Love at Last (Last Frontier Lodge #2) (16 page)

She was so desperate to feel him inside of her she didn’t hear him when he tried to stop her. She rose up, positioned her hips and arched down onto him, bringing him fully inside, her head falling back at the feel of him stretching her, slightly easing her desperate chase for pleasure. When she opened her eyes, his were on her with a grimace.

“What?” she asked.

“You didn’t give me a chance to get a condom on.”

***

Garrett gestured to the nightstand, which appeared to be miles away at the moment. All he could think was that he’d never felt anything as good as the creamy clench of her channel around his cock. His chest tightened—an unfamiliar beat of intimacy wove between them. It took all of his discipline to remain still when all he wanted to do was lift his hips and arch deeper into her.

“I’m on the pill and have been for years.” She shrugged with a sheepish smile. “Kind of a habit after I had Nick. I never miss a day, so you don’t need to worry. Not to mention it’s been six years since I’ve been with anyone else.”

He had to fight to think clearly. He was practically religious about using condoms, but he trusted Delia completely. And
holy hell
did she feel good around him. Slick, wet, and warm—merely holding still inside of her was the hottest experience he’d ever had. “If it’s okay with you, it’s more than fine with me.”

Delia’s blue eyes locked on his as she began to roll her hips. She started slow and picked up speed. He gripped her hips with his hands, the soft flesh giving under his touch. The push and pull of her channel pulsing around him drove him higher and higher. He held on and stroked his thumb against her clit. Her channel convulsed around him and her head fell back on a cry. He drove his hips deeper into her, his own release crashing through him.

When her head fell forward, he stroked his palm up her back, slowly bringing her into his embrace. As she rested against him, her skin damp with the sheen of passion, his heart gave, opening to something he’d never expected. This woman—so sexy, so warm, so kind and so damn unexpected—had slayed him in more ways than one.

Chapter 17

Delia woke, warm in Garrett’s arms. She smiled against his shoulder. She’d finally gotten her wish—to wake up beside him. The wispy light of morning filtered through the windows. She slowly pushed up on her elbow, careful not to disturb him, and looked outside. The sky was hazy. The sun had yet to rise from behind the mountains across the bay, but it was being shepherded in with streamers of lavender and pink shot through with soft rays of gold.

She looked down at Garrett. The sheet had fallen away from his chest. The bruising had set in around his shoulder in deep shades of purple and blue. Her stomach tightened. She forced herself to look away. She couldn’t doubt the depth of her feelings for him, but she didn’t think it was wise to let her too-hopeful heart forget the need to be cautious. She recalled her consideration of telling him how she felt and wasn’t quite sure she had the nerve yet. This—whatever it was—between them wasn’t part of his real life. Even if he considered her much more than a fling, it didn’t change the reality of their circumstances. He was a high profile, corporate lawyer in Seattle. She was a single mother whose life was tethered to Diamond Creek, Alaska—a far cry from the life Garrett led in Seattle.

She took a breath and slowly sat up. Garrett rolled his head to the side. “Morning,” he said, his voice gravelly with sleep.

She pushed her worries away and allowed herself this moment. Dipping forward, her hair fell around his face as she kissed him—a sleepy, soft kiss, the kind of kiss that only happened in the morning.

When she pulled away, need was pulsing through her. That’s how bad it was. She’d had not one, not two, but three earth-shattering orgasms last night, and still this morning a simple kiss could send heat spiraling through her.

Garrett tried to sit up and flinched. “Damn. I keep forgetting I got hurt.”

She sat back on her heels. “You’re resting today,” she ordered. “I’m going to go down and bring some breakfast up for you.” She scrambled off the bed and walked over to his side. She carefully adjusted the pillows behind him and helped him sit up.

He protested, but she knew how tired he was given that he argued the point weakly. She left him with the television remote in hand and returned shortly thereafter with a breakfast tray. When she pushed through the door, Garrett was on the phone.

“Carlton, that’s the deal. Ms. Brooks can handle your cases.”

Garrett waved for her to enter the room, so she did. He was nodding to whatever was being said on the other end of the phone.

