by Mia Jones
The phone finally stopped ringing. A few minutes later, Kari brought her a cup of coffee. Jessica drank most of it down, being careful to not burn her mouth, and dragged herself up. There were things to do before they opened up the shelter, and she needed to keep busy.
An hour later, Kari found her in the back. “Jess, Garrett’s on the phone. What do you want me to tell him?”
Jessica’s shoulders sagged as she rubbed her temples where a headache was pounding. “Can you tell him I’m busy and I’ll call him later?”
Kari frowned, concerned. “If you’re sure?”
Jessica nodded and turned away before Kari saw the tears that moistened her eyes. She needed to get done with inventory so she could input an order later.
Half an hour later, Jessica sat in front of her computer and tried to concentrate on what she was doing. Fatigue pulled at her, making everything harder and the headache that started this morning intensify. Her head snapped around when her office door was opened and then closed abruptly. Her heart dropped when Garrett stood leaning against the inside of the door with his arms crossed over his chest.
Garrett watched the color leach out of her face, and a sadness seeped into her eyes that he never wanted to see again. “Do you want to tell me why you haven’t picked up your phone last night or today?”
Jessica turned her chair to face him and gripped her hands tightly together in her lap. “I didn’t want to talk to anybody last night.”
“Why?” he snapped.
It hurt to look at him, he was so handsome, so she turned her head away. “I waited for you last night for several hours. I called and texted and nothing. It was only when I called your office did I talk to someone.”
Garrett was still confused, but at least she was talking to him. “I see. Who exactly did you talk to?”
Jessica shrugged as tears burned her eyes. “I didn’t recognize her voice.”
Anger started to take hold, but he held back his need to yell and cuss. “And what exactly did she tell you?” He kept his tone easy and his eyes blank.
Jessica bit her lip to hold back the tears that stung her eyes. Her heart dropped at the cold and void of any emotion look in eyes. “It doesn’t matter, Garrett. I’m at fault. I should have never pushed you into something you’re not ready for.”
Seconds ticked by while Garrett stood with his arms still crossed and stared at her. “We’ll deal with that bullshit later. What did this woman say?”
Jessica’s stomach twisted at the angry tick in his jaw. “She said you were busy and then...”
“Then what?” Garrett intoned harshly.
Jessica flinched at the sharp tone of his voice. “Then I heard you in the background telling her to hurry up.” She raised her gaze and quickly lowered them at the fury he no longer tried to hold back from his eyes.
Silence descended. He stared at her, and she stared at her hands.
Garrett ground his teeth together and held himself still, when he just wanted to yell and pull her over his knees for believing any bullshit that woman spewed. “So let me see if I can get this straight. I’m assuming you didn’t get my message about a meeting and that I would stop over later?”
Jessica’s head jerked up and she shook her head.
“I didn’t receive your calls. I left my phone in my office because I needed to concentrate on the meeting. When I finally got time to look at my phone, I saw your messages and called you right away. You didn’t answer, so I kept trying. I drove to your place, expecting you to be there. You weren’t there, of course, so I started to really worry. I drove by here and didn’t see your car, and the place was dark. I saw your car outside just now, you parked on the side of the building. You never do that.” He walked to her and squatted next to her chair ignoring her flinch. “Jessica, look at me.” His tone broke no argument.
Her gaze jerked up and met his.
“Do I have it right so far?”
Jessica shrugged. “I don’t know, I wasn’t there, and I sometimes park back there.”
An angry rumble rushed from his throat. “Jesus, woman, you’re making me nuts. “
Jessica used her toes to move her chair back from him, stopping when she heard a low growl come from him. “Garrett, listen. We don’t need to go into this. It’s none of my business what you were doing.” Her voice raised as her desperation climbed.
Garrett’s eyes darkened dangerously. “What the hell just came out of your mouth?”
Jessica flinched.
Garrett sighed and pulled her up, sat down, and pulled her into his lap. He lay one heavy arm over her lap to keep her seated, and his other hand went to her back. “I’m sorry I yelled, baby. I’m trying to figure out a way to get through to you.” He held up a hand when she opened her mouth. “No, you need to listen to me. I wasn’t going to tell you until it was done. I’ve been trying to sell the majority of my businesses. Do you know why?” He continued when she shook her head. “Because of you.”
Jessica paled and gasped as tears slid down her cheeks. “No.” She was horrified. “Why would you do something like that?”
“Because I want to spend as much time as possible with you, and I can’t do that with the size of my company, so I’m selling off most and training someone to manage the majority of the rest. I’ll have my hand in it, but will delegate more.”
“But why?” she said as she tried to swallow back the tears that kept falling.
“I know I’m happiest when I’m with you.” Garrett wiped the tears that flowed down her face. “Shhh. Baby, this is a good thing, I should have done it years ago. I was working sixty- to eighty-hour weeks, and I don’t need to. I have more money than I could spend in ten lifetimes. Why shouldn’t I semi-retire if I can and spend time with my favorite person?”
Jessica’s fingers dried her face as silent tears continued to fall. “I don’t know what to say.”
