Teach Me to Love

by Tressie Lockwood

  Gavin circled one of her dark areolas with the pad of his thumb. Bryah’s lips parted. Her eyelids fluttered closed before she forced them open so she could keep feasting her eyes on his handsome face.

  “Mm, rich, dark chocolate,” he groaned. “I need a taste right now.”

  He covered the rigid peak with his lips and sucked until Bryah arched her back, held his head to her breast, and cried out. She ran one leg along his, luxuriating in the feel of his tense muscles, the dusting of hair on his thighs tickling hers.

  Gavin caught her leg and tugged her closer to him. He skimmed his hand over her skin until he reached her heat, but rather than play with her there, he kept going to her rear. A quick squeeze and he pushed her toward him. Bryah gasped. Gavin’s shaft pierced her center. She shuddered. It had been too damn long.

  Gavin groaned, rolling her over to her back again. “If I enter you now, I’m going to burst right away.”

  She nibbled his lower lip. “That’s not such a bad thing.”

  “It is if my woman hasn’t been satisfied.” His eyes held a challenge. “If I fall, will you be able to get me hard again?”

  “Without a doubt.”

  “Hm, I love a confident woman.” He kissed the soft swell of one breast. “Don’t worry. I will never stop until you’ve been satisfied.” He shifted to lay between her thighs. Like before, he raised her legs so she was ready to take him. Gavin arched his hips. His shaft pierced her opening, and Bryah cried out his name.

  Her lover was a good length, not too short and not too long. He wouldn’t hurt her if he gave her every inch. But her sexy ranger was also thick. His girth was more than any man she’d been with, and from the first breach, she had to clench her teeth at how he stretched her around his shaft.

  Bryah caught her breath and then panted. She dug her fingernails into his biceps, willing herself to relax. Gavin hesitated. His lips brushed hers, not in a kiss, but like he hadn’t the strength to raise his head any farther.

  “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  His words had been breathless. She realized he hadn’t been lying when he said he could come just entering her. Gavin was doing all he could not to let go, not to force his way into her for his own selfish pleasure. Knowing he was thinking of her needs helped her to relax just a little.

  Slowly, he began to ease his way in. Bryah held on tighter to his arms and shut her eyes. She wasn’t sure when the pain switched over to pleasure, but when it did, she couldn’t get enough. Gavin caught her beneath her knees. When he leaned back and began a slow grind, she keened with the intensity. His response was to push her higher, drive himself deeper, each thrust making him pump against her butt.

  Without warning, he flipped her over to her stomach, smacked her rear so hard it brought wetness to her lashes, and then he plunged deep again. An arm encircling her waist, Gavin hoisted her hips higher and drove into her. She reached up beneath her pillows to grab the edge of the mattress, all the while begging for more.

  “Are you sure about that?” Gavin demanded.

  “Yes,” she whimpered. “Yes, please, yes!”

  He forced her knees wider, jerked her butt in the air, and plunged deep. When he covered her hands with his and brought his full weight down on her, she thought she would faint. Gavin was wearing her snatch out. She’d be so sore in the morning, but right now she didn’t give a damn. All she wanted—all she needed—was to have him inside of her making her come again and again.

  The muscles in her core contracted, and the waves of pleasure began. Her orgasm took hold of her body and made her shake from head to toe. She bit down on her bottom lip, fighting between groaning and screaming out her release. Gavin didn’t slow down his barrage on her until he, too, reached his peak. His fingers dug into her flesh, and he shouted her name.

  When he finished, he collapsed on top of her and found her lips. Bryah tried to control her trembling, but she was spent and satisfied. She’d been intimate with assertive men, but none as sure of themselves and almost animalistic in taking her. How the women weren’t clinging to Gavin and begging to get into his bed, Bryah didn’t know. She was close to doing some begging of her own right now, but a woman had to have some self-respect.

  Gavin moved his lips to her ear. It took a few moments while he caught his breath before he could speak. “Was I too rough? Once you relaxed, I think I got carried away.”

