c a r t i e r

The hot spice of cinnamon sits heavy on my tongue, an unwanted gift from Noah's mouth for mine. My body is alive, on the edge of exploding only I'm unsure if it's pleasure or anger that's wanting to burst from my splitting seams.

Brushing the baby hairs from sticking to my perspiring neck I try to right myself fixing my clothes sitting to heavy on my wet skin and adjusting the waistband that feels as if it's constricting around me.

"Get it together, Cartier." I coach myself trying to regain back the control of my own body and thoughts. Every time I come into contact with Noah Turner I feel as if I'm in a losing fight. No matter how badly I want to remain unemotional his chaotic presence alone elicits some sort of response from me, causing my blood to boil and heat. "He's my employee, damnit."

With that reminder, I drop the wicker basket onto the countertop of my kitchen and ball up the ruined white sheets to be cleaned again. I throw them to the side and glare over my shoulder at the neatly folded sheets intended for him and grimace.

He can sleep in his filth for all I care.

I'm not giving him my lush sheets anymore. He doesn't deserve them. He's much too disgusting with his constantly dirty and calloused hands down to his stained clothes.

Images of his rough hands gliding up my thighs penetrate my internal tirade.

Abruptly I stop and grip the counter forcing the air out through my nostrils trying to express him out through my breath. Even my bra feels as if it's tightened to two sizes too small.

How is he doing this to me? I don't react this way. It's like I'm some animal in heat.

Closing my eyes ignoring the images assaulting my mind's eye of being in his truck tangled in his arms not thirty minutes ago I try to compose myself, "Just stop. He means nothing." I breathe out the words hoping the act of bringing them to life will somehow help coax him out of my system. "He's my employee. He's just a boy."

The moment my breathing slows to a much normal pace my eyes open and my ears train on a rumble growing louder and louder. Then a massive tractor, forest green in color, appears in my back garden pulling up behind the destroyed old truck still halfway inside the rose bush.

"What's this?" I ask completely confused.

A young woman jumps from the cabin of the tractor, dressed in thick jeans and a plain green shirt. She rounds the back of the giant rear tires of the tractor fixing the work gloves to her hands.

Movement from the trail leading to the lake house pulls my attention from the girl with dark cropped braided hair to Noah appearing giving her a friendly wave and smile.

"Who is this?" I lean to my tiptoes watching them.

I watch as she greets him and points to his truck and laughs. Noah shakes his head disapprovingly and goes to the cabin of the tractor hauling out an old tow rope. His arms flexing and shining beneath the hot sun. He is exquisite-

No! no.

"Get your shit together." I bite out and rustle around the sheets folding the destroyed linens neatly angry with myself then glance up through my lashes to steal another voyeuristic peek.

Noah and the girl are working well together. They touch each other frequently as if they've known each other for a long time. She is around his age, maybe younger. And she's beautiful, dark hair braided back into short choppy braids and a beautiful angelic face. She's petite but not thin and she boasts a small chest and tight legs.

My eyes drop to my ample chest, fake and large, then I suck nervously on my bottom lip tasting the lipstick still there. I fixate on the window from my faded image and notice my lipstick smeared all over my face. "ugh, I'm an idiot." My heart sinks realizing how stupid I must look, matching me inside.

I shove the folded lines away and switch on the sink, cupping my hand beneath the hot water and begin cleaning my face attempting to remove the smudged lipstick. I clean it from my face and watch the pair now laughing behind the tractor outside.

No doubt I'm the punch line of their jokes.

Taking the ruined linens from the counter I go to the washer and load them inside and add an environmentally unsafe amount of bleach to the load and start the cleaning cycle.

Leaving the small room, I pass by the locked back door and refuse my need to look back at the window once more and instead go straight upstairs to continue the painting.

Thankfully the pallets haven't dried out, but I scratch the painting. Using the largest brush to paint over the landscape with a stark white.

Eventually, the large canvas is a clean glistening white. I sit back on my shins staring at it debating what I should start. The tips of my fingers and the side of my palm have smudges of white paint taken from the canvas so I quickly use the drop cloth corner to clean them free of paint.

My mind wanders, considering all the options as the white paint dries.

