A Beautiful Lie (Playing with Fire #1)(58)

“Come for me, Garrett. I need to feel you,” she whispered against his lips. He thrust against Parker two more times until he felt his balls tighten and his orgasm shoot up through him.

“Oh f*ck, I’m coming,” Garrett moaned hoarsely against her lips as he came in hot spurts against her. Garrett clutched Parker’s body tightly to his and held her firmly in place as he rode out his orgasm.

Garrett’s soft, broken words of his release were hotter than any shouts or proclamations of satisfaction. They warmed Parker and made her feel like she was on top of the world because she did that to him.

When Garrett’s hips finally stopped moving, they lay together in a tangled heap of sweat, legs, and blankets, trying to catch their breaths.

Parker had no idea how much time had passed, but she knew she didn’t want to ever move from the spot she was currently in. The careless, wild side of her wanted to roll over and press the front of her body against Garrett’s so she could reach down between them and stroke him until he was hard again. But the professional, best friend side of her wanted to stay perfectly still so there were no awkwardly spoken words or embarrassed movements made in the afterglow of what they’d done.

Garrett’s arm firmly held her in place, and she couldn’t move even if she wanted to, so the decision was made for her. Parker smiled to herself, enjoying the fact that he wanted to hold her so tightly and not let her go right away.

As soon as she had that thought, Garrett released her and pulled up his towel from between their bodies to clean off the mess he’d made on her. Now that the euphoria of his orgasm had worn off, he was disgusted with himself for letting his needs take over. Even though she’d told him to, he shouldn’t have used her like. He should have been firmer in his decision to make tonight all about her. Garrett was weak when it came to Parker; that much was obvious as he angrily wiped the evidence from the soft skin of her back.

When he was done he threw the towel over to the corner of the room. He slid out of bed and stood up, staring down at Parker’s still form. He assumed she was exhausted and close to falling asleep, but he spoke to her anyway.

“I’m gonna take another shower.”

He walked around the foot of the bed towards the bathroom, thankful once more that the room was dark. He was hard again and aching to get back under the covers and slide into Parker. He knew a cold shower was definitely in order.

As the door to the bathroom clicked shut and the water turned on, Parker buried her face in her pillow and let the tears fall silently so no one would hear.





Chapter Thirteen



Parker had no idea what time Garrett finally came to bed. She had fallen asleep with dried tears on her cheeks, naked and spent under the covers. She had no idea that when he retreated to the bathroom, he turned the shower on but never stepped inside. Garrett couldn’t bring himself to wash her smell from his skin. He leaned his back against the closed door and sunk to the floor. He stayed in that position until he was certain Parker was asleep and then quietly slid into bed next to her. Parker never knew that Garrett tossed and turned for hours because the smell of her arousal still hung in the air. Her naked body was close enough to touch and memories of how she felt coming apart against his hand swirled through his mind until he had to move away from her before he did something stupid like ask her if she felt the same way as he did or confess to her everything he’d thought, felt, and dreamed about since the day he met her. Every time he opened his mouth to speak the words he’d always wanted to, he had to remind himself the room was bugged, and it wasn’t the time or the place for confessions of the heart.

Parker awoke the following morning to the sound of Garrett pulling a pair of shoes out of his bag that sat in a chair next to the bed. She opened her eyes but lay perfectly still so she could watch him undetected.

He wore a navy blue button down cuffed at the elbows. The shirt was tucked into khaki dress pants and finished off with a thick brown belt. There was a frown on his face and a crease between his eyebrows as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and read something on it. Parker ached to crawl to the edge of the bed, curl her arm around his neck, and smooth away the worry lines with the tips of her fingers.

She longed to press her lips to his and taste him, feel him harden against her stomach, and watch his face when he found his release again. Parker knew all along that doing anything intimate with Garrett would be like bringing a lit match to gasoline, and she was right. His touch filled a void in her, and she wanted that feeling of completeness back.

Garrett tried to be as quiet as he could all morning so he wouldn’t wake Parker. Aside from wanting to just sit in the chair across from the bed and watch her sleep for as long as possible, he wasn’t ready to face her the morning after. He was uncomfortable with the fact they would have to act like it was no big deal due to the bugged room, but at the same time, he had no desire to discuss this with her and listen to her remind him it was just a job.

A small part of him wondered if that would still be the case after last night though. The words of encouragement she spoke, her moans of pleasure, the way her body felt in his arms when she came, it seemed impossible to Garrett that it was all an act. She would have never told him to keep going if some small part of her hadn’t wanted it – hadn’t wanted him.

Garrett wished they were anywhere but there right now. Somewhere away from this assignment, away from the stress and the sham of the game they were playing—alone in a place without bugs, lies, and ghosts of the past. For the first time, Garrett questioned why the things that happened between Parker and him on this assignment couldn’t continue when they went back to their lives. He wondered what would happen when they were free from the charade and could just be themselves.