Since You've Been Gone

by Samantha Chase

  And she’d been nervous every time they went anywhere.

  So what they were doing right now? It was the norm for them.

  Sort of.

  Back then, he wasn’t trying to make her believe in herself so he could make love to her.

  It’s different, but the same…

  With a grin, he started scrolling through the channels. “Do you get Netflix on this or is it just cable?”

  “Garrett,” she whined as she rolled over and sat up. Taking the remote from his hands, she turned off the TV and tossed it aside. “Talk to me.”

  “I thought that’s what we were doing.”

  With a loud sigh, she maneuvered around until she was straddling his lap and all he could do was stare in disbelief.

  And that’s when it hit him.

  She didn’t take his offer of waiting as him being patient or honorable. She saw it as rejection.

  Dammit.

  Rather than say anything, his hands gently grasped her hips and pulled her closer and he saw a spark of surprise in her eyes.

  Like that, do you?

  Soft hands smoothed their way up over his chest and rested on his shoulders as she pressed even closer. “If I’d wanted to wait or simply sit and watch the television, I would have waited for you out on the couch.” She played with his hair a little before continuing. “But this is new to me–to us–and I’m just a little…you know…scared.”

  “You never have to be scared with me, Emmaline. Never.”

  She was squirming in his lap and he was getting almost uncomfortably hard. Denim was definitely not his friend in this particular scenario.

  “I’m not scared of you. I just…I know sex changes everything. And not always for the better. I don’t think I could handle it if it happened like that for us. I realize we haven’t seen each other or talked in so long, but once I saw you last weekend, it’s like no time had passed.” She ducked her head. “My marriage was…well…it was awful. And…” Pausing, she let out a long breath. “Steven is the only man I’ve ever…you know.”

  The urge to hunt the man down and kill him was back, but he couldn’t let it show. Instead, Garrett gently cupped her face. “Forget about him and forget about everything he ever did or taught you about sex because I can guarantee you that he was wrong.”

  “Garrett, you can’t know that.”

  Nodding, he said, “I disagree. I can know that. And you know how?”

  Wordlessly, she shook her head.

  “Because I’ve kissed you and touched you, and you are a very passionate woman. If the sex was bad before, that was on him. Not you.”

  Emma went to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her.

  “I know you, Em,” he went on. “I’ve known you for more than half of my life, and I can say this with great certainty: There are close to six billion people in this world. Why are you letting one of them ruin your life?” Gently, he kissed the tip of her nose. “Forget him. Forget anything he ever said to you or made you believe about sex.” Another kiss. “Let me show you how good it can be.”

  She looked at him with a mixture of sadness and uncertainty. “I don’t want to disappoint you.”

  “That’s never gonna happen,” he murmured as he leaned in closer. There was little more than a breath between them. “It’s just the two of us in this room, Emmaline. You and me.” And then he was done talking. He kissed her–softly at first–but then he dove in.

  And it wasn’t strictly for her benefit. He was holding on by a thread, and he had a feeling they could talk about this all night and it wouldn’t change a thing.

  He wanted her–needed her.

  And she wanted and needed him.

  Now.

  Garrett thought about letting her set the pace moving forward for a brief moment, but he reconsidered. What Emma needed was to know she was sexy and desirable and how he was desperate to have her.

  She could doubt herself, but he never wanted her to question how he felt about her. This moment was years in the making and he wanted it to be perfect for her.

  He kissed her as if his life depended on it while his hands slowly snaked their way under her shirt before pulling back so he could whip it over her head. Emma’s eyes went wide, but before she could say a word or question herself, Garrett cupped her face and began kissing her again. From there, it was hard to tell who was seducing who.

  They rolled until Garrett was on top and he broke the kiss again to strip off his t-shirt. Emma’s hand came up and wrapped around him to pull him back down for another kiss. The skin-to-skin contact was electric, and as much as he wanted to sit back up and simply look his fill, he knew there’d be time for that later.

  Her hands scratched down his back.

  He cupped her breasts.

  And in no time at all, he was pretty confident neither of them were second-guessing anything.

  “Garrett,” she panted as he moved down her body, her hands loosely fisted in his hair. “Please.”

  “Anything,” he replied breathlessly between kissing all the smooth skin he’d been fantasizing about for far too long.

  “I need you…”

  “You have me. You have me, Em.” And then he pulled those lace-trimmed shorts down her legs and looked up at her. She was flushed and panting, and his smile grew a little wicked.

  She was finally his.

  7

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve done this.”

  “Me too.”

  “Yeah, but for you it’s a matter of logistics. For me, it’s just laziness.” Garrett’s arms went around her, warming her as they watched the sunrise on the beach. “It’s just so beautiful.”

  “Yes, you are.”

  She couldn’t help but smile. “Not me. The sun and the sky.”

  “Sure, I guess it’s a nice sight. But you are the most beautiful thing on this beach.” His lips trailed along her throat and Emma couldn’t imagine a more incredible way to start the day.

  And after all the wickedly amazing things Garrett did to her last night, that was saying something.