  “You can carry me away with you anytime.” After the words left her mouth, she could have slapped her hand over her lips. She sounded lame and lovesick. Wait, what? Love? No, hell no! Not from sex. What happened was a hormonal release, one that made her bond with her lover. She’d learned about it a few years ago.

  Knowing the truth didn’t stop her from feeling clingy. To cover, she wiggled out from under Gavin and headed toward the bathroom. With as much casualness as she could muster, she tossed over her shoulder, “If you want to stay the night, you can. I don’t mind.”

  “Thanks,” he responded. “I believe I will.”

  Chapter Six

  Bryah woke to an incessant ringing that was getting on her last nerve. She grunted and waved her arm, but the sound kept up until she slowly came to her senses. Yawning, she rolled over to reach in the direction the sound came from, but someone beat her to it. Her eyes opened a slit. She watched Gavin dig through his pants pocket for his cell phone. Memories of the wild night of sex they had flooded back to her mind. Her heart thumped in her chest, and she balled the sheet in a knot to stuff into her mouth.

  He was beautiful, she decided, staring at his broad shoulders and tanned, smooth skin. The contrast they had made pumping against each was amazing. Even aching between her legs and stiffness in her joints, she wanted more of him. It had been an insane turn on to hear him call out her name when he came. She grew wet just thinking about it.

  “Hey, Kate, what’s wrong?” Gavin said into the phone.

  Bryah’s enthusiasm died. She glanced at the clock. Five-fifteen in the morning. Did his brother’s ex really need to contact him this early? What could be so important? Gavin had spoken with her last night just before they went to dinner, so Kate knew they were together. Kate had seemed nice when Bryah met her, but the constant running behind Gavin was getting old.

  Gavin sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Put him on.” He fell silent, waiting for someone else to come on the phone. When his tone softened, Bryah knew he was speaking to Kate’s son. “Hey, buddy, what’s going on?”

  Jealousy twisted in Bryah’s gut. She went into the bathroom. After a quick shower and brushing her teeth, she came out and slipped into her robe. Gavin was in the process of getting dressed. Bryah leaned against the bathroom doorframe and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re leaving?”

  He cast her an apologetic look. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I need to go over there and calm RJ down.”

  Bryah figured the boy was ill. “Is he okay?” She couldn’t help adding, “Where’s his dad?”

  “Kyle’s not reliable for this kind of thing. RJ has nightmares sometimes that get him worked up, and he won’t get back to sleep. Kate doesn’t know what to do with him.”

  “She’s his mother. She should know by now.” Bryah hated the bitterness in her tone, but she couldn’t fight off the feeling that there was more between Kate and Gavin than he let on. “I understand worrying about him since he’s so young, but I don’t understand why she has to call you at five in the morning. She knew we were together.”

  For the first time, Bryah heard irritation in Gavin’s voice. “How could she know that? I didn’t tell her I was staying over, and we hadn’t made a habit of it up until now. Look, Bryah, I will call you later, and we can do something tonight. Better yet, I haven’t shown you that I’m a pretty good cook.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “I’ll make dinner for the two of us, my place or yours.”

  He moved away as if it was a done deal, and Bryah watched him strap on his weapon. After he covered i
t with his shirt and tugged on his shoes, he stood and kissed her a second time. She didn’t say a word. Anything she said right now would come out wrong, and she wasn’t sure what she felt about Gavin and Kate. Gavin said he didn’t want kids, said he didn’t want to settle down, but then here he was being all domestic with Kate.

  Bryah shook her head and followed him to the door. “I might be busy tonight. I’ll let you know early so you can make other plans if need be.”

  He stopped and stared at her. No emotions registered on his face, so she wasn’t sure what he was thinking. After a brief nod, he turned and headed over to his truck. Bryah watched him shove a hand through his messy hair and stick his Stetson on top of it. The roar of the truck’s engine shattered the early morning silence, and Gavin disappeared down the street.

