“Let yourself go; I’ve got you.”
If she let go any more she’d be scattered all
over the beach. As the spasms subsided, she realized he was trying
to pull her down.
“Baby, let yourself go. I swear, I won’t let
you fall.”
Her knees buckled and she crumpled into his
arms. Gavin caught her and gently laid her on the blanket. Her only
contribution was to lie there like a boneless jellyfish, going
where the flow of the water took her. He grabbed a condom from his
shorts pocket and quickly sheathed himself.
“Climb up here on my lap.”
She didn’t have the strength to climb
anywhere. But as she rolled her head to the side to look at him and
tell him so, she became incapable of speech.
He was an irresistible temptation: naked,
aroused, and waiting for her. His half-closed eyes roared with
heat, and the passion reflected in them made her shiver.
He mistook the shiver of excitement as her
being cold. “Come up here, and I’ll warm you up.”
To the point of meltdown.
With jerky and less than graceful movements,
she crawled to her knees, then onto his lap. She hovered over his
erection for a moment, then dropped in one fluid movement, impaling
herself.
His hands tightened on her waist, and he
sucked in a sharp breath as his eyes slammed shut. She stilled,
thinking she hurt him. But when he opened his eyes, pain wasn't
emanating from them.
He wrapped a hand around the back of her head
and grabbed a fist full of hair. His other hand stroked a blazing
path over her shoulder and around the side of her neck. He cupped
her face in his palm and kissed her temple. “I swear to God, I have
never in my life felt anything as good as being inside you.”
Bubbles built in her stomach and pushed out
to her extremities. She wanted to tell him she’d never felt
anything like this, either. But her voice wouldn’t work, which was
probably for the best. She was vulnerable enough without him
knowing how deeply he affected her. So rather than communicating
with words, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him
like there was no tomorrow.
And where they were concerned… there might
not be.
When she pulled back for a breath, his gaze
drifted to her necklace. He tugged on the center chain, which
tightened the clamps. The pinch caused her to cry out, while the
erotic sensation shooting from her nipples down through her stomach
and into her sex brought forth a moan of pleasure.
“Do you like that?”
She nodded and rocked her hips.
He did it again, slightly harder. “You had
this covered tonight. Did you wear it just for me?”
Yes, she did. As soon as he told her the plan
for tonight, she thought of this necklace. Although she’d worn it
to work many times, tonight she didn't want anyone to see it but
Gavin. Rather than outright confessing, she pressed her lips to his
and murmured, “Arrogant man.”
His mouth lifted into a smile, and he
whispered, “Thank you.” He tenderly brushed a few strands of hair
away from her eyes and out of her face. “What do you think about
sex on the beach?”
“Amazing.” She let her eyes drift shut,
imagining how glassy and dreamy they must look. She probably looked
drunk out of her mind. And, if a person could be drunk on
incredible sex, she would be. “You’re amazing. I never knew sex
could be like this. Missionary position in the back of a car or on
a bed is all I’ve ever known.”
He stilled, and she opened her eyes to find a
stunned expression on his face. After a moment, he squeezed his
eyes shut, wrapped his arms around her waist, and in the blink of
an eye, had her flat on her back. “My turn to drive.” He grinned.
“This probably seems like the same old, same old, but I’ll try to
keep it interesting.”
The humor faded from his expression and
everything about him grew serious. His eyes were those of a
predator, but his touch was tender as he swept the hair from her
face, then rested his elbows on either side of her head.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
He didn’t answer, only swallowed hard before
beginning the dance inside her. His strokes were slow and
methodical as he retreated, then slowly stroked back in. The depth
of his stare and the emotion behind it was bottomless.
She wrapped her legs around his and dug her
heels into the backs of his thighs. The change of the angle sent
shockwaves through her, and when Gavin slipped a hand under her
butt and lifted…
boom.
Flashes of light blinded her, and
surges of electrical energy shot through her. She yelled his name
and grabbed hold of his shoulders, as the two of them rode the
tidal waves.
