Before Him Comes Me (20 page)

Scooping her back into his arms once more, Garrett lifts her
chin to force her to look into his eyes. “As long as you are here, you have a
home at my house. I haven’t done a very good job at making you feel welcome
here if you had such an uneasy feeling about the holidays. That is one thing
that will change immediately.”

Garrett gently leans into Zara’s face and places a soft kiss
on her ready lips. “In fact, next semester, we should plan for you to spend a
weekend each month or so at the house so you feel more at home. There should
never be a question in your beautiful head about where you can go when you need
time away from school… for whatever reason.”

Zara tries to hide a yawn as she nods her agreement but
Garrett is on to her. “Let’s go… bedtime.”

Without further words, he stands with her still in his arms
and walks to the bedroom. Laying her gently on the bed on the side furthest
from the framed picture of her, Garrett climbs in next to her and holds her as
she drifts off to sleep.

Zara sits in her room with her bags packed for winter break.
She looks out the window and sees large fluffy snowflakes falling, gently covering
everything in a white blanket. Liliana and Ella had warned of a pending snow
storm but Zara is in awe of the beauty it brings.

The girls had departed for the airport a couple of hours
earlier and Zara is already missing their presence. All three were a bit weepy
during their goodbye but Zara could tell Liliana was eager to see her family. Ella
talked only of the sun and sand of Miami Beach, but Zara could sense there was
more to the trip for El by her focusing so much on the sun.

A whole month without my girls. Yikes.

“Really, Zara Faith. An open door. How safe is that?” Zara
turns around to find Garrett standing in her dorm room. From the tone of his
voice, Zara is unsure how to proceed.

“I… I am sorry. We tend to keep the doors open so we can go
back and forth. I should have closed it once the girls left.” She clasps her
hands together in front of her and stares at the floor directly in front of
where Garrett is standing.

“Come here,” Garrett replies.

Without hesitation, Zara’s feet take her the four steps
across her room to stand directly in front of him. She trains her gaze on the
buttons of his coat.

In what feels to Zara like slow motion, Garrett takes her
face in both of his hands. He looks into her eyes and slowly brings his lips to
hers. Softly he brushes them together.

Zara steps in closer as Garrett parts his lips and gently
nibbles her bottom lip. A soft moan escapes Zara as she feels him run his
tongue along the lip he has hostage.

Garrett releases Zara’s lip and pulls the hair from her face
so that he is able to look into her eyes. The smile he flashes melts Zara’s
heart. He pulls her in again and quickly pecks her lips a couple of times
before letting her free from his hold.

Feeling awkward in the unwanted release, Zara stands in
place as she has done hundreds of times before. However, this time she is doing
it knowing what could be.

Kiss me again. Oh, please, kiss me again.

“So, this is your dorm. Very neat. That does not surprise me.”
Garrett begins to move around the small room looking at all there is to see. He
picks up a small framed picture of himself and examines it with a wide smile on
his face.

“I am ready. Although, I am not sure I packed enough. I have
never packed for a month…” The words trail off at the end.

Being without her family has been difficult for Zara but she
had been able to focus on school. Sitting around and listening to all her new
friends talk about their winter breaks with their families, the traditions and
special plans had left Zara feeling raw. Knowing she would be spending winter
break with Garrett helped ease the sadness, but Zara still missed her family.

“I’m sorry. I’m missing them a lot these days, especially
Fredrik.”

Wrapping his arms around Zara from behind, Garrett whispers
in her ear, “Don’t apologize. I’m sorry you are going through this. I’m here if
you want to talk about it. You are going to be all right.”

Zara leans back into Garrett and he holds her tighter. “Thank
you, Garrett.”

He squeezes her one more time and moves to pick up her suitcases.

“Time to say goodbye to your lovely dorm for the next month.”
Grunting as he pretends he is unable to lift her bags, he mocks, “Zara, I think
you’ve packed more than enough.”

Zara puts on her coat. She picks up her backpack, purse and
phone, and follows Garrett out the door. She says goodbye to everyone they pass
in the lobby and stops at the front desk. Motioning to Garrett that she will be
one second, Zara disappears behind the counter of the front desk to surprise
Beth. Zara sets her backpack on the counter, unzips the side pocket and pulls
out a card.

