by Mia Knight
“Which he will since he’s in love with you.” Carmen erupted from her seat and did an energetic twerk, which was interrupted by the oven buzzer. Still shaking her ass, Carmen pulled the burritos out of the oven and made them both a plate. She slapped the plate in front of Lyla, kissed her on the mouth and did a shimmy. “Yaaaaaasss! Go, Gavin, go Gavin. You can do it, you can do it. You’re a bad ass, yes, yes! Get yo girl! Woo hoo!” Carmen plopped down in her seat and forked up a mouthful of burrito, eyes shining. “I am so happy!”
“No kidding,” Lyla said with a smile.
“This is amazing. Who knew this kidnapping business would have a good outcome?”
“Not me.”
“So, you forgave him for... before, you know?”
“Yes.” They ate in silence and then she said, “Manny’s worried.”
“Why?”
“Because he says Gavin’s reputation keeps everyone in line and if he leaves it...”
Carmen shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. That’s Gavin’s business.”
Lyla tried to put it out of her mind. Carmen noticed her preoccupation and smacked her arm.
“Lyla, stop worrying.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“Yes, it is, because I trust Vinny to take care of me. Maybe after Gavin gives it up, you’ll feel the same and you guys can go back to the way you were before.”
“The way we were?”
“We do whatever we want and love the hell out of our men when they come home to us.”
No job? She couldn’t deny that not having to worry about bills would be nice, but would staying at home make her stir crazy?
“Girl, I can hear your wheels turning. You’re a worrier, always have been. You’re always thinking ten steps ahead and biting your nails about things that haven’t happened. I think it comes from your parents. You took care of them from a young age, got a job while you were in high school to help with the bills when things with your dad went sour.”
“You taking psychology classes?” Lyla asked with raised brows.
Carmen rearranged her nipples in her top. “Just because I’m hot doesn’t mean I can’t be smart too.”
“I guess. What are you doing today?”
“We aren’t going anywhere. You and I are going to talk, eat, cry and laugh. Nothing else.”
Carmen was as good as her word. The day passed in a blur of emotion. They migrated from the house to the pool cabana where Carmen persuaded her to get rid of the jacket. Lyla wasn’t sure why she was so self-conscious of her body, but Carmen distracted her too quickly for her to ponder it. Carmen was exhausting, entertaining and supportive. When Lyla took a nap, Carmen cuddled up with her in bed, arms holding her tight. It wasn’t as comforting as Gavin’s hold, but Lyla was grateful nonetheless. They ordered pizza for themselves and the guards and watched chick flicks while they french braided one another’s hair. Gavin’s cook arrived and asked if Lyla had any food preferences and explained that she prepared meals and delivered once a week. She showed Lyla the instructions on the meatloaf for dinner and left.
When Vinny arrived at sunset, Carmen leapt up and launched herself at him as if she hadn’t seen him in years. They shared a deep kiss before he set her down. His eyes were cautious when they shifted to Lyla. Thanks to Carmen, Lyla felt almost normal. She smiled at him and allowed him to give her a long, tight hug.
“Lyla,” Vinny began and said nothing else.
“I’m okay.”
He drew back. “Anything you need, you let us know.”
“Thanks, Vinny.”
“Gavin said maybe another hour and he’ll come home.”
“Is everything okay? At the office?”
He rubbed a hand down her arm. “Yes. He’s just catching up. Gavin’s never spent more than a day away from the office. He needs to learn how to delegate.”
“Oh.” And she kept him away from the office for days.
“This is a good thing, Lyla,” Vinny said. “Work was his life. Now he has a reason to change.”
“So you have more responsibility?” Lyla asked.
Vinny laughed. “Oh, yeah, but I’m looking forward to it. Gavin’s changing a lot of things. Promoting, firing and putting people through their paces.”
“Why’s he doing that?”
“I think he wants more time away from the office.” Vinny wagged his brows suggestively and she laughed.
