Page 87 of Broken

Usually, I’d be shocked and maybe disgusted at the thought of a man doing this. Not Garrett, it’s the second time he’s done it now.

Yes, it’s filthy, but it’s part of him. That thought scares the shit out of me.

He collapses forward but doesn’t put any of his upper weight on me. He’s still between my thighs, our hips touching, his skin pressed to his release, keeping it between us, spreading it over our skin.

Gently, he touches his thumb to my lower lip. Only now do I feel the throb. He catches it between his lips and sucks gently. My lower stomach tightens at the feeling of his tongue licking over the swollen area where he bit me.

When he pulls back, the pads of his fingers brush over my cheek and he watches me, studying every nuance of my face. Our heavy breaths mingle as we come down from the high.

This is the part where he pulls back and leaves. The disappointment must show on my face because he frowns down at me, shifting his fingers over my forehead before ducking down and pressing a kiss there.

My chest practically bursts. There was something incredibly tender about that kiss, something completely unexpected. It makes the loss of him when he pulls back, that much harder to take. I sink into the mattress, trying to make sense of my feelings. My eyes squeeze tightly closed. Don’t do it, Calli. Don’t think more of this than what it is.

Garrett returns to the bedroom holding a cloth. I watch in silence as he cleans me up. Somewhere along the way he lost the rest of his clothes, and is still naked as he concentrates on what he is doing.

Finished cleaning us both, he drops the cloth on the ground and lies on the bed, with his head against the headboard. It seems awkward being halfway down the bed.

“Come here,” Garrett’s voice is low but soft.

Doing as he asks, I move up and settle beside him. A shiver escapes and he moves, lifting the covers, making me wriggle to get beneath them. He picks up my nipple ring he took out earlier.

As he settles beside me, he toys with it, before peeling back the cover and leaning over me.

His expert fingers insert it and screw the bead on to keep it in place. Sometimes I have trouble when I swap them out because of how fiddly it is. Not Garrett. He was a piercer when he was an apprentice, he’s had plenty of practice. Has he done it to women in a more intimate setting before?

Uh, I hate that thought. Stop it.

“They close fast when it’s a newer piercing,” he tells me. “I don’t want them closing up.”

My brow arches at him. He smirks back, flicking my nipple and making me gasp. All too soon he takes his hand away and puts his arm up behind his head, resting on his biceps.

“Sorry about the lack of condom. We keep doing that,” he shakes his head as if it’s anomaly he’s not sure he’ll be able to figure out. “I meant it. I am clean, you don’t need to worry.”

“Thank you,” I respond quietly. “Me too. I got tested before-” I trail off, not wanting to clarify that. Garrett doesn’t miss the tone of my voice and the sudden clamping of my lips.

“Before what?” he asks, rolling his head to look at me.

“Coming here,” I say, looking up at the ceiling.

“Any particular reason?”

“No,” I answer quickly.

“That sounds genuine.”

“It’s my business,” I say, tucking the blankets under my arms.

“No one said it wasn’t. If you don’t want to tell me, I’m not going to force you.”

My heart starts to beat faster. Don’t panic. Not now. Garrett’s face comes into view as he rolls over and leans across me. He watches me fighting the panic attack, his brow creased in concern.

I need to get out of here.

Garrett has other ideas. His lips crash down on mine, and he puts a muscular arm over my stomach as he kisses me. I’m so surprised, all I can do is kiss him back. He slows it down, his tongue swirling slowly with mine. My heart rate slows and the tenseness in my muscles slowly relaxes. The kiss goes on long after I’ve relaxed completely.

He lifts his mouth from my lips but traces them along my jaw to my ear, sucking on the skin there. I forgot he knows what that does to me. My body reacts to the new stimulation and a surge ofdesire washes over me. I toss the covers aside and push Garrett onto his back.

He watches me with heavy lids as I straddle him. He’s already hard and a sense of victory sweeps through me. Kissing me did this to him. He watches me as I press up on my knees and hold him in position.

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