Ava
Chapter 40
The summer sun was bright and welcoming as I walked through the training grounds. Noticing two of the Elite Eight leaning against a gate, I waved at them. I really needed to learn their names.
Carrying a basket I got from Mr. Liason in the kitchen, I searched for Garrett. The idea of a surprise lunch was Eve’s idea, since she noticed he had been irked lately. Which, based on our conversation last night, we obviously both knew why.
“He needs special attention,” Eve told me, as we laid in her bed just talking. “We both know he doesn’t want to marry that scandalous little blonde. She makes us other blondes look bad.”
I chuckled. “I don’t know what to do about it. George hasn’t told me anything about if he can reverse it.”
“Do you think they can?”
I took a deep breath. “No.”
I wasn’t a naïve girl anymore; happy endings only seemed to exist in the books I read. This world was too harsh and cruel to inflict any longtime joy in my direction. Or maybe it was the company I kept that made it feel that way. Being around the royals my whole life made living a little more difficult.
“Never say never.” Eve placed her small hand on mine. “We’ll get through this together.”
“And what if he must marry her, Eve? What do I do?”
She was silent for a moment as we laid there, looking at the high ceiling.
“I don’t know. We’ll worry about that if the time comes.”
Finding Garrett wasn’t hard. He was the only man yelling out orders while several groups of men practiced fighting with their swords. He circled them, watching their form, until his eyes settled on me.
He ordered something to his captain, then strode toward me. The sight of him still made my heart quicken. That this man was interested in marrying me, wanted to bed me, made my whole body warm at the thought.
He gave me a wolfish smile. “Hi,” he greeted in a low tone.
I didn’t know how that the word coming from him could make me feel so delicious, but it did. He held my eyes hostage with his beautiful blue ones.
“I’m sorry to interrupt.” I felt like a stupid girl who shouldn’t have been out here while more important things were happening.
He stepped closer to me, our bodies almost touching, as he peered down at me. “I missed you.”
I took in his scent; all male and fresh air. He was dressed in brown slacks and a white shirt that was unbuttoned at the top. He looked too attractive to even be real, and the stubble on his face made him look dangerously rugged.
“I missed you too.”
He linked his arm in mine, escorting me the short distance to the small cabin he operated out of. “Did you?”
“Do I have a reason not to?” My lips quirked up. He opened the door for me, the smell of pine filling my nose.
The only furniture in the cabin was a small desk, two chairs, a small bookcase, and no windows. Papers were scattered all along his desk, displaying that his mind had been on things other than organization.
He closed the door. “I don’t know. You may have replaced me already; you aren’t over here showering me with kisses yet.” I turned around with a smile, and he raised a brow. “Well?”
“Well, there is a lot of competition out there,” I teased, sitting on the side of his desk. He rolled his eyes and sat in the chair next to me.
“I’m aware of that.”
“And so much to learn,” I noted, trying to hide my smile when he scowled at me.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” he growled and reached for my arm, pulling me to him. Placing a hand on his shoulder, I straddled him, feeling his hard cock through his pants. It was all the motivation I needed to keep going.
“You’re lucky I like my teacher.” That got me a smile.
“Always here to please, Lady Ava.” He cupped my ass with his hands and squeezed firmly. Leaning down, I kissed his lips softly, innocently, wanting to silently have the power. Because once he took over, I would lose it and be his to do whatever he willed. He could bend me in ways to make my entire body submissive.
I laced my tongue with his, rocking my body against him. He moaned, thrusting his hips up to tease me. Lust ripped through my body, and my breasts rubbed against his chest, while I dug my fingers into his back, silently telling him I wanted more.
“Are you seducing me, my Lady?” he teased, and I smiled against his mouth.
“Is it working?”
“Fuck yes, it’s working.”
“I’m not done yet.” I lifted my skirts, purposely not wearing any undergarments, just in case I was able to have some alone time with him. Obviously being shameful wasn’t within my person.
I stood, working at his buttons on his pants. “Could you be a darling and lower those for me?”
Keeping his heated gaze on me, he fumbled at his pants, leaning up to mesh his lips with mine again. Once they were to his knees, I lowered myself again, finding his hard cock. Positioning myself, I slid onto him.
“Shit,” Garrett bit out. “I’ve been a bad influence on you.”
I pressed myself lower on his cock. “I’d say you were the best thing that has ever happened to me.” I took all of him and moaned. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
“My darling, I’d agree to anything you say, right now and forever, if you promise to do this again.”
I started to ride him. “Hmm…I promise this…and more.”
He grabbed my hips and greedily took me at his leisure. We both needed this. The tension and frenzied week brought us to an unbearable want of each other. It was a silent agreement, if only for a few moments, and we stole them for ourselves.
It didn’t take long for my body to ache for release, I kept him deep within me, riding him, as I searched for what I was looking for.
“Avie…yes sweetheart.” Garrett moaned deeply, as he held my sides. I started to lose control with the way his hands dug deeper into my skin, making me scorch for him. He bit my neck softly, and I suddenly came, soaring over him. My release triggered his, and I held him tightly, trying to catch my breath.
“Are you okay?” I asked, touching his cheek with my face.
