Chapter 36
I moanwhile I stretch my arms above my head the next morning, my knuckles brushing the smooth wooden bedpost. The air is already warm, and I breathe deeply, taking in the scent of salt water on the soft breeze. Curling my toes beneath the thin sheet we slept beneath last night, I wince at the ache between my legs.
Garrison has always been enthusiastic in bed, but last night? He was downright ravenous. I don’t remember when we fell asleep, only that we found ourselves fucking twice more after we crawled beneath the sheets until it wasn’t possible to stay awake any longer.
Despite the ache, I already want him again. If he’s ravenous, I’m feral. I’m going to have a bruised pussy by the end of this trip, but shit, is it ever worth it.
Speaking of Garrison, I turn onto my side and open my eyes, finding the bed empty where his handsome self should be. I frown, rolling onto my stomach, my face buried in his pillow.
It takes a second of internally moaning and groaning about him not being here and ready for a morning quickie before I tune in to the steady trickle of shower water coming from the ensuite. A beat later, I’m sliding out of bed and tugging the sheet around my bare shoulders. It drapes around me like a cloak as I pad into the bathroom and slip through the door he left open.
Desire burns through me as I watch him through the fogged glass of the shower. His arms are raised as he dips his head beneath the water and rinses the suds from his hair. I glare at the fog, wishing I could see through it.
He’s beautiful, all lean lines and powerful confidence. It steals the breath from my lungs just how incredible he is and then guts me from bottom to top with how easy it is for him to hide that fact. It’s a disservice to not only himself but to everyone else.
I lean back against the door and shut it softly, keeping my eyes locked on his silhouette. Whether he hears the barely there click as it closes or if he can simply feel that I’m in the room, he turns his head in my direction.
My smile is coy as I let the sheet fall to a puddle at my feet. “Room for one more?”
He pushes the door open, his pupils blown, leaving only a thin band of greenish brown as he scrolls them down my body. Goosebumps pebble across my bare skin, my nipples stiffening into sharp peaks as my breasts grow heavy. I’m damp between my legs from a single stare, and I’m not the least bit ashamed of that.
I drift toward him, the magnetic force between us having had enough of the distance. The heat from the water is intense. Droplets hit my skin, and I sigh as I step into the shower. Garrison faces me, the water splashing against his back and over his shoulders.
“Morning,” I whisper.
His grin is nothing more than a flash of white teeth before he’s on me. Mouth against my throat, he brackets me against the shower wall and grinds his hard cock against my belly.
“Good morning,” he breathes, sucking at my pulse, teeth scraping the sensitive skin.
Two fingers delve between my legs before sinking deep, forcing my eyes into the back of my skull. Garrison pistons them inside my pussy, paying extra attention to the spot that makes me see goddamn stars. His palm slides across my clit with delicious pressure with every thrust until my knees are shaking and I’m clutching at his arms to stay upright.
“That’s it, baby. So goddamn soaked for me. Did you miss me when you woke up? Was this pussy empty without me buried deep?”
I whimper, nodding furiously.
“Words, gorgeous. Give me your words and I’ll fill you right up,” he demands, tone deceptively gentle.
I push my hips against his hand, chasing his fingers, needing more. “So empty, Garrison. Need your cock.”
He drags his mouth over my jaw and to my ear before whispering, “I’ll give you what you need.”
His fingers slip from my pussy before he lifts my leg and wraps it high around his hip, opening me up for him. He notches the tip of his cock to my entrance and slams home in a single glide.
“Fuck!” I cry, slapping my hands to his shoulders and digging my nails deep to stabilize myself.
“So fucking right, Poppy. You’re perfect. Mine,” he pants through gritted teeth, pulling out and thrusting back in. “All mine.”
“All yours,” I murmur, my head smacking back against the shower wall.
Garrison fucks me hard, driven by an intensity that I feel deep in my chest. More, more, more, it chants. Drive me to insanity just to yank me right back. I glide my hands from his shoulders to his neck, my fingers growing wet before they burrow deep in his hair.
