On The Way Down (The Retake Duet Book 1)

by Ella Fox

  I nodded my understanding, but still, suspicion niggled at me. “Is she—um, your normal type?”

  He gave me a wry look. “If you’re asking if my previous partners all looked like stacked Barbie dolls, the answer is no. I’ll always be honest with you, Shaelyn. I’m twenty-six years old and I wasn’t a choirboy for the last decade. There have been a lot of women but not one of them were ever serious enough to be called a girlfriend or take home to my parents. In that regard, I was a virgin until tonight.”

  It seemed impossible to believe but the evidence backed that statement up. “What’s different about me?” I wondered aloud.

  He chuckled as he stood, took my hands, and pulled me up to my feet. “Everything,” he answered.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  September 1998

  After an amazing dinner at an upscale restaurant, we were back at the hotel dancing on the balcony of the luxury suite we were staying in for our weekend in Monterey. “I love holding you close like this,” he murmured against my ear.

  I clenched my thighs as we danced back to Sting’s Fields of Gold. The scent of Garrett’s sexy-as-hell cologne made my pulse race.

  “I love it too,” I answered.

  Unsaid was how much I wanted to rip his clothes off. I’d taken to fantasizing about being with him—naked—all the time. Since the day by the pool when he’d touched me and made me come, he’d done that to me time and time again—but I hadn’t seen him naked yet. I wanted it so badly I could practically taste it, but he’d held back. When I asked why, he told me he wanted to take things slow. I got it, we’d agreed to it, but I wanted to touch him as much as he touched me.

  The trepidation I’d once felt about losing my virginity had dissipated entirely. Although I was nervous about the actual moment—the pain—I had zero reservations about who I’d be sharing that moment with. I’d told him as much on the drive up the coast—and I knew by the end of the night my virginal status would be a thing of the past.

  He sang along softly as we continued dancing, something that always melted me. There was something about that beautiful man with his fantastic voice singing to me that really got me going, and he knew it.

  Looking into his eyes, I smiled. “Kiss me,” I murmured.

  He groaned as he covered my lips with his own and his tongue teased at the seam until I opened and let him in. We continued swaying to the music as he deepened the kiss, our tongues sliding against one another with a hunger that grew by the minute. Every word, touch, and heated glance fanned the flames and caused the fire between us to grow.

  It didn’t take long for the kiss to take a turn from something soft and sensual into something desperate and erotic. Garrett held me tighter as he deepened the kiss. I shivered when he broke away and pulled me back inside the suite before he turned, brought in the boombox, closed the sliding glass door to the patio, and then shut the curtains.

  While he plugged the boombox in and pressed play, I kicked off the tan espadrilles I’d worn to dinner. Teardrop by Massive Attack began playing as he lit the dozen cream-colored vanilla-scented pillar candles he’d asked the concierge to procure before we’d gone to dinner earlier in the evening. I suspect that anyone who wasn’t ridiculously famous wouldn’t have gotten one candle, much less a dozen. After the candles were lit and the lights were off, he crossed the room to me. I met him halfway, rising up on my toes so that I could link my fingers behind his neck. I let out an indelicate shriek when he gripped my ass and lifted me off the floor. Knowing what he wanted, I wrapped my legs around his waist.

  My heart slammed against my chest as he stared into my eyes while he walked us to the bed. The flickering candles provided a rich and sensual ambience. “I’ve never wanted anyone or anything as much as I want you,” he murmured as he put me down on the bed and positioned himself over me.

  I whimpered as he tilted my head back and traced his tongue from my collarbone up to the sensitive spot below my ear. “I love that noise,” he murmured. I made it again as he retraced the pattern in reverse with his tongue.

  I grew wetter when he licked and sucked up the other side of my neck before he captured my lips for a kiss. I clung to him as he ground his clothing-covered hardness against me and deepened the kiss. My thighs clenched against his sides as I tilted my hips to rub back against him. With the combination of his tongue in my mouth and his erection rubbing against my most sensitive area, it didn’t take long for me to start to unravel.

