GARRETT
I wake in the morning at five sharp, like I’ve had for years. I sit up groggily, run a hand through my messy hair… and then I stop dead in my movements.
There’s a soft form beside me in my bed. I turn with a frown, feeling confused for a split second until I remember that it’s Jules.
Then I look down at her peaceful, sleeping face for a long minute, expecting the familiar sense of apprehension to come.
But… it doesn’t.
Huh. That’s weird. The thought of a woman spending the night at my place usually gets my hackles way up. It’s always fun until it’s time to explain how I need them fully dressed and out of my apartment within the next five minutes, and the only thing I dread more than bugs in my code are pissed-off females.
Frowning harder, I stroke a lock of blond hair off Jules’ forehead. Her lips are slightly parted, with soft, even breaths coming from her rising and falling chest. This has never happened before, but her being in my bed feels weirdly natural, as though she belongs right here with me.
I shake my head sharply when I realize that I’m still staring.
Get a grip, Hudson.
Pushing out of bed carefully so I won’t wake Jules, I draw the covers higher over her shoulders and head to the kitchen for a quick bite before I start my day.
I’m working out at the home gym I set up in one of my rooms when Jules sticks her head around the door about an hour later.
“There you are,” she says cheerfully.
I grunt and lower the heavy barbell to replace it in its holder with a clank. “Morning, country girl. Slept well?”
Jules leans against the door casually, but her skin flushes an adorable pink at my question. “Duh. I practically blacked out last night.”
“You’re welcome.” I grin and grab my towel off my exercise rack, wiping the sweat from my forehead. “I made you a light breakfast, by the way. It’s on the counter.”
Jules scrunches her nose. “You mean those frozen waffles you toasted? If that’s your version of breakfast, I feel sorry for you. You know how to cook eggs at least, right?”
“Sure I do. I crack those suckers open and pop them in my protein shake. Raw.”
“Eew!”
“You don’t get to look this good without some sacrifices, country girl. “
“You need to get your head and eyes checked, city boy.”
“Someone’s getting smart with me.”
“Someone’s just telling it like it is,” Jules retorts smartly, but then she looks away after a moment. Something’s bothering her.
“What’s on your mind?”
She shrugs a shoulder. “After years of holding out for the perfect man, I slept with a guy I’ve only known for a day.”
I frown, going over to her. “Are you regretting what we did? ‘Cause I can’t apologise for it and not be lying. It’s the best fucking thing I’ve did in a long time.”
“I’m not.” She keeps her gaze at my chest. “I’m maybe waiting for the guilt to come, but it isn’t.”
“Then don’t go looking for it.” I lift her chin with a finger so she’s looking at me with those lovely baby blues. “We are two consenting adults who are attracted to each other, and there’s nothing wrong with what we did.”
Jules bites her lip as she thinks on it for a minute. Finally she gets on her toes and gives me a sweet kiss on the mouth before drawing back. “Okay.”
I loop my arms tighter around the woman smiling shyly up at me. “Good girl. Come on, I’m taking you out for breakfast after you’ve had a bite.”
“Can we eat on the go? I want to see everything right now.”
“Sure, but I gotta shower first.” I tilt my head and frown in contemplation. “By the way, we’re very much for saving water around these parts.”
And the smart, sassy woman in my arms catches my meaning instantly. “Wouldn’t want all that water to go to waste then, do we?”
I grin again as Jules gives me a saucy wink and turns to stroll to the bathroom, swishing her curvy ass the whole way. I follow helplessly after her siren call.
An hour (and a round of hot shower sex later), we’re standing in the pedestrian plaza of Times Square. Cars are honking, weird guys in costumes are selling their shit, and I can’t stop staring at Jules as she turns in circles, gaping at the massive city around us with an open mouth.
“Wooooowwww… It’s just like in the movies. And it’s so freakin’ crowded! I get why you thought our town was deserted.” She turns to me with a dazzling smile that puts the beauty of the city to shame. “I love this.”
Jules also loves everything else. We stroll around the area leisurely, taking in the atmosphere of New York’s most iconic district, and she can’t stop gushing over every new thing she sees. She thinks the noisy, chaotic traffic of the city is lively, and that the fast-walking, straight-talking New Yorkers are cool. She oohs and ahhs at every building, old and new, and she greets everyone that makes eye contact with her like we’re back in her hometown.
The weird thing is that those people actually greet her back, even though they look surprised or hesitant about it like they didn’t expect the friendliness. I for one didn’t, but it doesn’t matter to Jules. She’s just so damn excited to be here, and it’s infectious.
