Carson's pov
Just curled up on the dirty couch, her head snuggled on my chest, her eyes closed. Breathing evenly. She felt really small.
Not the kind of small you think about. It was like all the fight had just… leaked out of her and she was just all tremors and hitched breaths against my wet shirt.
I held her. What else was I supposed to do?
I followed her because I saw the look in her eyes when she drove away from that mansion. It was the same look I'd seen in the mirror a long time ago. The look of someone who'd lost everything and had nowhere else to go.
I thought she would at least check into a decent hotel, that way I could simply turn around and return to the life I had before I met her but I found her here...in a dirty rundown motel, trying her damnedest not to break.
The motel room was worse than I thought. It smelled like a day-old piss and something rotten. We weren't staying here. No way in hell.
"We're not staying here," I said, my voice low.
She just nodded into my chest, too tired to argue. She didn't say a word.
She burrowed deeper into my chest. It was like the warrior princess had taken a back seat, her armor down, what was left was a woman who wanted to be held...by me.
"You don't mind if I pick you up, do you, sweetheart?"
I start to stand up but she protested in her sleep, not willing to give up the couch or me.
"Don't... Go" she whispered
"Shh" I removed the lint on her hair. "I'm not going anywhere"
I picked her up. I could come back for her car and personal belongings later, after she has been carefully placed on my bed and fed...but I didn't want leave her grandmother's potted fern on the porch of the motel, so I had to pick up the fern too.
Stupid, maybe. But it was the one thing I could carry for her.
My truck was parked around the corner. I helped her into the passenger seat. She curled up against the window, tears still tracking through the makeup on her cheeks. She looked so young...so terrified.
If this was any of my girls, I would lose my mind. Hell, I was losing my mind already and I have only known her for a day.
I drove to my rented place. It's not much. Just an apartment above a garage I rent from a friend whenever I was in the city.
It's clean. It's quiet. And most importantly, no one knows to look for her here.
I carried her up the outside stairs. She snored softly...I did my best not to joust her awake. Trying to open the locked door while keeping her comfortable was a little tricky but I managed.
Inside, I flipped on the light. "It's not the Ritz but it will do," I conversed with her but she was too asleep to respond audibly.
She murmured something I couldn't make out and then she was out like a light.
"Let's get you comfortable, okay?"
I took her to my bed, struggled whether I should wake her to take off her wet dress or take it off myself.
It was an easy decision. I shook her softly, she stirred, only opening her eyes briefly before going back to sleep again.
"i am going to take off your dress, now, okay?"
"It's me" she groaned and grumbled in her sleep. "He couldn't love me" she turned her face to the other side of the bed. "It's me"
She was restless.
She turned her face back towards me and opened her eyes slowly. "I'm hideous"
"No. No, sweetheart. No" my hand went to her face on instinct, pushing hairs away from her forehead, trying to undo a decade long abuse with a single touch. "You are beautiful."
It happened fast. One second, I was talking...the next, she had leaned in to kiss me. It was on pure instinct when I pulled away.
She closed her eyes and went right back to sleep.
***
It was hours before she opened her eyes again.
I was fast asleep on the armchair in the bedroom, didn't want to take the couch in the living room. I wanted to be close by, If she needed me.
I felt someone's gaze on me, I opened my eyes and she was just standing there, hands folded, looking furious. The warrior princess was back and by the looks of it, she wanted my head.
"Hey, you are awake–" I was interrupted by her.
"Who changed me?" She asked gesturing to my shirt that I dressed her in. "How did my dress get over there?" She pointed to the hamper near the bed.
I sat upright. "How are you feeling? Are you hungry?"
She blinked. "Well, yes but... I'm more concerned with why I'm wearing your shirt and how I got here, Carson. Who changed me?!"
"The motel was no place for a pregnant girl and your dress was too wet. So, I took you out of it and dressed you in my shirt"
"You saw me naked?!" She screeched and I found myself who didn't scare so easily, taking a step back.
"You were gonna catch a cold and I—"
"Take off your clothes" She told me.
"What?" I blinked back.
