Bonnie couldn’t eat a thing. She tried, but once they’d toasted each other and posed cutting a cake that looked far too beautiful to be real, she was done. At least she could sit down, although she couldn’t kick off her shoes, which were so elegant but made her feet throb. She toyed with a glass of wine, but wouldn’t let them top it up.
This was too much. His family had arrived en masse, and arranged a much bigger celebration than Garrett wanted. She didn’t kid herself that this marriage wasn’t going to make news, and not just because of Georgia G.
The lights dimmed and music came on, a tune she vaguely recognized. “I had to pick a “your song,” he said, offering his hand. “Is this one okay?”
“Yes.” As he led her to the small dance floor between the tables she said, “What is it?”
“It’s the first song we danced to.” He told her the name, and recognition clicked. Was it only a few days ago when they’d danced and he’d kissed her?
That kiss had been deliberate, made to get the press to ask questions. Not so the subsequent ones. Tension invaded her, seeped through to her inner core and turned red hot.
His arms went around her, instead of touching her waist the way they had the first time. His erection swelled between them. “Sorry,” he murmured in her ear. “I never claimed to be a perfect gentleman.”
She made a non-committal sound into the fabric of his suit. Maybe she could do this. By the third song, people had joined them on the dance floor. When Elliott winked at her, Garrett growled low in his throat and whisked her away. “What’s wrong?” she asked him.
“My brother’s a wolf,” Garrett said. “He doesn’t respect boundaries.”
“He doesn’t seem like that.”
Garrett just grunted, and guided her away from his brother. So this was sibling rivalry. “Can I meet your family?”
He shot a sharp glance at her. “Why would you want to do that?”
She glanced away. “It doesn’t matter. I thought…” He made her sound like an interloper, which was, after all, what she was. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Hey.” He tilted her chin up with one finger, staring into her eyes. “Of course it matters. Come on.”
Leaving the dance floor, he headed for the circular table where his family sat. They all stood at their approach. Garrett introduced her with smiles, but his manner wasn’t forthcoming. If anything, he was more buttoned-up than usual. He growled when Elliott winked at her.
His father’s wife was lovely. Although Garrett had told her twenty years lay between them, it was obvious they were deeply in love. His formidable father was tender with his wife, his attitude markedly different to when he addressed anyone else. He gave Bonnie a smile that echoed his son’s.
Bonnie got the strong feeling this was what Garrett would look like at sixty. Tall, still strongly built, with a few dark strands left in his mostly gray hair, Philippe Rocquelaire had a delicious French accent. When he bade her welcome and kissed her on both cheeks, Bonnie had a sense of strength and resolve. Perhaps that had caused the family split.
“Will you be at the next board meeting, my son?” he asked Garrett. “Your virtual presence is becoming tiring.”
Garrett shrugged. “I guess so, now I’m back in the country.”
Philippe nodded, and turned his charming smile to Bonnie. “Try to persuade him, will you? He has the same number of shares as everybody else. He should have his say, too.”
So only Garrett kept apart from the others. Bonnie filed the information away. What had happened to alienate him from his family?
She met all five of Garrett’s siblings, a good-looking group of people, but very different in appearance, probably because of their mothers. “We’re the children of three mothers,” Elliott told her, “but we regard ourselves as brothers and sisters.”
Garrett had a closed-off look, the one she already knew meant he was uncomfortable and on the brink of clamming up.
This was her wedding day. Her stomach already crawled with nerves at the prospect of what would happen later, so she didn’t ask any more about his family.
They passed on to the table holding the women Bonnie had arrived here with. After squeals of congratulations, and assurances from them that their rooms here were wonderful, and Garrett was the sexiest man alive, Garrett took her back on to the dance floor. He guided her in a dance that took them away from the tables. “I can’t wait any longer,” he said, before he led her so far away, that they left the room.
He towed her into the first lift that opened its doors, and pulled her close, cupping her head to hold her steady for his kiss.
A steady murmur and a few “aw” s told her they weren’t alone, but Garrett ignored them. His kiss was long and sweet. He didn’t increase the pressure, or release the raging passion she sensed in him, but caressed her as if she was made of feathers.
He melted her, and while her tension didn’t completely disappear, it lessened considerably.
He stepped inside to let the other people out, then slid his card in the slot leading to the private floor. Once he had her there, he took her to the living room and gazed down at her, smiling. “We did it.”
“Yes, we did. Shouldn’t we spend more time with your family?”
He shook his head. “They’ll understand. None better,” he added grimly.
Heat darkened his eyes. “You’ve been driving me mad all day. Turn around.”
