TWENTY-FIVE
SOMEHOW, GAVIN HAD
GOTTEN IT RIGHT. HE’D MANAGED not to strike out when he’d gone up
to bat in the most important game of his life.
Now he stood outside
the locker room with his lips locked with the woman he
loved.
He’d won the
girl.
Elizabeth slid her
fingers into his hair and curled her body against his. God, it felt
like it had been months since he’d touched her, since he’d breathed
in the sweet honeyed scent of her, since he’d been inside
her.
They stood in a
hallway outside the locker room in a baseball stadium, and he was
getting a hard-on.
Not good. Not good
at all.
He broke the kiss
and stared into her eyes, still not believing that he’d been
forgiven for all he’d fucked up, that she’d said yes. He still felt
like he had so much to make up for.
Time. He needed lots
of time.
“We have to get out
of here. I need to get you alone.”
Her lips lifted.
“That’s a very good idea.”
“Follow me
home?”
She nodded. “Try not
to break any speed limits, but hurry.”
HE STAYED AT OR JUST
ABOVE THE SPEED LIMIT THE entire way to his house, glancing in his
rearview mirror every few seconds to make sure Elizabeth was right
behind him. He kept expecting her to ditch him, that maybe he’d
dreamed everything that had happened today.
They pulled into the
driveway together and got out of their cars, and he linked his
fingers with hers as they strolled up to the front door. He held it
open for her, his heart pounding the entire time.
“Your hand is
sweaty,” Elizabeth said after they stepped inside and he closed the
door.
“I’m
nervous.”
She arched a brow.
“Why?”
“I keep waiting for
you to bolt. I keep thinking this isn’t real.”
She turned to him,
wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m not leaving you, Gavin. Not
now, not ever.”
He laid his hands on
her hips. “I messed up bad. There were so many things I wanted to
say to you today, to make you understand how sorry I am for what I
said. But there isn’t a decent excuse for hurting you the way I
did.”
She pressed a finger
to his lips. “And sometimes you just have to let it go. We could
rehash everything we’ve both said to each other during our
relationship, the stupid things we’ve said and done, but what would
be the point? Every step we’ve taken led us here,
right?”
“Yes.”
“Do you love me,
Gavin?”
“I do.”
“I love you, too.
I’ve loved you for so many years, and I was afraid to tell you. I
was afraid if I let you know how I felt about you, I’d lose
you.”
“Why?”
She dropped her
hands and stepped back. “I don’t know. The fact that I was your
agent, that I’m a few years older than you, that you went through
women as fast as you went through underwear.”
“Hey.”
She laughed. “It’s
true, isn’t it?”
“I played the field
a little.”
She cocked a brow.
“A little? Gavin, you were all over women all the time. And that’s
fine. It was good for your image and good PR. I played it up as
much as possible.”
He stepped up to
her, smoothed his hand over her hair. “And you loved me. Didn’t it
hurt you?”
She shrugged. “A
little. But I did my job. I did what was best for
you.”
He inhaled, blew it
out, took her hand, and led her to the sofa. She sat, and he
kneeled in front of her. “I’m sorry I never knew, never picked up
on it. What kind of man does that make me?”
“It makes me a very
good agent who made sure you never knew.”
He didn’t smile. He
lifted her hand. “I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to
you.”
“Not necessary. I
have you now. It’s all that matters.”
“I really don’t
deserve you.”
“Yes, Gavin, you do.
As much as I deserve you. We belong together.”
He lifted up and
brushed his lips against hers, feeling like the luckiest man alive.
His heart swelled with so much love his chest felt like
bursting.
This was what love
felt like. This feeling of joy, of knowing you’d never be alone
again, never feel like something was missing from your life; the
feeling that you now had someone to protect, to keep safe from
harm.
He got it now; he
understood where his brother was coming from.
He’d die to protect
Elizabeth.
He pulled a box out
of his pocket. “This part I didn’t want to do at the stadium. I
wanted it just to be the two of us.”
ELIZABETH STARED AT
THE BLACK VELVET BOX.
She hadn’t expected
this. She raised her hand to her heart, then looked at
Gavin.
“Oh.”
He opened the box
and inside was a princess-cut diamond in a platinum setting. And
wow. The diamond was huge, the band covered in tiny sparkling
diamonds, too.
It was perfect.
Gorgeous and everything she could have dreamed of.
“Oh, Gavin. It’s the
most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
He held her hand.
“Elizabeth Darnell, I love you. I don’t care how old you are or how
old I am. I want you to be my wife. I want to have babies with you
if you want them, too. I want you to continue to love your career
as much as I love mine. I want us to love and respect each other
forever. Will you marry me?”
This time she didn’t
try to fight the tears. She let them flow down her cheeks and
nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, Gavin. I love you, too. And I’d be
honored to marry you.”
He slid the ring on
her finger and pulled her off the sofa and into his arms. On her
knees, she met his lips with equal passion. Her carefully coiffed
updo was gone in an instant as he pulled the pins from her hair and
shook it out, his hands diving into the strands as he fell onto his
back on the floor and pulled her on top of him.
