He made a sudden movement, then, rolling onto his back and flipping her with him, so that she was sitting on top of him. Game for anything, she leaned forward and braced herself on his chest, then began riding him with all of her concentration.
She dropped down on his cock again and again, a slapping sound echoing through the room every time her luscious ass made contact with his body.
She looked down at his face as she rode him, and she could see the concentration written there as he fought not to come. She closed her eyes, concentrating on climbing that hill herself. She was so close to putting both of them out of their misery. But, it was such a sweet misery.
Then, just as she felt on the very verge of exploding, he changed up the game again, wrapping his hands around her waist and handling her deftly, flipping both of them over so she was on her hands and knees and he knelt behind her.
Leaning forward, he wrapped an arm around her waist, the strong muscles of his chest pressed all the way down the length of her back. She felt her hair pulled tight as he grabbed a fistful of it.
Gen felt his cock swell inside of her, it pressed against her inner walls and stretched her out wide, and she bore down on him to increase the pressure right back on him.
A smile grew on her lips when a ragged groan rumbled in his chest, because she knew that her tactic had been successful.
Finally, he took control of her one last time and gently maneuvered her onto her back once again. He kissed her deeply as he buried himself inside her, building up the speed of his strokes from a slow and meandering gentle crawl to the kind of frenzy that would build them up to their final climaxes.
She was momentarily overwhelmed with intensity of both sensation and emotion, and her hips instinctually pulled away a little bit. His hands were firm on her, though, and she couldn’t get any distance between him and her tender flesh.
Which, in the next second, she was actually grateful for because that was the moment that she burst over the mountaintop onto the next level of mind blowing pleasure. Her orgasm hit her like a freight train, knocking her senseless and sending her spinning.
He tightened every muscle in his body at the same time, and she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight as he clenched again and again, responding to the powerful orgasm that was roaring through him.
She couldn’t stop looking at his face as he climaxed, and it made her come even harder, knowing that it was her body giving him that kind of pleasure. She was the one that was driving him to those heights, and it aroused her more than anything else could have, the knowledge that she had that kind of power.
Gen loved making him feel good. She loved it almost as much as her own pleasure. She used to think it was because she liked the control it gave her, the power. But now she was starting to suspect that it had more to do with wanting him to feel good because she cared about him, and being happy that that was a gift that she could give him.
She squeezed her eyes closed and concentrated hard on enjoying every second of the sensation while it roared through her. She knew that it was fleeting – that was the nature of orgasms, they were powerful but short-lived, like a bright white flame that burns hot but can’t sustain itself for more than a few seconds. Still, during the time that it went on, however short, she was determined to wring every drop of pleasure from it that she could.
She grabbed his hair and dug her fingers into his back as the waves flowed through her, making sure that he couldn’t pull himself away at that critical moment. She wanted to make it last as long as possible, and for that, she needed him to stay right where he was.
Her pussy clenched tight around his cock as an orgasm grew to full force. That was one hell of a sensation, to have her inner walls clenching around him so tight that they nearly strangled his dick.
When they were finished and spent, he collapsed onto the bed next to her. They were both sweaty and breathing hard, like they’d just finished a sprint. Which, she guessed they had, in a way. Just not of running.
He curled a piece of her hair around his finger and she smiled contentedly. This felt nice, lazy and domestic, with the scent of bacon and coffee still hanging heavily in the air.
“So,” he said, “What are your plans for the day?”
She smiled. “Not totally sure. But the one thing I know for sure is that they are going to start with devouring that plate of food you made me, that’s still sitting on my counter. I’ve worked up quite an appetite.”
Chapter 23
A chime sounded through the air as Gen pushed through the door of February Breeze Heating and Air Conditioning Repair. The cheerful sound seemed like an omen to her. She was finally back on track. Visiting vendors, getting things done. It was all coming together.
This was her sweet spot. This was where she felt alive – talking to people, persuading them that her way was the right way, getting cooperation. She felt a thrill in her body at just the prospect of it, like an athlete who senses that they are just about to enter “the zone.”
The best part? She could finally have one day – just one day, please God! – that was about something besides Gavin. He’d been taking up far too much mental real estate for her lately, and it was high time she got back to focusing on herself and the things she was good at.
She squared her shoulders and walked up to the counter. The clerk greeted her with a smile. “Hi, Genevieve. How are you?”
“Good, thanks, Kit. How are Marc and the kids?”
“They’re doing good. Jimmy’s looking good to start on the varsity team this year, did you hear?”
“Oh, that doesn’t surprise me one bit. He’s got his dad’s strength and speed and his mom’s quick thinking and leadership skills. The perfect combo.”
Kit flushed with pleasure at the compliment, giving Gen a small twinge of satisfaction. Small talk like this was common in a town the size of Valentine Bay, of course, where everyone knew everyone else. But Gen secretly considered herself the master of it. She could take the most common exchange of pleasantries and turn it into a memorable conversation that would leave someone feeling good about themselves – and her.
