To my surprise, he shook his head. “I was eavesdropping on your conversation with Jerry. Something about the plans didn’t seem right to me, but I wanted your insight, since joints are your area of expertise. I trust any recommendations you make.”
It was Jonathan at the door, coming to look for us. “They’re getting a bit antsy that you haven’t returned, yet, worried that you’re ready to pull out of the deal given the slight defect that was discovered by Laurel.”
“I just needed to discuss the redesign with my girlfriend,” Garrett answered for us, giving a quick wink to his brother.
Jonathan looked back and forth between us before finally smiling warmly. “It’s about damn time! Grace and I’ve been wondering if we would have to lock you two in a room and force you to talk out everything. It’s so obvious you two care and love one another.”
It was nice to know we had their approval. Before I could think anything else, Jonathan motioned us next door so we could resume talks.
I was surprised to see everyone around the table deep in discussion about the changes I’d suggested. The room looked a bit different, and I noticed that the dinner had been removed and replaced with variety of desserts and general game snacks, along with a few different varieties of beer.
Mr. Williamston Sr. was the first to approach Garrett. “I guess you’ve been talking about the defect your engineer has found in our prototype.” He looked over toward me. “She’s quite a talent to have on your team. I’d love to steal her away to work on my engineering team, but I’ve heard you already blocked attempts to let her leave in the past.”
Garrett’s smile widened as emotion filled his eyes. “She’s definitely a rare find, Tom. Any offer you made would be countered by Mr. Waters. He’s determined not to let this one get away.”
OMG…he just threw me a wink.
“My apologies for the length of our absence,” Garrett continued, “but I’ve been on the phone with Mr. Waters, wanting to see his thoughts on the matter and discussing the opportunity that still exists. He still sees the potential, I think we just need to iron out all the details.” He motioned me to join them at the table. “Shall we get down to business so we can enjoy this amazing game?”
“Here, here!” all the guys said in unison, with beer in hand, looking a bit replete from their meal.
I sat back and answered questions during halftime and more once the game was through. Garrett had talked them into redefining the contract, dependent on a better prototype and more testing. He gave the company three months to redesign the prototype and go through testing to work out any kinks, pending they went ahead and signed with WMI, to give them exclusive rights to the product once it was available for the market. If they failed to produce the desired effect, the contract would be null and void.
Mr. Williamston’s son didn’t look pleased with the terms and tried to argue that they could always go with the other company, who’d already had an offer on the table, but his father insisted.
“We’d be putting out an inferior product that would not only discredit our company, but could hurt patients if the prosthetic failed while they were using it,” Tom Sr. explained. “Laurel has pointed out a solution to an issue we had no clue how to resolve. We owe them the opportunity to represent us.”
I’d never been in the presence of a CEO before, other than Garrett, but the way he held the patient with such esteem, wanting to better their lifestyle, impressed me. The only other people I’d met who ever held those same ideals were Professor Leonard and Garrett.
By the time the night was through, the new contract had been drawn up, faxed over to the suite, and signed. Jerry had tried sitting close to me a couple of times, only to be blocked by Garrett or Jonathan. When he finally did get close, he backed up, a knowing look in his eye. Did he really just smell Garrett on me? That bastard… Not like a dog my ass.
The game had been amazing, with their team winning, which made for an all around happy evening. Garrett and Jonathan shook everyone’s hands and Mr. Williamston Sr. promised to have his design team get right on the new changes and assured us he’d be in touch with all of us shortly.
Garrett kept me away from Jerry and Mack, leading me straight to the awaiting limo, where his lips crashed against mine as soon as the doors closed. He only stopped long enough to tell Thompson, “Back to the penthouse,” in a rushed tone.
When we returned to the penthouse, we couldn’t get to bed fast enough. Garrett’s hands danced a trail of seduction across my clothes and skin, leaving shed clothes all the way up the stairs and to his bedroom.
I was just as desperate, finding the buttons on his shirt too cumbersome to undo, so I gave his shirt a hard tug, watching as the buttons flew off and scattered around the room. Somehow we managed, in the course of being all lips, teeth and touches, to get naked and find our way to bed. There was no use of toys, no playful games, only the intense connection of two souls coming together on a plane of existence that spoke beyond the measures of the heart and of love, of trust and devotion. We ended up making love several more times, committing to one another with our words and our bodies before finally falling into the first pleasant slumber in ages.
I’d thought the first night of us as a couple would be the highlight of this new relationship, but every day brought the promise of new adventures, new sentiments. One thing about Garrett—when he commits to something, he does it fast and with total completion.
Several weeks passed and we did receive a couple more threatening notes from Chase, and for once, when a note arrived, we both scrutinized it. I was thankful that he didn’t try to hide his concern from me, instead sharing what was going on and how they wanted to pursue it.
Thompson and Dillon were working with the authorities to try and track Chase’s moves and see where his father had disappeared to, as well. For some reason, the elder Peterson was nowhere to be found, but believed to be funneling funds from his business to protect his son. The police wanted Mr. Peterson brought in for questioning and charged in aiding and abetting a known criminal, but they just couldn’t find him. Chase now had the added charge of attempted murder with his note and the accident with my SUV.
