He wanted it—needed it—and he’d hold as many minutes as she’d give him. But he didn’t want to scare her off by being too forward. This was silly, but he was going with it. Anything to prolong their moments together.
“Dance with me, Lily.” She chuckled softly as he began to move her in a slow circle to the sound of the filtered music. Her hips swayed just slightly, her footsteps a little hesitant. He began a slow caress along her lower back, his fingers gently raking back and forth over her warm, silky skin. “It’s not fair, you know.”
Goose bumps rose on her skin. “What’s not fair?”
Garrett dipped her over his arm, reveling in the sound of her surprised laugh. He brought her back up so fast, her hair whipped across his chest. “You know my weaknesses and I know nothing about yours.”
“I call that ammunition.”
His turn to laugh. If he wasn’t mistaken, her cheeks flamed in a blush. It might have been the lighting from the streetlight, but he doubted it.
“Nice.” He gave Lily a spin. “No holding out now.” Garrett pulled her tight against him, his lips close to her ear. “Tell me one thing.”
A hum came from deep in her throat with a resonance that made his heart flutter. “I, ah...have a cabinet full of marshmallows?”
“Marshmallows?” Garrett spun her again to keep from kissing her hard and full the way he wanted. The ground was springy and soft under his feet. The scent of the damp earth and impending rain cast seductive notes in the air. Her palm met his chest, fingers clutching his shirt. “Stress food.”
He nodded in understanding. “Peanut butter and jelly. On toast. With an extra piece of bread in the middle. Another weakness.”
Lily made a noncommittal sound, her eyes locked on his mouth, fingers tightening with just enough pressure that her short nails dug harmlessly into his skin through the fabric of his shirt.
“Seems I’ve developed one more, though...” Garrett smoothed hair from her face, taking time to trace along the beautiful curve of her cheekbone, down alongside her ear to her neck. She shivered as he moved slowly to the rise of her collarbone. Oh, yeah, she was feeling him. She was into this.
“Black hair. Bright red lips. Pretty tattoos.”
“Oh,” she whispered, tilting her head for him to lean down and take her mouth. Garrett stepped closer to her, his hand reaching for her chin, when the sky suddenly let loose, dumping a torrent of rain straight down.
Lily’s eyes went wide. Garrett shrugged off the shock of the rain, cupped Lily’s face in his palms and pulled her fully against him. He half expected her to protest or struggle against the rain, but she sank into him, her right hand grabbing his wrist.
Her lips parted just enough to leave no doubt.
Lightning cracked in a brilliant line behind them, making them both jump. Cursing the weather, Garrett grabbed Lily’s hand and pulled her to the gazebo. He should have been praising the rain, truth be told, because it was giving him an opportunity to stop this now, take a step back. He had more fire in his blood than he could ever remember having before—and that was saying something, considering the beautiful women he saw at the bar nearly every night.
He raked his fingers through his bangs, spinning to sit on the single bench in the middle of the gazebo. Lily was laughing, and the sound cut off in a heady gasp when he pulled her to sit across his lap.
It didn’t matter if her kisses were random and meaningless. It didn’t matter that she probably wouldn’t wake up in his bed in the morning, despite his willingness to give it a go. He wanted her anyway, and no amount of rain was going to cool that burn. Even if it was just a taste.
Her bottom was seated firmly against his thighs. Water ran in silvery streaks down her jet-black hair, dotting his jeans and soaking through the fabric in cool bursts. Garrett cupped her lower back, reveled in the shiver that coursed through her. She was sweet under that tough exterior and reserved demeanor. Maybe that was what drew him in—the mixture of all the things she was. He stared at her for several beats, only breaking his gaze to blink raindrops away from his lashes. His arms tightened around her—damn, she felt good—every muscle in his chest and neck tightening.
“I’m going to kiss you,” he growled. Tantalizing him, thwarting him, Lily leaned closer and put her lips next to his jaw. His senses flared to life.
“I thought you wanted my phone number,” she replied, her fingers kneading the nape of his neck. Garrett trembled. The rain beat down harder. Lily’s lips pressed into the sensitive skin just beneath his ear. Garrett clenched his eyes, trying to stomp down an insistent burning flare of desire.
“I do.”
She pulled back to look at him. Rivulets ran over her high cheekbones, a stray drop curving over her lower lip. Lily licked it off with a slow slide of her tongue. “Then you’ll have to work for it.”
* * *
LILY HAD NO idea where this brazen streak had come from, but she couldn’t bring herself to resist it. She hadn’t planned this by any stretch of the imagination when she’d first approached Garrett. Okay, maybe she’d had a stray thought or ten about what it would be like to take him to bed, but it had been fantasy. A nice thought—one that wouldn’t come to fruition.
But now it was a possibility, and even as Lily considered the “should she or shouldn’t she” debate, her body was pulling for should. Definitely should. It had been a long time, and Garrett made it so easy to give in. Plus it might help erase the anxiety that had burst open with learning she’d won that stupid prize. A date with a fireman? Nothing like coming face-to-face with the horror of her past. No, firemen were off-limits. And she wanted to forget....
Garrett was sexy and funny. For the first time in a long time, she felt empowered with an attractive man. He was interested. Despite her initial reluctance, she was interested, too. More than. Especially now that she was out of the firemen-infested bar.
Still, her lack of normal restraint was so foreign, it left her unsure of what to do next. She’d take a few hot kisses. And if that was all that happened, she’d rejoice in it. And if there was the possibility for more... She’d never had a one-night stand, never hooked up with a man she didn’t intend to have a relationship with. That wasn’t her style.
Just go with it. Lily took a shaky breath and lightly pressed her lips to Garrett’s neck. Rough stubble met her touch just below his jaw. His skin was cool from the rain, but hot when she pressed a little harder. His face tilted up just a bit, granting her access, his hands cupping her rib cage and pulling her closer. The cold plastic grass of her skirt became a tangled mess as she straddled his thighs.
Heart pounding, Lily clamped his earlobe between her teeth and gave two soft nibbles. The sudden rise of his chest and stall of his breath made her heart soar. She ran her fingertips down his neck, paused at the collar of his shirt where the fabric was warm from his body and wet from the rain. The hardness of his back muscles made her fingers tingle. Garrett let out a slow breath. It flamed Lily’s boldness. She pulled away to look up at him, trailed her hand from his back, over the round perfection of his shoulder, up the smooth length of his neck to cup his jaw.
Garrett’s hand went to her hair, his mouth slanting across hers in a swoop that left her dizzy. His firm lips turned soft as he encouraged her mouth with a dance of open kisses and soft, closed caresses. A tug at the back of her scalp flittered into pleasurable little zings as she realized he’d fisted a handful of her hair. Lily gasped at the thrill, becoming aware for the first time that she was clinging to him.
Clinging. And she didn’t want to let go. Garrett groaned deeply. She wanted to pull him closer until he wrapped himself around her, claiming her and flooding her with his heat. Desire wasn’t letting her talk herself out of this, and Lily was glad about that. She wanted him. He was hot and delicious, and she was taking this chance. She deserved it.
She slid forward until her center was aligned with the hard ridge of his erection.