by AliyahBurke
She pulled away and walked into the warm water yet still felt chilled from where she missed his touch. “Is that all you wanted to know?”
“No. Why are you not in a relationship?”
She turned to face him. The wind blew her hair and dress as she stood in the shallow water. “Why aren’t you?” she countered.
“I’m working on it.”
“Really?” Be still my beating heart. “What do you look for in a woman?”
He walked towards her but she turned and walked down the beach some more, so his steps fell into tune with hers as they proceeded onward.
Gavin was quiet for a bit. “Chemistry. There needs to be something between us.” He glanced at her, his eyes telling her he knew there was something between them.
“What else?”
“Looks don’t hurt, but personality is important. I want someone who wants me for me, not because of my money.”
She scoffed. “Right. You are filthy rich. I don’t see you looking for anything but a trophy wife. One that will look good on your arm at all those functions you attend.”
“Don’t you believe in love?”
“You do?” She couldn’t hide her shock and stopped in her tracks.
“I do now. How about you?”
Her heart pounded so hard, she felt it might fall out of her chest. “I don’t know. It all sounds so good, but usually that means someone is going to have to give something up.”
“Why do you say that? Love shouldn’t be about giving something up.”
“It’s true.”
“Very jaded of you, don’t you think?”
“I haven’t had many opportunities in my life, not to be jaded.”
“Tell me about it?”
“My past would bore you.” She shrugged and made as if it was a joke. Nonetheless when she began to walk again his arm shot out and grabbed her.
He was in the water with her and had her hauled right up to his chest where she could see his eyes in the moonlight. They were very direct as they stared at her. The blue fire in them licked at her skin, burning her, making her tremble.
“Tell me. Nothing about you would bore me, haven’t you figured that out yet? I want to know all about you, your past, and your dreams. Everything. I want to know about your family, everything about you.” His words coaxed and suddenly it was too much.
In one smooth motion she jerked free of his hold. Her words came fast and clipped with anger and defensiveness. “Why are you so interested in me? I know I am not the type you usually date. What is it you want from me? Is this a bet at work, see if you can bed the black delivery girl? Why are you playing with me?” With that said she ran off down the beach. Water sprayed up, soaking her dress, but she kept running until she was out of his sight.
* * * *
Stunned by the venom and pain in her voice, Gavin remained still as she ran from his view. Why was he so interested in her? Clint had asked him the same thing. Gavin knew money was an issue for her and probably the color difference would be as well. It wasn’t for him. Her skin color made her more beautiful to him, but it was more. Didn’t she know she was so much more?
It was in the way her eyes sparkled and her smile illuminated her face. The way she lit up the place where she was with her presence. The concern she had for those less fortunate than her. The proud bearing she carried herself with even when she was faced with racist bastards like Boyle Dorgan. It was the way she made his heart accelerate and his legs wobbly when she looked at him. How her lilac smell tantalized him. She was so special it broke his heart to think her life was anything less than perfect. Her look, one simple look would make him feel like he could do anything.
He wanted to take care of her, love her and protect her. Gavin wanted to go to those functions with her by his side. Wanted to tell the world how he felt about her. With a single-minded purpose he jogged off in the direction she had gone. There was no sign of her until he came to a rocky area. He heard some soft sounds and approached quietly. His eagle gaze found her sitting on the sand, without care for her dress, her back against a rock and her hands rummaging in the sand beside her.
She was talking to herself. Well, not really, she was holding a conversation with the big man upstairs.
“Alright, Lord. Tell me what to do now. I know you have a purpose for all you do, so what is the purpose of this? I am going to lose both Allison and Bryce. Why are you tormenting me?”
“Sorry.” He heard her take a deep breath. “I don’t understand why you keep putting this man in my path. I am falling in love and it scares me senseless. He and I are too different. I know you know we are different colors, since you made us, but come on. Why me? Wasn’t my past enough?”
