“Sophie!”
Natalie bolted upright, blood pounding in her ears. She gradually registered her surroundings, and her heartbeat regained its normal rhythm. Sophie had been discharged midmorning, and went back with the Davises to their extended-stay hotel. And Garrett had marched Natalie straight to bed as soon as they got home.
What time is it?
The room was pitch-black, but she didn’t know whether it was because of the blackout blinds or because it was the middle of the night. She could’ve been asleep for two hours or fourteen.
Swinging her legs off the bed, Natalie waited until her eyes adjusted to the dark. A spill of light leaked under the door, and she made her way toward it. She twisted the handle and poked her head out, conscious that all she wore was an oversize T-shirt.
The light was coming from Garrett’s room. Soft murmurs drifted through the open door, so she tiptoed over, holding her breath. He was on the phone. Suddenly aware she was creeping around the house, eavesdropping on her husband, she rolled her eyes and turned to head back to her room.
Natalie stopped short when she heard Garrett say Sophie’s name.
“Good. Sophie has a mighty spirit inside that little body, Steve,” he said, his voice deep and warm. There was a pause as he listened to the other end. “Yes, she’s okay. Just exhausted. She slept through the afternoon. And how’s Lily holding up? It wasn’t her fault. Natalie doesn’t blame her. No one does.”
He was checking up on the baby and comforting the older man. Warmth spread through her body and every locked door in her heart burst open with her love for her husband. Natalie almost gave herself away with a sob.
Pressing herself against the hallway wall, she clapped her hand over her mouth. Willing her shaky legs to function, she made her way back to the master bedroom and sank onto the bed. She swiped at the hot tears trailing down her cheeks. It wasn’t easy accepting she was probably the stupidest woman in the world.
She’d loved him all along—from that first heart-pounding moment in his office. She’d just been too naive and scared to see it. When she heard soft steps in the hall, she wiped her face with the back of her hand and went out to meet him. At least she knew what she wanted now.
“Natalie.” Her name left his lips in a rush of breath. He scanned her T-shirt-clad body before he jerked his gaze to her face. A muscle jumped in his jaw, but he rubbed the back of his neck and gave her a strained smile. “You slept through the day. Why don’t you go back to bed till the morning? Or are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?”
But his grin faltered as he walked up to her. He cupped her damp cheek with his hand and tilted her face toward the light.
“What’s wrong?”
Without answering his question, Natalie turned her head to brush a kiss on his palm and smiled at him.
“Natalie, you’re not...” She silenced him with a finger on his lips.
“Oh, Garrett, but I am.” He thought she was too vulnerable so soon after the accident, but Natalie had never been more certain of anything in her entire life.
When she tugged him into her room, he followed with hesitant steps. She reached behind him and clicked the door shut. His Adam’s apple jumped in his throat and he watched her with something akin to panic in his eyes.
“We don’t have to do this tonight.” His voice was strangled and his eyes greedily roamed her body.
Arching an eyebrow, she drew her T-shirt over her head. Garrett’s breath left him in a whoosh and she smiled in triumph. She did that to him.
Right now. In this room. There is no one but him and me. A man and a woman. Husband and wife. I’ll make him mine.
She didn’t know who took the first step and didn’t care. Somehow, they were on each other like a whirlwind, mouths and hands moving frantically. Natalie tugged impatiently on Garrett’s clothes, desperate to feel his skin pressed against hers, his hard contours against her soft curves without any barriers. He made quick work of tearing off his clothes, then pressed her against his naked body.
God, he feels so good.
But she pushed back from him, wanting to touch him. She spread her palms flat on his chest and caressed his smooth heat, relishing the wall of muscle beneath her hands. Curious to see if she could do what he’d done to her, she ran her thumbs over the small peaks of his chest and he tilted back his head with a guttural moan. She snatched her hands away, worried she’d done something wrong.
“Don’t stop,” he said, putting her hands back on his chest. “Touch me.”
She swallowed but did as he demanded. Slowly, she ran her fingers down to the ridges of his stomach, and his body jerked in response. He was clearly holding himself in check; she could feel his body humming with suppressed desire. But when she pressed her breasts against him and ran her hands down his broad back, his control snapped.
