by Cathryn Fox
Tallulah laughed. “Now, now, I would never use the word little.”
He laughed harder and guided her to the group of women. “Nancy,” he said, to a beautiful woman with a stylish silver bob and smiling blue eyes. “You’re not going to believe this.”
Before Tallulah knew it she was lost in conversation with Nancy, as well as the other wives of the Committee members. Garrett dropped a kiss onto her mouth, and after a good show of possession, he stepped away and went off with the men to enjoyed scotch and cigars while they talked business.
Dinner was pleasant, if not a bit nerve wracking. Everything in the way Garrett kept casting her glances said he was hungry, but not for the gorgeous display of food before them. He charmed the men, while she charmed the ladies, bringing them to laughter as she recounted the story of how the two had met during her dance class.
She wasn’t sure how she got caught up in it, but had agreed to go out sailing with the group next week, even if the thought of all those waves made her feel a bit ill. But if it would help Garrett secure the job, she’d take something for the motion sickness, climb on board, and do her best to enjoy it.
Night settled over the city blanketing it in black as a mosaic of stars lit up the skyline. Exhaustion pulled at her and she tried to stifle a yawn, but Garrett caught it and excused himself, letting everyone know Tallulah needed to be well rested if she wanted to keep up with his boss’s grandson in the morning.
Once she was alone with Garrett in his vehicle, she exhaled, realizing how much she had actually enjoyed herself.
His hand slid across the seat and captured hers. His voice was low, soft when he said, “You were amazing tonight.”
“So were you,” she said, struggling to remember the big picture. They were just helping each other out, and enjoying the benefits in the process. “And I don’t think you have anything to worry about. I know you’ll get the job, Garrett. With or without me, you’ll get it.” She gave him a wink. “I can feel it in my gut.”
Silence fell over them as he cast her a sidelong glance, then catching her by surprise, he quickly took a side road and spun the SUV in the opposite direction.
As they headed away from her condo, she glanced around and asked, “Where are we going?”
Heat moved into his eyes. “My place.”
“Why?” she asked, sucking in a quick breath when she caught the ravenous way he was staring at her.
“Because it’s closer than yours.”
Garrett pulled into his driveway, and when they both climbed from his vehicle, he led her along the pathway.
“So this is where you live,” she said, looking around at all the other houses on the block, her glance moving over the toys left on the lawns from the neighborhood children. “It’s very homey.”
He pushed the door open and ushered her in, but until he saw her standing in his entranceway, saw the way her mere presence warmed his house, he never realized just how empty and alone it felt. It made him realize how he’d barely furnished it. The entire bottom floor, a spot he’d planned to turn in to a man cave, still sat empty and unused.
Her eyes lit as she glanced around and as he watched her look at his sparse furnishings, his body grew needy for her again. She walked into his living room, and pulled his curtain to look out the back window, taking in his huge, fenced lawn—the only toy free lawn in the neighborhood—the grass dead from neglect.
“Your place is beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful,” he corrected, capturing her hand to guide her to his bedroom, desperate to feel her in his arms again. The air around them charged as she looked around his room, taking everything in. Her smoldering eyes locked back on his. His mouth found hers, and he kissed her with everything he had in him, needing to touch, to feel connected on some deeper level.
“God, I’ve missed you so much,” he whispered into her mouth as his hand went to the back of her dress. With one quick pull, he released her zipper and stood back to watch her little black dress fall from her body.
Color moved into her cheeks, and his cock grew another inch.
“Now you.” She stood there in her bra and panties, her chest heaving slightly.
Garrett made quick work of his clothes, then reached behind her to release her bra before slipping a hand inside her panties. When he found her wet, he groaned in bliss.
She pushed against his chest. “I want to ride you.”
He grinned, loving this bold side of her, the side that spoke her mind, took what she wanted.
“Do you now?”
She pushed him again, and his cock slapped his stomach as she guided him toward the bed.
“Sit on the edge,” she said.
Garrett lowered himself onto the bed and watched as she hooked her fingers inside the waistband of her panties, and slid them down her legs. When she was fully naked he crooked his finger. “Come here.”
She walked up to him, and he took one breast into his mouth as he brushed his thumb over her clit, preparing her for his girth. She wiggled against him and he inserted one finger, then another. Her muscles clenched around him, then he pulled his fingers and brought them to his mouth.
“I love the taste of you.”
She came closer and wrapped her arms around him as she climbed over him. Jesus, she felt so good, so right in his arms. Her mouth was so hot against his skin as she buried her face in his neck, it filled him with a bone deep warmth.
Condom forgotten, she dropped down on to him, and just held him tight as they began moving, her body knowing his so well, knowing exactly what he needed. They were supposed to be having casual sex, but he knew there was nothing impersonal in the way they were touching, or the way her body was weaving some mysterious alchemy on his soul.
When she trembled, he slipped his arms around her and held her tight. Silence fell over them as they looked at each other, the emotions in her expressive eyes tugging on his own. He wanted to give her the world, anything, everything she’s ever wanted. He took a breath and concentrated on the sensations she aroused in him. He knew he was in way over his head, that she had indeed taken him down a path he had no intentions of travelling.
