Learning to Let Go (27 page)

My head was spinning from the intensity of the kiss. “What?”

“You’re right. If you can let go and take a risk, then I can do the same.” His breathing was heavy and his muscles flexed beneath my fingers.

“What exactly are you saying, Garrett?” He’d promised things before, but now I needed to hear the words.

His fingers lit a trail of fire from my neck down to my cleavage as he undid a couple of the buttons from my shirt. His lips followed the path until they found my breasts, licking the swell of them in time with my altered breathing.

I could barely speak with all the feelings he was stirring inside of me, but I had to say
something.
“You’re not getting any further until you answer my question,” I managed.

He rose back up, caressing my face in both hands, brushing his lips gently across mine. “I want to date you, take you on a real date, and be seen in public. I want to explore your body, test the limits of our play, and see how much pleasure I can bring you. I need to sink myself into you and make slow, passionate love until we can no longer move. I love you, Laurel.” He pulled back as if not believing the words he just spoke. “There, I finally said it. I’ve been fighting the words for too long, thinking you would flee if I told you exactly how I felt.” He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and then opened them, his gaze meeting mine. “I didn’t think I was capable of loving another and haven’t said the words to anyone since my family died. I thought if I told you my life story, you’d run. I thought if I said I loved you, you’d run. But here you are.”

“You’ve taught me to stand my ground and fight for what I want,” I reminded him. “You’ve helped me leave my past where it belongs, in the past. You’ve opened my heart and my eyes to new experiences, showing me how a man is truly supposed to treat a woman, enabling me to trust again. I am so unbelievably lucky to have you.” I moved closer, brushing my lips to his. “There’s no place I’d rather be than here with you, always. I love you, too.”

A growl resonated from his throat as he pulled off his jacket and threw it against the chair. His hands quickly lifted my skirt to my hips as his lips came down and he bit into my nipple.

“Ouch!” I screamed.

“Sorry, did I hurt you?” he asked, his voice filled with concern.

“No, they’re just a little sensitive right now. I sometimes get that way right before my monthly.”

His hand rubbed my nipple softly as he pulled the black lace of my bra aside and lavished the bruised nipple with his tongue, sucking on it softly, making me so wet. I moaned as his lips continued, his fingers tracing of the outer edges of the thong I was wearing.

“God, you’re so damn wet,” he groaned. He pulled back, spun me around, and pressed me down onto the coolness of the polished wood table. “I want to take you from behind, mark what’s mine.” His hands reached up to my thong, pulling it off and helping me step out of it. My mind was headed toward pleasure when a sharp smack hit against my bottom.

I jumped at the first strike. “What are you doing?!” I squealed.

One hand held the center of my back down as the other gave me another smack. “You can’t expect to go without some form of punishment,” he said reasonably. “You flirted with Jerry tonight, intentionally trying to make me jealous. As payback, I want to see this fine ass of yours a nice shade of pink. When it’s nice and warm to the touch, I want to sink into your heat and take you fast and hard, to make you mine.”

His words brought back the fire in my belly, making me crave the feel of his cock deep inside me. “What about the meeting?” I asked.

“We haven’t been gone long and it hasn’t hit halftime yet. That’s why this will be quick. I want you to count to ten; we’ve already got two down.” He continued to alternate his hands against my ass, sensitivity and desire sparking at his every touch. “You’re mine, babe.” His words echoed his proclamation as he shoved into me, his slapping balls against my backside.

He wrapped one arm around my waist to steady my hips as he thrust in and out of me in long, hard strokes. The edge of an orgasm began to make its appearance as he reached his other hand around to rub my clit, cresting me faster than I wanted. An explosion went off behind my eyes, causing me to clench hard against him, making him scream out, “God, I love you!”

I wanted to relish the connection we had and the intensity of our words, but we heard the buzzer sound, announcing the end of the first half of the game. Garrett’s phone went off and he reluctantly answered.

“We’ll be right there,” he said, not bothering to hide his labored breathing while on the phone. “We’re still discussing issues with the design.”

I looked back in confusion. “It was Jonathan, wanting to know where we are. Tom Sr. wants to discuss the changes you came up with and push forward with the deal.”

I began to get up from the table when a wave of nausea hit me. I put my hand up over my mouth and looked around the room, trying to find the bathroom. I darted in that direction, forgetting that my skirt was up around my hips and that my panties were on the floor. I had just barely made it when my entire dinner and what I had earlier today came up.

“Get out of here!” I moaned, the tears that come with vomiting falling down my cheeks. “I don’t want you to see me like this.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Laurel. I know I’ve pushed you away, but I’m here now. What do you need?” His eyes seemed pained at the sight of me throwing up.

I heaved a couple more times until my stomach was empty. I felt the coolness of a washcloth press against my forehead and wipe my mouth as a bottle of water landed in my hands.

“Can I get you anything?” he whispered.

I shook my head. “Thank you. The water is all I need. I’m sorry you had to see me like this.”

“Are you sick? How long have you been feeling this way?”

I went over to the sink and washed my hands and my mouth out. I took the washcloth to try and wash away the evidence of our encounter. His hand landed on mine, halting me. “I’ll take that. I’ll clean you up a bit, but I want the smell of our encounter to weigh heavily on you, so Jerry will know you’re off limits.”