Garrett did everything he could to provide a distraction for my mind so I wouldn’t think about Chase just waiting to get me. He’d taken me out on the town for dinner and dancing, even flying me down south to sample some of the unique flavors that only Key West could offer.
He turned from cold and distant to overheated and extremely sexual at the drop of a hat. I enjoyed everything he was doing, but kept wondering when the other shoe would fall and force me to take a playing card from the deck of life. I was so worried I would get one that said, “Life takes an unexpected twist, take three steps back.” I just never knew with Garrett.
My period had come a couple days after the meeting and basketball game. It had only lasted a half a day, so I called the doctor to ask why, but was reassured that with the Depo-Provera, spotting instead of a period wasn’t uncommon. I didn’t like not knowing when I would start, so I opted to go back on my regular birth control pill, but something still felt off.
My stomach never did settle completely. It would be okay for a couple days and then give me the worst case of nausea on others. I’d been working longer hours, trying to help Jerry and Mack work out all the kinks to their design while getting my own project approved and ready to go to production. Grace had been trying the different stages of my design, putting it to the test. She gave “two freakin’ thumbs up!” which meant it definitely worked or her.
Garrett awoke me early, his fingers brushing briefly against my sex before pushing inside of me.
I moaned at the blissful intrusion. “I love it when you wake me up that way,” I admitted.
His lips nipped at the side of my neck. “While I would love to climb up inside you, I need you to wake up. I have a surprise planned for you.” His fingers started pumping into me as his thumb worked my clit.
“Mmm. You can keep do
ing that all you want, but if we’re supposed to get up, why are you—” I felt his fingers pull out and something hard press against my opening. I craned my neck to see what he was doing.
“I need you wet for this, Laurel.” He nudged what felt like hard plastic against my opening. “Do you trust me?” His eyes were filled with the promises of wicked delight.
My lips went up to capture his, as I allowed my legs to relax and fall to the side. He pressed the plastic into me and pulled his fingers to his lips, sucking my essence off of them before offering me a taste.
“You’re fucking perfect, babe. Here, taste for yourself.”
I was surprised by his fingers against my lips and pushed my tongue out to suck one in and moaned. How is it possible that I could get aroused by myself? Or was it just the fact that it was Garrett doing something erotic and forbidden to me?
“Am I supposed to keep whatever you just put inside me all day or what?” I asked with curiosity.
He just smiled. “It’s a surprise, love. You’ll find out soon enough what’s there,” his emerald green eyes darkened with desire, “let’s just say I plan on driving you wild with pleasure before the morning is over.”
He got up and grabbed a short skirt, button down top, lightweight jacket, some flats, and a white lace underwear set for me to wear. I was perplexed by the jacket, knowing the temperatures still held in the mid-80s during the day, an oddity I was quickly coming to understand for it being November in Florida. I tried to question things, but he wouldn’t elaborate, only asking for me to “trust him.”
Whatever he had shoved into me hit all the right spots as I walked. I was surprised it hadn’t slipped out, but the girth of it suggested it wouldn’t move until he retrieved it.
I watched as he slipped into some khaki cargo shorts, a dark polo, sneakers and a jacket. “Come on,” he said, grabbing my hand and heading downstairs toward the elevators. “The surprise will be ruined if we don’t hurry.”
Thompson had the limo already running at the entrance to the building. We quickly climbed in and were on our way. It was then that I noted that it was still dark, bordering on the break of morning.
The skyline flew by and disappeared into the distance as we headed south out of town and into a rural area. I took a sharp breath as I saw what came into view—several rainbow-colored hot air balloons were being inflated.
I looked over at Garrett. “Is this my surprise? Are we going ballooning?”
An easy smile spread across his lips. “This is part of it. Shall we go see if they’re ready for me to take the balloon up?”
My eyes went wide with fear. “Did you just say you were going to be flying this? Do you know how?”
He opened the door to the limo, offering his hand to help me out. “There are only a few passions that I have in life. One is flying planes of any kind, because of the excitement they bring. Another is the feel of soaring through the sky without the aid of an engine, floating freely amongst the clouds and birds, watching the sun rise above the quiet of the earth. The final passion is you, my love. While I like having power over the other two, you help bring a level of control to my life like no other; I’m completely at your mercy.”
I swayed slightly at his words. The depth of this conversation took me completely by surprise. “Are you okay? Do you think you’re up to spending some time with me in the balloon, just the two of us?”
It had always been a dream of mine to try hot air ballooning, especially after seeing my former college roommate’s pictures from the Lake Havasu Balloon Festival in Arizona. I felt positively giddy at my chance to fulfill one of my dreams. Come to think of it, Garrett has been amazing at trying to fulfill most of them lately.
We strolled up to the balloon, watching while several people tended the lines, making sure the basket was tethered down. An older gentleman was apparently in charge of everything, since he was barking orders at everyone, telling them what was left to be done.
