Never Get Enough (Enough #1) (20 page)

I got my looks from her, and she feels like I am ungrateful for them. I help model swimwear for my clothing company, but I have never tried to break into acting or anything like that because I hate dealing with my mother. Anytime she shows up it’s because she wants me to do something for her. Bray looks at me
, and I clutch his hand hard. I feel myself start to shake and feel nervous just knowing that I have to deal with her. He sees what even thinking about seeing her is doing to me and says, “We can just pull back out and go to Jace’s house. They don’t even have to know we are here.” Those words are exactly what I want to hear him say, but I shake my head no and look up at him.

We both are aware
that the sooner we face them; the sooner they will leave. I can tell it is killing Bray inside as he gets out and comes over to help me out of my side. He hates when we deal with my mother. She can throw mean spiteful insults at me that echo long after she is gone. He can’t do anything about it but tell her to shut up. It drives him crazy to be so powerless when someone is hurting me. We just have to wait them out until they leave and withstand whatever she throws at me. We walk together to the door that connects the garage to her house, and I start gripping Bray’s hand even tighter for support. I know its gotta hurt him; but he doesn’t complain about it.

We step into the house and see Riviera and Sloan sitting at the table in the dining room. They are sharing a bottle of wine. We walk toward them together, and I can see my mother’s startled expression for a moment at us holding hands. Quickly, she covers it with her norma
l ice cold expression that is focused on me. “Well, Carter, I see you are using everything you can to hold Bray to you. You’ve always been so clingy with these boys. I know Keller was sick of it. That’s why he went to Florida, right, Bray?” Bray looks like he is going to completely lose his temper already, and comes back with, “No, you stupid bitch, he went to Florida because it is a high profile school that has a great football program. He wants to play in the NFL. We both love Carter more than anything else in the entire world.” She laughs but it is such a brittle, hard sound, and it makes me cringe cause I know more is coming. “You both love her, huh? That pretty little mousy act gets you both, huh? Don’t you think there isn’t a lot to her but empty space and simple responses? I do sometimes wonder if she is actually simple and socially inept from how she responds to me.” Bray takes a step towards her like he is physically going to do something to her at this point, and I can’t blame him. He has never been able to take any attacks on me, and that is all my mother ever does. He takes a deep breath and finally says, “Enough! Why are you fucking here? What do you fucking need? Just tell us and leave!” Sloane finally looks right at Bray and says, “Watch your tone, son! This is still my house!” Bray looks incredulously back at his father, “Are you fucking kidding me right now? You let her talk to Carter like that, but you won’t let me ask you why you’re here.” Sloane just looks away like he can’t really explain or answer this himself. He has always been my mother’s slave. He is quite a bit older and good looking, but she is still one of the most beautiful women in the world. She has him wrapped up completely in her, even with all her evilness showing through.

“If you must know, Brayden,” my mother says snottily. “I need Carter to come to a mother daughter fundraiser luncheon with me in New York on Saturday. A lot of press and important people will be there, and it will be good to get some picture
s and appear together.” She has done this before when she wants to boost her image. Insisted that I go with her to an event and then fawned on me in front of people acting like a doting mother. That hurt even worse than the insults because she showed me she knows how to be kind to me, but she just chooses not to.

I take a deep breath in for courage and try to speak for the first time, “Mother, I can’t go with you to a luncheon. I already have the state championship volleyball game on Saturday. I am team captain, and I absolutely can’t miss it!” She looks at me and smiles. “Well, I say that you will be missing it. You are going to that luncheon with me, or I will take you away from Virginia for good. You can finish up school back at the all girls academy if you can’t listen to your mother.” She smiles in triumph as she says it. I think she truly does like taking things away from me and making me hurt. It is so hard to think that about my own mother,
and I have no real idea of why she does it.