He let out a small laugh. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”
I wanted to tell him that I wasn’t going through hell, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment. He was reminded of it at every turn, from George or Reddington. I wanted to be his peace, someone he could come to and be mute to the outside world because that’s who he was to me. He was the only air that wasn’t contaminated by reality, and I found myself consumed with it.
∞∞∞
With his fingers laced with mine, Garrett and I strolled along, outside the castle walls—with four of his men. I just wanted to walk, get us out of every prying eye in the castle, and have alone time. Feeling him next to me warmed my body against the cooling waft of wind.
“Avie, I want to talk to you about everything that has been happening,” Garrett confided. “I’m not sure how much my brother has been keeping you abreast of.” I saw him look up at the sky. Pinks and purples swirled in beautiful streams in the sky. “George arranged a meeting with Lord Chitwood, agreeing to the marriage.”
I stalled in place. Garrett twisted to face me, cupping my face with both his hands.
“Don’t start thinking the worst now,” he scolded. “Trust me, I wasn’t overjoyed with the idea.”
“Why?” It was all I could muster, my mind racing in all different directions.
“According to him, and his sidekick Reddington, who is a straight pain in my balls, it’s to buy us time.”
“To do what?”
Garrett sighed heavily. “George wants me to…fuck…” He raked a hand through his hair, his jaw twitched. “He wants me to marry Sophia and pressure her to divorce me.”
As I took a step back from him, his hands fell to his sides.
Were they serious?
And what did George want me to do?
Femme Fatale only knew how long it would take that hellion to have enough. What if she never divorced him? I’d be here waiting, holding on to something that would never come to be.
“I see your mind running a mile a minute, Avie.”
I peered up at him, his eyes soft, a weak smile on his lips.
“And me?” I choked out. “What will he have me do?”
“I haven’t agreed to it. This is all hearsay.”
“But there is no other way around this,” I fretted. “It’s either you or Hara. A rapist king or an abominable wretch.” I choked on a laugh. “You saved me all those years ago; I was the one who got the short end of the stick. Now, the tables have turned. You and your sister are now targets to your father’s fucked up chess game.”
Garrett reached for me, but I took another step back. If he held me, I would break down. Tears already threatened to leak from my eyes.
“I feel horribly defenseless that I can’t come to your rescue now. I’d do anything to take this away from you and Hara.” My body started to tremble. “Switch places and deal with—”
Garrett seized me into his arms and pulled me to his chest. My tears cascaded, and I held onto him for dear life. I was going to lose him and have to hear him call another woman his wife. He was stolen from me, just like my childhood and my mother were.
The heartache was too much for me to bottle. While I held everything else in, this was my tipping point. The circumstance where it took over and I couldn’t compromise with it anymore.
“I would never let you marry another man against your will,” Garrett growled in my hair. “You’re mine. I will never let you go. I belong to you, Avie. No one else.”
I broke into a sob. Femme Fatale, he was confessing his feelings while I couldn’t get myself under control. My unease was overwhelming my every thought and feeling.
“Take a deep breath, darling,” he said softly with a squeeze. “I have a plan. Do you trust me?”
I nodded. “With my whole being.”
Pulling me from his warmth, he faced me.
‘We’re going to run. Leave. And we can’t look back.” My mouth dropped slightly, and he smiled. “Don’t try to seduce me with your mouth, Ava.”
“You’re impossible to tease during a serious conversation.”
“Hard to be serious when your stunning eyes are looking at me like that, and your mouth is—” I smacked his chest, a blush instantly creeping on my face. He chortled and pulled me back into his arms. “What do you say? Come with me.”
“But Hara…”
“All four of us. Hara, Mama, me, and you. We’ll travel; I’ll show you every place that is worth exploring, and sleep with you in every town we stay in. No more chains and arrangements keeping us bound here. We need to divide ourselves from this life. It’s everything you wanted…minus the fugitive part.”
“But George…”
“Will be fine. We’ll be back, Ava.”
I shook my head. “The assassins and the—”
“I won’t leave him to the wolves. He’ll have my Elite Eight here. I’ll take the new group with us.”
Leave George. My best friend.
“We’ll be back, Avie,” Garrett coaxed with a small grin. “My men will take care of Chitwood, and I won’t abandon George forever. I just need us off the table for a while. And I need you to be with me.”
I laced my fingers with his. “I can deal with that.”
He lowered his mouth to my forehead, placing a soft kiss there. “Sophia will marry some other asshole, and then we can come back.”
“What about Papa?”
“We’ll see him. You wear disguises very well.” He slapped my ass. “He needs to retire soon anyway.”
I clucked. “Papa still thinks he is in his twenties.”
“Then we’ll need to give him another job.” He kissed my cheek. “Something closer to us.”
I ran my fingers through his hair. “And what would that be? A position in the Elite Eight?”
He laughed, wrapping his arm around my waist. “No,” he breathed. “A grandfather.”
Lifting me in the air, I squealed as he carried me over his shoulder, spilling out his thoughts about eight children that he wanted to have with me, and a dog.
This idea was insane.
It was delirious.
And it was the best one I’d ever heard in my life.
I was defeating fate.