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Emily inwardly flared but kept her tone to a whisper. “You want to know what I’m upset about?” He nodded, not taking his eyes off her. “I’m upset that you blatantly go out of your way to make me uncomfortable. What happened to your whole wanting-to-be-friends gesture?”

“Am I making it that hard for you?” he asked mockingly.

“Yes, Gavin, you are,” she quietly spat, her fingertips white-knuckled around her glass.

With his need for her trapped inside—blistering hot, sweltering, ready to explode—he leaned in closer, dropping his voice. “Good, because whenever you’re near me, I fucking lose every bit of self-control I have left.”

Emily’s throat tightened at his unexpected words. She breathed out heavily, the sound hanging in the air as the tingles coursing through her entire body came in crashing waves. And, to top it off, with every second he stared at her the way he was, she was getting hotter. The impact created an explosion between her legs, causing a chain reaction of anger mixed with more desire for him than ever before.

Emily returned his hot gaze with one of her own, showing a streak of defiance as she tried to catch her breath. “What do you want from me?”

“I want you to give in to what I see behind your eyes every time I’m near you.” Slowly—so slowly—he licked his lips as his brilliant blue eyes hardened with palpable lust. “I want you to give in to the way you trembled in my arms when I touched you…the way your breathing becomes faster when I look at you.”

Staring at him, her heart ricocheted in the cavity of her chest, but she was unable to form a sentence.

"I loved the way your lips felt against mine, and I’m pretty sure you did, too. I also enjoy the way I can almost feel you becoming wet for me right now." Leaning in closer, he dropped his voice to a hard whisper. “Are you going to pretend that you don’t feel anything for me, Emily?”

He wasn’t even touching her, yet he was correct—her panties were damp. She hated that he was right; she hated that he could notice every physical and emotional reaction she had toward him. And she hated that she wanted him so bad she could taste it.

Damn him.

“I’m not answering your question,” she breathed out.

Their eyes seductively bored into each other like two charging bulls relentlessly ramming against a cage.

"You don’t like answering questions," he stated through gritted teeth, trying to fight his urge of dragging her clear across the table and into his arms. He could’ve devoured every inch of her body right there. Like a tornado ripping through anything in its path, her presence alone was pulling him into her.

Damn her.

“No, Gavin, I don’t like answering
your
questions,” she quickly whispered. “And it looks like I don’t have to because your void-filler is walking this way.”

Gavin’s pupils lost her gaze and dilated with awareness of what she said. Casually leaning back in his seat, he plastered a fake smile across his face as Natasha approached the table.

Before taking her seat, she leaned down and pulled him in for a kiss. Emily was foolish not to peel her eyes away from their open-mouth exchange. She felt a nauseated pang deep in the pit of her stomach at the sight of Gavin sliding his hot tongue over Natasha’s mouth. She didn’t know why she was having such feelings, but in that moment watching them, she felt pissed, and she knew she had no right to. When the kissing skit finally ended, Gavin’s blue eyes flitted over to Emily; his gaze was unsteady with a strong hint of something akin to an apology shimmering behind them.

One corner of Natasha’s mouth tipped in a satisfied smile before she took her seat next to him. “Sorry I took so long. Like, I had to totally empty out my purse to find my lipstick.”

Emily drew in a long breath and almost jumped up when she felt a large hand squeezing her shoulder gently. She turned around, and it was Dillon. Meeting his gaze, she tried to get her heart to slow from its frantic shock of the conversation that had just ended.

The waiter eventually brought their food. Heated glances exchanged between her and Gavin for the remainder of the meal kept Emily’s hands nervously dancing with her silverware.

