Garrett hung up the phone from the briefing with Wren and Matthias as soon as Lauren walked in the door. Her cheeks were red from the wind and she rubbed her hands together despite the gloves. Christmas was coming fast, as was the snow. He’d hoped to be gone and in a cabin alone somewhere by the time both hit. He didn’t see that happening now.

For the first time in years, he might not be alone on the anniversary of his parents’ deaths. He had no idea what to think about that. He traditionally spent the day sitting, thinking, maybe listening to music. Nothing stressful. Not doing anything that made him think.

Helping Lauren, finding Carl’s killer, would keep him busy. Detective Cryer made it clear there were a limited number of suspects—Lauren, Maryanne, Jake and Bob, the silent business partner. That was a tight pool and Garrett had already eliminated one of them. He needed to talk to her about the others so he could start putting the pieces together.

Once he collected the information he’d pore over the records. Debate scenarios with the detective, Lauren and Matthias. Run through everything, then do it again. He negotiated for a living. He assessed and analyzed. He vowed to put all of those skills to work for her, no matter how long it took.

He watched her peel off her winter coat and the bulky zip-up sweater she had on underneath. By the time she was done stripping out of her winter layers, he was sweating and she wore a white oxford shirt and faded jeans. The woman looked better in old jeans than most women he’d seen did in expensive ball gowns.

She was so comfortable with who she was. He never appreciated how sexy that was until he met her. She might be mysterious and private but she held herself with a certain confidence that said she could handle anything, including kicking a little ass.

Then he really looked at her. Saw the strain on her face. He knew why it was there but he asked anyway, giving her a chance to get it out. “You okay?”

She treated him to a small smile as she plopped down on the couch next to him. “Kayla told you.”

“Technically Kayla told Matthias, who called me.” Garrett was pretty sure they all knew how to send a group text but no one seemed to be using the skill. “Apparently we’re in seventh grade. Next thing we’ll be passing notes at recess.”

She stretched her arm along the back of the sofa until her fingers just grazed his shoulder. “I’m not sure you still get recess in seventh grade.”

He was dying to lift her, put her on his lap and take that shirt off. Seeing her was all it took. Hell, when she walked across a room his body flipped to launch mode.

He fought to keep his voice steady. “Don’t ruin my bad analogy.”

This time she really touched him. Her fingertips skimmed his arm. “She was pathetic, Garrett.”

He could hear the concern in her voice. In her place he’d be celebrating, enjoying the fact that the other woman in his marriage had gotten dumped. Not her. No, Lauren was decent and kind. Tough on the outside but loving inside.

That’s what attracted him at first. Her loyalty to Kayla. How hard she worked and the sound of her laugh.

Damn, he had it bad for her.

Which was why he was so desperate to protect her. She may not want it, but he planned to help anyway. “Is it possible she was playing you?”

She shrugged. “I guess.”

She didn’t sound convinced, so he tried again. Nudged a little harder this time. “She did run off with your husband and what little money you had.”

“She didn’t exactly win anything with that move.”

He let out the breath he didn’t even know he was holding. Every time he mentioned Carl he waited for a look of pain to shoot across her face. For any sign that she cared for him or still loved him. He couldn’t spot any.

“True, but being left behind or tossed aside, or whatever happened, might have made her angry enough to kill him.”

Lauren frowned at him. “She could barely finish a sentence.”

The woman had been conned and still thought people were basically honest. He had no idea where that bone-deep belief came from. He sure didn’t share it. He’d seen the worst in humanity. Watched people destroy each other over things that didn’t matter. He hoped she never knew that truth.

“Last I checked finishing a sentence wasn’t a requirement for killing.” Not that he’d ever seen. “Revenge, money, love . . . those are three of the top reasons.”

She continued to toy with his sweater, twisting it in her fingers then smoothing it out again. “Maybe.”

“I love that you want to see the best in her.”

She snorted. “It’s not that. Don’t make me out to be a saint.”

He found her to be pretty human. That was the point. Flawed and compelling and just secretive enough to have him wanting to dig for more. “Okay, then what is it?”

“I know what it’s like to be a victim of Carl Gallagher.”

He refused to let her wear that tag. Shifting on the cushion, he faced her head-on. “You are not a victim.”

“What am I?”

“A survivor.” His fingertips trailed over her cheek and down to her chin. “A really sexy survivor.”

“Are you making a pass?” She smiled as she said the words.

He totally was even though he’d promised he’d give her space. He’d never said it out loud but he’d thought it . . . and now he wanted to break that vow. “Would it work?”

