“Your mom’s a superstar. I’m not at all surprised she’s doing so well. Knowing Georgia, she’ll break records in her recovery.”

“I figure she’ll cut the estimated twelve weeks down to eight.”

He laughed, and bit into a slice of pizza. “You’re probably right. Speaking of, when do you think you’ll be ready to start work?”

She thought about it. “I don’t know. She’s doing very well, but I’d like to hover over her a few more days to make sure she feels confident enough to hang out by herself. Maybe next week?”

“I don’t want to push you. You’re here to be with your mom, so you just let me know when you’re ready. And when she’s ready.”

“Okay.” She studied him as he ate. “And why? Are you having a paperwork emergency?”

“Not any more than usual.”

“I’m looking forward to digging in and seeing what you’ve got.”

He leaned back in his chair and slanted a sexy look her way. “I’m pretty sure you’ve already seen what I’ve got.”

“Indeed I have.” And it had been awhile since she’d seen it. Touched him, felt him, been with him. She’d been wrapped up with her mom, and Carter with work. Though she’d been able to dash over to help him with the bathroom project, during those occasions Luke and Emma had been over as well, which meant no alone time, and they’d worked late into the night. It had been exhausting work, and she’d wanted to be there for her mom, so she hadn’t stayed.

Tonight, though, she had an action plan, and that meant time for her and Carter.

He’d finished his pizza, so she pushed back from the chair in the dining area and came over to him, straddling his lap.

He grasped her hips. “Is this dessert?”

“This is definitely dessert.”

She slid her fingers into his hair, loving the thick softness of it, so different from everywhere else on him, which was so incredibly hard. She spread her thumb over his bottom lip, then bent and kissed him, taking in his rush of breath as an exhilarating aphrodisiac, an instant turn-on that sent a thrill of expectation through her. Her entire body tingled with awareness when he swept his hands under her shirt to explore the skin of her back.

Suddenly, her bra was undone, and her nipples tightened in anticipation. She straightened and pulled off her shirt, removing her bra, needing Carter’s hands on her. A rush of desperate need coursed through her, a frantic desire that had to be satisfied right now.

She felt his erection pressing ever insistently against her sex, and she surged against him. His gaze lifted to hers, his eyes half lidded, a storm raging in them.

He cupped her butt and stood, lifting her. She thought he’d carry her down the hall to the bedroom, but he pushed the plates and pizza box to the far end of the table and set her on it.

She smiled at him as he popped open the button of her jeans. She kicked off her tennis shoes and helped him as he pulled her jeans down her legs while he unzipped his. He pulled a condom out of his pocket.

“Ever ready, are you?” she asked.

“Around you? Hell yes.”

She liked knowing he was as anxious as she was. It reminded her so much of those frantic, teenage years when they couldn’t wait to get at each other. Her heart pounded against her chest as he pulled her panties aside and entered her, his body looming over hers as he thrust, his hand sweeping under her to cushion her butt.

“I’m not fragile, Carter,” she said, holding on to his arms. “I won’t break.”

She felt he was holding back, that he wasn’t giving her all the pent-up passion he felt for her. She wanted all of it, and when he unleashed it, taking her mouth in a kiss filled with naked desire and fury, then pushed her back against the table, she took it all in, and gave it back in equal measure. She wrapped her legs around his hips, arched against him, then stretched fully out on her back.

She lifted his shirt, raking her nails across his back as the two of them melded together until she couldn’t tell where she ended and he began. This was what she’d craved, this lightning storm of pleasure and pain and need. She cried out as she came, and he groaned as he let go, both of them shuddering, holding on to each other as the storm held them in its fury.

When it passed, Molly still trembled, and Carter stroked her side, his body wet with perspiration.

They were stuck to each other, stem to stern.

“I need a shower,” she said.

He lifted, smiling down at her. “I think you’re just using me so you can spend time in my shower.”

She laughed, and he pulled her up. She hopped off the table. “Maybe.”

After a quick shower, Molly cleaned the remnants of dinner—and sex—from the table, threw away the trash, and when Carter emerged from the shower, they took a final look at the bathroom remodel.

“I can’t wait to see the counter and sinks in there.”

“It’ll be even better when there’s a toilet, but that’ll go in last.”

“Then you’ll have another room finished. Before long, you won’t have any rooms to work on.”

“There are still three more bedrooms to knock out. But that’s just floors and paint, maybe expanding closet space, and choosing furniture. Nothing too major.”

She patted his arm. “It’s good to have a project.”

He walked down the hall with her and into the kitchen, where they refilled their glasses. “I’m also thinking of building a second garage so I can have a project area.”

“A project area for what?”

“Rebuilding old cars. There’s a ’68 Camaro I’m eyeing that I might want to refurbish. But since I house Rhonda in my current garage, I need some additional space.”

“I see. You have plenty of room on the side of the garage to build a third garage space.”

“That’s what I was thinking.”

“In your spare time, of course.”

He took a sip of his tea, then smiled at her over the rim of his glass. “Of course.”

They ended up snuggled up on the sofa watching an action movie, wrapped under a fleece blanket. It was an okay movie, but her mind drifted, thinking about this house, the way Carter had bought it, bare bones, and completely overhauled it. And even though he was almost finished, he was still coming up with new ideas.