Chapter Eight

Garrett

He watched her from his seat and drank his fucking diet Coke, wishing it were something stronger.

He was an idiot.

Something about her made him tongue tied and half stupid. Which was very unlike him. Not that he was fucking woman after woman, but he had never had issues charming the opposite sex. But with Stefanie and her easy smile and bright eyes, he never seemed to say the right thing around her.

Watching her sing, clearly enjoying herself after having put him in his place, he found himself watching her with so much admiration and respect, his throat tightened.

He didn’t deserve anyone half as beautiful and clean as she was. Suddenly, the walls were closing in on him, but instead of drowning himself in a bottle or finding someone to lash out at, he decided to step out to get some fresh air.

Stepping out into the warm spring air, he knew he wouldn’t find any relief out there, but it was better than the emotions he felt looking at her.

She captivated him.

No other words for it.

She had him under a damn spell, and it frightened him so much he wanted to get in his damn truck and leave. Run far and away from her, because at the end of the day, he knew he wasn’t any good for her.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he breathed in the scent of cigarette smoke in the air, his hands over his head. A damn cigarette sounded like heaven, but like booze, he was laying off. He wasn’t sure why, but he wasn’t letting himself go there. Not after letting those little shits kick his ass. Though if he was being honest, he couldn’t really regret it. It had led his life to the beautiful, sassy brunette with the voice of a dying cat.

Closing his eyes, he inhaled the nicotine-laced air while ignoring the heat and the small niggling voice that kept shouting at him to leave. To drive off and go on his merry way so he wouldn’t darken the life of the beautiful woman he couldn’t seem to wash away from his memory.

All he could see was her face.

The way she wore her heart on her sleeve. Every single emotion painted on her beautiful face, and he wasn’t even sure she knew. He really loved her smile. But then there was the way she looked when her eyes softened whenever he said something semi-sweet he really liked, too. As if he had surprised her somehow, and he liked that. The doors opened behind him, and he blinked his eyes open.

There she was. Like he had magically made her appear.

“You’re still here,” she breathed, surprise in her eyes. She took a step back and straightened her back, her gaze now teetering on apprehension. Instead of grabbing her in both his arms and never letting her go like he was dying to do, he shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.

“I am.” He watched her intently. He was usually great at reading people. At that moment, he wished he weren’t. Her eyes were glassy and slightly sad. “Did you think I left?” he found himself wondering out loud, and it was like steel injected her spine.

“Does it matter?” she answered matter-of-factly, and he wanted to smile. Fuck, his little bit of sunshine was a firework, and he was sick enough in the head to love it.

Closing the space between them, he slipped his hand out of his pocket and grabbed hers. An indescribable heat and warmth rushed through him like it did whenever they touched.

“All I could think about was you this week,” he laid out honestly. Probably too honest, making her dizzy with mixed signals, but he couldn’t help it.

“Garrett—”

“I wanted to call you,” he admitted. Her eyes narrowed.

“For what?”

“For different reasons.”

“Like what?” she asked, leaning closer to him.

“Sit with me?” he asked, and her head nodded before he led them to a bench on the side of the bar. It was darker there, but she didn’t question it. This girl was going to be the death of him with her trusting ways. Even still, he had her sit on his lap, and she went along with him again.

“I wanted to hear your voice.” Her eyes widened and then went slightly suspicious.

“You don’t have to blow smoke up my—” she started to argue, but he cut her off.

“To see how your day was going. What you were doing…” His voice tapered off, and then he sighed. Looking into the beautiful pools of her eyes, he couldn’t help himself. He was stuck in a riptide of emotions, his and hers, and he needed to be honest. “To ask you if I could see you again.”

“You wanted to see me again?” Her eyes weren’t on his anymore. No. They were a little lower, and his lips tingled. Just like that, with a simple gaze at his mouth, she undid him. His body went into overdrive, and every thread of self-control was about to go out the window if she didn’t stop looking at him like a glass of ice-cold water in the middle of the Sahara.

“More than anything,” he admitted. She shook her head before leaving his lap, standing in front of him.

“Bullshit.” Her hip cocked out to the side before she placed one of her dainty hands at her waist and pointed toward the bar. “You just went in there and said—”

“I know. I know what I said, but—”

“Look, Garrett,”—she laughed humorlessly—“I don’t do this.”

“Do what?”

“The whole game thing you are doing.” He knew he deserved that. He was throwing mixed signals because he was fucking scared. “Which is a little surprising.”

