by Amelia Jade
“I should have done it,” she mused to herself.
She should have. She could have.
That raised the question of why she hadn’t. It was fairly obvious that Garrin was interested in her as well. She couldn’t describe how she knew that, but she did. Nothing overt had happened obviously, but they had also been flirting constantly. If she made a move, she was confident it would be reciprocated.
That, of course, got her to wondering about Garrin. Why had he not made a move? Was there something he wasn’t telling her that she should know about? He seemed like he was on the up and up with her, that he wasn’t purposefully concealing something from her.
But Mia had been wrong before, and she supposed she could be wrong again. She didn’t think so, but one could never be sure.
Yes, yes you can. Garrin is probably the most honest and proper person that you’ve met. Don’t sell him short; that’s insulting to his integrity.
“So when is he going to make a move then?” she asked out loud, responding to her own inner voice.
Hopefully soon.
It wouldn’t be today though, she knew that. He’d told her before he left that he was going back into Cadia. She’d not pressed him on why, knowing that shifters were notoriously private about the goings-on within their territories. If he wanted to tell her, then he would tell her.
She missed him, she realized suddenly. His presence nearby was a solid, tangible thing that she hadn’t realized she wanted. In this new world she was involved in, where shifters threatened her well-being, having him around made her feel safer.
If only Trevor could feel this way.
Her mood darkened as she once again thought about her hapless twin, stuck in some dungeon in Fenris, likely with less than ideal care. He probably didn’t even know that she was actively working to get him freed.
Finally. It only took you three weeks to get the courage to go to the Green Bearets.
What was she supposed to have done? They threatened to kill him if she went to the authorities for help. Was it really so unreasonable for her to be paralyzed with fear for his well-being? She’d come to the right conclusion eventually, and now Garrin was going to go rescue him.
Everything was going to work out in the end.
Sobered by her recent trains of thought, Mia finally got out of bed, slipping on some sweatpants and a sweatshirt, along with her comfortable fuzzy slippers, before trudging her way to the kitchen in search of sustenance.
She was halfway through the bowl of cereal she’d decided upon when the door shook in its frame. Her hand paused, the spoon halfway between the bowl and her mouth. Mia contemplated answering the door.
Food first.
The spoon continued its trek to her mouth where she snagged its contents before setting the bowl down on the counter.
Peering through the eyehole, she smiled, the expression reaching far beyond her face, affecting her entire being.
“Well,” she said as soon as the door opened a crack. “That was slightly less house-shaking than the previous time. But perhaps take another, say, forty percent off of it? I really don’t feel like paying for a new door.”
Garrin, his hand still raised, ready to knock on the door a second time, stared at her in shock.
“Oh stop it,” she said with a laugh at his frozen expression and stepped back from the door, letting him in.
“Thanks.” He came in, closing the door with exaggerated gentleness behind him.
“So, what are you doing here?” she asked, returning to her cereal, trying not to feel overly self-conscious about the outfit he had caught her wearing.
“Uh, I just returned from Cadia,” he replied, his tone changing immediately.
Mia was immediately on her guard. Something was up, and he wasn’t happy about it.
“I gathered that,” she said warily, her eyes searching his for a clue of what was to come, even the tiniest hint. “What are you about to spring on me?”
She decided to meet the bombshell head-on. Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to like it, and Garrin was fully aware of this fact. But sugarcoating it wouldn’t help the matter either, and the apprehension as he tried to tiptoe his way around saying it would only make things worse in the long run. So, it was best to just get it out.
“Mia,” he began, and then faltered.
“Please, just spit it out,” she said, trying to keep her voice as firm and level as she could. “The longer you take the worse it gets, so please, just tell me.”
He shook his head, the movement carrying down to his shoulders and body. “Okay,” he said. “I was told that I’m not to conduct a long-range raid into Fenris. That your government is likely to intervene, and that I need to wait for that to happen. That they will find your brother.”
Mia stared at him, her eyes slowly opening and closing as she processed all the information contained in those three sentences.
Garrin wasn’t going to rescue Trevor.
Trevor, who had been at the not-so-tender mercy of Fenris for weeks now, was going to be forced to stay as their guest for even longer. Trevor, who was now in even more danger because she’d confessed herself to Garrin.
“Why?” she asked hoarsely, feeling tears spring to her eyes as her fear for her twin manifested itself physically.
“The dragons won’t lend their support. I need them to get us into Fenris. My men and I would go regardless of our orders otherwise, but without any dragons with us, we would be caught and killed before we could even get within visual range. I’m not afraid to take myself or my men into a situation where we may get killed. That is part of our job, and they all know the risks.” His eyes tightened and his voice filled once more with that steely tone, one born of command. “But I will not take them into a situation where they will get killed. We will not commit suicide. I cannot allow it.”
He sagged suddenly, as if all the will was gone out from him, and his eyes dropped the guard they seemed to hold permanently. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, his voice sheer agony. “Mia, I’m so sorry.”