I pull his head back and force him to meet my stare. His wild eyes fall to my mouth and hold there for a breath before he’s diving toward me once again, this time landing his lips against mine. Our tongues glide, and I moan, my grip hard enough I’m probably ripping his hair from the root.
He doesn’t stop me, though. If anything, he picks up the pace, fucking up into me harder and harder. My breasts fly with each movement, the slap of them hard against my chest before he’s lifting them in his hands and watching them with a savage gleam in his eyes.
“Fuck, look at these tits. I can’t get enough of them,” he grunts, flicking at the hoops through both nipples. “I could spend hours with your nipples in my mouth, sucking them until you can’t see straight.”
“Do it, then,” I dare him.
“Not here. Need to focus on fucking you right now. On making your cunt come all over me.”
I don’t argue with that. I’m almost there, each glide of him inside me bringing me one step closer to my millionth orgasm in the past two days.
“You can do it, honey. Drip down this dick, and I’ll fill you so full you’ll be leaking my cum all fucking day,” he growls, punching his hips.
I tumble into euphoria. My eyes hold his as I come, his grip on my tits growing tighter with every quiver of my walls. He falls with me, both of us spitting curses and pleas in the fog. His thrusts grow uneven, stuttered as he fills me with pulse after pulse of cum.
“Jesus,” he croaks, slipping out of me and nipping at my mouth.
His eyes drift down my body as he takes a step back and focuses between my legs. I miss the feel of him against me immediately, but the awe in his expression as he stares at my pussy is worth it.
I jerk when he slides a finger through my sensitive slit and then slowly pushes it inside. His eyes flick upward as he plays with me.
“I like the thought of you walking around all day with my cum inside of you,” he admits with a shuddered exhale.
“That sounds messy.”
He hums, pulling his finger free and lifting it between us. I don’t dare break eye contact when he taps his wet finger against my lips.
“Suck.”
I part my lips, and he pushes it as far as it’ll go. Doing what he demanded, I suck it clean. The flavour of us together hits my tongue, and I swirl it around the long digit, batting my eyelashes on purpose.
The corner of his mouth tugs into a devious smirk. “Good girl.”
Rolling my eyes, I wait for him to pull it out before sticking my tongue out at him. “You’re kind of caveman-ish, you know?”
“Just kind of? You make me feel like a complete Neanderthal.”
“Can you be a Neanderthal but still wash my hair for me? I’m suddenly too tired to do it myself,” I tease.
“What a coincidence,” he replies bluntly, but his grin betrays him if he was planning on pretending he doesn’t like the idea of taking care of me.
I squeal when he swats at my ass and nudges me beneath the water. It’s a miracle it’s still hot with how long it’s been running. It beats down on my shoulders, relaxing my muscles as I drop my head and close my eyes.
The flick of a bottle cap sounds beneath the heavy pelt of water, and then Garrison’s hands are in my hair. He massages my scalp, spending longer than necessary rubbing the shampoo in before turning me to face his chest and urging me to tip my head beneath the water again so he can rinse it out.
I keep my eyes shut the entire time he rubs conditioner in my knotted hair and guides me back and forth beneath the water. My heart slows to a steady, calm beat as we stay in comfortable silence. I’m so at peace that I’m almost afraid to speak in case I say the wrong thing and the moment shatters.
Garrison lathers a cloth with my body wash and cocks a brow as I lift my arms in a silent demand. His deep chuckle ripples over my skin.
He looks so human right now that I nearly forgot who he is back home. The job he has and the actions that led to his stay in Cherry Peak. But in all honesty, I don’t care about any of that. I haven’t in a long time now.
He’s my Garrison Beckett, and I love every side of him. The rude and sweet, cutthroat and thoughtful. It isn’t a surprising revelation. I’ve been falling for him for weeks now. Maybe from the moment I scared him and made him drop his phone in a mud puddle.
Resting my palm against his sternum, I blink water from my lashes and lift my eyes to his. He’s already watching me, his features soft. The cloth moves from the underside of my jaw to my shoulders and collarbones before swerving left to my bicep and armpit. With soft strokes, he continues washing me, the water cascading over the both of us.
