by Jen Talty
He’d been hoping he could avoid actual contact, though he did enjoy making her cringe every time he chose to kiss Charlotte, which had been every time Lydia glanced their way.
“Gavin,” she said in a hushed tone as she sat down next to him. The smell of flowers infused with rubbing alcohol stung his nostrils. He’d tried a few times to get her to wear a different perfume, but she chose to smell more like a cheap bottle of whiskey than a warm summer’s night.
“You look really good.” Her kind words fell flat and he chose to ignore them.
“I hear congratulations are in order.” Gavin barely glanced in her direction. He hated admitting the humiliation of her leaving him still stuck in his mind and emotions. When he looked at her today, he felt nothing of the love he thought he once felt for her. All he saw now was a shallow shell of a woman who cared more about what people thought of her and how her life looked, than what really mattered.
Her poor fiancé.
“What are you doing here?” Her accusatory tone grated on his last nerve.
He swigged his beer, downing the last gulp, waving it at Charlotte when she glanced his way. She nodded, holding up her finger, letting him know it would be a minute.
“I’m meeting my girlfriend’s parents and family for the first time.”
“That’s bullshit,” Lydia said with venom dangling from her lips. “Yesterday is the first anyone has ever heard of you dating Charlotte.”
“So? Charlotte had her reasons for not telling anyone about me.” Yeah, because he didn’t exist until yesterday.
“If you can’t be honest with me, at least be honest with yourself.”
“Honest about what?” he asked.
“Why you’re really here.”
He jerked his head in her direction. “What the hell does that mean?”
She narrowed her eyes and wrinkled her forehead. “To try to ruin my wedding, but I won’t let you do that.”
He stared at her, blinking a few times. “What? Are you fucking nuts?”
“You’re out for revenge.”
He burst out laughing. “I’m sorry, but I can’t believe you just said that. I had no idea you were related to Charlotte.”
“Oh, please. She and I are like sisters and we tell each other everything.”
He leaned closer to Lydia, making her coil backward. “Like you told her about my accident and why you really broke up with me? Seriously, Lydia, you’re delusional.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Charlotte approach with two beers in hand.
“Here you go, babe,” she said, handing him a cold one.
He rested his feet on either side of on the lounge chair, patting the fabric between his legs, grateful, Charlotte snuggled herself against him. “Thanks.” He kissed her cheek, letting his lips linger. He thought he’d done it just to irritate Lydia, but when he inhaled Charlotte’s sweet berry scent, he could only think of her and how she made him feel more alive than the day he’d walked out of the hospital after his accident. “Lydia here is under the impression I’m here to ruin her wedding and something about the two of you telling each other everything?”
“Maybe when we were five, but I distinctly remember her knowing my sister was sleeping with Ralph while I was still technically dating him and not saying a single word to me.”
“Your relationship with Ralph was on the verge of ending anyway,” Lydia said.
“All the more reason to tell me instead of letting me walk in on them fucking.”
Gavin chomped down on the inside of his mouth, praying he didn’t make a single sound, or that his body didn’t jerk out of shock.
“You’re still bitter,” Lydia said with a smug grin.
Charlotte shook her head. “I’m actually not. But I’ll tell you the same thing I just told my sister. You broke my trust. It’s up to you to earn it back. She is doing her best to make things right where you, on the other hand, seem to only care about saving face. Tell me Lydia, does Alan really know about you and Gavin and what happened?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lydia rose and stormed off like a toddler being told they couldn’t have a cookie.
Gavin set his beer down, circling his arms around Charlotte, drawing the back of her head to his chest. “Do I want to know what her fiancé knows or doesn’t know about me?”
“When they got back together a few years ago, she told him that she never had sex with the guy she sort of dated.”
“And I take it she told you otherwise.”
“Let’s just say I hope some of what she said isn’t an exaggeration.”
He dropped his forehead to her shoulder. “We have a problem. I’m too drunk to drive, and I suspect you are too.”
“I’m not drunk, but yeah, I wouldn’t drive.” She craned her head, facing him as best she could from this position.
“My parents said we could have the pool house.”
He nearly choked on his own breath. “Excuse me?”
She pointed to the other side of the pool and a quaint building that looked like a mini replica of the main house. “There is one bedroom and full bath.”
“And your parents don’t care if we sleep there…together?”
“Nope. According to my sister, they like you and think your long-term material.”
“Interesting.” He reached for his beer, taking a good long swig of courage. “So, are you looking forward to sharing a bed with me?”
“I’ve been thinking about it for hours.”
“So, what are we waiting for?”
Chapter Seven
Charlotte stepped from the bathroom into the bedroom of the pool house. The light blue curtains had been drawn shut. All the white and dark blue throw pillows had been tossed to the floor and the comforter had been pulled back, but Gavin was nowhere in sight
She smoothed down the oversized T-Shirt that she’d found in the drawer, her gaze darting around the room. A large lump had formed in her throat.
