CHAPTER 003

Lucas Carter gasped quickly as the woman he had just pulled from the bar pinched his chest with a tiny, forceful finger. Her smell tormented his senses and made it impossible to concentrate—a mix of wine, rain, and something especially hers.

"Hey, I'm talking to you," Eva Callahan pouted with somewhat slurred voice.

Lucas closed his jaw and fixed straight ahead as the automobile negotiated the dark streets. His first choice was to ignore her.

"You're neglecting me." Her voice changed, as though hurt by his silence.

Not great.

He felt the bridge of his nose pressed. Her lace bra little covered her, she was hardly dressed, and her low-rise trousers hung to her contours. It had taken all in him to pull her off that bar counter without losing his cool, and now here she was—pouting, pushing against him, totally blind to the turmoil she was generating inside him.

She said, "Cursing is bad."

A low laugh escaped him before he could stop it. She was insane. A drunken woman sitting half-naked in his car chastising him for cussing.

She slanted her head and studied him with lazy interest. "You know that you're rather beautiful?

Lucas said nothing, his hold on his knee getting tighter. She was not needed saying things like that. Not at the moment. Not when her pure green eyes brought back memories of the vast wilderness where he fled to help him sort his head. Not when her slightly swollen lips from booze and biting down angrily seemed too beautiful.

Eva did not understand danger in her present condition. Not afraid. Not hesitating. Her scream would be bloody murder if she were sober. Currently, though? Now she was climbing onto his lap, her soft body pushing against his strong one, her breath warm against his jaw.

Without thinking, his muscles clenched as she straddled him. Feeling her so close, shifting slightly as she tried to calm herself—it was torture—his tolerance was already at breaking point.

Lucas clenched his fists, pushing his gaze out the window, willing the drive to finish before he lost his stupid mind.

The car came up to his house—a three-story mansion on the outskirts of the city, far off from the Carter family estate. His driver opened the door, but Lucas scarcely registered it. He was too intent on getting Eva inside before she did something even more irresponsible.

She chuckled when he hoisted her into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist like it was the most natural thing in the world. He gritted his teeth and covered her exposed torso with his shirt to shield her from curious eyes. Ignoring Cassidy's startled cry from the living room, he burst into his house.

"Lucas, what the—"

He did not stop or explain. He dropped Eva onto the bed after carrying her directly to his bedroom. She drew her arms around his neck as he tried to back off.

She whispered, "You're so handsome," as her breath fanned against his skin. I could potentially lose my virginity in your presence.

Lucas stilled.

His mind blanked for a single second before everything inside closed down firmly.

She was not only inebriated, but also completely out of control.

Her lips gently caressed his awkward, inexperienced, and reluctant body. She gave him a tentative kiss. Lucas stiffened as he came to understand. This woman, who had just been dancing half-naked on a bar, was totally unharmed.

Though he shoved it down and turned away, breathing hard, the idea made something primitive snap inside him.

"Ask me once more when you are sober."

Eva wrinkled her brow, gazing up at him as though she didn't know.

"I know I'm drunk," she puffed. "That's the reason I feel courageous enough to do this. Shouldn't you find someone else—"?

Moving faster than expected, Lucas grabbed her wrist before she could pass him. His grip was firm yet controlled; his patience was at a critical point.

You won't.

Her eyes blazing, she dared him. "I'll look for someone who is not a coward."

His jaw got tighter. "You are going to sleep it off. If you still want this tomorrow, then by all means. However, you are not performing this task under the influence of alcohol.

She tested his hold and said, "It's my body."

"And my patience is running out," he said, voice low and lethal.

She fixed him, mouth opening and shutting, then a fierce fire shot across her eyes. "Perhaps you simply lack interest. Perhaps you were—"

She was on the bed before Lucas could complete the statement. His body hung over hers, his naked chest pressing on her flesh. He braced himself, fingers probing the mattress next to her head.

"Princess, you have no idea what you are playing with."

Eva gasped.

Lucas leaned forward, voicing a dark promise against her ear. "Remember, you asked for this."

Then his lips smashed down on hers, and the world around them shattered.