Her hesitance a memory now, she wrapped her arms around his neck, threaded her fingers through his hair, breathing in the scent of his skin and his hair. Feeding off his kisses.
Garrett cupped the side of her face, caressed her cheek with his thumb, but gradually his hand slipped lower, first down her throat and neck, then to her shoulder, but he stopped there.
A little voice inside of her was begging, Keep going, please keep touching me. Her breasts or even between her legs, anywhere that might relieve the ache building inside of her. It would be okay if he did, because he’d promised not to let this go too far, and she trusted him.
Maybe she was thinking loud enough for him to hear, because his hand started to move again, drifting slowly until it covered her breast. The ache between her thighs became a raging inferno, and her breasts felt swollen and tender. For a minute he just held his hand there, as though he worried she might be afraid—or he was trying to drive her mad. Louisa held her breath, anticipating his next move, and when he squeezed softly the sensation was so intense she gasped.
He stopped kissing her and gazed down with lust-filled eyes. “Too much?”
“No!” she said in a voice so husky with desire she barely recognized it as her own. “Not enough.”
Wearing a sexy grin, he stroked one breast, then the other. When he took one nipple between his fingers and gently pinched, she whimpered. Men had touched her breasts before, but never had it felt this good. This… erotic. Then he stopped. She opened her mouth to protest, but he started unbuttoning her blouse and the words died in her throat.
“I’ve been wondering something,” he said, popping each button open with the flick of his skilled fingers. She watched as the last button gave way and he eased the sides back, exposing her pink lace bra. She wasn’t particularly large, a modest B cup, but what she lacked in size, she made up for in quality.
“What were you wondering?” she asked.
“How inexperienced are you? I mean, you must have some experience.”
“Some heavy petting, but always on top of the clothes. And kissing, of course.”
“What kind of kissing?” he asked.
What kind? How many kinds were there?
Confused, she said, “Just regular kissing, I guess.”
He flashed her an impish grin and she knew instantly that he was up to something.
“Anyone ever kiss you like this?” He dipped his head, brushing his lips on her breast at the very edge of the lace cup and Louisa could barely suppress the moan building in her throat. He kissed one, then the other, then he lifted his head to look at her.
“No,” she answered in an unsteady voice. “Never like that.”
“How about like this?” Using his tongue, he drew a damp path down the swell of one breast then up its mate. Then he looked at her and grinned.
Technically that wasn’t a kiss, but this was no time to be splitting hairs. Kiss or not, she was so turned on she felt like crawling out of her own skin. “I’m going to have to say no. In fact, pretty much anything you do at this point will be new territory for me.” And she could hardly wait to see where and how he touched her next. Fortunately she didn’t have to wait long.
Garrett nudged the cup of her bra aside, and for a second all he did was look at her. Her nipple was small and pink and pulled tight with arousal.
“You have the most beautiful breasts I’ve ever seen,” he said. She knew she should be polite and thank him, but he leaned forward and touched the very tip with his tongue and her brain went into shutdown mode. She didn’t think anything could feel more erotic…until he drew her nipple into his mouth and sucked. Hard. She threw her head back and moaned, arching closer to his mouth.
He leaned back to look at his handiwork. Her nipple was damp and tinted deep red from the suction. She expected him to do the same to the other breast, but instead he gazed down at her, his expression serious, and said, “We should probably stop for now.”
Wait, what? Was he serious? “Stop?”
“So things don’t go too far.”
She must have looked absolutely crestfallen, because he laughed and said, “Louisa, I’m teasing.”
“Bloody hell, don’t joke about a thing like that!” she scolded, expelling a relieved breath.
“We are running a little short on time.”
She looked at his watch and couldn’t believe how much time had passed already. And all they had done was kiss and touch. But she wanted more, and she wanted it now. If she was a little late for dinner, so be it. “Then let’s not waste any more time.”
She tugged on the hem of his shirt, and he helped her pull it over his head. His body was the most amazing she had ever seen and not just because his chest was wide and muscular, his abdomen hard and defined. She loved it because it belonged to him. She raised her hands and laid them on his chest, surprised by how hot his skin felt. Without his shirt to cover it, she could see his erection clearly against the loose jogging pants. So clearly that she realized he must not be wearing briefs or even boxers.
Garrett frowned and pressed one of his hands over hers. “You’re shaking. Are you afraid?”
She shook her head. “Not at all. Just excited.”
And fed up with going so slow.
She pushed Garrett onto his back, then sat up and straddled him, her skirt riding up all the way to the tops of her thighs. She shrugged out of her shirt then reached behind her and unclasped her bra, feeling an almost excruciating need to press her body to his, to rub her breasts against his chest. Garrett must have read her mind, because he seemed to know exactly what to do. As soon as her bra was off, he pulled her down to him, wrapping his arms around her. Their lips met in what was more of a mutual devouring than an actual kiss. They fed off one another, and if she could have eaten him alive, she would have.
