Page 122 of Pink and Country

“Come for me, April. Come hard.”

I lifted my ass higher, deepening our connection, his balls hitting my clit every time he thrust into me, sending high voltage to my core.

I came undone under him. Carter slid outside of me, flipped me to my back, and pumped himself until his milk splashed all over my bare chest. Our lips met, and he kissed me hard. And soft. Hungrily. And with love. Taking everything from me. And giving me everything.

We ditched the condoms before our trip to New York when Carter showed me the test results he got after his breakup with Savannah Prince, and I confirmed I was clean and on birth control. All of him, raw, hot, and swollen inside me, equaled nothing I’d ever felt before.

With a tissue, Carter wiped me clean. He helped me up to my feet once the tremors subsided. His lips connected with my chest, where he’d just erased all traces of him.

“Babe, I’m gonna give the best show of my life. You, here, is all I’ve ever wanted.”

I grinned and got dressed. Minus the panties.

“I guess I’m not getting my panties back?” I asked with a tip of my brow.

“Forget it. They’re mine now.”

Carter picked another shirt from the rack on the back wall, put it on, and laced our fingers together as I followed him backstage.

From the side of the stage, I watched the man I loved giving the performance of his life.

When he sang my song, I almost liquified, each of his words vibrating deep inside me.

Savannah Prince stole this moment from me the other night. Nobody would take it from me tonight. Carter stared at me the whole time he sang the lyrics, shooting an arrow straight to my heart. The first time I heard my song, I thought I only inspired some lyrics. Now that I knew Carter loved me, for real, it changed the way I listened to his words.

Each line made my heart jump in my chest. I resisted the urge to run into his embrace. To kiss him on this stage in front of tens of thousands of people. I swallowed my emotions with teary eyes. Tears of elation.

Life had a funny way of placing people on your road.

After Travis’s death, I thought my heart had been ruined forever. Destroyed. Burned. Skinned alive. That nobody else could ever make it beat hard and fast. That grief condemned me to be single, and miserable, for the rest of my life. That I had used up my one chance at love. That nothing would ever compare to our love story. Epic and powerful. How could I have known that strong and earth-shattering love could hit twice?

Falling for Carter changed everything I thought I knew about love.

He came into my life when I least expected it.

How many times did I wish for a new beginning? Although I never suspected the universe had been listening to me all this time.

Carter strummed his guitar. My eyes never left him.

Goosebumps spread on my skin. Carter sang for no one else but me. In a sold-out stadium, he made me feel as if we were alone.

Mid-show, Carter roamed backstage to lock his lips to mine. He kissed me like he hadn’t had a chance in weeks. His shirt stuck to his skin, drenched in sweat. Mixed with his pine and cedarwood scent, it woke up my entire body. Again. My desire for him soared. Carter looked at me with a heat, and for a second, I thought my desire would drip all over the floor.

Claiming my mouth one last time, Carter ran back onstage, giving all he had to his screaming fans, leaving me panting on the sidelines.

Riley neared me. “You woke up something in him, April. You brought him back to life. I don’t know how, but you did it.” He squeezed my elbow and offered me a tight-lipped smile. A shot of happiness traveled straight through my heart. “I’ll forever be grateful.”

Did Carter know he brought me back to life too?

28

Carter

P eople clapped my back as I exited the stage. Someone ruffled my hair. Another bumped my fist.

“Nice show, Carter.”

“You rocked tonight.”