Page 25 of Love or Leave (Mapleton #4)

twenty

H eat radiated through Antonio's chest as the fluttering in his stomach came to a stop. He hadn't known which way this was going to go, given that Cara had been keeping her distance from him since their night together—and went on a date with Jalen.

But when she sunk against his chest, almost relieved at being in his arms, a sense of calm washed over him. Everything was going to be alright. They were exactly where they were supposed to be.

Cara pulled him into the house and pressed herself against his body, causing a euphoric ache to flood through him. His hands were desperate to touch her. He reached around her, pushing up the back of her jacket to feel her skin as she leaned in and pressed her lips against his.

His brain screamed at him to stop and talk to her before it went too far, but when she licked his tongue and playfully sucked his lower lip, his body took over. His heart pounded as shudders of pleasure raced along every nerve ending.

They could talk after.

He held her against his chest and took a few steps forward, pressing her up against the wall. She reached her fingers under his belt and pulled his hips closer, moaning when she felt how aroused he was.

"Upstairs," she said between kisses.

He kept her pressed against the wall as he reached behind, put a hand on the front door, and slammed it shut with a loud bang.

He deepened their kiss, reluctant to pull apart to climb the stairs. He could lift her and carry her up so he wouldn't have to leave the heat radiating from between her legs—

"What!?"

A loud voice broke through the lust, followed by a blaring metallic clank.

Antonio broke from Cara with a jump and spun around.

Adam was standing there with a wrench on the floor in front of him, his eyes bulging out of his skull.

Seconds of silence ticked by, but they felt like hours. No one moved. No one even blinked.

"Were you two… Are you guys…?"

Adam stumbled back, glancing over his shoulder as if wishing he could rewind to a time when he hadn't seen Antonio dry humping Cara against the wall in the foyer.

Suddenly, Ethan appeared from around the corner. His gaze darted between the three of them. "What's going on?"

Antonio squeezed his eyes shut, praying they were the only ones there, and that Max wasn't about to come from the hall and break all his bones.

In a way, it would be nice if Max knew. They could get this over with and he and Cara could move on. But at the same time, he needed his bones.

Finally, Cara stepped forward and moved her hands to her hips. "What are you two doing here? And why isn't your car parked out front?"

The three of them turned to Cara in unison. Her voice had come out accusatory. Antonio suppressed a smile.

"The faucet wasn't— We needed a wrench from Ethan's—"

Adam stopped his explanation with a huff, as if he realized how ridiculous it was that he was answering her questions. Clearly, he believed he should do the interrogating here.

"Are you two fu—"

"Don't say it," Ethan said, cutting him off. "This isn't our business."

Adam spun on him. "What?"

"I agree with Ethan," Cara said.

Adam turned and pointed a finger at her. "I'll get to you in a minute," he said, then spun back to Ethan. An entire silent conversation seemed to pass between the two friends over a three-second period, which gave Antonio a second to gather his thoughts.

Cara agreed with Ethan? That it wasn't their business? Did that mean she didn't want to tell everyone about them?

He wanted to be out in the open with Cara, not telling their friends to mind their own business. God, he hoped she wanted the same.

"Is Max coming?" Antonio asked, trying to figure out if he and Cara had enough time to talk things through. He'd prefer to know what he was going to tell Max before telling him about their secret. And for that, he had to know where Cara stood.

Adam and Ethan both turned toward him. Ethan winced, and Adam freaked out.

"Are you serious right now?" Adam asked, his eyes wild. "You better not think that whatever the hell this is," he waved between Antonio and Cara for dramatic effect, "will continue."

Ethan leaned toward him. "Max is at the pub."

Antonio exhaled in relief. That would give him some breathing room.

" We are going to decide if this will continue," Cara said, her voice laced with rage. "You two will stay out of it."

"Agreed," Ethan said, turning. He grabbed Adam's arm, but Adam shook him off.

"There is no way you can keep this from Max," Adam said, before turning to Ethan. "When he finds out we knew and didn't tell him, he'll kill us, too."

Ethan considered this for a moment, then winced.

"Yeah," Adam said, nodding with wild eyes. “They're going to take us down with them."

"You're being ridiculous," Cara said.

"Am I?" Adam yelled. "Am I?" he repeated, louder and with wider eyes. "You think Max is going to be okay with his friend using his little sister?"

Antonio blanched at the word “using,” and was about to shut that down, but when he glanced at Cara, she'd dropped her shoulders.

Antonio turned toward her, ignoring his friends. "That's not what's going on here," he said.

She looked up at him, searching his eyes.

"I'm not using you, Cara."

God, he hoped she believed him.

"Oh, really?" Adam interrupted.

Antonio's eyes closed, and he sucked in a breath to calm himself down. But before he could speak, Adam continued.

"If you aren't using her, then why haven't you told Max?"

Antonio's thoughts swirled so quickly it was hard to keep up. "We were only keeping it from him at first because—"

"Because you're married," Adam continued.

Antonio shook his head at the interrogation. "Separated."

"And Max doesn't trust you."

"He—"

"Because you cheated on your last girlfriend," Adam said.

"That—"

"And because he loves Cara like a daughter."

Antonio went numb as the knot in his stomach grew. What a fucking dumpster fire. He'd never felt like a bigger piece of shit in his whole life.

"Enough," Cara said with a shake of her head. Her warm hand took his, and she tugged him toward the stairs.

He wanted to go with her, but his limbs felt like a million pounds.

"This isn't your business, Adam," she said, pulling on Antonio’s arm.

Adam stopped and crossed his arms around his chest. "I agree," he said. "I wish I didn't know about any of this. But now that I do, I'm not keeping it from Max."

Using all her strength, Cara pulled, and finally, Antonio’s legs loosened enough to follow her. They turned away from Adam and Ethan and climbed up the stairs.

They were at the top of the stairs when Adam shouted up, "If you don't tell him, I will."

Fuck.

What the hell was he thinking?

There were a thousand other ways he could have handled his feelings for Cara. And he'd chosen the absolute worst one. He'd gone to her house and ravaged her, and they got caught.

Now they were in this messy situation where he'd have to backtrack and convince his friends and her brother that he wasn't using her. He'd made the worst fucking mess of his life.

Now he had to scramble to pick up the pieces.