Chapter 11 #2
“Swear to God, if that woman didn’t have a mouth like a goddamn Hoover there’d be no point in keeping her around,” Killian chimed in.
I looked in his direction and curled my lip in disgust. “Gross,” I sneered, then turned back to Declan. “We done with the interrogation, because it’s late and I’m tired.”
“You know, you’re not so bad, baby mama.”
I rolled my eyes at the nickname these guys liked to use for me and replied flatly, “So glad to have your approval. Now I can die happy.”
“What’s going on here?”
I let out a startled yelp and spun around to find Garrett watching us with a suspicious look on his face. “Nothing,” I answered quickly.
“We were just saying good night to the lovely Gwen,” Declan responded.
Garrett didn’t look convinced. “Well now you’ve said it, so you can go. And get Mace the fuck outta here before he drinks all my beer.”
Killian smacked Mace on his shoulder. “Let’s go. Mom and Dad need their rest.”
“But the night’s still young,” he practically whined as the three of them started for the back door. I rolled my eyes at Mace, seeing as it was already after midnight.
“We’ll hit up a bar,” Killian continued. “Get drunk and laid.”
“You’re a genius,” Mace declared. “The smartest of us all.”
Declan threw a wave at us over his shoulder and I shook my head as the door closed behind them. “Your friends are… colorful,” I said to Garrett.
“What’d Deck say to you?”
My forehead wrinkled in confusion at his abrupt, demanding tone. “Uh… nothing.”
“Really?” He came closer, lifting his hand to brush my hair behind my shoulder. “’Cause you looked tense when I came upstairs.”
My brain fizzled and popped at his touch, short-circuiting for several seconds. “I….” I cleared my throat and took a step back, unable to think straight when he touched me. “It was nothing, seriously. He was just looking out for you.”
His face hardened at my response. “That’s not his fuckin’ place,” he said sharply.
“Hey, it’s all right,” I murmured soothingly, placing a hand on his chest before I could think better of it. “He was just being a good friend.”
I moved to pull away, but his hand shot up and his fingers curled around my wrist, holding my palm in place.
His eyes darkened and his expression morphed into one I’d seen when I thought he was going to kiss me.
My heart stuttered when he began to lean in.
I put pressure on his chest, stopping him before his lips could touch mine, and whispered, “Garrett,” but it was too late.
The instant his lips hit mine I was gone.
My mouth opened and his tongue invaded, tangling with mine in a delicious dance that made me moan as I fisted his shirt.
At my sound of desire, he growled and moved so fast I barely had time to process.
One second my feet were on the ground, and the next my ass was planted on the kitchen counter.
His hands hit my knees, pushing my legs apart to make room for his trim hips.
He feasted on my mouth with such hunger that I had no choice but to follow his lead.
It was heady and intoxicating; the best kiss I’d ever had, bar none.
I never wanted it to end. I whimpered when his mouth disengaged from mine and began trailing nibbling kisses along my neck.
“Christ,” he groaned, causing a full body shiver. “You’re so goddamn beautiful, sweetness.”
The impact of that last word was like being hit with a bucket of ice-cold water.
I gave his chest a hard shove, gaining two feet of space, enough room for me to jump down and move away.
“I’ve told you not call me that,” I snapped.
Agitation snuffed out the blooming desire within me, and I raked my hands through my hair in frustration.
“For fuck’s sake, Gwen. What’s your deal, huh? One second you’re burning hot for me, and the next you go frigid. Shit, you’re doing my head in. I can’t keep up.”
My spine stiffened at his accusation. “I do not burn hot for you!” I denied, the lie rolling off my tongue.
“You think I’m stupid?” he scoffed. “That I don’t know when a woman wants me? Please, you damn near ripped my clothes off just now, sweetness.”
“Stop calling me that!” I shouted uncontrollably. “God,” I breathed, placing my fingers against my kiss-bruised lips. “I hate it when you call me that,” I finished on a whisper.
“Why?”
I squeezed my eyes closed, unable to look at him as I answered. “That’s what you called me that night,” I explained quietly. “It’s a throwaway word for you, a name you use for women who don’t mean anything. It’s what you call the ones you send Kimber to kick out the morning after.”
I finally opened my eyes when he said nothing for several long, agonizing seconds. What I saw written on his face made me wince. I’d given too much away, given him a peek behind my shield.
Damn it. I began pacing back and forth, that agitation growing. Arguing with him would have done nothing but lead to another fight I was too exhausted to deal with, so I decided on another route.
“Look, I don’t want to fight—”
The rest of my sentence stuck in my throat when he moved, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me flush against his chest. “Then don’t.”
“Garrett, stop,” I demanded, leaning away from his descending mouth. I could not allow him to kiss me again or god knew what would happen next. “We need to talk.”
“About what?”
“Us,” I stated. “How we’re going to make this work, us living under the same roof and raising Liddy together.
” He dropped his arms with a heavy sigh and rested his ass against the counter behind him, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared down at me with a blank expression on his chiseled face.
I took his silence as an invitation to continue. “I… I want us to be friends.”
“Friends?” He snorted derisively. “Are you fuckin’ kidding me?”
“No, I’m not. I’m dead serious, Garrett. We did the whole lust thing once already, and look how well that turned out,” I said sarcastically.
He scowled, his jaw ticking with irritation. “If I remember correctly, those four fucking hours turned out pretty goddamn great.”
“You know what I mean.” I let out an exasperated sigh.
“This isn’t just about us anymore. Liddy’s involved now.
If the past three years have proven anything, it’s that we don’t work, not in that way.
I think our best option is to try and be friends.
Maybe if we give that a shot, we can actually start to respect one another. ”
He pushed off the counter, coming at me menacingly. “You think I don’t respect you?”
I quirked up a brow. “Do you even remember the morning after that night? Or the ensuing months where I had to jump through hoops to prove Liddy was actually yours? Or the years after that where—”
His held both his hands up to silence me. “Okay, fuck. I get it. I didn’t handle shit well. We’ve established that already.”
“Exactly. That’s why I think it’s best we try to be friends.”
He examined me for what felt like an eternity before letting out a sharp bark of laughter and shaking his head. “Friends. Sure, whatever.”
The pissed tone in those three words cut through me like a knife. I took a step closer, wanting to make things better but not having the first clue how. “Garrett, please—” I began, but he was already on the move.
“It’s late, friend,” he bit sarcastically. “You should get to bed.”
Then he was gone.