Garrett stuck his hand out to shake a gentleman’s hand. “Hi, Chuck. Thanks for getting it ready for me on short notice.”
“Any time, Garrett. You know that. If it weren’t for you, my business would have gone out long ago.”
Garrett held his hand up, easily dismissing the idea. “It was all you; I just pointed you in the right direction for marketing your company. So, how many are going to enjoy the sky today?”
“We have three balloons going up at varying intervals. Yours will be the first to launch. I’ll follow with a couple having a champagne brunch, and Tim is third with a few sightseers.” He looked over at the progress of each balloon before glancing back our direction. “It looks like you’ll be ready to launch in a few minutes. The requested items are already waiting for you in the basket.”
Chuck guided us toward the basket and offered to help me inside via a step stool, but Garrett dismissed the thought, picking me up and placing me deftly in the basket. He took a leap in, making the balloon shift slightly.
“Have fun, you two!” Chuck called. “Thompson will be waiting for you at the landing area.” He gave Garrett a wink before releasing the lines that set us lifting skyward.
It was fascinating to see Garrett pull the ropes to increase the heat within the balloon, propelling us higher and higher. The flames lit up the inside and what remained of the darkness that was now blooming into dawn.
Everything was so peaceful and quiet as we floated gently across the sky. Garrett pulled me close and pointed me eastward. “Watch as the sun kisses the land for the first break of daylight. It’s a sight to behold and cherish.” His arms wrapped around me and I heard him click something on, causing a sudden buzz deep within my core. “I want you so badly right now, but I need to focus on flying this balloon and getting us to our destination safely. Every time you feel this vibrator go off, I’m thinking about being buried deep inside you, wanting to feel you clench hard on my cock as I make you scream my name.” To prove his point, he licked up the side of my neck and bit softly into my earlobe as he altered the frequency of the vibrator, doing amazing things to my center and building me towards the stirring of an orgasm.
I leaned back against his shoulder. “How long is this ride again?” My words came out more sensual than I wanted. We’d only been in the air ten minutes and I was ready for him to strip me down and take me on the floor of the basket.
The remote turned off and his hand splayed across my abdomen, pulling my butt back against the hard swell of his shorts. “Just long enough to appreciate the morning and what we have together.” He ground into my backside, causing me to moan deeply and clench around the vibrator.
What the heck was that supposed to mean?
He pulled back and opened the picnic basket that had been left for us. “Would you prefer coffee, orange juice or a mimosa for breakfast? We also have some pastries, fruit and some egg whites to nibble on. I know those are the only things you’re able to eat lately.”
The thought of food made me instantly fight back the rising bile in my throat. The last few days had been worse trying to deal with the nausea. It didn’t matter what time of day it was, I just couldn’t eat much and keep it down. “Coffee would be good,” I said, trying to keep calm and not puke all over, “and maybe a croissant.”
I was surprised that the balloon pretty much flew itself, with Garrett only having to adjust the fire from time to time to raise or lower us accordingly, along with pulling on a few ropes if we started drifting too much in one direction. The only other thing keeping him busy was his continuous perusal of my skin and the constant surprise of the vibrator. He’d once run his hand up my skirt, caressing the edges of my underwear, but never going any farther. I kept trying to press my clit into his fingers, feeling frustrated from the need to release.
“Patience, my love,” he reminded me. “We have all the time in the world up here. Today is entirely devoted to you.”
I had to admit, it was nice hearing that we didn’t have to focus on work, contracts or issues of Chase.
It was just the two of us floating freely through life.
When we were done nibbling, both on the food and each other, he reached down and pulled out an iPod, sticking it inside a small speaker dock, where he dialed up some music. “I know I don’t always say the words you’d like to hear,” he said. “I’m still working on the issues of expressing myself, but I think this song kind of says things for me.”
The music began to play and I recognized the song instantly as one of my favorites. It was, “Mirror, Mirror,” by Justin Timberlake. My eyes began to tear up and my heart skipped a beat, knowing that out of all the romance songs currently on the charts, this spoke volumes to me about what we were to one another.
His hand passed over my breasts before spreading across my abdomen, pulling my back tight against his front. “I need to thank you for saving my life, Laurel.”
I tried to turn back to look at him, shocked.
“Shh.” His lips were against my neck, trailing a line of kisses up toward my ear. “I know you’re going to argue, but you did. I failed in my personal life, drowning in the sorrows of my past, taking the blame for all the things that happened, just existing because I was expected to, only burying myself in business to keep my mind focused enough to survive.”
My mouth opened, trying to rebuke his declaration, but his thumb traced over my lips to stop me.
“Please let me finish,” he urged. “As it is, I’m having a hard time focusing, knowing how turned on and wet you are underneath your clothes.”
My nipples strained even harder against the lace of the bra, making them burn to be touched. I was glad he was opening up, but I really hoped he was almost done talking.
“You were disrespectful, you challenged me, you pushed me to the brink, but you never gave up. You loved me when I couldn’t love myself.” His hand grabbed at the top of my shirt, exposing my shoulder, and his lips came down to bite me right at the juncture of my neck.
Learning to Let Go Page 19