"Well, you saw me naked. I wanna see you naked too, Carson. I like getting even"
"You are joking, right?" I asked her but she simply folded her hands and held my gaze. People weren't lying, Vanderbilts were a special kind of crazy.
"We don't have all day, Carson Gibbs. Let me grope you. Now"
I blinked. "I'm gonna go make you dinner, okay? Do you want dinner?" I asked her.
She thought about it and then nodded. "Alright. I will grope you later"
"Thanks. I think"
She followed me out. She took in the small living room, the old couch, the kitchenette. It was probably smaller than her old closet.
"This your place?" She asked me.
"Yes"
"It's dry," she whispered. And that was that.
I got her a glass of water. She drank it like she'd been lost in a desert. I found a pair of sweats.
"You can change into that. Your feet will be warmer in those" I said, putting it on the arm of the couch. "Bathroom's through there."
She just stood there, holding the cloth, this look of horror appearing on her face.
"I tried to kiss you" she whispered. "You pulled away"
"Ms. Emilia"
"You've seen me naked, Carson. I think you can disperse with the title"
"Emilia" I straightened my posture ready to explain myself. Ready to tell her that I hadn't kissed another woman since Liliana died. But she had already drew her own conclusion.
"If I had paid you, would you have kissed me?"
I couldn't stand her saying that.
I walked over and took the sweat from her hands. I guided her to the couch and sat her down. I noticed I had neglected to take off her wet socks earlier.
I knelt in front of her and took off her soaked soaks. Her feet were cold.
I rubbed them between my hands, trying to get some warmth back into them.
"I guess, we will never know. You don't have any money" I answered.
She thought about it for a minute. "That's not exactly true. My mother left me some money. I get it when I turn twenty five in a couple of months. I can still pay you just not immediately but the deal has changed, Carson Gibbs."
My phone rang then. It was the third time this night, I might have wrapped us in a bubble in here but out there in the real world, the world carried on.
"Aren't you going to pick up?" She asked me.
"No" I stated as a matter of fact. She gave me a look. I grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. "They are calling to tell me what I already know"
Both of our faces were all over the news. #truelove wins.
"We are trending!" She yelled and took the remote from me to increase the volume.
"Yes, sweetheart" I said massaging her feet some more. "That's what happens when you call a press conference to announce to the world that you married me. My phone won't stop ringing, my pictures are everywhere and Joni is over the moon at the prospect of getting a new mommy"
"Who's Joni? Your dog?" She asked me.
"My daughter, Emilia!"
"Oh" she said. "I guess I blew up both our lives. I'm real sorry Carson"
"I know"
She stood up and paced briefly. "Take my deal, Carson. Let's stay married. In a few months you will get your money"
I stood up and I moved closer to her, too close, she took a step back and I took one forward, then she held my gaze.
"What's your new deal, Emilia?" I asked her.
"In exchange for half of the 3 million dollars my mother left me, I am going to be the girl of your dream. You are gonna fake the hell out of loving me, Carson Gibbs. And if you are able to make me cum, there's another 500k in it for you"
I stared at her. Didn't say a word. Couldn't say a word.
She took a step closer to me, too close.... really too close me.
"Kiss me like I'm the moon and the stars rolled into one." She was even closer now "Kiss me like you are hopeless and utterly in love with me."
For a second, I didn't move. I just looked at her, at the challenge and the plea in her eyes. And then, something in me broke open.
My Silly girl. You don't need money to get what you want.
My hand shot out, tangling in her hair, tilting her head back. The other arm locked around her waist, crushing her against me so there was no space left between us, so I could feel every curve and every frantic beat of her heart.
"Like this?" I leaned in closer to her and when I couldn't be more closer, I whispered to her ears. "No"
"What?" She blinked.
"The answer is no. My lips are not for sale" I took a step back. Grabbed a jacket from the wardrobe. "I'm going for a walk, Ms. Emilia. Try and get some rest"
I looked her one more time, a thousand thought rushing through my head but only one stayed with me – if she had asked nicely. I would have kissed her for free.