“Why?”

“Well, you know, at your age, you should really know better,” she pointed out. He didn’t know whether to frown or laugh. Damn, he liked her.

“My age.”

“But what do I know? Right? I mean, maybe that’s why you’ve been single—“

“I was too busy before for a relationship,” he shared. Her brows came together. Cute little lines at her forehead formed. “I was in the army. I was discharged a couple of years ago,” he continued, and he realized he had shared a whole lot more with those few words than he had with any other woman since he had been stateside.

Three years. Three damn years of having to be on the sidelines, twiddling his damn fingers together, trying to figure out what the hell to do next with his life.

“I had planned on making a career of it and retire, but life“—and a roadside bomb—“had other plans for me.”

“Oh.” Her pretty lips were in an O, and he wanted to kiss her. Due to their height difference and where he sat, he could put his hands on her hips and pull her forward for their mouths to be at the perfect height.

Not yet.

“Admittedly, I’m a little rusty.”

“So, it’s been three years since you have been with anyone?” Her cheeks blushed furiously, and he shook his head.

“I never said that.” God, it was tempting to lie to her. To lie and let her believe he was some kind of amazing guy. But he couldn’t. “It’s been a while on that front.” That wasn’t a lie. It had been over six months since his last one-night stand.

“Oh.” She frowned. “But I don’t get it. Why the hot and cold—”

“You make me want more than a night.” He swallowed heavily.

He stood up. He needed to be closer to her.

He brought his body close enough to feel her warmth but far enough they wouldn’t touch. It seemed he liked to torture himself as well. His dick was hard, and his body held itself tightly. Every damn nerve was alive and awake and aching for more, but he didn’t give in. He could see the way her eyes were looking up at him, hazy with lust. He knew he could have gotten away with taking as much as he wanted, and she would have been all too happy to oblige.

But somehow, he found the stones to lean his head down low enough, so their foreheads could touch. Time slowed, dragging its feet, as he watched her close her eyes. He enjoyed the sight. She had no idea how tempting she was. She was just as busy as he was soaking in the moment.

“I have a room at the hotel,” he admitted and didn’t miss the way her breathing stuttered and the choppy way she inhaled. “I don’t know what it is about you, Stefanie. I want you there and I don’t, all at the same damn time.”

“Why don’t you want me there?” she asked, not opening her eyes, her breathing still jagged.

“You deserve better. I’m not the kind of man—” he started to remind her, but she raised a finger to his lips.

“Shh…” she whispered, and he watched her eyes open and rest on his gaze. “Why don’t you let me figure out what I deserve?”

“Sunshine, I take you to that room—” he started to warn, but he knew it was falling on deaf ears.

“You wouldn’t hurt me.”

“How do you know?”

“I just do.” She stepped back, and he straightened his back.

“Where are you—” But he didn’t have to ask.

She held her hand out for his, and he looked at it. His heart was thundering in his chest, drowning sound out in his ear.

He knew the moment he took her hand, it would be game over. There would be no turning back, and God help him if he ever tried. He had an inkling life as he knew it would never be the same.

Stefanie

I had no idea what bombshell goddess I was channeling, but I wasn’t going to question it.

I couldn’t.

Not when his big paw engulfed mine and made me feel small and dainty in one of the most beautiful ways ever. In a way I sure as heck could have never imagined being possible. Being small and making myself smaller had been a defense mechanism growing up. If I was out of sight, I was out of mind from whatever foster parent I had at the time.

“Stef.” His voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and I found myself sitting next to him in his truck as I looked up at him, his hand still in mine as he set the monster vehicle into park. “Second thoughts?”

“Not for a moment,” I answered honestly, hardly recognizing the tone of my voice, breathy and low. A growled curse fell from his lips just as his free hand moved to the side of my head, into my hair, and his mouth descended on mine.

Best. First. Kiss. Ever.

Not that I was super experienced in that department, but for me, it was the best kiss I had ever been on the receiving end of. Not that it was difficult to accomplish, but it was so off the charts wonderful, all I knew was I didn’t want it to end.

“Sunshine,” he groaned, pulling away, kissing my nose and leaning his forehead against mine. “We should stop.”

“Why?” I whimpered. Stopping was the last thing I wanted. I wasn’t easy, not in the least, but he made me want so much. I knew the moment we stopped, I would overthink everything.

