SIXTEEN
GAVIN SEARCHED THE
WHOLE DAMN HOUSE FOR ELIZABETH, wondering if maybe Mick had found
her and stuffed her in the trunk of a car.
Okay, he wouldn’t do
that. Or at least he didn’t think his brother would go that
far.
As he made his third
pass through the house, he saw Elizabeth coming down the stairs
with his mother and Jenna—and Tara, of all people.
They were all
smiling, chatting away, seemingly at ease with each
other.
That he hadn’t
expected.
“Hey, I’ve been
looking everywhere for you,” he said as she reached the bottom of
the steps. “What have you been doing?”
“It’s a secret
women’s society. We’re plotting the demise of the male species,”
Jenna said.
“Smart-ass.” He
kissed the cheek Jenna presented to him, then she walked
away.
Tara came up to him
and hugged him. “Girl talk. You don’t have to monopolize all of
Elizabeth’s time, do you?”
He looked to
Elizabeth, who seemed just fine. “I guess not.”
“Then I suppose you
can have her back. Your mother and Jenna and I have to go get
Mick’s cake ready. Did you and your dad grill the
meat?”
“Yeah,” he said,
unable to take his eyes off Elizabeth, wanting to make sure she was
all right. “It’s on the counter in the kitchen.”
Elizabeth looked at
Gavin’s mother. “Do you need help?”
“No,” Kathleen said.
“You catch up with Gavin. We have it under control.”
They walked off, and
Gavin led her out the front door so they could have some
privacy.
“What’s going on?
Why were you upstairs with Jenna, Tara, and my mom?”
She shrugged.
“Nothing. We were just talking.”
“Did Tara grill you
or give you a hard time?”
Her lips quirked.
“No. We talked. It was good. It cleared the air. We’re fine now.”
She laid her hand on his arm. “Really, it’s okay.”
“You
sure?”
“Positive.”
“Okay.”
“So can we go inside
and help out instead of skulking around avoiding
everyone?”
He put his arm
around her shoulder. “I guess so.”
She slid her arm
around his waist. “Really, Gavin. I can take care of myself. Even
with Mick.”
Who was at the front
door with Tara when they opened it. Elizabeth gave him her biggest
smile.
“Happy birthday,
Mick.”
Gavin could tell
Tara had talked to him. “Thanks. Glad you could make
it.”
Elizabeth’s lips
curled. “No, you’re not, but thanks for being civil about it. I’ll
try to stay out of your way.” She let go of Gavin. “I’m going into
the kitchen to help your mom.”
“Me, too.” Tara
leaned up and kissed Mick. “Behave.”
“When have I not
behaved?”
Tara rolled her
eyes, then switched her gaze at Gavin. “You, too.”
Tara left and Gavin
stood there with Mick. “Thanks for not jumping on
Elizabeth.”
Mick shrugged. “I
don’t have anything to say to her as long as she doesn’t fuck with
my family. She’s already done enough of that.”
There was a lot
Gavin wanted to say in reply, but it was Mick’s birthday, and his
mother would probably smack him on the head if he punched the
birthday boy. Which was probably why Mick figured he could get away
with saying whatever he wanted.
The free pass would
only last so long. Like today was the only day.
“I think we should
see what Dad’s up to,” Gavin suggested, swallowing his
anger.
“That’s probably a
good idea.”
Dad was neutral
territory. He was outside, surrounded by the smoke of the barbecue
pit and a handful of Gavin and Mick’s uncles. Gavin heard the tail
end of a story about this year’s Super Bowl game, about one of
Mick’s outstanding plays and how there was standing room only at
the bar that Sunday.
Mick groaned. “Like
Uncle Robert and Uncle Matt haven’t heard that story a hundred
times already.”
“Heard? Hell, they
were at the bar that night. We all were. Doesn’t mean Dad isn’t
going to tell it over and over again.”
There were a handful
of neighbors surrounding Dad, and they’d all been at the bar that
night, too. So had Gavin, who’d seen all the plays, heard all the
cheers, and still had to listen to the replay.
Not that he was
jealous. Winning the Super Bowl had been a damn big deal for his
brother. He didn’t begrudge him the glory at all. If the shoe had
been on the other foot, Gavin would be reveling in the glory and
milking it for as long as he could.
