Chapter 7
ELODIE
The next morning dawned too bright for how unsettled I felt. Still, when Garner asked if I wanted to come with him to the site again, I didn’t hesitate.
We didn’t talk much on the drive. He was focused in a way I’d come to recognize already, his eyes constantly scanning the road and tree line. When we arrived, the site looked calm. Fresh equipment sat near the cleared area.
“I just need to inspect the new delivery before the crew’s cleared to use it,” he explained as he parked the truck.
I stuck close to him as he moved toward the newly delivered equipment and began checking the chains and locks, a strange chill crawling up my spine. Watching him work while danger could be looming, I was impressed by his calm precision.
The quiet was pierced by the heavy clatter of a chain snapping loose. I took a step back, in exactly the wrong direction.
“Elodie!”
Garner moved faster than should’ve been possible.
One second, he was several feet away, and the next, he was there—his hands slamming into my shoulders as he shoved me backward with enough force to knock the air from my lungs.
I stumbled, barely keeping my footing as his body came down in front of mine like a wall.
The chain crashed to the ground where I’d been standing, metal slamming into dirt with a bone-rattling thud. For one terrifying second, I forgot how to breathe as I stared into Garner’s eyes. They weren’t just amber anymore. They burned with something wild and predatory.
His body was rigid, every muscle locked tight as if he was holding himself back through sheer will. A low sound vibrated in his chest—not quite a growl, but close enough that my skin prickled.
Then he blinked, and whatever I’d seen vanished, replaced by raw fear.
“Did it hit you?” His voice shook as his hands gripped my arms, checking me with frantic care. “Please tell me you’re okay.”
“I’m fine,” I breathed. “You got to me in time. Somehow.”
His shoulders sagged, and he pressed his forehead briefly against mine like he needed the contact to keep himself together. His hands were trembling when he pulled back just enough to look at me again, his expression haunted.
“Fucking hell, sweetheart. I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you.”
Garner didn’t release me right away. His hands skimmed over my arms, shoulders, and back. They shook just slightly, betraying the control he’d been clinging to by sheer force of will. Checking me over, as if his eyes didn’t trust what they saw.
His voice was tight as he demanded, “Tell me again, you’re not hurt.”
“I’m not,” I answered softly. “I swear.”
That seemed to be the moment relief hit him. He pulled me in hard, crushing me against his chest like the distance between us had been unbearable. His arms wrapped around me, strong and unyielding, and his chin dropped to rest against the top of my head.
I felt his breath stutter against my hair and melted.
I didn’t fight it. Or question it. I just let myself be held.
The world narrowed to the sound of his heartbeat, strong and fast beneath my ear. The warmth of him, and the certainty that nothing could reach me while I was in his embrace.
I didn’t have the words for what settled into my bones—the feeling of belonging somewhere. With someone.
When he finally pulled back, it was with visible effort.
I let out an involuntary whimper of protest. His hands lingered at my waist before he yanked me against his chest again.
Then he tilted my head back and captured my mouth in a deep kiss that lit an inferno of need in my veins.
His tongue slid against mine, and a moan bubbled past my lips.
“You can’t make noises like that, sweetheart,” he chided. “I’m barely holding on here. I have no self-control when it comes to you.”
I’d finally found someone I wanted, and I wasn’t about to lose the opportunity to experience passion for the first—and maybe only—time.
“Then give in,” I urged, twining my arms around his neck. “Kiss me again.”
His mouth crashed against mine, and he swept me off my feet to stalk toward the trailer at the edge of the construction site.
Luckily, he’d unlocked it earlier so he was able to get the door open without setting me down.
Kicking it shut behind us, he lay me on the leather couch lining one wall, following me down onto the cushioned surface.
His hard length pressed against my core, and I felt his heat through the thick barrier of our clothes. A flush spread through me as I realized how perfectly we fit. I was a little nervous about what might happen next, but nobody else had ever made me feel as safe as Garner did.
He brushed his lips against mine again in a gentle kiss that quickly ignited, our tongues tangling as I pressed closer. My nipples hardened, aching for his touch, and the heat between my legs grew slick, soaking my panties.