  * * * *

  Gavin had phoned Bryah twice that morning, but she didn’t answer either call. She wasn’t sure yet what she wanted to say to him, or if she would let him cook for her. On one hand, she thought this might be a good time to break it off since loving another policeman was not happening. On the other hand, she wasn’t usually insecure regarding other women. If a man wanted to be with her, that was fine. If he wanted to cheat or play games, she dumped him—simple as that.

  The problem was that she believed Gavin wasn’t the game-playing type. So either he wanted Kate and was denying his feelings, or he just felt like it could never work out so he wasn’t going there. Both were bad for Bryah.

  Frustrated and still pissed at Gavin because, frankly, she didn’t see the reason he had to run over to Kate’s at all hours, Bryah left her house to go to Albertson’s since she had no food in the refrigerator. She had every intention to tell Gavin today wasn’t a good day, but first, she had to rein in the emotions.

  While she sped down the highway, a siren blared once behind her. Bryah glanced in the rearview mirror to see a ranger’s SUV behind her. She grunted and pulled to the side of the road. The familiar uniform drew alongside her window, and she lowered it.

  “License and insurance card,” the officer said.

  Bryah gasped and looked up. She suppressed a second grunt. Texas had seemed so huge when she moved here, but, yet again, she ran into Kyle Crain, Gavin’s brother.

  “Oh, it’s you, Gavin’s girlfriend.”

  “I’m a friend,” she corrected, and handed him her information. He made no move to look it over, but instead leaned both elbows on her door.

  “So how’s it going between you two? Good?” He didn’t wait for her to answer, but continued on. “Gavin’s not known for long relationships with women. I’m sure he told you that already.”

  “How’s your son?” Bryah interrupted.

  Kyle’s eyes widened. “My son? What about him?”

  “I’d heard he had a bad nightmare, and his mother couldn’t get him to calm down. Gavin had to go over there early this morning to help out and…” She could have chewed her tongue off. The way she sounded, she might as well have chanted I’m jealous of your ex-wife over and over rather than the words that came out of her mouth.

  Hoping that Kyle hadn’t noticed was a lost cause. “Ouch.” Kyle chuckled. “The Kate and Gavin thing. Yeah, they’re really close. I’d be surprised if anyone could come between those two. I’ve said a million times they should go for it. Thing is, they had their chance back in high school.”

  “That’s none of my business.” Bryah tried to hint that he should get on with the business at hand with a pointed look at her license. Kyle ignored it.

  “They dated for two years, and everybody could see Gavin was nuts over Kate. But then, I guess they were all shocked the day she broke it off with him and pursued me. I admit, I have a little bit of a weakness when it comes to beautiful women throwing themselves at me. I should have turned her down, but well, before you know it, we were hitched.”

  Bryah couldn’t believe how unfeeling he was talking about his brother’s broken heart, like it meant nothing. She assumed Kate must have regretted her decision later, seeing what a loser Kyle was, and now she hoped to rekindle things with Gavin. But what was Gavin feeling? Had he gotten over Kate? From the way he ran when she called, Bryah doubted it, and she hated the twinge in her own chest thinking about the two of them together.

  “I’m sorry. I realize I was speeding, but I have a meeting I need to get to and…” She let her voice trail off, hoping he’d get the message. The knowing look he tossed her way said he knew what she was trying to do. He handed back her information.

  “I’ll let you go with a warning because it’s you, and if my stupid brother did leave your bed to go to Kate, well, I thought he had better morals than his big bro.”

  “I never said—”

  “Have a nice day.” He gave a mock salute and walked away. Bryah sat there a good five minutes, feeling like a fool and burning up that she had to be subjected to Kyle’s attitude, like he figured she was running behind Gavin while he was running behind Kate. So wasn’t going to happen!

  As if he sensed that she was ready to talk to him, Gavin called her cell again. Bryah snatched up the phone and jabbed the connect button. “Yes?”

  “Whoa,” he said cheerily. “Bad day so far?”