Garrett’s hands seemed to be everywhere at once. Up and down her back and arms, kneading her breasts, tangling in her hair. But when he reached under her skirt and cupped her behind in his big, warm hands, the ache between her legs became unbearable.
He rolled her onto her back, and it felt so good, the weight of his body on hers, lying chest to chest, stomach to stomach. She wrapped her legs around his waist, unaware until that very second that his erection had become pinned between them, centered perfectly in line with the crotch of her panties.
Louisa gasped with surprise and Garrett groaned, then they both went still, Garrett wearing an expression that suggested this time, they may have gone too far.
Technically this was her fault. Had she been more experienced, she would have anticipated this, and she knew they were tempting fate lying like this, with barely more than a thin layer of nylon and a swatch of lace to prevent this from going any further.
But it felt so good.
For several seconds they just stared at one another, as if neither was sure what to do next. She didn’t relax her vise grip on his waist, and he didn’t try to pull loose.
Then it happened. With his eyes locked on hers, Garrett rocked back then inched slowly forward, stroking her with the entire length of his erection. Louisa felt it like an electric charge that started between her thighs and raced outward. She shuddered involuntarily and all the fine hairs on her body shivered to life.
He did it again, but this time she arched up to meet him and every inch of her skin, every cell in her body overflowed with pleasure, even though they still had their clothes on.
Garrett rocked into her, over and over, with the same slow, measured thrusts and her body moved naturally with him. She kissed his lips and his throat, bit his earlobes and raked her nails across his back and shoulders. She wanted to eat him up, brand him with her teeth and her nails. Not the way a proper princess should behave. But she didn’t care. She felt naughty and sexy and half out of her mind with lust, his every thrust driving her closer and closer to ecstasy.
So close.
She looked up at Garrett. His eyes were closed, his breath ragged and sweat beaded his fore
head. For some reason she’d thought he was doing this just to make her feel good, but in that instant she realized that he was going to climax, and that was all it took to drive her past the point of no return. Everything locked and a shudder that started in her center rippled out to encompass her entire being. She would have moaned but she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even think past the numbing pleasure.
Feeling her climax must have done Garrett in. He groaned from deep within his chest then went rigid, hissing out a breath as he gave one final thrust then dropped beside her.
Ten
Louisa lay beside Garrett in his bed, limp and trying to catch her breath, and suddenly, for no reason, Garrett started to laugh. A deep throaty laugh, as though he found something about the situation profoundly amusing.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
He gazed up at the ceiling, shaking his head. “I can’t believe we just did that.”
She frowned. “Was it…bad?”
He rolled onto his side, rising up on one elbow to look at her. “No, not at all. It was…fantastic.”
She was confused. “So why are you laughing?”
“Because the last time I did it that way I was fifteen. It’s a bit like wet dreams. After a certain age, you just don’t have them.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “I guess that makes sense.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, despite all the stories I’ve read, I’ve never seen any mention of what we just did.”
He grinned. “You would if they were written by adolescent boys.”
“So what we did was…unusual?”
“Very. It usually takes actual intercourse for me to climax.”
“Why is that, do you think?”
He shrugged. “I guess, once you start having sex, the novelty gradually wears off. But you turn me on so much, it’s like being a kid again. Starting from the beginning.”
That might have been one of the sweetest things a man had ever said to her. She grinned and said, “Think we could do it again?”
“Have you looked at the time?”
She read the display on his watch. Damn! It was already half past six. But if she hurried she could make it on time for dinner. “I’m sorry. I do have to go.”
“I understand.”
He looked so sexy lying there with no shirt on, wearing that adorable smile. She didn’t want to leave. She wanted to curl into his chest and cuddle with him. She wanted to fall asleep in his bed and wake in his arms, but she knew that her family was expecting her. And if she didn’t show, those guards who were waiting patiently outside might just break down the door to fetch her.
She rolled out of bed and grabbed her clothes.
Garrett lay there and watched her dress. “I have a grueling day at the office tomorrow, but maybe I could see you in the evening.”
“Oh, I can’t. I forgot to tell you, I’m filling in for Chris at some executive dinner. Now that he’s finally taking me seriously, I couldn’t refuse. What about the night after that?”
“Friday? I have a dinner meeting.”
“Do you have work to do Saturday?”
“If I do, it will have to wait. What would you like to do?”
Did he even have to ask?
Well, for propriety’s sake she could at least pretend they weren’t getting together just to ravish each other. “It might be difficult going out on an actual date,” she reminded him. “With all the security issues.”
“True,” he agreed thoughtfully. “I suppose we could just stay indoors.”
“I’m sure we could figure out something to keep us occupied.”
He smiled that sexy smile and asked, with a voice full of sexual innuendo, “Your place or mine?”
They decided to meet at his place, since here they would have the least interruption, then Garrett walked Louisa to the door. She called her bodyguard to let him know she was ready, and through the front window Garrett could see that there was a slew of vehicles parked in the street in front of his town house.