She shifted on the sand. “I can’t take much more. I don’t think I agree with people who say you only put obstacles we can handle in our paths. I have been beaten, broken and deceived. Over and over it seems. This one, he be wantin’ something, Lord. I need to know what it is.”
A gentle smile crossed Gavin’s face as he listened to her to as if God were actually sitting across from her.
Sanura kept talking. “I know his mother would disapprove of me. That is not the problem. I don’t know if I can trust him.” She was silent for a moment, letting the silken sand run between her brown fingers. Then, as if she had received an answer, she nodded. “I know. I can trust him. He was there for me after Pete beat the shit out of me, pardon my French there, Lord.” Gavin smiled. “He was there when Terrance came back, and gave me the strength to turn him away. But what if he finds out about my past? I know that would make him change his mind about me in a second.” Another pause as she exhaled loudly. “Give him a chance? You think so? Alright, maybe I should.”
Gavin backed off a bit, his heart smiling at her declaration, and called her name, “Sanura? Sanura are you over here?”
“Right here. Sorry about that . . . that running off thing.”
She stepped from behind a rock and walked towards him. His gaze lingered on her as she drew near. She smiled a little at him then stopped. His eyes and face grew serious as he closed the rest of the small distance between them.
“You asked me a question back there.”
“Never mind.” Her low voice thrummed new life into his body.
“No. I want to answer you.” He stepped closer yet and looked down at her. “You asked what it was I wanted from you. Everything, I . . . want . . . everything.” One finger trailed down her face burning where it touched. “Do you remember what I told you at your house?”
Sanura nodded and he continued, “I meant every bit of it. I want to be the exclusive man in your life. I want to be the only man in your life. I want you to have a relationship with me. Whatever you are willing to give me, I will gladly accept.”
“It would never work between us.”
“How can you say that, when you haven’t given us a chance?”
“We are too different.”
“Do you really care what others say?”
“No, but you have a name and reputation to protect, not to mention your mother. Look at you; you are one of the most eligible bachelors around, probably in the country. What is being with me going to do for you except cause you problems? We don’t exactly fit the ideal couple picture, especially down here in the south.”
“Who gives a damn? We fit it in my eyes.” He grabbed her shoulders and shook her slightly. “I want to be with you. You. Day and night, I think about you. Your skin, your scent, your smile. Everything. I want to be able to come over and hold you, because you’re mine. Take you to more dinners like tonight knowing I am with the most beautiful woman in the place. I want everyone to know you are my girlfriend. My woman. That we are a couple.”
Chapter Ten
Girlfriend? Oh, this must be a dream. Okay, Lord, I get the hint.
Sanura pushed back some unruly locks of hair from his face. “Let’s take it slowly?”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes. That’s
a yes.” Sanura spoke in a soft but confident tone.
Gavin let out a loud rebel yell, the likes of one that would have made General Lee proud, and swooped her up in his arms. “You’re mine.” That said he put his lips on hers.
Flames arced instantly. Their bodies melded together and tongues mingled. Gavin’s hands were pulling up her dress to cup her scantily clad bottom. Sanura was running her hands in his hair, trying to get closer.
She pulled back and shook her head when he moved back in towards her. “We need to go back.”
Gavin read the unspoken message in her eyes. “Tell me about it?” He lowered her dress, sat on the beach with his back to the rock put her between his legs and pressed her back against his chest. They sat there and shared body heat.
“There is nothing to tell.”
“You can trust me. I won’t hurt you.” His words sank in and she began to talk.
“It is hard for me to trust. I do trust you, although you are a white guy,” she added with a tease. “Look, let’s say not all of my relationships have been good.”
Gavin spread one large hand across her womb and in a flash she pictured herself growing large with his child. In a deep voice he said, “So you need one that will leave you with good memories. Not all of us are bad.”
“I never said white. . .”