She felt her heart break as the sorrow and shame flowed forth from him. Here was a prideful man, one who had promised to rescue her brother as a thank you for revealing what Fenris was planning, for telling them that she and possibly others were spying for their enemies.
Yet she felt the failure hit her like a tidal wave. Garrin was used to succeeding, to rising and meeting all challenges, and now he had been robbed of the chance to save Trevor before it even began.
“It’s not your fault,” she said, and as if by mutual acclamation they reached out for each other and pulled themselves tight together.
She clutched at him, drinking in the stolid, physical presence of his colossal frame, letting herself become wrapped up in his thick, powerful arms. In return, she let her strength of mind flow out and over him.
“It’ll be okay,” she whispered, somehow knowing that it would, though she couldn’t see how. But the words felt right, and she whispered them over and over.
“I’m going to keep trying,” he promised in her ear. “As long as they think you’re still on their side, they’ll keep him alive and well. So we have some time.”
Mia shook her head. “No, we don’t. They want all the information they asked for to be delivered in two days’ time. Once I don’t give it to them, they’ll know, and they’ll kill him.”
Garrin tightened his arms slightly. “We’ll figure something out, I promise.”
***
Garrin
“Well I can’t give them the truth,” Mia said, pulling away from him just enough to be able to look up at him.
“I know,” he said, his brain whirring, beginning to come up to speed. “But we could help you put together a set of answers that would look proper enough, but that are actually incorrect. If we lie about certain things, alter other aspects, then not only will they have false information, but we’ll be able to predict to a certain degree how they’ll use that information.”
He
stood up straighter. “In fact, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Because then we can plan out their likely avenues of attack, and be ready to hit them hard when they do. We’ll ambush them and smash their assault before it does anything.” His eyes glittered with the idea of stopping his enemies cold.
“What if they catch on?”
He shrugged. “Then we’re no better off than we were before you came to us, truthfully. But they won’t. Hell, we can give them almost all the stuff they want, besides our actual estimated numbers here in town, and then change it all after they have it. Doesn’t really matter in the end.”
Mia was nodding. “Okay, so that keeps Trevor alive for the time being,” she said, sighing in relief.
He was suddenly aware of the tremble in her knees when they threatened to give out from under her. Garrin tightened his arms and she all but fell into him. He picked her up and carried her over to the couch, where she sank gratefully into it.
“How do we ensure that the humans go looking for him?” she asked as he sat down next to her.
Neither of them reacted to the fact that he’d not sat at the far end of the couch.
“We tell them,” he said bluntly, trying not to frown at what she’d just said.
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
“Oh,” she said in a small voice. “I didn’t think it would be that simple.”
“Often times it’s not,” he admitted, his mind still straying back to her earlier words.
How do we ensure the humans go looking for him? She’d referred to her own kind in the third person.
Garrin wondered if she even realized what she’d done.
Her leg brushed against his as she readjusted herself on the couch, and he abruptly became aware of what he’d done. Or what he hadn’t done.
He hadn’t left any space between them. Garrin swallowed hard as the realization of their proximity sunk in. This wasn’t like hugging. That was a natural, and fairly common interaction, and it also happened while they were standing up.
There wasn’t anything he could really do about it either. Moving over would be rather conspicuous, and would simply draw further attention to the fact that they were sitting so close.
Why should it matter so much? It’s not like you aren’t enjoying it at all.
Garrin was enjoying it. Perhaps a little too much, but he was able to conceal that reaction for the time being. He wondered if Mia was enjoying it as well, or if she was secretly begging him to move farther away.
A mental rumble from his bear told him he was stupid. If anything, it was saying, she wanted him closer. To put his arm around her.
That wouldn’t work though, because she was currently leaning away from him, and Garrin was absolutely not going to just drape himself over her like a blanket. That was a decidedly unromantic first move, and if he was going to kiss her, he wanted it to be proper.
“We should go out,” he said at last.
“We should what?” Mia asked, suddenly flustered.
“Out. On a walk, or to get lunch or something,” he said, unsure what had caused her to get so worked up.
You just asked her out, you big buffoon. Think that might have something to do with it?
Garrin had to restrain himself from slamming the butt of his hand off his forehead. Of all the boneheaded, idiotic, bumbling things to say, he’d had to go and say that?! It was a small wonder that Mia didn’t think of him as some brainless brute.
“Oh,” she replied. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. You’ve been cooped up in here too long.”
He stood, and offered a hand to help her up. Mia took it.
Garrin jerked as his entire body reacted to her touch. His muscles seized up as if a current of electricity were running through them, conducted through her hand to him. Even his brain seemed to shut off, freezing his body in position, preventing him from even helping Mia to her feet.
Neither of them moved, the seconds stretching on and on. Garrin knew what he wanted. It was right there in front of him, her hand clasped in his. All he had to do was reach out, to make that move, to show Mia how he felt. Deep within he knew, he simply knew, that she wanted it too. But he couldn’t move. Couldn’t do anything to break the trance, and his frustration grew and grew.
