to our clasped hands, and then back up to our eyes. “Oh, this I’ve gotta hear. Get on in here and tell me everything.”

  She’s grinning widely, and her eyes are sparkling with delight as she waves us closer. Perching herself on the edge of a wooden stool, Elena looks like she’s more than pleased to see us. She’s wearing what probably amounts to her gardening clothes—polyester pants, a designer patterned shirt, and a sunhat. She pulls her dirt-covered gloves off, setting them on the edge of the pot she’s working in.

  “There’s not a lot to tell,” I try, but Elena chuckles and then Luna quietly joins in. “Okay, where do I start?”

  “How about where you got that shiner?” Bernard suggests. “And was it deserved?”

  It’s as good a place as any, so I tell them about Zack coming over and popping me for Luna’s honor. Luna frowns, seeming surprised by that news, and says she’ll talk to him, but I don’t need her to do that. Zack did exactly what I would’ve done, maybe less, if someone hurt my sister. Though Kayla and Luna are worlds apart in personality, and I’d be more scared that Kayla would hurt someone else than vice-versa.

  “Then, Claire showed up to Blue Lake Assets to talk with my father about ‘my behavior’,” I drone, using finger quotes. I know I didn’t react well, but running to my dad—and boss—is such a dick move on Claire’s part.

  Elena balks, her smile disappearing. “Excuse me, that girl did what now?”

  “She’s understandably concerned,” I reply, giving Claire the benefit of the doubt. “So she asked that we no longer contact you.”

  “Yet, here you are.” Elena gestures to Luna and me.

  “I don’t quit that easily. Plus, I don’t follow orders very well, I’m afraid.” I’m hoping that’s a positive in Elena’s estimation.

  She grins slyly and elbows Bernard, confessing, “I do like a streak of rebellion in a man.” He chuckles gruffly at her joking, sounding like an empty oil can, and I wonder how much of a rebel Thomas was. I think I would’ve really liked to know him, but learning about him through Elena is still a gift.

  “I hope that’s true because I have an idea . . .” I trail off, trying to entice her, but I’m not in sales mode. I’m going pure, unadulterated honesty and praying it’s enough.

  Elena claps her hands. “Let’s hear it.”

  I look deeply into Luna’s eyes as I speak to Elena. “First, we’d like to clarify the truth about us. At the minimum, you deserve that.” Luna smiles back at me, and I can feel our connection weaving and growing between us.

  Luna starts, telling Elena, “I’m sorry for my anxiety-driven info dump. I reached my limit because I don’t usually do things like this.”

  Elena and Bernard laugh. “We couldn’t tell,” they tease.

  The smile that Luna flashes is shy but grows in intensity, and I enjoy seeing the way she comes out of her shell as she gets comfortable with people. I think I’ll enjoy seeing it happen again and again for our whole lives. “Rude,” she jokes back, poorly feigning anger before looking at Bernard. “And you weren’t even there!”

  He frowns. “You think we weren’t all gossiping about your hissy fit after you left? Shoot, Stanley had the tea, Nelda made the tea, and I was hanging on every word as I drank every drop.” He makes a slurping sound.

  “Oh.” Luna startles uncomfortably, not sure what to say to that, but she manages to share the facts. “Carter and I did begin as art tutoring, and you could say it didn’t go well. He had the idea of bringing me along so I could speak to the art and he could focus on the finances. And then, it went haywire.”

  I continue the story, taking responsibility for my part. “I sprang the ‘wife’ thing on my family at the dinner, and my dad went ballistic afterward, ordering me to tell you the truth. I decided that rather than risk this opportunity by confessing, I would make the lie about our marriage true. Luna and I got married—for real—a few weeks ago. It was a tiny ceremony, and though it was with ulterior motives, I meant the vows I gave Luna.”

  Luna swats my shoulder. “You vowed to always put the toilet seat down and buy me flowers once a month!” Her laugh is high-pitched and happy with the quite reasonable promises.

  “And that I would support you in your artistic endeavors, making sure that you always have time to create,” I add. “And I do put the toilet seat down. I even got you one of those toilet nightlights so you could see if there are snakes in the bowl, despite living on the top floor of a building in the middle of the city.”

  Luna’s worries might not always make sense to me, but if I can allay them with a simple solution, I’ll do my best. Hell, even if it’s a complicated solution, I’ll still pull a rabbit out of a hat for her.

  “Ooh, I like that. That’s good,” Bernard tells Elena, nodding and pointing a bony finger at me.

  She shushes him. “Let them finish telling it. But remind me that I might want one of those light things too.”

