My Broken Soldier (Love Conquers Life Book 2) (14 page)

Chapter 14

Carter

I’ve been lying here watching Patty sleep for about twenty minutes now. I love how peaceful she looks when she’s all snuggled up under my blankets. I’ve noticed she’s had a few nightmares since the break-in, so it’s nice to see her in a comfortable sleep. We have quite a few things to accomplish today, but I really want to start our morning right.

She’s wearing a nightshirt with a pair of panties, so this is a great opportunity for me to wake her my way. I slowly lift her shirt, careful not to disturb her. Then I slip my hand up to her breast, lightly pinching her nipple. It hardens in my hand, and she lets out a small moan in her sleep.

I want to laugh because she looks so damn cute. I wish I knew what she was dreaming about. She has a smile on her face, so it must be something good. I run the tips of my fingers down her belly, into her panties, and through her folds. She’s nice and wet for me. I start working her clit, and it makes her whimper as I continue to roll my fingers over it.

She giggles. I love that sound. She opens her eyes and says, “Well, good morning.”

“Good morning, baby. You’re a little wet for me.”

“I can’t imagine how I got that way.”

I smile as I press my lips to her neck while I work her with my fingers. I slip them inside her and fuck her hard with them.

“Carter, I want to feel you inside of me.”

“You will, baby, trust me.”

I dig my stiff cock into her hip to show her I’m ready. Her hips start to move, and I’ve come to learn it’s her telltale sign that she’s about to come, so I curl my fingers deep inside of her and it pushes her over. Her muscles tighten, and her body shakes as an orgasm takes over. I wish we could start every morning like this.

“Are you ready for number two?” I ask her. Panting, she nods her head. “Good. Now roll over and put that ass in the air for me.”

She does as I ask, and I slowly slip my cock all the way into her soaking wet pussy.

Grabbing hold of her hips, I start pumping my cock in and out of her. She’s moaning and asking for more, so I give it to her harder and deeper.

“Come on, baby,” I say. “I can’t hold on much longer.”

She starts to whimper as I continue my rhythm, hitting that special spot deep inside of her. I feel her pussy tighten around my cock, and it sends me over the edge. I shoot my load deep inside her as she milks me. I slip out of her, and we both flop down on the bed.

She laughs. “Well, that was a first.”

“Really? I’m glad I could provide you with your first sexual wake-up call.”

She laughs again. “It was definitely a nice way to wake up, but I have to say I thought I was a teenager having a wet dream at first.”

I burst out laughing. “I have no idea what that’s like,” I say sarcastically. “Are you ready to take a shower? I want to go to Jake’s for breakfast, and then we can drop off the tags and pick up the things we need for Thanksgiving dinner.”

“That sounds like a great idea. I haven’t been to Jake’s place since we first started talking.”

“I know. Let’s get going.”

We climb out of bed and hurry off to the bathroom. I start the shower while she grabs towels, and we both climb in. This is one thing I’m glad she enjoys as much as I do. We often shower together. I think I like it because it gives me a chance to put my hands all over her body even if we aren’t being sexual. I don’t even like to use her loofa anymore.

I go straight for her soap and lather it in my hands, then rub the soap all over her body. She says nothing as she stands there with her eyes closed, but I know she loves every minute of it because she has a lazy smile on her face. Once I’m done, I kiss her near her ear and whisper, “Rinse, baby.”

She spins in the water to remove all the soap, and I start washing my body while she washes her hair. When we’re both clean, she shuts off the water and we both quickly dry off so we can get dressed for breakfast. She sashays off to the bedroom to get clothes while I shave.

I peek out the door and get a glimpse of her naked body. It makes my cock twitch.
Down boy!
I shake my head and continue shaving. When I join her, she’s slipping on a pair of skinny jeans and a long sweater. My cock is still tenting behind my towel as I lean against the door and watch her get dressed.

“Are you done in the bathroom, honey?” she asks.

“Yeah, it’s all yours.”

On her way into the bathroom, she grabs my cock and says, “Don’t worry, we can play more later.”

As soon as we’re both ready, we leave, starved for breakfast. When we approach my car, she looks at me and says, “What’s that on my car?”

We walk over to find a dozen red roses on her car with a heart of chocolate neatly placed on the hood. Then, keyed in her car below the chocolate heart, are the words,

I love you.

“How did he find me here?” She mumbles, freezing in place. I look all around us to see if I can spot him as I call the police.

Within minutes, two officers arrive. They take pictures of the car and gather the evidence. They let us know that they’re going to update Officer Phillips on what happened today.

“He’ll see if he can track the flowers and get back to you,” the officer says to me. Patty’s standing in one spot, observing our conversation and what’s going on around her.

“Come on, honey. Let’s let the officers do their jobs while we go about our day.”

Placing her hand in mine, I guide her toward my Jeep so I can get her away from this.

“I hate that he found me here,” she says in barely a whisper as she stares out the window.

Suddenly, she gasps and snatches up her phone. In a few seconds, she yells into it, “Tell me you didn’t tell him where I was staying!”

I assume she’s talking to her mother since I hear a female’s voice on the other end. She can tell I’m trying to hear, so Patty puts her on speaker phone and continues yelling at her.

“He found me at Carter’s. He left me flowers and keyed my car!”

“Darling, I promise you, I didn’t tell him where you were staying. He’s changed since you started seeing Carter. It’s like he’s lost it.”

“What do you mean?”