After being forced to endure an hour of mind-fucking conversation regarding Dillon’s concern over Gavin’s stock portfolio choices, Emily was elated when the couples finally retreated to Dillon’s car, putting an end to the afternoon that had left her stomach in knots. She was practically silent during their drive across the city to drop off Gavin and Natasha at his place, but if Dillon noticed her sudden change in demeanor, he didn’t comment. When they arrived at Gavin’s high-rise, Emily claimed she wasn’t feeling well, grasping for any excuse to stay in the car while Dillon walked them up to the entrance. He politely kissed Natasha’s cheek and bade his farewell to Gavin with a firm shake of his hand. While Dillon was heading back to the car, Emily’s eyes were magnetically drawn to Gavin, who was holding the door open for Natasha as she sauntered into the lobby flipping her hair. Before he followed Natasha into the building, Gavin turned around with both of his hands buried in his front pockets and threw Emily one last longing, piercing stare that would stay burned into her memory for the rest of the afternoon.

Dillon lounged into his seat and smiled. “Ready for some Fifth Avenue shopping?”

Although feeling like she had just escaped from a psychiatric ward, Emily plastered one of her own fake smiles on her face and nodded to Dillon. “Yes, let’s get out of here.”

Chapter Nine

Home Run

The mid-morning air in Central Park was mild but cooler than usual for the second week of August. Emily spread a small sheet under one of the maple trees that provided shade from the vibrant brightness of the sun. Placing her backpack beside her, she took out its contents, which consisted of two sandwiches, a couple of bottles of water, and her favorite novel,
Wuthering Heights
. All she needed now was Dillon. When she glanced at her watch, she noticed he was already twenty minutes late. As the city around her hummed its daily incessant chatter—even in the serene peace of the park—she decided to give him a call to find out what was taking him so long.

He answered on the first ring, his voice traveling through the phone with a hint of remorse. “Please don’t be mad at me.”

Taken aback by his greeting, she didn’t speak.

“Em, are you there?”

“Yeah, I’m here, but you’re not. Where are you?”

“I’m in New Jersey, but—”

“You’re in New Jersey?” she interrupted. “Dillon, what the heck? I’m sitting in Central Park by myself.”

“Emily, would you just let me explain?”

“Fine, Dillon, explain.”

“Remember the Japanese tycoon I told you was interested in investing with Morgan and Buckingham?” He paused, awaiting her reply, but none came. “Takatsuki Yamamoto?”

“Get to the point.”

“Shit, Emily, I’m trying to.”

She let out a sigh, and he continued.

“He flew in from Japan last night and is only out here for the next two days. He asked to meet with me personally. I got the call early this morning from my boss, telling me to come out here.” He answered a question directed at him from someone else in the background while Emily waited patiently. “Babe, I have to go. I’m sorry, but this account is huge.”

Again, Emily said nothing.

“Come on,” he breathed. “We’ll do it another day.”

“I know; it’s just that I took off from work, and I was really looking forward to—”

“Emily, stop trying to make me feel bad,” he let out, his tone clearly annoyed. “This is important to me. I’ll be at your place by six.” With that, the line went dead.

After the shock of him abruptly hanging up on her wore off, Emily rose to her feet and reluctantly started packing up what was supposed to be their little romantic getaway. As she tucked the sheet into her backpack, she straightened at the sound of her name being called out from a distance. Before she even turned to see the face, a familiar tingle traveled up her spine. She knew who it was. When she finally spun around, Gavin was jogging across the park, smiling, with his niece and nephew at his side. The backpack slipped through her fingertips as she took in his casual attire—a white V-neck T-shirt, cream-colored cargo shorts, and a blue New York Yankees cap. Emily tried to gather her racing thoughts as he approached.

It wasn’t just that his presence pulsed through her. It wasn’t that his masculine scent lingered on her senses, burning in her mind and plaguing her every dream. It wasn’t even that damn kiss. It was his unwavering charm, bold confidence, insane sexiness, and the undeniable male dominance he exuded. Every bit of it seeped from his pores. All of those things—a truly lethal cocktail—scared and fascinated her at the same time. It was as if a twisted paradox occurred whenever she was around him. As much as she seriously felt the need to flee from him at that very moment, she also felt irreparably drawn to him. Suddenly, she became aware of the heightened charge in the air. A tense kind of feeling seemed to press in on her lungs, making her feel breathless. To top it all off with a heavy dose of whipped cream, seeing him now flooded her psyche with their last encounter two weeks ago.