***
“I have to be crushing you,” Gavin muttered,
trying to find his voice and the strength to roll off Sunny. With a
deep, shuddering breath, he pushed himself up and off her, then
crashed onto his back.
He found his shorts next to his shoulder and
retrieved the Ziploc baggie he’d stuck in his pocket. He smiled.
Granddad always said, “Never go to the beach without a bag for your
trash.” He doubted a used condom and wrapper were the kind of trash
Granddad had in mind when offering that sage advice.
Doing the best he could with one hand—because
for some ridiculous reason, he didn’t want to let go of Sunny—he
stripped the condom off, shoved it and the wrapper into the bag,
then tucked it into his pocket.
A breeze blew off the water, and Sunny
shivered.
“Are you cold?”
“A little.” Her fingers absently stroked his
chest hair. “But I’m okay.”
He scooted to the edge of the blanket and
took her with him. Making sure no sand hit her in the face, he
flipped the free half of the blanket over them, like a cocoon, and
curled her tightly against his side.
She sighed and cuddled closer. His last
serious girlfriend had been in college and since then, he hadn’t
spent much time cuddling with lovers. He always felt like cuddling
was emotional, whereas sex was strictly physical.
At least, that’s what he thought before
tonight.
With Sunny, there’d been lots of emotions
involved, and just thinking about it caused his chest to tighten
and his stomach to bottom out. He drew in a deep breath and blew
out a mixture of frustration and fear. When he looked into her
eyes, he felt like their souls were fusing, much like their bodies.
At least, his soul had melted. Christ, he even considered saying
something crazy like
I love you
.
He’d always appreciated great sex. But what
he felt for Sunny transcended sex. He admired her strength and
determination. He found it remarkable that she remained childlike
in her ability to laugh and enjoy life, while also retaining her
tenderheartedness, rather than turning cynical and vengeful toward
the world.
Her love for Robby and the sacrifices she’d
made for him left Gavin in awe. Other than his grandfather, he
didn’t know anyone who would have sacrificed themselves the way
Sunny had.
Guess that said a lot about his current
associates.
And hell, he was no better. Since going to
work for Holden Enterprises, he’d been concerned with climbing the
company ladder and not much else. He contributed financially to his
grandfather, paying the taxes and most of the maintenance expenses
associated with the farm. But he didn’t lend any emotional
support.
He rubbed his chest, trying to kill the ache.
But guilt was a formidable foe and wouldn’t be brushed aside.
Sunny’s breathing had grown slower and
deeper, and when she gave a soft snore, he grinned. The women with
whom he normally associated would be mortified to know they snored.
But Sunny would probably make a joke about it and laugh it off.
Her dad sure as hell hit the mark when he
dubbed her Sunny. She brought sunshine to Gavin’s world when he
hadn’t even realized how far into the darkness he’d wandered.
She made him smile and breathe easier and
want to be a better man. And she’d somehow gotten the idea she
could trust him to keep her property safe. He, of course, hadn’t
made any effort to make her think differently, and the reasoning
behind that baffled him.
He spent a lot of days on this beach as a
kid, fishing with his grandfather, watching the horizon, hoping and
praying his parents’ boat would miraculously appear. He often
wondered if part of the reason he was so driven to succeed had
anything to do with them.
Logically, he knew they were never coming
back. But there was a little boy inside him who still looked at
that horizon and wondered if somehow, someway, they managed to
survive. If they did come back, he wanted them to be proud of him.
He wanted them to see a successful, wealthy man perched to take
over one of the largest hospitality companies in the country.
Given his current circumstances, life should
be better than ever. But after being hit with the recent deluge of
memories from a simpler time, he had to admit that wasn’t the case.
Even though he’d changed over the years, Anticue was the same. And
he refused to allow it to be changed and tainted as he had
been.
He spent the next several hours listening to
the waves, enjoying the cool breeze blowing across his skin and
warm Sunny curled against him.
When the morning light cracked the horizon,
he nudged her awake. “Good morning, sunshine.”
She crinkled her nose and rubbed her eyes,
then settled back down.