She tumbled into orgasm, and his thoughts scattered as her muscles clenched around his cock. Her mouth found his, and when she kissed him deeply, he released high inside her.
They collapsed onto the mattress and dozed for a bit, waking throughout the night to make love again and again. When the sun crested the hills and she blinked her eyes open he dropped a soft kiss onto her forehead
“I missed this,” he whispered.
She snuggled in closer. “You missed sleeping with me?”
He brushed her hair from her face, paying careful attention to the pounding of his heart and what it was trying to tell him when he said, “I missed waking up with you.”
Chapter Ten
After taking Tallulah home early so she could get ready for work, Garrett drove to the office. He could barely concentrate on the new home security contracts he was trying to get wrapped up, not when his mind was too preoccupied with Tallulah, the things they did last night, and her job interview this morning.
The second lunch hour approached, he pushed his paperwork aside and walked out into the warm sunshine. The sun seemed to be shining a little brighter, and he noticed a new bounce in his step as he hopped into his truck and drove straight to her day care. He was eager to see how her interview had gone, but maybe he was just eager to see her again. He craved to sneak in one more kiss, one more touch, because last night wasn’t enough to hold him over until the end of the week, when they planned a sailing excursion with the Committee.
He walked along the pathway, stepping on each cement frog leading the way to the front door. He stood outside for a moment and watched. When he caught sight of Tallulah, clapping and singing songs with a group of toddlers, his felt a tightness in his chest, right around the vicinity of his heart. As if sensing him there, she glanced up and the smile that came over her face when she s
aw him, brought light to his darkest corners.
She said something to one of the other teachers, who stepped in for her while she came to the door to meet him.
She pulled it open, smoothed her hair back, and smiled up at him. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
He exhaled slowly before saying, “I thought I’d take you to lunch, and see how the interview went.”
Pleasure brightened her eyes. “Give me five minutes and I’ll be right out.”
Twenty minutes later he sat across from her at his favorite café and he thought about how beautiful she looked, and how easy she was to be with while they ordered soup, sandwiches and lemonade.
After the waitress left, he reached across the table to take her hands into his, needing the connection at all times. “So tell me. Did you knock them dead?”
She smiled and took a tiny pull of water from her straw, and if he wasn’t mistaken she seemed to be having a hard time swallowing. “They loved my ideas.”
“When will you find out?”
“Probably by the end of the week. How about you, have you heard anything more?”
He shook his head. “Are you still on for sailing at the end of the week?”
She pulled a face. “Yeah.”
He arched a curious brow. “I take it you don’t like sailing.”
“I’m not a huge fan.”
He shrugged. “We can bail.”
She shook her head. “No, this is important to you, Garrett. I’ll take something for the motion sickness.” He opened his mouth to protest, but she said, “I’ll be fine.”
His heart missed a beat. Jesus she really was the sweetest thing he’d ever met, and it was frightening how much he wanted her again.
“By the way.” She wiggled her ring finger. “The staff at the daycare want to throw me an engagement party.”
Before he could reply, the waitress came with their order, and as he dove into his sandwich, she nibbled on her whole wheat bread. That’s when he took a good hard look at her, and noticed she seemed to be growing paler by the minute.
His eyes latched on hers, alarm registering inside him. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m feeling a bit…off.”
He glanced at her stomach. “Is it…?”
She swayed in her chair, and Garrett jumped from his, catching her before she hit the table headfirst. “Okay, that’s it. We’re going straight to the clinic.”
“I just need a minute.” She held her head in her hands. “Then I’ll be fine.”
Ignoring her protest, he helped her to her feet, put his arm around her and practically carried her out the door. He shot the waitress a glance. “I’ll take care of the bill later.”
Less than five minutes later, after maneuvering through traffic and running every red light, they were at the clinic. She went through triage, and because her blood pressure was frighteningly low, they whisked her off to a treatment room, where, after learning of her medical condition, they proceeded to do a battery of tests, including an ultrasound of her abdomen and pelvis.
Garrett sat beside her bed, worrying about the results of her ultrasound. Had her medical condition worsened? Had he been too rough with her? Would they tell her she needed surgery sooner rather than later, and put an end to her dreams of ever having children of her own? Christ, he saw her with those kids today, and there was no one in the world more deserving of a family than her.
“How’s the patient feeling now?” the young nurse named Jan asked when she came back into the room.
“Jan, how are you?” Tallulah asked, then turned to Garrett to explain. “Jan’s daughter is in my ballet class.”
“I’m good,” Jan said, “And you seemed to be doing much better.”
“I’m am.” Tallulah forced a smile.
“Good. The doctor will be in to talk to you shortly.” The nurse grabbed the blood pressure cuff and glanced at the water glass she’d filled earlier. “Make sure you get that in you. You won’t be able to leave here until you get yourself hydrated.”
Garrett gave her a puzzled look and thought about how she’d barely touched her lunch, how she seemed to have a hard time swallowing. “Haven’t you been eating or drinking?”