I had to laugh. “So you’re turning into a dog?”

His mouth pursed with amusement. “While I may not be lifting my leg to mark you, I do want it known that you belong to someone—me!” His arms came around me to help clean me up and slip my underwear back on. When we were both put back together, he grabbed my hand. “If you’re not sick, how long has this been going on?” he asked seriously.

“My stomach has been in knots over us, life, Chase, you name it. I think I just have a bit of the nerves these past weeks. In the past I’ve often thrown up and been unable to hold down food when my emotions get the better of me.” You’d think that as an adult I would’ve grown out of the nervousness, but it persisted.

His hand came up and caressed the nape of my neck, pulling me to him for a kiss. “I worry about you. You’re always so concerned with work and everyone else that you don’t take good care of yourself. If this continues, then promise me you’ll let me call a doctor to see if there’s something they can give you to help hold food down?”

I didn’t want to agree, but my sugar levels had been out of whack lately and the nausea had made eating nearly impossible. “Okay, but only if it persists.”

I was about to suggest we return to the meeting when there was a sharp knock at the door. I panicked and asked, “Did you need to hear my thoughts on the prosthetic?”

To my surprise, he shook his head. “I was eavesdropping on your conversation with Jerry. Something about the plans didn’t seem right to me, but I wanted your insight, since joints are your area of expertise. I trust any recommendations you make.”

It was Jonathan at the door, coming to look for us. “They’re getting a bit antsy that you haven’t returned, yet, worried that you’re ready to pull out of the deal given the slight defect that was discovered by Laurel.”

“I just needed to discuss the redesign with my girlfriend,” Garrett answered for us, giving a quick wink to his brother.

Jonathan looked back and forth between us before finally smiling warmly. “It’s about damn time! Grace and I’ve been wondering if we would have to lock you two in a room and force you to talk out everything. It’s so obvious you two care and love one another.”

It was nice to know we had their approval. Before I could think anything else, Jonathan motioned us next door so we could resume talks.

I was surprised to see everyone around the table deep in discussion about the changes I’d suggested. The room looked a bit different, and I noticed that the dinner had been removed and replaced with variety of desserts and general game snacks, along with a few different varieties of beer.

Mr. Williamston Sr. was the first to approach Garrett. “I guess you’ve been talking about the defect your engineer has found in our prototype.” He looked over toward me. “She’s quite a talent to have on your team. I’d love to steal her away to work on my engineering team, but I’ve heard you already blocked attempts to let her leave in the past.”

Garrett’s smile widened as emotion filled his eyes. “She’s definitely a rare find, Tom. Any offer you made would be countered by Mr. Waters. He’s determined not to let this one get away.”

OMG…he just threw me a wink.

“My apologies for the length of our absence,” Garrett continued, “but I’ve been on the phone with Mr. Waters, wanting to see his thoughts on the matter and discussing the opportunity that still exists. He still sees the potential, I think we just need to iron out all the details.” He motioned me to join them at the table. “Shall we get down to business so we can enjoy this amazing game?”

“Here, here!” all the guys said in unison, with beer in hand, looking a bit replete from their meal.

I sat back and answered questions during halftime and more once the game was through. Garrett had talked them into redefining the contract, dependent on a better prototype and more testing. He gave the company three months to redesign the prototype and go through testing to work out any kinks, pending they went ahead and signed with WMI, to give them exclusive rights to the product once it was available for the market. If they failed to produce the desired effect, the contract would be null and void.

Mr. Williamston’s son didn’t look pleased with the terms and tried to argue that they could always go with the other company, who’d already had an offer on the table, but his father insisted.

“We’d be putting out an inferior product that would not only discredit our company, but could hurt patients if the prosthetic failed while they were using it,” Tom Sr. explained. “Laurel has pointed out a solution to an issue we had no clue how to resolve. We owe them the opportunity to represent us.”

I’d never been in the presence of a CEO before, other than Garrett, but the way he held the patient with such esteem, wanting to better their lifestyle, impressed me. The only other people I’d met who ever held those same ideals were Professor Leonard and Garrett.

By the time the night was through, the new contract had been drawn up, faxed over to the suite, and signed. Jerry had tried sitting close to me a couple of times, only to be blocked by Garrett or Jonathan. When he finally did get close, he backed up, a knowing look in his eye.
Did he really just smell Garrett on me? That bastard… Not like a dog my ass.

The game had been amazing, with their team winning, which made for an all around happy evening. Garrett and Jonathan shook everyone’s hands and Mr. Williamston Sr. promised to have his design team get right on the new changes and assured us he’d be in touch with all of us shortly.

Garrett kept me away from Jerry and Mack, leading me straight to the awaiting limo, where his lips crashed against mine as soon as the doors closed. He only stopped long enough to tell Thompson, “Back to the penthouse,” in a rushed tone.

When we returned to the penthouse, we couldn’t get to bed fast enough. Garrett’s hands danced a trail of seduction across my clothes and skin, leaving shed clothes all the way up the stairs and to his bedroom.