Love at Last (Last Frontier Lodge #2) (8 page)

She flushed under his gaze, but he saw the answering desire in hers. She shrugged. “Fine then, but I get to return the favor.”

He had to think for a second to recall what she meant. “Taking you out to dinner wasn’t a favor. It’s not like you need to keep an account so things are even.”

He sensed a tension in her, but he wasn’t going to take the bait.

Her breath huffed out again before she spoke. “I wasn’t trying to make sure things were even, but I didn’t want you to think I assumed you’d buy me dinner.”

As off kilter as he felt with her, he realized she had her own reasons for not being certain of what things meant between them. “I didn’t mean to assume. I just wanted to buy you dinner. That’s all.”

She bit her lip again.
Holy hell
. She needed to stop doing that. His reaction to her was beyond ridiculous. All she did was bite her lip a few times and he was ready to bend her over a table and sink inside of her. He was all about calculated pleasure, not this wild thrumming inside his body that he could hardly contain. He shifted in his seat, trying to will his erection away.

He was relieved when the waiter approached the table again. He quickly signed the credit card receipt and made small talk with the waiter for just long enough that he got his body under control. He stood and tugged on his jacket. Delia followed suit, and he was disappointed to see her curves disappear under her down jacket. He walked outside, his hand resting in the dip of her waist. A bracing wind cut across the parking lot. He savored the icy air. It took his mind off the relentless pulse of attraction coursing through him. He felt her shiver and wrapped his arm tighter around her. He couldn’t help the wash of satisfaction he felt when she nestled closer to him.

He’d wisely used the remote starter for the truck he was borrowing from Gage. Once they were inside, Garrett didn’t let himself stop and think. He glanced over at Delia. “How about we head back to the lodge?”

Delia held his eyes for a beat before nodding quickly. It started to snow on the drive back to the lodge. When he parked and went around to help her out, the snow fell softly around them. It was late enough that the outside lights had been dimmed. Stars winked in the black velvet sky, the moon coming in and out of view as clouds passed by. He was becoming accustomed to the odd sense of freedom and relief he experienced when he felt the deep quiet surround him here. A gust of wind blew Delia’s hair wild. He caught her hand in his and led her to the door. Once inside, he immediately made his way to the kitchen. The restaurant was empty now and the staff hopefully gone. He’d become familiar with the schedule since he tended to be a night owl and often made forays to the kitchen for snacks and cider late at night.

A lamp remained on in the corner of the kitchen. With Delia’s hand in his, he headed straight for the corner where the hot cider waited. He’d come to savor her cider nightly—half because it was delicious with enough of a kick to take the edge off and half because he knew she made it. Without a word, he quickly filled two mugs and gestured toward the office. It crossed his mind that he’d never have considered what he was considering right now in another place or time. Without eliciting far more questions than he wanted to answer, there was no way for him to bring her up to Gage and Marley’s apartment. He knew she lived with her father, so he’d immediately ruled out going to her place. His choice for their destination was the kitchen office, about the only private place he could think of.

Delia didn’t appear to find the idea off-putting, which made him consider the fact that the women he usually dated would’ve flat refused to lounge on a couch in an office. It was Delia’s office and held the same warmth she conveyed. It was decorated with a touch of whimsy with bright paintings of flowers on the walls, a multi-colored rug thrown over the hardwood floor, and a lamp with a stained glass shade on the desk. She flicked the lamp on and turned to him. The lust he’d been barely holding at bay surged through him. He kicked the door shut with his booted foot and closed the distance between them. He reached for the mug in her hands and set it on the desk, along with his. He lifted a hand and caught her zipper, slowly sliding it down. He held her gaze, giving her a chance to say something. Her lips parted and her tongue darted out to moisten them.

The coil of need tightened inside of him. He slid one hand inside her jacket, curling around her waist and tugging her close, as he stroked the other up her neck and into her hair. He finally gave in to what he’d wanted to do all night and caught her lips in a kiss. She opened instantly, inviting him inside, and he didn’t wait. He threw himself into the kiss. She met every stroke of his tongue with hers. His pulse raced and waves of desire rushed through him. He slid his palm down from the dip of her waist to cup her luscious bottom and pulled her against his arousal, savoring her throaty moan.