“Merry Christmas, Beth. This is from the both of us.” Zara
nods to Garrett who has since placed the suitcases on the floor to patiently
wait by the exit.

“Bitch! Is there a gift card inside? You totally should not
have gotten me anything. You know I am completely broke at the moment.” She does
a happy dance in her seat as she begins to open the envelope.

“Beth, please do not open that now. Just say goodbye. I am
going to miss you. One whole month.” Zara reaches down and gives her a hug.

“Okay… Okay… Okay. You are coming back. Dang. You have my
number. If you feel the need, just call me.” As Zara begins to release her,
Beth squeezes one more time really hard making Zara’s heart smile.

“Be careful out there. The roads are getting bad quickly. Get
to where you are going and stay put,” Beth adds as Zara makes her way back
around the counter.

“Merry Christmas, Beth,” Garrett says as he picks up Zara’s
luggage and heads for the door.

“Thank you for the present. Whatever it is,” Beth says as
she reaches to answer the ringing phone.

“Let’s get home.” Garrett heads for his car and loads Zara’s
luggage. The drive to his house takes longer than usual since the roads had
become covered in snow and ice. With the snow falling so hard the visibility was
low.

At Garrett’s house, Zara finds a note left on the counter.

I know you asked me to get rid of all the food before your
trip. After watching the weather report, I decided to do the exact opposite.
Everything is well stocked. If they are wrong, then I will come and get all
your food and donate it to charity.

“There are groceries,” Zara informs Garrett as he enters the
kitchen.

“What… why?” Zara hands over the note. Garrett scans it
quickly and throws it on the counter. “FUCKING A!! It is not going to be that
bad. We will be on a plane tomorrow at this time. Away from this cold and snow.”

Garrett walks close to Zara and stares into her eyes as he
slowly leans down. He places two quick kisses squarely on her lips. Without a
word, he turns and walks out of the kitchen leaving Zara standing there wanting
more.

“WOW,” Zara whispers as she glides her finger over her lips.

Zara picks up the note and reads it one more time. Looking
out the window, she sees the snow is falling harder now, the flakes bigger and
heavier. An excitement comes over her at the thought of being snowed in with
Garrett.

Quickly opening the refrigerator and cabinets, Zara gets a
sense of the food situation. They are indeed stocked up. At that moment, Zara
decides, if they are to miss their trip, she will take over all domestic
responsibilities.

Garrett has been caring for her in one way or another since
she stepped out of the Circle. Zara knows that he is courting her. The time has
come for Zara to begin the process of courting Garrett. Her insides tingle at
the thought of taking care of his needs.

As much as Zara likes Garrett’s parents, the idea of
spending her winter break without them and alone with Garrett makes Zara a
happy girl. Zara wanders out of the kitchen to find Garrett, feeling more
comfortable now in his home. From the first day, Garrett had said that his home
is her home and it was starting to feel like home.

Walking from room to room, Zara contemplates her desire to
serve Garrett. She had felt an immediate attraction to him from the day of the
Circle Ceremony. He was handsome and his intelligence took his sex appeal up
several notches. He made every effort to make her feel cared for and safe.

Zara stops in her tracks.

I’m in love with Garrett.

Zara hears Garrett calling her from the other room and
hurries toward his voice. Rounding the corner into his room, Zara freezes. Garrett
is standing with his back to her completely naked and stepping into the glass
shower. Zara cannot move. Her eyes wander over every inch of his naked body.

Zara’s breath becomes labored watching the water cascade
over Garrett’s body. A glossy sheen covers his skin as the water courses down
the muscles in his back and across his tight waist to his buttocks.

He reaches up to adjust the showerhead and the water spills
over well-toned arms, the strength in them wholly apparent.

No wonder I cannot get enough of your hugs. Those arms.

As he put his head under the stream of water, his muscles
tighten in concert and Zara steps further into the bedroom. The steam from the hot
water begins to obscure her view of him. With her next step, Zara bumps into
the corner of Garrett’s bed and stubs her toe.