“I found these,” Gavin said.
She gasped, lurching forward, knocking over the lamp on the nightstand.
He stopped in the doorway. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He held up a bottle of wine in one hand and two plastic glasses in the other.
“It’s okay, and just a small glass.” She climbed up on the queen-sized bed, fluffing a few pillows behind her head. She squeezed her hands into tight fists, hoping it would stop them from trembling as she reached for the glass.
She watched him as he set the glasses down on the dresser next to the other side of the bed.
The smell of a vineyard on a hillside during a misty fall day filled her nostrils. She took the glass, sniffing the full-bodied liquid. “Thanks for coming with me tonight.”
“It’s been my pleasure.” He clanked his glass and took a small sip before twisting his body, showing off his tight muscular frame and setting the glass down. “For wealthy people, your parents seem pretty cool.”
“They are.”
“I have to admit, I had pre-judged them as assholes because of your brother Ethan and the way he talked to you, but even he’s not so bad.”
“I withdrew from my family after what happened with Ralph and Jasmine. I didn’t really talk to anyone, so, they were rightfully worried, but after talking with my sister tonight, I think things will be better all around.”
“You looked like you were having a pretty heavy discussion.”
She let out a slight laugh. “We were, but it wasn’t about our past, which was nice. It felt good to just be sisters.”
Every time he arched a brow, he lowered his chin, tilting his head slightly to the right, and the left side of his mouth curled upward in an amused half-smile. It made her want to cup his face and suck on his lips.
“What did you talk about then?”
Oh boy, that was a question she wasn’t sure she should answer with full-blown honesty. She took a big sip of her wine, letting the fruity substance linger in her throat.
Every inch of her skin was on fire, as if she’d been laying on the beach under the hot sun.
“We talked a little about you.”
He smiled. “And?”
“Fishing for compliments?” Her heart fluttered as his fingers danced up and down her leg, dangerously close to slipping under her shirt.
“I wouldn’t be opposed to hearing one or two.”
She let out a nervous chuckle. It had been awhile since she’d slept with a man and she hadn’t had much experience either, since her dating record consisted of her high school sweetheart, her college boyfriend, Ralph, and the arrogant asshole she dated last year.
“Everyone thinks you’re sweet,” she said.
“That’s what every hot-blooded American male wants to hear.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips on the inside of her thigh.
Her body shivered with delight. A tidal wave of desire crashed against her body, splashing her with electric pulses from her toes to her lips.
“My mom thinks you’re sexy.”
He dropped his head to her lap. “I only care what you think.”
She ran her fingers through his hair, gliding down tentatively across his scar, feeling the raised mark. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” he said softly, his hot breath tickling her skin.
“This morning, when you jogged down the porch steps shirtless, I noticed how this went down the side of your arm and on your torso.”
He let out a long breath, before sitting up on his knees. “Do the scars bother you?”
“No.” She cupped his face, gently kissing his lips. “They are part of who you are and I can’t help but think of everything you had to endure—”
He grabbed her wrists, yanking them away. “I don’t want or need pity.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t pity you. Not one single bit.”
He opened his mouth but she hushed him with a short kiss. “I admire your courage and honor. What you do is special and not everyone is cut out for a job like yours. When I see you, I don’t see the scars as something separate. I see a man who puts others before himself.” She tugged at the bottom of his shirt, lifting it over his head. The damage from the fire speckled down the side of his arm in a trail of red blemishes. But the skin on his side had turned more white and veiny from the burns.
“I don’t like attention being brought to them,” he whispered with a shaky voice. His body still tensed as he leaned away from her.
She wanted to cradle him in her arms and hold him tight for hours. “I don’t mean to focus on your pain, but I am mortified at what Lydia did.” Tentatively, she reached out, palming his chest, fingering one of his scars.
His pec twitched. “I looked pretty bad after the accident.” The harsh glare he had scrutinized her with had turned to a soft gleam.
“So?” She ran a finger down his chest, across his stomach, following the burn marks to the top of his hip. “She’s a shallow woman and never deserved you.”
“I’m not going to argue with you on either account.” He ran his hand up and down her arm, drawing her a little closer. “However, it took a half a dozen surgeries to get me to look this good.”
“You’re the most gorgeous man I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
“You’re just saying that to get into my pants.”
Her pulse roared as her chest heaved up and down with a deep breath. His smile sent an electric current over her skin.
They stared at each other for a long moment, locked in a mesmerizing shimmer of heat and raw passion. Without thinking, she lifted her shirt over her head, exposing her bare chest.
His eyes widened before the lids lowered halfway. His hand cupped her breast with the softest of touch, his thumb resting just under her nipple. Raising his other hand, he brushed her hair behind her ear, pressing his lips against her shoulder. “You’re not only beautiful, but you’re genuine.”
