The bathroom glowed with tons of candles on every surface. It also smelled a little mossy.
"Are you sure?" I said, looking at the bark, dried berries, and leaves floating in the claw-foot tub. I slipped into the water after the twins left. Despite the smell, it was hot and relaxing, and whatever that tree bark was gave it a nice zing.
After my bath, I felt more relaxed and centered. I curled up under the comforter in my room.
"I just need to tell Trisha I can't do the article," I whispered to myself, eyes closed. The branches tap-tapped against the windows. I was cozy and warm. My mother couldn't hurt me. "I'll write a professional letter, give the money back."
The money you have already spent.
So I would wait until I got my next PharmaTech paycheck, then give the money back. I would be broke and unable to pay my loans, but I could make it work, hopefully. I still had a free place to live.
The tapping on the window was more insistent. I opened my eyes and screamed when I saw a dark figure in the window.
"It's the ghost!" I yelled and pulled the covers over my head. Then I realized that was dumb, pulled them down, and fumbled for my phone to call the police.
"Penny, it's me. Let me in," a man called, voice muffled through the glass.
"Garrett?"
I turned on my lamp, swung my feet out of bed, and hurried to open the window. The lead plate glass creaked as Garrett jumped into the round room.
"What are you doing here?"
"I had a momentary lapse in judgment and climbed up the side of your house. I would have climbed back down, but the ladder I used was knocked over in the wind," he admitted.
I blinked at him in the soft light.
"I'll just see myself out," he said. He didn't move. He was wearing a tight shirt that ended just under his elbows. I could make out the tendons and sinewy muscles of his arms. In the small room, his body loomed big. He smelled good and very, very male.
All the stress, the teasing that evening, and the zingy bath made me want one thing. "Since you're here," I croaked.
That was all the permission he needed. His muscles were hard under the thin workout shirt. I only had on a thin tank top and panties. They were bikini cut with smiling pumpkins. Cute, but not sexy.
"If I'd known you were coming, I would have put on something nicer," I joked, desperately trying not to seem self-conscious.
Garrett leaned back as his hands drifted through my slightly damp hair, caressing my face and moving to rest on my upper arms. "You look incredible."
"Well then, point for me!"
"If you keep wearing things like that, you might actually make me like Halloween," he said, his eyes intense gray in the lamplight.
"You should see the back of them," I said, turning around and leaning over to show the large laughing pumpkin painted like a bull’s-eye on my rear.
I looked over my shoulder just in time to see Garrett grab my hips and press his face against the panties.
"Oh, so we're like that now," I gasped.
"I've been dreaming about this for weeks," he said, breath hot through the panties. My mouth was suddenly dry. Was this actually happening?
I leaned over as he mouthed me through the thin cotton, resting my hands on the antique oak nightstand.
Garrett pulled the panties down.
My last coherent thought was that I was glad I had shaved. I didn't want Garrett to get lost in the weeds on the way to the pumpkin patch.
Then his mouth was on me. It felt a thousand times better than his fingers. He licked me, spreading my legs and drawing a line from my opening to my clit. My head tipped back, and I moaned as he worked me with his tongue. He stroked up then back down, making this twisty motion on my clit. He licked and sucked on my clit while I strained back against him. His mouth pressed against me harder, and he sucked and teased my clit until I came with a cry.
"Fuck," I slurred, trying and failing to stand upright. Garrett wrapped a strong arm around my waist and looked down at me.