“He always told me he was letting you cool off, and when he felt the time was right he would convince you to give him another chance. He wanted to start trying so you two would be together for Christmas. When Carter interfered at that event, he came to me and I told him you two were dating. He lost it. I think he snapped, and I swear I haven’t said anything more to him.”

“Mom, so help me god, if I find out you’re feeding him information, I will never speak to you again. He was out of my life for a good year now, and all of a sudden he wants me back and he’s freaking out over my boyfriend. What the hell?”

“He left me a message that he was pissed that Carter showed up at the lake house and he said I needed to call him to help him figure out how to fix this, but I haven’t called him.”

“Great, just great. Now I have to watch my back everywhere I go. I’m so mad at you right now. I have to go so I can try and enjoy the rest of my day with Carter. Unlike you, we occupy our time doing good things for kids in need.” She hangs up the phone and takes a deep breath as she tries to calm down.

We pull up to Jake’s, and she manages to get herself under control.

“Let’s focus on the good we’re doing today. I don’t want you to let her or him ruin our day, okay?”

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I’m tired of the two of them interfering in my life. It’s so frustrating.”

“I know, and I want you to know that I’ll do everything I can to keep him away from you. As long as you’re home, he can’t get to you because he can’t get past the doorman. If I have to, we’ll post someone outside my door. I want you to feel safe.”

“Thanks, Carter, but I don’t think we need to post someone outside the door. I think that’s going a bit far. I do appreciate the offer, though.”

I climb out of the car, walk over to her side, and open her door. As soon as she’s out, I give her a kiss and we make our way inside. The waitress who served us last time is there, and Patty sits in the same spot she always sits in.

“Hey, stranger,” the waitress says as we take our seats.

“We’ve been a bit busy, so we haven’t had much time to come in. As a matter of fact, it was Carter’s idea to come in today,” she says, showing me her beautiful smile.

“What a good man,” the waitress says. “Here are some menus, and I’ll be back with coffee.” She puts the menus down in front of us and walks away to get us a fresh pot.

“I don’t need the menu because I’m going to get my usual,” Patty says to me.

“Actually, I really liked that last time we were here too, so we’ll just order two. You will have to order, though, because I don’t remember how you ordered it.”

“Sure. Watch this,” she says with a wink.

The waitress comes over, fills our coffee, and gives us fresh creamers.

She looks at Patty, and all Patty says is, “Two of my usual, please.”

“You got it,” the waitress says. She walks away.

“What should we do after we drop off the tags at the two stores?” I ask her. I kind of want to do something fun and different, but I don’t have any ideas.

She shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know. Why? Do you have something special in mind?”

My smile grows as I get an idea.

“What?” she asks.

“Want to do something fun and different?”

“Sure, if you tell me what it is,” she says, sounding a bit nervous.

“Want to go bowling?”

“Like the big heavy balls and pins?”

“Is there a different type?” I say sarcastically.

“I’ve never bowled before.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. Think about it. The daughter of Sandra Fitzpatrick-Carmichael in a bowling alley wearing rented shoes,” she says. “My mother is way too snobby for that kind of stuff.”

“Fair enough. Are you game for trying it?” I ask, hoping she’ll say yes. I haven’t bowled in years, but maybe we can get some laughs out of it. Hopefully, it’ll get her mind off everything going on with Ben.

“Sure, why not?” she says with a huge smile. “We’ll practice, and then we can invite Bella and Derek to join us another night and we can beat them at that too.”

I laugh because she’s totally starting to become competitive, like Derek and I, and I think it’s awesome.

The waitress delivers our food, and we eat in a comfortable silence. A few minutes later, the waitress refills our coffee cups and leaves the bill, telling us to take our time. I ask her for a takeout container for Patty because she never finishes hers and she likes to take it home.

“Thank you,” Patty says to her when she returns with the container. She goes about packing up the rest of her breakfast. I clear my plate and pick up the bill so I can pay. I leave the waitress the cash with tip on the table and we’re off to our first store.

We arrive at the store and ask for the manager, who I’ve been in close contact with. He’s expecting me this morning.

He comes out and shakes my hand. “The tree is set up in the back room, so you can hang your tags.”

When he shows us to the tree, he promises it will be moved to the front of the store on Monday morning and he’ll keep us posted on how it’s going. We inform him of our plan to do some shopping on Black Friday and to take some pictures in front of the tree. He’s thrilled with the idea and tells us to make sure we let him know when we’re in the store.

Patty and I get to work hanging the tags on the tree. We’re finally satisfied with the way the tree looks, so we let the manager know that we’re all done and we’ll see him on Friday.

“That felt good,” Patty says as we walk back out to the Jeep.

“It does feel good, doesn’t it?” I ask her. We drive to the next store. “I like knowing what families we’re helping and that the kids are hopefully getting what they asked for.”

“I know. I do too. It broke my heart that some of these kids felt the need to ask for hats and gloves for Christmas. Those are the kids that I want to make sure they get what they asked for, plus a toy. If they are smart enough to ask for what they need, they deserve something they would want too.”

“Yeah, I agree. Kids who don’t struggle the way these kids do have no idea what it’s like.” I shake my head as I climb out of the Jeep to open her door so we can move on to the second store.

When we get into this one, the manager tells me the tree isn’t ready yet but to leave the tags with her and she’ll make sure they get hung on the tree. She promises me that the tree and tags will be up in time for Black Friday. We inform her of our Black Friday plan and, like the other manager, she’s thrilled and tells us she’ll see us then.

As we walk out of the store, I turn to Patty and say, “Are you ready for a little bowling?”