  He tore his mouth from mine and watched me as he rocked against me slowly. “Are you wet for me, little virgin?”

  I bit my lip and nodded. “I want to come,” I confessed.

  Garrett grinned devilishly. “Not yet, baby. I’ve let you get used to coming fast but now it’s time to teach you that the best things take a while. I promise it’ll be worth the wait.”

  I groaned when he stopped rocking against me and sat up. “There are other things I’m going to teach you tonight,” he promised. As he spoke, he helped me sit up. I gulped air when he gripped the hem of my yellow cotton dress. After I maneuvered up so that he could get it past my bottom, he lifted it all the way off and tossed it to the floor.

  Beneath the dress, I wore a small pair of yellow lace bikini panties and a matching bra. Garrett growled as he gently guided me so that I was on my back. Shifting, he leaned over me and traced my left nipple through the lace. He watched my expression as he swirled his tongue over it several times before he sucked it into his mouth. I let out a ragged sound of desire when he lifted his head and cupped both breasts in his hands. He watched me as he kneaded them, his thumbs tracing a pattern against my nipples through the lace. When he pinched them between his fingers and tugged gently, I gasped.

  Garrett kept his eyes on mine as he dropped his head and moved to my right breast. “So beautiful,” he breathed. I squeezed his shoulders when he pulled my nipple into his mouth and sucked on it. The heat of his tongue as it swirled against the tip made me crazy. “Oh, please,” I murmured. He chuckled as he moved back to my left breast. I was dimly aware that Terence Trent D’Arby was singing Sign Your Name in the background as Garrett teased both of my nipples.

  I lost the ability to think at all when he tugged the lace down and sucked my nipple into his mouth. I realized that as miniscule as the lace barrier had been, it had somehow dampened the sensations. Without the lace between my nipple and his mouth, the pleasure was almost too much. I was barely cognizant of him reaching behind my back and undoing the clasp, but I felt the look of absolute lust on his face in the deepest parts of me as he peeled the bra down my arms.

  My fingers dropped from his shoulders down to the fluffy comforter on the bed when he started kissing his way down my torso. He maneuvered my legs open wide as he settled between them, his broad shoulders rippling beneath his white button-down. When he arrived at the band of my lace panties, he tugged them away from my skin with his right hand and then traced along the skin beneath it with his tongue. I giggled when he let go of the elastic and let it snap softly against my skin, but then sucked in a breath when he moved down, running his tongue over my wet sex through the lace.

  His sound of feral pleasure made me wetter. I’d been nervous about it since it was the first time he’d gone down on me, but it was obvious he enjoyed it. After a few minutes, he tugged the lace to the side and slowly licked my clit from bottom to top before repeating the motion again and then again. My fingers clutched at the comforter when he gripped the sides of my underwear and tugged them down my legs. With nothing between me and his tongue the sensations quadrupled. He teased my clit to the point that I felt half-crazy with the need to come. “Please,” I begged, “oh God, please.”

  My heart slammed against my chest as he dipped his tongue inside of me, going in and out in quick succession. “Garrett, fuck,” I whimpered. He moaned when he moved his tongue back up to my clit and sucked it into his mouth, flicking across the hood with such precision I couldn’t have stopped my orgasm if I’d tried. I arched my
back and thrust against his mouth as I came, letting out a small cry as I did.

  I was still trembling as he stood up and started taking his clothes off with unsteady hands. Each bit of naked skin revealed made my still quivering sex clench with desire, but it was seeing his cock for the first time that made me tremble. I’d seen porn before, but nothing prepared me for seeing Garrett naked. My body was so awash with heat and desire I thought I could’ve come from that alone.

  He gripped his length and pumped his hand up and down a few times as he climbed onto the bed. He came down over me with a groan. When I slid my hands up his chest, I felt the thundering of his heart beneath my hand. I paused when he leaned in to kiss me, but he just laughed and pulled me closer. “Trust me,” he rasped, “you taste like fucking heaven. Get used to kissing me with the taste of you on my tongue because I’ll be eating your tight little cunt as often as I can.”