We soon come up to another one of those guys selling their shit on the sidewalk. This one is seated on a small stool with a bunch of red roses arranged in a basket in front of him.
Jules looks up at me with big, round, pleading eyes.
I sigh. “Only suckers get ripped off by these, Julianna. They’re way overpriced.”
Her eyes only get bigger.
“Fuck me,” I mutter. I hand off a dollar bill to the guy, who pulls the flower back at the last minute just before I take it.
“That would be three bucks, boss.”
“And that would be daylight robbery. No thanks pal.” I reach to take my dollar bill back, but I feel a hopeful tugging on my sleeve.
Dammit.
I take my wallet out again and surrender another two bills to the hustler, who is grinning at how easily he just fleeced me. I grab the rose and shove it at Jules before I keep on walking.
She keeps up beside me, sniffing at the rose with a satisfied smile. “Thanks.”
“I’ve lived twenty-seven years. Twenty-seven years, and not once have I fallen for this kind of shit.”
“Aw, don’t be so grouchy. This is my first flower from a boy.”
“Are you kidding me?” I seriously consider going back to the guy to buy his entire stock of roses for Jules when she suddenly grabs my arm and drags me away to yet another store window that interests her.
From there we go from store window to store window. Jules wants to see everything, take selfies with everything.
This must be the first time she’s been to one of her dream destinations. Another one of her firsts, and she’s spending it with me. I feel damned good for some reason, like I’m ten feet tall, and I’m still smiling to myself like an idiot when Jules stuffs her phone into my hand.
“Take my photo!” She backs away to stand near a street sign, of all things.
I turn on the camera app and hold up the phone to snap the photo when Jules protests loudly, “Don’t hold it so high up, I’ll look short that way.”
I lower the phone to my chest level.
“It’s still too high! You gotta get low and take it upwards—hey don’t walk away from me! I sense someone’s male ego being threatened!”
I toss her phone back at her, and she just manages to catch it in her hands. “I’m here to show you around, Miss Lane, not be your personal photographer.”
“Just a quick one?”
“No.”
“Please? I’ll make it worth your while tonight.”
I slow in my step, getting played and knowing it. “Worth my while, how?”
Jules takes my hand and brings it to her mouth. She sucks lightly on my thumb, licking the tip with her tongue. “Use your imagination, big boy,” she says huskily, holding my gaze. “I’ll be on my knees all night if you’re good.”
I can’t grab her phone fast enough.
When lunchtime rolls around, I take Jules to a tiny diner in a die street that I’ve frequented for years. The place doesn’t look like much, practically a hole in the wall, but Joe makes the best pizza in NYC. It’s like crack, or a thousand times better.
We get seated in the eatery, where the other few tables are already occupied.
“It smells awesome here,” Jules grins, looking around her eagerly.
A large, burly man with white hair and beard comes over to take our orders. Joe looks like Santa Claus, if Santa Claus has tattoos covering every inch of skin aside from his face.
“Your girlfriend?” he growls.
“My employee,” I say smoothly before Jules can draw a breath to answer.
She squints her eyes at me. “I was about to say friend, but it's nice to know where I stand.”
I shrug and turn to Joe. “The usual, thanks.”
“With extra meat?”
“Hell yeah.”
“I'll give it to you free of charge,” Joe rumbles heartily. “Just be good to this young lady at work, eh?”
“In that case, no thanks. I'll skip the extra.”
Joe guffaws and Jules glares at me.
“I’ll have a Hawaiian,” she says snarkily, and Joe shuffles off to prepare our orders.
“Pineapple toppings? That’s dessert, not pizza.”
“It’s none of your business what I have for lunch, boss.”
“You’re pissed that I didn’t say we’re friends?”
“Well, we’re not strangers after what we did.”
I shift in my seat, feeling hot suddenly. “Yeah?”
My discomfort doesn’t slip past Jules, who smiles slowly. I don’t like that look.
“Yeah. You were pounding into me from the back, remember?” She blinks at me, rubbing her finger over her bottom lip. “You were fucking me with that big cock and groaning my name. I was so wet for you, and you were railing into me so hard I couldn’t stand. Remember?”
“Yes, you can stop now—”
“Garrett,” she moans softly, only for me to hear. “Garrett, mmm… Harder. Yes, faster. Mm, you’re so good. So big and hard. I love your cock so much, love how you fuck my hot little pussy with it.”
Jesus.
She rubs the inside of my leg with her foot. “That’s what I said, remember?”
“Yes.”
