“Tell me, Hannah. Tell me if you like it.”
She bit her lip, throwing her head back as he kept at it, finding a rhythm to his movements that caused her to widen her legs and sink down further on him. “I do,” she whispered.
“You do what?”
“Like what you’re doing.”
“That’s good.” She could hear the smile in his voice, could almost imagine the look on his face.
Suddenly she had to touch him; she had to feel his warm, hard skin. Opening her eyes, she ran her hands up against the muscles of his abdomen, pushing the shirt up. He took the hint and let go, reaching behind him to pull the shirt off his body. With her eyes adjusted to the dim light in the room, she could make out the tattoos that crisscrossed his arms and chest. They never failed to make her breath stick in her throat. Hannah didn’t want to examine why, they had never turned her on with another man. She had never wanted a man she dated to have them, but everything about Garrett turned her on—including the tattoos. Running her hands up his stomach to this neck, she grasped him there and lifted her body off his slightly, readjusting herself.
He groaned as she adjusted so that his body lay cupped against hers. “You’re playing with fire, Hannah. You are a hot piece of ass,” he whispered, moving his lips to her neck before pulling the tank top off her body.
His hands were so large and she so small, his fingers almost fit together when they spanned her waist, pulling her closer to him. The fact that he was so much bigger than her made him feel like such a powerful man. It was a heady experience, and he wasn’t prepared to give it up.
Moving his mouth back to her neck, he nibbled there, allowing one hand to trail down her stomach to her hips. He knew exactly what he wanted to do, but wasn’t sure she would be along for the ride. Grabbing her chin, he forced her to look at him as he pulled back from her neck.
“Look at me,” he demanded.
She tried to, she really did, but her eyes felt so heavy that they fell shut.
“Look at me, Hannah. Watch me. I want to see your reaction.”
She desperately wanted to ask him what he meant by her reaction, but suddenly all the air from her lungs came out in a gasp as the hand that had trailed down her body went to her core and his fingers brushed her underwear to the side. There, he used his middle finger to dip into the wetness there.
“Oh, damn, Hannah,” he breathed. “What part of you thinks you’re not motherfucking passionate? Holy shit.”
The words to answer him were on the tip of her tongue, but he surprised her by inserting that finger into her body, causing her to squirm and moan loudly. She couldn’t handle the feelings that were rising up within her body. It had never been like this before, a sudden rush and a fast-paced race to the finish. It was almost scary, the way her body responded to his. Had he been right? Had Ashton just not taken the time to do the things she liked? Was she really not a cold fish?
“It’s you,” she told him, swallowing roughly.
“No,” his tone brooked no argument. “No, it’s you, Hannah. All I’m doing is playing with what you’ve given me. It’s you. This is all you, baby.” He leaned his forehead against hers, moaning as she ground her body against his hand.
His other hand came up to tangle in her hair, pulling slightly so that his lips could capture hers. His tongue coaxed her mouth open, moving in time with the finger at the core to her body.
“Garrett,” she groaned, ripping her lips away from his.
“What do you need?” he asked, wanting this to be good for her, wanting her to realize that it wasn’t always about the man in her life. “It’s okay that you take what you want when you want it with me. Nothing excites me more,” he assured her.
“Faster,” she whimpered, moving her hips against him.
There it was, the wall she had built around her emotions was starting to come down. He could see it as she grasped his shoulders, throwing her head back again. His hand went to her neck and lifted it up so that he could look at her. She was beautiful. The look that had spread across her face, it was the hottest look he had ever seen in his life, and if he had been any less of a man he would have lost it there. But it would have been worth it for her.
“Open those eyes for me,” he told her, his hand picking up speed. He could feel the tightening of her body. “Let me see it.”
Her mouth opened, but a sound didn’t escape as her fingers dug even deeper into his shoulders and he felt her body let go. Her limbs tightened one last time as she threw herself forward, leaning into his body, her forehead resting against the curve of his neck.
He laughed softly, “You okay?”
A throaty giggle escaped from her, and he felt her breath against his neck. “Oh my God,” she whispered.
“That good, huh?” He moved his hand to cup the side of her face, to bring it back so he could see her.
Her face was red, and she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. “You could say that.” She bit her lip, not sure of what to say to him now, how to act.
“Don’t get embarrassed on me now,” he told her. “That was fucking hot, and I’m glad it happened with me. Do you believe me now?”
“That it wasn’t me? It was Ashton?”
“Yeah. You can’t fake that, babe. It either comes or it doesn’t, and I’m pretty sure that was you coming.”
Her face burned even hotter as she adjusted her hips and came into contact with the one thing that told her he hadn’t been lying about any of this.
“Careful there,” he laughed, reaching down to readjust himself under her.
She wanted to do something for him, but didn’t know how to put it in words. As observant as he was, he saw the distress on her face.
“This wasn’t about me, Hannah. This was about you, and I’m a big enough boy that I think I can deal with a hard-on. It’ll be fine.”
Even that made her heart rate speed up and her face burn even more. “I’m just so out of my element here,” she stumbled, trying to get off his lap.