  My core clenched so tight at the promise in his voice that I had another little orgasm. I liked the caveman, sex-god side of him very, very much. I didn’t protest when he moved to kiss me the second time, and the kiss he gave me was so good all I could think about was having him inside of me. I moaned when I felt his hand between my legs and he began to rub the gentlest of circles against my clit.

  When he broke the kiss, he held himself up over me with one arm. With his free hand, he reached between us, fisted his dick, and smacked the head against my sex a half dozen times. I arched back and let out a sound of desire as he set his cock against the seam of my sex and began pumping his hips back and forth. I moaned each time the head rubbed up against my clit.

  “You’re wet and ready for my cock,” he growled.

  I nodded as my hands grabbed onto his hips. He hissed a tortured sound when he maneuvered the head of his dick to my opening. When I felt the heat of him against me I was glad I’d gotten on birth control while Tia was in LA. Feeling Garrett with nothing between us was more than I’d dared hope for.

  “Hold on, baby. There’s nothing to do for the pain but once I’m in, you’ll have time to adjust.”

  The feeling of that first inch as he sank inside of me made me as full as a balloon filled to bursting. He pumped in and out slowly, adding a bit more with every forward movement. While he stared down to where we were joined, I watched his face in wonder. Even without the benefit of seeing his eyes, I could still see how affected he was. When he finally came to the barrier, his head flew up and his gaze met mine.

  “Do it,” I pleaded.

  He nodded and repositioned his hands so that he was holding my buttocks. He jerked me forward at the moment he thrust, and I sucked in a startled breath as he sank to the root inside of me. The pain was nowhere near as bad as I’d expected, but the feeling of him inside of me was almost too much. The song in the background changed to Depeche Mode’s Sweetest Perfection, which was an apt description of what was happening between us. I clenched around Garrett and tried to accommodate his size.

  “Fuck, Shaelyn,” he hissed.

  The desire in his tone made my clit throb, and I felt myself getting wetter. “You can move now,” I murmured.

  He choked out a harsh sound as he pulled back and then pushed back in, so slowly I felt the movement in every part of my body. He repeated the movement a dozen times, and each time it felt a little better.

  Gripping one of his buttocks in each hand, I urged him on. I knew I wouldn’t come that first time, but I wanted him to. He bit out a curse as he rocked into me faster, his hips churning a rhythm that was new to me. “Fuck, goddammit, fuck,” he cursed. “It’s so fucking hot and tight inside of you.”

  My breasts bounced as his movements increased. “Is it good?” I asked.

  A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face as he nodded. “So good, Shae. So fucking good. Perfect. I’ve never felt like this.”

  He bit off a harsh moan as I clenched around him, his words having given me pleasure. I felt myself getting wet as he pumped into me.

  “Touch your clit,” he growled.

  I still didn’t think I could come again but I did it anyway. My eyes rolled back as he fucked me while I rubbed my clit. “Mine,” he moaned. “Just be mine, Shaelyn.”

  “Yours,” I gasped as he pounded harder.

  He yanked at my hips as he thrust, my name a litany on his tongue. “Get there,” he ordered. “I need to feel my little virgin coming all over my cock.”

  I moaned when he tilted my hips and started frantically thrusting. My sex pulsed as I started to come, the feeling of his cock inside of me making the pleasure seem bigger and sharper than anything I’d ever felt. “Garrett!” I cried. He kept going, his breath coming in harsh gusts as I clenched and came.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, now!” he yelled.

  His body locked up for several seconds before he jerked and started slamming into me with furious strokes as his heat spilled into me. The feeling of his cum filling me made me shake as my own release went on and on, each thrust of Garrett’s cock prolonging it by another second.