“May I suggest thinking twice about what you say in the future.”
It’s official. Jules can be bitchy when she wants to, and she can do it while making me hard and aroused. It’s so fucking hot.
“You’re gonna pay for that tonight.”
Jules winks at me. “I’m counting on it. I’m so wet right now.”
Our food finally arrives, but even the best pizza in New York tastes like cardboard when Jules is seducing me from across the table. She chatters non-stop, talking about how amazing the food is, and whenever I think it’s finally safe, she slips in a little moan to keep me on edge. I have to keep one leg crossed over the other throughout the whole lunch to hide my erection.
For the rest of the day, I show Jules as much of my city as I can.
I take her to Broadway, Madison Square, Upper East, and we stroll across Brooklyn Bridge at night to see Manhattan’s skyline from across the bay.
“Your city is so gorgeous,” she sighs as we stop on the bridge to look back at the skyline above the dark body of water that is East River. “And the food, oh my god, I want to eat everything. And everyone’s so cool. I thought they’d be grumpy like the rumors, but they’re actually pretty nice.” She grins widely. “And they’re just plain pretty. It’s like fashion week everywhere I turn.”
“I’m glad you like this place.”
“Don’t you?”
“I do, for the most part. But some days…” My lips twist wearily. “Some days I just want to be done with everything.”
Jules looks down at her hands which as clasp together on the railing of the bridge. “Yesterday, you said something to Liam that made me curious. You said it was the anniversary. I’ve been wondering…the anniversary of what?”
“I had an older brother.”
“Oh. Oh god, I’m so sorry for asking.”
I shrug. “It’s cool. He passed a few years ago in this city, when I was away in college. OD-ed on Fentanyl.” I look at the dark waters beyond us, not really seeing it. “The fucked up thing is, I still don’t know if it was an accident, or he wanted it that way.”
Jules lays her hand over mine, and that’s when I realize I’m gripping the railing too tight.
“I’m sorry,” she says softly. “Were you close?”
“No. We didn’t have the chance to be. My mum left before I even remember her, so it was just us and my dad, who didn’t give a shit about either of us. He just wanted to drink himself to death.” I let out a breath I’ve been holding. “Daniel did everything he could to make him notice us. He tried being the perfect kid, but it didn’t work. So he got hooked on alcohol, and later drugs.”
Jules leans into me, and I put my arm around her soft form, drawing comfort from her nearness.
“This city is beautiful, you’re right about that,” I exhale. “It’s shiny and gleaming, and the whole world is in love with it. But nothing’s perfect, especially not this. There are cracks that nobody talks about, and I came from one of those cracks. My brother’s death just makes me remember it, even when I try to forget.”
“So you came from there,” Jules points at the streets of the city, “and now you’re there.” She points at the top of the buildings.
I smile bitterly. “And I still feel empty as ever.”
She gets on her toes and kisses my cheek. “Nonetheless, I’m really proud of you,” she says softly. “You did good.”
And looking down into Jules’ luminous blue eyes, her beautiful face, I change my mind right there and then. I’m not gonna have her on her knees later. I’ll take her in my bed slow and hot, and I’m going to worship her with everything I’m feeling for her right now.
I steal a quick kiss from her, unable to resist for another second. “What are you doing to me?”
“I’d like to ask you the same thing,” Jules whispers.
It’s past midnight by the time we get back to my apartment, after I brought Jules to a popular bar downtown for her final stop in this city. This day is the most fun I’ve had in years, but as it draws to an end, Jules and I hold onto each other’s hands tighter, like we’re aware that time is slipping by us.
“That was really fun.” Her face is wistful as she stands in the living room and looks out the night city beyond the windows.
“What’s on your mind?” I shut the front door and make my way to her, taking her in my arms.
She looks up at me, beautiful and addicting. “I don’t want this day to end.”
“It hasn’t ended yet.”
I hold her gaze as I slip the shoulder straps of her tank top past her shoulders, then pull the neckline down to her waist to reveal her bra. Jules helps me, sliding her arms out of the sleeves. She takes the hem of my t-shirt and tug it up and off me.
We don’t say a word at all as we continue to undress each other. Last night was a discovery between both of us, like an exchange of vulnerabilities between two strangers.
But now that we’re no longer strangers, this time it feels like we’re saying goodbye. It’s just too soon, and I want it to last forever even though I know that’s impossible.
Jules’ throat swallows as I slide her panties past her hips and let it fall to the floor. She steps out of it and closer to me, slipping her arms around my neck. “Kiss me.”