Bray steps in at this point when he can see how upset I am getting, “
Don’t even try it, you fucking bitch. Carter has just turned eighteen, and you can’t move her to another school at all. She has enough money off of her trust to live comfortably, and my mother’s trust is already available to me. We don’t have to listen to you anymore. The only power you have is to kick us  out of this house, and I don’t want to be here another damn minute. So that doesn’t seem like a very big threat to me at the moment.” He turns away from her and looks at me, his dark blue eyes immediately soften. “Baby doll, go get a bag packed. We will go stay somewhere else tonight. The environment is too hostile here for you!”

I go to listen to him right away. My mother grabs my arm quickly and says, “Just look at Brayden,” and instinctively I do. I study him from his beautiful blond hair that goes in every different direction. His full lips that always feels so good when they are kissing me, and his perfectly built body that is tan and tight in all the right places. His face is just so good looking and sexy that it makes me just take a deep breath to even believe that I have sex with this model of male perfection. My mother sees that I have obeyed her, and she adds cruelly, “Good, have you really looked at him? That sexy man right
there could never be satisfied with just you. I bet he is already seeing some other girl on the side. You are beautiful but too vanilla and perfect for his tastes. I bet you never even kissed anybody before him. They were always protective of you, both Keller and Brayden. I bet they worked out a deal to not let anybody break your heart in high school. He is much too intense for a boring little mouse like you. So good luck keeping him all to yourself, sweetie! Don’t come crying to me when he breaks your heart in pieces. You have no idea how to handle a man like that!”

Just then Bray realizes that I am still in the room and my mother has been quietly talking to me.
He was talking to his dad but he starts to step towards us. “Please, Carter, just go upstairs and get your stuff. I will be up to get mine in just a minute!” With that, I exit out of there, I don’t think I can take another minute of my mother’s poison right now.

I pack up all my stuff for three days, and I promise myself that if they stay longer I will just b
uy myself more stuff instead of coming back here. Bray pokes his head in and asks, “You ready, baby doll?” I just head over to him and hold out my arms. I just want to be carried out of here with my head in his neck so I don’t have to listen to anymore shit from her. He picks me up quickly and heads down the stairs and out the door. He places me in the Range Rover and pulls out. I burst into tears at the relief of having survived another encounter with my mother. The words start echoing in my head though about I have no idea how to handle a man like Brayden. The tears start running down my face now, and I feel Brayden pull over on the side of the road.

Suddenly I am pulled into his lap and just cuddled. He starts to whisper things in my ear about how much he loves me and how special I am. I burrow deeper into him almost feeling the closer I am the truer his words are. Finally, I get the crying under control, and I crawl back into my own seat. He starts driving again and pulls up to a really nice hotel by the mall in town. I turn to him confused, “I thought we would probably just crash at Jace’s tonight, Bray?” He shakes his head at me and his eyes are still sad and worried from my meltdown. “I can’t share you tonight, Carter. I have to just hold you and have you in my arms without interruption. Your mother is such a bitch, and I have alwa
ys been terrified that someday she will find a way to take you from me.

“
Okay, Bray, that sounds wonderful to me! Just hold me the rest of the night. But can we take a shower first? I feel all messy since I cried a river in the car.” Bray smiles at the mention of the shower, and he shakes off some of his worried expression. “That sounds like the best offer I’ve had all day. A shower with Carter Sanders is on the wish list of every male student at Jefferson, I think.” I laugh at him and try to give him a smile. It’s stiff, but I think I pull it off. We check in and get up to our room. He helps me get my stuff all settled.

Brayden leads me to the bathroom and helps me take off all my clothes. Quickly, he sheds his and pulls me into the shower with him. He washes my hair and body off gently and carefully. I can feel the love behind his actio
ns and he starts to help the pain in my chest that my mother always puts there. I turn to do the same to him and he just shakes his head and won’t let me. “Baby, just let me take care of you, please.” He washes himself in record time and jumps out. He pats me dry and dries himself off. Carrying me to the bed, he pulls the covers back and gently tucks me inside. Then he gets in and cuddles up to me with his arms wrapped around me tightly.

