“Are you okay?” he murmured close to her ear. He’d gone completely still as he awaited her response. Her chest lurched and she closed her eyes, smiling at the depth of his concern and caring.
“I’m fine,” she groaned. “Please don’t stop. You feel wonderful.”
He chuckled then and pulled out slowly, his length rippling over her swollen tissues until she squirmed underneath him. He pushed forward again, gaining depth at his hips pressed into her buttocks.
His hands smoothed over her back and he leaned down to kiss between her shoulder blades. He slid his tongue over her shoulder to her neck and then he nipped, eliciting shiver after shiver to quake down her spine.
He began pumping against her, the noisy smacks echoing erotically through the room. He maintained a steady rhythm, one destined to drive her insane. He drove her to the very brink of orgasm and then he’d pause and change his speed and strength, forcing her to start all over again.
She panted frantically through her mouth until it was dry and all she could do was croak out her protests. Halfhearted protests. She even managed to confuse herself. Stop. Don’t stop. You’re killing me. That feels wonderful.
He was patient and he had the staying power of a damn machine. How could he hold out that long? She was exhausted and he still fucked her like he’d just begun.
His body blanketed hers, pressing her into the mattress. There wasn’t a part of her body that wasn’t enveloped by him and his heat. His hips moved rhythmically against her behind, pushing her harder and further. She closed her eyes, curled her fingers into the sheets and arched up as high as she could with his weight pressing down on her.
By the time she realized that this time he wasn’t going to stop, she was exhausted and so dizzy with pleasure that she was senseless. She moaned as the pressure increased. Burned. Sharp. A razor’s edge. Higher and higher. Harder and harder. She didn’t have the strength. This orgasm was going to kill her.
A high keening wail split the air and she realized it was her. Garrett pushed himself up off her by pressing his hands into the mattress on either side of her head and he began working into her hard. Much harder than before. He was as close as she was.
Her legs spread wider and the force of his thrusts pushed her up the bed until her head crept over the opposite side. She stared down at the floor, her vision going blurry and fuzzy as she arched painfully.
Then the pressure suddenly blew like a tire under pressure. She gave a gasp of relief and then moaned as the aftershocks splintered through her, painful, edgy, so good. So very good.
His teeth sank into his shoulder like he was a beast marking his mate and his hips pressed firmly against her, holding himself deep as if to tell her there was no escape. She was his. He was a part of her.
She melted into the covers and turned her face so that her cheek was pressed flat against the mattress. She closed her eyes and panted softly as he sprawled over her body, his cock still buried deep inside her.
She was pinned, filled, covered, and she loved it.
Garrett kissed her shoulder but continued to lay on her as his chest heaved. When he finally pushed himself up, she felt bereft of his touch. Felt naked and cold. She shivered and turned, seeking his warmth.
He stood by the bed, quickly rolling the condom off to toss in the trash. She stared up at him as he turned back to her and she sighed in utter contentment at the look in his eyes. No, words simply couldn’t replace the way he looked at her, the way he touched her, the way he loved her like there was no one else in the world for him.
The words bubbled up again, and this time she knew she was ready to tell him.
She reached for his hand and he slid his fingers over her palm as he crawled back into bed beside her. She crawled into his arms, cuddling against his side. She threw one leg over his body, holding him as possessively as he often held her.
“I love you,” she said softly.
He tensed beneath her and she smiled. Before he could respond, she put a finger to his lips.
“Shhh. Don’t say anything. Please. I’ve wanted to tell you, but the time just wasn’t right. Maybe it’s not now, but I can’t hold back any longer. But the thing is, I don’t want you to respond. I don’t want you to say anything at all. I just need you to know how much I love you. How grateful I am for you. How utterly amazed I am that a man like you exists.”
She levered up and over him and stared down into his eyes as earnestly as she knew how.
“No matter what happens, I wanted you to know that you are the most special man I’ve ever met. I’ll never forget you. I’ll never forget our time together. I never considered that I’d be able to trust someone again. Somehow you made it easy. You made it second nature. I didn’t even have to think about it long. You just snuck past my defenses and you made yourself at home.”
She kissed him warmly, pressing her mouth softly to his. “I love you,” she whispered again. “So much I ache. Thank you for helping me take back everything Allen and Stanley Cross took from me.”
Garrett gathered her in his arms and squeezed her so tightly she couldn’t breathe. “Sarah, I—”
The door burst open and Garrett rolled Sarah underneath him to shield her from view.
“What the fuck?” Garrett roared.
Rio stood in the doorway, his expression grim.
“We have to move. The whole damn jungle is on fire and we’re in its path.”
CHAPTER 37
GARRETT pushed himself from the bed and yanked up the sheets to cover Sarah. He strode naked to the door where Rio stood. “Tell me.”
“Big fire. It’s moving rapidly in our direction. The smoke’s made using the helicopter impossible. We’ll have to go by boat. Meet at the trucks in five. We’re moving out.”
Garrett cursed and turned in the direction of the bed, where Sarah sat up, the covers pulled to her chin. Her eyes were wide and concerned and her fingers were white against the sheets.
“Get up and get dressed, honey. We’ve got to move fast.”
She scrambled out of bed and ran to the drawers to yank out her clothing.
“Get what you can stuff into your bag. Leave everything else. We don’t have time,” he said as he pulled on his jeans.
While she thrust items into her bag, Garrett retrieved his holster and shoved his Glock into it. He threw the strap of his rifle over his shoulder and patted his pockets for his knife.
“I’m ready,” Sarah said in a remarkably steady voice.
He kissed her forehead and then thrust her into the hall ahead of him. They hurried down the hall, through the living room and to the garage where Rio and the others waited.
“Steele and his team are covering our exit. Then they’ll rendezvous with us at the river,” Rio said as they piled into the two trucks.
As soon as they burst from the dark garage, Garrett saw the hazy film of smoke in the air and the smell of scorched earth assaulted his nostrils. In the distance, the sky was blocked by a film of dark smoke and as they rounded the corner of Rio’s drive, they got a glimpse of orange flames shooting skyward.
Rio accelerated as they lurched from his smoother drive onto the rough, narrow roadway that would take them to the river. They roared over bumps and holes and Garrett’s grip tightened around Sarah so she wouldn’t hurt herself or land on the floor.
The river was visible ahead when suddenly two dark SUVs pulled directly in front of their vehicle and blocked the road. Rio slammed on the brakes, fishtailed sideways and in the same instant, jammed it into reverse and gunned the motor. Rio turned to look over his shoulder as he steered with his left hand and roared backward down the path they’d come.