"A marriage ultimatum." Liberty said embarrassedly, knowing in advance how Carter would take it.
Carter raised his dark eyebrows, his eyes flicking over her searching for a sign, he didn't say anything, he just slumped back in his chair, the jacket to his suit falling open slightly, and he drummed his fingers on the table. Liberty thought she should say something else, that she should get up and leave, but when she made a move, he told her not to go in a rather playful voice. She'd found that Carter had pulled her closer to him as she sat back down, she could feel his warm breath on her neck as he casually spoke, not saying anything about what she had just told him, and gently caressing the back of her neck sending her mind into a cloudy mess.
Carter, she knew, was a powerful man, knew he had taken a fancy to her from the offset, knew he wouldn't have been able to refuse the deal she had offered him, although when the words had left her mouth she had had some doubt . His hand dropped to the small of her back caressing it by tracing small circles on her skin with his nimble fingers - why, oh, why, had she chosen to wear a backless dress? Carter felt her shiver ever so slightly, he smiled (more to himself than to her), women who appreciated the pleasures of simple touches were very rare.