  I smile, and when I explain further, I can feel that Elena is falling under my spell again. But this time, the spell is pure and genuine. “I love Luna. She’s spun some web, some magic spell, and I’m a hundred percent in love with her. That’s the gist of it. And she loves me.”

  Saying that aloud is powerful, giving this feeling a fresh sense of realness. I can’t help myself and bend down to kiss Luna gently. Though my eyes are closed, I can feel Elena and Bernard looking at us, and then Elena lets out a loud ‘woooo’ of encouragement that makes Luna laugh into the kiss.

  “Sorry,” Luna says, her hand covering her mouth.

  I lay my arm over her shoulders, pulling her to my side. “I’m not.”

  Luna blushes adorably but leans into me.

  “You two finally figured it out, then?” It’s more of a statement than a question, and then Elena delightedly adds, “It’s about damn time you pulled your heads out of your asses, because I’ve seen it since the beginning and was starting to think you were never going to get out of your own way.”

  “What?” I ask dumbly.

  “You two didn’t know each other from Adam when you came out here that first time. That much would’ve been obvious to a blind man, but even then, there was a spark.” She flicks her fingers, as if she ignited us herself. “I could see it between you.”

  “You knew?” Luna’s eyes are wide with shock behind her glasses. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  Elena smiles slyly. “Of course I knew. You can’t fool an old lady like me. I’ve seen damn near everything at least once in my life, so I was curious to see how it was going to play out. Look, I’m old. And forgive me, but excitement like this is rare. It keeps the world interesting enough that I want to stay around for a bit longer, maybe see a few more things.”

  I tilt my head. What she just said could come off as coldhearted. But I get it, and I certainly can’t be mad at Elena for letting us play out our own misguided scheme.

  “It took a little longer than I thought it would. You two are a little slow on the uptake about matters of the heart, but I didn’t want to spoil the moment for you.”

  “Spoil it for us?” I say flatly, as shocked as Luna.

  “Of course. If I’d told you I knew, it would’ve been game over. If I told you I saw something between you, you would’ve denied it and bounced off each other like pinballs. It could ruin everything. No, I kept my mouth shut and let you do your thing, and now here we are, just like I knew we’d be.” She hops from the stool and comes forward to wrap Luna and me in a simultaneous hug. She presses a grandma kiss to Luna’s cheek and then mine before letting us go. “Now what?”

  She sits back down, looking from me to Luna, and then leans over to Bernard and whispers, “I think this is gonna be the extra-good part.” To us, she twirls a hand. “Well, get on with it.”

  Her reaction to everything is encouraging, and I hope she feels the same way about this next bit. “Actually, something you said inspired me,” I tell Elena. She nods, murmuring that she says brilliant things all the time. I can’t argue with that. “You told me that people end up in places they don’t intend, and it’s up to them to decide if that’s where they want to be.”

  She slaps Bernard’s shoulder, pleased with herself. “I did say that.”

  “When you said it, I thought of Luna and how I didn’t intend to be married to her in the midst of this big pretend thing. I felt like you were telling me to decide where I wanted to be. But when I really thought about what you said, I realized I had the opposite issue. I ended up exactly where I always thought I’d be, only . . .” I swallow. This is hard to say, even though it’s true, because it’s big. A total redirection of my life. Luna leans into me, her shoulder touching mine in quiet support. But I’m ready, I’ve decided. “I’m not happy with it. I’m not happy with Blue Lake Assets, always feeling like I need to prove myself and coming up short.”

  A heavy weight lifts off my shoulders, and I feel like I can breathe for the first time. I’ve known that I would be a part of the Harrington legacy at Blue Lake since I was a boy. It was never a question for me or my family. It wasn’t until I began deep diving into the Cartwright portfolio that I considered doing something else. Being someone else.

  “What are you thinking about doing, then? Lemme guess . . . firefighter? Astronaut?”

  “No, nothing like that. I love what I do, just not where I do it. I want a more personal connection with the people I work with.”

  Bernard snickers. “More personal than family?”

  Before I speak it into existence, I search my heart once more for confirmation, but I know this is right. “With my clients. I’d like to be the personal finance manager for the Cartwright estate. Not as a part of Blue Lake Assets but as Carter Harrington. I’ve enjoyed examining what Mr. Oleana has done for you and figuring out ways to improve returns as you move forward. To be honest” —I grin at the intentional word choice— “your estate is large enough to warrant full-time, hands-on service, and I’d be honored to provide that.”

  I’m putting all my cards on the table, not holding back a thing, and hoping that Elena can respect that. Hell, I think I respect myself more than ever before, and that’s got to count for something.

  “Interesting,” Elena hums. “You and me, directing everything the way you were talking about with Pat?” She doesn’t seem to be asking me but rather repeating my proposal. “You think we could?”