  “Cut the crap, Gavin,” she grumbled. “Listen, I can’t do dinner tonight. Frankly, I think we need to stop things right here. You know my past, and I vowed not to date a policeman again. It’s not for me. So, it’s been fun but—”

  “You’re breaking up with me over the phone?” He spoke so low, she had to press her ear tight to the receiver to hear.

  “Before emotions get involved,” was her lame excuse.

  “I want to talk to you. Meet me tonight.”

  “No.”

  He tried again. “It doesn’t have to be at one of our places. I just think we should talk after what happened this morning.”

  “Not interested. I’m sorry. I’m not the one, Gavin.” She paused. “I hope you get all that you want out of life.” With that, she disconnected the call and then, for added measure, she powered off her cell. Rather than head to the grocery store like she’d planned, she kept driving. Kate had mentioned the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. Bryah remembered seeing an advertisement that it started this weekend. She decided to go. At least she could disappear in the crowd and stay until ten when the grounds closed.

  Twenty minutes later, Bryah arrived in Fort Worth and bought a ticket to the stock show. She weighed herself down with snacks and souvenirs she didn’t need while she watched the rodeo. When a bull tossed a cowboy off his back, a clown ran out in brightly-colored clothes to distract the bull. Other cowboys assisted their fallen buddy, but he jumped to his feet, whipped off his hat and waved it to the crowd. Everyone around Bryah cheered and whistled. She stuffed more popcorn into her mouth while comparing herself to the clown.

  When the show was over, Bryah walked among the stalls peeking in at the goats and sheep, the llamas and horses. She strolled along the building housing cows and didn’t breathe too deeply because of the stench. Despite that, her heart constricted when parents stooped beside their little ones to help them pet the animals. Most of the kids were trusting of the parents, believing them when they assured the kids they would be okay if they reached out their tiny hands.

  Bryah sighed. Every time she’d truly reached out, she’d been hurt. Falling in love and getting hurt sometimes was a part of life, but then, so was finding happiness. Where was her happiness—the kind that lasted for a while?

  When she could stay no longer, and the sun had long since gone down, Bryah left Fort Worth headed back home. Half the day she’d been looking to distract herself from thoughts of Gavin, and the rest, she’d thought about what she wanted to do from here on. She had told herself she wasn’t interested in men for the time being, but the first one that showed her interest had her dating and forgetting all about her resolve.

  She turned onto her street and tensed upon spotting Gavin’s truck in front of her door. For a few seconds, she co
nsidered making a U-turn, but then something told her the man was too stubborn to let this go without her reaffirming face-to-face that they were done.

  She pulled into her driveway and cut the engine. By the time she’d opened the door, Gavin was there to help her out. She let him take her hand, but pulled it back once she was standing. He followed her in silence to the front door, and Bryah unlocked it. Keys on the table in the hall, she headed toward the kitchen to make them some drinks.

  After she’d taken a huge sip from hers and let the alcohol begin its work, she faced him. “I think we said everything we needed to this afternoon.”

  “No, we didn’t.” He crossed the kitchen and set his drink on the table before taking hers to do the same. Bryah resisted when he pulled her to him, but he wouldn’t be put off. His strong arms encircled her, pressing her close. When his lips brushed her temple, a quiver ran through her body, making her want to melt into his chest, but she resisted.

  “You just want—”

  “Don’t say that,” he snapped. “You know I’m better than that. I know I’m better than that.”

  She wrestled out of his arms and snatched up her drink to almost race around the table. Her glare let him know she wasn’t going for the seduction anymore. She almost wanted to say “use your words” and chuckled in her mind. Not that she’d ever used that line with her kids at school. They were too old for those commands, but sometimes she felt like it when the attitudes began to fly around the classroom.

  “Whether you are better than that is not the point,” she told him.

  “The point is Kate.”

  “No.” She took another sip of her drink and set it down. “The point is you feeling you need to run behind her or that she needs to check up on your every move. I don’t know. Maybe I’m exaggerating things.”