The Rules (8 page)

She placed a finger between her teeth and narrowed her eyes. “You’ve never been in love.”

Gavin sat back in the chair. “What makes you say that?”

“Because a man who’s in love is in tune with his woman’s needs and feelings. He knows when his woman is upset, no matter what she says, and tries to fix the problem.”

“Women are too difficult.” He scraped the last of the crème brûlée from the bowl.

Leaning across the table, Terri gave him a stunning view of her delectable bosom. “Have you ever been in love?”

Gavin dragged his eyes from her chest with difficulty. “Is this a trick question?”

“It’s a simple question. Have you?”

He slid the spoon and empty bowl to the side. “Once, a long time ago.”

“Oh, do tell.” Terri rested her chin on her hand.

Gavin sipped his coffee. “You really want to hear this?”

“Yes.”

Blowing out a deep breath, he folded his arms on the table and prepared to tell a story he hadn’t shared in a long time. “We met at Stanford. Her name was Serwa, and she was a year ahead of me, the daughter of a high-ranking official in the Ghanaian government. We had a lot of fun, but her life was already mapped out. Her family arranged for her to marry a man back home—someone in politics. My money and family name didn’t matter. She knew what was expected of her and was too afraid to go against her family’s wishes. When she graduated, she went home and married him.”

Terri’s eyes softened on him. “What did you do after she left?”

Thinking back, the pain of rejection crushed him. “I just said, screw it. I didn’t go back to school.”

Terri’s mouth fell open. “You left school? Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“What did your parents say?”

“My mother tried to be understanding, my siblings thought I was crazy, and my father was livid.”

Cyrus Senior used to drive him nuts, constantly on his case about finishing school and demanding to know what he wanted to do with his life. Gavin used to wish he would leave him alone, but he’d give anything to hear his father’s booming voice. Even if it were filled with disappointment. Just one more time.

“Did you ever see her again?”

Terri’s voice interrupted his thoughts and forced him back to the present.

“One year I, uh…heard she was in Mozambique the same time I was, so I pulled a few strings and got myself invited to the same political function. She looked beautiful, just liked I remembered.” Absentmindedly, he dragged his forefinger back and forth across the tablecloth. “By then, I had finished my degree and we discussed our experience at Stanford and the jobs some of our old friends had landed after graduation. She introduced me to her husband and shared pictures of their son. To be honest, she looked and sounded happy, and I realized she’d moved on, and so should I.”

Serwa had been his first love and the only woman he ever said “I love you” to. Even though losing her pained him, he had fond memories of their time together.

Terri’s hand crept across the white table cloth and her finger touched his, the same one moving back and forth in agitation. The sensation of her finger was surprisingly soothing. He playfully tugged her fingertip and she smiled.

“If it was meant to be, it would have happened,” she said.

“Yeah.” Gavin nodded. They were quiet for a while, then he said, “Your turn. You’ve had me talking way more than my normal. Have you ever been in love?”

She pulled back her hand, and right away, he missed the contact.

“Huh?”

“You heard me.”

“I plead the fifth.” She avoided his eyes, looking out at the nighttime view.

“Come on, Miss it’s-never-serious. There’s a story there somewhere.”

Terri covered her face. “Ugh. I do not like to share.”

“I know, but all that changes tonight. Come on, spill the details.”

“Fine.” She took an exaggerated deep breath and rolled her eyes. “I’ve been in love twice.”

“Had your heart broken twice?” Gavin asked.

She stared down into her coffee and didn’t answer right away. “Something like that.”

“What happened?” Gavin prodded.

She met his gaze. “The first time, I was young and he was a lot older.”

“How young and how much older?” Gavin prodded.

She bit the corner of her lip, hesitating.

“No judgment,” he promised.

“I was sixteen and he was twenty-five.”

“
Okay
. What did your parents do?”

“My parents were dead by then.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Terri brushed away the comment. “My brother and I ended up with a very strict uncle and his family. He didn’t say much when I decided to leave and move in with my boyfriend. I think by then they were tired of my acting out.”

“What about school?”

“I finished. He was a truck driver and gone a lot, so I drove his car to school most days. When he was in town, he dropped me off and picked me up. My friends thought I was so cool and grown. Hell, I thought I was cool and grown. We were together for six years, if you could believe it. For the most part, we had a great relationship. Our biggest bone of contention was that he never introduced me to his parents.”

“
In six years
?”

“What can I say, I was young and stupid. Oh, we actually did have another problem. I wanted to get married. I tried not to pressure him, but I didn’t want to be his live-in forever. Anyway, he kept coming up with excuses for why we couldn’t get married.” She took a deep breath. “Then I found out he was legally married to another woman in Alabama.”

“Ah, man.”

“Yep.” Black lashes lowered to her round cheeks, temporarily hiding her thoughts from his probing gaze. She swallowed hard. “I made some mistakes over the years.”

It was Gavin’s turn to reach for her hand, gently grasping her fingers. “What happened with the other guy?”

“He was a
big
mistake. One that I don’t even want to get into.” She waved away the question, laughing shakily, eyes dodging his. “Anyway, that’s it.”

“Tell me about the second guy.”

Terri shook her head vehemently. “No way. I’ve told you enough.” She still didn’t look at him, and he squeezed her fingers, forcing her gaze upward.

“I thought we were sharing. You’re keeping secrets.”

“If I tell you everything, you won’t find me interesting.” She tossed a saucy grin his way, but her eyes betrayed an abundance of pain before she looked away.

A compelling story existed behind the downcast eyes, and Gavin sensed the difficulty to share didn’t only stem from a broken heart. There was much more involved, and an unexpected need to protect her burned inside him.

