Soft Place to Fall (Navy Book 4)

Chapter 16

Carmen looked at her reflection in the mirror before her one last time. Her dress was a peach sequined sheath that molded itself to her body and fell to the floor with a high slit up one side that gave the occasional glimpse of her leg as she walked. She had taken her hair and piled it high on her head and the style emphasized her long neck and high cheek bones.

She checked the clasp on her faux diamond necklace, which exactly mimicked the deep v in the neck line of the dress, and her matching earrings before reaching behind her and grabbing her small clutch purse. She was as good as she was going to get. Taking a deep breath, she nodded to herself, she could do this as long as Will held up his end of the bargain and kept her safe.

They had hung around the apartment the previous night, not saying much to each other, using the television to drown out the heavy silence, but he had left early that morning and she hadn't seen him since. All he had told her before he left was that he would be back to pick her up and that she needed to stay in his apartment with the door locked.

She opened the bedroom door, schooling her face as she moved down the short hallway. Expecting that she was going to have to wait for Will, she was shocked when she found him standing behind the breakfast bar in the kitchen looking at his phone.

He looked spectacular, he was wearing a tux and it looked like it was a second skin, as if he had been wearing them his entire life. He must have sensed her stare because he looked up from his phone. When his eyes met hers, she was lost. It had been an entire day since she had seen him and it felt like it had been so much longer. It shocked her to realize that she had missed him.

Will let his eyes drop from her face to her dress, taking his time to appreciate her appearance, and he wasn't shy about letting her see that he did appreciate it. He seemed to focus on the deep v of her neckline a moment longer than necessary.

"I like your necklace," he grinned as he pocketed his phone.

"I'm sure you do," Carmen said dryly as she watched him come out from behind the breakfast bar to join her. He cleaned up nicely.

"The car is here, are you ready?"

Carmen nodded, doing her best to keep her deep stabilizing breath as subtle as possible.

"Tell me what generally happens at these things, what can I expect?"

They were making their way out of the apartment and towards the elevator. Will seemed unbelievably relaxed, as if he was used to doing this sort of thing all of the time.

"You can expect a very dry chicken dinner and some boring speeches, with a recap of past year's campaigns and a description of this years. It will all take about two hours, but there is dancing afterwards so some people stay longer."

"So, it's your normal black-tie banquet." He nodded as the elevator hit the ground floor and he led her towards the main exit, smiling to the door man as he passed.

"Been to many of them, have you?"

"My fair share." He held open the car door for her, waving the driver away as he did so. He dipped into the car behind her and it felt as if he had sucked up all of the space. She also noticed that he smelled wonderful, like something citrus and masculine all at the same time.

"You smell almost as good as you look Honey," Will whispered into her ear as he reached over and fastened her seat-belt. Normally she didn't wear one, and the action caught her off guard, at least she told herself that was what it was. It couldn't be Will's closeness.

It had taken every ounce of her willpower to break away from him yesterday. It would be too easy to depend on him for comfort. As soon as she had pulled away she had wished she could go right back to him, and what made it harder was she knew he wouldn't have refused her.

She had spent most of the previous night and that day trying to reconcile herself to all of Will's lies. She supposed he was just following orders but it was still hard to accept. She had come to the conclusion that he was beginning to mean too much to her, and that was what was making it hard for her to forgive him. If he didn't matter that much then she wouldn't care that much.

Carmen watched the scenery of the city pass them as the car moved at a good pace through New York streets, aware of every breath the man next to her took. She wanted him, she had never wanted a man as much as she wanted him, and it was getting harder and harder to fight. It was also getting harder and harder to justify why she was fighting him.

Why shouldn't she just take what she wanted? Maybe if she did she could finally get him out of her system, instead of always wondering what could have been after he left.

"What are you thinking about so hard over there?"

Carmen let her gaze glance at the partition that separated them from the driver, making sure it was closed.

"You might not want to know." She turned in her seat to look at him.

"I want to know everything about you Honey." Will's deep voice got even deeper as he said the words, and he sounded sincere; not at all like he did when he was throwing out a line. It made her brave enough to tell him the truth.

She could feel her heart racing, and she licked her lips in an attempt to keep them from sticking together. "I want you Will, I think I want you more than I have wanted any other man, and I am over here, trying to figure out why I keep saying no."

Carmen wasn't sure what she expected his reaction at her confession to be; maybe a witty one-liner, or a passion filled kiss. Whatever she expected, it wasn't silence as he turned away from her to look out the window, his hands gripping his knees so hard his knuckles were turning white.

"I feel the same Honey." He turned to look at her and the heat in his eyes almost burned her. "My want borders on need, but I have too much...you deserve more than I can give you." The car pulled up to the curb of the hotel.

"If it's your scars-"

His face turned hard at her mention of his scars. "I'm broken Carmen, if you need a reason to say no to me, let that be it." His voice was harsh and full of self-loathing, she was on the verge of reaching out to him, but the driver opened the door ending the conversation.

Will quickly exited the car, his charming smile back in place as he looked down at her. It was as if the moment had never happened. It was evident that hiding his pain had become seconded nature for him.

She placed her hand in his and felt the callouses, loosing herself in the feel of her hand in his. It felt natural and right, she gracefully rose from the car and as Will tried to pull his hand away she held tight, not letting him break the contact.

As cameras clicked and flashed around them, she looked up into his eyes and rising up onto her tip toes she placed her other hand on the back of his neck. "I don't know if that will be enough to keep me away," she said against his mouth just before her lips claimed his. She wanted to whimper at the feel of his lips on hers. She felt his breathing change where his chest was pressed against hers. He was holding himself back, she could feel it in the tension that filled his neck. He was strong enough not to escalate the kiss but not strong enough to say no.

Carmen heard a throat clear behind her and she broke the kiss, opening her eyes to look into Will's. "No, I don't think it will be enough."

The hunger in Will's eyes was easy to read and this time he was the one reaching for her, but the throat cleared again and he gave a low growl as he placed his hand in the small of her back, propelling them both forward. How Carmen managed to keep one foot in front of the other was beyond her.

They stopped once again on the red carpet and turned towards the bank of photographers. Will had his hand in the small of her back and the other one held the button on his tux, as if he needed something to anchor him.

"So much sweeter than honey." He whispered in her ear and she looked up into his still hungry gaze, knowing hers was just as hungry.

It was inevitable, she would end up in his arms and his bed, and she couldn't come up with one single reason for it not to happen.