by Gail McHugh
“No?” Emily breathed. The sounds of cars rushing by, along with Boyce Avenue’s beautiful love song disappeared as Gavin’s fingers continued a trail against the slope of her neck.
“No,” he answered. “This game will stimulate each and every single one of your five senses beyond human comprehension. Sight...” He pulled her closer, and Emily could feel his growing arousal hard against her stomach. “I’m going to show you things you’ve never seen before.” Brushing her gray wool pea coat slightly away from her shoulder, he feathered his lips against her collar bone. Emily shivered, goose bumps popping up all over her body. Every hair stood on end. After a moment, he brought his lips back to her ear and lightly nibbled on her lobe. As he swirled his warm tongue around diamond earrings he’d bought for her for Valentine’s Day, Emily swore she was about to melt into the gravel on the side of the road.
“Sound...” He teased his fingers into her hair, her body screaming for release. “Do you like it when you feel my breath on your ear?” Emily swallowed and nodded. Words were a thing of the past as she sank, plummeting into his touch.
“Taste…” Oh, he was really getting her riled up as he slowly, so achingly slowly, ran his soft tongue along her parted bottom lip. “I’m addicted to the way you taste, Emily. I always have been, and I always will be. But I want you addicted to me in the exact same way.” Was he nuts? He’d already turned her into a fiend for all his flavors, yet she had a feeling he was about to make her a full-blown addict, praying for her next hit.
“Smell…” He ran his nose against her hair, down her neck, and back up her flushed cheek. The sound of him inhaling her scent rushed a feeling of need straight to her dampened panties. “Mmm, the way every part of your sweet body smells would lead me to kill for it if it ever disappeared from my possession. It’s… mine.” Emily puffed out a breath, the dominance bleeding through his tone awakened nerve endings she never knew existed.
“And last, but certainly not least, touch…” Emily heard him step back. Her body felt deprived in the wake of his warmth. It needed more. Wanted more. Craved more. What was he doing? Surely he should be touching her. “Well, that, Miss Cooper,” he continued, “shouldn’t be hard to figure out. We’re going to touch, smell, taste, hear, and see everything one another has to offer in ways we never have before.”
Breath stripped from his words, and sight gone, hidden beneath the blindfold, Emily felt as though she was a mad woman about to attack. Thankfully, Gavin brought her back down and saved himself from an embarrassing display of her ripping the blindfold off and sexually mauling him to death. Though she was pretty sure he wouldn’t mind. She felt his fingers intertwine with hers as he carefully guided her back to the car and helped her into the seat. The sound of the door closing made Emily’s already nerve-shot body jump in anticipation. His feet crunching over the gravel made her already heightened senses acutely alert. Once he got in the car, the humming of his breath made her racing heart beat faster.
He started the engine, pulled the strap of her seatbelt over her waist, and clicked it. Barely grazing her skin, he drew circles around her newly engaged ring finger. Oh, yes, he was teasing her, and he was doing it very well. A brush of his hand on her neck, a slight touch on her thigh, and a light stroke through her hair every now and then made the remainder of the intensely quiet ride torturous. By the time she heard and felt car come to a complete stop, Emily was so sexually charged, she was convinced she was about to lose her mind.
Parked in the circular driveway of a two-story Mediterranean-style home he had built for them, complete with every feature Emily unknowingly gave him over the last several months, a reverent smile broke out across Gavin’s mouth as he watched Emily’s chest rise and fall with her shallow breaths. The sight of her next to him, unaware of what he was about to show her, made him high. His little game wasn’t over just yet. No. He was going to savor the moment for as long as he could. With the flick of a button, the ornate wrought-iron gates swung closed. Gavin stepped from the car, his smile growing as he opened the passenger side door, and helped his blindfolded future bride to her feet.
“Where are we?” Feeling his arms slip around her waist from behind, Emily’s lips puckered into a smile. “I’m a little afraid right now.”