“That decision is final. Even if I return, Ms. Brooks will be handling your cases.”

Delia’s heart soared at the word ‘if’ from Garrett.
Maybe that means he’s thinking about staying longer.
Hope tap-danced for a moment before she got a grip. She busied herself needlessly straightening items on the tray.

Garrett ended the call and tossed his phone on the bed. “Let me tell you, if you want to meet a few assholes, try being a corporate lawyer.”

“Oh?” She kept her voice carefully bland.

He caught her eyes, his expression shifting from annoyed to uncertain. “Look… I suppose we should talk…”

Her heart galloped away, emotion spinning through her. She stammered a few words out. “I, um, maybe… Ugh.” She dropped her face in her hands and took a shuddering breath. She was acting like an idiot. Her thoughts ran wild for a moment. She considered telling him the truth she knew—she thought she was falling in love with him. She was almost ready, but she didn’t want to ruin the first time she’d gotten the chance to wake up with him.

“We probably should, but can we give it a rain check this morning?” she finally asked.

Garrett’s eyes held hers for a long moment as she stood at the foot of the bed. When he didn’t say anything, she continued, the words falling out of her mouth, too many steps ahead of her brain. “I just wanted to enjoy the morning with you. It’s the first time we got to wake up together.” As soon as she heard what she said, her face heated. If Garrett didn’t already think she was foolish, he would now.

A slow smile spread across his face, easing the anxiety blooming inside of her. “Sounds perfect.”

Fluttery joy spread through her. She grinned and turned to pick up the breakfast tray.

***

Garrett spent most of his day catching up on work email. After Delia left him to his own devices on the heels of a stern lecture about resting, he decided to face the work he’d been putting off. He called Elaine to ask her to set loose the gates on his email and spent hours trying to get caught up. Elaine sent over some filings Olivia had prepared on some of his hot cases. He enjoyed reviewing her work and spent hours back and forth with her over email on strategy and preparation for a few cases. Around midday, Gage showed up and handed him a bowl of stew from the kitchen.

Garrett joined Gage at the small table. “Damn, this is good,” he said after a few bites of the rich, hearty potato leek stew.

“Thought you might like it. Delia made it. Basically everything she makes is delicious.” Gage stood and grabbed two bottles of water from the small refrigerator before returning to the table. “How ya feelin’ today?”

Garrett carefully rolled his shoulder, testing it. “Sore, but okay. Could definitely be worse.” He took another few bites of stew and sat back. “Thanks for tracking me down in that storm. It was damn cold. Still not sure how I fell.”

“As if there was any question I’d track you down.” Gage shook his head, his eyes somber. “I knew you couldn’t be far. The lights from your snowmobile were pretty helpful,” he offered with a chuckle. “My guess is the track got caught on the edge of a boulder and turned you sideways too fast to stay upright. Happens all the time. Usually wouldn’t be a big deal, but the weather was hell. Gave you a good taste of winter in Alaska though.”

Garrett chuckled. “Guess so.”

Gage eyed him, his gaze assessing. “You plan to talk about what’s up with you and Delia anytime soon?”

Garrett shifted uncomfortably in his chair and delayed his answer with a few more bites. The savory stew was starting to fill him up. He hadn’t noticed how hungry he’d gotten while he was working. He was considered an anomaly in the world of lawyers in that he could happily immerse himself in preparing and reviewing legal filings. The mental thinking required for those laid the groundwork for him in all of his cases. Though he loved the thrill of arguing a case in court, it was his hours of research and preparation that poised him to win case after case in court.

Gage cleared his throat. Garrett brought his attention back to Gage. “It’s not that I’m trying to avoid talking about Delia, it’s that I don’t know what the hell to say.”

Gage nodded slowly. “Have you tried talking to Delia?”

“Actually, I told her this morning we should talk and she put me off.”

“I bet you didn’t mind that a bit.”

Garrett shrugged. “Maybe not, but I tried.” He paused and took a breath, considering what to say. What passed through his mind was the way Delia looked last night when she was above him—her eyes dark with passion, her body soft and lush, her channel slick around his cock. Then, the way she felt curled against him, her skin warm against his as she relaxed into his embrace. And then, the way he felt inside through it all—as if his heart was going to fly out of his chest, an intimacy unlike anything he’d ever experienced.

