Dreaming With A Broken Heart (Hollywood Legends #1)

by Mary J. Williams

  Always. The word echoed in her head. All that came out of her mouth was deep, gasping groan of pleasure.

  Garrett reached between them, pulling her jeans lower, and then fumbling to release himself. Jade felt the length of him, rubbing where seconds earlier his mouth had been.

  “Tell me you need this,” Garrett growled against her lips. “Tell me you can’t live without it.”

  “I need you.” Jade practically whimpered the words, straining to bring her hips closer to his. “Now. Please.”

  With one arm anchoring her to him, Garrett entered her, his thrust hard. True. He muttered something about finding heaven before his mouth crushed hers with a kiss filled with pent up passion and frustration. His tongue swirled against hers, caressing the inside of her mouth. He didn’t take the time to soothe or coax. This was raw. Primal. Up against the wall. No holds barred. Exactly as she wanted it.

  As Garrett’s thrusts became faster, his hand slid into Jade’s hair. He slanted his mouth over hers. Neither needed a gasp of air. They shared. Moan matched moan. Jade tightened her legs, grinding against Garrett, her breasts flattened against his chest, her hard nipples practically branding him. If she could make her mark on him, she would. Something permanent to remind him he belonged to her.

  “You’re mine, Jade. Say it.”

  As much as she wanted to shout it to the world, Jade couldn’t say the words. So she pulled his mouth back to hers.

  “Damn it,” Garrett shouted as they both reached their peak. “You! Are! Mine!”

  As she crashed over into a pleasure like none she had ever known, she cried out the words they both needed to hear.

  “Yes! Yours. Only yours.”

  Garrett’s harsh breath formed a light, damp, mist on her neck. They spent several moments, locked together, their heartbeats synched in pounding rhythm. Instead of letting Jade’s legs slide to the ground, he held her tighter. Garrett made his way down the hall to the bedroom, turning at the last second so that, as they fell onto the bed, he landed on the bottom.

  Jade kissed Garrett’s shoulder before resting her head against it. They were tangled together, clothing twisted, sweaty, sticky. It felt amazing. She tried to tell herself this was wrong. Summoning up all the reasons why this shouldn’t have happened was too difficult when she had Garrett’s arms around her. She promised herself she would move away. Soon. Tomorrow at the latest.

  “Are you still angry?”

  “Yes.” Garrett smoothed back her hair. “Less angry. I’m still in recovery mode. After you tell me what all that crap was about, I’ll probably scale back to mildly annoyed.”

  Jade hesitated. Telling Garrett was the smart thing to do. If he understood, he would stay away. The problem was she didn’t want him to. After talking herself into believing she was doing the right thing when she cut him out of her life, what did she do? She went to his parents’ house knowing he would be there. Then, she didn’t simply welcome his lovemaking; she ripped off her shirt. If that didn’t cry, I’m ready and willing, Jade didn’t know what did.

  Saying goodbye to Garrett was much easier when he was in another country.

  “Speak to me, Jade.”

  Garrett pulled back until he could look her in the eye. What he saw made him laugh. The two of them looked as though they had been through a cyclone. Barely living to tell the tale.

  “Hold that thought,” Garrett said, untangling their legs. “Or maybe I should say, get your thoughts together. Once we have cleaned up, I expect answers.”

  Jade knew what needed to be said. Saying it to his face would be the hard part.

  “First things first.” Garrett kissed Jade. Thoroughly. “Damn.” He kissed her again. “No more of that. Thinking straight around you is hard enough without fogging my brain with kisses.”

  “You kissed me,” Jade reminded him.

  “Details, details.”

  Garrett scooted off the bed. He stood looking down at her with admiration in his gaze.

  “Looking at you seems to affect me the same as your kisses.” He gave his head a quick shake. “I was going to undress you myself. Bad idea.”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” Jade tugged a little on the waistband of the jeans that were already down below her butt. “A girl can always use a helping hand.”

  “No more sex until we’ve eaten,” Garrett declared. “I don’t imagine that burger and fries are in the best of shape. I’ll order us a couple of new ones while you start the shower.”