He grinned and squeezed her tight. “Sunny,
baby, you need to wake up. We need to get dressed and off this
beach before someone sees us.”
There was a moment’s hesitation, then her
eyes popped wide open, and her head shot off his shoulder.
“Ohmigod. We’re on the beach. Naked.”
“Yes, we are. I’d hate for word of this to
get back to Ed and Joe. Or”—he shuddered—“Miss Jane.”
In an instant, she became a flurry of
activity, searching for her clothes. “Robby!” Her eyes were wide
and wild. “I didn’t tell Robby I wouldn’t be home. Has he—”
“He stayed at a friend’s house.”
She sagged to the ground in relief. “I
forgot. Okay, deep breath.” She flipped her gaze to his and smiled
sheepishly. “I know… I’m almost thirty years old. But I’d kill him
if he didn’t come home without telling me. I didn’t want him
worried.”
Gavin slipped on his shorts and searched the
surrounding beach for his shirt. Oh yeah, it was behind the bar.
“We should probably stop at the bar and get my shirt…” He paused
and grinned. “His shirt.”
Sunny threw a hand over her mouth to squelch
her laughter. “If he knew what we did while you were wearing his
clothes, he’d burn them.”
“He’ll never hear it from me. I don’t kiss
and tell.”
As they headed over the dunes, Sunny stopped
and brushed the sand off of something shiny. “Oh my goodness.” She
held it up for him to see. “I don’t know much about good jewelry,
but this looks real. And expensive.”
“Let me see that.” Gavin snatched the
bracelet from her fingers and snarled. “Son of a bitch.”
Sunny’s eyes widened, and she took a step
back. “Do you recognize that?”
Rage boiled through him as he clenched his
fist around the silver-and-onyx bracelet. “It’s Callie’s. Max gave
it to her for her birthday last year.”
Sunny’s brow wrinkled. “You guys came out
here the other night?”
“No.” He couldn’t believe Callie would lower
herself enough to step foot on a beach—she was more of a concrete
pool kind of girl—but he knew this was her bracelet. The moonlight
catching her bracelet, and probably another five pounds of jewelry,
must have been the flash he saw from the bar. “I thought I saw
shadows out here last night, but I assumed it was locals enjoying
the night.” Remembering what they’d been doing at the time, he
added, “Then you did something crazy with your tongue, and I didn’t
care.”
Protective possessiveness took over. He
grabbed Sunny and pulled her to him as if she were in immediate
danger. “I doubt she could see anything from this distance, but
even if she could, she wouldn’t have been able to see you. I’m sure
she was gone by the time we got out here.”
The thought of Callie watching him while he’d
been making love to Sunny was too disgusting to consider. “By the
time I’m finished with her, I promise she’ll never spy on us
again.”
The insistent knocking on the pool house door
had Callie cracking her eyes open and peering at the bedside clock.
As she suspected, she’d missed breakfast… which explained the
relentless pounding on the door.
She never missed having breakfast with her
father, but this morning, she wasn't able to face him. It had been
daybreak before she stopped crying and fell asleep. She’d never be
able to fake her way through breakfast—heartbreak had a way of
showing itself, regardless of the effort put into hiding it—so, she
decided to avoid her father altogether.
She should’ve known he’d come looking for
her, making sure she was okay. She rubbed her hands over her face
to clear away the sleep and padded to the door. “I’m coming. Please
stop pounding.”
She opened the door and took a step back,
certain that, as soon as he got a good look at her, he’d come
sweeping in, asking a million questions, demanding answers.
He didn’t disappoint. “My God, Callie, what’s
wrong?”
“Nothing” would sound stupid, because
obviously
something
was wrong. People didn’t cry until their
eyes were nearly swollen shut for no reason. Sooner or later, she
would need to tell him she’d given up her pursuit of Gavin. She
just hadn’t intended it to be right now.
However, just thinking about it broke her
heart all over again. “Oh, Daddy.” She threw her arms around his
neck and cried like a three-year-old who had fallen and scraped her
knee.