“Mick, my boy, come
on over and tell the guys about the winning touchdown
pass.”
“Again,” Gavin
murmured.
Mick rolled his
eyes. “They don’t want to hear it.”
“Probably not, but
Dad wants you to tell them. Maybe if you’re lucky, they’ll take up
a collection for you not to tell it.”
Mick snorted and
headed into the throng. Gavin stayed back and sipped his beer,
listening to the story he’d heard many times before.
“Your season is
looking good so far.”
Gavin hadn’t heard
Tara’s son, Nathan, come up behind him. The kid was always so
quiet. Of course a fifteen-year-old amidst the boisterous Riley
clan could get swallowed up like a small fish in a shark
tank.
“Thanks, Nathan. How
are you doing?”
“Pretty
good.”
Gavin knew there was
something Nathan wanted to talk to him about.
“Is there something
on your mind?”
Nathan glanced over
to where Mick was mimicking the throw of a football.
“Yeah,
kinda.”
“Go ahead. We’re
family now. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
Nathan paused for a
second, then said, “It’s about your girlfriend.”
“Elizabeth.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you mad at
her?” Gavin asked.
“No. But Mick still
is. And he thinks I should be, but I’m not.”
Gavin swiveled on
the steps to face Nathan. “No one should tell you how you should
feel, Nathan. Not your mom or Mick or me. If you’re pissed off
about what Elizabeth did to manipulate the media that day, that’s
your right. If you’re over it, that’s your right, too. If Mick is
still angry about it, that’s his problem to deal
with.”
“I guess
so.”
“You don’t have to
feel whatever he feels about anything. He’ll still care about you.
It’s kind of like when two people love each other, but they’re on
different sides in politics.”
“You mean when one’s
a Democrat and one’s a Republican.”
“Exactly. They don’t
have to agree to still love each other, right? Even though they
might not agree on some serious fundamental issues.”
“We talked about
that in my government class. That it’s our right to stand up for
what we believe in, even if we’re in disagreement with the people
closest to us.”
“Exactly. Your
grandparents oppose each other politically.”
Nathan’s brows
popped up. “Really?”
“Yup. But they love
each other like nobody’s business. And I’ve never seen two people
who can argue so fiercely, especially around election time. It’ll
make your ears burn. But pick on one, and the other will defend
them to the death. It’s kind of like that with how you feel about
something. Just because you love Mick doesn’t mean you have to
agree with everything he believes.”
Nathan stared at
Mick, then nodded. “That makes sense. Thanks.”
“You’re
welcome.”
“I kind of like
Elizabeth. She came up to me today, and we sat down, and she told
me how she screwed up and how sorry she was. I think that takes
some guts.”
“Yeah, I guess it
does.”
Nathan tilted his
head up at Gavin. “I think she’s really trying,
Gavin.”
Gavin bumped his
shoulder against Nathan’s. “I think she is, too, Nathan. Maybe your
dad will figure that out someday soon.”
ELIZABETH WAS
DRAINED. PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY, AND emotionally
exhausted.
First the meltdown
in front of Jenna, Kathleen, and Tara, and oh, God, could that have
been a more horrifying moment? And then she’d sat down and had a
heart-to-heart with a fifteen-year-old boy, who’d handled her
apology with a maturity she hadn’t expected.
And to top it off
she’d had to spend the rest of the night doing her best to dodge
Mick, which wasn’t easy considering it had been his birthday
party.
She wanted to strip
down, crawl under the covers, and end this day.
Gavin had brought
her home and had gone to take a shower. He had worked up a sweat
with an impromptu game of football with his brother and his
soon-to-be nephew, along with the various cousins.
While he did that,
she opened a bottle of wine and poured herself a glass. She headed
upstairs, stripped off her clothes, and fell face-first onto the
bed.
She was almost
asleep when she felt strong hands sliding down her back, followed
by warm lips pressed against the nape of her neck.
“I’ll give you an
hour to stop that.”