She scooted a little closer to him, closing the distance without saying a word. “I thought we established you have a green light.”

“That wasn’t a temporary thing?” Please say no.

“No.”

He could barely hear over the buzzing in his ears. “Be sure, Lauren.”

She didn’t hide her movements this time. She slid across the couch, or tried to. When that didn’t work, she lifted up on one knee and threw her other leg across his lap until she straddled him. Right there on the couch.

“You are the one thing I am sure of.” She dipped her head and treated him to a very sweet lingering kiss.

He wanted more and that scared the hell out of him. Not enough to stop, but a warning sign did flash in his brain for a second before he blinked it out. “Those are big words.”

“I know.” She slid her hands around his neck. “What are you going to do about them?”

The woman wanted a gesture? Fine, he’d give her one.

With both hands cupped under her ass, he found his balance and stood up. Took her with him and had to smile when she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Her eyebrow lifted. “Impressive.”

“I can only do that once a year. Don’t get used to the move.”

“Noted.”

Her smile nearly knocked him out. Warmth and longing thrummed off her. He could feel her need, her excitement. It ran through her and vibrated against him.

He spun around, dropping them both on the mattress. She fell back and he balanced on top of her. They were fully dressed but he could feel every curve through their clothes. The scent he associated with her, the smell of fresh linen and a touch of flowers he could not name. He knew it came from her shampoo because he’d smelled it in the bathroom this morning after her shower. It had followed him around all day, baiting him.

His fingers went to the small white buttons on her shirt. One by one he opened them, revealing inch after inch of bare skin. He skimmed his fingers over her neck and across her collarbone. Trailed them down her chest to the tops of her breasts.

“You are so beautiful.”

“And you are charming.” She tugged on his sweater, lifting it up his back. “Hot and charming with the touch of the devil inside you, I think.”

That worked for him. The sweater didn’t. His skin was on fire and everywhere she touched came alive under her hand.

She pushed up just enough to give him some room. He nearly ripped his sweater and tee to shreds getting them off. He wanted to strip it all off, but he slowed down. Just enough to savor her. To watch as her pupils dilated and her tongue darted out to wet her bottom lip.

She was sexy without even trying.

Then her hands were on him. Trailing over his shoulders and down his arms. Skipping to his chest and traveling over his stomach. Every brush, every touch, had his breath hitching inside him.

He kissed her then and tried to figure out why he hadn’t done it the minute she walked in the door. Their mouths met and his mind went blank. All thought dropped out of his head except for his need for her.

Their bodies rubbed together as he shifted, working his fingers to get her shirt open and off. Tugging the material as he kissed her. Slipping his hand inside the silky laciness of her bra and loving the feel of her soft skin under his palm.

She gulped in a breath as he touched her. Her hands rested against the pillow near her head and her legs fell open. It was a surrender of sorts and he didn’t squander the opportunity. His mouth slipped to her neck then traveled lower. He savored every taste of skin as he nosed her bra to the side and slipped her nipple into his mouth.

She groaned then. Her back arched off the bed. He opened his eyes just long enough to watch her stretch, to see her head fall back, exposing her neck. He wanted to lick every inch of her and vowed to do just that. He would take however long she gave him. And when her hand snaked down between them to find the zipper of his pants, he would have given her just about anything she wanted.

His mouth slid over her, caressing first one breast then the other with his tongue. As his lips worked, his fingers slipped to her jeans. Their hands knocked together as they yanked on zippers and pushed their pants down to the tops of their hips.

She brushed the back of her hand over him through his pants. Once . . . twice . . . until his lower body jerked in response.

“Jesus, Lauren.” He could hear the pleading in his voice and didn’t try to disguise it.

“Get the rest of your clothes off.” She glanced down. “And mine.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He loved that she knew what she wanted. There was no hiding her body—or her needs—from him. In the past she’d insisted being six years older than him was a problem, but he was only seeing the benefits.

He stretched up and kissed her again. Their mouths met and she made this soft humming sound. The noise burned through the last of his control. He was almost frantic to get her naked now. He reached behind her and unhooked her bra. Lifted her back off the mattress and stripped the shirt and bra off, leaving her open to his gaze. And he did not wait. His hands skimmed over her and his mouth followed. He licked and sucked until she called out his name. He had never heard anything sexier.

He moved then, slipping down and down. Pulling off her jeans and the tiny pair of white bikini underwear underneath. Sitting up he slipped off her boots and let them thud against the floor. A few yanks and everything was off. Every last stitch of material.