Garrett wanted to take things slowly so they could enjoy each other, but the longing he’d been holding back swept in like storm waters breaching a dam. Natalie seemed to be overtaken by the same storm, and she was fierce and demanding in his arms.
He explored her mouth with burning thoroughness, entangling his tongue with hers. Drinking deeply from her, he lifted her up and carried her to the bed. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as he eased her onto the mattress. Her magnificent breasts rising and falling fast, she beckoned him with the crook of her finger, a seductive smile curving her swollen lips.
Garrett reached for her, his hands roaming up the sides of her thighs and around to her back. With one swift motion, he positioned himself over her, and her softness cushioned the hard planes of his body. The contact made him catch fire. He kissed the side of her neck and ran his tongue along her heated skin, enjoying the way his name escaped her parted lips in a breathless rush.
“Garrett...please,” she whispered.
He grabbed a condom from the nightstand and sheathed himself with shaky hands.
“Look at me,” he commanded, positioning himself at her entry. Her eyes widened as he touched his hardness against her. She was so lovely in her passion that his heart throbbed and he ached with the need to claim her.
She held his gaze. “I want you, Garrett.”
Unable to hold back any longer, he crushed his lips against hers and swept his tongue inside her sweet mouth.
“I fought this so hard,” he said, pulling his mouth from hers. “And waited much too long. I want you so much it hurts.”
“Then take me.”
With a moan torn from deep within, he buried his face in her neck and plunged into her in one swift thrust. Garrett froze when a sharp gasp escaped from her. He glanced down and saw Natalie had her eyes closed tight, her bottom lip between her teeth. What the hell?
“Sorry. I’m okay,” she gasped. “It’s been a long time.”
Her moist, tight warmth drove him mad but he didn’t move a single muscle as he bore his weight on his forearms. When he continued to hold still, her eyebrows drew together and she shyly swerved her hips.
God. He groaned, searching for his precious control. “Do. Not. Move. Give me a second. I want to go slow for you.”
“But I don’t want you to go slow.”
“Damn it, Natalie.” He’d plowed into her like a beast when he should’ve coaxed her body into accepting him with more ease. “I hurt you...”
“Not hurt. Just startled.” She cupped his cheek in her palm and stared up at him. “Please.”
His blood thundered so hard in his veins that Garrett could hardly hear her. His mind battled with his body as he searched her face.
“Please,” she said again, then rocked her hips against him.
Garrett shuddered in her arms, and began to move slowly, looking intently into her face. Gripping his shoulders, Natalie moved with him and set a faster rhythm until he broke. With a groan, he planted his hands by her head, rising onto his arms, and drove into her to the hilt.
He thrust faster and she matched him stroke for stroke. It was almost too much. She was close but he didn’t know if he could hold back. Then, Natalie cried out his name and arched her pelvis off the bed. Seconds later, he collapsed on top of her with a hoarse cry.
As their panting eased, Garrett rolled onto his back, taking her with him. He held her head against his chest and ran his hand down her hair.
“Natalie?”
“Mmm?”
“Are you all right?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Good.”
He tilted her chin up with his finger and studied her face, struck by her beauty inside and out. The delicate skin underneath her eyes was pale and bruised. She was still exhausted from yesterday’s ordeal, and he held her tighter, the need to protect her surging in his blood. With a sigh, she molded her body against his and her breaths grew long and steady.
He absently drew circles on her naked back. It was surreal how right all of it felt. Mine. Nothing in his no-strings-attached sexual philosophy explained his possessiveness. The mere thought of her having another lover scraped him raw. At least for now, she was his and his alone.
But this hunger... He had to believe it would pass. Natalie had no place in the life he meant to lead. He’d been content to pour himself into Hansol, and to find satisfaction in his professional accomplishments within the confines of his duties. Garrett had never wanted a real marriage. He couldn’t change who he was. He couldn’t offer Natalie anything more than what they had. She understands that. Doesn’t she?
And yet, the future he’d accepted as written in stone now seemed like a flimsy note on the back of a cocktail napkin—crumbled and blowing across the sidewalk.