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“What?” she asked wide-eyed when he paused.
“You broke up with Edward,” he said. “You told me all about it. We were talking on the phone a lot because texting wasn’t enough for us anymore. The tenor of our conversations had changed. The calls were more personal. Intimate. We didn’t acknowledge it openly, but the two of us understood that the next time we saw each other, things would be different.”
She was watching him now like she wanted him to demonstrate, to feel his hands on her. But he couldn’t derail this conversation. She needed to know everything or she wouldn’t trust him.
“Our winter breaks overlapped, two entire weeks that I was determined to spend with you. When you got home, there was an engraved invitation waiting for you.”
She did a double take. “A what?”
“A party invitation,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I had it specially made, making sure to note that it was for a very exclusiveevent. But you still seemed surprised when I opened the door and there was no one else there.”
“So, it was a private party?”
He grinned. “No one knew I was coming home. I snuck in at two in the morning in a sedan rental. I didn’t want the grapevine to activate or else I would have had a crowd of people show up, expecting one of the usual blow-out parties.”
And he would have strangled every one of those unfortunate souls.
Garrett leaned forward until there was a scant few inches between them. “The invitation said it was a formal dinner. You showed up wearing this incredible red velvet dress. I couldn’t wait to take it off you, but I wanted to do things right. I led you to the living room… I had the fireplace going.”
Emma’s eyes had taken on a slumberous look. She was picturing the scene of her seduction. It wasn’t his imagination because her voice was breathier when she asked, “Is that why you wanted to have sex on the couch last night?”
The urge to reach out and take her all over again was almost unbearable now.
“No,” he said, his voice so hoarse he was surprised the words were intelligible. “I had dragged a mattress from the nearest bedroom and laid blankets over it. We had a picnic in front of the fire.”
Unable to resist, he reached out to rest his hand on her upper thigh. “We ate appetizers and had bread, cheese, and wine. And then you kissed me. Our first kiss.”
He could see the increased rise and fall of her chest under his trench coat.
Garrett slid off the couch, settling on his knees in front of her. Slowly, methodically, he undid the belt of the coat, pushing it open. But he didn’t touch the button on his shirt. Not yet.
“That’s when I told you why I call you Emmyand not Emma, even though it made you mad in high school.”
He looked into her eyes, snaring them with his own. “It was because you weremyEm.Mine. Even back when our agedifference meant I had to keep you at arm’s length, I was laying a claim. I just never told you. I had to wait.”
Garrett shifted, leaning over her. Emma leaned back, her body following the line of his. But he kept a crucial inch of space between them.
How did her lips get so moist-looking?
“Is that true?” she asked, her pupils visibly dilated. “I was your Em from the start?”
“Yes. I’ve always wanted you.Always.”
He waited a beat, holding his breath. Waiting for permission. And she gave it to him, reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck.
His resolve broke, and he gave in to the urge to put his hands on her.
Garrett pulled her off the ottoman, landing on the couch behind him with her in his lap.
Her hands shook as she undid the fastenings of the shirt and pants he’d put on to wait for her return. He yanked open the lapels of the coat and cupped her breasts with a groan. But it turned into a hiss when her small hands reached out and pulled out his cock, stroking and squeezing him.
“No, baby, you’re too sore.”
“Not sore,” she breathed, her open mouth on his. She rubbed against him, incinerating what little resolve he had.
He swore under his breath as one sinuous undulation nearly made him explode.
“Tell me the rest,” she said in his ear, pressing her breasts against his bare chest. “Tell me about our first time.”