Chapter 6
Garrett
I don’t want to take her back. Not to the inn, not to her old life, not to anything that isn’t right here, right now with me. I watch her as she buttons up her shirt—my shirt, actually, since she insisted on “borrowing” the extra flannel I keep in the truck.
I know our time together will eventually end, and I’ll have to let her go. But right now, the thought of our day ending, of having to be away from her for one second, is starting to make me grumpy.
I clear my throat, trying to sound casual, but my voice comes out rough. “Come back to my place for dinner tonight. We had made plans to go out anyway. I’ll cook. We can watch a movie; you can sleep over. Whatever you want.”
She looks up, and a little surprise crosses her features; then she smiles… a slow, wicked smile, as if she sees right through me. “You sure you’re up for that much company, mountain man?”
“I don’t feel like letting you out of my sight yet,” I declare, fighting the urge to pull her back down and kiss her senseless.
She grins while scooting closer, her lips grazing my bearded jaw. “You’re getting soft on me, Grizzly Adams.”
Grabbing her by the waist, I haul her into my lap. “Don’t get cocky, city girl. I just don’t want to spend all night thinking about the possibility of you in someone else’s bed.” I growl in her ear.
That pulls the realest, most genuine laugh out of her, and the sound hits me right where it hurts. This woman makes me feel alive, pissed off, and fucking terrified all at the same time. And it’s fucking amazing.
The truck ride back is full of small touches…her hand on my thigh, my thumb tracing circles on her knee, both of us grinning like idiots. I feel like a teenage boy taking his first crush home, except I’m a grown-ass man and she’s…fuck, she’s what… half my age.
I should know better. But I don’t care.
Not tonight. Not ever.
At the cabin, I throw open the door and let her go in first. The place already feels warmer with her in it, like it’s been waiting all this time. She toes off her sneakers at the door, then takes off toward the living room, plopping down on the sofa.
“Dinner first or are you going to distract me, mountain man?” she says all seductive-like, and I want to take her right here. This woman has me wrapped around her little finger and doesn’t even know it.
“Food,” I grunt, heading to the kitchen. “You barely ate at the waterfall. I’m not letting you pass out on my watch.”
She follows, hopping onto the counter. “Chef Garrett.”
I roll my eyes, tossing her a beer from the fridge. “Don’t push it, city girl. I make one good grilled cheese, and suddenly I’m Gordon fucking Ramsay now?” I state while looking at what I have to work with. “Spaghetti good with you?”
“One of my favs.” She giggles, and I can’t help but smirk as I start gathering the ingredients.
As always, she talks the whole time. Going on about books she loves, movies she hates, and her favorite junk food. I like the sound of her voice filling my space. I like the way she tastes the sauce off my spoon, the way she moans…fuck. Is she trying to make me burn shit?
Dinner is quick and perfect. She licks sauce from her lips, winks at me across the table, and for a second, I want to skip the movie altogether and just drag her straight to bed. But I force myself to slow down.
I want this to last.
We settle on the couch, pulling a quilt over our legs, agreeing on some action movie.
Annie curls up against me, her head on my chest, fingers tracing circles over my heart. I run my hand through her hair, feeling her relax into me, her breath warm on my skin.
“You know,” she murmurs, “I never thought I’d meet a guy like you.”
I snort. “A grumpy old bastard?”
She laughs, poking my side. “Stop. You’re not that old.”
I hesitate, then decide to put it out there. “You know there’s an age gap, right? I’m thirty-two. You’re…”
“Twenty-two. That’s only ten years,” she says, and I feel her smile against my chest.
That makes me huff out a laugh. “Only ten years? You know, people are gonna talk?”
She shrugs, looking up at me, her hazel eyes full of need. “Let them. I know what I want.” There’s a brief pause, then something shifts. “Do you know what you want?”
I look down at her, and I realize right then, after tonight, there’s no going back. “Yeah, Annie. I do.”
Her hand starts to slide down my stomach, fingers tracing the waistband of my jeans. Her eyes meet mine, and they are bold…a little nervous, but full of something I don’t feel worthy of.
Trust.
“Good. Because I want you. I want all of you. Tonight.”
Then, she hesitates, her tone barely above a whisper.
“I want you to be my first. I’ve never wanted anyone like this before, and I want my first time to be with you, Garrett.
I want to give you my virginity.” Everything around us fades, and her words hit me like a punch in the gut.
Honored that she chose me to give herself to for the first time.
This will also be a first for me, and to be honest, I’m fucking terrified.
No one else has ever offered me that kind of trust before.
She could have picked anyone, but it’s me she wants…
me she’s giving this precious gift to. What I’m feeling is raw…
a kind of pride and protectiveness, a want I’ve never felt for someone before. And I want to make sure it’s perfect.
I want her to remember this night…me…every time she thinks about her first time.
I want to be the man who ruins her for anyone else, but also the one who makes her feel safe, cherished, and worshipped.
This moment is more than just sex. This is something I never in a million years saw coming, and I’m not going to fuck it up.
I cup her cheek, kissing her deep and slow. She melts into me, her body arching into my touch. She pulls back, resting her forehead against mine. “Take me to bed, Garrett.”
