by Ava Frost
She gasped when he suddenly pulled away from her, her body jumping at the sudden loss. She spun around, seeing him running his fingers agitatedly through his shaggy hair as he retreated to the living room. Anger flared up inside her and she shut off the water with a slam.
“Hey!” She called after him.
She followed him into the living room to find him on the couch with his head in his hands, mumbling.
“This isn’t fair, Garret.” She said angrily, coming to stand in front of him. “You can’t just…I’m not a toy you can just pick up and drop whenever you feel like it.”
“Of course you’re not.” He said quietly.
“So what’s your deal? It’s cruel to tease me like that after what I told you.”
He groaned and looked up at her, his expression pained. “I just can’t. It’s not right. I feel like a predator.”
Karen, relaxing and softening her tone, dropped down onto her knees in front of him, taking his hands away from his face. She waited for him to look up at her before speaking, holding those warm brown eyes with her earnest expression.
“I’m a grown woman, Garret. I have the student loan debt to prove it.”
He chuckled dryly.
“My daddy doesn’t own me.” She said, referencing Olivia's argument from earlier. She turned up his palm and peppered it with soft kisses up the soft, vein laced wrist. “I’m an adult and I can do whatever, and whoever, I want.” She looked up at him through her lashes, reveling a hooded look to his eyes and the way he was ever so quietly panting as she trailed her lips over the sensitive skin of his wrists.
With feline fluidity she crawled up to straddle his lap, gingerly running her fingers through his tawny brown hair. She gripped the hair at the nape of his neck and gently pulled, tipping his face up while she bent down to kiss him. An agonized groan rumbled through his throat, but he didn’t resist her, one of his hands traveling up the warm side of her neck. At first his kiss felt tentative, restrained, but with just a subtle rolling movement of her hips against him he tensed up and then seemed to release his inhibitions. He gripped her hips firmly and guided her hips over the hardening ridge of his cock again.
A thousand butterflies beat their wings furiously in Karen’s stomach. She was hovering between two worlds, one in which she was completely abandoned to the moment, forgetting everything else. And another in which she felt like she was somewhere above herself, watching the scene, unable to even begin to process the fact that Garret, her Garret, was finally touching her the way she’d always dreamed he would.
“Your dad will be back.” He said, breaking away from her lips for just a second and dragging a thumb over her cheekbone.
“Not for a while. And we will hear him.” She assured him.
He sighed and let his head fall back against the couch. Karen trailed kisses along his jugular, gently nipping at the stubble and tasting the saltiness of his skin. She wished she could reassure him more, but the tell-tale hardness growing against her where she sat on his lap was encouragement enough that she wasn’t doing anything he honestly didn’t want.
“I still don’t feel right about it.” He said, so softly, against her lips.
“Why?” She sat back on her heels, giving him a bit of breathing room reluctantly.
“You know why.” H said somberly. “I feel like I am betraying your dad. My best friend. You are the world to him. He thinks you are an angel. If I fucked you, it would be akin to sacrilege.”
Karen put her face in her hands and groaned. “It’s not fair.” She murmured. Her face was burning with an embarrassment that wouldn’t be tamed. “He’s my dad, of course he thinks I’m an angel. But I’m not. I’m just a normal human. I’m not some pristine artifact that’s never been sullied by the touch of a man, Garret. I’ve been pumped and dumped by my own fair share of stupid, grabby men.”
“Don’t say it like that.” He said, taking her hands from her face and tilting her chin up to look at him.
“But that’s what it was. College boys who learned how to touch a woman from violent, passionless porn videos. If he thinks that being touched by a man is going to ruin me than I’m already rotted garbage. And what’s my prize? A few rounds of thoroughly unsatisfying sex? That’s all I get?”
“Karen...” His hands were on either side of her face, brushing his fingers over her cheeks as she spilled out frustrations she’d had no intention of sharing with him. “Sweet Karen. None of that is your fault. I’m sorry men are awful.”
“You aren’t awful, Garret.”
“You deserve better than what you’ve gotten.” He said quietly.
She leaned her forehead against his and let her eyes close. “Please.”
“And you deserve better than a hurried fuck on the couch.”
She looked into his eyes, trembling with the fear of rejection.
“Let me take you out tomorrow night. Meet me at the French restaurant downtown. Then I will take you back to my house.”
A slow smile spread over her lips as she kissed him again. Softly, this time, and slowly, savoring the silkiness of his lips and the heat of his tongue.
It was then that they heard a car pull up the driveway. They put distance between each other in record time and when Christopher came back into the house it was as if nothing had happened.
Chapter 5
“7 o’clock. I have a reservation. Wear something gorgeous.”
He didn’t even say hello, but Karen had no problem at all knowing whose voice it was on the line.
“I’m wearing a new dress.” She replied.
“Send me a picture. I need something to get me through the rest of the day.”
