Wreckless Engagement: The Russian Engagement Series

by K. Marie

  Garland chuckled as he headed over to the bar and removed a chilling bottle of wine from its bucket. The wine was obviously chosen for me, as I knew Garland was fairly singular in his alcoholic tastes.

  Kicking off my shoes, I walked over to join him, grabbing two of the wine glasses neatly lined atop the bar. Garland made short work of popping the cork of the bottle, then filled our glasses with an impressive flourish.

  “Here’s to a great day, and an even better night,” he said in toast, emerald eyes promising as he gazed at me over the rim of his glass.

  Garland might think himself the predator tonight, but that’s not how it’s going down.

  My hormones were raging, and the sight of his near naked body had me narrowing my eyes with intent. Carefully placing my glass on the bar, I felt like a lioness stalking my prey as I closed the distance between us, then gently removed his glass from his hand. Our bodies melded as I wrapped my arms around his neck and put my mouth to his.

  Garland wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me closer. Our wine flavored tongues caressed as I reached between our bodies and unfastened his belt, and then his pants. He gave a heartfelt groan when I boldly reached inside his boxer briefs and palmed him in my hand.

  The back of my dress is unzipped in seconds, with Garland pushing the straps down my shoulders and letting it fall to pool at my feet. Kicking it aside, I ran both my hands around to caress his firm ass, hooking my thumbs in the waistband of his pants and giving them a tug.

  Garland’s eyes are full of lust as his scorching gaze rakes my body, taking in my sea-foam green lace panties and bra. “You’re beautiful, Camry,” he told me, voice raspy with need.

  He kissed my neck and ran his palms up my back, unfastening my bra, and allowing it to fall quickly to the floor. I moaned when he cupped my breasts in his warm palms, caressing the hardened nipples and making my knees weak.

  But, I had other things in mind, as I palmed him in my hand and lowered myself to my knees, taking him into my mouth.

  Garland hissed; fingers tightly gripping a fistful of my hair, as I slowly licked the head of his cock. “Shit, Camry…” he croaked, as I took as much of him into my mouth as I could without gagging.

  I was intent on making him come, but Garland tightened his grip on my hair to slow me down. “I don’t want to come in your mouth, I want to come inside of you,” he said through gritted teeth.

  I groaned my displeasure as he helped me to my feet.

  Garland swooped me up into his arms before I could blink, carrying me into the bedroom and tossing me onto the big bed. He wasted no time pulling my panties off and climbing between my thighs.

  We came together desperately, pure unbridled lust out of control. It was always magical when our bodies came together, damn near perfect. Garland took his pleasure in my body; unapologetically, holding nothing back. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

  After our bodies were finally sated, we both lay exhausted, as I marveled over how absolutely right it felt. I worried that things might be different between us, but nothing had changed.

  “English, please,” I murmured, mustering a lazy smile when I heard Garland mutter something unintelligible against my neck.

  My new boyfriend was a linguistic over-achiever, I knew that he could very well be speaking a different language. In addition to English and Russian, he also spoke Spanish fairly fluently—courtesy of his Argentinian mother, and he had a basic grasp of the French language. I called it being a show-off, plain and simple.

  “I said, you’ll be the death of me,” he repeated when he lifted his head, looking down at me through hooded eyes.

  “Well, I certainly hope to do a whole lot more of this before that happens,” I teased, wiggling beneath him suggestively.

  Grinning in amusement, Garland rolled over onto his back, taking me with him. We lay facing each other, my body splayed halfway across his, and my hair hanging everywhere. Brushing the strands away from my face with his fingers, he kissed me languidly, before dropping an unexpected bomb.

  “I have to leave tomorrow.”

  My head popped-up to look him in the eye, my heart sinking. He was supposed to be in town until Monday night.

  “A couple of complications arose with a business deal I’ve been working on, I have to be in Los Angeles Monday morning,” Garland explained.

  I nodded my understanding, before dropping my head to his shoulder in disappointment. After having waited almost three weeks to see him, we wouldn’t get to spend more than twenty-four hours together.

