“Hey,” he said. “I got your voicemail and tried to call you back, but the…are you okay?”
With anyone else, he would’ve commented on my dirty clothes, my scuffed up shoes, or my bird’s nest hair, but instead I knew he referred to my flushed cheeks and reddened eyes. I’d noticed them on the way there in the rearview mirror, but I didn’t want to take the time to stop to fix any of it. Waiting any longer might mean missing my chance.
“I’m either having the worst day ever or the best of my life.”
“Here, why don’t you come inside.”
He walked in, likely to give me room and not crowd me, and led the way into the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink? It looks like you’ve had a rough day.”
“No, thank you. You’ll have to excuse the mess, I got done volunteering not long ago. There was a lot of hauling.”
He smiled. “You look beautiful to me. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I resisted the urge to look down at my shoes. My heart melted just that little bit more, especially after coming from a place where my own brother looked at me in disgust. I didn’t think it was a big deal, nothing a shower and some quick make-up couldn’t fix, but some people couldn’t see around that. Gavin certainly could.
“Thanks. That’s sweet. Actually, I’ll take you up on that lemonade if you still have some.”
“I sure do.”
While he opened the fridge, I glanced at the same countertop I’d sat on while we shared that incredible moment—what felt like months ago. I hoped it wouldn’t be our last, although something softer underneath me would be a nice change. But beggars couldn’t be choosers with the news I was about to break.
He slid the lemonade over to me, and the cool glass felt good against my clammy palms. “Do you mind if we sit?”
“Sure.” He pulled out my chair for me like a gentleman and moved a folder further away on the table.
I lowered myself into the chair slowly, as if delaying the moment as long as possible. Perhaps I was. I reached across and clasped his hands, which were folded in front of him.
“I have to tell you something, and you’re not going to like it. In fact, you may get a little mad. But just know I have something to say after you’ll want to hear, okay?” At least, I hope you will.
He nodded slowly.
I took a deep breath. “I’ve been lying to you. I’m so sorry, but a lot of what I’ve been telling you isn’t true. I don’t write for a magazine, and I didn’t get into that party on my own the night we met. I was brought there. I wasn’t there to interview you. I knew you’d be there ahead of time. It was all staged. Actually, I’m usually a shy person.”
He didn’t say anything, so I plowed ahead. “That’s not even the worst part, unfortunately. My name isn’t Charity. It’s Faye Quinn.”
I searched his expression for anything…anything that would tell me how he was taking all this information, but he gave me nothing so far.
“Why tell me all that then?” he asked.
This part felt harder, for some reason. “The plan was to come up with a backstory and a reason to spend time together so I could gather dirt on you to help my family’s business. I told you they’re into fashion, but it’s actually luxury watch design. Just like yours.”
He nodded. “Quinn Enterprises.”
“Right. But let me explain. It wasn’t my idea to begin with. My two brothers came up with it and told me I needed to do it. I only went along with it because they pressured me so hard. I thought I was helping the family, and they told me you’re someone evil, intentionally trying to put us out of business, maliciously singling out our company specifically.”
“Now I’m remembering your brothers. Did they also mention how I offered them a spot at my New York City expo years ago? They were a smaller company back then, and it did a lot of good for their brand. They got upset when I didn’t invite them back the next year.”
I looked down at my hands. “I didn’t know that. They only told me what they wanted me to think about you, apparently. But that’s my point in telling you all this. As I’ve gotten to know you, I’ve learned you’re not the monster they said you are. You’re a good person, Gavin, and I’m never listening to them about you again.”
“So that’s what the pictures were about.”
He’s no dummy. “Yeah, they were. I’m not going to lie to you about them or about anything else anymore. My brothers wanted something damning, and when you didn’t share anything they could use, I took those.”
He breathed in and out deeply and leaned back in his chair.
“I know,” I said. “I betrayed your trust and you have every right to be upset with me. Trust me, I’m upset at myself. Upset for being used and for compromising my morals. But most of all, I’m upset for hurting you, whether you knew it at the time or not.”
“You know,” he started, and I dreaded what he might say next. “I have something to admit too.”
“You do?”
He slid the folder already on the table in front of me. “I was looking at this earlier, and I didn’t think to put it away when you called because it was so sudden. Go ahead. Open it.”
I opened the folder, and a picture rested on top of a few pieces of paper. I noticed my name on one of the papers, but the image drew my attention the most. My brothers and I.
“Where did you get this?”
“You could say a friend of a friend. I’m not proud of having information on you dug up, but after meeting you, something felt a little…off. I’ve had bad run-ins in the past, and I just wanted to know what I was getting myself into.”
“Wait, so you knew the whole time? Then why didn’t you say anything? How long did you know?”
“Since before our date last night.”
My jaw dropped. “I had no idea you knew. I mean, I sort of wondered when you asked about my brothers a bit, but…how were you so casual about having dinner with the enemy?”
“I suspected your brothers might be putting you up to it. I didn’t think you had it in you to do this on your own.”