I pull her naked body flush against mine and bring my mouth to hers. Without breaking contact, I pick her up in my arms and take her to my bedroom, and Jules never lets go of my neck. She kisses me like she never wants to stop, and she’s the sweetest damn thing I’ve ever tasted.
Soon we’re back in my bed again like last night, but this time I lay Jules down on her back and lower myself between her legs, easing them open to reveal her pussy to me. Jules is already wet, her arousal seeping all over her pink pussy lips.
“I want to taste you.”
Jules pushes up on her elbows so she can look at me. “What are you waiting for?” she says in a throaty voice, drawing her legs up by the knees to open them wider. “Go on.”
Jesus, she drives me crazy. My throat works audibly as I take in the sight of her in front of my face. Her pussy is bared to me now, the lips spread wide to show her soaking wet inner flesh. Her clit is a swollen bud begging me to suck it, and the musky smell of her juices drives me fucking wild.
I grind my hard cock against the mattress to ease the ache there, then I slide my hands under Jules’ ass to lift her pussy to my mouth. I thoroughly lick every drop of cum she’s made for me and put my mouth over her entire pussy, thrusting into her with my tongue.
“Ohhh…” Her hands fly to my hair, grabbing the locks hard. “Mmm, right there…”
I suck on one of her pussy lips leisurely, then move on to the other, ignoring her reddened clit.
Jules moans low in protest. “Garrett…”
“Yeah, babe?”
She squirms to put her pussy right in my face. “I want you there.”
“On your clit?”
She nods, looking down at me as she props back on her elbows, legs falling wide open for me. Her eyes are half closed and she’s got her lip between her teeth again. It makes me so hard that I thrust helplessly into the mattress again.
“Then start begging, babe.” I nuzzle her pussy, breathing in her scent. “Talk to me and I’ll reward you.”
“That’s not fair,” she protests weakly. “I want you there now.”
I give her clit a teasing lick. “Beg.”
“Argh.” Jules falls back into the bed, her chest rising and falling fast. “Please.”
“Please what?”
“Please suck my pussy.”
I smile and put my mouth over her clit, swirling my tongue over the slick bud and suckling it wetly. I work a fingertip in to stroke it back and forth while I lick up the juices coming from her slit. “Happy now?”
“Yes.” Jules’s mouth is wide open, her eyes shut in ecstacy, her hips jerking against my face in spasms. “Oh you’re good. You’re so damn good, city boy...”
Her hands are back in my hair again to hold me closer, and she’s grinding so hard against me that her cum is all over my face. I can’t fucking get enough of her taste.
I keep stroking Jules with just my fingertip, teasing that little button that’s making her lose control. Her hips jerk harder, and she starts begging again.
“Garrett, now,” she pants. “I want you to fuck me now!”
Okay, so it isn’t exactly begging, but it still makes me go harder than stone.
I push up and position myself between her legs, ready to slide into her hot pussy nice and slow when Jules wraps her legs around my waist and pulls hard. My cock slams all the way into her.
“Fuck!” I plant my hands against the headboard for balance. Did I hurt her?
I look down at Jules, but her face is twisted into a sexy expression of bliss, her moans loud. “Yes! Harder!”
Damn, I should have known she’d fucking love it.
I let go of the headboard and take her hips, thrusting into her so hard her body jostles from the impact. I start fucking her, slamming into her again and again. “This hard enough for you, babe?”
“Yes!” Her blue eyes are unfocused, and her voice is raw with arousal. “Oh my god, yes, more!”
I laugh hoarsely. I had planned to take my time with her tonight, pleasure Jules nice and slow with everything I’m feeling for her, but it’s impossible when she’s practically demanding I screw her until she can’t walk straight.
And now with every loud moan she’s making and every jerk of her lush hips, I’m getting even closer to cumming inside her.
Jules grabs her breasts then, pinching her nipples between her fingers and gasping in pleasure. I groan and sink my fingertips deeper into her flesh, thrusting harder into her pussy. This is hotter than anything I’ve ever had in my life, and it feels so fucking good.
“Come for me, baby.” A growl comes from the back of my throat as I pump into her. “Come all over my cock for me.”
“Garrett,” she pants. “Oh my freakin’ god, Garrett, don’t stop, don’t you fucking dare stop!”
Shit, I love that she gets dirty-mouthed when she’s turned on. I give it to her harder, and her pussy gets tighter and tighter around my cock. My balls are drawn up against me and ready to blow, but I gotta hold it in, gotta keep moving for her pleasure…
“Oh my god!” Jules arches her back clean off the bed, wrapping her legs tight around me and squeezing me with every muscle in her body. “YES!”