Lyla put the meatloaf in and they chatted around the dining table, drinking wine until it was finished. Lyla was disappointed that Gavin didn’t arrive in time, but she had fun with Carmen and Vinny. They were so meant for one another. They finished each others sentences and even though they’d been together since their teens, their love hadn’t waned. Lyla felt a pang watching them. They were so open and in sync with one another. She and Gavin were... She wasn’t sure. They had a volatile relationship that was still a work in progress.
Gavin arrived as Carmen and Vinny were on their way out. It was past nine o’clock and Lyla saw the hard look Gavin and Vinny exchanged before he made his way over to her.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said and gave her a long, deep kiss. “You taste good.”
“It’s meatloaf.”
“Damn, that sounds good.” Gavin turned to kiss Carmen on the cheek. “Thanks for keeping Lyla company.”
“No problem, and thanks for keeping her here. Permanently.” Carmen winked and dashed to Vinny’s car as he revved it.
“Had a good day?” Gavin asked as they walked in.
“Yes. I’m glad she came.” She hadn’t known that she needed girl time. “How was work?”
“Busy.”
She made him a plate of meatloaf and a glass of wine and sat with him as he ate. Something was wrong. She sensed it, but didn’t press. Instead, she told him about her day and then waited until he finished eating.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“The other guy who kidnapped you is dead,” he said without inflection and drained his wine.
Lyla let out a sharp breath. “How?”
“Gunshot to the temple.”
“You?”
He gave her a very direct look. “No. Eli.”
“Eli? The angry cop from the club?”
Gavin drained his wine. “Your captor was present the night Eli’s mother was assaulted. Eli got to him before one of my men could.”
Lyla waited for him to go on. He drank another glass of wine and held the delicate stem between his fingers. She sensed his attempt to smother his emotions, but they filled the room. Lyla could taste his rage although nothing showed on his face.
“Someone’s testing me,” he said quietly.
A chill ran up her spine. He turned the glass slowly between his fingers, not looking at her.
“I’ve made some progress shifting things over to another caretaker, but it’ll take time.”
“Okay.”
“I’m rearranging things so I can spend time away from the office.” He focused on her. “I thought we could go on a trip somewhere. Get away.”
She stared at him. The last time they were together, they never traveled. Their lives revolved around The Strip. He was always working, even then. He’s trying to change, she thought and smiled. “That sounds nice.”
“Good. I’m trying to make my schedule more... flexible and normal.”
“That’s great.”
He surveyed her. “You look good.”
“I feel better.”
He nodded and rose. “I’m exhausted.”
Lyla put everything in the sink and they went upstairs. She hesitated when he stripped. Gavin turned to her and gently slipped her out of her clothes before he shuffled her into the shower. She allowed him to wash her hair since he liked to do it. He was hard again. She turned from him to wash the suds out of her hair. Because he was with her, she didn’t scrub her skin. She rinsed and stepped out before him. She dressed in the closet in another sexless garment and slipped into bed before he emerged. Lyla’s teeth clenched
as he got in on his side. This time he didn’t bring his laptop to bed. He settled her against him and sighed. Within minutes, she heard his breathing even out. It took a long time for her to go to sleep.
***
The next day, Carmen came over to keep her company and this time, she came prepared with junk food and a stripper work out video. They danced around and on the dining room chairs. Lyla lost her inhibitions when she saw Carmen dancing as if her life depended on it. They celebrated the work out by eating brownies and then taking a dip in the pool. Lyla wondered if Carmen noticed her awkwardness with her body yesterday and was urging her to take back her sexuality. If that was Carmen’s intention, it was working.