The soft cloth glides tenderly over my chest, down my belly, and between my legs. There’s a silent promise as he washes me. One of protection and care that strikes deep. He’s doing more than simply cleaning me off. The boundaries between us are stripped away with each swipe, leaving only a raw vulnerability behind that speaks louder than any words.
I curl my hand around the back of his head and pull him down as I lean up on my toes and kiss him. It’s a soft caress of our lips, and it’s everything.
The cloth falls to the shower floor with a plop, and then he’s wrapping an arm around my back and tugging me close, our naked bodies smushed together as the water rains down on us. I grin against his mouth. He laughs into mine.
We’re happy.
“Tellme what your biggest dreams are,” I demand, dragging my arm through the turquoise water around us.
Our bungalow is behind us, and we’re only in shoulder-height water, but Garrison hasn’t let me move from my monkey-like wrap around his body since I climbed up here minutes ago. The water was cold at first, but it’s a nice cold. The kind that takes the sting from the sun away without turning your lips blue. I could stay right here for hours, and with my stomach still full from our massive steak dinner, I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
Garrison tightens his possessive hold on my ass and readjusts me higher up his body. I’d blame the thong bikini I’m wearing for his greedy hands if I didn’t know better. I could be wearing a garbage bag and he’d still be pawing at me like I’m the sexiest thing he’s ever seen.
“I want to make Swift Edge the number one record label in the world,” he says. “I want everyone who is anyone in the music world to want to sign with us. To know who we are and seek us out, no matter where they are in the world.”
“You want to expand globally?”
“I’ve been stuck in Toronto from the beginning, and whenever I’m somewhere else, whether that be in Calgary or Nashville, it’s an entirely different experience. I crave the feeling that comes with building something from the ground up. The high of knowing I’ve created something out of nothing. I want to do it more. Being active on a global scale interests me heavily.”
“I know the feeling. It’s addicting.”
“Do you want to expand Beautifully Bold? Bring it to other cities?”
“I do. It may never happen, but I’ve dreamed about it. I know what my studio is capable of. What it’s helped inspire in others. It would be incredible to bring that to more people. Cherry Peak is so small . . . I know I’m meant for bigger things.”
“You are, honey. The world is at your fingertips if you ever decide you want to grab it.”
I flash him a goofy grin. “Enough of that heavy stuff. I want to know what your fears are now.”
“Sharks, snakes, and spiders,” he answers, scrunching his nose. “Skydiving too.”
I swallow a giggle. “So, just anything that starts with an S, then?”
“I don’t mind squirrels.”
“Wow, great. That’s a relief,” I tease, lacing my fingers behind his neck. “You know, this is the first time I’ve been taller than you. Well, other than when I had you kneeling in front of me.”
He scowls playfully. “You enjoyed that a bit too much, I think.”
“Oh, no doubt about it,” I admit with a wink.
“What are your fears? I think we need to even the playing field a little here.”
I cluck my tongue, thinking. “I’m terrified of blood. And cotton swabs.”
“Cotton swabs?” He rolls his lips, his cheeks puffing out as if he’s trying not to laugh.
“Don’t laugh at me! Have you ever gotten the little cotton tip part stuck in your ear before? I have, and it was an incredibly terrifying experience having it pulled out in the doctor’s office.”
Tipping his head forward to rest on my shoulder, he hides his laugh in my skin. “How old were you?”
“Seven, I think. Maybe eight. I don’t know, that shit gave me trauma.”
“I’ll make sure to clear out all the cotton swabs from my bathroom when we get home, then,” he promises, huffing a final laugh.
My eyebrows shoot up at the insinuation. “Did you just hint at me staying with you at the ranch?”
He grows stiff but doesn’t jerk away from me. “Yes. But if you didn’t want to do that, I won’t mention it again.”
“Everyone would know if I started staying at the ranch.”