Gavin pulled her body flush against his chest as he steered her across the multicolored, sandstone driveway. His heart rate escalated the closer they got to the front door. “Take a step up,” he whispered. Emily did as he said. “Another.” Again, she complied. “And, guess what?”
“Another step?” she asked, giggling.
“You got it,” he answered.
Once on the porch, Leslie, Gavin’s housekeeper—who he’d already hired back on fulltime—quietly greeted them when she opened the front door. Gavin nodded, mouthed “thank you,” and watched her skirt down the driveway to her car.
Stepping into the marbled foyer, Gavin closed and locked the door, slipped Emily’s coat off her shoulders, and softly kissed her lips. “Stay here. I don’t want anything happening to you.”
Crossing her arms, Emily tilted her head. “You can’t see my eyes right now, but I’m rolling them, wiseass.”
“I bet you are,” Gavin laughed. He strolled over to the cascading staircase and hung his suit jacket and Emily’s coat on the intricate, hand-carved cherry railing.
“Come here,” he called, grinning. “My voice will lead you.”
“Are you kidding me?” Emily heard her words echo in whatever space she was in. “I’m about to take off this damn blindfold.” Before she could, the sound of Gavin’s quick, solid footsteps hit the air, followed by the feel of his hand pressing against the small of her back.
“No,” Gavin said, leading her into the spacious, open living room. As requested, Leslie had everything he’d asked for ready and waiting. “The blindfold stays on. I have another game we’re about to play. After that, and only if I see fit, I’ll remove it.” Gavin loved the small, sexy pout forming across Emily’s lips. He kneeled in front of her and grazed his hands down her calves. “Hold on to my shoulders for support.”
Considering she couldn’t see a thing and her body was hyperaware of his touch, Emily was more than happy when her hands found his hair. She buried her fingers through his silky strands, a smile curling her mouth. “No shoulders, but this will do. Should I pull on it?”
“The same way you beg me to pull on yours when I’m behind you?”
“Mmm hmm,” Emily hummed as she did just that. Tugging his hair, she felt him kiss her stomach. An involuntary shiver moved up her spine.
Gavin slipped her heels from her feet, smoothing his hands up her thighs. Emily’s body starting to shake had him wanting to skip his little game and get straight to business, but he would wait. His next step was the biggest part of his surprise. Gavin stood, took Emily’s hands, and guided her onto a large, cream-colored Alpaca rug circling the entire living room.
“Where are we?” Emily whispered, feeling the soft material under her feet. “And what are you doing to me?”
Hands still wrapped around hers, Gavin sat down on the rug and slowly brought Emily down onto his lap. Positioning her legs around his waist, Gavin was definitely fighting for control as his eyes scanned the luscious black straps of her garter belt peeking out from beneath her dress. Emily emitted a small gasp as Gavin lazily dragged his fingers around her waist, pulling her flush against him.
“We’re about to take a stroll down memory lane.” Gavin gently kissed her, sucking her bottom lips between his teeth. “And when we’re finished, we’ll be in our future.” Gavin reached for a canvas bag holding an assortment of their past. The first piece was a conch shell he’d brought back from Mexico. Holding it to her ear, he was about to stimulate her sense of sound. “Do you hear that?”
“Yes,” Emily breathed, hearing the distant ocean. “Is it a shell?”
“It is. What does it remind you of?” he asked, touching his lips to hers.
Emily tried to breathe
as his other hand caressed her back. “It reminds of the Hamptons.”
“Close,” Gavin whispered, pulling the shell away. “It’s from our time spent in Mexico. A time that started off bad but ended very good. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Emily smiled, memories of the bittersweet time dowsing her heart. Seeking his lips, she leaned forward, coming close to hitting her mark as she placed a kiss against Gavin’s nose. “Yes.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Thank you for that memory.”