“I don’t. I swear. Yes, I did the actions, so I take full responsibility for that, but I was pressured into doing it, and I’d take it all back if I could.”
“Even meeting me?” he asked quietly.
“What?”
“Meeting me. If you took all this back, we wouldn’t have met.” He reached across the table and placed his hand over mine.
I couldn’t believe what was happening. About this point in the conversation, I thought he’d be throwing me out of his house. “That’s true. I didn’t think about it like that. You don’t sound very mad.”
He shrugged. “Look, I’m not thrilled about it. Most of the time I’ve been developing feelings for you I thought you were someone else. That’s not an easy pill to swallow.”
“I promise you it wasn’t all fake. I told you a lot about myself, some things I don’t really tell other people. I really do volunteer at a zoo, I love animals, and all the stuff I told you last night about how my brothers make me feel is all true. Every word of it.”
I squeezed his hand. “Everything I’ve been feeling for you is true too. That’s why I had to tell you this. Today. Right now. It’s holding us back, and if you don’t dump me on the spot, we needed to get rid of it to move forward.”
“You really think I’m going to dump you just like that?”
My head jerked up, and I could see the slow beginning of a smile on his face. “Maybe. I wasn’t sure how you’d respond, to be honest. But I had to do it anyway, even if you never wanted to talk to me ever again.”
“That would be pretty sad if we didn’t.”
“Are you kidding? That’s all I’ve been thinking about on the way here.”
He gathered up the folder and pushed it to the side. It felt symbolic. “I knew something was going on. I continued because I saw something in you—something beyond all the stuff in the way. Call it a hunch or a sixth sense, but I jus
t knew.”
“And you didn’t tell me because you wanted to see if I’d tell you first, right?”
“I wouldn’t have gone on forever like that, but I wanted to see if you’d tell me, yes. And you did.”
It felt good to smile. “At least I didn’t manage to screw that part up, right?”
“You did the right thing in the end, and that’s the most important part. That says a lot. As long as you tell them you’re done with their plotting.”
“Oh, I did more than that. I told them off before coming here.”
“Earlier today?”
“An hour ago or whenever it was. Today has been a blur. I gave them the middle finger, basically.”
“What did they say?”
“That I’m cut off. No more allowance, they called it. No income from the company. And likely no communication with them, at least for a while, although that one I don’t care about so much anymore.”
“Is that going to hurt income wise? What are you going to do?”
“I…haven’t exactly figured that part out yet. All I know is that I don’t need them and I don’t need their money. I’ll be a ditch digger before I rely on them again. Besides, it wasn’t all that much. I barely made ends meet on it.”
He frowned. “Their company is doing decently, from what I understand. As part owner, I’d imagine you’d receive more, even as someone who doesn’t participate much in the day-to-day operations.”
“I don’t know too much about it. That’s just what they’ve told me.”
“I see. Sounds like a complicated situation.”
“One more thing.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and angled the chair so he could see the screen. I pulled up the pictures from us on the countertop, highlighted them all, and deleted them. “There. Now they’re gone for good.”
He patted my arm. “I appreciate that. Now we can put the whole thing behind us.”
I scooted the chair closer to him and leaned into his shoulder. “Me too.”
He nuzzled his lips near my ear and whispered in a way that made it tickle in a delicious sort of way. “Feel like celebrating?”
I giggled. “Are you thinking champagne?”
“I have something else in mind.” He tilted my head up with a finger and met my lips with his. They were every bit as firm and warm as I remembered them. Ever since that first night on the balcony, I knew I was hooked. He devoured my lips like a fine wine, savoring every drop. They didn’t remain there long, though, and traversed down my neck to that soft spot where it met my shoulders. Before realizing it, I’d arched my back and offered more of myself to his advances.
“Is there anyone else here?” I asked.
“No, everyone’s gone home.”
“Good.” I drew him back in for a kiss.
He chuckled. “I thought you said you’re normally a shy person.”
I kissed along his jaw. “I am. Or at least I used to be. I think this whole experience has helped me get out of my shell more. Or maybe it’s something about you that does it to me.”
He dipped his finger along my skin just under the neck of my shirt as if to suggest he wanted it off. “I’ll say it’s both. Stand up.”
Tilting my head and wondering what he was up to, I stood in front of him. In one motion, he scooped me off my feet and picked me up effortlessly, as if I weighed no more than the glass of lemonade, still half-full and forgotten about. Instinctively, I flung my arms around his neck, but feeling the rock-solid foundation of his arms underneath me, I had nothing to worry about.
This was my first time in his bedroom, and it was every bit as I’d imagined it. Everything in the room was laid out in an organized fashion, from top to bottom. No flair, no decoration to speak of, just tidy and neat. I could only imagine what the inside of his closet looked like.
I bounced when he laid me on the bed, not quite dropping me, but not taking painstaking time to set me down lightly. Fine by me, as I was beyond needing to be treated like something fragile. I needed him, and I needed him now. If I had to wait any longer, I’d have to let off steam myself.