“I think I’ll always find you interesting.”

He threaded his fingers through hers and stared down at their intertwined digits—his long and blunt, hers short and slender. His skin a chocolate color, hers a lighter caramel.

“It’s beautiful up here,” Terri murmured, staring out the window.

“Let’s go up to the observation deck,” Gavin suggested, going along with the abrupt change of topic.

If she didn’t want to talk about her past anymore, he wouldn’t push. He promised her a good time tonight, and if she enjoyed herself, maybe he could see her again. And he really wanted to see her again. He was drawn to her. Not only her physical features but her vivacious personality.

Terri bit the corner of her bottom lip. “I have a confession to make. I’m a little afraid of heights.”

“Not tonight, you’re not.” Gavin stood and pulled her along with him.

Because of the lateness of the hour, only a few people strolled the deck. A family of six went by and a couple, arm-in-arm, stood at the railing overlooking the city. Before they stepped outside, Terri squeezed her eyes shut and stood ramrod straight, refusing to budge. Gavin stood behind her, his pelvis pressed against her bottom and one arm around her midsection. He eased forward and nudged her along with him, out onto the observation deck where cold air greeted them.

“You’re perfectly safe,” he murmured in her ear.

Her breathing kicked up and she let out a low whimper, but they continued the march forward.

“This is crazy,” she said, a little breathless, eyes still closed.

“It’ll be worth it. You’ll love the view from here.”

“I saw it perfectly fine inside,” she retorted.

They arrived at the edge and Gavin placed each of her hands on the cold steel that ran the periphery of the Space Needle. Her fingers immediately curled around the railing.

“Open,” he instructed.

Terri peeked through the slits of her eyes and then promptly shut them again.

“Come on, you’re safe. You’re on solid ground, and I have my arm around you. Nothing will happen to you while you’re with me.”

She let out a little whimper as she looked at the scenery and leaned back against him. The hand around her waist tightened. “Nothing to be afraid of,” he murmured. She smelled so good, he ran his nose along her hairline.

Terri gripped the railing so tight, he thought she might be able to snap the steel. “It’s…nice.” Her eyes spanned the nightscape of the Emerald City.

“Real nice, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” She laughed, a hesitant sound, but a laugh nonetheless. A wave of cool air brushed over them and she shivered slightly. Gavin removed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, and she turned to look at him, brown eyes sparkling. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.” His thumb brushed the hair at her temple. “Absolutely beautiful.”

A sultry expression came into her eyes. “Are you talking about the view or me?”

“Definitely you,” Gavin replied, without a hint of hesitation. The arm circling her waist pulled her tighter against him, compelling her to press into his heated groin. Bringing his mouth closer to hers, Gavin said, “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I looked forward to tonight with a ridiculous amount of anticipation, and I haven’t been able to stop looking at you all night.”

“What are you going to do about it?” she whispered, tilting her head back.

The invitation was unmistakable, and Gavin dipped his head to taste her mouth. Finally. Her soft lips yielded to him right away, and the arm circling her waist tightened, pressing her more firmly against him. Gavin deepened the kiss, dragging sweetness from her soft lips, the honeyed caress of mouth to mouth causing desire to swell in his groin.

Without thought to the environment or the public spectacle they might make, he marched her backward into the wall—keeping their lips sealed together. Terri kissed him back as if she couldn’t get enough—her mouth pliable and intoxicating, generously giving as much as she took.

Gavin grabbed a handful of hair and forced her mouth wide, overwhelmed by the need to claim her, to seize every ounce of pleasure offered by the soft curves pressed into his hardening body. He thrust his tongue between her lips, imagining another part of his anatomy sliding into the moist opening.

The kiss ended when she tore her mouth from his. Wide-eyed, she stared up at him, breasts heaving in a captivating display of arousal. She must feel it too—the out-of-control desire that overtook his brain and made him want to lift her against the wall to feed the hunger she unleashed with only a kiss.

The tip of her tongue dragged across her swollen lips, and Gavin’s eyes followed the movement. He groaned inwardly at the tempting moisture left behind.

“I want to spend the night with you,” he rasped.

A knowing smile slid across her mouth. A more in-control Terri dragged a finger down his chest to his waist, leaving a line of heat in the wake of her caress. A come-hither look invaded her eyes, and she teased him with a flirty glance from beneath her lashes. “I want to spend the night with you, too.”

His heart almost came through his chest, but Gavin tamped down the jubilation and kept a cool head. “I hear a ‘but’ in that sentence.”

Terri tilted her face up to his, eyes soft and inviting under the lights of the deck. “What are your expectations?”

He braced his hands on the wall and barricaded her in. “I don’t expect anything. We’re both just looking for a good time, right?”

“And if I say no?” she asked, keeping her voice soft.

Gavin swallowed, shunning the ugly face of disappointment that crept into the conversation. “I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be disappointed.” He wanted to get closer. He wanted to get
in
her.

“I wouldn’t want you to be disappointed,” she cooed.

“I wouldn’t want to be disappointed.”

Gavin waited for her response. Seconds dragged by, slower than molasses on an upward sloping gradient.

Finally, Terri brought her face very close to his. The teasing light disappeared from her eyes. “Then let’s go.” Her breath brushed his lips, and the muscles in his arms tightened to rigid bands.

She took his hand and they walked away from the wall, toward the interior of the building. But despite the anticipation of finally getting between those thick thighs, and the thought that he’d get to fill his hands with her lush breasts, Gavin hesitated, standing just inside the doorway.