“I meant men in general, no matter what the color there are good ones and bad. There are still some good ones out there. Not that you need to look now, since I plan on being the only one you see.”
Tension flowed out of her body and into the sand. His words had brought her a sense of relief she didn’t know she needed. “Tell me about you. Why me? I am sure you have many women that want you. Not that they would if they had seen your apartment.”
“I felt it the first time I ever laid eyes on you. Do you remember that day? When you delivered our lunch?” At her nod he kept talking. “I am glad I was sitting down, because you made my knees go weak. It took every ounce of power not to kill David for his comment to you. I wanted to stop by after work and find you to apologize for what he said, but I was too scared you would think I was like him. From that moment on you have haunted my thoughts. The first time I saw you in a dress was at your restaurant. You and Allison were going in and you took my breath away.
“You are different from the other women I know.” She stiffened in his arms but he wouldn’t let go, if anything he held her tighter. “You are real. Your smile, everything you do makes people feel good. You treat me like a human and not a pile of money. You make me feel like a man.” That last statement was whispered so softly she almost didn’t hear it. It made her realize this was no game to him; she wasn’t a game to him.
Sanura turned her face into his neck. “You are most definitely all man. Every single, fine ass inch of ya.”
His tongue flicked her ear as he whispered, “And I’m all yours.”
Hell’s bells. This was every fantasy of hers come to life. Her body knew it and was clamoring for its share of his attention.
“I’m hungry.” Those words were the first she could think of. Her dress clung wet to her body and had sand in it.
She could feel his chest move with laughter. “Already? Alright, let’s go get some food for you. Can’t let it be spread around I starve my woman.”
His woman. What a nice sound that had.
They rose and walked back up the beach holding hands. As they walked, Gavin kept looking at her. All she could think is could this be real? Was this really happening?
Laurent was waiting for them with fresh coffee and a new platter of dessert samples. Not a single word was said about Sanura’s rumpled state. Gavin fed her and himself from the same fork, while his eyes did things to her insides making her wish they were alone somewhere.
Finally they were ready to leave. Gavin paid the bill and helped her into the car, setting her shoes on the floor by her feet. He started the car and headed off. Once they were back on the freeway, he reached over and picked up one of her hands to hold. She dozed while he drove and rubbed her skin.
Her eyes fluttered open when the engine died. Gavin opened the door and as she got out she realized where they were. At his condo. She went with him silently and blushed when the doorman nodded knowingly at her with a grin on his face. Once the elevator doors closed, Gavin’s mouth had taken possession of hers again. Unfortunately it stopped on the third floor and two other women got on, both small cute and blonde, and they sent looks at the two of them. Curious ones at Sanura, seductive ones at Gavin.
Gavin said nothing to them, kept his blue eyes on her. She knew he saw how she tensed when they tried to get his attention. The ladies got off on the eighth floor and as soon as they were moving again his lips were back on hers. Kissing away her doubts. They walked down the hall towards his place and as he opened the door, Sanura began to laugh. Her laughter broke the tension between them and he looked at her with a question in his eyes.
“What?”
“I was remembering the first time I was in here. I was so scared something was going to jump out of the mess and bite me.”
He nodded. “The place was really a mess. Did I ever thank you for coming and helping me clean it? Or for the food?”
“No.” Her head confirmed her response.
“Allow me to rectify that oversight.” His potent response came. Moments later his mouth claimed hers and his tongue stoked the fire back to blazing inside her body, before pulling away leaving her trembling for more. “That was for leaving the food. This is for helping me clean.”
He lifted her straight off the floor and placed his mouth on hers. His body was hard and ground against hers as she responded to his heated caresses. Finally he pulled back, glanced down at her swollen lips and groaned, “You are so beautiful it hurts.”
“I’m cold. Do you have something I can change into?” The air conditioning in his condo had latched onto her wet dress and didn’t leave anything to his imagination as he looked over her.
“Sure.” He disappeared and returned in moments with a large tee shirt and a pair of shorts. “Don’t worry, they’re clean.”