His hand looped around the back of my neck and drew me up toward him as he loomed over me. His large, top-heavy body cast a long shadow as he held himself aloft in a half-push-up position, bulging his tricep muscles in the process, well evident even through his thick T-shirt. Before anything else happened, I reached up and ran my palms over them, enjoying every ripple beneath my hand.
“I’ve been waiting to do this all day,” he growled against the side of my neck.
His powerful hands traveled up the sides of my rib cage and up over my breasts, lingering there and squeezing, gently at first. I willed him to grip harder, and he somehow heard my thoughts and followed suit, giving me the best massage I could remember.
“How about we get this off you,” he said. “Sit up.”
There was more than a hint of authority in his voice, and his tone alone moved me to action. I lifted my arms over my head. I felt him lift up my top, starting with the bottom. He left the last part for me to do on my own and his hands disappeared, and when I pulled off the last remaining bit and I could see again, his shirt was off as well.
I sucked in my breath as I gazed over his hard body. Reaching up, I traced my fingers along his well-defined abs, looking every bit a washboard, like the nickname suggested. He was in incredible shape, and not just for his age—for any man I’d met. Clearly, tennis did well for him.
His hands rejoined my breasts, working them over with needy fingers. It didn’t take long for them to reach around behind me and unclasp my bra. My breasts practically popped free of their confinement, and he didn’t waste any time enjoying them without clothing.
“You look so good,” he murmured.
I appreciated that, especially since I hadn’t done a single thing to look good that day, other than being myself, which was all I needed to be for him. I threw my hands around his neck and pulled myself up to reach his ear, kissing around the earlobe and ultimately taking it all into my mouth and nibbling on the end. He seemed to like that and moved his hips in response.
His nimble hands found the top button of my jeans, and with a flick of his wrist, he had them open and was already pulling down the zipper. I lifted my hips, and he had me out of those in no time, joined by his jeans, as well, forming a growing pile on the floor. His boxer briefs were already tented, projecting far away from his hips, displaying his impressive manhood. I practically licked my lips.
He gripped the hair at the nape of my neck, just enough to tilt my head up to look at him. “I want your lips on me,” he said with a growl. “You’re going to please me just the way I like it, you understand?”
I nodded. The way he talked to me gave me goosebumps, and everything in me wanted to please him just the way he said. I dipped my fingers under the waistband of his boxer briefs and tugged them down. He shifted so I could take them off completely, and his hardened shaft bounced up to greet me once freed. With him still on his knees on the mattress, I leaned over and brought my lips up to him.
I was reminded of just how thick he was, almost the size of my wrist. Looking at it now, I wondered how I was able to take him earlier, but he certainly had found a way. My body already tingled all over, and I could feel myself quickly growing even more wet, preparing to take him inside me yet again.
Hovering just above him, I exhaled my warm breath against his tip in an attempt to tease him, which apparently worked, as he shifted his weight from one knee to the other. It felt empowering to hear his breath quicken in anticipation of my pleasing him in the way he’d been dreaming about ever since he met me. Or at least, I hoped he had.
I started with my tongue, touching the tip of it against the side of him—I couldn’t tell which part exactly because my eyes were closed—and it inched higher until I reached the top. I rolled my tongue over him in a way I imagined he’d like, making it as warm and wet as possible before plunging my lips over him.
Adding my hand
to the base, I tightened my lips around him and drew them together while pulling up. This had a near-instant reaction as the bear of a man moaned above me. Emboldened by this, I started moving my hand up and down in rhythm with my head, creating the perfect symphony for a man I was already considering my own.
His fingers tangled in my hair and tightened. The sensation brought a moan from my lips too. Nobody had ever pulled my hair before, and I was quickly becoming addicted. He could pull my hair all night if he wanted. Maybe one day I’d put it in a ponytail braid and see what he’d do with that.
The pressure of his hand palming the back of my head increased, and he directed the rhythm of my motions. I didn’t mind. When he was this deliciously dominant, he could direct as much as he wanted. It seemed every time I moaned or hummed, it vibrated onto him in a way he loved, so I made it a point to do it more.
I wished I could’ve timed how long I did this, as not long after, he pulled his hips back and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“If you keep doing that, I’m not going to last much longer.”
“Really?” I was impressed with myself. I had no idea I was that good.
He nodded with a grin. “You’ve got a dirty mouth on you.”
“What do you mean by that?”
He leaned over for a kiss. “I mean you make me feel really good. And you drive me crazy with how sexy you are.”
“I like the sound of that.”
He reached his hand between my legs and I sharply inhaled as his fingers found its target. “How do you like the sound of this?”
“That’s not exactly a—” I stopped short as he replicated the exact same motions underneath my panties. He had to hold the tiny strip to the side in order to have access, but he managed quite well. The man had coordination.
“Take these off,” he said, and I scrambled to do just that.
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