When the phone call ended, Karen practically skipped to her closet and pulled on the slinky red dress she’d bought a while ago, but never had occasion to really wear. It was tight and sexy but not over the top, in her opinion. She quickly pinned her hair up off her shoulders and snapped a picture in the full length mirror, sending it off to Garret.
“Bless you.” Was his simple reply text.
*******
Garret had made up his mind. He wanted Karen, badly, so badly he could hardly sleep and it was impossible to think of anything else. Truth be told, it had been years that he had harbored these thoughts about Karen. It was only natural, he rationalized. She was a beautiful woman, anyone could see that, but she was also genuinely kind, and optimistic, and contagiously cheerful. He remembered noticing her physically when she was in high school, but of course he’d had no trouble at all averting his eyes and staying focused on his familial relationship with her.
Things were different now. She wasn’t in high school. And she’d confessed to feelings for him that ignited a dormant fire in him. His body tensed and his cock ached at the memory of her weight on his lap, her fingers gently tugging his hair, her plump lips on his, her hot mouth trailing down his neck.
He shuddered and tried to focus on his work.
He knew, in an abstract kind of way, that the dating scene was rough on young women. But hearing what he did about her experiences had made him angry. It had made him determined to fuck her right, at least. She deserved at least that much and, while he didn’t have a false sense of expertise, he had to believe that he could be at least more attentive and less selfish than fumbling college guys.
He brought a bouquet of daisies to the restaurant. Roses seemed too formal, too cliché. She was a daisy girl, for sure. The way her sweet face lit up at the sight of them affirmed his decision.
“Garret! I love them!” She said, beaming.
“Let me look at you.” He said, basking in the freedom to look at her, really look at her, as a man looks at a woman. He took her hand and held her at arm's length, twirling her around slowly. The dress she was wearing was modestly cut, the neckline just under her collarbone and the hem just above her knee, but it was snug enough to do a bit more than hint at the soft curves of her body. He was blown away by just how shapely she had become. All hints of gangly
awkwardness has been transformed by extra weight that distributed well over her frame, making her look soft and effortlessly feminine.
He pulled her against him and kissed her forehead.
“You look beautiful.” He said, luxuriating in her softness pressed against his body.
The daisies were left, nearly forgotten, on the table as they ate and talked. Despite the many thoughts he harbored about what he was planning to do to her when he got her to his house, Garret was surprised at how normal everything seemed. Sure, there were more blushes, and when he trailed his finger over the top of her hand, she grasped his hand warmly. But other than that, their conversation was much as it had always been. They were comfortable with each other, even then. There was a trust built on the strong foundation of years of familiarity, and nothing could be more ideal when building a romantic connection.
Was that what this was? He realized that he was automatically framing this as the first date of many, without having consciously considered the pros and cons of an ongoing arrangement between them. He just knew, instinctively, that he could not have her only once then go back to the way things were. Whether he took her home that night or not, things were forever changed. In that respect, the damage was already done. It was an oddly comforting thought, and gave him the boost of courage necessary to lean over the table and kiss her as she swallowed a sip of the deep red wine.
She indicated that she was ready to leave after dinner, but he told her not to rush and ordered the dark chocolate cake. While they ate, he was distracted by imagining what she would taste like, with the sweet chocolate and bitter wine on her lips when he kissed her later.
He couldn’t wait until he got her home to find out. Outside the restaurant, he leaned her against the car and kissed her deeply. She melted into him so willingly it gave him a head rush. In the shadows of the parking lot, he let his hands linger over her curves, brushing down her waist and around to graze the swell of her buttock. He gave it a little squeeze and felt her grin against his lips.
“You approve?” She asked.
“Oh Karen. You have no idea how much I approve.” He growled, pressing his hips against her so that she could harbor no doubt.
He covered her mouth with his again, but that didn’t prevent the delicious whimper she let out. Feeling brazen, he slid his hand around her thigh and up under her dress. He expected to feel lace or satin panties but was met only with the silky folds of her sex.
He felt her stomach flex as she stifled a giggle.
“You minx.” He said, delving his fingers into her, pleased to find her wonderfully wet already. His own stomach did a flip at the ego boost that gave him. He did not deserve this response from a woman as stunning as her, but there she was, trying not to writhe against his palm as she gasped his name.
His fingers stroked inside her as he swallowed her stifled groans. The knowledge that if anyone actually looked at that corner of the parking lot, they’d be able to see them, should have given him pause, but it only added to the heady rush that took his breath away.
When her writhing became less self-conscious and her back began to arch, her pert breasts pushing against his chest, he suddenly withdrew. He drank in the look of shock in her face and kissed her fevered cheeks.
“Get in the car.” He growled.
She obeyed immediately.
Karen was visibly trembling as she buckled into Garret’s car. She was throbbing between her legs, having been brought just to the brink of a crushing orgasm before he stopped. He’d done that on purpose, she knew, and the thought that he could read her so effortlessly thrilled her. This was no inexperienced college boy.