  When it was over, he stayed inside of me and rolled to his side. I felt his still hard cock as it jerked inside of me every minute or so, like it had a mind of its own and wanted to keep going. Garrett shuddered as he pushed my hair back from my face and kissed me softly. We stayed like that for countless minutes before he pulled out, and I winced at the sting of the loss. I watched through heavily lidded eyes as he rose from the bed and padded into the bathroom. He returned a minute later with a warm washcloth that he used to clean me up as much as he could. Once he was finished, he lifted me up, yanked the comforter back, and put me back on the bed. It was relatively early, but I was exhausted. He chuckled when I let out a long yawn. I was dimly aware of him walking around the room and blowing out the candles before he climbed in beside me and pulled me into his arms. I was out before he had the comforter back over us.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  October 1998

  The sudden sensation of sunlight against the backs of my eyelids made me groan. Grumbling, I reached out for a pillow and brought it over my head.

  “Wake up, baby,” Garrett laughed as he plucked the pillow from its spot. “We’ve got ninety minutes to get down to Corolla to pick up our Jeep rental for the wild seahorse tour.”

  We were in North Carolina’s Outer Banks while he was shooting his next movie. Just like Moab, we were having a blast exploring the area during his downtime.

  We had plans to go out to Corolla for the day but right then I felt like I’d gotten about twenty minutes of sleep. Since we’d broken the seal on having sex, it had become an obsession. We’d spent a crazy amount of time having sex everywhere and anywhere we could. His bed, his trailer, the shower, the tub, the kitchen counter, the wall next to the front door of his house, the back of the car, the garage, the couch, the pool, the deck, the entry rug in our North Carolina rental, the hot tub, hotel rooms, and even a changing room at a high-end lingerie boutique in Beverly Hills. I wasn’t complaining—I initiated it at least half of the time—but the night before we hadn’t fallen asleep until three in the morning.

  “I made coffee,” he offered.

  I cracked one eye open and turned toward his voice. He stood at the side of the bed in a pair of black sweatpants holding a travel mug of the aforementioned coffee. I could tell he’d recently returned from his five-mile morning run, which meant he was about to head to the shower. He leaned in and dropped a soft kiss on my lips before straightening up. As usual, the touch of him anywhere on my body caused my blood to heat in my veins. I yawned as I sat up, unconcerned that I was naked beneath the comforter. I’d stopped wearing anything to bed when I realized it was nothing more than a waste of clean clothes. Not one thing I’d worn had lasted more than forty minutes, so that took care of that.

  I felt the heat of Garrett’s gaze on my skin when the comforter dropped to my waist as I took the travel mug from him. I bit back a smile and took a sip of coffee as he let out a harsh sound of desire. “Hold tha
t thought, Riordan. We’ve only got ninety minutes to get dressed and get out to Corolla, remember?” I teased.

  He sat down on the bed next to me and rubbed his scruffy cheek against my shoulder. “I could still get us there on time,” he promised.

  I took another sip of coffee as I pretended to think about it. “I don’t know,” I sighed. “We wouldn’t want to be late and someone here likes to draw things out. ”

  He chuckled as he plucked the travel mug from my hand and set it on the bedside table. “Challenge accepted,” he declared. “I guarantee I’ll have us out the door in twenty-eight minutes.”

  I very much doubted it, but I was okay with that. When he went over—he always went over—I’d get to curl up in his arms and go back to sleep. I chuckled huskily as he stood and removed his sweatpants and boxer briefs in one movement. I wasn’t even a little surprised to see that he was hard. As usual, the need for him took over, all thoughts of winning the twenty-eight-minute challenge out the window.

  He dropped onto the bed and positioned his face between my legs, the soft heat of his breath making me tremble. He grinned up at me as he licked up the inner part of my left thigh before he repeated the movement on the right. He then swirled his tongue around my sex, carefully avoiding my clit as he did. The more he did it the wetter I got, and I slid my hands into his hair and shifted beneath him in order to guide him where I needed him to be. He resisted and kept right on skating by the area like he didn’t know it was there.

  “Don’t tease,” I whimpered.

  He chuckled and shook his head as he continued doing exactly that.

  “Garrett, please!”

  He swiped his talented tongue across my clit twice before he stopped and came up over me. Glancing at the alarm clock on the bedside table, he grinned cockily. “I’ve got twenty-two minutes left,” he boasted.