Chapter 10
10
S he stared up at him in awe, her eyes wide and a little watery. She traced a finger along his perfectly chiseled chin and up around his cheekbones. She let her hand linger on his face, never breaking his gaze, as she studied his full lips and the faint stubble that had started to grow in. Without a word, she rose to her knees and straddled him, lifting her dress so it floated around their legs. He let one hand drift around to cup her backside but he was otherwise still, watching her movements as she touched every inch of his face, his throat, the side of his head. She used her fingernails to scrape against the grain of the closely cropped hair along both sides, so the short pieces brushed against the pads of her fingers. It was soft and she couldn’t resist moving up to the long hair that went down the middle of his skull. This piece was long, probably four or five inches, and he’d slicked it back tonight so that it looked almost like a regular haircut .
She dug her fingers in it, rubbing until the gel he’d used gave up its hold and a piece fell over his forehead. Then she lowered her face to his and kissed him. When he tried to move she shook her head .
“No,” she whispered. “Let me love you. Let me love you so hard you forget about what terrible thing you did and only remember Garrett— my Garrett .”
He moaned as he let his head fall back. She was trailing her lips across his Adam’s apple, lightly nipping the skin at his throat, her fingers working the buttons of his shirt. She paused, needing to focus on the buttonholes so she could get to that wonderful skin beneath. Finally, his shirt was open and she placed her palm on his warm, rippled stomach. Without thinking, she bent her head so she could run her lips across it. She let her tongue glide across his skin, the salty taste making her want more .
“Baby…” His voice was hoarse with longing, the erection tenting his slacks belying his reluctance to let her stay in control .
“Not yet.” She pushed the shirt off his shoulders and indulged in the first fantasy she’d had about him: Exploring every one of his tattoos with her tongue. She wanted to—needed to—and wouldn’t stop until she had. “How many are there ?”
“Tats?” he looked surprised. “Uh, seventeen ?”
She laughed. “You don’t know ?”
“There’s a few so I stopped counting .”
“Where are the ones I can’t see ?”
“Won’t it be more fun for you to discover them on your own ?”
She smiled. “Get undressed .”
He smiled back and gently pushed her off to the side so he could slide off his slacks. Standing there in his boxers, he held out his hand to her. “The first time isn’t going to be on the couch .”
She got to her feet and he hauled her against his chest .
“Take off the dress,” he whispered .
“I’m supposed to be in charge,” she whispered back .
“You are. But if I have to be in my undies, so do you .”
She flushed but slowly pulled the dress up over her head. He took it from her and paused to hold it against his face, inhaling deeply. “I love how you smell .”
“My dress probably smells like deodorant and salt water .”
“And you,” he murmured, letting the silky black fabric drop to the ground. “You smell yummy, like a tropical cocktail with coconut .”
“I use a coconut shampoo .”
He bent his head and buried his nose in her hair. “Oh yeah. God, that’s so fucking sexy .”
She paused, running her hands up his massive chest, across his broad shoulders, down those muscular arms and around his waist to rest just behind his hips. “All I ask is that when we’re together like this you give me the real Garrett .”
He covered her hands with his and looked deep into her eyes. “Honey, since the moment you zipped past me in that hallway, you’ve had nothing but the real Garrett. He’s the only one that’s good enough for you .”
“Liar.” She took a few steps towards the bedroom and turned to look over her shoulder. “ Coming ?”
“Oh yeah .”
H awk took a moment to compose himself. Not physically—there was only one thing that would solve that problem—but emotionally. She’d done exactly what he hadn’t wanted and wormed her way not just into his heart, but right into his very being. The things she said, the way she looked at him… How the hell would he ever be able to look at another woman after this? How would he be able to look at himself? She was it. He didn’t need months of dating, talking, getting to know each other. He already knew she was the woman for him. If he could, he’d walk her down to the resort’s concierge and get one of the ladies that worked there to tell them exactly what they had to do to get married immediately. It was a fleeting, completely unreasonable thought, but it hit him so hard he had to take a deep breath .
“Don’t be an idiot,” he muttered under his breath. “She’d divorce you so fast your head would spin .”
“Are you trying to talk yourself into or out of coming in here?” she called out to him .
“I’m trying to be a gentleman,” he said softly, standing in the doorway and watching as she sprawled on the bed in nothing but black lace panties .