He didn’t stop touching her as she did as he asked. He groaned. “There’s no hidden zipper? All these buttons are real?”
He grabbed her dress and pulled hard. The buttons exploded either side of her to clatter on to the floor. A loosening told her he’d unfastened her bra. When he touched her back, his fingers were shaking. “I was an idiot to stay away after Saturday night. There’ll be no more walking away any more, Bonnie. I’m at the edge of my control here. If I don’t get inside you soon, I’ll tear something else apart.”
The words sent an unexpected thrill through her. She laughed shakily. “So no bathing in scented oils, no dressing in delicate lingerie?”
“That sounds wonderful, but no. Not yet.”
She glanced out the window. The sun was still in charge of the sky. “An early night.”
“I don’t fucking care what time it is.” Without warning, he bent and swung her into his arms, striding to the bedroom. She wrapped her arms around his neck in instinctive response as he kicked open the door and deposited her on the bed.
Never taking his eyes off her, he dragged his gold cufflinks and tie pin off, tossing them in the vague direction of the dresser. They hit the side and fell to the floor. His shoes went next, the Italian loafers toed off unceremoniously. She stared at him, unable to move, fascinated by his hasty striptease. The jacket, tie and shirt dropped to the floor, then he dragged down his trousers and socks, leaving them where they fell. He came to her wearing only a pair of black, tight-fitting boxers. His cock was framed by the tight fabric in mouthwatering detail.
Her throat went suddenly dry, and she swallowed. When he found the shoulders of her ruined dress and pulled it down, her bra came with it. With a soft groan, he watched her breasts quiver as he divested her of her outer clothing.
He joined her on the bed, holding her close, so her nipples grazed his chest. In contact with his hot, hair-dusted skin, they hardened immediately. “Are you okay?” he said, suddenly gentle.
She nodded. “I was a bit worried. You didn’t come back after Saturday night. I thought I was a disappointment.”
He gave a rough chuckle. “Precisely the opposite. I scared myself with how much I wanted you. But that’s not the answer, is it?”
“No it fucking isn’t.”
His laughter rang around the room. “Perfect answer. You don’t curse very often, do you?”
She shook her head. “I am—was—a teacher. You get used to avoiding those words. Even in the inner city schools, teachers are supposed to set a good example.”
“Ah. Well, baby, feel free.” His body felt reassuringly strong, all but the hard rod of his erection, pressing into her stomach.
“Maybe I should ask you for your level of nervousness from one to ten. But I’m not going to. A little tension is good. But I don’t want to rush.”
“You mean you will another time?”
His smile turned wicked. “There’s a lot to be said for a quickie.”
She laughed, her skin moving against his in enticing temptation, her soft flesh abraded by the rough hair on his chest.
He broke into her laugh by kissing her, so he swallowed the rest of the sound. He hummed into her mouth in exchange, the vibration warming her lips, sending a new sensation through her.
Lifting his head, he spoke softly. “Your skin feels amazing. So silky, with a hint of strength underneath.”
She couldn’t think what to say. So many sensations were rioting through her she couldn’t work out which was most important. The hair on his chest added a rough edge that turned her into a wriggling mass of longing. His strong thighs, bracketing hers, gave her a sense of helplessness she knew she could dispel with just one word. However, “No,” and “Stop,” weren’t on the menu tonight. She blocked them from her mind.
“I’m going to make you want me so badly you won’t be able to think of anything else.” He kissed her mouth, but didn’t linger, passing on to her earlobe, which he tugged gently with his teeth. “Not anything.” He worked his way down her throat, nuzzling and kissing. “Not clothes, not casinos, not numbers.” He licked her left breast and she shuddered. “Nothing.” He sucked her nipple.
Thrills shot through her, radiating from her nipple through the rest of her body, raising her level of arousal. He set his hand to work on her other breast, pulling and tweaking. Swiftly, he returned her to the state she had been in on Saturday night. All she wanted was his hands on her body, his lips on her skin, driving her insane. His chin was smooth. That meant a particularly close shave, since she’d noticed an incipient shadow before in the middle of the day. He’d taken care with her. The knowledge warmed her, a shot of tenderness winding its way around the fierce desire racking her body.
With one hand still playing with her breast, he slid further down her body. He dipped his tongue into the tiny indent of her navel, traveling south towards the only piece of clothing she still wore. She squirmed, the silky fabric harsh against the hyper-sensitive skin of her upper thighs. Removing his hand from her breast, he touched her. “You’re wet,” he crooned softly. “That’s good. Hot, too. Hot for me.”
He didn’t want a reply, he said it as a statement, but she wanted to affirm it.