“Thank you for coming after me,” he replied softly. He reached back into the bag. Pulling out a peanut shell, he figured this memory might be a little bit harder for her to figure out. He held it under her nose to tap her sense of smell. “Sniff.”
Emily breathed in the peanut aroma. “Peanut butter?” she questioned, her forehead wrinkled. “Hmm, I know we like to use whipped cream, but I don’t recall peanut butter, Blake. Are you confusing me with another woman?”
Gavin smirked, bringing his free hand up to the nape of her neck. He drew her face within inches of his. “Never. But you’re close, Miss Cooper, soon to be Mrs. Blake. I’d eat anything off your body that you know. You have my permission to consider yourself my own personal peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”
Emily smiled. “What’s it from?”
“Damn you, woman,” Gavin laughed. “Maybe this will help.” He chucked the shell in her hair.
Emily reared back. “Did you just throw something into my hair?”
“Yeah. What are you gonna do about it?” Wishing Emily could see his monstrous smirk, Gavin leisurely rested his hands behind him on the rug. “My game. My rules. Deal with it.”
“You’ve lost it,” Emily pointed out with a giggle. After finding the spot the where peanut shell was buried, Emily plucked it from her hair and blindly shot it in the direction she hoped his face was in. It went rocketing over Gavin’s head and landed on the stone hearth of the fireplace. “The baseball game.” Emily beamed. Seeking his shoulders, she grabbed hold and yanked him back against her chest. “Though the game sucked because your Yankees beat my Birds, it’s a memory I’ll never forget.”
“They whipped their asses,” Gavin reminded her, pulling yet another memory from the bag. Emily sighed and shook her head. Smiling, Gavin figured this next memory would rouse her sense of touch, and he was pretty damn sure she’d know what it was the second she felt it. Reaching for her hand, he placed a bottle cap in her palm and watched her face immediately lit up.
“My favorite,” Emily whispered, kissing the cap. She leaned in to kiss whatever part of him her lips could find. Hitting just above his jaw, she smiled. “Bottle caps for life?”
“Always,” Gavin replied, guiding her lips to his. He kissed her tenderly, soaking in the fact his girl found such a small gesture so grand.
“Can I take the blindfold off now?” Emily nearly begged.
“Be patient, little one,” Gavin replied, retrieving the final two memories from the bag. Taste would be the next sense he’d spark. Gavin wondered if Emily would remember the conversation that sparked it all. “Open your mouth,” Gavin whispered, watching soberly as she parted her glorious, full lips. After peeling away the lid from a small container of creamer and tearing open a packet of sugar, Gavin poured both delicious contents onto her pink tongue. Before Gavin could take a breath, Emily somehow found his mouth. Their lips moved desperately over one another’s in a cream and sugar flavored kiss. Their tongues danced as one.
“I know what this is,” Emily purred.
“Do you?” He kissed her deeper as he maneuvered them up off the floor. Swooping her into his arms like a groom carrying his bride, he continued his delicious onslaught against her lips.
“I do, Mr. Cream and Sugar. Now I demand this blindfold comes off.” Her voice was husky, riddled with need, want, and desire as a result of the sweet torture he’d put her through.
Gavin did as she asked, slowly pulling away the blindfold. He watched her blink open her beautiful green eyes, the surprise in them immediately sending prickles of satisfaction over his skin. Her glorious gasp throttled his ears. “Welcome to our future.”
Feet dangling over Gavin’s forearms, Emily couldn’t decide which way to look as she took in her surroundings. Wood floors, polished to a shine, spanned the spacious living room. Its size made Gavin’s penthouse seem like a college dorm. Her gaze landed on the marble staircase, which split at the landing, situated in the middle of the foyer. Ceilings marked by exquisite crown molding soared over panoramic windows that showcased an in-ground pool in the backyard. Arched entryways dappled every direction.