  “I’m sorry, Camry, I promise I’ll make it up to you. And I’m also keeping my promise to Autumn; we’re still on for horseback riding tomorrow,” he informed me, caressing my cheek with his thumb.

  “Thank you,” I told him, attempting to sound gracious, when what I really wanted to do was spaz-out on the floor kicking and screaming like a toddler.

  But that would be childish.

  “Hey…” Garland murmured, lifting my chin to meet his gaze. “I would never leave if it weren’t urgent and time sensitive,” he swore, eyes sincere.

  And now I felt like an a-hole.

  I was typically a perfectly reasonable person, I swear it. I’d always hated clingy, whiny chicks.

  So, swallowing my disappointment, I pulled my big-girl pants on and pressed a reassuring kiss to his lips. “I understand silly man, I’m only bummed I won’t have more time with your body,” I told him.

  “I knew you were only using me for my body,” Garland accused with an affectionate smile.

  “Of course, I am, what else could I possibly want with you?” I countered.

  He flipped me onto my back and pinned me beneath him, locking his fingers with mine. “Not seeing you these past weeks was hell. I hope you haven’t decided against Miami, or I might be driven to drastic measures,” he told me.

  My heart soared in pleasure. Garland seems to have missed me as much as I had him; the distance was a problem for us both. But I was still undecided about Miami.

  “Three months is a long time, I think we should renegotiate the terms,” he suggested, knowing exactly when to capitalize on an opportunity.

  Like when he’s got me sulking over him leaving and flat on my back.

  Though right now, I didn’t disagree, three months seemed infinite. But I couldn’t let that sway me; I had to be smart about this.

  “Maybe…” I hedged with a playful smile, non-committal. “But in the meantime, I’d like to use you as much as possible before you go,” I told him, voice dropping to a sexy whisper.

  “Use me all you want, Camry, I won’t complain,” Garland said, nipping playfully at my neck.

  I giggled like a girl, throwing my head back and squirming beneath him, before once again falling under his spell.

  Garland became the Picasso of carnality as he made my body his canvas, showing me exactly how agreeable he was to being used.

  Twenty-Six

  It’s been five days since Garland got prematurely called away on business.

  But, as promised, he’d taken Autumn and me horseback riding the Sunday following our night together at his hotel. Apparently for him, it was only a matter of instructing his assistant to make the arrangements.

  Hell, I didn’t even know he had an assistant. But then, there was still a lot I didn’t know about Garland. And at the rate we were going, it seemed trying to accomplish that goal would take an eternity. We’d spent more time apart than together.

  So, as had been the case since he’d left Sunday night, Garland was in my thoughts as I wrapped-up some work in my home office. I’d been dragging all morning, all week really, and was past ready to call it quits for the day. Just as I’m debating whether or not to take a quick nap before picking up Autumn, the doorbell rang.

  I trudged to the door wondering who it could possibly be, I wasn’t expecting anyone, and the packages were already delivered for the day. My heart gave a dreaded thump of surprise when I looked through the peepho
le, to find John standing on the other side of it.

  Shit.

  He’d called a couple of times the past few days, even left two voice-mail messages saying we ‘needed to talk’. But I only responded to one of his texts. I hesitated now; reluctant to open the door to him, feeling like a coward. I’d been avoiding him because I simply didn’t know what to say.

  Berating myself over my behavior, I decided to just behave like an adult and open the damn door. Then, John and I both stood awkwardly gazing at each other through the glass.

  “Sorry to come without calling, but you haven’t exactly been returning my calls,” he said in an accusation.

  I guess I deserved that.

  “May I come in?” John asked, eyeing me peculiarly.

  It took me a second to realize I’d been standing there looking at him as though he were a stranger; maintaining a barrier between us.

  Hell.

  I wanted to kick myself for being weird. I’d been engaged to the man less than a month ago, for Christ’s sake. “Of course, John, come in,” I told him, unlocking the door to allowing him access.