Bonnie wet her lips. “Yes. For you.”
He slid the sides of her knickers down, so they skimmed the top of her thighs and exposed her completely to his avid gaze.
He sighed, long and luscious. “Oh, baby, you smell so good. Your own personal perfume and it’s mine. The scent of your arousal is so heady I’d make a fortune if I could capture its essence. It’s part of who you are, and I want it all.”
His words ended with a growl as he dragged her underwear off, pushing the offending garment off her feet to land who knew where. He didn’t let up, but pressed her thighs open and stayed there, looking at her with an greed that made her aroused and uncomfortable. His breath heated her, and she shivered. “Don’t hold back, baby. Let me know everything you’re feeling.”
When he licked her, shock of the contact froze Bonnie. Her previous boyfriend hadn’t liked doing it, but Garrett tasted her with an eagerness she couldn’t deny. She’d imagined men did it to please their partners, not because they wanted to. Garrett couldn’t have sounded happier if someone had presented him with the finest chocolate or rarest whisky. He devoured her like a delicacy, licking and sucking, exploring her with his mouth and tongue. Driving her out of her mind.
He touched her, stroked her and dipped his fingers into her wetness, the slickness giving his movements a gliding motion. When he painted patterns on her skin, she moaned his name. He drew her up, inexorably climbing.
A twinge of pain made her suck in air, but she resolutely stayed where she was. Soon she was revealing in the licks and sucks he delivered, the sounds sending her flushes of embarrassment and a deep desire for more. When a particularly strong sensation hit her hard, she flung out her hands, needing something to hold on to and found his hair. She tunneled her fingers into the thick strands, clinging on for dear life as he took her up and over. The pleasure was thick and overwhelming, swamping everything else in its wake.
She opened her eyes to meet his glittering blue gaze. He’d planted her hands either side of her shoulders. All she could see was Garrett, which worked fine for her. Glancing down, she caught sight of his cock, already sheathed. He must have done it when she was still overwhelmed by her orgasm. “Ready?”
Hurriedly, she nodded.
“Lift your knees, baby. Hold on to me.” He huffed a laugh. “Yeah, I know. We’ll get creative next time. I just need to fuck you right now.”
Reaching up, she put her hands on his waist.
“That’s it.” Taking his cock in one hand, he guided it to her and drove in with one hard, decisive thrust.
“Open your eyes. I want to see them, and watch you come.” He sounded out of breath.
Bonnie hadn’t realized she was so easy to read. But she did as he demanded, and gazed up into his face. His groin nestled against her so fucking intimately. He was all the way in.
Carefully he slid partly out, then pushed back in. Watching her, he increased his actions, delivering a series of slow thrusts that had her lifting her hips, urging him to do more. Here they were again, neither of them unable to resist the pull of getting down to business fast and furious. This time he withdrew nearly all the way before driving in, still slow, but harder, their bodies impacting with a wet slap.
When he rotated his hips, the responding movement of his shaft inside her had her groaning his name. His thrusts came easier now, his progress unimpeded. Her hands tightened on his skin and she held on while he took her for the ride of her life.
Because she kept her eyes open, she saw when he lost it. Before, he’d watched her carefully, noting every twinge and gasp of delight. Half a dozen strokes in, he sucked in a deep breath and unleashed the passion she’d sensed the minute she’d met him.
His movements grew deep and demanding, a wild edge adding a touch of danger. Bonnie reveled in it all, met him thrust for thrust as the sensations inside her turned to an untamed answer to his unspoken questions. She didn’t know when she wrapped her legs around his waist, but that opened her up to him even more and gave him the chance to take her closer, ever closer to the edge.
She gave a sharp scream as her world rose to an unforgettable peak. When she opened her eyes, the sight of him looming above her, possession written in every tense muscle, tipped her over. She pulsed around him, her body a slave to the frantic pulse of her orgasm.
He cried out. In wonder, Bonnie watched his big body shake helplessly in the throes of his own climax. His shaft throbbed inside her, and he gave her everything. The muscles in his shoulders and upper arms bulged and tensed, hard as iron. He kept his eyes open, and met hers with an electrifying connection before he threw back his head and called her name.
He collapsed on to her, but he grabbed hold of her and rolled to one side, taking her with him. Only then did he withdraw, taking care to ensure the condom remained in place. Whether he did that automatically or his senses had returned she didn’t know. All Bonnie could do was lie there and absorb what had happened to her.
She fell asleep, still not sure she wasn’t dreaming.
*****
After disposing of the condom Garrett returned to the wrecked bedroom, and slid into bed next to his wife. He chuckled. Married and well and truly fucked now, Bonnie had fallen into a deep slumber.