I scoop her up; her giggles muffled against my neck. Remembering the way she was so soft and wet under my tongue earlier… craving more. I kick the bedroom door shut and set her down. Immediately, she starts pulling at my shirt, nails scraping my chest.
“God, Annie, you’re so fucking beautiful,” I growl, pulling her shirt over her head, my greedy hands going straight for her tits. Noticing how they fit in my palms perfectly, like they were made just for me.
She moans. “You say that like you mean it,” she says, grinding her pussy against my thigh.
I stare down at her, letting her see every dark, dirty thought I’ve ever had since she showed up at my door. “I do, Annie. You drive me crazy. I want you so bad it hurts.”
“Show me,” she responds boldly.
I push her onto the bed, crawl over her, my mouth everywhere. Her neck, her breasts, my tongue teasing her nipples until she’s gasping, writhing under me.
I take one in my mouth, gently biting down on the tight bud, then the other, loving the way she arches, the way her fingers tangle in my hair, tugging on the strands.
“Garrett, please…” she whimpers, eyes glazed and half-lidded. “I need you.”
I slide my hand down her stomach, into her panties. Where I find her pussy wet and desperate for me. “God, you’re soaked. Is this all for me?”
She nods, eyes rolling back as I circle her clit. “Yes. Please, Garrett…”
I kiss her, swallowing her moans, fingers working her needy little cunt until she shatters, crying out my name. I want to make damn sure she never forgets who made her come like this.
Standing up at the foot of the bed, I quickly get rid of my jeans and boxers, watching her eyes go wide at the sight of my cock…
hard, thick, leaking for her. She reaches for me, but I pin her wrists above her head.
“Not yet. First, I’m going to make you come so hard…
so good…that you will be ruined for anyone else,” I say, close to her ear.
She shivers, and her hazel eyes turn dark. “Yes, please. I want to feel you inside me.”
I grab a condom from the nightstand and roll it on. She’s already dripping, but I lick my fingers, coating her even more. I grab my cock, lining it up at her entrance.
“You sure this is what you want?”
She nods. “Yes. I trust you.”
“Take a deep breath for me and relax. Try not to tense.”
She nods, inhaling, then letting it out, eyes glued to mine the whole time.
“If it gets too much, just say stop.”
She nods again.
I begin to push in…slowly. As I break through the barrier, her back arches and she lets out a loud moan, nails digging deep in my forearms.
“Want me to stop?”
“Don’t you dare,” she says, chest heaving.
I keep going, savoring every inch. Fuck. She’s so tight…so perfect.
Once she’s taken all of me, I pause to let her adjust, resting my forehead against hers.
“You good?” I ask.
She simply nods, eyes locked on mine.
I begin to rock into her, slowly at first, letting us both feel every second, every inch. “Fuck, Annie. You’re so tight. God…”
She wraps her legs around my waist, urging me deeper. “Okay, mountain man, I appreciate the gentleness, but…” She grabs my face, her breath coming out in quick, needy pants. “I need you to fuck me. Hard. I want to feel all of you. And I don’t need you to hold anything back.”
The look in her eyes and the tone in her voice tell me she means what she’s just said, and I’m not to ask questions. Not realizing she’s just woken a wild animal, a beast inside me that I’ve had to keep tame…until now.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I sit up, firmly grip her hips, and thrust into her, hard and deep. The room fills with the sound of our ragged breaths and the smell of sex thick in the air. Her body trembles with the force of my thrusts.
“Fuck, Garrett.” Her voice is desperate. “Don’t stop. Please…don’t stop.”
I don’t.
I can’t.
Her body responds to mine, moving in perfect sync, her hips lifting to meet each thrust. The sound of our bodies slapping together is raw and primal.
“You feel so good, Annie,” I growl. “So fucking perfect.”
“Faster, Garrett. Harder…” she whimpers, and I can feel her body start to tense. “I’m…I’m…close…”
I can feel it too, the tightening of her walls around my cock, making me pick up the pace, chasing that release for both of us.
Her body convulses, and her cry echoes through the room as she comes completely undone.
The sight of her, the sound of her coming, pushes me over the edge.
I slam into her one last time as my body shakes with the force of my own orgasm.
I collapse on top of her, our bodies slick with sweat and our breathing ragged.
I roll off of her, and we lie there, tangled up together and spent. With her head on my chest, as I stroke her hair, feeling a sense of contentment and protectiveness that I’ve never felt before.
But also something dangerous, like love.
I don’t want to let her go. I don’t want to wake up tomorrow and find her gone. I want her here every day.
In my bed, every night.
“You’re mine now, Annie,” I whisper, my voice rough with emotion. “All mine.”
She looks up at me, dazed and happy. “Good. Cuz you’re not getting rid of me that easy.”
I grin, kissing her forehead. “Good. Cause I’m not letting you go.”
We eventually drift off, still tangled together, the outside world fading away. But in the back of my mind, a plan starts to formulate… a way to keep her here in Crystal Falls. With me. Where she belongs.
And this time, I’ll fight for what I want.