The Player (33 page)

Uncertainty flickered in her eyes, but she must have accepted his answer because she grabbed the sides of his face and pulled his mouth to hers. His resolve to hold back, to give her more time, evaporated. His lips and tongue devoured hers, while his hold on her hips tightened, pressing her against his growing erection.

His hand found the zipper on the back of her dress and tugged it down, sending the straps of her dress slipping off her shoulders.

She pulled her arms out of the sleeves so the top of her dress pooled at her waist, exposing her plain beige bra. She glanced down self-consciously. “I’m not wearing anything sexy.”

He tipped her chin up so he could look into her eyes. “You’re beautiful, Blair. You could wear an old, holey T-shirt covered with stains, and I’d still think so.”

She smiled and didn’t look away from his eyes as her fingers made quick work of the buttons on his shirt. She pushed it off his shoulders, her fingers trailing over his bare shoulders and arms. A bolt of desire shot through him, and he pushed her dress and panties over her hips and down to her feet, and then tugged her over to the bed and pulled down the covers.

He pulled her to his chest and kissed her, his hands roaming her body and stopping at the clasp of her bra. He quickly undid it and then slid the straps over her shoulders. He moved back, letting it drop to the floor as he took a step back to look at her.

She had his belt unfastened in seconds, but she got hung up on his button.

“You’re taking too long.” His hands tried to brush hers away, but she grinned and swatted them.

“Patience.”

He groaned. “I’ve waited five years for this. I’m done with being patient.” He took over and dropped his pants and underwear.

He reached for her, but she gave him a sexy smile and took a step back so she could sit on the bed. She slowly tumbled onto her back, her hair pooling around her on the sheets. This was Blair’s playful side—rarely released, but oh so beautiful to see. Then the look in her eye—that teasing glint—faded, replaced with raw need. He wanted to touch her, to give her the pleasure she needed from him, but he took a moment to enjoy the sight of her.

“I thought you were done with patience.”

“I could have a million years, and it wouldn’t be long enough.” He lay beside her and leaned over to capture her mouth with his as his hand roamed her body.

She reached for him, and he groaned as she circled his erection with her soft, lithe hand. He shifted so he could grab her wrist, then pinned it to the bed over her head. “I won’t last one minute if you keep that up.”

“Is that your final answer?” She laughed.

“Yes.” His mouth skimmed her neck, trailing kisses down her chest and brushing her nipple, causing her chest to rise and fall in rapid succession. His free hand slipped between her legs and into her folds. Her back arched, and her eyelids closed.

“This hardly seems fair,” she forced out as his tongue traced her areola. “You have me captive, and I can’t do anything to you.”

“You’re doing plenty to me just the way you are,” he said in a low growl, torn between taking his time getting reacquainted with her body and ravaging her. He moved his attention to her other breast as he plunged his finger inside her and rubbed her mound with the heel of his hand.

“Garrett.” Her voice was impatient as she squirmed underneath him.

“What do you want, Blair?”

“I want you, and I want you now.”

He tortured her for several seconds more, taking delight in her groans of frustration before he lifted his head to study her face, his hand moving in slow circles between her legs. “Are you on birth control?”

Her eyes flew open. “What?” But then the question seemed to sink in. “No. Please God, tell me you have a condom.”

He grinned, his hard-on aching as he studied her swollen lips and hooded eyes. “And if I said no?”

She grinned back. “You’d have to wear a pair of loose gym shorts and a long T-shirt to the nearest pharmacy.”

He sat up and pulled a small box out of the drawer, opening the flap to remove a package. “Good thing I have this.”

“A new box,” she murmured.

He turned his attention to her, wondering what she would read into his next words. “I bought them for you.”

Her body tensed, and her eyes were guarded. “You thought you’d be having sex with me?”

“Honestly, Blair? No. I only wanted you to give me a chance. I never expected that we’d be doing this. Hoped? God, yes.” He leaned over her, placing a soft kiss on her full lips and resisting the urge to devour them. He looked into her eyes. “I
hoped
I’d have the chance again, because there’s never been anyone like you. Every other experience I’ve had has been hollow and empty. It has only made it alarmingly clear what I really need.” He kissed her gently again. “I need
you
.”

She reached up and kissed him with a fire that consumed him, and then pulled away to take a package out of the box and rip it open. Just the feeling of her rolling it over his erection was about to do him in. “I need you too,” she finally said.

He rested his elbow next to her head, kissing her while his hand skimmed between her breasts, slowly glided down her abdomen, and ended up between her legs once more. Within seconds she moaned and lifted her hips to him.

“Garrett.”

“Not yet,” he murmured against her lips, moving his mouth over her jaw and down to her neck.

“I thought you were impatient.”

“I was impatient to touch you.”

His mouth found her breast again, his tongue and teeth making her squirm.

She gasped, her nails digging into his shoulders. “Now I’m impatient. I want you
now
, Garrett.”

He sat up and moved between her legs, getting to his knees. Lifting her ankle behind his back, he looked down at her, appreciated the beautiful strong lines of her body. “I’ll give you anything, Blair. You only have to ask.” Then he entered her in one stroke as she arched up to take him in.

Her eyes sank shut, and her chest rose. He reached for her breast, his thumb softly brushing her nipple, reveling in the way she writhed beneath him. When he pulled back and entered her again, she lifted her other leg and locked her ankles, clinging to him.

She reached for him, but he laced his fingers with hers and placed her hands on either side of her head as he leaned over her, pushing deeper. He kissed her deeply, his tongue mimicking his thrusts.

