The Navigator (Mountains Series Book 5)

by Phoebe Alexander

  Sarah Lynde wasn’t a grandmother, she assumed. She took a deep breath. How the hell had she allowed herself to come this far with this man? What was she doing with him in Alabama of all places? She didn’t understand his draw, why she couldn’t pull away. He had issues. He drank too much. He was hiding something really important, and he would not let her tear down those walls no matter how hard she tried.

  And she was a professional wall-tearer-downer.

  She almost choked on laughter at that last realization.

  “Shhhh,” he whispered in her ear, probably afraid she was becoming delirious. “I’m here for you,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Twenty-Two

  Waking up next to her was a balm. There was something about being close to her, having her warmth against him all night that kept the ghosts away. He had only been restless once in the night, but he was lucid enough to wake up and eradicate the nightmare taking shape in his mind. He rolled over and pressed his body against her, pulling her to his pelvis where his morning wood was a heat-seeking missile.

  “Fuck, it’s almost ten o’clock,” she groaned, glancing over at the alarm clock on the nightstand. “We better get moving if we’re going to make it to the Fosters’ by noon.”

  He pushed his erection into the cleft between her ass cheeks. “What about this?” he rasped into her ear, then thrust against her again for good measure, in case she didn’t know what he was referring to.

  She let out a soft sigh and pushed back against him. “I wish we had time, but it’s a pretty long drive—”

  “I can be fast,” he promised, thrusting against her again. “I can’t go like this. Please?”

  She exhaled and pulled away from him. “Garrett—”

  He grabbed her by the wrist and sent her flying back onto the bed. Then, before she even knew what was happening, he had her flipped over and on her knees. He pressed his cock against her sex, then moved his hand down to touch her. “Anjuli...” he gasped, pulling his fingers away.

  “What?”

  “You’re soaking wet, baby!”

  “It’s not blood, is it?” Her voice shook with concern. “The cramps last night were probably me getting my period.”

  “No, you’re just wet for me, baby,” he answered after studying his fingers. He brushed the tip of his cock against her opening and reveled in the jolt that traveled through her body from the sensation. “Don’t tell me you don’t want me...”

  “You’re pretty persuasive, aren’t you?” She looked over her shoulder at him. Her long, dark hair was wild, her eyes thin slits, ravaged by sleep.

  “You’ve seen nothing yet,” he assured her, then claimed her in one long, hard thrust.

  She cried out at the unexpected intrusion. “Fuck, I need more warning next time!”

  He slapped her ass as he made long, slow strokes in and out of her wet hole. “Don’t tell me how to fuck you. You got to do that last night. Now it’s my turn to call the shots.”

  “You can’t see me rolling my eyes,” she fired back, “but rest assured, I am.” But the end of her sentence was swallowed up by a moan as he picked up the pace, slamming into her with considerable force. She grunted as he dug his fingers into the soft flesh of her hips and railed into her.

  “You know what,” he said between clenched teeth, “I want to see your beautiful face when I fill you with my cum.”

  As swiftly as before, he flipped her so she perched on top of him, sliding down on his thick, throbbing manhood. She was delirious from the sudden movement. “Fuck, how do you do that? I’m not a small girl!”

  “Shhh, you just worry about taking my cock,” he instructed, his fingers finding their hold on her hips again. She couldn’t move; he’d taken control of her entire body with just his hands and his cock. He held her steady while he drilled up into her pussy like a machine.

  He loved the way she threw her head back in ecstasy, the sensations so intense she couldn’t vocalize more than strained grunts as her tits bounced harshly against her ribcage and her hair flew wildly around her head. She is fucking gorgeous, he thought, fucking gorgeous.

  He had never felt any feelings of possession or jealousy over a woman before. It never bothered him to think of any of his partners, male or female, being with someone else. He had known about Sarah’s other partners and that she was still in love with James. He’d had a submissive named Natalie while he was seeing Sarah, and Natalie had a boyfriend, which was A-OK with him. He knew Chase had started to date another man. And he knew Nigel left him for a serious relationship at one point. He was never bothered by any of that.