  “Can I get you anything to drink?” I asked, once we’d entered the kitchen.

  John politely declined. “You look great, Camry, how have you been? How’s Autumn?” he asked, the question sounding so normal, so typical John.

  Taking a seat at the table, I motioned for him to join me. “We’ve both been well. Autumn is enjoying summer camp; especially learning to swim,” I told him with a genuine smile.

  Conversation between us had always flowed naturally. John and I could converse on any given subject, even engage in some lively debates at times, it was one of the things that attracted me to him. I realized I’d actually missed that dynamic; the thought was sobering.

  “How have you been, John?” I asked with sincerity. Things hadn’t ended so well the last time he was here, I was painfully aware that I’d hurt him.

  “I’ve been okay, but I could be a lot better. I miss you,” he told me.

  I felt regret churn in the pit of my stomach. This was the type of messy conversation I’d been trying to avoid.

  But then, that was my issue, not his. John had every right to be at loose ends with the dissolution of our relationship. Just because it ended, didn’t mean his feelings magically disappeared.

  “Look, Camry, I was blindsided by our break up; I just couldn’t figure out what happened to make you change your mind so abruptly,” he said in agitation, clearly annoyed by my silence.

  I watched as John reached into his back pants pocket and produced a folded sheet of paper. “That is, until I came across this,” he said, unfolding the paper and placing it on the table in front of me.

  My lungs froze with shock, chest constricted with dread, as I stared down at the image of Garland and me in Key West. It was the same one that had been in the local Miami newspaper, only, this copy was obviously printed from an internet article.

  “Is this why you broke our engagement?” John asked.

  “Wh-where did you get this?” I stammered dumbly, completely floored.

  “You remember my co-worker, Tim? He happened to be on assignment in Miami and forwarded it to me when he recognized you in the photo. To my complete humiliation, I might add,” John said bitterly.

  You have got to be shitting me.

  What were the odds of John ever seeing that photo? I thought the chances slim to none. But apparently, there really is a thing called karma.

  “Yes, John, this is part of the reason. I realized that if I could be out like that with another man, I obviously wasn’t ready to be married,” I admitted, finally gathering the courage to look him in the eye. “The truth is, I can’t blame meeting someone as the sole reason for our break-up, I’d been putting off wedding plans for months because of my uncertainty.”

  “Did you sleep with him? Are you still seeing him?” John asked.

  I stared at him in dismay. “Why John—why would you want to know something like that?” I asked in bewilderment.

  I couldn’t bring myself to blatantly admit such a thing to his face. We were still engaged at the time; my actions were a gross betrayal of that promise.

  “Jesus, Camry!” John roared, my non-answer having apparently been admittance in itself. “You were gone all of five days! That’s not enough time for you to possibly know shit about this guy. Is it because he’s rich? Because I never took you for that kind of woman,” he admonished, face turning beet-red as he glowered at me across the table.

  “He’s a playboy, Camry, men like him only use women like you to pass the time,” he said bitingly, the insult stinging like a slap to the face.

  John reached into his pocket and produced another piece of paper, slapping it down onto the table in front of me. “Open it,” he demanded, as I sat eyeing it as though it were a snake.

  I reached for it hesitantly, instinctively knowing I wouldn’t like the contents. And boy was I right.

  As soon as I opened the page, it felt as if I’d been gut-punched.

  I stared at a photo of Garland, posed with a woman who hung all over him with a familiarity I didn’t like. They were both dressed formally, with Garland looking gorgeous in a black tuxedo, and with her in a red floor-length gown. The woman was beautiful; and looked as if she could be a model, with long dark hair and a long willowy body.

  My eyes were drawn to the print beneath the photo. The occasion had been for a gala benefiting the Children’s Research Hospital, and the woman was named as, Sophie LeFevre, Garland’s date for the night.

  The photo was taken just a little over one week ago.

  My heart contracted painfully, as I told myself not to react in front of John, but I must not be so great at pretending.

