NATALIE HANOVER
"Just a minute, honey," he called. He looked at Natalie. "I'd better go get Mr. Turtle before our tomato bursts in a fit of pique."
"At least we'd have ketchup for the month," Susan quipped.
Natalie and Garrett both looked at her and groaned.
"Someone had to say it," Susan muttered.
"I'll see you in the house," Garrett said, then bent down and brushed his mouth across hers.
Natalie looked at him in wonder as she put her fingers against her lips. It felt more like a promise than a kiss. She shivered in both delight and apprehension at the implications of his gentleness.
"So are you and Garrett—you know," Susan said, wiggling her eyebrows.
Natalie gave Susan a-drop-it-or-die look that Susan, as usual, ignored. Before she could open her mouth, though, Natalie asked, "So when is the film crew coming? Aren't we supposed to be winning a bet or something?"
"We'll be at Garrett's farm by three o'clock," Susan said then checked her watch. "Shoot! It's almost two, I'd better go get showered and then I have to run by the station."
"Okay," Natalie said. "I'll see you there." She caught Susan's knowing grin and frowned. "Weren't you leaving?" she asked.
"I'm going, I'm going," Susan said.
Natalie waved to her friend as Susan climbed into the van. Natalie went into the house. She was ready for a shower and some food.
She walked upstairs, wondering where the kids and Grandma were. The house was so quiet she could hear the ticking of the grandfather clock downstairs.
She opened the door to her bedroom, and found Garrett standing there, shirtless.
Wow.
He crossed the room and pushed the door shut behind her. She leaned against it. "Where are the kids?" she asked.
"Mike went to his room. Sylvie and Andie are taking baths, and your grandmother," he said, anticipating her next question, "left a note in the kitchen that she went to the grocery store."
He stood in front of her, his hands on either of her face. Garrett was a shadow above her, his breath fanning her cheek.
"What are you doing?" she asked in a whisper-soft voice.
"Waiting for you, sweet Natalie," he said.
Her heart stopped beating for a full second, before pounding against her chest so hard she thought it would explode. Garrett leaned down and nipped her ear, outlining it with his tongue before trailing his warm lips across her neck.
He stopped as he reached her shoulder, then she felt his tongue flick the sensitive hollow below her collarbone.
Desire rippled through her, pooling hot and wet in her center.
She gasped and grabbed his shoulders, slipping her hands down the firm muscles of his stomach. He moved his right hand, stroking her bare arm lightly with his fingertips.
"You're so beautiful," he whispered.
His fingers moved slowly up her arm, brushing across her shoulder and wrapping around the back of her neck.
He drew closer, angling his mouth over hers. Her hands slipped off his shoulders and of their own accord moved over his chest.
His nipples pebbled under her palms when she pressed her hands against his warm skin. His kiss deepened and she moved closer.
Oh, she remembered how it felt to be touched, caressed … she'd missed feeling this way. Being with someone.
"I wish you weren't wearing a bra," he said. He traced a line with his forefinger from her neck to her left breast, circling her hardening nipple. He ran his thumb over it, sending tiny electric sparks down into the pit of her stomach. "I loved the way your shirt pulled across your breasts this morning when you stretched."
Embarrassment and desire swirled through her. "You did?"
"Yes," he said, "and I was hard enough to prove it."
His confession sent a shudder down her spine.
His erection pressed against the core of her desire and she felt the faint vestiges of panic. Her entire body ached with such need that she trembled.
She stroked his ribcage, daring to go farther as she touched his flat stomach. She shouldn't be doing this.
She should push him away.
But she couldn't. Instead, she found herself stroking his bare skin lower...lower. Disappointment warred with relief when she discovered the fabric of his clothing.
She stilled, her thumbs stroking the skin just above his shorts. He broke the kiss, nipping gently at her lips.
She heard his harsh breathing, felt his chest heave against hers. She tucked her fingers inside his waistband and stopped.
God, she was scared.
She hadn't been with a man since Michael. And her husband had never made her feel this ravenous.
Garrett's lips found hers again and his kiss was so hungry, she felt her knees go weak.
If he hadn't been holding her against the door, she probably would've melted at his feet. His hands drifted to her hips, his thumbs caressing the tops of her thighs before sliding across her behind.
He pulled her against him, rubbing the evidence of his need against the flood of sensation heating the most intimate part of herself.
Her fingers splayed against his stomach, poised above his waistband. His mouth lifted and she breathed in his scent. It was pure male, earthy and rich.
Was that his heart thundering so loudly—or hers, she wondered.
His lips hovered above hers, and she opened her mouth, eager to taste more of him, but he didn't kiss her. Instead he removed his hands from her backside and lightly clasped her wrists.
Her fingers flexed against his skin and he groaned. With gentle insistence, he pushed her fingers into his shorts.
"Natalie," his voice was a harsh whisper, "do you want to take them off?"
Oh God, yes, Natalie thought. He wanted her. She wanted him.
Yet ... she hesitated.
Moving her hands to his stomach, she pressed against his hot skin and whispered, "Garrett—"
"I want you," he said in a low voice. "I can't get the taste of you off my lips. You haunt my dreams. And your sweet scent—it drives me crazy." His shuddering breath brushed her cheek. Gently, he took her right hand and kissed her palm. "It's not the right time."
She knew his self-control had to be as shattered as hers. She wrapped her arms around his waist. He accepted the hug and she loved the feel of his big, warm body covering hers.
"I wish it was the right time," she said.
He kissed her forehead. "I'm going home to take a very cold shower. You and the kids can meet me at the farm, okay?"