He was anything but smooth and practiced over the next few minutes as he tore at her clothes. She was as frantic as he was, yanking his clothing off. His thoughts were a blur. He was driven solely by need. He glanced down to find Delia seated on her desk, her breasts rising and falling with her rapid breath. She was pure, seductive beauty, her eyes hazy with desire, her lips red and swollen, and her cheeks flushed pink. Her hair was rumpled. She was bare save for a pair of blue cotton panties. He stood in the cradle of her thighs, trying to catch his breath. His jacket and shirt were on the floor and his jeans were torn open. His cock was rock-hard and pulsing with every beat of his heart. Though he was consumed with need, when his eyes caught hers, his heart clenched.

Chapter 7

Delia couldn’t break away from Garrett’s navy gaze, his eyes like hot embers on her. Her breath was ragged, and she was feverish with need. Garrett stood before her, his arms braced on the desk on either side of her. The sight of his bare chest sent her pulse up another notch. He was pure muscle, his arms bulging, his chest and abs etched from stone. Somewhere along the way in these heated moments, she’d torn his jeans open and shoved them down his hips. A pair of fitted black briefs didn’t hide his bulging arousal.

The practical corner of her mind tried to assert itself.
Are you out of your mind? You’re sitting here almost naked and about to have sex for the first time in six years, and you’re not even thinking about stopping! Do you remember what happened last time you didn’t bother to think?
As if she needed to be reminded. She didn’t let herself think that way often, but the truth was Nick was the biggest blessing of her life despite coming from what she also considered her biggest mistake—a silly, childish brush with love that had been far from it. She’d been ruled by her practical side for so long now because she needed it.

But right now, in this moment, she didn’t want to let her practical side make her decisions for her. If this turned out to be another mistake, at least it would feel amazing. She knew maybe it wasn’t a good idea to let Garrett any closer, but the temptation was so strong. She didn’t want to miss the chance to feel the way she felt with him. Even if he walked out of her life in a few weeks, and she had to shore up the walls around her heart in the aftermath. She already knew with certainty that the way she felt with Garrett when she managed to turn her brain off was something beyond anything she’d ever experienced. Even in the cloud of love-lust she felt for Terry all those years ago, the reality was the sex had been awkward and not particularly satisfying. The orgasm Garrett had so effortlessly brought her the other night was the first orgasm she’d had with anyone other than herself.

Holding Garrett’s gaze, she placed her palm on his chest and stroked it slowly down. His breath hissed through his teeth when she slipped her hand into his briefs. She thrilled to his low groan when she curled her hand around his heated length. His eyes still on hers and his breathing rough, he circled her lips with his thumb before he traced a path down between her breasts. Her nipples contracted and her belly clenched as his touch traveled over the curve of her belly and stroked across her cotton panties. He stroked softly once or twice, and her breath broke on a moan. She was already drenched with desire. She shifted restlessly into his touch. He abruptly stepped back, tugging her hips to the edge of the desk.

He moved swiftly. In one motion, he pushed her panties out of the way and leaned forward and brought his mouth against her. Her hands fell away from him and she hung onto the edge of the desk, frantically grasping for something to anchor her as fierce sensation overtook her. His fingers joined his mouth, plunging into her channel and stroking as he licked through her folds. Her hips rocked into his mouth as he teased around and over her clit. She lost all sense of anything other than the pressure gathering and spinning inside until it spun loose, releasing wave after wave of sharp pleasure.

Garrett eased the stroke of his fingers and stilled his mouth before slowly pulling back. His lips trailed upward on her body in a leisurely path. He paused to tease her breasts, licking around a nipple before closing his lips over it. Heat twisted inside of her. Still reeling from the reverberations of her climax, she arched into his touch. His mouth traversed to her other breast. Pleasure streaked through her when he bit down quickly on her nipple before arching away. He fumbled in the pocket of his jeans, yanking a condom out and tearing its packet open. Frantic to feel him inside of her, she attempted to help him roll it on, which led to a collision between her forehead and his chin.

“Ow!”

“You okay?” he asked, brushing the hair out of her face, his eyes snagging on hers.