God, it felt good to
feel his body against hers again. She’d missed his touch, the way
his hands glided over her back and to her hips, the way he dug his
fingers into her as if he couldn’t seem to get enough of
her.
She’d missed his
passion, his almost desperate need for her, because she always
needed him. Would it always be like this between them? She hoped
so.
She lifted, stared
down at him, smoothed his hair away from his brow, and listened to
his heavy breathing, felt his heartbeat jamming away against her
chest.
He tilted his head
and smiled up at her. “What?”
“I was just
wondering if it would always be like this between us. This hunger
we seem to have for each other.”
He cupped her face
and brought it down to meet his. “Hell, yes.”
He kissed her with
such deep longing that she had no doubt he was right. Her heart
melted, and so did her panties as he lifted against her, his
erection driving against her sex. She planted her hands on his
chest and surged against him, the need so powerful to have him
inside her she quaked with it.
He broke the kiss,
and she was breathless, especially when she saw the passion in his
eyes. She sat up and began to unbutton her blouse, her fingers
shaking. Gavin watched her undo each button, and try as she might
to be slow and sexy, all she could do was fumble it.
Maybe him lifting
and teasing her with his hard cock had something to do with
it.
“You’re distracting
me.”
He cocked a brow.
“Hurry up.”
“Trying.”
She let her blouse
slip from her shoulders. His hands were on her breasts in an
instant, his thumbs sliding over the swells, then her nipples. The
silk of her bra was no defense, and her nipples hardened as he
swept his fingers over her bra.
He sat up and undid
the clasp, and she shrugged the bra off. He pulled her forward and
caught one aching bud between his lips, suckling her and driving
her mad with his tongue, teeth and lips while using his hand to
roll the other nipple between his fingers. She tangled her fingers
in his hair and tried to hold on through the myriad of sensations
shooting pleasure sparks straight to her core.
This wasn’t
happening fast enough. She pulled away and scooted down his thighs,
reaching for the button of his jeans. He leaned back on his palms
and let her unzip him, her knuckles brushing his erection, causing
him to jerk against her in response.
Yes, he was as
primed as she was. And she wanted him in so many ways, all at once.
She pulled his jeans and shoes off and got them out of the way,
then dragged his boxers down, too.
His cock sprang up,
hot and hard and delicious. She circled it with her hands, loving
the soft, steely feel of it, the way the skin moved around the
erect muscle, the engorged head just begging for a taste. She bent
over the shaft and put her lips over the wide purple crest and
swept her tongue over it, loving the way Gavin thrust against her
mouth and groaned, then grabbed a handful of her hair as if he
couldn’t control his reaction.
She wanted him out
of control, wanted to see how far she could push him.
“I haven’t come
since the last time we were together, Lizzie. If you’re going to
suck me, I’m going to come in your mouth.”
She lifted her gaze
to him, then took his cock all the way in her mouth. He thrust,
giving her more. She took it, wrapping her hand around the base of
his cock, stroking him as she wound her tongue around his shaft,
dragging her tongue down the underside and licking him all the way
down to his balls. She took them into her mouth and flicked her
tongue over them. Gavin let out a guttural groan.
She swept her tongue
up his shaft again, then took it between her lips.
“Suck it. Suck it
hard.” She pressed his cock between her tongue and the roof of her
mouth, and gave him the suction he asked for, cradling his balls in
her hands and massaging them.
He tightened his
hold on her hair. “Yes. God, yes. That’s going to make me come,
Lizzie.”
She bobbed up and
down on his shaft, her hands on his thighs, feeling his muscles
tighten, feeling the sheen of perspiration coating his skin as he
thrust upward into her throat.
“Yeah, like that.
Suck me. I’m coming.”
She loved listening
to him, loved knowing she could give him this pleasure. And when he
let out a wild groan, his whole body jerking as he jettisoned into
her mouth, she swallowed, gripping his thighs and taking all he had
to give her.
He smoothed his hand
in her hair, and she licked his shaft, then moved up to kiss his
belly. She rolled his shirt in her hand as she kissed up his
abdomen, loving the rock-hard feel of him. He lifted and allowed
her to pull his shirt off, then surprised her by rolling her over
onto her back and laying a deep, penetrating kiss on her that left
her breathless. He plundered her mouth, licked against her tongue,
rubbed his lips against hers until she was mindless and her bones
felt like butter.
“Now it’s my turn,”
he said, kissing his way across her neck, her collarbone, and when
he got to her breasts, he licked her nipples, taking his time to
enjoy both until each peak stood hard, wet, and aching. Her body
vibrated from his touch and his kisses as he moved down her body,
dragging her Capris down until all she wore were her
panties.
“These are pretty,”
he said, kissing her hip bone where one of the ties of her cream
silk panties lay.
“Thanks.”
“It’s like a present
for me.” He untied one of the bows, kissing her next to her sex,
then went to the other tie and undid the bow, pulling the material
free and baring her sex to him.
She shuddered.
“Gavin, I haven’t come either since the last time we were
together.”