She expected him to rush when they got to his house. To toss her onto the bed or take her against the kitchen counter, but he was excruciatingly calm and slow. He gently led her by the hand to his bedroom and kissed her as if he had years and years of time. His hands caressed her gently, making her every nerve ending jump to attention. He didn’t dive right for her nipples or her sex. He lingered, lovingly tracing every inch of her, tickling over the sensitive areas on the sides of her waist and the dip of her spine down her back.
There was a moment of trepidation when he slipped her dress over her head. She had on nothing underneath and worried that he wouldn’t like what he saw. But his low whistle brought a nervous smile to her lips. Still fully dressed, he picked her up, one arm slipping behind her knees and the other behind her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he laid her down on his bed. When he joined her, hovering over her to kiss her neck while his masterful hands cupped and kneaded one of her breasts, she was in ecstasy at the roughness of his clothing against her bared skin, and the feeling of being so disproportionately exposed to him.
He sat back on his heels and looked down at her. Where she had once seen flickers of lust in his eyes, it was blatant now and she shuddered. His gaze was so direct, it felt like a physical touch. He trailed his fingers from her neck, over the swell of her breasts, down the plane of her stomach, and over the soft curls between her legs. Grasping her by the knees, he spread her legs. She blushed and hid her face, but he merely chuckled at her sudden shyness. She heard the rustle of his clothes and uncovered her face, her eyes wide as she watched him strip. He was gorgeous. Leanly muscled, with tanned skin that begged to be touched. She reached up to stroke his bicep as he undid his buckle.
She was surprised, and a little bit embarrassed, by his size and how hard he was. She swallowed as she reached out to wrap her fingers around his girth. She pushed up on her elbow, intending to take him in her mouth, as she assumed was standard procedure for these types of situations, but he pushed her gently back down. With little more ceremony, he brought his head between her legs. She jumped when his tongue flicked over the sensitive nub. In her experience, men’s attention to oral sex for a woman was perfunctory and served the main purpose of getting her wet enough to fuck easily. But every time she expected Garret to stop, he proved her wrong. She was caught off guard by the violence of her orgasm, crying out with a guttural groan, all thoughts of shyness forgotten.
He moved fast. While she was still riding the toe-curling waves of her orgasm he straightened out, burying his cock in her with a suddenness that elicited a gasp that could have been mistaken for a scream. The new sensation of his cock pumping slowly and deeply inside of her brought a new dimension to the orgasm, prolonging it, and drawing it out beyond anything she’d ever experienced. Her fingernails dug into his shoulder blade as he whispered beautiful inanities in her ear. She felt like if she didn’t hold on tight that she would explode into a million pieces, but he held her together. His embrace was so warm, so all-encompassing. Her senses were overwhelmed with his smell, his taste, the warmth of his body.
His pace was constant, like waves on a beach, bringing her gently back down from the heights but keeping her on the shore. She watched him, reveling in the way he panted and how his eyes fought to stay locked with hers rather than roll up in his head. When she knew he was close, she touched his cheek, wanting to capture this moment forever in the fear that it may not happen twice. He spilled into her, his muscles twitching and tensing, and the shuddering moan he made would be etched in her memory forever.
She fell asleep in his arms, content. She was more satisfied than she ever had been, but her heart broke at the thought that she might not get to keep him.
Chapter 6
She woke up before he did, the fresh morning sun slanting through the blinds across her eyes. Garret was still holding her, the dead weight of his arm over her waist a pleasant sort of crushing. She dipped her nose beneath the comforter and nuzzled his chest. He was very warm, a veritable furnace, and she nearly drifted back to sleep against him, but she let her eyes un-focus and ran her fingertips over his chest, studying the subtle curves of his muscles as he slept. He stirred slightly and she glanced up at his face, but his eyes were still closed. Feeling a bit bolder she let her hand drift downward, over his stomach and towards his impressive morning wood
. She had a wicked smirk on her face when she grasped him softly. His breathing was less deep and rhythmic now, and she wondered if he was still asleep at all. But he made no move to stop her as she ran the pad of her thumb over the swollen head. When she scooted down to taste him he ran his fingers through her hair, giving away the fact that he was awake, but no words were exchanged before she dragged her tongue up his slightly intimidating length. She took him in her mouth and reveled in the deep rumble of a groan that caught in his throat. When she dared to look up at him through her lashes he was looking down at her through hooded eyes and she shivered at the intensity of his gaze.
She did her best to tease him, as he was such an expert at doing to her, but after only a couple minutes he reached down under her arms and pulled her up to the pillows again. He turned her over and pulled her back to spoon against him, peppering her exposed neck with kisses as he hooked a hand under her thigh and slid into her from behind. He fucked her slowly, sleepily, lazily. One of her hands reached back to touch his cheek but he took it in his own hand and directed it down between her legs. His hand covered hers as he guided it’s movements in small, tantalizing circles over her clit. Her orgasm was like stepping into a warm shower and immediately releasing every ounce of tension in her body. She whispered his name like a prayer as she came undone in his tight embrace. He was quick behind her, his teeth gently biting down on her earlobe as he reached his climax.