  Good Lord…when he told her to forget everything she knew about sex, he wasn’t kidding. Emma knew her experience was extremely limited to one incredibly selfish man, but nothing could have prepared her for the way Garrett made her feel–repeatedly–all night long. It was amazing that she was even awake because she had only gotten maybe an hour or two of sleep the entire night.

  And she wasn’t complaining one bit.

  Hell, she’d be willing to give up sleep all together for another night like that.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked softly. His chin was resting on her shoulder as he held her close from behind.

  “That I’m ready to go back to bed.”

  His laugh was so deep, rich, and masculine that she felt it all the way to her core. “Yeah, I could probably use a couple of hours of sleep too.”

  Twisting slightly, she grinned. “Who said anything about sleeping?”

  It took him a moment to catch on, but once he did, he smiled with her. “I think I’ve created a monster.”

  “Complaining? Already?”

  He jumped to his feet and held out a hand to her. “Never. I’m just mad that it’s going to take so long to get back to your place.”

  In truth, it was less than ten minutes, but she knew exactly how he felt.

  “I’ll race you back to the car,” she called out as she started running. Garrett still had to pick up their blanket so she had the advantage. However, it didn’t take him long to catch up, and he somehow managed to swing her up into his arms without breaking stride. “Garrett!” They both laughed the rest of the way to the car, and it wasn’t until she was on her feet that she was able to catch her breath.

  He paused and glanced around, inhaling deeply. “Do you smell that?”

  Emma sniffed and her stomach growled. “Unfortunately, I do.”

  With the boyish grin she adored so much, he took her by the hand. “We have to go into Henderso
n’s. We have to! That is the smell of freshly-baked cinnamon rolls! We can’t pass them up!”

  The bakery was across the street from where they were parked and Garrett was already tugging her along behind him. “And coffee! I definitely need coffee!”

  Looking over his shoulder at her, he winked. “Sweetheart, I’ll get you whatever you want if it will get us home faster with goodies.”

  First burgers and now baked goods for breakfast. She hadn’t felt this decadent in a long time and it was a good feeling.

  They ran across the street, and when they stepped inside the bakery, Mrs. Henderson herself was there to greet them. “Well, look at this!” she said, clearly delighted. “I feel like we must have gone back in time! The last time the two of you were in here together had to be around ten years ago!” Smiling, she added, “It’s good to see you again, Garrett! And Emma, we don’t see you nearly enough!”

  Garrett must have sensed her unease because he sauntered up to the counter without her. “Do I smell fresh-out-of-the-oven cinnamon rolls?”

  If there was one thing everyone knew about Mrs. Henderson, it was how she loved to flirt. “You sure do. Lots of icing on them too.”

  “Can you box up a couple of them for us and add two large coffees to the order, please?”

  “You got it, Garrett.”

  While the two of them talked, Emma had been scanning the display cases and focused on the giant black and white cookies. It had been ages since she’d had one. Her grandmother used to get them for her all the time. It was sort of their thing. But she couldn’t remember the last time she came in to get one for herself.

  A hand reached into the case with a fistful of tissue paper and grabbed two of them. When she looked up, Mrs. Henderson smiled. “Your grandmother was a sweet lady and I remember her coming in here every Sunday to get these for the two of you. When I saw you eyeing them, I figured you might like some. On the house.”

  “Oh, no, Mrs. Henderson,” Emma said as she walked over to the register. “I definitely want the cookies, but I insist on paying for them.”

  “Too late,” the older woman said, handing the big pink box to her. “The whole order is on me. It’s good seeing the two of you again, so don’t be strangers, okay?”

  Garrett accepted the box before handing one of the coffees to Emma. He grabbed the second one from Mrs. Henderson. “We promise we’ll be back,” he told her. “And thank you.”

  “You kids have a good day!”

  “You too, Mrs. H!” Garrett called out as he held the door open for Emma. Together they walked back to his car, and once they were seated, he took the box from her hands.

  “What are you doing?”

  “There is no way I’m going to make it back to your place without tasting one of these,” he said with a laugh, cursing the string Henderson’s used to close their boxes.

  Smacking his hand, she snagged the box back with a laugh of her own. “Just drive and I’ll work on this.”

  “So bossy,” he teased. “I like it.”

  Those words empowered her, and within minutes, they were halfway home and she was breaking off a piece of cinnamon roll and feeding it to him. He licked her fingers and playfully bit at them, and it was such a breath of fresh air to find that it could be fun to be sexy and teasing. Her mind wandered to how she could do more with the icing and licking when they were back at her place and in bed, but she had a feeling there wasn’t going to be anything left for him by the time they got there.

  When she broke off a piece of the black and white cookie for herself, he pouted. “Hey, I thought we were feeding me?”

  Emma couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re not the only one who’s hungry. I figured I could sneak in a few bites for myself while you chewed!”

  “Hmm…I guess that’s fair.” He glanced at her. “So? Are they as good as you remembered?”

  “Oh, my goodness, yes.” She moaned happily.

