by Mia Jones
“Hmmm?” Her eyes opened to gaze at him and slide over his masculine features. Her heartbeat began to bang loudly in her ears, making concentrating on his words impossible.
This time he outright laughed. “I asked you a question?” He ran his thumb back and forth over her lips. “If you don’t answer me in the next three seconds, I’m going to have to kiss you,” he threatened.
She blinked up at him in startled confusion when he pulled her across his lap against his chest and lowered his head. He immediately drove his tongue into her mouth. She was absolutely powerless to resist him. In fact, she was eager to give him the control his kiss seemed to demand.
His arms wrapped around her and clasped her tightly to his chest. He slid one hand down to cup her hip over the thick denim fabric and aligned her body to his. A need unlike anything he’d ever felt dominated every thought in his head and shot bolts of pleasure to every nerve in his body. He growled low in his throat and turned to adjust the way their mouths fit together before he deepened the kiss and further stroked her.
She was unable to breathe; all she could do was feel. The hottest wave of desire swept through her so strongly, fear raced down her spine. It was too intense, too overwhelming. She jerked and pulled back only to be hauled back into his embrace. She whimpered low in her throat.
The sound of her distress immediately reached him. He lifted his head to stare down into her face that was laced slightly with distress. He brushed his fingers over her lips. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t expect that to get out of control so fast, and the last thing I want is to scare you.”
Jessica swallowed and nodded before she pushed herself off his chest and sat down next to him on the couch. Jessica adjusted her shirt before she looked up at him through her lashes.
Garrett put a hand on her chin and ignored her slight flinch. “Don’t look like that, sweetheart. I need you to believe I would never hurt you or push you to go faster then you’re ready to go.”
Jessica paused for a moment then nodded and caressed the wrist that lay across her face. “It just took me off guard. I’m not used to feeling like—oh, I don’t know. Like I had no control of my body.”
His mouth kicked up at the side. “Oh, it took me off guard too. But always remember, I do have control, and no matter how hard it would be, if you weren’t ready, just tell me, baby. Just say stop. Okay?”
Jessica felt the need right below the surface. “Maybe it would be a good idea to call it a night.”
“I agree with you. Because if I stay this close to you, I’m going to want to taste you again.” He stood and pulled her up beside him and tugged her along behind him until they got to the door. He turned and pulled her into his arms. “Will you give me a good-night kiss?” he asked, already bending his head.
Jessica stood on tiptoe and met him halfway. Standing against him showed the difference in their heights. Maybe it should make her insecure that he was nearly twice her size, but all she felt was dainty and feminine. Him in boots and her in her socks didn’t help the contrast.
Garrett made sure to keep this kiss slow and short. He lifted his head and looked at her upturned face. God, she was so damn beautiful. He just wanted to sink into her and stay there. “Jessica,” he said to get her attention. He tipped her chin up with his hand. “From now on, I’m going to want you to kiss me wherever whenever we meet and let it be the last thing you do before we part. Can you do that for me?”
“Really. Anywhere? What if...” Her eyes widened and a red tinge covered her cheeks.
Garrett nodded. “I don’t care who’s there, Jessica.” A smile tugged at his lips. “What are you doing tomorrow and Sunday?”
Jessica ran her hands up and down the roped muscles in his arms. She was amazed at how much larger he was than what his clothes showed. “I’ll be busy all day tomorrow; a few board members are coming in to help me with filling out grants for funding the shelter, and that takes all day. Then we usually go out to eat. Sunday, I have to run to the shelter in the morning to feed and water the animals, but I don’t have anything after that.”
“I’ll go with you Sunday and help and then take you to lunch.”
Jessica smiled, and her head tilted to the side. “Was that a question? Or demand? And are you sure you want to help me on a Sunday, probably your only day off?”
Garrett kissed the tip of her nose. “Both. And I hardly ever take a day off. In fact, I can’t remember taking a day off. Now what time should I be here to pick you up?”
“I can mee—”
He interrupted her, his face hardened, and his voice deepened. “Jessica?”
Jessica rolled her eyes, which made his face darken further. “Oh, for God’s sake. Pick me up at nine.”
He nodded curtly and kissed her hard and quick one more time before he opened the door. “No answering the door without asking, and no men. Got it?”
Jessica nodded and bit the inside of her cheek. She guessed he wouldn’t appreciate her amusement right then. He nodded once and walked out the door.
Jessica leaned heavily against the door, placed a hand over her galloping heart, and tried to catch her breath. The sight of him...large and strong and so handsome. His musky masculine smell and low timbre of his gruff voice, all or alone, made it hard to breathe deeply− to have a normal heartbeat.
A stern voice came through the wood. “Jessica. Lock that door.”
She gasped, and a nervous laugh bubbled up her throat. She immediately turned and latched the locks.
“Good girl. Night, baby.”
Jessica leaned her forehead and hands against the cold wood. “Good night,” she said quietly.
Chapter 6
Sunday, Jessica finished braiding her hair and secured it with a rubber band when there was a knock at the door. She peeked her head out of the bathroom. “Come in,” she yelled.