“I think everyone already knows about us, honey. If they didn’t before you went on that date, they definitely do now. I hardly doubt neither Johnny nor Bryce kept their mouths shut about it.”
“You made quite a mess of things, then, didn’t you?”
His eyes darken, crinkles appearing at the corners as he narrows them. “Are you trying to say that you wanted to keep it a secret?”
My stomach swoops with excitement at his soft-edged anger. Poking at him is far too much fun. Especially when it makes me horny to see him riled up.
“I don’t know. Isn’t it kind of fun sneaking around?”
“No. Sneaking around is for children. I’m a man.”
I gasp. “You are?”
His grip on my ass turns punishing. Heat blooms in my core. “Do you need a reminder?”
“So easily riled,” I coo, unclasping my hands to drop one between our bodies. He’s hard in his swim trunks as I brush my palm over the length of him and smirk. “You’re an old man, if I remember correctly. How is it that you’re ready to go so soon again?”
He pushes a hard puff of air from his nose. “I’m only four years older than you. And I seem to have no recovery time with you regardless.”
Clearly, if after just taking me in the pool a half hour ago and in the kitchen two hours before that, he’s ready to go again.
“It’s too bad I’m sore, then. I don’t think I’ve ever had this much sex in such a short time in my entire life.”
He makes a sound low in his throat. “That’s what I like to hear. However, we’re not done speaking about your living arrangements come our return to Cherry Peak.”
I sober up. “Are you actually saying you want me to stay with you? Do you have any idea what that would entail?”
“I’ve got a pretty good idea. I don’t want to only spend every few nights with you. I want them all while I can.”
Okay, swoon.
“In relationship terms, we’re technically in the honeymoon stage right now. I’m pretty positive that would change if we were to live together.”
“It would only be for three weeks,” he says, as if the reminder isn’t a stake through the heart.
I wince, darting my stare to the water behind him. It’s calm, not a wave in sight. As a girl who’s always believed in signs from the universe, I want to take this as a good one. But my gut tells me something else entirely.
A finger hooks my chin and forces me to stare at him again. I know I’m pouting, but I can’t help it. My chest aches at the thought of him going back home. Of all of this becoming nothing but a memory. A blip in his otherwise crazy important life in Toronto.
“Stop it, Poppy. Don’t think about it right now. I’m sorry I brought it up like that.”
I hate that I can’t look away from him as my eyes begin to burn with the promise of tears. I blink them away as quickly as I can and whisper, “How are you so unbothered right now? I feel like I could die.”
“If I let myself think about it, I’ll never leave. We would stay here forever. But that isn’t possible for either of us.”
Inhaling deeply, I nod once. “I know. There’s no point in worrying about it now.”
He licks his lips, brows furrowed. “That’s not what I’m saying. I worry about it every damn day. Wonder if I should have walked away long before I fell for you so that I don’t have to go through the pain that I know is coming. But I don’t regret anything. How am I supposed to when I have you in my arms in this beautiful place? I’ll never forget this.”
Never forget you, he doesn’t say.
“There really isn’t a way that we could ever . . .” I begin, my voice small, quiet.
“Not unless you’d ever leave your home and move to Toronto. Which I’d never, ever expect you to do. Your job is your life. Your company is something incredible.”
The confirmation hurts more than I anticipated.
“That doesn’t make it any easier,” I say.
He drifts a hand up my back, rubbing soft circles beneath the tie of my bikini top. “No, it doesn’t.”
I swallow the emotion in my throat. “I’m sorry for bringing the mood down.”
“Don’t apologize. Just tell me what to do to bring it up again.”
His ease helps bring me out of my head, the worries temporarily sliding back inside their box. I thread my fingers through the wet hair at his nape, needing to touch him like this again.
“Just keep holding me like this,” I murmur.
He answers with a soft kiss to my cheek. A small smile spreads my lips, and my chest loosens. Garrison’s gaze grows mischievous a second before he’s rocking us in the water and gulping a quick breath. In the next blink, he’s plunging us both beneath it.
I wouldn’t doubt everyone above the surface can hear our laughter from above the surface.