  But in this moment, watching this beautiful woman writhe on top of him, taking his cock like she was born to do it—the thought of her being with someone else, belonging to someone else threatened to tear him apart. He nearly lost his erection just thinking about it, in fact, and that was something he had never contended with during sex.

  He slowed down, concentrating on her face, the curve of her neck, her delicate throat. Her eyes flitted open and pierced into him...and those eyes were all it took to bring him back to the threshold of ecstasy.

  “What’s wrong?” she breathed out as she gyrated her pelvis against him, her hands clutching at his chest for support.

  “I’ve never wanted anyone like this before.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. He was hypnotized by those eyes.

  Her lips slowly spread into a smile. “Are you going to give me your cum, or what?”

  “Tell me your pussy belongs to me,” he choked out, knowing he was nearly past the point of no return.

  She gave him a funny look, one of disbelief mixed with desire, if there could be such a thing. Her head bobbled like she was considering her response, but before she could answer, he pulled her down on top of him and claimed her lips with his own.

  With her body pressed tightly against him, he rammed his cock up inside her at a furious pace, but he never let her lips go. He stole her breath as he exploded deep inside her, his cock twitching and pulsing like never before. The feel of it must have set off a chain reaction, because her own eruption followed closely behind, and with a moan of “I belong to you,” she clenched and clamped around him, milking out every last drop.

  They’d only lost twenty minutes to their passion, so they managed to get showered, dressed and on the road to the Fosters’ farm in plenty of time to arrive by noon. Jackson met them at the door and welcomed them inside, where the delicious, savory odors of a homecooked meal wafted instantly into their noses as they followed him to the dining room.

  Karen had brought out the good china. A basket of steaming fresh rolls and crocks of what looked to be homemade butter and jam graced the table. She carried in a bowl heaped with mashed potatoes, and Jake followed with a roast, the ornate gold-trimmed tray filled with a bevy of roasted vegetables.

  “This looks amazing!” Garrett exclaimed as Jake gestured for everyone to take a seat.

  “Karen has outdone herself, as usual!” He beamed proudly at his wife.

  Their meal was filled with pleasantries, nothing too serious. Garrett did not want Karen to cry again, so he and Anjuli both tried to steer the conversation toward lighter topics. Anjuli was brilliant at it, telling funny stories about her daughter growing up, and Anjuli and Garrett both shared a little about their roles in Chicago and how they’d met by literally running into each other at the liquor store.

  When they were finished, Garrett felt almost as drained as he did after a performance. He thanked Mr. and Mrs. Foster profusely for their hospitality, then asked if he could have a word with Jackson alone. The other redhead smiled and led Garrett to the back of the house, then out onto a hand-built wooden deck overlooking a deep ravine and the forest, which extended as far as the eyes could see.

  “This has been one of the most surreal experiences of my life,” Garrett told him after he finished sliding the glass door shut.

  “Same,” Jackson said with a light chuckle. �
�I think in some ways, I was ready to be found. I do miss my family, but I’m stubborn as hell. So who knows if I would have ever made the move to get in touch with them.”

  “Stubborn as hell, huh? That seems to be a family trait,” Garrett answered. He watched a hawk soar in the sky and land in an impossibly tall tree at the edge of the woods.

  “I don’t think I could deny you as a brother, even if I wanted to,” Jackson admitted, shifting his eyes to Garrett’s. “I mean, Lilly and I both have that red hair too. Guess it comes from our dad’s side.”

  Garrett nodded. “Is your mom taking all this okay?”

  Jackson shrugged. “Well, good as she can be. She was so happy to hear from me last night, I think it kind of eased her shock over finding out about you.”

  He saw a younger version of himself in this man standing before him, the way he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, the way his eyes narrowed slightly while he decided what he wanted to say. He couldn’t help but see how much he had grown up in the past few years by looking at his brother. “Are you going to tell them about the name thing?”

  Jackson let out a long breath. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. They want me to come home, of course.”