Until finally something inside him snapped.
With a feral, almost primal growl of desire, he pulled Mia from the couch, using his strength to lift her clear off the ground. His free arm wrapped around her waist. Instinctively Mia wrapped her legs around him and squeezed, her face coming to a rest fractions of an inch from his.
Then he kissed her.
There was nothing sensual, seductive, or gentle about it. It was all base instinct, more animalistic than human. Their lips met and parted in rapid succession as they unleashed their pent-up feelings upon each other in a war of kisses that took his breath away.
The noise in the back of his throat doubled and redoubled in intensity as Mia’s hands and mouth stripped away any last remaining walls he may have had in place. Her lips parted and he explored her mouth hungrily. A soft gasp of raw excitement slipped from her throat, the sound driving him wild.
Swinging around, he moved swiftly to the kitchen island, sitting her down on it, so that he could use both of his hands to explore her body. Running them along her legs and up her sides, he buried his face in her neck, alternating between kissing and gently biting at the sensitive skin there, eliciting both moans and shivers of delight.
“Garrin,” she whispered into his ear at one point, her teeth tugging on his earlobe.
That one simple word broke the dam of his restraint, and he began to tug at her shirt.
Soft, slightly-tan hands wrapped themselves around his huge fingers as best they could.
“Not out here,” she said. “The blinds are open. People will see.”
He glanced over his shoulder at the bay window looking out over the neighborhood.
“Bedroom?” he asked.
“Bedroom.”
No more words were exchanged as he once more lifted her taller-than-average frame as if it weighed nothing and left the kitchen behind.
Chapter Eight
Mia
It was happening. It was actually happening.
And she couldn’t be happier, Mia realized as Garrin set her down and she turned to face the bed.
Her heart was racing. The blood was flowing through her body with excessive speed, making her hot and more than a little bothered. Her skin tingled and she felt every press of Garrin with crystal clarity. She felt giddy, the butterflies in her stomach trying desperately to escape even as it tied itself into knots.
His touch was driving her wild, and they were both still clothed.
Not that that’s likely to last much longer, she thought as they entered the bedroom. Garrin didn’t close the door behind them, but she didn’t care. Nobody could see in. It’s not that Mia was ashamed of her body, in fact quite the opposite; she rather liked the way she looked naked.
Normally she would either not have cared, or perhaps would have just closed the curtains. But something in her had decided that for this night at least, only Garrin was to see her. She was giving herself up to him, and he to her. Something was different about this. Mia was thirty. Garrin wasn’t the first boy she’d ever been with.
So that made it far easier for her to tell that this was going to be special. Unique. And though she wasn’t ready to acknowledge it, it was quite possible this was the first time she was going to sleep with the last person she would ever sleep with.
Convoluted thoughts like that began to stream through her head faster than she could process them, and Mia began to lose focus on the moment.
Warm hands slid up under her shirt as Garrin approached her from behind, touching her bare skin. All thought in her mind came to a screeching halt, shattering into thousands of pieces as Garrin pulled the sweatshirt up and over her head.
She hadn’t put a b
ra on that morning, and now his hands were free to cup her breasts, his touch surprisingly deft and gentle for one of his size. He kissed the back of her neck, sending shivering tingles down her spine. Under his caresses her nipples became hard and came to attention, becoming more sensitive as he gently rolled them and dragged his fingertip around in a circle.
Every place his hands touched lit on fire, and as he learned the curves of the rest of her body, the inferno inside of her climbed higher and higher. His fingers stoked the flames with every brush of her ribs, adding fuel with every caress of her ass.
He built it hotter and faster, until she was practically panting from his touch alone. When he pulled the sweatpants down, taking her underwear with them in one gentle move, Mia whimpered with desire.
“I need you,” she told him, her hands shaking as she turned to wrap them around his neck. “Please.”
Mia wasn’t much of a beggar, not even in the bedroom where it could be fun. But right then and there she would have done anything to have Garrin inside of her.
But the big man wasn’t rushing things, and his finger brushed against her lip, hushing her pleas.
“First things first,” he rumbled, the deep bass of his voice sending another tremor through her body as it washed over her.
He picked her up and laid her on the bed, pushing her back until her head nestled itself into the pillows. Then Garrin followed her onto the bed. He started at her ankles and slowly kissed his way up her legs, maintaining eye contact with her the entire time. Mia shivered and slowly writhed under his touch, hating and yet loving every moment of the long, arduous teasing that she was undergoing.
At long last he reached her thighs, and she didn’t fight him as he placed both his hands on the insides of her legs and pressed them outward, exposing herself to him. A sly grin washed over his face as he inched his way closer, until at long last his tongue, soft and warm, slid over her, brushing against her clit with near-painful gentleness.
“Oh.” The single word escaped from her lips as the burning spread across her like wildfire, flames igniting every nerve ending in her body as he began to use long, slow strokes of his tongue to pleasure her.