Garner wrapped my hair around his fist, tilting my head to deepen the kiss until I was squirming with need. When he finally pulled back, his lips trailed fire down my neck. Stripping me out of my jacket, he tugged my shirt up and cupped a breast through my bra.
“I want you more than anything, but are you sure about this?” he asked, his thumb brushing over a pebbled peak.
I’d always been careful. Considered the options in front of me, avoiding unnecessary risk. But I threw caution to the wind as I breathed, “Uh-huh.”
He tugged down the cup of my bra, his tongue swirling over the sensitive skin he bared.
I gasped and dug my fingers against his scalp, rocking my hips to align myself with his hardness, desperate for friction.
“Please,” I whimpered. “I need more.”
He lifted his head, his amber eyes searching mine. “I can make you feel good with my hands or my mouth. I don't want to rush you.”
The care in his voice, even as his body strained with want, melted any lingering hesitation. I slipped my hand into the front of his jeans to wrap my fingers around his thick length. “I'm sure. Knowing you'd wait...it just makes me want you more.”
That broke whatever of his self-control remained.
He stripped us out of our clothes. Naked skin against skin for the first time, he kissed down my body, pausing to lavish my breasts with sucks and gentle bites that left faint marks—ones I was oddly proud to wear.
I arched into him, loving the possessiveness.
“Gonna taste you first, sweetheart.” His hands gripped my hips as he settled lower, wedging his shoulders between my thighs. “Make you come for me this way before I get my cock inside you.”
I threaded my fingers through his hair, guiding him closer. He parted me with his thumbs and groaned at the sight before his tongue circled my clit. The first lick made me cry out, my hips bucking.
As his tongue plunged deep, he growled against me, “This pussy is mine now, sweetheart. Only mine. Gonna make you scream my name so you never forget who you belong to.”
Then he devoured me with long strokes, his stiff tongue plunging inside, then back to sucking my clit when he started to work a finger into my tight heat. Pleasure built until I shattered, screaming his name as waves crashed over me. “Garner! Yes, oh yes!”
He lifted his head, his lips glistening. “That’s it. Come all over my tongue. Fuck, you taste like you were made for me. No one else gets this. Ever.”
He went back to eating me, building my passion up again until a second climax ripped through me.
Only then did he rise, kneeling between my legs, his cock heavy and ready. Our eyes locked as he notched himself at my entrance.
“I'm sorry if it hurts at first,” he murmured, brushing tears I hadn't noticed from my cheeks. I didn’t have time to think about how he knew I was virgin before he pushed in with one steady thrust.
The sharp sting made me gasp, but he held still, kissing me softly until the pain eased into fullness. When I wiggled experimentally, fresh wetness coated him.
“Ready?” he asked, his voice strained.
“Yes—please.”
He moved slowly at first, circling his hips and letting me adjust.
“You feel incredible,” he groaned. “Like your pussy was made for me.”
The discomfort faded completely, replaced by building ecstasy. I wrapped my legs around him, urging him deeper as he thrust harder, faster, the couch creaking under us.
As he thrust harder, he snarled low in my ear, “Feel how deep I am, sweetheart? Marking you from the inside. Gonna fill this tight little pussy until you’re dripping with me. Until everyone knows you’re claimed.”
My inner walls fluttered at his dirty talk, and I gasped, “Garner.”
“That’s it, sweetheart. Take every inch of me. Let me feel you clamp down on my cock while you come for me again,” he urged, nipping my lip before sucking my nipple.
The gentle bite sent me over—I clenched around him, crying out as pleasure consumed me. He followed with a roar, burying deep and pulsing inside me, filling me completely.
Afterward, he rolled us so I lay draped over his chest, our bodies still joined. He stroked my back, pressing kisses to my hair.
“Probably shouldn’t have taken your virginity on this old couch,” he rasped.
“Nah, this was perfect.” I smiled against his skin, feeling blissed-out. “But you can do it all over again once we’re back at the cabin.”