“It’s how I talk, huh?”
“Kind of, but really it’s the whole thing. I’ll have to get used to it,” she admitted.
“We have forever, it’s going to be fine,” he told her again.
He scooted himself back down in the bed, pulling her to him so that her head lay on his chest. The beat of his heart was fast as she snuggled against it, throwing her leg over his. This time, she wanted to be as close to him as she could.
“Thank you,” she whispered after they had lain there for a few minutes.
“For what?” He let his lips graze her forehead.
“For being you and for giving me a piece of myself back that I didn’t know I had lost.”
“It’s truly been my pleasure. Next time, it’ll be our pleasure,” he assured her, wrapping his arms around her. “Now get some sleep, because you have a plane to catch in a few hours, and I have to be on the road to catch up with my bus.”
* * *
This time when they said their goodbyes it was more emotional for Hannah. Her bus had driven through the night to the next stop, so she was catching a plane to meet up with it. Garrett stood at the terminal with her, waiting for her flight to be called. He had his arms wrapped around her, and she didn’t want to let him go.
“I’ve had a good time with you,” she told him softly as they leaned against a wall, both watching as planes landed and took off again.
She was awarded with his dimples, although his eyes were hidden by the sunglasses he wore on his face. “I’ve had a good time with you too. I’m not sorry I got sick—that’s for sure.”
“So when will I see you again?” she asked. It was imperative that she know, she wanted to be able to keep this going, and in order to do that, they would have to make seeing each other a priority.
“In two weeks we’ll be in California, I think you’re around there too?”
“I’ll be in Vegas, actually,” she told him, mentally going through her itinerary.
“How about you fly over for an afternoon, or I can fly to you. Whatever. I just have to warn you, I’ll be with my family.”
Meeting the parents. That was something else she and Ashton had never done before, but she found it was something she really wanted to do with Garrett.
“Sounds good,” she grinned. “We’ll set it up sometime between now and then.”
He opened his mouth to say something else to her, but her flight was called. “Well, I guess this is goodbye,” he told her, frowning.
“For just a little while.” She stood up on her tiptoes, giving him a lingering kiss.
When she pulled away, he put his arms around her, hugging her tight. “I’ll FaceTime with you tonight,” he promised.
She nodded. This wasn’t the end of the world, but she hated this feeling. She didn’t want to get on the plane, but she did, turning around when she got almost to the end of the walkway. Garrett still stood in place watching her. He waved and blew her a kiss. Knowing they had no other choice, she did the same before embarking and finding her seat. Sometimes long distance just plain sucked.
Chapter Twenty
* * *
“Today has been the absolute longest day of my life,” Hannah complained as she lay in her bed on her bus.
Unlike the Black Friday bus, she actually got to have her own bedroom. It was one of the perks of being a solo artist. It made Skyping easier.
“Yeah, how so?” Garrett asked as he scratched his chest. He sat in front of her shirtless, and she thought that was just plain unfair. Since their night in the hotel room, she had become obsessed with his arms and chest, finding herself searching for images of him with no shirt on every time she was bored or online.
She sighed. “Just one of those days, ya know? I had a lot of stuff to do today with not a lot of downtime, but it still felt like it took forever. And I got my first haters.”
“Haters? What do you mean?” he asked, his eyebrows scrunching together. “Who could hate you? I happen to think you’re pretty awesome.”
“Your fans,” she told him, pursing her lips. “I got some notifications today from somebody named BlackFridayFanGirl on Instagram. Apparently, I’m not good enough for you.”
He laughed, rolling his eyes. “I figured I’d get haters from your fans.”
“I consider myself lucky that it’s not happened before now. And you, buddy, you just wait. I’m sure they’re coming.”
“That’s so true, some fans are batshit crazy.” He took a drink of water from a bottle next to him, and she couldn’t help but watch his Adam’s apple as it moved up and down.
She was officially going crazy. She couldn’t stop looking at him, and she could tell by the cocky expression on his face that he had indeed noticed.
“Are you okay?” he asked, amusement lacing his voice.
“Yes. I’m fine,” she shook her head. “Anyway, how are you?”
He yawned widely and gazed at her, a lopsided grin showing on his face. “I’m tired, but I really miss you.”
She tilted her head to the side and grinned back at him. It had been over a week since they had seen one another. A few more days and they would be seeing each other again. She would definitely be meeting the parents. “Aww, I miss you too. It won’t be long until we can see each other again though. Are you sure it’s gonna be okay for me to visit while you’re visiting family? I hate to mess up their time with you.”
“No, Mom is super excited, to be honest with you. You know I told you I brought one other woman on tour with me?”
She nodded, but she hated to hear about that woman. It made her just a tiny bit jealous, and she wasn’t too proud to admit it. “Yeah, I remember you talking about her.”
“Well, nobody has ever met my mom or dad. So we’re moving into uncharted territory here.”
She blinked, surprise showing on her face. “You’ve never introduced a date to your parents?”
“Nope.” He let that sink in for just a second. “You’re the first.”
“Now, I’m nervous,” she laughed, moving her hair out of her face.
