Perfect Regret (Bad Rep #2)(40)
Author: A. Meredith Walters

“God, Riley,” he said, making it more of a strangled cry. In one swift movement he rolled us over until he was leaning over me, his hair brushing my chest as he leaned down. This was so much like the hazy memory I had of us yesterday. A recollection of our first time together that was still so much out of reach.

But this time, we were both in the here and now. And the only thing that mattered was each other.

With shaky hands, I unbuttoned his shirt and he sat back and pulled it off, tossing it on the floor. I ran my hands up his chest, the hard ridges of muscles under my palm. I gently touched the tattooed words that wrapped around his waist.

“Blessed are the hearts that can bend; they shall never be broken,” he whispered, stirring the air around us. I remembered the words. Another flash of memory startled me as I recalled reading these words branded on his flesh as I kissed the skin around them.

I brushed his long hair back and cupped his cheek. “That’s beautiful. But why the need to ink it?” I asked, staring into his eyes.

Garrett leaned down and kissed me with trembling lips. “After my parents died, I swore I’d never feel that kind of empty heartache again. That I’d strengthen my heart so it would never, ever break. I knew I wouldn’t be able to survive that kind of pain again.”

I closed my eyes, feeling overwhelmed by this. By him.

Garrett swept his mouth along the curve of my jaw. “My heart isn’t strong enough to survive you, Riley. You won’t just bend it, you have the power to shatter it to pieces,” he said quietly and with enough feeling to bring me low.

I pulled my head to the side, not able to look at him. “I don’t want to shatter your heart, Garrett. But I’m not sure I can promise that I won’t. I don’t know what happens from here. What all this means,” I told him honestly, knowing he deserved no less.

Garrett pulled my face back around so that I looked at him again. “Handle it with care, please. Because I want to give it to you. Completely,” he murmured, placing my hand on his chest.

My eyes hazed over with unshed tears and I felt way too emotional. I didn’t know what to do with all of these feelings. I felt choked up and downright sick to my stomach by the implications of his testament.

I had a feeling Garrett Bellows might actually love me. And that was a huge complication that I couldn’t face right now.

I started to pull away, ready to shut this down when Garrett held me firm. “Don’t you dare run away from this,” he said harshly. And then his mouth was on mine. Rough and unapologetically brutal. And given the emotional wreckage of my current situation, I needed this.

I threw myself into kissing him. Into touching him. Into immersing myself in him.

Garrett pulled away suddenly and looked down at me, a fierce light in his eyes. “Are you sure, Riley? We’ve been here before and honestly I don’t think I can take you turning me away right now,” Garrett’s words were as close to a plea as I had ever heard from him.

I shook my head. “I won’t push you away,” I said emphatically.

Garrett smiled down at me, lighting up the world. “You promise?” he asked.

“Promise,” I swore just as he took possession of me again. Our lips moved together in unison. His tongue, my tongue, sliding and loving each other.

His hands, almost hesitant, gripped the hem of my shirt and dragged it up over my head. Once it was on the floor with his, Garrett looked down at me in wonder. “I have never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life,” he said and it was on the tip of my tongue to make some sort of sarcastic remark. But the look in his eye killed the words.

I hooked my arms around his neck and forcefully brought his mouth back to mine.

After that, any hesitation on his part was gone. We were one perfect blend of want and need as we peeled each other’s clothes away until we were completely naked together. Garrett’s hand came up to cup my breast, his thumb rolling over the sensitive flesh as his tongue ran up the side of my throat. He suckled and nibbled as fingers circled around the taught nipple.

His mouth took the place of his hand and as he sucked my nipple into his mouth I arched back off the bed. Garrett brought my leg to wrap around his waist, lining us up perfectly. His hand came between us and touched the throbbing folds between my thighs.

“You’re so f**king wet, Riley. Fuck…” he groaned into my mouth as his finger slid through the wet warmth. My hips pumped against his hand, greedy for his touch. And when his finger finally entered me, I moaned so loudly I felt a momentary mortification.

Garrett pushed my hair back off of my face. “I want to hear you, Riley. I need to know you like what I’m doing to you. That you want me to touch you,” he said fiercely and I realized then what my continued rejection had done to him. I had taken this confident man and made him second-guess himself. And in the heat of our lust, I hated myself for that.

I pressed into his hand, feeling him slid in and out of my body and my eyes closed. “I love it, Garrett. Don’t stop. Don’t ever stop,” I said in a thready whisper. Garrett’s mouth claimed mine again and he reached for his pants and pulled out his wallet. I barely registered the tearing of foil and the slight movement as he rolled on the condom.

All I was aware of was the moment when his body lined up with mine and I felt him hard and waiting at my entrance. Garrett pulled back slightly and looked down at me.

“I want to watch you this time. I want to see your face when I’m inside you,” he said and if I wasn’t already flushed and excited, I would be at his words.

And then suddenly he entered me. But my body was familiar with him and it felt…right.

Garrett gripped my hips and pulled almost all of the way out before he surged forward again, pushing us both up the length of the bed.

“Ahh!” I cried out, digging my nails into the flesh of his back.

He threw his head back and let out a deep, guttural groan as he began to pound into me. Our movements were totally in tune. He was just as desperate for me as I was for him.

“Riley, my God, Riley,” Garrett said over and over again as he pushed as deep into me as he could go.

My body pulsated with each stroke and I knew the second my body exploded around him that I was lost. Somehow, someway, Garrett Bellows had gotten underneath my skin. I wasn’t sure how to adjust to the new feeling of having him there.

“Look at me, please,” Garrett begged, kissing my mouth, but then pulling back so he could watch me as he came inside my body. His hand came up to caress my cheek, his thumb rubbing circles across my skin. His eyes never left mine as he surged forth one final time and I could feel him let go. I could feel his release, his total possession. His shoulders tensed and then he collapsed on top of me, his breath heavy on my neck.