As an event coordinator, a big part of her job was selling. Sure, there was selling the celebrants on choosing her venue, but it went so much deeper than that. She had to sell the vendors on giving her good rates, sell the staff on doing a stellar job night after night – the list went on.
Everything was sales, as far as she was concerned. And, in her mind, sales wasn’t about “closing.” It was about relationship building. About mutually beneficial arrangements and “win-win” situations. It was about seeing what the other person needed underneath what they were saying that they wanted. Sales started from the first hello and continued on long after the contract had been signed.
It was more than just her job. It was her calling, and she’d been distracted from it for far too long.
“I’ve got an appointment with Mr. Finn,” Gen said, and Kit looked down at the notepad sitting in front of her.
“Oh, yep, you sure do! Go right in.”
As Gen walked down the hallway to the back offices, her stride strong and confident, she was struck by a thought that caused a small hitch in her step.
Oh, God. Is that what I haven’t been doing with Gavin? Have I been distracted by what he’s saying he wants and not looking below that to give him what he really needs, instead?
As soon as the connection came together in an explosion of firing synapses in her brain, she recognized the truth of it deep in her bones. But, she also recognized that right before going into a pitch meeting was no time to deal with that particular revelation.
For God’s sake, Gen! Just put Gavin on your mental back burner for One. Freaking. DAY!
Gathering herself, thrusting her shoulders back, and pasting on her best “trust me, I’m the expert and I wouldn’t steer you wrong” smile, she stepped through the door to Mr. Finn’s office, determined to put Gavin and his mystery issues out of her mind – if not for t
he length of the entire day, then at least for the length of this meeting.
Gerald Finn looked up from the papers he was reading as she entered his office. His face brightened with a wide smile immediately and Gen was filled with a deep sense of satisfaction. This was what relationship-based marketing was all about – the client was happy to see you, even when they knew they were about to be pitched.
“Genevieve! So great to see you. To be honest, I’ve been looking forward to this appointment all day. Have a seat, have a seat.”
Wow, this could not be off to a better start!
Gen sat in the chair he’d gestured to, her confidence about the appointment building by the second.
“Mr. Finn, I’m so glad to hear you’ve been looking forward to talking about the Fall Festival. I feel exactly the same way.”
He waved his hand as if brushing that idea away. “Oh, sure, we can get to that. But what I really wanted to talk to you about was you and Gavin Valentine.”
Gen closed her eyes, doing her level best to collect herself.
“Oh, not for me, of course,” Mr. Finn rushed on to explain. “It’s my wife. You understand. She made me promise to ask you about it. I’m under threat of sleeping on the couch for a month if I don’t come home with some tidbit or another. So, come on, Gen. Can you help me out?”
Oh, God. Well, I guess that’s Valentine Bay for you. Upside – you’ll never meet a stranger, only friends you haven’t gotten to know yet. Downside – you may as well just forget about putting Gavin Valentine out of your brain for even one measly day. Or, you know. Hour.
She opened her eyes, back in full sales mode, and let a mischievous smile play on her lips. “Well, Mr. Finn, I think that depends. How committed are you to making the Fall Festival a success? It seems to me that we’re in a unique position to help each other out. I hear sofa sleeping can be very lumpy and lonely.”
He burst out laughing and extended his hand across the desk for her to shake. “You drive a hard bargain, Genevieve. But you have yourself a deal.”
Chapter 24
“I have a job for you.”
At the sound of his brother’s voice, Gavin looked up from his coffee. It was more assertive than usual, which piqued his interest. Troy was usually such a go with the flow guy. His strength was more of the “immovable rock in a storm” variety, versus the “steamroller” type – but his voice certainly sounded like he was about to start steamrolling, and Gavin was very interested in what was so important to his brother that he’d approach it like that.
“What’s the job?”
“Rinse out your coffee cup and come with me, and you’ll see.”
With that, Troy turned and walked straight to the front door, and then straight out of it, all without turning his head back once to see if Gavin was following him.
Gavin actually barked out a short laugh of pure shock. Damn, what’d gotten into Troy?
There was really only one thing to do: rinse out his coffee cup and follow him to find out.
When he’d climbed into the passenger seat and fastened his seat belt, he turned to Troy with a hint of a grin and said, “Where to, Commander?”
Troy narrowed his eyes at him but didn’t start speaking until they were halfway down the block. When he did, the words were measured and controlled. “This isn’t a joke, Gav. You’re drifting. You don’t want to tell me what’s going on, and honestly, that’s fine. It’s your business. But it’s obviously something big, and sitting around the house isn’t helping it. So maybe this will.”
Gavin marveled at Troy’s persistence in this “badass” routine. Hell, whatever he’d set up for Gavin’s benefit must’ve really been important to him if he was pushing himself this far outside his comfort zone to make it happen.
Well, hell, I guess that means I have to stop being a smartass and take whatever this is seriously. That’ll be a real sacrifice, but…aw, what the hell. Worth it.
He turned in his seat so that he was angled toward Troy. “All right, man. I give. Where are we going? I’ll take it seriously. I swear to God.”