"Oi! Hello there! Carti!?" Noah's voice echoes from downstairs and instantly I tense angry with his intrusion.

I remain silent because it's obvious I hear him, he's always so incredibly loud.

And I don't know where this nickname came from, it's rather annoying.

I tip and swish my paintbrush into the glass and wait wanting to hear the front door close.

"The back door is locked, but I'm heading with Alice to haul the truck to the shop."

Alice?

That must be the pretty girl with the tractor.

My teeth grind together and I swirl the paintbrush with a more vigorous motion accidentally spilling some of the clouded white water.

"For heavens sakes," I growl when the water splashes onto the old oak wood floor.

Just his voice causes a mess.

I shove up from the floor to hurry to the bathroom for a towel to clean before my wood floors get ruined, but find myself running into a familiar taunt human wall.

I jolt back, but my feet slip on the wet paint, then my body jerks.

"Woah!" Noah gasps taking hold of my arm and then joins me on the wet canvas.

The sound of the wood-backing cracks under our weight as we slide around then crash on top of it.

"Noah, what the hell?!" I plant my hands to push myself up but they only slide collecting the fresh white paint between my spread fingers. "Ugh! It's getting everywhere!" I scream mortified at the scene so quickly unfolding.

Noah falls back, in the loudest laugh I've ever heard.

"Noah!" I scold him and attempt to stand again, this time with better luck.

My palms are tacked in white with the sticky medium and my slippers are ruined. Their fur clumped together by the thick paint and my limbs skate and slip around on the canvas.

The howling of laughter continues at my expense until I slip and land flat on my hands and rear end.

"Oh, my days! You look like a cat trying to escape water!"

Lifting my hands I flick the paint at him, and instantly he's covered in white speckles from his face down his neck to his chest.

I want to cry at the disaster and broken canvas, but instead of a sob that comes out a snorted laugh sneaks out instead.

Noah leans up, with his crooked smile and grips my chin with his sticky hand, then swipes his thumb across my mouth. I inhale the smell of paint and feel the wetness on my mouth and laugh again.

Without any pre-thought, both my hands are smashed against his rough cheeks.

I pull away finding his handsome face covered in splotches of white on his chiseled cheeks.

His grip on my chin lowers and takes hold of my neck, his beautiful eyes keeping me hostage in this moment of mess.

Splat!

Against my cheek, his palm smears a gathered amount of fresh paint and some of it lands heavily into my eyelashes.

"Oh my God." I gape, then gather in my own palms any paint I can from the canvas we're on and attempt to cover any of his tan skin I can.

"Not a chance, Carti!" He knocks my hands away and with a twist of his hand has my wrists locked in a grip and pressed against the canvas.

I let out a screamed laugh when he rubs his rough cheeks against my neck and face, tickling me with his beard, transferring the paint back onto me.

"Noah!" I screech but my laugh gives away any sort of dominance I want to pretend I have over him or this situation.

He stops and captures me again with his ocean gaze, "I love hearing my name on your lips."

Oh my.

I attempt to gulp but struggle.

"You intoxicate me, Cartier," His voice is gravely and his nose trails up the side of my neck taking in my scent again. Against, my will I crane my neck to his nose and nearly cringe when a whimper escapes my throat. "I knew it." His lips tantalize the tender skin beneath my ear causing my nipples to pebble and my skin to rise into bumps.

"Noah-" I warn, but it comes out as a breathy moan.

Leading again with his nose, his lips trail from my neck to their hovered position over my mouth.

"I want to hear my name come from your sweet mouth as I'm fucking you."

"Noah-."

"I can fuck you good Carti. Like how you deserve. Just give me that chance." His words work to undo me and my body reacts like a flower reacts to the sun. Every cell and part of me blooms and spreads wanting him to fill me with everything he has.

"Oi! Noah! Ya kin' to comin'?" A female voice echoes from downstairs and I tense beneath him.

"Ahh, fuck off, Alice!" Noah bellows.

*** Author's Note***

hello! Long time no see! lol

Feel free to send me hate mail on this story lol I suddenly got the inspiration to write it again. And I write where I feel the inspiration. I can't force a story. So I hope that is alright.

Thanks so much for reading!

CC