Garrett gripped her thigh as his hand at her back rubbed soothing circles. “You don’t have to say anything.”
“Is that why you’ve been preoccupied lately?”
“Yeah, I didn’t want to make a big deal of it because somehow I knew you would feel guilty or take it the wrong way.” He smiled for the first time in hours at the blush that overtook her complexion.
“Let’s get back to last night. The guy I hired to manage my holdings is named Peter Sorenson. Around four, I asked Peter’s assistant Vanessa to call you, and you didn’t get that call, correct?”
She shook her head and flinched when he bit out a swear word.
“So you had no idea I was going to be much later.” He waited for her nod then continued. “Next, you called my office, and Vanessa said what exactly?”
“She said you were too busy to come to the phone.”
“And? I want to hear everything she said.”
“And that she knew all about me. She also said you needed her and that she had to go. Then...then I heard you in the background telling her to hurry. But it was the suggestive way she said it that upset me.”
“Goddamn it. That bitch. She’s gone as of now.”
Jessica straightened in his lap. “No, Garrett, you can’t fire her.”
“You bet your sweet ass I can and will. I ignored her flirting because I figured she was Peter’s problem, and I wouldn’t be around much longer. But now, I don’t want that bitch within miles of you.”
Jessica leaned against him, slipped one arm around his neck, and started to cry. “I’m so sorry, Garrett. I’m causing so much trouble.”
“Christ, woman. You didn’t do anything, and if I hear that shit come out of your mouth again, I’ll assume you’re begging me to spank your sweet ass.”
A laugh burst out of her as she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck.
He speared his fingers through her hair and tilted her head back to take her lips hard, adjusting her head to deepen the kiss. When they were both breathing heavily, they broke apart. “I’m assuming you didn’t get much sleep last night either
did you?”
She shook her head and tucked it under his chin.
“When can you leave?”
Jessica looked up into his handsome masculine face. “I could leave now. Kari is here until closing.”
He stood them up and leaned down until his face was even with hers and pinched her chin. “Good. I’m taking you home, and you better be ready because I’m going to have you under me within seconds of getting you there. And then I’m going to spend a long time in you, showing you exactly how I feel about you and who you belong to. And only then will I let you sleep.”
Jessica pressed her mouth to his and looked him straight in the eyes. “Good. I need you. It feels like it’s been a week since I had you deep inside me, and right now, I need that more than anything.”
Garrett growled, cupped her shoulders, and pressed his forehead against her. “Babe, you’re killing me here. It’s touch and go to see if I could make it home with you before I have your panties off. Don’t push me on this.”
Jessica hesitated until a low warning rumble pushed her forward. She took a cautious step back, shut down her computer, and grabbed her purse. “Kari, I’m going to head home. Call if you need me, but if not, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Jessica said on her way past the front desk.
Kari’s eyes were wide with curiosity and unanswered questions. “Absolutely. You couldn’t have gotten any sleep here last night.”
Jessica bit her lip when Garrett growled at her from behind.
The thought of her here alone all night was driving him crazy. He directed her out of the building and toward his car. His hand tightened on her waist when she turned toward her car. “Don’t even think about it. We’ll come and get your car later.”
Long minutes later, Garrett shut his garage door behind them, shuffling her into the house and past the kitchen, moving her steadily toward the bedroom. Her clothes disappeared quickly, his hands touching every bit of skin he uncovered.
“Garrett, I need to take a shower.”
He started shaking his head. His only thought was getting inside her as fast as he could.
“Please, I feel grungy. These are the clothes I wore last night, if you hadn’t been able to already guess from the wrinkles.”
His expression softened. He couldn’t tell her no. He realized then, if she ever found out she had him wrapped around her tiny finger and he’d do whatever he needed to make her happy, she’d fight about everything. He laughed when she squealed as he picked her up and deposited her next to the shower. With a flick of his wrist, the water was turned on and warming as he tore off his clothes. He waited until she pulled her hair up into a hairband to keep it from getting too wet. When he decided the water was warm enough, he hustled her into the shower.
Garrett washed her quickly, driving giggles out of her when his fingers found her ticklish spots.
“Stop, Garrett,” she chortled breathlessly trying to wiggle away from his devious hands. “Please.”
He quickly washed himself then turned off the water before he pulled her out of the shower and patted her dry with one of the plush towels in the cabinet. He used the same towel to briskly wipe the moisture from him.
She shrieked when he lifted her over his shoulder again then yelped when a sharp smack landed on her naked bottom.
“That’s for scaring me.”
She giggled. “That’s not fair.”
“I don’t care about fair.” He dropped her in the middle of the bed and stood staring at her.
Jessica’s breath caught at the intense look in his unsmiling face.
“I care about you, love. Only you. Can you remember that?”
Jessica bit her lip and nodded hesitantly.
“Don’t ever think I would ever want another woman.” He came down on top of her, holding most of his weight off her. He lowered his head and took her mouth, over and over again until they were breathless. “No one...” He moved down to her neck, sucking and biting at the sensitive skin. “Has ever...” He moved on to her breasts, sucking both nipples into his mouth until they were hard and red. “Made me feel...” His tongue skimmed her waist and circled her belly button before moving on. “Like this.” He shouldered his way between her thighs until his mouth hovered above her sensitive folds.