“Great. Be right back.” She walked up to his bathroom and changed, hung up her wet dress to dry. She felt better in the shirt and shorts even if they were way too big for her. She went back to the living room and found him standing where she had left him.
“My clothes never looked better.” His voice was low and seductive.
“So? What now?”
Gavin’s eyes blazed. “Well, you know what I want to do, but you said slowly, so come sit with me. Let me hold you at least.”
Eagerly, she walked to him and was enfolded in his embrace. They sat in the dim light and listened to soft music. For once both of them were comfortable. The silence between them was not strained. It worked. His hand ran idly up and down her exposed skin, lulling her tired body into pre slumber.
Sanura was about asleep when the phone rang. She felt him reach for the phone and speak softly, as if he believed her to be asleep.
“Hello? What, Mother? No. I have a date, Mother, I am not coming over. No it is not Cathy, Mother. I told you I was going out with Sanura. What do you mean why am I whispering? Because she is sleeping on the couch next to me.”
There was a fierce tightening in his body. Sanura could feel the stress and anger begin to build within him. Whatever his mother said didn’t agree with him. Sanura began to caress his chest, to keep him calm. She moved her hands down to the leg by her arm. Her face nestled closer to his chest. He smelled so good.
“I have to go, Mother. Goodbye.” He hung up on her, dropped the phone back into the charger and stopped her hand from roaming.
“Kitten. I know you said you wanted to take things slow, but if you don’t stop this I don’t know if I will be able to. Much more of this and I will be anything but a gentleman.”
In one smooth motion, Sanura had maneuvered herself to straddle his lean hips. She leaned forward and put her lips to his. She was t
he aggressor and she set the pace. Gavin put his hands on her waist and tightened the loose fabric of the shirt she wore into his fists. Sanura pulled her head away from his and stared into his eyes.
Her eyes were steamy and full of desire. “I changed my mind.” With that she pulled the shirt off over her head, leaving his gaze full of her breasts in a lacy blue bra.
“Are you sure?” he croaked as his body leapt in response to her body being bared to him.
“Less talk. You said you were going to keep me up all night and then some. Come, make my back arch.” With one hand she cupped the proof of his desire through his khakis, scoring it with her nails, and her other popped the front latch on her bra. Her full breasts fell bare and free before his hungry gaze.
Gavin leaned forward and placed the pebbled nipple of one in his mouth. Upon contact Sanura’s back arched and she let out a moan. Her hands tugged at his crewneck, her message clear. Off. Gavin leaned forward and released her breast for the seconds it took him to jerk his shirt off, leaving his chest as bare as hers.
Sanura looked her fill. Those shirts never lied about the physique that lay beneath them. The man had a chest sculpted like a Greek god. Six pack and all. There was a light dusting of hair on his rock-hard torso but he wasn’t all hair. Then his mouth was back on her breast, which prompted her head to fall back. His other hand found the other one and tugged on its peak, making her whimper even more.
* * * *
This was crazy. He wasn’t going to do this on the couch. Reluctantly he stopped suckling on the most luscious breast he had ever had in his mouth. In one motion he’d risen off the couch and kept her in his arms as he strode to the bedroom.
He laid her on the bed and took a moment to solely look. He saw the trinity knot on her left breast and some scars on her abdomen. Saw perfection. This was the woman of his dreams. He pulled down the oversized shorts she wore, exposing the flimsy lace underwear he knew she wore under that dress. As he tossed her shorts away, Sanura rose up and began to unbuckle his belt.
He got the message and his pants followed the same direction as her shorts. He wore boxers and they did little to contain his throbbing arousal. It strained at the material, pushing so the hardened length was outlined. Gavin dropped the black boxers and watched her face as she looked him over. His manhood bobbed as her tongue darted out to lick her lips as an unbidden moan escaped her. There was raging lust in her gaze.