She heard the door open and close but no other sound. She ran to her bedroom to get a jacket before she walked toward the living room. At first, she didn’t see anyone.
“Good morning, Jessica.”
Her head jerked toward the sliding glass doors where Garrett stood in the shadows next to them with his arms crossed. He was so ruggedly handsome in faded jeans and a blue long-sleeved T-shirt. She could look at him all day. She walked toward him, smiled, and stopped when she got a foot away. The look on his face made her nervous. He didn’t look mad really, just cold and detached. She took the remaining step and stood on tiptoe, and when he didn’t bend to kiss her, she kissed his chin. She retreated several feet before she looked up into his eyes.
“I remembered,” she said with a shaky smile. A chill ran down her spine, and she started to fidget when he continued to watch her. She took a few steps back. Her brows puckered. “Listen, Garrett, I would totally understand if you changed your mind. It’s Sunday for God’s sake. You have to have better things to do than feed animals.”
He stayed silent for another moment as the tick in his jaw grew. “Is that what you think? That I don’t want to go with you, and that’s why I’m upset?” His voice got lower and rougher as he talked.
Jessica shrugged her shoulders. “I guess. Why else would you be upset?”
Garrett frown grew and he shook his head. “Let me get this straight. You remembered when I requested you to kiss me hello and good-bye, but you couldn’t remember my request to keep your door locked and ask who it was before you opened it?”
His voice took on a tone she could only describe as incredulous and deadly at the same time. A deep flush crept over her face as she bit her bottom lip. “You’re right, I didn’t think, bu—”
He took a step toward her. “There are no buts, Jessica. Not with your safety.”
“You’re right Garre—”
He closed the short distance between them and clasped her shoulders. “I don’t want to be right. I want you to be safe.”
Her hands went to his chest. She could feel the tension in his stomach through his dark blue T-shirt and felt bad.
“Okay. I’ll try to do better.”
His hands became caressing as his eyes softened. “I know you will, because I’m warning you, there will be consequences if you don’t.”
She tried to take an angry step back. “What consequences?” Her eyebrows snapped together. “You don’t have the right to give me consequences.”
“I’m making it my right.” He held her in place.
“But you—”
“Promise me you’ll do as I ask? I can’t tell you how to do your job, even though it scares the shit out of me knowing you handle vicious dogs, because I respect that you know what you’re doing. But what I’m asking for is just for your security.”
Jessica couldn’t determine the emotion that rolled through his eyes, but the stiffness of his body told her how strongly he felt. She had never had someone care like this about her, ever, except Angie. She encircled his trim waist and held him tightly. She cleared her throat. “I promise, Garrett, and I’m sorry I upset you.” She held her breath until finally his arms came around her and pulled her in tighter against him.
He didn’t say anything for a long moment, just held her and rubbed his chin against her head. “I think you should greet me again. The first time I was too angry to enjoy it.”
She snorted and pulled back before she stood on her tiptoes. This time he lowered his head, and between one breath and the next, he took control and the kiss deepened.
She couldn’t do anything but hang on and try to get a breath into her lungs. She shivered when his hands started to roam over her back and hips. She gasped when one slid farther down to cup one side of her butt.
Garrett lifted his head to stare down at her and watched her reaction to his hand there. When she stood mutely, he moved his hand, and his fingertips grazed the crease between. The old jeans she wore made it impossible to go farther. He clenched his jaw in frustration. As much as he wanted to strip her and lay her on the nearest flat surface, he knew it was too early for them to take that step. He removed his hand slowly before he straightened. “I think we’d better go, sweetheart, before this gets out of hand again.”
Jessica nodded and stared wide-eyed at him before she moved back. She turned toward the door and picked up her jacket and purse. In the hallway, she moved to lock the door, but Garrett gently took the keys from her shaky hands and locked it himself. Then they stood and looked at each other. He waited for her argument. When she stood silently, he nodded in approval and handed back her keys before he took her hand to lead her to his car.
After she snapped her seatbelt, she drew in a deep breath. “Your car smells good.” She leaned back into the softest car seat she’d ever known.
He glanced at her quickly and shook his head before he turned his attention back to the traffic. “Thanks.” He chuckled.
Chapter 7
The building they pulled up to was much larger then he’d thought it would be. Flowers were planted and potted around the entrance to add color and a sense of welcome to the drab one-level gray building. “How many animals can this place house?”
Jessica got out of the car and looked down to find the right key before she looked at him. “We can house one hundred dogs and about one hundred and twenty cats if we double them up in cages. We also have a few smaller rooms for the other domesticated animals we receive. Right now, I’m happy to say we’re only at twenty percent occupancy.”
She relocked the first door before unlocking the next. After he was through the door, she locked that one too.
“Hey, sexy lady,” a disjointed voice said from off to the side.
Jessica laughed at the look on Garrett’s face. “Hey, handsome,” she replied before she turned back to Garrett. “I should have warned you about Harry.”
“Who the hell is Harry?” Garrett said with a controlled cool voice and one eyebrow cocked up.
She chuckled again. “Not who, what. Follow me and I’ll introduce you.”