“No reason to be. It’s just my mom and dad.”
“Garrett, seriously? Let me just fly my mom and dad out…that way we can all meet them together. How’s that?” she deadpanned.
“Fine with me,” he shrugged. “It’s bound to happen. In a relationship like ours, things just move at different paces.”
“Oh my God, you are really okay with this.”
He frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be? I like you, you like me, we have fun together, we don’t bullshit each other, I’m more honest with you than I’ve ever been with any other woman, you let me see you the way you’ve never allowed another man to see you. Obviously, whether we want it to be or not, we’re venturing into serious territory here. Sometimes that just happens.”
“But so quick?” She shook her head, putting her thumb to her mouth and biting on the nail there.
“If you haven’t noticed, our lives are pretty fast-paced.”
“You are such a smart—”
He cut her off. “Please call me a smartass.” The smile on his face was completely genuine, and his eyes twinkled with mischief.
“I was going to say smart aleck,” she sniffed.
“One day, I will make that mouth get dirty, you mark my words,” his voice growled, low in his throat.
Hannah didn’t know what to say to that. For some reason she didn’t think that all he meant were curse words. She brushed her hair back from her face. “I’d like to see you try.” Had those words just come out of her mouth? That truly wasn’t what she had meant to say.
“Oh, I haven’t tried yet, baby doll, but give me time. You won’t be able to say no when I do try. I promise you that.”
He was being serious and she knew it. “I just don’t even know what to say to that,” she admitted, laughing nervously.
Garrett didn’t want to scare her off, so he deliberately steered the conversation to another topic. “So what are your plans tomorrow?”
“I have a concert tomorrow night, and then we’re flying into Vegas directly after it.”
His eyebrows popped up. “So you’re gonna be in Vegas a day earlier than you had originally thought?”
“Yeah, I just found out today. I forgot to tell you that.”
“What do you know? We’re on our way home right now.”
She began to get excited. “Really? You should come out early then. Bring your family.”
“Are you sure?” He didn’t want to impose; maybe she wanted a day for just herself.
“Very, I can’t wait to see you again. Did I mention that I think Shell is asking Jared to come out too?”
“Jared mentioned something the other day. I hope she knows what she’s doing with him. Sometimes him and Vegas don’t get along, but whatever will be, will be, I guess.”
That worried Hannah, but like he said, Jared and Shell were grown. They, above anyone else, knew what they wanted. “So we have two extra rooms booked, that should be enough for your family right?”
“Oh yeah, and you don’t have to do that at all. It’s just my mom and dad. I can get them a room.”
“I invited you.”
“Actually, I invited myself,” he laughed. “I’m good at that, but if that’s what you want to do, then I appreciate it.”
“It is what I want to do,” she told him, pulling her leg up against her chest and resting her chin on it.
He cocked his head to the side, and a lazy grin spread across his face. “Are you wearing pants?” He could see bare thigh and that was it.
She looked down at herself. “Shorts, why?”
“Just wondering.”
“Are you trying to come on to me over Skype?” she blushed, giggling.
“Maybe,” he grinned back at her, ducking his head.
“Are you actually blushing too? Oh my God, Garrett Thompson is blushing!”
His teeth showed white against the dark stubble on his face, h
is grin was so wide. “I don’t even know why, but you got me, I am.”
“I feel all powerful and womanly now, I got you to blush.”
He opened his mouth to say something when she heard noises in the background. Jared and Brad appeared, waving at her. “Hey Hannah.”
“Hey guys, what’s going on?”
Jared punched Garrett in the arm before facing the computer. “We’re hanging out and watching dude flicks, but this dude,” he pointed at Garrett, “is late, so we came to get him from his love session with you.”
She snorted. “Love session? Right.”
“Considering I heard him ask if you were wearing pants, I’m thinking we made it here just in time,” Brad said from behind Garrett.
“Okay, this is over, I’ll see you in a day or so,” he told her, waving the guys away with his hands.
They were making crude comments, and Brad was thrusting his hips at Garrett’s back. She couldn’t help but laugh at the spectacle they made. “Yeah, see ya,” she got out before he slammed the laptop down. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to travel with that many close friends, and other times, she was glad that she didn’t. Grabbing her remote, she threw herself back on the bed and turned on her Netflix. With any luck she would be able to sleep until they made it to the next venue, and then it was on the way to Vegas.
* * *
“Are you as excited as I am?”
Hannah glanced over to her left where Shell sat beside her. Because they had been so excited, they had booked a 2 a.m. flight to Vegas. They were going to get there before everyone else, sleep, and then be awake for when the boys showed up.
“I really am. Vegas usually doesn’t do much for me as far as cities go, but I have a feeling that I’m going to experience it much more fully with Garrett. Speaking of, wonder if he’s awake?”
“Jared’s not, he stopped texting me about an hour ago,” Shell pouted.
“So what’s the deal with the two of you?” Her friend had not been very forthcoming about what was going on with her and the lead guitarist for Black Friday. To say that she was interested was an understatement.
Only The Beginning (Rockin' Country) Page 13