  “I figured as much.” The hawk Garrett had been watching left its perch and soared over them again, disappearing into the clouds. “Are you gonna go?”

  “They want to meet you too, you know,” he said, not answering the question. “Well, I mean, Dad would like to see you. Mom would like to meet you. I don’t know how you feel about that.”

  Now Garrett shrugged. He hadn’t wanted to dwell on that prospect; it seemed so far-fetched. Something out of a Lifetime channel movie. He’d auditioned for one of those once upon a time, something they were filming in Baltimore. But he wasn’t experienced enough for the part, they said. He’d become so much more “experienced” in the past six months, he felt he could play an old man if he needed to.

  “I don’t have any other family, you know,” is how he chose to answer.

  “No? I’m sorry to hear that, man. What happened to your mom?” His eyes were wide like he really cared. Garrett wasn’t expecting to see that. He wasn’t used to people caring, but in the past few months, it seemed like between Chase, Anjuli, Lilly and now Jackson, he had this whole group of people who cared about him. It felt weird. Nice, he guessed? He just didn’t know if he was worthy of it.

  Jackson assumed the answer from Garrett’s lack of response. “I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” Garrett finally choked out. All that effort to keep Mrs. Foster from crying, and now he was the one with tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry about Martin...and your fiancée. I know you’ve had your share of heartache.”

  “Yeah, that kind of seems to be what life is about. Good stuff, good stuff, good stuff—boom, your heart is torn apart. Recovery, then good stuff, good stuff, good stuff.” He laughed as he looked up at the sky, then back again at his brother. “My counselor taught me that. We coast along thinking everything is good, and when we least expect it, kaboom. It takes a while to get back to the coasting again.”

  “Sometimes it takes a lifetime,” he said, his voice sounding echo-y in his own mind.

  “You can say that again, brother,” Jackson said, clapping him on the back affectionately with his good arm.

  Garrett sighed. They’d said a lot and nothing at the same time. It seemed to be the way humans communicated. He felt the same about his encounter with Anjuli only hours before. “I guess we better head out since we have a flight to catch.”

  “Wish you guys could stay longer, but I know you have a show to do,” Jackson stated. “Hope you have a safe trip back to Maryland.” He slid the glass door open again and waited for Garrett to step inside before sliding it closed again.

  They met up with Anjuli and the Fosters in the kitchen. Garrett didn’t miss the way Anjuli’s eyes lit up when she saw him. “Ready to go?” she asked.

  He nodded and extended his hand again to his hosts. “Thank you again so much for everything. Hopefully we will meet again someday.”

  “We’d sure like that,” Jake said in his gruff, country voice.

  Mrs. Foster only smiled, her eyes crinkled with impending tears, though her face shone with happiness.

  Jackson led them out the front door and down the porch steps to their rental car. “So, you’ll consider it? Seeing the family, I mean?”

  “I’ll consider it if you will,” Garrett answered.

  He extended his hand to his brother, but Jackson shook his head and instead pulled Garrett into a big bear hug, wrapping both his good arm and his prosthesis around him. “That’s how we hug it out in Alabama,” he explained, chuckling. Then he turned to Anjuli, “Thanks for helping make this happen, Dr. Raina.”

  “Oh, please, call me Anjuli or Juli. It was a pleasure to meet you, Martin.” She leaned in to give him a hug.

  “You can call me Jackson,” he answered. “I think he’s still in there somewhere. Thanks for bringing him back out.”

  Garrett and Anjuli climbed inside the car and waved as they made their way down the dusty path, leaving the Fosters’ farm behind them.

  Twenty-Three

  That week’s performances of Chicago went off without a hitch or an unexpected gunshot, garnering standing ovations at three of them. Nigel blamed the lack of a standing O on the fourth performance on the number of elderly patrons—they’re simply too blown away to stand, he theorized.

  Garrett had slept at Anjuli’s apartment the entire week and was so absent from home that Chase finally called him on Sunday evening to see if he was still alive. “I’m worried about you, lindo. I miss your face,” he’d said.