As soon as he felt her tighten around him, he shifted slightly, eliciting a soft cry from her. He moved his mouth next to her ear as he released one of her hands and tilted her pelvis up, concentrating on her needs, wanting more than anything to push her over the edge. She arched up again and released a low guttural sound before moaning his name.

The sound of his name on her lips, like this, was his undoing. He plunged into her harder, needing to get deeper. Her hands grabbed his ass, helping him with his goal. He rocked against her, and she came again, and her soft sounds as she tightened around him pushed him over the edge. He pushed into her with several more grunts before collapsing on top of her. He could make love to her from now until forever, and he would never have enough of her.

She moved beneath him. Realizing he was crushing her, he rolled to his side, taking her with him.

For a moment she didn’t say anything, and he worried she was feeling regret, but then she opened her eyes and stared at him with amazement. “I don’t remember it being that good.”

“It’s only going to get better.”

Uncertainty filled her eyes, so he kissed her. At first it was just to show her he wasn’t going anywhere, but with her naked body pressed against him, her leg still slung over his hip, he found himself getting hard again.

She laughed against his lips and leaned forward to rake her teeth over his lower lips. “Again?”

His hand moved to her breast, and he grinned. “Blazer, we’re only getting started.”

Blair woke up to sunlight filtering through the cracks of the hotel room’s drapes. Today was her wedding day, and here she was in a tangle of sheets and limbs with another man.

Guilt practically choked her as she pushed up, letting the sheet pool at her waist.

“Blair?” Garrett’s voice was groggy with sleep as his arm tightened around her waist. “Come back.”

“I have to go.” The words were delivered in a wobbly voice, and he was instantly awake.

He bolted into a sitting position. “Why? What’s wrong?”

Tears burned her eyes. “I have to talk to Neil.”

His eyes flew open wider with alarm. “Why?”

“We’re still engaged, Garrett. Him calling me a bitch and stomping off didn’t officially break us up.”

His jaw clenched, and his eyes turned dark. “He called you a
bitch?
”

She gave him a tight smile. “I probably deserved it.”

“I don’t think so. I want to talk to him too.”

She laughed softly. “Admitting that I’m turned on by you going slightly caveman seems wrong, especially since it theoretically sets women’s rights back a few decades.” She gave him a kiss. “But nevertheless, I don’t need you to talk to him. I’m perfectly capable of talking to him myself.”

He shook his head, his jaw set. “I don’t want you talking to him at all.”

“Garrett. A little caveman goes a long way. Now is not the time for jealousy.”

“It’s not jealousy, Blair.” He swallowed and picked up her hand in his. “He doesn’t love you. I’m worried he’ll do something to hurt you.”

She shook her head in disbelief. “Neil would never hit me.”

“There are other types of pain besides physical violence.”

She narrowed her eyes. What did he know that he wasn’t telling her? “Garrett, I still have a wedding scheduled for five o’clock this evening. I have to deal with this situation.”

“But you’re not still marrying him, right?”

She gestured to the mussed covers. “After this? I would never have slept with you if I still intended to marry Neil.”

His eyes closed, and his shoulders sank. “Thank God.”

“You really thought I’d go back to him?” she asked in disbelief.

His eyelids flew open, and he gave her a wry smile. “No, but I just got you back.” He picked up her left hand and twisted the ring on her finger. “And you’re still wearing his ring.”

Oh, God. She was. Did that make her a cheater after all?

“I’d like to think of it as you wearing
my
ring.”

Her gaze lifted to his, confusion in her eyes.

“My mother is the eldest daughter. Legally, the ring belongs to my mother. Not Aunt Debra.”

“It’s an
engagement
ring, Garrett.”

His eyes searched hers as his fingers tightened on the band. “I know, and I’ll get you another one if you’d like. One that’s more like you.” He clambered around her and off the bed, and then dropped to one knee beside her. “Blair, I love you, and I don’t want to spend another day without you. Marry me.”

She grinned. “Did you seriously just propose to me on one knee—
naked?
”

He lifted his shoulder and smirked. “Full disclosure. Literally.”

Her smile fell. He was serious. “Garrett . . .”

He rose to sit on the side of the bed, then cradled the back of her head and pulled her mouth to his. His tongue parted her lips and ignited another fire of desire inside her. She had no doubt that she loved him, and no one had ever made her feel the way Garrett did, but . . .

She pushed against his chest, pulling back. “It’s so sudden. Where would we live? How would this work?”

He cupped her cheek, looking up into her eyes. “For once in your life, go with your heart, Blair. Not with your head.”

“But my job—”

“Fuck Sisco, Sisco, and Reece. Why would you want to work for them after the sexist stunt they pulled on you?”

“So I give up my job—and you just keep
yours?
”

“From what you said, if you’re not getting married tonight, you won’t have a job to give up.” He said it matter-of-factly, but not without sympathy.

Oh, God. He was right.

He held her hand. “I’ll quit mine too. We’ll both start over. I don’t care where we live, Blair. As long as it’s
together
.”

This was crazy. They had both changed in five years. They needed more time. But looking into his eyes now, she knew she could wait five minutes or five more years, and she’d still want the same thing. She’d want him.

For once she was going to listen to her heart.

“Yes.”

He tackled her onto the bed, capturing her mouth and showing her what she had to look forward to as his wife.

A half hour later, she lay in his arms with her head nestled against his chest. His fingers stroked her back, and she looked up at him. “Garrett, I still need to see to Neil.”

“Why don’t you just call him?”

She pushed up on one elbow. “I can’t end this on the phone. That’s nearly as bad as breaking up with someone in a text message.”

“I know, but it was worth a shot.” He grinned, but the expression faded quickly. “At least you’re seeing him with
my
ring now.”