No Reservations

by Natalia Banks

  It wouldn’t let me sleep at night.

  Where the hell does he get off thinking he can just come in and change everything? Who is Gavin Rossi to turn my whole damn world upside down?

  As I reach the edge of the sidewalk I feel the ground under me shift with a cracking sound. My foot comes out from under me as the ice fractures and my weight slides on the unstable footing. Panic fills me and I let out a short, sharp shriek as the sky falls away.

  I hit the ground on my back and the crack of my head hitting the ice buried under snow reverberates through my skull. The sickening thud sounds dull to my ears and through my head, like an egg in a sock hitting pavement.

  “Cin!” I hear Rossi call me as if from far away and I wonder if I’m going to die.

  I knew it was icy. I should have been more careful. I’m such an idiot.

  The front door opens and I see dad, panic in his face as he carefully rushes to my side. “Cindy!” He’s quick to drop to his knees at my side as he takes my head in his lap. “Stay with me,” he whispers, his hands petting my face. But the world is spinning, whiting out as if the snow has started falling once more.

  Chapter 10

  Gavin

  The sickening thud of her head hitting the ground was enough to make my blood run cold. But the sight of her father clinging to her leaves and empty echo rolling through me. My parents and I were never close. We talk on holidays, but that’s about it. These two are clearly close.

  On my knees on her other side, I focus on her eyes. “Follow my finger,” I tell her and I feel her father stiffen as I lift a finger and watch how her eyes trace the motions back and forth, then up and down.

  Pulling my phone from my pocket, I flip on the flashlight app and shine it into her eyes for a flash of a second until I see each pupil contract and dilate.

  She blinks, her eyes wide and trusting on mine. “Can you cross your eyes for me?” I ask and she does, sticking her tongue out a little like she’s being childish and making a face at me. Both of her pupils are the same size and not overly large.

  “What are you doing?” her father asks and I glance at him.

  “Making sure she doesn’t have a concussion,” I say gently, aware he might or might not know who I am.

  “I know that,” he says, his tone making it clear he thinks I’m an idiot. “I mean, why are you here?”

  Well, at least now I know where Cindy gets her spunk.

  “He’s here for me, dad,” Cindy says and I sense discord between them.

  “You know you can’t trust him,” Her father says like I’m not sitting right here listening to him talk about me. Cindy sits up and her hand flies to the back of her head. She rubs the spot as if that might ease the pain and I think about the Tylenol I’ve got in the car. It’ll help ease the ache she’s feeling, but I don’t want to interrupt the tense engagement between father and daughter.

  “But you can trust me, dad,” she says softly and her father rises to his feet before helping her up. I stand, watching them both carefully. There’s no way that line will work. She’s got to be crazy.

  But to my surprise, her father nods his head and gives me a look that’s not hostile. “Be better to her than you are to anyone, understand?” He’s gruff, rough, and not even a little amused.

  I nod, aware that her words were all it took for him to trust her and possibly—tentatively - me.

  With that, he pulls Cindy into a hug and walks toward the house. She seems shaken as he closes the door and turns to me, a look of surprise on her face. “That’s the most he’s talked to me since he lost his job.” There’s worry shining in her eyes and I feel bad for her. The whole situation is clearly upsetting her and I wish I could help.

  But she’s not done with me yet. “How is your investigation going?” she asks and I struggle against telling her the truth. I don’t want to tell her that it looks like her father is guilty. Especially after how rocky things are with her refusal to run the garden like I asked her to.

  She’s such a stubborn woman.

  But I also feel like I’d be doing her a disservice by lying to her. So with a sigh, I decide to level her with the truth. “I reviewed the security tapes.”

  I can feel her vibrating next to me, her face lit up with excitement. She’s so sure that the evidence I have will clear her father’s name. It’s soul crushing, really. Even if she was an enemy that I hated, I’d still not want to deliver such a cruel, crushing blow.

  “They made it look like he’s pocketing cash.” I hate the words more than anything. No, that’s not true. I hate how they affect her more than anything. Her shoulders droop and her whole body just looks like I’ve sucked the very soul right out of her. Even her will to live has suddenly been sapped. She’s an empty bag about to crumple into a messy heap on the ground unless something catches her.

  But she recovers quick. Her spine snaps upright and she glances over her shoulder at her dilapidated home. “You’re wrong,” she whispers, before repeating it with an admirable force. “You’re wrong.”

  “Look,” I say, ready to damage control, “he’s your dad. You don’t want to think he’d ever do something bad. But he’s only human, he can make mistakes too, okay?”

  She looks me dead in the eyes. “No, you don’t understand,” she says, her voice filled with force and fire, “my dad isn’t a thief. There’s got to be another explanation.”

  I sigh. I have a feeling there’s no talking sense into this girl. So I change tactics. “Want to watch the tapes?” I ask and she nods, her expression shifting like she tastes something sour.

  We turn and make our way to the car as the snow begins to drift back down in lacy flakes. Once we’re in, I kick on the heat and notice she’s snuggled down in her coat. It warms my heart to see her so comfortable and warning off the chill in the air.