  Garrett chuckled. He wasn’t sure how Chase managed to emote like a girl sometimes but yet be so masculine. It was an interesting dichotomy he pulled off to a T. “I’m fine, no need to worry about me. How is it going with your new boyfriend?”

  “Oh, it’s been fucking incredible!” Chase replied, and Garrett could see the glow on his face even over the phone. “He’s kind of on the jealous side though, so I’m kinda afraid of what’s going to happen when you do finally come home.”

  “Oh, yeah? Does he know you’re bi?” Garrett pressed.

  Chase sighed. “Yes...he knows I’ve dated women in the past. That’s not a lie.”

  “Good luck, man.” Garrett laughed.

  “How are things going with you and Anjuli?” he changed the subject.

  Garrett was picking up some things at the store to restock Anjuli’s refrigerator. They’d eaten out nearly the entire week after returning from Alabama simply because there had been no time to shop. Garrett’s workweek consisted of tackling a huge to-do list Tom had left, and Anjuli had dozens of appointments with clients.

  “You still there, lindo?” Chase’s voice came across the line again.

  “Sorry, just squeezing the melons,” Garrett retorted, making his roommate laugh. “I’m doing the grocery shopping for her so she can take a nice hot bath and relax. This show has completely wiped her out.”

  “I don’t doubt it. We loved it when we came on Friday night! Sorry we didn’t get to hang out and chat.” Garrett heard a muffled voice in the distance, which distracted Chase for a few seconds. Then he returned. “Shopping for Anjuli, huh? You guys are sounding downright domestic. Is there anything I need to know? Moving out soon?”

  “No, no, nothing like that,” Garrett answered. “We’re just taking our time. I don’t know what is going to happen after the show. I have a lot to process with my family situation, and she does too, with her own situation. I didn’t tell you, but her daughter is expecting, so Anjuli’s going to become a grandmother.”

  “Fuck, are you serious? She’ll be a GILF, then, right? There’s one grandma I wouldn’t mind fucking!” Chase joked.

  The thought of Chase fucking Anjuli—which had seemed perfectly plausible during their threesome a few weeks ago—now made Garrett’s skin burn. He shook his head,
trying to get that feeling to dissipate, but it dug its heels in. He didn’t want to think about anyone fucking Anjuli. The feeling was so uncomfortable, he scrambled for a way to alleviate it.

  “Yeah, I’m actually thinking of going out west for a while, maybe seeing my dad and Lilly,” he explained.

  “Wow, lindo, that’s great...but what about Anjuli?”

  “I told you, we’re just friends,” he answered. “It may be time for me to go back to my roots. Feels weird saying that because I vowed never to go back, but in some ways, I miss it out there...and I feel like I may need to work some shit out from my past. That might be the best place to do it.”

  “So you’re saying you may have a room available soon?” Chase’s voice was dashed with hope.

  “Very well may,” Garrett answered. “I’ll keep you posted.”

  “Thanks, man. Have a good night, and maybe I’ll see you next week?”

  “For sure, man. See ya.”

  He hung up the phone and stared at his cart of groceries. Yeah, why not go to Washington?

  When he came to the east coast for grad school, he thought he was escaping all those ghosts. He thought they’d all stay behind in Washington. But they had followed him. He’d never been able to slay those demons and move on. So why not go out there and cut them off at the source?

  Why not go stand at Clark Bowman’s grave and tell him to go to hell?

  Garrett was pretty sure he’d already been there and back in the past two months.

  Her legs were trembling when she stepped into the tub. Garrett is right, I need to relax, she told herself as she sunk into the percolating bubbles that floated in a thick layer on top of the near-scalding water. She loved having a garden tub in her master bath, but she rarely availed herself of its soothing wonder. She was certain the last person to use it was Mishti over the summer.

  She had lit candles, the whole nine yards. She couldn’t believe there was still another week of performances. When she auditioned, she was sure she had enough stamina for two months of rehearsals and performances, but she was starting to doubt herself now. It was like having two jobs, and that didn’t account for the emotional turmoil she’d endured between her daughter’s news and Garrett’s multiple issues.