I rocked back on my heels, about to escape back to the hearse. It was as if invisible spirits were pushing us together, like the magic in those angsty teen novels I had loved to read. Unlike in those books, though, Garrett wasn't some teen heartthrob. He was a full-grown man who wanted me unapologetically. Our breath was a silver haze in the cold air between us.
Garrett studied me for a moment, then he pulled me against his chest. His large hands moved slowly down my sides, and his breath clouded against my mouth as he bent down to kiss me. Though it was cold outside, I was warm in Garrett's embrace.
I moaned as his tongue caressed my mouth. The kiss was rich and smoky, like autumn. His hands moved up to my face, stroking me. He pulled back slightly to nip my lips then dipped down to claim my mouth again. The feel of his hard body against mine was more intoxicating than any boozy Halloween cocktail. If he had asked me, I would have gladly fucked him right there in the graveyard, ancestral curses be damned. Fortunately, he released my mouth before I could start dry humping him like a Chihuahua.
"A hot guy in a graveyard," I joked. "If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were a vampire!"
30
Garrett
Ihad tried to make sure Penny didn't see me, but then she almost fell, and I couldn't have her hitting her head on a gravestone. I was sure people would know I was there, and I had just told my brothers she had rejected me. It would be all over the news. I would be blamed. I had probably left footprints in the graveyard or fibers or something. We couldn't have people writing crazy articles about the Svenssons; our businesses would never recover. Ihadto catch her.
Then she attacked me. I thought it was because she hated me, but then she kissed me. Then I kissed her.
Kissing Penny was addictive. She definitely didn't seem to hate me as I pulled her to me again. I bent down to kiss her, running my hands over her soft curves. She was warm under her wool cloak. Kissing her was better than I had imagined; she tasted like fresh apple pie.
"Do you want to take this somewhere less creepy?" she said when I pulled back.
"Like the hearse?"
She laughed. "Garrett made a joke!"
"I can be funny on occasion." I waited a beat. "You did say there was extra room to stretch out."
"I feel like sex in the back of the hearse is a big step. I'm not sure we're quite there in our relationship," she replied.
I wrapped my arm around her as we slowly walked through the graveyard. "What are you even doing out here?"
"Communing with the spirits."
"You don't strike me as a goth girl," I told her, guiding her around a fallen headstone.
"Please, you should have seen me in high school," she said. "I was full-blown emo, except I couldn't afford to go to Hot Topic and buy those pants with all the buckles and theNightmare Before Christmascrop-top shirts. My tights had holes in them because they were the only pair I had."
"Did I just sense some emo gatekeeping from you?" I teased.
"Maybe just a little." She stuck her tongue out. I leaned over to kiss her again. The hearse was starting to look like a better and better option. But I needed to restrain myself. I didn't want to drive her away again.
"And you listened to Good Charlotte and My Chemical Romance?" I asked when I released her.
"Love those guys. I have a thing for moody, broody males." Her hand brushed my abs. "That's probably why I'm totally gaga about you."
I smiled in the dark. I’d never thought anyone would be crazy about me. "Did you dye your hair weird colors?"
"Of course! I was full-on blunder years," she said, leaning against my arm. "I was in foster care and desperate to fit in with some group, any group. I once attempted to do a black-to-pink fade. Morticia and Lilith tried to help me, but I could only afford the cheap hair dye from the dollar store. Spoiler, don't ever use that stuff. I think it was printer ink. It dyed my hair black, all right, but I ended up with black splotches all over my face, arms, and shoulders. I looked like a Dalmatian."
I clamped my lips together. "I'm honestly trying not to laugh," I said as she punched me playfully.
"Morticia has pictures somewhere. Periodically she'll blackmail me with them."
Her hand was back around my waist. She rested her head against my chest. "Did you have any embarrassing stories from your teen years? Or were you always the cold, calculating billionaire?"
I huffed out a breath that clouded in front of me. "Always cold and calculating," I said. "But not always the billionaire. When I was a teenager, my older brothers were in college. They weren't supposed to have guests, but I didn't have anywhere to live, so my brother snuck me into his dorm at Harvard. Whenever the maintenance people would come, he would make me hide up in the drop ceiling. While he was in class, I day-traded."
"That’s where all your money came from?" Penny asked.
"And from other places."