  And her father had been wearing his also. It’s the least I can do for them.

  The drive is quiet until she turns on the radio. Christmas music floods the car and she’s quick to smash the off button. And I wonder what’s changed since she last sang those carols so beautifully beside me when I’d brought her back to my place.

  The rest of the drive passes in silence.

  We pull up in front of my place after I nod to Rich in his booth. The rest of the staff has the day off, though. I’d needed quiet and they’d all be hankering for some family time.

  I park the car and we get out. She still seems stuck on this place and I walk right up into the front door as she lags behind like she had the first time. I make my way into the kitchen to put some coffee on. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long night.

  Pulling out my phone I check email quickly as I wait for her to come in. Nothing that I need to deal with at the moment, so I set out coffee cups. She finally wanders in, her face upturned and her voice filled with wonder.

  “I see something new every time I come here,” she says.

  She’s cute.

  “I’m making coffee,” I tell her, thinking of the other woman I’ve invited here. They were all in awe of the place, of course, but none were curious. None wanted to explore, or simply enjoy the place like I do.

  “Thank you,” she says softly, her eyes coming to rest on me.

  “I need to know if you’re going to be okay,” I say, hating how this feels. I don’t want to be the man who tears this family apart. Then again, logic dictates that her father would be the one who drove this wedge. I’m only the messenger.

  A soft smile graces her pretty lips and the sudden urge to kiss her consumes me. “I’ll be fine,” she says gently and I know she’s not even allowing for the possibility that her father might have done this thing.

  “Just… prepare yourself, okay?” I say, at a loss. I saw the tapes. I know what she’s about to see. And I know her hate will be aimed first at me, then likely at her father, or possibly inward. None of those seem like good options.

  I make the coffee as she wanders a few steps into the great room. I can see her t
here, arms outstretched, spinning in a slow circle as she takes in the ivy clinging to lattice suspended over the many skylights. It manages to tint the sunlight green, but for now, with so little sunshine, they’re kept clear of snow by the heated roof and the ivy leaves are reduced to little rolled things hiding near the vines.

  I’d like her to see it in spring, in fall, when they’re in full bloom and the world inside the house is green from them, or when they change to brilliant yellows, reds, oranges like fire and everything fall.

  With coffees in hand, I head toward the office. She follows, slowly, still taking in every detail she missed before. In the office, she gasps at the many screens covering one wall. But I take her to the desk where eight screens, three wide, all tilt in toward the chair. The top two are tilted down, and the ones to the sides are angled in.

  I queue up the recordings, since they’re the last things I watched anyway. The clip in question is her father, behind a register, clearly taking money and placing it in his pocket.

  She’s quiet a moment as the video ends.

  “Play it again,” she says softly and I know she’s looking for a reason. Something to vindicate him. I know because I did the same thing. I didn’t want to believe he did this.

  This was part of my motivation behind giving her this job. I wanted her to make more money, to be able to actually support herself and her father without so much stress and pain.

  I play it again, saying nothing.

  “Do you have his firing paperwork?” She asks and I open the drawer and pull it out. She scans it and looks over at me. Her finger finds a spot, a date, and her big blue eyes meet mine. “The dates are wrong.”

  I look at the time stamp on the recording, and the date of his suspected theft and realize she’s right. There’s more to this. I need to keep digging and find out what the fuck went wrong.

  Somebody is lying. And I fucking hate liars.

  Chapter 11

  Cindy

  I can feel the anger rolling off of him, but I know it’s not aimed at me. He’s pissed that he missed this, I bet, or he’s pissed that whoever set this whole thing up did so with such a huge error. If this is the evidence that he’s stealing and doesn’t match the dates, I bet that throws a wrench in his whole operation.

  Feeling satisfied the situation is figured out, I get up and wander out of the office back into the great room. He’s hot on my heels and I turn. His hands capture my hips like he’s scared I’m going to fall.

  His dark eyes lock on mine and I notice the hard line of his lips. And I feel bad for him. He’s up shit creek without a paddle. Hell, without a boat, for that matter. My arms slide around his shoulders and I revel in the sheer steel of him. He’s such a powerful man in every sense of the word.

  “Kiss me,” I whisper and he does.

  His lips are warm on mine, demanding. His hands stray to my ass and he grips me tight and pulls me hard to his body. I’m left off balance on my tiptoes and he’s got me suspended helplessly. The sexy sensation is enough to take my breath away. And I feel his hardness pressing into my belly. Every part of me wants to rub on him.

  He backs me up and I feel the back of the couch pressing to my ass as his lips leave mine on a growl. Letting out a little whine that he let me go, I feel him spin me around. With my hips pressed into the couch, I feel him push me harder and, off balance, I have to lean forward and put my hands on the seat.

  The position is a rather undignified yoga pose with my ass in the air and my shoulders lower than my hips. It’s so very vulnerable I can’t quite bring myself to fight him. Not that I want to. I’m curious where this is going to go.

  He backs off a bit, his heat leaving my body and eliciting another wrung- out whine from my lips. Suddenly, my leggings are pulled down and he gives a satisfied growl as he realizes I’m not wearing underwear.