“That’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me.”
“Remember that, because I can’t promise anything romantic will ever come out of my mouth again.”
She took his thumb and rubbed it against her nipple. Her cheeks flushing red at the boldness of her act.
The corners of his lips jerked up into a smile as he pinched and twisted.
She dropped her head back and he immediately kissed the soft skin under her ear, licking down her neck, and sucking a nipple into his mouth, his tongue rolling over the hard nub.
Digging her fingers into his shoulder blades, she leaned back as he gently laid her on the bed. His mouth and hands roamed her body with a delicate, yet hungry touch. With ease, he rolled her cotton panties to her ankles before tossing them across the room.
The dim light from the lamps filled the room, giving him a perfect view of her naked body. She raised up on her elbows, his hands squeezing her thighs just above the knee.
He stood at the edge of the bed, staring down at her as he undid the button on his jeans. Her breath hitched as she bit down on her lower lip. His stomach muscles twitched as he lowered his pants, and his underwear, revealing himself to her.
She tried to swallow the gasp that rumbled through her throat as he lowered himself to the bed between her legs. His gaze wandering across her body, filled with lust.
Bending over, he kissed her inner thigh, rubbing his fingers across her swollen nub. “Tell me what you like,” he whispered.
“I like this.” She glided her fingers through his soft, thick hair.
His tongue flicked out, working in unison with his finger, gliding back and forth in a glorious circle before clamping his mouth over her.
“Oh…yessss…” she managed to ground out as she watched him devour her body as if she held the last drop of wine from the world’s most expensive bottle. She gasped for air, thrashing her head back and forth. His fingers stroked her insides like a pianist playing a romantic song for his lover.
“Oh, my, God.” She clutched her legs together, trapping his head as her orgasm ripped through her body unexpectedly. She’d always been able to come during oral sex, but it generally took a little concentration on her part, but not this time.
Not with Gavin.
Inhaling deeply, she allowed her body to relax as he kissed his way across her warmed skin. She blinked a few times, focusing solely on his chiseled face. Before she had a chance to ravage him, he’d covered himself with a condom and pressed himself against her.
“You’re amazing,” he said, fanning her face with his hands, entering her body with a slow caressing thrust.
She’d wanted to take his manhood into her hands and feel and taste his contrasting hard but soft body, but feeling him stretch inside her made the room spin. “Gavin,” she whispered, wrapping her legs around his waist, digging her heels into ass.
“Charlotte,” he whispered back, rocking back and forth inside her, groaning in her ear.
She couldn’t imagine being with anyone else, like this, ever again. He fit inside her like a key with its corresponding lock. Grinding against him, she called out his name over and over again until he spilled his release in a pulsating explosion, screaming her name.
When he collapsed on top of her, she accepted his weight, wrapping her arms around his body, holding him tight.
“Gavin?”
“Yes, Charlotte?”
“Do you think we might be able to do that again in a little while?”
Chapter Eight
Nothing felt better than having a woman draped over your body, her skin still hot from a passionate night of lovemaking.
Charlotte had been more than Gavin had bargained for in and out of bed. The shy girl next door not only made his body hum like the engine inside the perfect sports car as it took the corners of a windy road, but she was by far the smartest pe
rson in any room. She had a certain sass to her when she was around people she felt comfortable with and she carried herself with a confidence he hadn’t seen before.
Not that he’d seen her in many situations outside of hiding in her apartment working.
He kissed her forehead.
“What time is it?” she whispered, letting out a long breath. Her hand glided up his stomach and rested on his chest.
“Three in the morning.”
“My mom said breakfast was at eight. We should set an alarm.”
Sleeping in a different building, far away from her family, was one thing. Having breakfast with them was something entirely different. His pulse kicked up a notch. If she were any other woman, he’d find a way to get out of it.
“Who will be there?”
“All my siblings, their spouses and kids, and my father’s brother, but I’m sure others will show up.”
He swallowed. He didn’t want to see Lydia again. Everyone at the party noticed his scars. It was impossible not to, but no one eyed them like Lydia had. The second she tilted her head to get a better look, his skin burned. No one had ever made him feel like his scars made him less of man.
Except Lydia.
Charlotte kissed his chest, her fingers gliding across his body, and his scars, with a loving caress. She too had studied his scars, but she did so the same way she explored his body, as if getting to know every texture of his skin, all the contours of his muscles, brought them closer together. She didn’t treat his scars any differently than any other part of his body.
“What are you thinking?” she asked, snuggling closer.
He sucked in a deep breath, inhaling her fresh flowery scent. In the distance, the faint sound of what could be a home alarm tickled his ears. “Do you hear that?” Carefully, he undraped her body and sat up, craning his neck, trying to focus on the sounds of the night.
“Hear what?”
“Sirens.” He slipped from the bed, finding his jeans.