He didn’t speak,
just conducted a very sensual assault over her shoulders with his
hands, massaging the tension away from her shoulder blades, the
middle of her back, her lower back, and lingering at her butt—which
made her giggle. He compressed the spots that needed it and used
whisper-light touches on the places that weren’t so tense. He
followed his fingers with the barest touch of his lips as he mapped
a trail from her back to her butt to her thighs to her calves, then
lifted her feet and kneaded the arches.
She moaned as he
massaged her feet, a weak spot since she spent all her time in
heels.
“God, that feels
good. Please don’t stop.”
He pressed his thumb
on the arch of her foot, and he surprised her when his tongue
wrapped around her toe. She gasped, the dual sensation of comfort
and sensuality shooting right to her pussy. Wet, hot flames of
arousal licked at her, made her lift her butt in the air and slide
her hand between her legs to massage the ache in her
clit.
“Stop,” he said.
“I’ll get there in a minute.”
She laughed. “I
can’t wait. I want to come.”
“You don’t have much
patience, do you?” he asked, then slid her big toe in his mouth and
sucked it.
Oh, damn. She lost
all track of what she was about to do with her fingers, mesmerized
by his talented tongue and mouth. And when he slid his tongue
across the bottom of her foot, she jerked her foot
away.
“That
tickles.”
“We can’t have
that.” He licked his way over her ankle, up her calf, and lifted
her leg, then laid it down on the bed, kissing the back of one
knee, then the other, parting her legs to crawl between them. He
pressed his lips to the backs of her thighs and where her butt
cheeks met her legs, then massaged her buttocks.
She moaned again
when he started rubbing her lower back, especially the one spot
that . . .
“Ohhh . .
.”
“Really.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s because you
insist on wearing those four-inch heels. Bad for your
back.”
“Yes, Doctor.
Whatever you say, Doctor. Just keep rubbing there.”
“You sure you want
me to rub here? Or maybe here instead.”
He let his fingers
drift lower over her ass again, then between her legs to tease her
pussy.
“Well, that’s nice,
too. Rub there instead.”
He did, using three
fingers to part her pussy lips and spread her juices over her clit.
She followed his hand by lifting her butt and rubbing against him
like a cat craving attention.
Hell, she might even
be purring. She knew she made some kind of noises but had no idea
what they were. She was lost in sensation, her mind focused only on
his touch and the feel of his body as he moved over her and slipped
his cock inside her, then reached under her to continue to sweep
his fingers over her clit.
He swelled inside
her, thickening, stretching her, taking her to the limit and back
again. She fisted the sheets and buried her head in the covers,
shutting out everything but his breathing as he whispered dark
words in her ear. She turned her face to the side, catching only a
glimpse of his tightened features as her lips met his in a fevered
kiss when he thrust deeply inside her.
Pressed to the
mattress, she was powerless, giving up total control to him as he
whipped her into a fevered state. Tension turned her muscles to
steel as she fought the explosion that hovered so close. She wanted
to prolong this ecstasy, where every stroke of his cock was bliss
and every whispered word he uttered was sweet heaven.
“Let go, Elizabeth.
Let me feel you come.”
She shook her head,
holding on for just a few seconds longer as he wound her tighter
into a ball of the sweetest pleasure imaginable.
But when he bit down
on the nape of her neck, she was awash in heat that she couldn’t
survive, and she climaxed, crying out and meeting his lips as he
ground against her, his balls slapping against her clit. He groaned
and spilled inside her. He was glued to her, shuddering against
her, and she wanted this to go on forever, just the two of them
connected like this.
Gavin dropped down
on top of her and rolled to the side, bringing her with him,
stroking her breasts as she came down off the high.
She always gave so
much to him in sex, so much of herself. She laid herself open and
gave him everything, held nothing back. She had never been like
that with other men.
She had never loved
other men.
She wondered if he
realized how much she gave him, or if he thought she was simply
like every other woman he’d been with.
She’d never ask. She
didn’t want to know. There was only right now between them. She’d
never tell him how she felt. He had too much power as it
was.
And every day that
passed he gathered more.
She sighed and
snuggled against him. He stroked her hair in the darkness, and she
allowed a single tear to slip down her cheeks.
Little by little she
was losing herself in Gavin.
She was never going
to win this game.