Beads of perspiration fall from my brow onto Jules’ breasts, but I don’t stop thrusting into her. I give her what she needs, hard and rough, and she takes from me greedily, squeezing and milking my cock until her entire body is shuddering from the sex tremors.
She gives a soft moan when she’s done. I can’t hold back any longer and pull out from her. The pleasure so intense that raw groans rise from my throat as I pump my hips and cum into my sheets like a damn animal, pretending it’s Jules’ hot little pussy that I’m spurting into.
Then I fall back down beside her on the mattress, breathing like I’d just sprinted ten miles without stopping.
“I assure you,” I pant, “I’m a lot fitter than I seem now.”
Jules smiles back at me, and I can’t help the kick in my chest at the pure radiance she exudes. “I know,” she says, breathing just as hard. “You don’t get guns like yours without putting in work for it.” She nibbles her lower lip as she stares at my biceps. “I like them. They make me all hot and bothered.”
“So you’re a muscle girl.”
“I am from the country.”
Which reminds me of an unpleasant fact; she’s headed back there tomorrow.
“Stay with me another day.” I turn on my side to look at her. “There’s so much you haven’t seen. Lady Liberty, Staten Island… a show on Broadway. You’ll love that.”
And I want to see her face when she sees them for the first time. I want to see all of her first times, and I want her to spend them all with me.
Jules looks wistful. “I can’t. I got a shift tomorrow evening.”
“I’ll pay someone to cover you.”
She shakes her head, resting her cheek on her palm. “I have to go back home. But I hope we can meet again someday. I really want to see you again.”
Damn it. “I have a major project coming up, and it’ll take up most of my time all the way till year end. Think you can drop by to see me again?” I stroke a strand of blond hair off her face. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
“I can’t wait. I’ll start saving for a ticket.”
“No, I’m paying.”
Jules shakes her head even before I finish my sentence. “I can’t let you do that again. Some of my dad’s pride rubbed off on me, probably, but I have to pay for my own ticket this time. You just provide me with food and board. And more hot, orgasmic sex. Lots of it.”
I’m going to argue that when the time comes, but for now I should let it slide. “With pleasure. When can you come by again?”
“Hmm, after deducting Dad’s medical bills from my salary...minus expenses… I’ll be able to visit you in…” she counts on her fingers, “…November.”
“November? That’s six months!”
Jules grimaces in apology. “I’m that broke.”
To hell with waiting till the future to discuss this. I want her to come back to me next week. Tomorrow’s even better.
“Let me pay.”
“No.”
“Yes. I can afford it easily, you know that.”
“Garrett, I really can’t. Don’t make it harder for me.”
“But I can’t wait that long.” My gaze focuses on a point beyond her, trying hard to think of another way I can see her sooner.
“You’ll need to. I’ll try and come earlier, if I can.”
I give in reluctantly, knowing when I’m out-stubborned. “If I can get even one day off work, I’ll visit you.”
“Okay.” She bites her lip. “I really like you, you know. It wasn’t just the sex talking.”
My chest grows tight. “I like you too.”
“I have a request too. Until we meet again, can you not… Can you not sleep with someone else? Or if you do, I’d appreciate if you could tell me. No wait, don’t tell me! Just don’t sleep with me if you do. Oh, but then I’d know.”
I can’t stop a stupid grin from spreading on my face. “I won’t. I’ll wait for you.”
“But it’s six months. Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. I want you to wait for me too.”
“I will.” Jules hesitates. “Do you think we going too fast?”
“Does it scare you?”
“Kind of… What if one of us changes their mind?”
“Then we’ll talk it out amiably and agree to stay friends.”
“What if one of us turns out to be psychotic?”
“I’m not. Are you?”
“Nope, you’re safe. Sane is my middle name.”
“Julianna Sane Lane. Has a nice ring to it.”
Jules laughs, shifting closer to lean her head against my chest. “Come to Castle Rock with me,” she whispers.
The idea isn’t half-bad. Peace and quiet. No traffic. A gorgeous girl with eyes the colour of the clear skies there.
“Maybe one day I will.”
“Just to be really clear. Are we dating now? Exclusively?”
“I guess we are.”
“So you’re like, my boyfriend now?”
The way those words sound on her lips makes me grin slowly. “Yeah. I guess I am.”
Jules’ grin widens even more. “This is crazy. We’re crazy.”
“Then fuck sanity.” I return her smile, feeling damned happy for the first time since I can remember. “This wins, hands-down.”