He’d never been so uninventive, so desperate to get inside her that he forgot everything else. He never went at a woman like a bull in heat, but he had now. Twice.
He propped himself up on one elbow so he could watch her sleep. Outside and the lights of Las Vegas twinkled brightly, as if they’d last as long as the stars, instead of an average of thirty years. This place was an anomaly, a town consuming everything around it, stuck in the middle of a desert. He glanced beyond Bonnie to the vista offered by the view. The mountains reared beyond Vegas, settled in a tranquillity similar to Bonnie’s. Lost in sleep, she was still smiling.
He brushed his hand over her face, not touching, but sensing her. She’d been so responsive that he’d lost it, even though he’d determined to make this night all about her. But his climax had taken him by surprise, and shocked, he could do nothing but give way to it.
Usually after sex Garrett got the sense of a job well done but it was accompanied by a restlessness that invited him to wonder what was next. Sex was something he enjoyed, but it had never ruled him, and he hadn’t wanted it to. Now he longed to spend a week in bed, enjoying Bonnie and teaching her more about this world that had been closed to her for so long. Making up for that bastard who had screwed her over the first time. Pun intended. He’d already set wheels in motion to deal with that particular creep. Sometimes money did help.
She’d given herself to him with a trust that had bowled him over, trust he didn’t deserve. Perhaps he could find some kind of redemption in her after his years in the wilderness. Or the desert, he amended, taking another glance at the mountains, fast disappearing into the incipient night. And maybe, after all, it was time to resume relations with his family. It wouldn’t heal the past but it might make for a better future. He’d kept himself apart ever since he and his brother had the falling-out that had changed his life. The subsequent events made him shudder, even today.
Now, looking at Bonnie’s lovely, pearly body he could hardly remember the face of the woman who had caused the break. He remembered her name, and what she’d done, but the pain didn’t pierce him as hard as it usually did.
His plans had gone up in smoke. He’d planned to find a convenient wife, someone who would make his marriage to Georgia impossible. He’d been on the brink of instructing Jane to search the reputable dating agencies when he’d seen Bonnie on the security camera, and been totally captivated.
His first plan had been to spend time with her until the threat from Georgia was over, then let her go home with the money she’d earned. She’d saved him much more in travel and inconvenience, as well as his sanity.
No woman had ever held him for long, his attention fleeting, but Bonnie would hold him longer than most. That he knew. He could see their affair lasting a year, maybe more. He never planned longer than that. A year would be a record for him.
So was sharing his living space with anyone. He hadn’t told her, but he’d never even shared his clothes closet before. When he’d had one, that was. Once a woman brought more than her toothbrush and a change of clothes into his living quarters, he moved her on without a backward glance. Ever since the disaster that had torn his life apart, he’d made it a rule never to look back. It always worked. It would work now. It had to.
She stirred, giving an adorable grunt before she opened her eyes. He made sure the first thing she saw was him. Smiling easily, he stroked her cheek and claimed a kiss. “Would Sleeping Beauty like a bath?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I probably need one.”
She made him smile like nobody else. “If you do, then I do too.” Flinging back the sheets, he climbed out of bed and scooped her up. It gave him pleasure to carry her, to feel her skin against his. She deserved a little pampering and he was the man to do it.
He poured the bath, and hovered his hand over the toiletries on the glass shelf above the large, claw-footed tub. Finding a bottle of scented oil, he added a general libation. He’d have used bubble bath, but that would have obscured her body, and he hadn’t had his fill of gazing at her yet. Her beautiful, petite but ultra-feminine body lured him in, and he loved it.
When he lowered her to her feet, he kept one arm wrapped around her. She nestled close, her breasts rubbing against him, and the inevitable happened. By the time the tub had filled, he was rampant again. Maybe the water would calm him down. She moved slightly. Nope, water didn’t have anything to do with it.
He’d distract himself another way.
“Stand up,” he said.
“Hmm?”
He reached for what he needed. “This is something I do to you. Nobody else, not while we’re together.” Her pussy was nicely situated, just before his eyes. He rinsed the area with a washcloth before reaching for the spray of shaving gel.
Glancing up, she saw the apprehension in her eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ve been doing this for years.”
A bowl containing flower heads was placed at the side of the tub. He unceremoniously dumped the contents on the tiled floor, rinsed the bowl and filled it with clear, warm water. This was going to be fun.
Carefully, he swept the safety razor over her upper thighs, collecting a clump of dark hair, which he deposited in the bowl.