  “I showered before you got here,” Jade told him. She sniffed her arm. “I don’t want to wash you off my skin.”

  “Oh, honey,” Garrett groaned. “If you keep saying things like that, we’ll never get out of this bedroom.”

  “Promise?”

  Chuckling, Garrett lifted Jade into his arms.

  “Incorrigible.” He took five steps, depositing her at the walk-in door. “I like the idea of having your scent on me while we eat. Find a shirt, though? Your breasts are too distracting.”

  She watched as Garrett walked away, adjusting his clothes as he went. Nice ass. Perfect for grabbing during sex. Jade grinned. She couldn’t believe they had sex up against the wall. He still had on his shirt. His shoes were still on his feet. Jade felt a shiver of excitement rush through her body. Knowing she could make him want her that much was a heady thought. After a brief consideration, she decided she liked having that power. It was only fair. Garrett wielded the same over her.

  Wearing a loose purple t-shirt, Jade joined Garrett in the kitchen. She had changed out of her jeans into cotton shorts. They showed off her long legs. She always considered them her best feature. Lately, they were becoming nicely toned as well as shapely. Showing them off seemed only natural.

  “Hey,” Jade cried when she saw him eating her French fries. “I thought you called in another order.” Half the fries were gone. “I guess they were still edible.”

  Garrett shrugged, not the least bit chastised. “They’re still in pretty good shape.” He dredged a fry in ketchup. “Want a bite.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  Sarcasm aside, the strip of potato looked good. She was starving. Jade opened her mouth.

  “Oops,” Garrett said. “There’s ketchup on your chin.”

  Chewing the warm fry, Jade reached for a napkin. As she lifted it, Garrett snatched it out of her hand.

  “Allow me.”

  Eyes sparkling, he tossed the napkin onto the counter.

  “Don’t you dare start something you aren’t going to finish,” Jade warned when he pulled her close.

  “I’ll finish.” He licked the red sauce from her chin. Garrett leaned closer causing Jade to lift her lips in anticipation. “Eventually.”

  He pushed her away. Jade’s eyes narrowed.

  “I cry foul. I want my kiss.”

  “You can have as many as you want. After we talk.”

  Garrett poured them each a glass of wine, handing one to Jade. Then he took her free hand and led her to the sofa. Once they were settled, he turned to her.

  “Honey, as pissed off as that text made me, I knew something had to have happened to make you send it.” He linked his fingers with his. “When we said good night, you were happy. Hell, you were glowing. I was under the impression we had a breakthrough. I was making plans for the future.”

  “You were?”

  Hearing the surprise in her voice, Garrett laughed.

  “Guys do that too.” He kissed the back of her hand. “When it’s the right woman.”

  “I let myself dream too,” Jade admitted.

  “So tell me what happened. What changed in those few hours?”

  “My father.”

  Garrett sighed. He felt a wave of anger he did his best to tamp down. Why did every bad story Jade had to tell, begin with her bastard father?

  “What did he do?”

  “He had me followed.”

  Before she started, Jade thought her explanation would take hours. In her head, it was an epic tale. H
omeric. In reality, it took her fifteen minutes — start to finish. She was so nervous by the end she wished she had more to say.

  For several moments, Garrett didn’t respond. His eyes, though, were a stormy gray. That couldn’t be good.

  “Why does he treat you like that?”

  Looking around, Jade spied her purse on one of the barstools. Without a word, she removed her wallet, taking out the picture of her mother. She handed it to Garrett.

  “The resemblance is amazing.” He looked from the picture, to Jade, and then back. “This is no excuse, Jade. You aren’t your mother.”

  “No,” she agreed. “I’m not trying to make my father out to be a sympathetic person. I’m simply sharing with you the only clue I have. He doesn’t care about me, Garrett. I’m an annoyance. A daily reminder of a woman who did the seemingly impossible. She walked away from Anson Marlow. And now her daughter has done the same.”

  “I might feel sympathy for your mother. Except she left you alone with a man she couldn’t live with. Nothing justifies that.”