“You already are,” she smiled. “Now come over here and let me lick you .”
He laughed, moving towards her slowly, their eyes locked as he approached. He crawled across the bed in one long, exaggerated movement but she stopped him with a finger to his chest .
“Over there,” she pointed. “Stand next to the bed .”
He backed up and got to his feet again. “Like this ?”
“Don’t move unless I tell you to.” She slid to the edge of the bed and sat with her legs hanging over. She nudged down one side of his boxers, eyeing the ink she’d seen peeking out. It was the number “90,” set just inside and below his hip bone, and had a lightning bolt through it. She bent her head and let her tongue curl over the characters, her fingers on either side of it. She glanced up, her lips parted expectantly. “That’s one .”
He took a shaky breath, wondering how he was going to survive her doing this sixteen more times, but she’d already moved down to the outside of his hip, running that warm, wet tongue along the Chinese characters tattooed there .
“It says Nèi zài de lì liàng ,” he said quietly. “It’s the longer version of — ”
“ Inner strength ,” she whispered, her eyes wide .
“How did you know?” he frowned .
She stood up and gently pushed him back a couple of inches. She turned her back to him and slowly lowered the edge of her panties, revealing the exact same tattoo right along the edge of her tailbone .
“ Maddie .” His voice was full of wonder as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his head in the hollow of her shoulder .
“ My Garrett,” was all she said, letting one hand drift up and across the side of his face .
“Let me love you,” he whispered .
“Fifteen more tattoos for me to lick, and then you can do anything you want to me .”
“Fuck, baby, that’s the sexiest thing a woman’s ever said to me .”
He closed his eyes and straightened up again, emptying his mind of everything except his lovely sea nymph. She found all of his tattoos, slowly and with purpose, kissing, licking and sucking each one with almost artistic precision. She went from the left hip up his side to the ones on his shoulders and then moved to the three on his bicep and the one on his forearm. Her next stop was his back, finding the four there and running her lips down the length of his spine to inspect the one on his left butt cheek. From there she worked her way up the right side, blowing lightly on them after she’d used her tongue, raising gooseflesh all over his body .
“Mine,” she whispered as she finished the hawk on his right forearm. “All seventeen of them. No matter where we go after we leave here, those seventeen tats are mine. You know why?” Her eyes were burning with heat, but they also twinkled with amusement .
He shook his head .
“Because I licked them .”
He chuckled at her impish smile, slowly pushing her onto the bed. “What happens when I lick you all over? Will you be mine ?”
“I already am .”
He had no words as he found her beautiful mouth and started a detailed exploration of every crevice. His lips took possession of her skin, from her mouth to the curve of her neck, the sensitive spot behind her ear and the hollow of her shoulder. She was exquisite, as delectable as he’d imagined and sweeter than anything he’d ever tasted. Her skin was golden from so much time in the sun and the faint aroma of coconut wafted over him every time he got anywhere near her hair. He wanted to inhale everything about her, but he focused on each part of her body the way she’d done with his tattoos .
When he slid down to her breasts she arched into him, nipples hardening the moment he got close to them. They were full and round, with dusky, sensitive peaks that came alive as he took one delectable nipple between his lips. She cried out, digging her fingers into his hair .
“I was right,” he murmured, his breath hot against her skin. “They fit perfectly in my hands.” He demonstrated, holding one breast in each hand and squeezing lightly .
“All of you fits perfectly with all of me,” she said, wriggling her body so they were aligned for easy access .
“Yes,” he nodded, moving back to her breasts. “But I need to enjoy these first.” He kept at it until she was practically begging, her breath heated as she tried to bring him closer .
“Garrett!” she whimpered as he moved off of her, sliding down her stomach .
“Don’t worry, gorgeous, you’re going to love what I’m going to do next even more.” He gently spread her thighs and had to take a long, steadying breath as he took in her sweet, incredibly wet pussy. She was spread out before him, his to take, his to do anything he wanted, and all he wanted was to give her pleasure, to make sure she remembered this long after he was gone .
He dove in like a man possessed, though he kept his touch gentle because she tensed slightly .
“You okay?” he asked softly .
“I, um… I’ve done this, but I don’t think he did it right cause I never …”
“You never what? Had an orgasm ?”
“No.”
“Let’s fix that then .”