As he shaved her, he learned her body, the delicate shape of her labia and the lustrous pearl nestling between them. For now he avoided that part, watching as she grew wetter and the aroma of her arousal increased.
He finished the job in a few practiced, even strokes, using his thumb to keep her delicate flesh out of the way. Bonnie hardly said anything, but a few sharp gasps told him she was getting as aroused as him, and once, she groaned and propped her hand against the tiled wall.
Concentrating on his work gave him a certain distance, but that disappeared as soon as he rinsed the razor in the bowl and set it down by the side of the bath. He ran his thumb over her newly shaved sex, loving the softness and the contours.
Instead of asking her to sit, he rinsed her with the cloth and drew her closer. He rubbed his nose against the tuft of hair he’d allowed her to keep. “Gorgeous.”
Then he tasted her. Her reaction was instant, her knees giving way, but that would have been too easy. He held her steady, wrapping his arm around her thighs while he took his time exploring her lush, flavorsome depths.
He sucked her clit deep, hearing her sharp cry with a satisfaction that went way beyond anything he’d experienced recently. Except fucking her, of course. Opening his mouth wide, he took as much of her in as he could, then let it slid out of his mouth until he only had the clit left. He concentrated on that, closing his eyes as he felt her tremble, so close to her climax.
She would come any minute. The anticipation filled him with power, pushed his desire higher and harder. His cock would be cresting the water like the fucking Loch Ness Monster.
When she came, she melted into him, collapsed slowly forward, her sharp cries music to his ears. They echoed around the walls, combined with his groans as he let her slide down his body, turning her as she tumbled, to settle her between his legs, leaning against his chest.
She took her time recovering, and he enjoyed it, cradling her in his arms, caressing her arms and pressing soft kisses on her face and lips.
“This is decadent,” she murmured, wriggling against him. “This bathroom is as big as my whole bedroom at home.” She paused. “I was planning to move out to my own place. Now I’ve lost my job, I can’t do that until I get another one.”
“Stay here for a while.”
She stiffened. “What do you mean?”
“If you don’t have a job to go back to, you don’t have to hurry, do you?”
“My mother…” She paused, then said, in a different tone, “No, I don’t have to hurry. How long will you want me for?”
“Oh, I don’t know. As long as it takes.”
“As long as what takes?”
She really was an innocent. Perhaps she wanted to deny what lay between them. This was new to her, intimacy with a man. It felt new to him, too, but then he’d never married anyone before. He moved, letting her feel his erection. “This. I have other reasons, but this is the most important one right now.”
She heaved a sigh, her breasts moving enticingly.
With a groan, he curved his hand under the soft mounds, pinching her nipples gently for the pleasure of seeing them peak. “Your skin is so silky.”
“That was amazing.”
He wanted to give her nothing but pleasure. He’d desired her so badly that first time, the only way he could control it was to discipline himself to be careful, to concentrate on her needs instead of his. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done that with a woman in bed. Usually he went for an experienced partner who knew what the score was and how to satisfy a man.
“I want you,” she murmured against his chest.
“Are you sure?”
“Do you have protection?”
“Give me five seconds.” Easing her forward, he scrambled out of the bath. He returned in slightly longer than five seconds, but he was primed, sheathed and ready for action. She looked up at him, her gaze roaming over his body, hunger in her eyes.
Instead of sitting behind her again, he took his place facing her, his legs spread either side of hers. Firming his hands at her waist, he lifted her so she sat on his thighs. Then he scooted to the middle of the tub, steadying himself with his feet at the end. “Okay?” His heart thumped faster, as she smiled and bent her head, searching for his lips with hers.
After ensuring she was ready, he eased her over his aching tip. Her warmth enclosed him. He held her open with his fingers while he pushed into her, unwilling to cause her any discomfort. Once he was seated inside her hot, welcoming sheath, he smiled up at her. “Are we good?”
She tipped her head back, offering her breasts to his questing tongue. “So fucking good,” she said, her voice barely a breath. “I never imagined sex would be like this.”
“It isn’t. Not very often.”
He thrust up, deep into her welcoming body. When she jerked, he used one hand to hold her hips steady. This time she bore down on him. He licked her breast, as eager as a randy teenager to have her again. His long abstinence didn’t help his self-control, but he hung on. When he grazed his thumb over her clit she flinched, her sex tightening around him.
He did it again. She responded so beautifully to everything he did with her. It would take longer than a month to explore all the possibilities.
When she cried out and clutched his shoulders, her nails digging in, he let himself go and found bliss for the second time that night.
A note of warning sounded at the back of his mind. Too much of this and he might get more attached than he’d planned.
Garrett ignored it.