Gavin came home at a more reasonable hour, but he seemed preoccupied and excused himself during dinner to take a call. He never came back to the table. Carmen kissed her goodbye when Vinny swung by to pick her up. Lyla paused by Gavin’s closed office doors and couldn’t hear anything since it was soundproof. She wondered if something was going wrong with turning the underworld to someone else and worried about it before she went upstairs to shower. She took her time, but Gavin didn’t appear. She got into bed and waited, but he still didn’t show. She closed her eyes as she snuggled under the covers. She needed to sleep alone eventually. Gavin wouldn’t always be there to tuck her in. She wasn’t a child. Lyla forced herself to take deep breaths and eventually yawned. Using the deep breathing method, she lulled herself into an uneasy doze.
***
Lyla dreamed of Pervert. He held her down and laughed as she struggled, doing everything in her power to get him off of her. He sat on her chest and she panicked as she breathed through her nose since there was a strip of tape on her mouth. He grabbed her face between his hands and squeezed cruelly.
“I’m going to ruin you so Pyre won’t want you anymore.” He kissed her lips over the tape. “He can have anyone he wants. Why would he want you? Women beg to be with him. You’ve been nothing but trouble. He’ll tire of you and give you back to me.”
There was the sound of clothes tearing and then his hand questing down her stomach, between her legs. He shoved in and she screamed.
***
Lyla woke with a scream, sitting up and shoving at someone who wasn’t there. Gavin ran out of the bathroom, a towel in his hands, body dripping.
“You okay? Bad dream?” he asked, coming towards her.
Lyla wrapped her arms around him, forcing him to sit on the bed. She rested her forehead, covered in cold sweat, against his chest. She was trembling and could still feel that hand moving down her body, into her.
“Touch me,” she said.
Gavin stiffened. “What?”
Lyla grabbed his hand and slipped it beneath the sweater and placed it on her stomach where Pervert’s hand had been in the dream. She relaxed instantly. She wouldn’t mistake Gavin’s large hand with Pervert’s grubby, clammy paws. She shuddered. Gavin tried to pull his hand away.
“No, I need—” she began and stopped, realizing how crazy she was acting. “I’m sorry, I—”
“Don’t apologize,” he said and kissed her. “What else do you need?”
Lyla searched the hard planes of his face. He still had water droplets on his eyelashes and he was naked. His body was strong and unapologetically masculine. As she stared into his amber eyes, she had a vivid memory of what happened in his office. Her body tingled. She held onto the memory of Gavin going down on her rather than the recent dream, which chilled her.
“I need you,” she said and moved his hand from her stomach to the apex of her thighs.
Gavin’s eyes didn’t waver from hers. “You really want this?”
She nodded emphatically. She needed to exorcise Pervert from her mind and body.
Gavin’s hand moved and she forced herself to spread her thighs. When his fingers stroked her, she clenched her teeth and he stopped.
“You’re not okay,” he said and withdrew his hand.
Lyla wrapped her arms around herself. “You don’t want...?” She couldn’t finish the sentence. Maybe he didn’t want her after Pervert—
Gavin lunged forward and kissed her. His tongue swept in and claimed her. Lyla shuddered and clutched at him as relief swept through her in a heady wave. She could taste his hunger, his need. It called forth her own and she pressed against him, desperate for him. His hands moved over her, rough and seeking. His mouth fused with hers, demanding everything she had to give.
When she was aching for him, he broke away. She let out an irritated sound and saw his brilliant smile. He rose and dragged her to the edge of the bed so her legs dangled off the side. He crouched and her breathing turned heavy with trepidation and excitement.
“Eating you out in my office was a mistake,” he said.
Lyla paused as she lifted her hips so he could pull off her sweat pants. “Mistake?”
He tossed her pants and draped her thighs over his shoulders. “Big mistake.”
She was confused by the way he stared at her vagina as if it was gold and his contradictory words. “What are you talking about?”
“At work all I think about is your pussy. I’ve been hard and aching at my desk for two days,” he growled and leaned down to lick her.
Lyla hissed and he moaned.
“Fuck, watching you come for me, having you give into me that day made me so fucking happy.” He spread her lips and stabbed his tongue into her. “You’re about to do it again.”