  Jade shrugged. “I can’t speak for her. She made her choice. I do understand the need to get out from under my father’s thumb.”

  “Your father is the biggest son of a bitch ever born.”

  “Probably.”

  “Probably?” Garrett exclaimed. “He wins the contest, Jade. Hands down.”

  “I don’t know any other sons of bitches.” Jade shrugged. “I’ll defer to your vast knowledge.”

  “Is that a joke? Because I don’t find any of this funny.”

  “No,” Jade conceded. “But at this point, it’s either laugh or shoot him. I don’t want to go to jail.”

  “Justifiable homicide. I know just the lawyer to get me off.”

  “You?” Jade frowned. “Why would you shoot him?”

  “Because you’re my woman. A real man steps in and does what killing needs doing.” Garrett used his best Old West accent to emphasize his point. “Now. Take a sip of your wine.”

  Jade did what he asked.

  “Good.” Garrett did the same. Taking hers, he set their glasses on the coffee table. “Come here. I need to hold you.”

  Gratefully, Jade wrapped her arms around Garrett’s waist, her head resting on his shoulder.

  “Am I?”

  “Are you what?”

  “Your woman.”

  “From the moment you walked into that motel room.” Garrett pulled her closer.

  “You understand why this isn’t a good idea.” Jade took a deep breath. She needed him to examine all the angles before he made his decision. “Why we aren’t a good idea.”

  “There isn’t anything that your father or the press can throw at me that I haven’t seen before, Jade,” Garrett assured her. “Let them rake their muck. It won’t last. Before you can blink, someone else will capture the public’s attention.”

  “My father can keep it alive as long as he wants.” Jade burrowed closer, a chill passing over her. “I don’t know how he took my leaving. I expected him to call. Or send one of his lackeys. Nothing.”

  “Maybe he won’t do anything.” Garrett didn’t believe his words any more than Jade did.

  “His pride has been wounded. Or is it his ego?” Jade sighed. “Whatever it is, he isn’t capable of letting it go, Garrett. When he finds out you’re the man I was meeting, he will be livid. He hates looking foolish. I shudder to think what kind of crap his people will start throwing around.”

  “I have excellent reflexes.”

  “Some of it is bound to hit you,” Jade warned. “I don’t want you or your family to suffer because of me.”

  “None of this is your fault,” Garrett said with absolute conviction. “As for my family. Our business is movies. That means gossip. Ridiculous speculation. From my parents’ first date, they have been tabloid fodder. I’ve lost track of how many times some rag has had them either divorcing, separating, cheating. We’ve all developed rhinoceros skins when it comes to such stories.”

  “But…”

  “I don’t care, Jade.” Garrett pulled her up until they were face to face. “Understand? We’ll deal with it. If and when it happens. No more hiding. And I’m sure as hell not walking away. Got it?”

  Jade threw herself into Garrett’s arms.

  “I know I should argue,” she whispered. “I want this so much I can’t bring myself to.”

  “This?” Garrett slid his hand under her shirt, growling with satisfaction when he found her bare breast. “No bra and those shorts? You wanted to drive me crazy.”

  “You.” Jade gasped. One touch and her nipple was hard. “I want you.”

  “The food will be here soon.”

  “Mmm.” Jade ran her fingers through his hair, tugging gently until his mouth was close to hers. “Kiss me.”

  “You need to eat.”

  “Feel this.” Jade pulled Garrett’s hand to just below her breast. “No more protruding ribs. You’ve fattened me up nicely during the past six months.” She gave him a brief, teasing kiss. “My appetite is better than ever. Didn’t you notice how much food I put away last night?”

  “A big slice of lasagna and dessert. Very sexy.”

  Jade laughed. “I don’t know about that.”

  “It’s true,” Garrett said. He moved his hand back to her breast, the pad of his thumb running over the peak. “You would put a bite in your mouth then lick your lips. I was hard all evening. Thank God for that tablecloth.”

  “Now you’re teasing me.” Jade nibbled along the side of his jaw. “You looked like you didn’t have a care in the world. I, on the other hand, was in misery. That was dirty pool, whispering in my ear while you seated me.”

