Page 106 of One More Heartbeat
Movement catches my eye near where I’m pointing. Then whatever caused it races in a flash of floral toward the house.
I groan, covering my heated face with my hands. “I think Athena witnessed our experiment.” I drop my hands from my face and lean back on them, my cheeks still burning. “She was standing by the hedge, but I don’t know how much she saw.”
Garrett shrugs, not at all flustered.Of course.“What difference does it make?”
I huff a near laugh. “Such a guy response.”
“It wasn’t like we were naked.” His mouth tilts into a smirk and amusement dances in his eyes.
“Having someone watch me while I come isn’t on my bucket list.” Not even close.
Garrett chokes out a laugh. “I was watching you. Does that make me a peeper?”
“Well, no.”
“Am I supposed to not watch you next time?” He closes the distancebetween us, until his breath brushes the shell of my ear. “Because that would be a shame,” he murmurs. “You’re sexy as fuck when I give you an orgasm.”
Oh, damn. Garrett’s dirty talk has my pussy clenching and the air in my lungs coming out in raspy little pants.
I don’t remember him ever referring to me as sexy. “Er, thank you. I think,” I say, hastily pulling myself together in my mind. “But that’s beside the point.”
The adorable divots he gets between his eyes when he’s confused spring to life. “What point?”
“I think Athena has a thing for you.”
His expression shifts, his eyebrows lifting, and he stares at me as if I’m losing my mind. “What are you talking about? She’s Peony’s nanny. My employee.”
“Doesn’t mean she can’t have a thing for you.” Lord knows I’ve had one long enough. And I’m positive I’m not the only one who has felt the same way, crazy stalker women notwithstanding. “It’s just this feeling I get around her. It’s hard to explain.”
Hard to explain to a man who’s been clueless all these years that I’m in love with him.
And now that I have a chronic illness, the closest I’ll come to being in a relationship is what Garrett and I now have between us. A secret arrangement. Kisses for hits of dopamine. Orgasms for medicinal reasons.
At the end of the day, I don’t want to be a burden to him or anyone else—which I will be if the disease progresses and flare-ups become a constant battle.
“I’ll talk to her.” He pushes to a stand.
I scramble to my feet. “You can’t. What if I’m wrong? It’ll be all kinds of awkward.” For Athena. For Garrett. For me.
And if she does have feelings for him like I suspect, that will be all kinds of awkward too. For all of us.
39
GARRETT
Maybe it wasthe way Zara fell apart in my hands last night or the way she called out my name…whatever the reason, the moment I sat at my laptop this morning, the words flew onto the page.
I even skipped my lunchtime run with Kellan. I didn’t want to risk the flow of words hitting a wall while I was gone.
By dinner, the words finally petered out.
I cut into the chicken breast on my plate. “If it’s all right with you,” I tell Athena, “I’m going out tonight. Unless you have plans.” I don’t want to assume she’s available to stay here with Peony just because she hasn’t discussed them with me.
But then, I can’t think of a time when she has had plans. Even when Mom comes over to spend time with her granddaughter, Athena hangs around the house.
“Where are you going?” The soft smile on her face is directed at Peony, the suspicion in her tone only for me.
“Zara’s apartment. My brothers will be there for Game Night, and we need to discuss last-minute details about this weekend’s excursion.” Plus, I thought I’d give Zara another orgasm, since their benefits only last approximately twenty-four hours and I’ll be away for two days.