Troy looked over at his face for as long as he could without putting them both in danger as they wound through the curvy streets. When he turned his eyes back to the road, he gave an abrupt nod. “Good. I’m glad.”
Gavin noticed he still hadn’t spilled the beans on their destination. “God, Troy. Are you taking me out in the woods to shoot me or something? Why all the Secret Squirrel bullshit?”
Troy was quiet for a minute, then he said, “You’re coming to work with me.”
“To your construction site?”
Troy let another abrupt nod serve as his answer.
“Damn, dude. If you needed some free labor, all you had to do was ask.”
“See, Gav? This is why I didn’t want to get into this with you. Can you just trust me? For once?”
That last part seemed extremely pointed, and Gavin found that kind of annoying…but, at the same time, he had to admit that his vow to refrain from smartassedness had lasted all of 30 seconds, if that. So it wasn’t as if Troy didn’t have a point.
“I trust you. Let’s do this thing.”
Troy took his eyes from the winding roads again and studied Gavin’s face for as long as it was safe, in fact probably even a little longer than was safe, and Gavin had to wonder how acerbic he usually was if his brother couldn’t even recognize or didn’t trust true sincerity when it came from him.
That was actually pretty sad.
When Troy pulled the truck to a stop, it wasn’t in front of his current job site, though. It was in front of a small, half-framed cottage that Gavin had never seen before, and there were already a half a dozen people standing on the lot.
Gavin turned a puzzled expression on his brother. “What is this? This isn’t the job you’re on.”
“Nope. I’m volunteering with House the Homeless today. I do that about once a month.”
Gavin decided to give the sincerity thing another try. He clapped his hand on Troy’s shoulder. “Well, for today at any rate, we’re volunteering.”
Troy cracked a smile and Gavin felt a jolt of brotherly connection. Okay, so this was a good lesson – even if something like sincerity doesn’t feel natural, to yourself or even to the people around you, it’s worth giving it more than one try. Maybe things like that took practice, just like anything.
As they slammed the car door and walked up toward the house, one of the men standing on the lot waved in a friendly greeting. “Hey, there he is! Our foreman for the day. Hey, Troy, the guys have lined up their tools to get ready. Care to do a quick inspection and then assign jobs?”
Troy nodded and then took a look at the groupings of tools laying out in front of the guys gathered there, picking some up and examining them, and offering intermittent tips along the way.
It was only during this process that Gavin realized that these “guys” weren’t full-grown men at all – they were teenagers. Some of them pretty young looking teenagers.
Gavin realized one more thing: they were looking up at Troy like he was some kind of God.
So, shit, they’re clearly pretty impressionable, Gavin thought before reminding himself that he’d put a day-long ban on sarcasm in place.
Anyway. Gavin didn’t know if it was Troy’s status as a former pro athlete or if he had some kind of previous rapport built with these particular kids (because that was what they were, when you came down to it), but there was definitely real admiration shining in their faces, and it sent a jolt through Gavin, a feeling that he never expected to feel toward one of his brothers.
He was jealous.
Well, not jealous so much as…he didn’t know the word. It wasn’t a negative feeling, as if he didn’t think Troy deserved what he had and it should’ve been Gavin’s instead. It was more like he saw what Troy had built here, and he wanted that for himself, too.
Longing.
Yeah. He recognized the correctness of the word as soon as it popped into his hea
d. He had a deep longing to fit in somewhere the way Troy obviously did, to be looked up to, to give back, to find meaning.
Huh. Meaning. There was that concept again. It had been on his mind a lot, this search for meaning, and he’d come no closer to solving the conundrum.
As he worked side by side with the teenagers all day, though, he thought that he might be making some progress. Talking with them, hearing about their lives and struggles, and offering his experience and perspective was satisfying.
It made him feel like a link in the chain of time. His father, his teachers, his commanding officers – they’d passed down lessons to him that had served him well, strengthened his character, and made him the man he was today. Now, he was passing that same wisdom down to a younger generation. Possibly, one day in the future, they would do the same for someone younger than themselves.
Gavin didn’t know what it all meant in a practical sense, or how he was going to translate this experience into a plan for the future, but he did feel a hell of a lot closer to grasping the thing he’d been searching for: meaning.
Chapter 25
Gavin stepped up to the front door of an old, Victorian house he’d never been to and glanced down at the slip of paper in his hand, then back up at the wrought iron house numbers nailed above the doorframe.
Yep. He was in the right place. He didn’t know what the hell he was doing here, but he was in the right place.
The door stood slightly ajar and he stepped up to it and knocked. “Grandmother Valentine? Are you here? It’s Gavin.”
When his grandmother had called him that morning, all she’d given him was the address of this house and the time he should meet her here. When he’d asked why she wanted to see him, she’d merely repeated the address and the time in an even firmer tone of voice.
He glanced at his watch. Two p.m. He was right on time.
Thinking about the edged-open front door, his nerve ends started tingling. He didn’t like it. His grandmother, although steely in spirit, was an elderly woman. What if there was some kind of foul play going down, and she was trapped inside?
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