Stupid chemistry. It had always been my least favorite subject.
Maysie’s ex-whatever, Eli Bray, was sitting outside his cousin Randall’s apartment as I headed down the hallway. He raised his hand in greeting and then he looked behind me at the person who was obviously following me.
Eli looked at me again and opened his mouth to speak. “Say a word and I will staple your mouth shut,” I warned, causing him to close his lips. I didn’t need any of his bullshit right now. I didn’t like him; I didn’t want to talk to him. I just wanted to get into my apartment and get my freak on before I chickened out.
I stopped in front of my door and fumbled with my keys. Garrett’s hand came into my field of vision and took them from my trembling hand and slowly put the key in the lock. He pushed against the door, opening it. His front pressed against my back and I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.
Let’s do this thing!
I turned around and grabbed Garrett by the front of his shirt and gave it a tug as I moved backwards into my dark living room. I didn’t turn on any lights; I just continued to tug Garrett as I moved toward my bedroom.
I kicked open the door and pulled him inside. “What am I doing? Why am I doing this?” I said under my breath as Garrett took me in his arms and placed one solitary kiss on the underside of my jaw.
We stood there for an endless moment, breathing deeply as though readying ourselves for this step we were about to take. I wish I could explain why this felt monumental. Why it felt as though I were about to jump out of a plane without a parachute.
But everything, every look, every touch, every heartbeat felt full of purpose.
And it made me want to scream.
I didn’t want purpose.
I didn’t want meaningful.
I wanted this man to screw my brains out. I wanted him to pull my hair and show me who was boss.
I wanted to forget the perfect linear thoughts in my head and rush headfirst into the irrational.
But it didn’t stop the way my heart thudded in my chest to an uncertain rhythm…one that only Garrett could play.
Garrett kissed the side of my mouth, his lips lingering near mine. “We’ve found something in each other that we want. Hell if I understand why. Out of all the fish in the sea, I had to hook you. One giant, snarly toothed piranha ready to bite my fingers off.” I had to laugh at his rather poetic description of me. Even if it was mildly insulting. Garrett placed his mouth on mine and I found myself parting my lips to let him inside.
His tongue swept along the bottom curve of my lip and I shuddered with the intensity of this moment. His hands gripped the bottom hem of my shirt and swept it up and over my head. He then discarded it on the floor as he touched my now naked skin almost reverently. His fingers glided up the side of my rib cage, taking in the soft contours of my body in the barest breath of a touch.
Our lips moved together in tandem, our tongues a tangled throbbing mass of need as we struggled to breathe through the heat of our kiss. He hooked his fingers underneath the straps of my bra and brought them down my shoulders. He broke off our kiss suddenly and dropped his mouth to my shoulder, tasting my flesh as he expertly traced my collarbone. He had done this many times before. But I couldn’t focus on that; I just had to reap the benefits.
Pulling away, Garrett looked down at me. I could barely see him in the shadow and that somehow made the whole thing that much more intimate. But I didn’t want intimate.
Did I?
He lifted my hair and swept it over my shoulder. His lips burned my skin as he kissed the sensitive skin of my neck. I felt suddenly panicked.
“We can’t do this! I can’t even stand you!” I said in a thready voice as I felt the tip of his tongue glide along the outside of my ear.
Garrett’s eyes smoldered as he scrutinized my heightened anxiety. He moved his hands to the button of my jeans and deftly opened them, slowly lowering the zipper. He shoved the resisting fabric down past my hips, his fingers grazing my legs as he knelt in front of me. He pulled my pants off my feet and dropped them to the side. He wrapped his hands around calves and gave them a tug, so that I was spread above him. He looked up at me as he slowly brought his lips to the inside of my thigh, less than inches away from my hot, molten center.
My legs began to shake when he turned his attention to the other leg, placing his soft lips just above my knee. He rose to his feet and cupped the side of my face in a manner that was more loving than lustful.
It confused me. It bewildered me. It left me wanting so much…more…
“I can’t stand you either,” he said and I knew without a doubt he was lying.
“Your mouth just doesn’t know when to stop. The shit that you say makes me want to strangle you,” his voice was low and rough as he cupped my br**sts. His thumbs rubbing my aching ni**les.
Garrett leaned down so that his lips brushed against mine again. Our breath was coming in short, erratic bursts. “I don’t particularly like you, Riley. But right now I want to f**k you,” he growled. The soft lover from moments before was gone and in his place was a ferocity that unfurled a wet heat deep in my belly.
My fingers curled into his hair and I pulled with enough force to make him wince. “You’re an ass**le,” I whispered, not trusting my voice at the moment. Garrett emitted a low groan as I yanked on his hair again. I bit his bottom lip, pulling it into my mouth.
“And I want you to f**k me. I want to remember it this time,” I said raggedly. Garrett gripped the back of my head, holding me in place as his mouth slammed down on mine. Any pretense at gentleness was lost in the unbridled fury of our need. I hated him. I told myself this over and over as our mouths assaulted each other, bruising and tearing as we ate each other alive.
He made me want to rip my hair out. But goddamn it, I wanted to taste every single inch of him. And I knew by the frantic way he touched me that he felt the same way.
There was no more talking. No more excuses to stop. There was only Garrett and me and the sounds of flesh pressing together and noisy, desperate breathing. In a matter of seconds, I had Garrett’s shirt joining mine on the floor, followed by his jeans. Our mouths were fused together and our hands sought to explore every part of each other.
Garrett palmed my butt cheeks and hoisted me up so that I had to wrap my legs around his waist. The barrier of his thin boxer briefs was all that separated two very important parts of our anatomy. I wiggled, just slightly and he groaned low and deep in the back of his throat.
I wiggled my hips again, grinning against his mouth, feeling powerful in the way I affected him. Damien had never made me feel like I was the one with all the power. Our lovemaking was always calm and controlled and done with the intent of one, never both, of us getting off.