He turned to look out the window at the breathtaking view that was here everyday. The evergreens marched up the mountain, giving way only for the groomed ski slopes. In the distance, Kachemak Bay glittered bright under the sun. A raven called as it flew past the windows and landed on the deck railing below. The view was simultaneously energizing and soothing.

He swung back his gaze back to Gage. “Hell, I don’t know what to do. I wasn’t thinking straight when I hopped on a plane and flew up here, but I sure as hell wasn’t thinking about Delia. Now, I can’t stop thinking about her and I’m all mixed up. I don’t know what to do about work, and I can hardly stand to think about being away from her.” He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. “Any suggestions?”

Gage leaned back in his chair, quiet for a long moment. “For your work, you’ve already heard what I think. I don’t know what that means as to where you live and work, but it is what it is. You and Delia? That’s something else altogether. Maybe I’m biased because I had my own wake up call with Marley, but it’s plain as day Delia means a lot to you. Don’t let her pass you by just because you didn’t plan on it. Or because it scares you.”

Garrett’s chest got tight. He didn’t know what the hell he meant to do about Delia, but he couldn’t conceive of simply saying goodbye and going back to his life without her being a part of it. He knew she felt something for him. Even though he was swimming in uncharted waters here, he was willing to bet her feelings ran deep. All his years of slick experience with women were an utter waste to him now. He was the master at flirting and keeping things casual and superficial. He was useless at navigating the uncharted emotional ground between him and Delia.

He caught Gage’s eyes on him, his expression one of wry sympathy. Gage shrugged. “Been right where you are. You’ll figure it out. It might help to talk to Delia.”

Gage stood and headed for the door. “Meet me later for a few beers?”

At Garrett’s nod, Gage left. Garrett finished his bowl of stew, savoring every bite more than usual because he knew Delia made it. He brought his laptop over to the table and kept working.

By late afternoon, he was restless and his mind was spinning with thoughts of Delia and what the hell to do. He wasn’t ready to throw the towel in on his law practice. His forays back into legal strategizing today reminded him what he loved about his work and that he was damn good at it. His challenge was how to find a way to channel that into something more rewarding than working for assholes like Carlton.

Every other thought revolved around Delia. Finally, he shut his laptop and called Becca.

“Hey sis, how’s it going in Seattle?”

“It’s raining, and I’m headed into a late night at work getting ready for a trial tomorrow. What’s up with you?”

“I don’t know what the hell to do, so I figured I’d better call you. For once, I’d like someone to tell me what to do.”

Becca laughed long and hard, bringing a smile to Garrett’s face. “I know, I know. You’ve been waiting for this day since we were born.”

Her laughter wound down, and he could imagine her face sobering, concern replacing her amusement. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Garrett started talking. In the course of doing so, one thing became clear. He knew what he needed to do about work. He needed to stop focusing solely on corporate work and do precisely as Becca had suggested already and find cases that mattered more. He had several attorneys on staff who’d be happy to take on most of the corporate work. The issue that sent him stumbling onto a plane to Alaska illuminated into clarity. His feelings for Delia were another matter altogether.

“You want me to tell you what to do? I got that when it comes to your job, and it sounds like you’ve figured it out yourself. It’s not too complicated. I can send non-profit cases your way all day long. You should also consider consulting on some criminal cases too. You’re kickass in court. So, we solved that. Onto Delia.”

“I was getting to her next.”

“Gage thinks you’re in love with her.”

“I…”

“He also thinks she’s in love with you.”

Garrett heart stuttered and then galloped forward. He turned the word over in his mind.
Love.
Love was something he’d never planned to consider. Relationships were messy. He was lucky enough to have parents who loved each other and a boisterous, loving family. But he’d channeled all of his energy into work. He enjoyed women, but he hadn’t encountered any woman who interested him beyond superficial and flirty levels. Until Delia. She brought him to his knees, threw him off center, and made him realize just how little he knew about love.

“That’s what Gage thinks, huh?”