  “Were you wet?”

  Jade blushed. After everything they had done together, dirty talk was still new to her. She liked it. Boy did she like it. Still, the words heated her skin as well as her insides.

  “You know I was. Am,” she added.

  “Let me take care of you.” Garrett slipped his hand into the waist of her shorts. “The look in your eyes tells me I can get you off before the food arrives.”

  “Nope.” Jade stopped Garrett’s hand with her own. “I’ve decided you’re right. We need some nourishment for what I have in mind.”

  Loving this teasing, happy Jade, Garrett wrapped her in his arms before teasing her ear with his tongue.

  “Tell me what you have in mind.”

  Jade leaned closer, telling him in breathy detail.

  “Now that is cruel,” Garrett complained. His eyes were a fierce, molten gray. “I’ve dreamed of your mouth on me. Eat when I have that image in my head.”

  “Call it an appetizer.”

  Just then, the doorbell rang.

  “Good timing.” Garrett walked to the door. “I’ll give you fifteen minutes. Burger, fries, milkshake.”

  “You ordered milkshakes? What flavor?”

  “What else?” Garrett winked. “Chocolate.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  JADE’S EYES OPENED slowly. A small beam of early morning sunlight streamed through the crack in the closed curtains.

  Strong, masculine arms circled her waist, holding her close. Garrett. To wake up with him after a night of lovemaking was a luxury Jade had never expected to experience.

  No more sneaking in and out of seedy motel rooms. No more worries about getting caught or the consequences that would surely follow. Garrett wanted to be with her. Out in the open. For the whole world to see.

  Jade felt some lingering doubt. She knew better than anyone what her father was capable of. Especially when he felt the slightest bit of perceived embarrassment or humiliation. She had walked out without a word or a backward glance. She took nothing. Asked for nothing. For a man who prided himself on complete control of those around him, her actions had to rankle.

  Whatever Anson Marlow threw at them, they would take. Head on. Together.

  “That was a happy sound.”

  Garrett kissed Jade’s bare shou
lder, his arms pulling her close.

  “Happy woman, happy sounds.”

  She turned to face him. Garrett’s tousled hair and sleepy eyes were the best things she had ever seen this early in the morning. Feeling the nudge of his erection against her stomach, she smiled.

  “Speaking of happy.”

  “Hmm,” Garrett nuzzled the sensitive spot at the base of her throat. “Apparently, you didn’t wear me out last night. And early this morning. Despite your best efforts, there’s still life in the old boy.”

  Jade raised her leg over his hip, sliding her slick center over him.

  “Show me.”

  Garrett’s eyes sharpened

  “With pleasure.”

  “YOU LOOK LIKE the cat that got the cream. What were you up to last night?”

  Looking at his brother with wide-eyed innocence, Garrett merely shrugged.

  “Cut the bullshit,” Nate scoffed. “Who is she? Wait. Is it the same woman? The one Wyatt thought might be married?”

  “Wyatt has a dirty mind.”

  “We all do,” Nate grinned. “Dad blames Mom.”

  “And Mom blames Dad.” Garrett laughed. “The point is I don’t do married women. Only a dirty mind would accuse me of such a thing.”

  The brothers had met for a late lunch. After reluctantly leaving a very warm and satisfied Jade, Garrett headed to the studio for another production meeting. Since this one involved his recent activities in Vancouver, he couldn’t blow it off. Staying in bed with Jade all day was a much more appealing idea. The problem was he couldn’t use it as an excuse to get out of the meeting. Addicted to Jade wouldn’t cut it with Wyatt.

  “I’m beginning to worry about my brothers,” Garrett said, taking a bite of his BLT on whole wheat. “You equate happiness with sex.”

  “And you don’t?” Nate slathered his Reuben with mustard.

  “I don’t have to have sex to be happy.”

  Nate gave him one of those are you shitting me looks that always made Garrett laugh.

  “Don’t get me wrong,” Garrett said. “Sex never hurts.”

  “Damn straight,” Nate nodded. “If you do it right.”