She was unable to draw a breath as her eyes met his.
“Only you,” he said and bent and swiped his tongue through her folds, sucking strongly on her clit, pulling a scream from her throat. “I will never get enough of you.” His large hands gripped her hips to keep them still as he urged his tongue inside her sheath, trying to devour as much of her cream as she would give him.
Her hands gripped Garrett’s hair. The tight band in her stomach burst, throwing her into climax that took her breath away. Little mews came from her throat when he continued to eat at her, pushing her forcefully toward another climax. Her scream was weak but no less powerful.
“Please, Garrett. I need you inside me.” Her hands tried to pull him up over her.
Garrett raised his head and moved up covering her, bracing his elbows on each side of her head. His hands encircled each of her wrists and lifted them over her head. “Tell me who you belong to.” His voice was guttural.
“Oh, God. Garrett. Please.” Her eyes misted with her pleas as she weakly tugged on her hands.
“Jessica, I’ll give you what you need, love. But first answer my question.”
Jessica opened her eyes, tried to focus on his handsome face, and tried to pull from his grasp but was unable to escape his hold. “You, Garrett. It’s only been you and will always be you. You own every part of me,” she confessed in a tone so low he had to bend to hear her.
Satisfaction ripped through him as he bent and took her mouth hungrily. “Thank you, baby.” His kiss continued until he couldn’t take being away from her for another second. “Look at me, love.” He waited impatiently for a few seconds. “Jessica. Look. At. Me.”
The moment her eyes met his, he drove his full length into her. Groans burst from both.
“It always feels like coming home when I’m in you. I never want to leave.” His head descended. A transparent look of dominance and love crossed his features as he took her lips hungrily.
Jessica pulled on her hands, wanting to touch him, and started moaning when his hips moved, slowly moving inside her. A fiery ball of need tightened her womb. She wrapped her legs around his waist, opening herself to him.
Garrett’s eyes narrowed in warning, and he gritted his teeth when she jerked her hands. “Don’t pull away from me, love.” He lowered his head taking her lips in a kiss that curled her toes. “You don’t want to get away from me, do you?” he said in a cajoling voice.
Jessica shook her head, her breaths puffing in and out of her lungs.
“That’s good, because I wouldn’t have let you go.” His lunges picked up speed. He pressed his mouth to her ear and told her what he wanted to do to her and how beautiful he thought she was, things that upped her desire. When he felt her tighten, he released her hands and held himself up with one arm and slid his other hand down her stomach to her bud and put steady pressure on it. He moaned when she tightened on him and a gush of moisture slid around his shaft. He knew she was close, and he thanked God because it was killing him to hold back long enough to make her come before he let go. When he felt the walls of her pussy start to constrict, his strokes turned hard and deep. Within a minute, both were moaning as the sexual heat consumed them, throwing them both over.
Garrett’s shaky arms kept the majority of his weight off her. His head dropped between her neck and shoulder as he dragged in a lungful of oxygen. He raised his head and smiled. Jessica was asleep even as her body still gripped him. He pulled out gently and stood to dispose of the condom before going back to bed. He lifted the covers, situating her before curling around her and bringing her back against his chest.
He was still pissed about that bitch. Peter had even noticed her attempt to attract Garrett and had softly reprimanded her.
Garrett was a little more abrupt and had told her to fuck off and stay the hell away from him. He didn’t care if Peter thought the woman was good at her job. It was still Garrett’s business, and that bitch wasn’t getting within a mile of Jessica. If she made any more trouble, he’d make sure she didn’t get a job in this city or surrounding areas.
***
As the days passed, they spent most of their free time together. He wanted to learn everything he could about her and asked questions when he could.
One cool night, lying in bed after they made love, they talked about their childhoods and fears and dreams with each other. He felt sick when she’d told him about her abusive parents again, something he understood firsthand.
He held her back against his chest in bed one night. He choked back a tide of fury and was glad she couldn’t see his face when she told him that at the age of fifteen her father had thrown her out of the house.
Garrett’s stomach twisted at the cold desolate tone of her voice. Her father had reached bottom and was desperate. He wanted to use her to make money because he needed more for his habits and she guessed he owed money to the wrong people. Jessica had threatened to go to the cops if he tried. Garrett had almost lost it at the thought of her father wanted to turn his daughter into a prostitute. He’d thought his parents were bad, but, Jesus, hers took the prize for Most Horrible Parents.
She ended up in one foster home after another until she turned eighteen. Garrett was so proud of the woman she was. She’d come from a tragic childhood, worked her butt off to get some scholarships, worked two jobs to pay for the rest of college, then made the enormous decision to change majors because of lack of funds, and ended up a director of an animal shelter. Not many people he knew were strong enough to make a successful life for themselves against so many odds.
He was the only other one he knew who came from poverty and became successful against massive odds. Garrett had been hesitant to tell her about his childhood, afraid of how she’d feel about him. After Jessica had told him about her past, his past hadn’t seemed as bad.