They moved around and behind the counter. In the corner on top of a large bird cage was a huge colorful bird. Jesus. He’d never been this close to a bird this size.
Jessica put her things down and walked up to it before she put her hand out and waited. “Hello, handsome Harry. Have you been a good boy?”
The bird delicately clutched onto the side of her hand to perch there and started to spread his feathers as if to show how beautiful he was. “Yes, sexy lady,” the voice said.
He couldn’t believe she had a conversation with the bird, and it seemed to understand. “What kind of bird is he?”
She stroked the bird’s chest with the back of her other hand and smiled when Harry bobbed his head up and down in a sort of dance and flapped his wings. “Harry is an Amazon Scarlett Macaw.”
“How did an Amazon bird get here?” Garrett watched the two of them together. She amazed him with how she handled a bird a third her size. Every time he thought she couldn’t get more beautiful, she did something to make his attraction rise. Her hair hung in a thick braid down her back that he wanted to wrap around his hand. Her red T-shirt and baggy jeans should have detracted from her beauty, but it drove him crazy to get his hands on her and find out how his hands would fit around her waist or if she had enough meat on her to be able to cushion him when he finally got on top of her.
“Unfortunately, poachers will kill the parents and take the fledglings to sell here in the United States. They do this with a lot of different species, not just birds. And once in captivity, it’s next to impossible to give them their freedom back in the wild. We’re not for sure if he was born free or in captivity. Now he’s stuck with us.”
“Can’t someone adopt him?”
She chuckled. “We’ve tried a few times, but they always bring him back because he won’t settle down, and he becomes mean. These types of birds tend to connect with one main person and tolerate others. It seems that I’m the lucky one.” Jessica smiled.
“Why is he still here and not at your place?” Garrett smiled at the animation on her face and the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about animals. He prayed that she would eventually light up like that when she saw him or talked about him.
“A few reasons. One, he can get a little loud and the neighbors would complain, and two, I see him more if I keep him here. I’m very rarely home.”
“She’s my lover,” Harry said before he made a kissing sound.
A startled laugh burst from Garrett. “You’re a lucky bird, Harry. How did he come to be here with you?”
Jessica’s mouth turned down as she placed him back on the top of his cage then turned to fill its food bowl. “His last owners had to give him up when they moved into a retirement home. The man had a small stroke, and his wife couldn’t take care of him at home. It was devastating for all three of them. They’d had Harry for over twenty years. These types of birds can live to fifty. So I could keep him for twenty or more years.”
“That’s like having a kid,” he remarked. “Except you can throw them out at eighteen.”
Or before, she thought. Jessica turned away and headed down a long hallway before she stepped into a small room filled with cages. “I try to take him to see them a few times a month.”
“I bet they appreciate that.” Had he ever met a sweeter person? Did he deserve someone like her?
She nodded distractedly as she continued down the very clean hallway then opened a gray metal door. “Right now, we have only two rabbits and one guinea pig.” She very efficiently opened each silver metal cage to take out the water bowls before she filled up their food dishes. Each animal had a separate, specific type food in a container on top of their cages. After she cleaned the bowls in a small sink in the corner, she filled them and put them back in the cages. She took out the animals individually and carefully inspected them. “I always check them over. If you find an injury or problem early, it’s easier to take care of.”
Garrett silently stood and leaned against the door and watched, amazed at how easy she made it look and how relaxed she was here
. He never had a pet growing up. It was hard enough just to feed him and his sister. He couldn’t ever remember even holding one...cat, dog, or hamster, never. His gaze roamed the room and noted how clean it was with a hint of pine-scented cleaner. In fact, he hadn’t yet caught a hint of animals in the building. Although the walls were gray concrete blocks, she’d put up colorful posters on the walls to add interest and color to otherwise drab walls.
“Okay. Let’s get to the cats. We have a little more than ten percent in the feline section, but we always have more cats then dogs.” She started at one end and did the same thing she did in the other room.
“Have you always had pets?”
“No, never my own, but I found strays and made sure they went to a place that would take care of them,” she said softly as she kept walking.
A frown crossed his face. There was something in the tone of her voice that he would bring up again at a different time.
He followed her through another gray metal door into a much larger room with many cages. A chorus of meows started the second they saw Jessica. “What can I help with?”
Jessica paused and looked at him over her shoulder. “Have you ever had a pet? And do you know if you’re allergic to anything?”
He shook his head but kept his eyes locked on her. “But I could learn how to handle them if you teach me.” He wanted to learn as much about her as possible. Everything about her fascinated him.
She smiled widely, pleased. “Okay, come here. This is Fancy. If you hold her while I get her dish and litter box cleaned, it would help. We like to handle the animals as much as possible. They become more gentle and used to humans that way.” She handed the cat off to Garrett and walked away.
Shit. She just walked away. He lifted the cat until they were eye to eye. He released a breath when the cat just blinked at him. He pulled it into his chest and hesitantly petted its back.
He ended up handling all the cats except a mean one that tried to scratch Jessica.
“That one will probably become a farm cat. He doesn’t really like people that much, but he’d be a great mouser.”