The nurse secured the cuff on Tallulah’s upper arm and smiled at Garrett. “Don’t worry, Dad,” she said. “It’s normal in the first trimester. Most women can’t keep anything down until they reach the fourteen-week period.”
Dad?
Garrett’s stomach punched into his throat and he stumbled from his chair, sending it flying backward. His gaze flew to Tallulah, who stared back at him with equal amounts of shock and excitement as that one word bounced around inside his brain and vacuumed the wind out of him. He gripped the side rail on her bed, and reminded himself how to breathe.
“What are you talking about?” His heart thumped wildly, praying he’d heard her wrong. He forced air into his lungs, but the examination room suddenly seemed too small, too suffocating. With the walls closing in on him he let go of the rail and stumbled backwards. He sucked in another sharp breath and shook his head. “This can’t be. You must be mistaken.”
“You mean you didn’t know about the baby?” the nurse said, a nervous look on her face.
Baby?
“Tallulah,” he said, shaking his head. “What’s going on?”
She clutched her stomach, and a barrage of emotions moved over her face when she squeaked out, “I didn’t know either.”
The nurse inched back. “I…ah…I think I’d better go.” She darted into the hall to leave them alone.
Barely able to focus his mind, he said, “I don’t understand. How did this happen?” He gripped a fistful of hair, then tugged at his shirt collar as the news blindsided him. Feeling like he’d just been suckered punched, he blinked his eyes shut and murmured under his breath, “Jesus Christ, this can’t be happening.”
“Garrett, I didn’t know,” she said, panic edging her voice.
When he opened his eyes and saw the way she cradled her stomach, confusion and anger came at the same time. “You didn’t know?” he asked, his tone taking on a hard edge. “How could you not know?”
She frowned. “How could I have known?”
“Maybe when you missed your period, it might have crossed your mind.”
“I miss my periods all the time. I thought it was the endometriosis.”
Ignoring her as his blood ran cold, and his thoughts scattered like the enemy in the line of fire, he shot back without thinking things through, “You wanted this, didn’t you? You knew what you were doing all along. That first night when you seduced me, you had this planned, didn’t you?”
She swallowed, and wounded eyes met his. Christ, he knew he was being a prick, a total fucking asshole, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. Not when Tallulah was offering everything he wanted, everything he could never have.
“What are you talking about?” She tented her fingers in front of her face as water pooled in her eyes.
“You did this. You did this on purpose.”
She shook her head hard, her hair flying around her shoulders. “Garrett—”
“You wanted this.”
Her chin trembled slightly, but she lifted it high. “Is that what you think?”
“I told you I couldn’t be a father.”
“I never asked you to be.” She glared at him for a moment. “Why don’t you tell me what you’re really afraid of, Garrett? What are you running away from? What happened with you and your father?” She gestured toward his scar, angry fire flashing in her eyes. “What happened in Afghanistan?”
His hand went to his face. “Do you really want to know?” he bit out.
“Yeah, I do.”
“I fucked up, okay? I let everyone down. A family will never be the same because of me.” He drove his fingers through his hair and exhaled sharply.
“How did you fuck up?”
Pain cut deep as he dredged up old memories. “I
misread my comrade, and he opened fire on the innocent instead of the enemy. He took out a mother and father, then turned the gun on the kids.”
Her eyes moved over his scar. “But you stopped him didn’t you?”
He stilled. “How do you know that?”
“I saw the Bronze Star in your bedroom. You’re a hero.”
“I’m not a hero. I always let everyone down.”
When he went quiet, she swiped at the water running down her face. “I’m sorry, Garrett, I know that couldn’t have been easy on you, but you saved those two kids. You can’t forget that.”
“I orphaned them.”
Sadness moved over her face. “Why do you think your father isn’t proud of you?”
With his emotions in turmoil, old hurts and insecurities came rushing to the surface. Before he could think better of it, he blurted out, “I joined the army instead of the police force because I couldn’t live up to his expectations. He was a great father, a great cop, great at everything. I couldn’t compete with that. I could never walk in that man’s shoes. So I thought somehow if I saved the world he’d be proud of me. But I couldn’t save the world. Christ I could barely save myself.”
“Garrett, I’m sure your father was proud of you.”
“Yeah, well maybe you’re right. What the hell do I know anyway? I clearly pegged you wrong. I never thought you were just another beautiful woman who played by her own rules and look how that turned out. Christ, maybe your family was right all along. Maybe you do need them to tell you what to do and show you what’s best because clearly you can’t make good choices on your own.” He swallowed the bile punching into his throat and met her gaze. “Were you ever really on the pill?”
Her eyes flared hot. “You think I lied to you?”
“Did you?”
The anger on her face turned to hurt. “Is that what you think?”
“Yeah, that’s what I think.”
“Then you must be right. After all, you’re the expert at reading people, right?”
“So you’re admitting it then?” His head swam as another thought hit. He was good enough to impregnate her, but not good enough for anything else. But he didn’t want anything else, right? Hell he had no idea what he wanted.