  “You’re so fucking sexy.” His fingers find my button and he begins to massage it in a way that makes my hips buck. I feel him slide a finger deep within me and I gasp, staring at the gray couch, wondering if this demanding bastard is the real Gavin Rossi and I’ve just been lucky enough to see a softer side of him.

  Then, his finger finds a magical spot within me and begins to rub is so hard I see stars. I can’t breathe around the pleasure. My heart pounds in my ears, my lungs compress and I feel my arms begin to shake as they continue to support my weight.

  “So very responsive,” he murmurs, more to himself, I think, than to me. “So sweet and perfect.” His fingers leave and I whimper, wanting the intense sensations back. But he has other plans. I feel the heat of his cock as he slips it between my legs.

  Tilting my hips so he can slide home, I wait, but he doesn’t fuck me.

  Instead, he unrolls a condom on to his cock and slides it sexily between the folds of my pussy and I gasp in shock at how hot he feels. How sexy it is. When he shifts, suddenly, his cock is putting pressure on my clit in a way that makes my body tighten up.

  His hips shift and he slides between my legs like this, my moisture coating and lubricating him as he tortures me. “Good girl,” he whispers, and I whine at him, unable to formulate a coherent thought.

  It’s like he’s found the button that reduces me to a quivering mass of desperation. It’s fucking insane and sexy. My hips buck back, begging him for more, more pressure, more speed, more sensations to drive me over the edge into oblivion.

  “So eager,” he murmurs.

  “Please,” I manage to get out.

  “Please what?” he asks, his hands splaying on my ass. He grips me tight, his fingers so rough I imagine he’s leaving red marks if not bruises. It’s fucking amazing.

  Instead of answering, I tilt my hips back. It’s the only thing I can think of to tell him I want him to fuck me. Because there’s no way in hell I can get any more words past my throat.

  Suddenly, his thumb is pressing to my bottom and I let out a sharp whimper at the burst of sensations. All good sensations. His finger pushes into my pink star and my whole body goes insane. The tingling in my core becomes a hum of pure excited pleasure and my hips begin to buck harder, begging for more, for everything, for him to fucking take pity and finish me already.

  “Mmm, you like that, don’t you dirty girl?” He growls, his tone approving.

  “Yes!” The word is more of a pant of breath leaving me, but it’s an answer he seems to understand as he begins to tease me with an in and out motion that sends my heart into overdrive and my body into a tailspin that can only end in orgasm.

  The pleasure of his finger violating me coupled with the feeling of my clit sliding back and forth on his hard cock are almost more than I can take. I need this. I need to come. I need to fucking…

  His finger plunges deep and his pace picks up. A short cry leaves me as a bit of pain comes with an incredible burst of pleasure. His finger has settled into in and out motions that match his hips and it’s almost more than I can take.

  My belly coils up tight and I feel the promise there, just out of reach. I want this, want to just explode here, in this incredibly vulnerable position.

  “Cum for me,” he urges and it’s like that’s all my body needed.

  The tightness within me explodes into pulsing pleasure that ripples through every inch of my being. Little moans break free from my lips as my hips buck erratically.

  “Good girl,” he says, his finger leaving me as his cock changes angles. Suddenly, he’s inside me and I see stars. The ripples of my pussy begin to slow and I feel a tiny flash of pain in my legs, back, and shoulders.

  I must have made a noise or something, because he pulls out in a flash and helps me rise. “Did I hurt you?” he asks, his face serious.

  I nod and he scoops me up into his arms.

  Chapter 12

  Gavin

  With her cradled to my chest, I carry her into the bathroom, stifling the urge to put her down and bury myself in her to ease this need. Her eyes go wide and she stares up at the ceilings. I set her carefully on her
feet and turn on the water.

  I’d built this bathroom for occasions such as this; moments when I wouldn’t be alone. The big shower is all white marble that makes it look colder than it really is. Overhead, the shower is set in and covers the entire main part of the ceiling and will rain down on both of us with space to spare. On three sides there are jets designed to hose us down from several angles.

  Turning to her, I begin to strip her down as she stares at the water. “That’s so pretty,” she says and I can’t help but smile at her.

  “I’m glad you like it.” When she’s naked, I guide her in and close the door. While she stands under the water, her hands cupped as she tilts her face up and lets it rain down on her, I strip myself down.

  When I join her, she opens her eyes and blinks up at me. The water continues to drip into her eyes so I turn off the inner ring. Suddenly, around us, the water shuts off but continues to rain in a halo around our bodies.

  “This is so cool!” She says, her face shining as she reaches out to touch the water. Her charm is infectious and I can’t help but turn on the jets. They spray her body from the wall and she giggles.

  But I’ve got less than pure intentions.

  Adjusting the one at hip level, I turn her and spread the pretty petals of her sex so the stream of water is hitting her clit in a massaging, warm pulse that makes her moan and melt in my arms.

  “Oh, god,” she murmurs, her head rolling back on my shoulder as I hold her upright. “That feels so good.” Her teeth bite into her lip and I know she’s already close. I need to be inside her this time. I need to feel her pussy contracting around my cock.