  “So your grandmother used to get them for you?”

  She nodded. “Every Sunday, just like Mrs. Henderson said. She used to take me out on Sunday afternoons, just the two of us. We’d either go for a picnic in the park or sometimes when I slept over on a Saturday night, she’d go and get them for us for breakfast on Sunday. She was the best.”

  “That’s a great memory, Em.” He squeezed her hand. “Let’s save the rest for when we get home so we can eat them properly.”

  “You don’t like me feeding you?”

  “Would you like to reach over here and feel for yourself how much I like it?” And with a lecherous grin, he winked. “I’m about ten seconds away from pulling the car over so I can kiss you properly.”

  “Garrett,” she whined playfully. “We’re only three minutes from the house. Surely you can wait that long.”

  “Oh, I can wait, but you better be prepared when I turn the car off.”

  It was exhilarating just imagining what he had in mind, and Emma almost fanned herself in anticipation. This was all so…new and yet not. This was still Garrett–one of her best friends–and in all the times that she envisioned what it would be like to be with him, she never imagined it would be this good–this easy.

  It almost made her worry that something was going to go wrong.

  Don’t think like that, you ninny. Stop looking for trouble!

  The problem was that Emma had learned the hard way that most things weren’t easy and when she got too comfortable, inevitably, something went wrong.

  She’d thought her relationship with Steven was good and solid–until they got married. It was like a switch was flipped the morning after their wedding and every day after that was a nightmare. Now, she was thankful that it ended sooner rather than it dragging on for years and years, but until the last of those debts were paid off, she couldn’t put it all behind her.

  Garrett took her hand in his and licked her finger, which essentially pulled her out of her own depressing thoughts. She gave him a sexy smile and realized they were parked in front of her place.

  “We’re home,” she said softly.

  He nodded and took the box from her hands and his coffee. “Yes, we are.” His grin was downright sinful, and she found herself scrambling from the car in her haste to get the front door open.

  Garrett walked in first and she followed him. But when she went to stop in the kitchen, he kept walking straight through to the bedroom.

  O-kay…

  By the time she caught up with him, he was shirtless and kicking off his sneakers and her entire body began to tingle. The man truly was perfection and she could totally understand why those videos were so popular.

  She’d never admit it to him, but she pretty much watched them daily since discovering them.

  And now I get to watch him live…

  The pink box sat on the corner of the bed and she wasn’t sure what was going to happen first.

  “Um…”

  Emma watched as he stripped down to his boxers and climbed onto the bed. Reclined against the pillows, his hands stacked behind his head, Garrett looked very pleased with himself. “Breakfast in bed.”

  Emma knew she shouldn’t feel shy–not after everything they’d done through the night–but stripping down in front of him was a little out of her comfort zone. So instead, she kicked off her shoes and unzipped her hoodie and tossed it to the floor. The yoga pants and cami stayed on. Picking up the pink box, she climbed onto the bed and straddled his lap.

  “Hmm…this isn’t quite the way I envisioned breakfast in bed,” she murmured as she placed the box beside them and opened it.

  “Really? What’s wrong with it?” His tone was light and playful, and she had to hide her smile as her hair fell forward.

  “Well, in my mind, I’d be asleep, and someone would come in with a tray full of food. You know, things like pancakes or bacon and eggs. Maybe some fruit.” She shrugged. “And definitely coffee.” Glancing over her shoulder, she realized she’d left her cup in the kitchen.

  Drat…

 
; No sooner had she turned back to face him than Garrett managed to twist them around so she was lying beneath him. “Tomorrow we’ll do breakfast in bed your way,” he all but growled as his hand began to roam up and down her body. “But for today, we’ll do this my way.”

  Her heart raced and she had to wonder how much of his way involved them getting naked and how much involved them eating the rest of their bakery treats.

  As if reading her mind, he leaned down and gently kissed the corner of her mouth. “I have plans for the icing on that second cinnamon roll. And it involves some very specific parts of your body and a whole lot of licking.”

  She met his heated gaze. “I think I’m going to like your version of breakfast in bed.”

  “Emmaline, I can guarantee you’ll love it.” Then he was kissing her and she could barely think at all.

  Later, much later, she finally turned to him with a sleepy smile. “I’ll never doubt you again.” Then she curled up against him and fell asleep.

  Sunday afternoon, Garrett pulled up in front of the Mystic Magnolia and let out a small laugh.

  “What? What’s so funny?” Emma asked.

  “This place used to be such a dive. It’s hard to believe my cousins did so much work to turn it into…well…this! It’s crazy!”

  “Oh, stop. Although I have to agree that it certainly wasn’t the kind of place most people wanted to come to, it didn’t start out that way. My grandmother used to tell me how it started out as one of the nicer pubs in town. It was only after the owner’s wife passed away that it started to go downhill.”

  He nodded. “My great-grandfather invested in it over the years and then left it to my cousin Mason. We all laughed when the Will was read and we heard about it. Who knew he’d end up taking after Pops and trying to turn the place around?”