His body screamed for him to grab a condom and slide over her, but she stopped him. Not with words or a hand. No, she shifted her legs, bringing them up until her feet rested flat against the mattress. Then she let her thighs drop open wide.

The move was so sensual, so inviting, that he heard the screeching in his brain as his mind shut off and his body took over. Those lean legs and defined muscles. The tiny strip of hair that covered her.

Fucking damn.

He lowered his head and breathed in, taking in the scent of her. Brushing his lips lightly over the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. Hearing her long, drawn-out moan. Then his mouth was on her, his tongue inside her. He licked as he opened her. Kept at it with his finger and his tongue until her hips bucked and her mouth dropped up.

Looking up the length of her he saw nothing but a beautiful, amazing woman totally in control of her body and handing off her pleasure to him. He happily took over the task. Pushing her legs toward her chest, he opened her even further and saw her suck in a gulp of air in response.

“Garrett, please.”

That’s all it took. That husky voice and the final okay. He practically bounced up from the bed and stripped the rest of his clothes off. His belt flew here and his pants landed over there. He stopped only long enough to think about where he’d stashed the condoms.

The answer hit him fast and hard. The drawer next to the bedside. He’d thrown some in there while she was in the shower. Hopeful thinking and all that. The wooden drawer creaked as he ripped it open and grabbed a packet. Then he came back to her, slid over her, gasping at the friction of her body against his.

The room heated and the sound of their breathing filled the air. The mattress gave under their joint weight, plowing her head deeper into the pillows. She didn’t complain and he didn’t stop. He slid into the space between her open thighs and kissed her again. Slipping his tongue against hers, tangling his fingers in her hair.

He was riding the edge. His control held, but only by a thin tether. So when she dropped her hand, dragging her fingers over his bare chest and continuing lower, he stopped breathing. He couldn’t even feel his heartbeat as she wrapped her hand around his length and pulled. She tightened her fingers and smoothed her hand up and down. The sensation mesmerized him. Had everything inside him tightening and begging for more.

But he wanted to end this time inside her. Condom on, head tipped back and hopefully with her screaming his name. At least that’s the fantasy that played in his head. When he rolled the condom on and pulled her hand away, he knew he hovered right there, so close.

The months of foreplay and wanting had piled up. Touching her was enough to set him off. When he slipped inside her, just enough to feel her inner muscles clamp down on him, he broke out in a sweat. It gathered on his shoulders and across his back.

He tightened his muscles and tried to hold off the final moment for as long as possible, to savor every first with her. He might have succeeded if she hadn’t moved. One lift of her hips, one trail of her tongue down his neck, and he was fucking done.

He plunged inside her, going slow and deep on the first thrust as she wrapped her body around his. Her breath echoed in his ear and her fingernails scraped across his bare shoulders. He could feel her, taste her and smell her. There wasn’t a part of him that didn’t touch her. And when he started to move, pulling in and out, mixing the rhythm and pressing his hips forward with every pass, her fingers slipped into his hair.

She pulled his head close. The sounds of her harsh panting matched his as she leaned up to whisper in his ear. “Faster.”

“Fuck yes.”

He lost it then. All control abandoned him and he rode her. Forget finesse and taking it slow. She didn’t hold back and neither did he. Not now that he was inside her, surrounded by her warmth.

His orgasm hovered right there on the fringes but he wanted her with him. His hand went to the juncture of her legs and his finger slipped over her, hit that spot. He knew when it happened because she gasped and a resurgence of heat moved into her eyes. Then she was bucking, her hips tightening around him. He could feel the orgasm hit her and he let his body follow hers.

Instinct took over. He couldn’t tell how or when they finished. All he remembered was the sound of a rough breath sneaking out of her throat and the insistent pounding of his heart. It thumped loud enough to block out every other noise.

With his body emptied and her lying in a satisfied sprawl beneath him, he finally let his head drop. His forehead touched hers as he fought to regain his strength, his breathing—something.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, she unwrapped her legs from around his hips and let them fall on the mattress on either side of him. Her fingers massaged the back of his neck as they balanced there together.

“That was as great as I thought it would be.”

His eyes popped open and he lifted his head to stare down at her. “You dreamed about us doing this?”

A sexy smile crossed her lips. “All the time.”

“Then what the hell have we been waiting for?” He almost yelled the question. He’d been so hot for her, so careful but so ready.

Her fingers tightened against his skin as she held him close. “I had to be sure.”

He wasn’t quite clear on what that meant, but it didn’t sound bad. “Are you sure now?”

“Definitely.”

He let that be good enough. For today. He’d negotiate for more later.