  “I hope you’re not still seeing him, Camry, he’ll only break your heart,” John said in a gentler voice this time.

  I dropped the paper onto the table, no longer able to stomach the image. Who in the hell was that woman? Could I be jumping to conclusions by automatically assuming the worst?

  But she was his date…to an event he’d failed to mention during our various conversations during that time.

  I looked over at John expecting to see triumph in his eyes but saw only concern. His words hadn’t been so different from what Lauren said about Garland while in Miami. However, whereas I wanted to be just as offended as I’d been then, he’d actually produced evidence to back up his claims.

  Had Garland been playing me for a naïve fool all this time?

  “Garland can do whatever he wants, we’re not in a relationship,” I told John, trying to regain some of my dignity back.

  But weren’t we, though? I asked myself, suddenly unsure.

  “And how dare you accuse me of being a gold-digger? Being an asshole doesn’t become you,” I fired back resentfully, remembering his earlier words.

  John just hurt me, intentionally. Revealing what was behind door number-two had been strategic. He knew showing me that photo of Garland with another woman would sting, and it had.

  “So, you’re still seeing him,” John said as fact, having drawn the conclusion from my reaction. “You’re setting yourself up for disappointment, Camry, this guy is bad news. Not only is he a womanizer, but he might also be dangerous. I took the liberty of doing a little research, and not everything I learned was good,” John told me.

  “You’ve made your point, John—Garland is a piece of shit, I get it. But I really don’t care to discuss him with you,” I said, getting to my feet in agitation.

  I felt annoyed as hell by that photo, wondered what kind of game Garland was playing with me. However, I didn’t need John lamenting how bad of a person he is when he knew jack-shit about him. After our conversation at dinner that night in Miami, I’d satisfied my curiosity by Internet searching Garland. There wasn’t a whole lot about him in cyberspace, but what existed out there was pretty much a variation of the same things he’d already told me.

  “All I’m saying is, conside
ring you’ve known the man all of three seconds, you should probably be more cautious. If not for you, then at least for Autumn,” John remarked sarcastically.

  I gave him a scathing look. “Thank you for your advice, Father John, I’ll take it under consideration. Are we done here?” I asked, not appreciating his insults and past ready for him to leave.

  Displeasure sparked in John’s eyes as he rose to his feet. “Yeah, we’re done here, Camry. Give me a call when he dumps you,” he said before walking out of the kitchen.

  Asshole.

  Shaking my head in disbelief, I watched him go, wondering who in the hell that man was. John’s revealed a side to him I’d not yet seen; though, I knew I had only myself to blame for that.

  I silently counted to ten, giving John ample time to fully vacate before following behind him to lock-up. But, I came to an abrupt stop when I reached the hallway, to see both John and Garland standing in my doorway.

  Shit…this day couldn’t possibly get any worse.

  Garland stood just outside the opened door; presumably having just arrived when John opened it. If I weren’t so stunned, I would probably laugh at the horror of it.

  God must be really pissed at me. Both men showing up unannounced at the same time was truly meant as punishment.

  “Garland, come in—I wasn’t expected you,” I said nervously, forcing a smile.

  His eyes had been trained on John; but flicked my way at my words, and the steely look he gave me had me wanting to take a cautious step back.

  This probably looked really bad from where he stood.

  Garland’s hard gaze returned to John; who essentially blocked his entry, and I got the uncomfortable impression that he was seriously considering violence. But thankfully, John finally took several reluctant steps back, allowing him to enter.

  But, that just seemed to make things worse.

  Now standing damn near toe to toe, Garland’s six-foot-two frame stood a couple of inches taller than John’s six feet—and he probably outweighed John by about fifteen pounds of muscle. But it wasn’t the slight physical advantage that concerned me, it was the dangerous glint in Garland’s eyes. I remembered that John had the advantage of knowing who Garland is, but Garland had no idea who John was. I also knew that if I didn’t do something quick, the proverbial shit was going to hit the fan.