“I’m fine.” Her voice was breathy.

Garrett caught her mouth in a kiss, a sensuous tangle of lips and tongue. She felt his cock nudge between her folds and couldn’t hold back her whimper. He pulled back, just far enough she could feel his lips move against hers.
“Delia.”

Her eyelids were weighted, but she forced them open to the blur of his blue gaze. He threaded his hand in her hair, sliding it around to cup the back of her head. Shivers of need rippled through her as he slowly rocked his hips against hers, creating a delicious friction as he slid through her drenched folds. He coaxed her closer and closer to the edge. She flexed into him, desperate to feel him fill her.

“Garrett, please…”

He answered her plea with his body and smoothly surged inside of her. Her slick channel throbbed around him. She savored the fullness, the depth of his strokes. He set a steady pace, the push and pull of his cock sending pleasure ricocheting through her. She struggled to get closer, twisting against him in response to the need coiling tighter and tighter inside of her. Every stroke of him inside of her brought her closer to the delicious edge she chased. One hand gripping her hip, he loosened the other in her hair and slid it down her body, bringing his thumb against the center of her desire. A deep surge and she convulsed around him. He followed her over the edge, her name falling from his lips in a hoarse cry as he drummed his hips into hers. His forehead fell to the curve of her shoulder.

***

Once Garrett managed to catch his breath, he curled his hands under Delia’s hips and lifted her against him.

“Where…?”

“Shower,” he replied, taking the few steps into the tiny bathroom off her office, which contained a small shower.

He eased her down once they were in the bathroom. After tossing his condom in the trash, he tugged her into the shower with him. It was a first for him to want to linger like this after sex. He wanted anything to prolong his time with her. When he turned off the water, she lifted her eyes to his, her lashes spiky with moisture. His chest tightened. He was caught in entirely unfamiliar territory. He had no experience with the intimacy he felt with Delia. Though he’d felt it the first time he kissed her, he’d half convinced himself all he needed to do was get her out of his system. Instead, after finally feeling the clench of her around him, all he wanted was more. The more went beyond physical desire to an emotional need he didn’t recognize.

Her eyes held a question, but he was too focused on trying to manage the emotions tumbling through him to find words. Instead, he caught her lips in a kiss and grabbed a towel. After they dressed, they found their way into the kitchen. Garrett, who hadn’t enjoyed a late night snack with anyone since he was a boy, found himself laughing while Delia shared stories of slumber parties at the lodge during the slow months. She sat cross-legged on the stainless steel table, her damp curls framing her face. He didn’t want the night to end, so he lifted her in his arms later and fell asleep on the couch in the office with her tucked close against him.

Chapter 8

Garrett adjusted the fitting on the heater he and Gage were installing and pushed out from behind it. He leaned against the wall and rolled his shoulder. It was tight from his cramped position behind the heater.

“Should be good to go. How many more of these do we have?” Garrett asked.

Gage glanced over from where he was adjusting the settings on the front of the heater. “Only three left. Between fumbling my way through and trying to fit it in between everything else, I figured it’d take me all month to get these done. With you here, we’ll be done a lot faster.” He leaned back on his heels when the heater started to hum and warm air began to sift from the vents. “Perfect.”

Gage stood and snagged the toolbox as he sat down on the bench. He started putting tools away. Garrett silently handed over the tools by the heater.

“Any idea how long you plan on staying?” Gage asked.

Such a simple question and one Garrett should be able to answer. Yet, he couldn’t. He must have been quiet a beat too long because Gage looked over, his gray eyes concerned.

Garrett cleared his throat. “I don’t know. If you need me to clear out, all you have to do is say so.”

Gage shook his head. “You can stay as long as you like. You wanna talk about it?”

Garrett pondered how to explain that every time he thought about going back to Seattle, back to work, he simply couldn’t stomach it. He kept dodging his own thoughts about it because he was completely confused. He met his brother’s eyes and shrugged. “Don’t know that talking would help. Ever since I walked out of court that day, I just… Hell, I don’t know. I keep telling myself I need to go back. I mean, I have a law firm to run! Here I am, trying to screw my head on straight and doing a shitty job of it.”