GARRETT (Heart River Valley: Montana Protectors #2)

Chapter 5

Rachel

S leep eludes me as I stare at my bedroom ceiling, replaying the almost-kiss on my porch. The way Garrett’s hand felt on my waist, how his eyes darkened when he looked at me. The scent of sawdust and pine that clings to him, mixing with something distinctly male.

A crack like a gunshot jerks me awake - I must have finally drifted off. The room plunges into darkness as another tremendous crash shakes the cabin. My heart pounds as I fumble for my phone. 1:47 AM.

“No, no, no,” I mutter, flipping switches. Nothing. The temperature is already dropping without the electric heat. The fireplace that’s still on my repair list mocks me from across the room.

A gust of wind rattles the windows and I shiver, weighing my options. Garrett’s cabin is the only one with a working fireplace - he’d insisted on inspecting and repairing it first thing to have at least one working.

I grab my coat and boots, thankful I’d put them by the bed as he suggested. Snatching a flashlight from the nightstand, I hurry out into the storm.

The beam barely penetrates the swirling snow. Wind whips my hair as I try to find the path. Another crash of falling timber somewhere in the darkness makes me jump.

“Rachel!” His voice carries through the storm. “Rachel, where are you?”

“Here!” I call back, relief flooding through me.

Garrett materializes from the white darkness, grabbing my arms. “Are you okay? I was coming to get you - that tree nearly hit your cabin.”

“I’m fine. Just cold. The power...”

“I know. Come on.”

He keeps hold of my arm as he guides me to his cabin. Warm firelight spills from his windows, and I’ve never seen anything more welcoming.

Inside, the heat from his fireplace wraps around me. I step out of my snow-covered boots and shrug off my coat.

Garrett makes a rough sound in his throat.

His eyes lock onto me as I hang up my coat, and the look in them makes me freeze. Pure predator. Like he wants to devour me whole.

“Turn around.” His voice is low, commanding. When I hesitate, his eyes darken. “Slowly.” As he says it he takes his own coat off, and I realize he was bare-chested underneath it, with only sweatpants and untied boots on now.

The firelight illuminates every one of his finely chiseled muscles, and I can feel a pulsing sensation in my core.

I do as he asks, the silk nightgown swishing against my thighs. His sharp intake of breath sends a shiver down my spine.

“Do you have any idea,” he stalks toward me, each step deliberate, “what seeing you in this does to me?” His hand catches my hip, spinning me to face him. “What you do to me?”

Before I can respond, his mouth crashes into mine. There’s nothing gentle about this kiss - it’s possession, claiming. His hands tangle in my hair, tilting my head to deepen the kiss while pressing me against the wall.

“Been fighting this for weeks,” he growls against my mouth. “Fighting how badly I want to touch you.” His hands slide down my sides, gripping my hips. “Taste you.” He pulls me hard against him. “Make you mine.”

“Garrett...”

“Say it again.” He nips at my bottom lip. “Love how my name sounds on your tongue.”

When I try to touch him, he catches my wrists, pinning them above my head with one large hand. The other traces down my throat, following the neckline of my nightgown.

“Not yet,” he murmurs. “First I’m going to worship every inch of this body you’ve been tempting me with.”

His free hand slides down my side, bunching the silk at my hip. “First rule,” he says against my throat, “you don’t come until I say.” His teeth graze my pulse point. “Understand?”

I nod, already breathless.

“Words, Rachel.”

“Yes.”

“Good girl.” The praise has heat rushing to where my thighs meet. This is a side of Garrett I haven’t seen before. And I’m more turned on than I’ve ever been in my life.

He releases my wrists only to lift me, carrying me to his bed. The mattress is soft beneath my back as he covers my body with his. His weight pins me down, making me feel deliciously trapped.

“Been dreaming about this,” he says, running his nose along my neck. “About how you’d look spread out on my bed.” His hand slides up my thigh, pushing the silk higher. “About the sounds you’d make when I touch you.”

When I reach for him again, he catches both my wrists, pinning them beside my head. “Keep these here. Don’t move them.”

The command in his voice makes me whimper. He rewards me with a bruising kiss, his tongue demanding entrance. I give it willingly, arching up against him.

“So responsive,” he groans. “So perfect.”

His mouth moves to my neck, leaving marks that I’ll feel tomorrow. One hand slides under the silk of my nightgown, calluses catching on sensitive skin. When he reaches my breast, I gasp.

“Like that?” He pinches lightly. “Want more?”

“Please...”

“Please what?”

“Please touch me.”

He sits back, eyes burning as they roam my body. “Oh, I’m going to do more than touch you.” In one smooth motion, he pulls the nightgown over my head. “Going to worship you until you’re begging. Going to make you come so hard you see stars.”

His mouth replaces his hand on my breast, tongue circling before sucking hard. His other hand keeps my hips pinned when I try to arch up.

“Patience,” he murmurs against my skin. “I want to savor this.”

He takes his time, alternating between gentle and rough, making me writhe beneath him. When his mouth moves lower, across my ribs, down my stomach, I’m already trembling.

“Keep those hands where they are,” he commands, hooking his fingers in my underwear.

He slides the lace down torturously slow, pressing hot kisses to each new inch of exposed skin. When they’re gone, he pushes my thighs wider, settling between them.

“Look at me,” he demands.

I lift my head to meet his gaze. The hunger there makes me moan.

“I want to watch you while I make you fall apart.” His breath ghosts over my center.

The first stroke of his tongue has me fighting to keep my hands in place. He grabs my hips, holding me still as he works me with his mouth. Each lick, each suck is perfectly calculated to drive me higher.

“That’s it,” he growls against me. “Take what I give you.”

When he slides two thick fingers inside, curling them just right, I cry out. He sets a relentless pace, his tongue never stopping its assault on my senses.

“Please,” I gasp. “Need to...”

“Not yet.” He slows his movements, keeping me right on the edge. “I need you desperate for it.”

He builds me up again and again, backing off each time I get close. My whole body is shaking with need, hands fisted in the sheets above my head.

“Beg me,” he commands. “Tell me what you want.”

“Please let me come. Please, Garrett...”

“Since you asked so nicely.” His mouth returns to my center, fingers curling. “Come for me, beautiful. Want to taste all of you.”

The orgasm hits like lightning, pleasure coursing through every nerve. He doesn’t let up, working me through it until I’m gasping his name like a prayer.

Just when I think I can’t take anymore, he starts again, rougher this time. His fingers pump faster while his tongue draws patterns that have me climbing rapidly toward another peak.

“One more,” he demands. “Give me one more, Rachel.”

The second orgasm is even more intense than the first. I’m vaguely aware of crying out his name as waves of pleasure crash over me. He gentles his touch but doesn’t stop until I’m trembling, oversensitive.

When he finally moves up my body, his kiss tastes of me. He gathers me against his chest, one hand stroking my back while I come down.

“Beautiful,” he murmurs into my hair. “So fucking beautiful when you come apart for me.”

I reach for him, feeling how hard he still is, but he catches my hand.

“Tonight was about worshiping you.” He kisses my palm. “Showing you exactly what you do to me.”

The tenderness in his voice contrasts with his earlier dominance, making my heart flutter. I snuggle deeper into his warmth, completely sated.

“Mine,” he says, arms tightening around me possessively.

Outside, the storm rages on. But here in Garrett’s arms, with his marks on my skin and his taste on my lips, I’ve never felt more safe.