I start to rub my ass back and forth along his dick, and he gently tries to move me away. I start to put my hand down th
ere and grasp him because I feel he is hard just from my little bit of rubbing. He grabs my hand and tells me, “Baby, no, that is not what you need tonight. I just want to focus on you and take care of you. I want tonight to be all about what will make you feel better. Stop worrying about me!” I pout at him and ask, “But what if I do need you right now. Please, Bray, I need to feel you inside of me to feel complete. It feels like she just ripped me open with all of her awful words, and I need you to fill me back up.” He lets out a groan and starts to roll on top of me but with his hands propping him up so he doesn’t crush me. He starts kissing me immediately and then starts lightly caressing my whole body. He groans out, “This damn pouty lip!” Then he bites it, and starts kissing down my body. He gives me all his attention for the rest of the night and for that moment in time, I am filled up with all that he has to give me.

Chapter 20

Brayden

The ball hits the ground hard on the line and nobody was able to get to it. My girl just served the winning match point for her team, and they have won the state championship. Music is blaring, and her teammates have rushed her in celebration. Carter is in shock, I think. She has hardly moved from her position on the court. I get up from the bleachers and run towards her. She is still standing there with a blank look on her face so I pick her up and throw her up into the air. “Baby, you did it! You have won the state championship. I knew you would fucking do it!” She finally looks at me as I set her down. Carter takes in a breath and visibly collects herself before she breaks into her radiant smile. “We did it, Bray! We really did it! We are the state champions. I can hardly believe it!” She does a sexy dance of joy then, and I glare at all of the guys that are staring at her mouth-watering assets moving to the music blaring out of the speakers.

“I’m so glad you’re here with me, Bray! I couldn’t
have done this without you. You are so much more than my boyfriend. You are everything to me.” I just look at her vibrating with happiness and assure her, “Baby, there is nowhere else I would want to be! I always want to be the one cheering you on. Every day of your life I want to be the one there to support you.” She smiles at me at that and rolls her eyes. Ever since her mom spewed out all her poison at Carter, she hasn’t seemed as confident about us. I fucking hate that, I always want her to feel secure in me and what we have. But I shrug the concern off for now and just try to concentrate on my girl’s joy in her win.

The announcers make the announcement for the MVP of the game, and all eyes turn to Carter. She was involved in almost every point scored by her team, and everybody knows they are about to call her name. They do and she runs up to collect her trophy and say thank you to her team. I look on and just think how proud of my girl I am. She is so gorgeous standing up there with her lo
ng blond hair in a ponytail, and her beautiful eyes shining bright. She ends her thank you speech and tries to walk back to me, but college scouts and some of the officials head her off before she can reach me.

I start to walk over to Hampton and Jace when Lena steps in front of me. Her eyes are full of anger and resentment, and I know why. She didn’t get to play the state championship game b
ecause of what she pulled when she tried to mess Carter up against White Valley. “Bray, I am telling that bitch what we were to each other. She and the coach didn’t even let me play the state championship game, and I’m a senior. I’m not good enough to play in college like your stuck up princess so I’ll never get to play again. I am sick of her sickeningly sweet bullshit. She needs to taken down from her stuck up tower.”

I can see the hate in Lena’s eyes and realize I have to tell Carter tomorrow about me hooking up with Lena when I was fifteen. I know she won’t like it, but I can’t have Lena delivering the news with all of her spite
. I try to step away and she reaches out for my arm. “Look, I could keep quiet about us if you would just give me a little of your time.” I look at her and feel just absolute disgust. Lena’s a pretty redhead, but she is only looking for a guy who is going somewhere. She doesn’t waste her time on anything but the superficial. As soon as she found somebody she thought could give her more, she would be gone. That’s just the way she works. I also think she could want to get evidence of me and her to show Carter, that’s the way someone like her works. I look at her and don’t hold back, “Take a good look at Carter, Lena. Do you think I am ever going to want anyone else when I have her? It’s never going to happen. So forget about trying to make me interested in you or anything you have to offer. Blackmailing me is never going to make me want you. That’s just pathetic.”