Breathe, Emily…

“Emm-mi-me!” Theresa squealed, running toward her.

Kneeling down to hug her, Emily looked up to Gavin. “What are you guys doing here?” she asked as nonchalantly as humanly possible, considering the circumstances.

Gavin hunched over and propped his hands on his thighs, trying to catch a decent breath. He then stood straight up and smiled. “I’m babysitting for a while and decided to take these two squirts here to play some soccer.”

Timothy wrapped his arms around Emily’s leg. “Uncle Gaffin took us to feed the duckies, too.”

Gavin swished his hand through Timothy’s hair. “Yep, we had a certified feeding fest with Donald and Daisy.”

“Very cool,” Emily replied with a smile. “A business mogul and a nanny all in one.”

“Add it to my resume,” he laughed.

“I can’t believe you spotted me here,” Emily said.

“Well, I actually didn’t see you; these two did.”

“Uncle Gaffin told us to say we saw you first, Emm-mi-me,” Theresa confessed, curling her finger through Emily’s hair. “But he did saw you first and said to come wif him to say hi to you.”

Drawing up a brow, Emily watched Gavin’s face turn a light shade of crimson. “Using children to tell a fib, huh?”

He shook his head and smiled. “Damn, you caught me. Add that to my resume as well.” Emily laughed at his response. “What are you doing here?”

“Dillon was supposed to meet me, but he got called into New Jersey.” She lifted her backpack from the ground. “I was actually getting ready to go home.”

Theresa pouted her lips. “Can you stay and play soccer wif us, Emm-mi-me?”

“Umm,” she replied, her eyes flicking up to Gavin. “I’m not sure. Maybe another time?”

Theresa frowned.

“You won’t have to endure the torture of being around me too long,” Gavin laughed, a smart-ass smile molding over his face. “Colton and Melanie should be here in ten minutes to come get them.”

Emily smiled coyly, almost challenging him. “Okay, fine. I think I can handle fifteen minutes of grief.” She placed her backpack down. “Can you handle it?”

“Mmm, I can handle it and handle it
very
well,” he smirked. “Can you play soccer?”

“I’m a quick learner.”

“And I’m an excellent teacher.”

He dropped the ball to the ground, giving it a quick kick. Theresa and Timothy ran after it.

“And being around you is not torture, Gavin,” Emily said, jogging away from him after the kids.

He caught up to her side. “Right, you made it clear that it’s only grief. But, no worries, I really do take that as a compliment.”

Emily simply shook her head and laughed.

Over the next fifteen minutes, although he did partake in the game a little, Gavin mostly hung back a bit and watched Emily play with the kids. Taking a seat on top of a picnic table, his senses reeled at everything about her. His eyes swept over her body, ultimately settling on her face as he admired her smile. His ears listened to the way she laughed while his mind tried to wrap itself around the way his niece and nephew clung to her. He knew children had a keen sense of the aura that surrounded people, so it only justified what his heart already knew—her presence was magnetic. It consumed others, swallowing them whole, and left no room for regret.

As she ran around with them, he watched Emily’s wavy hair bounce, the summer sun catching the locks and creating a fiery halo of rich auburn. His need for her snaked through his bones, cutting straight down to the marrow. From the moment he laid eyes on her, she made something strange happen in his chest when she looked at him. Something tightened in his stomach, and he realized he could find himself in deeper than he already was if she looked at him like that too often.

His mind hawked at the inward description of his feelings, knowing there was nothing more he could do to satisfy his hunger. The only thing he knew for sure was that his emotions were caught in a clusterfuck of epic proportions. Being around her was self-inflicted pain at its finest, but it was something he was willing to endure if for one reason only—just to be close to her. The sound of Colton calling his name dragged him from his thoughts.