“The media circus has begun,” he told her.
She peered around him to see. “It sort of comes with the territory. But you get used to it. Once they have their photos and press releases, the hype will die down.”
He hoped so. He preferred to keep his life low profile—one more thing he would sacrifice as Louisa’s husband. Though he had a feeling, for a while at least, she would make up for it in other ways. And right now she looked so damned adorable, all rumpled and sexy, he wanted to drag her back upstairs.
There was a knock on the door and Garrett opened it to find two hulking bodyguards on his porch, the same ones from the hospital. Garrett was a big man, but these guys were giants, and he had little doubt Louisa would be quite safe in their care.
“We’re ready, Your Highness,” the one on the left said.
Louisa turned to Garrett, rose up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips, then she smiled and said, “See you Saturday.”
As soon as her foot hit the step, he heard the dull roar of camera shutters firing away and reporters shouting questions from the street. Even knowing he would be tomorrow’s fodder for the tabloids, he stood there and watched as she was helped in the car. She waved as the car pulled away and he waved back, watching until they rounded the corner at the end of the block. Then he heard from behind him, “My big brother, shagging a princess.”
He closed the door and turned to find Ian standing a few feet away, at the end of the hallway.
“Who I ‘shag’ is none of your concern. And for the record, I’m not.”
“Maybe, but you will be, because you always get what you want.” Ian shook his head and laughed. “Leave it to Garrett the overachiever to set his sights on the royal family.”
Garrett glared at him and walked past Ian to the kitchen to get himself a beer. If Ian hadn’t cleaned him out already, that is.
Ian followed him.
Surprisingly, there was the same number of bottles as the night before. Garrett took one out and twisted off the cap.
“Aren’t you going to offer me some?” Ian asked.
“Pain pills and alcohol. Smashing combination.” He closed the refrigerator.
Ian leaned back against the counter and propped his crutches in the corner. “I knew you were a power hound, but I never imagined you had the stones to bag a princess. What do you think Mum and Dad would say?”
“Since they’re not talking to me, I don’t imagine they would say much of anything.”
“I thought families were supposed to have only one black sheep,” Ian said with a wry smile, but Garrett could swear he saw regret lurking behind his eyes.
Was it possible that he had a conscience after all? That he really did want to change?
Garrett washed the possibility away with a swallow of ale. If he let himself get his hopes up, he would only be disappointed later.
“He’s jealous, you know,” Ian said.
“Who?”
“Our father.”
Garrett frowned. “Jealous of whom?”
“You.”
He had no idea what Ian was talking about. His father had made it very clear that he wanted nothing to do with Garrett or his money. “That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s true. He was never what you would call a pleasant man, we both have the scars to prove that, but after you left for university things were bad.”
Garrett automatically reached up to touch the small scar at the corner of his mouth. From a crack in the jaw he’d received for staying late at school to finish a project when he should have been home doing his chores. “How bad?”
“His temper became even more volatile. I had never seen him so angry. He and Mum were fighting all the time. But you know Mum, she would take it all. I was just a kid, but even I knew that wasn’t right. I asked her one day why he hated us so much.”
Garrett couldn’t help but ask, “What did she say?”
“That he was an unhappy man. That he
had dreams of going to university and doing more with his life, but being the oldest, it was his responsibility to take over the farm when his father retired. And he did it, because that was what was expected of him. He married and became a farmer, just like he was supposed to. He settled. Then you came along, knowing exactly what you wanted and not letting a single thing get in your way. He envied you, Garrett, maybe even hated you for it, because that’s the kind of man he was. And he convinced everyone else that what you’d done was some sort of slight against the family.”
And here Garrett had always believed his father had been content as a farmer, that he was happy with the simple life he’d chosen. “He never once said a word about wanting anything different.”
Ian shrugged. “It wasn’t his way.”
“Even if I knew, it wouldn’t have changed anything. I still would have left.”
“I’m not blaming you, Garrett. I just thought you should know why he’s such a bastard. I mean, at least I deserve the family’s hatred. You haven’t done anything wrong.”
“A father should want better for his sons. He should want them to strive for more. Instead he was always trying to hold me back.”
“That’s his problem, not yours.”
So why did Garrett still feel like it was his fault? Like he’d done something wrong? Parents were supposed to love their kids unconditionally. Push them to succeed. And it wasn’t just his father at fault. His mum bore just as much blame. She should have defended Garrett, should have been his advocate, not her husband’s enabler.
Like Ian said, it wasn’t Garrett’s fault. But he couldn’t decide if this new information was a relief or only made him feel worse.
How many times had he told himself that he’d stopped caring? That nothing they could say or do could hurt him, even if that meant them not saying or doing anything at all? Somewhere deep down, did he still care?
He took a long swallow, draining the bottle, then said, “Shouldn’t you be lying down resting or something?”
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