Lyla’s back arched and she grabbed his hair and tugged. “Oh my God.”
“Say my name,” he mumbled.
“Gavin.”
“Louder.”
His tongue hit her clit and she clamped her thighs around his head. “Fuck!”
“My name,” he insisted. “Let everyone know who you belong to.”
“G-Gavin?”
“I’m not a question, baby. I’m the answer to everything.”
How could he make her laugh and feel delirious at the same time? Lyla moaned and then screeched when he sucked on her clit, toying with her and making her crazy. She was close to an orgasm when his mouth disappeared. She opened her mouth on a protest as he thrust inside of her. Gavin leaned down to kiss her, sharing her taste.
“You taste that? That’s ambrosia. My ambrosia,” he said against her lips and planted himself deep. “My Lyla. Mine.”
“Yes,” she whispered.
Gavin moved slowly, letting her body adjust to him and watching her face closely.
“Okay?” he asked with a pained expression.
“Mmmm,” she said and felt him twitch inside of her.
“Can you take it hard? Do I need to go slow?”
His words tumbled over one another. Lyla smiled and wrapped her thighs around him, in no doubt what he wanted.
“Ride me hard.”
Lyla saw his eyes glaze a moment before he gripped her hips and fucked her. It was hard and glorious. The light from the bathroom shone over them. She watched his hunger for her erupt. She climaxed first, legs convulsing. Gavin came a minute later, hands dragging her as close as she could get and pouring himself into her. His top half collapsed on top of her while his legs stayed solidly planted on the ground.
“Thank you,” he whispered into her hair.
“What?”
He raised his head and stared down at her. “For trusting me that much.”
Her eyes burned with tears. “I wouldn’t have made it without you. You make me feel clean again.”
“If that’s the case, you’re about to be the cleanest person on the planet.”
In a show of effortless strength, he lifted her limp body in his arms, rounded the bed and then lay on his back with her sprawled on him without once losing contact with her. His hands slid beneath the sweater she still wore and stroked her back.
“I needed that,” he said and let out a long breath. “That first night I found you in our bed I touched you and you turned to me, wrapped your arms around me. I knew you were asleep, but I was starve
d and not about to turn you down.” Hungry eyes scanned her face. “How can you be better than I remember?”
“It was good for you?” Lyla asked.
His brows shot up. “You have doubts?”
Fuck. Her insecurities were showing. It was hard to imagine satisfying a man like Gavin. She hadn’t been able to before and now she was a fucking mess. “Just checking.”
He smiled as if she was funny and played with her hair. He didn’t insist that she take off the sweater. She felt more comfortable with it on for some reason.
“Something went wrong at work?” she asked, stroking her hand over his chest.
“Nothing important.”
That was a lie. If it wasn’t important, he wouldn’t have left during dinner and locked himself in his office. Lyla glanced at the clock and saw that it was three in the morning. He’d been working for hours. Lyla hesitated before she blurted, “It has to do with you letting go of the business, doesn’t it?”
“Seriously, baby, don’t worry about it.”
“But you’re still following through?”
Gavin tensed slightly. “I said I would.”
“But you’re having trouble turning it over to someone else?”
He sighed. “Nothing in business is simple and dealing with something like this takes more time and care.”
She accepted that explanation and settled more comfortably on him, very aware of the fact that he was still penetrating her. “What do you want me to do?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re working all day and I’m here. Maybe I can help.”
He squeezed her ass. “Knowing you’re at home waiting for me is helping. I need to know you’re safe.”
“I’m used to working. I can get a job—”
He kissed her and tipped them both to the side. He pulled her thigh over his hip and moved slowly in and out of her. Lyla forgot what they were talking about as the chemistry between them rekindled. He moved leisurely, easing in and out of her while he savored her mouth. Time passed and when she couldn’t take the playful lovemaking anymore she shoved him onto his back and straddled him. Gavin laughed and then groaned as she took him into her.