Opening my eyes, I saw the way his strong, squared jaw clenched, and I leaned toward him in the confines of the cab of his truck and kissed him. It was a small, shy kiss, but I knew I would remember it for the rest of my life. There would be no way in hell I could forget how stunned and tortured he almost seemed as I pulled back.

“So damn sweet,” he muttered, and I couldn’t help the way his words made butterflies swan dive and fly around my stomach and made me grin.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” I mumbled breathlessly, but he pulled away, straightening his body in the driver’s seat and looking out the windshield.

“I’m not giving anyone a show.”

“Okay.” Show? Oh, my God, I was making out with Garrett like a teenager in the parking lot of the new Doubletree that had just opened down the street from Kip’s bar.

Last week, I had been clear about not being the kind of girl to sleep with some stranger, but right then and there, his gaze on mine, my heart stuttered at what I saw. There was so much honesty and unbridled desire, my thighs automatically clenched together.

Just like that, I realized I was about to get laid, and I fought a panic.

Did my underwear match my bra at all? Was I decently trimmed up downstairs, or was it like Jumanji come to life? Nervous energy swirled around me, my mind on a million little things.

“Stef?” The gentle way he said my name snapped me out of my thoughts and made me look at him. Damn, he is hot. “If you’re having second thoughts…”

“I’m not.” I wasn’t. I was just freaking out. It had been a while since I’d had sex, and never with a man who looked like the one currently looking at me like I was slightly nuts.

“Sunshine.” I knew by his gentle tone that he was trying to put me at ease. Which proved I was right. He had a sweet side despite all the gruff and grouch.

Maybe his bark is louder than his bite?

Though, thinking about it, having Garrett bite might not be a bad thing.

“Are you having second thoughts?” I asked.

“No.” His lips twitched faintly.

“What number is your room?” I wasn’t sure why I asked. Crap, I was terrible at making small talk when I was nervous.

“Our room.”

“What?”

“Our room is 143.”

Our room. Damn, I liked the sound of that. A lot. Licking my lip, I looked toward the new hotel. I had driven past it probably a million times, but never stayed there.

“Sunshine?” I turned to look at him. His eyes were like chocolate. Warm, slightly melty, and if I wasn’t mistaken, highly amused. Which I didn’t mind. I brought that out in people.

“Yeah?”

“Ready?” Am I ever. Nodding, I opened my door and slipped out, putting my purse over my shoulder.

Not a second later, he was next to me. His huge hand engulfed mine, and we only took about three steps forward before he stopped us. Silently, he ran his fingers through my hair with his free hand. I leaned into him. Our mouths touched, and right then and there, I knew exactly how Alice felt falling through the rabbit hole. Exhilarated and completely out of her mind with nerves.

I held on to the front of his shirt with both hands, giving back as much as he took. Holy crap, did he take. He was like a starving man and my mouth was an open-lined buffet. He nipped at my lips, soothing every sting he created, and I got lost in every sensation he brought out of me. Letting myself drown in the manly sounds he made as my toes curled inside my flats.

“Garrett.” I somehow found the strength to pull away from his lips, and he stepped back. His massively muscular chest heaved up and down.

“You still with me?” he almost growled, and my legs pressed together as a lightning bolt shot down to my ruined panties.

“What?” I asked, trying to get my brain to function again.

“That… that fucking kiss,” he started to say, his voice deep and a little hoarse. It made me shiver. “Fuck, baby, I knew… Shit….” He closed his eyes. A wave of dread flew through me.

“What? What was wrong with—” But I couldn’t say another word. His thumb grazed my lower lip, and a guttural groan escaped from somewhere deep within him. His eyes burned with white-hot hunger, like I was part of a hot fudge sundae in the middle of a heat wave.

“Nothing was wrong with that fucking kiss. It was fucking perfect. It was just a taste of what’s going to happen in the room.” His eyes were even darker than a second before. “Are you still with me, sunshine?” he asked, and I tore my eyes from his and looked down at my knees to make sure they were still holding me up.

Holy crap, who says things like that?

“I’m… umm, yeah… I’m in… like so, so in,” I stupidly and eagerly answered. His face transformed in front of me as his usual stoic and serious expression heated further, a wolfish grin on his lips that somehow reached his eyes.

“No, baby, but I will be.” Before I could react, he bent and somehow threw me over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold. Staring at the ground, I was so entranced by the way he took the biggest steps I’d ever seen anyone take, I didn’t even notice how my laughter rang in the air.