He lifted his gaze
to her. “I’m going to fix that right now.”
He pressed his mouth
to her pussy and laid his tongue on her.
“Oh,” was all she
could manage, because he moved his tongue across her clit and any
coherent thought was gone. Now she was merely a center of pleasure,
focused on everything Gavin’s hot, wet tongue did to her as he
glided across her sex.
Tension built in a
hurry, and as he slipped a finger inside her, she quivered and knew
she wasn’t going to last long. It was amazing the way he knew her
body so well and could take her right to the edge in minutes. He
pumped his finger in and out of her and moved his tongue in a slow
circle over her clit. The sensation was like a lazy Sunday
afternoon; her reaction anything but.
“Harder. Faster.
Take me there, Gavin.”
He listened,
inserted another finger inside her, pumped up the tempo, put his
lips around her clit, and sucked.
“Yes. That’s it.”
She arched against him and came, the torrent of sensation almost
unbearable because it was just so damn good. She thrashed against
him, and he placed a hand on her belly to hold her in place as he
continued to lick her while she climaxed on his face and his
fingers, rolling from one orgasm right into another in an endless
stream of pulses that left her weak and shaking.
And when he hovered
over her, smiling down at her, she reached for him, and he covered
her with his body and his lips, rolling them over again while he
was kissing her, placing her on top once again.
His cock was hard,
and she slipped it inside her still-pulsing pussy, then sat up,
linking her fingers with his as she surged against him, burying him
fully inside her.
His gaze narrowed,
and he lifted against her. “Ride me.”
She placed her hands
on his chest and leaned forward, then lifted, setting the pace as
she fucked herself on his cock, drawing out each movement for
maximum sensation, loving the feel of his cock thickening inside
her.
Gavin reached up and
grasped her breasts, sliding his thumbs over her nipples. She
arched into his hands, filling them with her breasts. He rose up
and took alternating nipples in his mouth, sucking them deeply,
making her shudder at the shock of pleasure that shot straight to
her pussy.
Connected to him
like this was a slice of pure heaven. She wanted it to go on
forever, but as she rode him, rocked against him, and felt the
stirrings of orgasm once again, she couldn’t help but drive toward
that finish, only to back off, to pull away, and pause just to look
at him. She tried to memorize his face, the way he looked when he
was buried inside her. His muscles tightened and strained as he
clenched his jaw, his heavily lidded gaze seemed so intently
focused on her, yet he held her gently in his grasp. His fingers
flexed and unflexed against her hips as she surged forward and then
back. His hair had fallen over his forehead, and she brushed it
away, then leaned down to press a kiss to his lips.
She’d only meant to
brush his lips, but, oh, how she loved his mouth, and the way he
kissed her so deeply, the same way he was buried so deeply inside
her, physically as well as emotionally. He was part of her and
always would be. Making love like this sealed the
deal.
She lifted, her face
only inches from his as she slid down on his cock once again, so
close to orgasm she had to fight to keep from coming.
“I love you,
Gavin.”
His jaw clenched; he
swept her hair from her face, brushed his thumb over her cheek. He
rolled her over, then plunged deep inside her. She cried out with
her climax, and as she was coming, he looked at her and said, “I
love you, Elizabeth.”
As he came, he
groaned and called out her name, his fingers tightly wound with
hers.
Her eyes filled with
tears, and she realized she would never forget this
moment.
After, they stayed
tangled together, their legs entwined. She didn’t want to move, and
Gavin didn’t seem to be in any hurry, either.
“Will you move into
Castle Grayskull with me?”
She laughed at the
use of her insult for his house. “Yes. Will you let me redecorate
it?”
“Any way you want
to.”
She lifted and laid
her chin on his chest. “You trust me?”
“Of course I trust
you.” He frowned. “You aren’t going to do any rooms in pink, are
you?”
“Ugh. Are you
kidding me? Maybe the baby’s room, if we have a girl.”
His eyes widened.
“Are you pregnant?”
She laughed. “Not
yet, but I imagine with a concerted effort you could get me that
way. I’m not getting any younger, you know. We should get started
on that as soon as possible.”
He rolled over and
got on top of her. “I’m ready if you are.”
She looked up at
this man she loved and realized that though she had never thought
she would have a perfect life, somehow, some way, she’d gotten
everything she ever wanted. She’d worked so hard to have the career
she’d always wanted. And for a while that had been enough for her.
She never thought she was going to fall in love.
But she’d been
wrong.
She’d hit a home
run. Together, they’d pitched the perfect game of
love.
She giggled at the
baseball metaphors.
“What are you
laughing at?” he asked.
“We
won.”
He looked at her.
“Won what?”
“The game of
love.”
He rolled his eyes.
“That was lame.”
“Wasn’t it? Come on,
get up,” she said, climbing off the sofa and smacking him on the
butt.
He cocked a brow.
“What? Why?”
“We have to go to
the grocery store.”
“Again,
why?”
“Because it’s time I
baked you a pie.”
He laughed and
rolled off the sofa. “That’s worth getting up for. Let’s
go.”