Shaken her to her senses, Zara limps out of Garrett’s
bedroom and heads to the den to plop down on the sofa.

I am in love with a god!

Zara takes a throw pillow and covers her face.

Closing her eyes, Zara takes a deep breath, then another,
then another and another. Just when she believes she has regained control and
cleared her mind, Garrett and how the water flowed over him rushes back.

Replacing the pillow against the arm of the sofa, a set of movies
on the coffee table catches her attention. Zara goes through the pile quickly…
Roman
Holiday
,
My Fair Lady
,
Galaxy Quest
,
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
,
Planet of the Apes
,
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
and
Elf
.

Next to the DVDs is a stack of novels. Picking up the first
book,
The Promise
by Kate Benson, Zara reads the back. Placing the book
back on the pile and straightening it perfectly, she looks toward Garrett’s
bedroom to see if he is coming.

Zara picks up
Wallbanger
by Alice Clayton, the second
book in the pile, and turns it over to read the blurb. Giggling, she quickly
replaces the book and picks up the third and final book. A biography of Claude
Monet. The giggling takes hold and Zara is now a hostage unable to stop the laughter
that follows.

He even picks out books that sound amazing. What a cute butt. He
has to kiss me SOON!

Zara places the books back in their original order and
squares the pile. She draws her feet under her and gets comfortable on the
sofa. Unable to clear his image from her mind, Zara gives up and closes her
eyes. She replays every inch that she was treated to minutes ago. Garrett’s amazing
sexy naked sexy wet sexy body. Sexy. The view from the back is…

“Spectacular,” Zara says out loud.

“What’s spectacular, Zara?” Garrett whispers in Zara’s right
ear.

Frozen to the back of the sofa, Zara swallows hard and opens
her eyes to find Garrett’s lips only inches away.

“What’s spectacular?”

He inches closer to her face. With one hand on the armrest
and the other on the cushion next to Zara, he hovers without making contact. He
waits. Zara feels the heat of a blush spreading all over her face and neck.

“Umm….”

“UMM? You don’t ever ‘umm.’ This is going to be good!” he murmurs
softly.

“Well… I was in the kitchen and I heard you calling me. I went
to find you and I walked into your bedroom while you were getting into the
shower. I… I kind of watched you for a couple of seconds before I came in here.
That is it,” Zara exhales.

Garrett waits. He doesn’t say a word.

“Garrett, that is all of it,” Zara pleads.

“Really. You have yet to share what’s spectacular. I do
believe I am going to enjoy whatever it is you are going to tell me by that
lovely shade of blush you are wearing.”

“You,” she whispers.

Garrett leans in and places a light kiss on Zara’s forehead.
Shifting, he falls onto the sofa next to Zara and places his sock-covered feet
on the coffee table.

“In my defense, I didn’t call you. I merely said I was
taking a quick shower and I would be right out.” Zara hides her face behind
both of her hands and Garrett laughs. “I love that you spilled your ‘sneaking
in and staring at me while I took a shower’ experience.”

Shaking her head behind her hands, Zara hears Garrett’s
laughter increase.

“So… request of subject change?”

“Yes, please. I will owe you big time,” her muffled voice comes
from behind her hands.

“I am getting hungry. How about if you take one of those hot
bubble baths you enjoy so much while I make us something to eat? We can meet back
in here and watch a movie.”

Garrett takes her hands in his to ease them slowly away from
her face but as they come away, her shoulders lift to her ears and her eyes
remain tightly closed. Zara is not even trying to hide her embarrassment.

“Not a good enough change of subject?” Tugging her into his
arms, Garrett holds Zara and allows her to bury her face into his chest. After a
few moments in his embrace, she feels her body relax. Garrett exhales and says
in her ear, “I think you’re spectacular as well.”

Zara begins giggling, light little giggling that she becomes
unable to contain. Concerned by the sudden shivering of her body, Garrett
pushes her back to look to look in her face. The dumbfounded look on his face
when he realizes it is giggles makes Zara laugh uncontrollably.

“So… subject changed?”

“Completely.”