Gavin carried her into a kitchen harvesting endless amounts of cream-colored granite. Stainless steel appliances fit for a master chef stood out among sleek cherry cabinets. Though unfurnished, the grandeur of the home spilled from one room into the next as Gavin whisked Emily in and out of a library, billiard room, and an office. It hit her, and Emily’s heart swelled. Gavin’s infamous twenty questions game, always including some odd bit of information concerning either a color, texture, or a design, was what made up their home. Their future. Pieces of her answers were scattered everywhere.
“I love you,” she whispered against his lips. “I love every single sneaky, conniving inch of you.” She kissed him harder, deeper, needing to show him how thankful she was for him, for all he’d given her. “Take me back into the living room so I can make love to my shmexy fiancé.”
Gavin ignored her words with his decadent grin, carrying her up the stairs. “You think I’d make love to you on a bare floor?”
Kissing his neck, the tantalizing aroma of his musky cologne tickling her nose, Emily couldn’t care less about the location in that moment. She needed him. “We’ve had sex in a dressing room at Neiman Marcus.” She brought her mouth up to his and nibbled at his lip. “We’ve had sex on the beach in the Hamptons.” Smoothing her hands down his broad shoulders, she started unbuttoning his shirt. “We’ve even had sex in a utility closet at my school. All of a sudden you’re worried about a bare floor? Since when did you become selective as to where you inhale me?”
A devious gleam struck Gavin’s eyes as the memories of each and every encounter Emily mentioned rippled through his mind. She was correct, but today was different. He had other things planned for the way he’d inhale her. Ignoring her words, he continued to carry her into what would be their master suite.
Emily’s breath caught as her eyes roamed over an elegant four-poster canopy bed. King in size, deep mahogany in color, and draped in white sheer netting, the lone piece of furniture gave the room an ethereal, romantic feel. Gavin gently set her down with her back pressed to his chest. Moving her wavy hair away from her neck, he leaned into her ear and slowly unzipped her dress. “I plan on inhaling every inch of your body on that bed,” he whispered, easing the single strap off her shoulder. “Is that okay with you, Miss Cooper?”
Emily couldn’t think, breathe, or move as her dress hit the cool wood floor, leaving her heated body close to bare in a black, strapless corset and garter. “Yes,” she breathed, feeling Gavin’s hands ghost over her chest. In seconds, he had her corset unhooked, freeing her breasts from their confinements. The silk lingerie joined the discarded dress. The sensation of his touch was beyond delicious as Gavin palmed her breasts, kneading them softly. He skimmed his greedy mouth up and down Emily’s neck and her head fell back against his strong shoulder. A soft moan filtered past her lips.
Reaching behind her, she started unfastening his belt, her hands working feverishly over the leather. Dear God, she couldn’t get it undone fast enough. With one hand making love to her breast, Gavin slid the other into her panties, his fingers massaging her clit in soft, slow circles. Soaked in desire and needing to hold on to something, Emily’s hands stopped unfastening his belt. She dragged them up his neck, curled them in his hair, her quick, panting breaths echoing through the sparsely furnished room as Gavin slowly finger-fucked her into oblivion.
“Je
sus, you’re always so wet for me,” Gavin said, his voice ripe with erotic sweetness. Sucking on her neck, his fingers dipping in and out of her, he gently bit her flesh. “You’re mine, Emily.”
She moaned, a corresponding tug of heat building deep within her pussy with each stroke. “Forever,” she breathed as hot pleasure tore through her. Her body melted, throbbing to have him inside her. No longer able to wait, she faced him.
His eyes, the color of blazing blue fire, stared intently into hers, the emotions swirling behind them raw, fierce with passion as she finished unbuttoning his shirt and pants. She stripped him of his clothing, and Gavin’s mouth caught hers, his beautifully etched lips soft, warm. Melded together, he backed her toward the bed. The heat radiating from his skin nearly set Emily aflame. In one slow, torturous motion, Gavin knelt before Emily, pulling her panties, garter, and thigh highs down to her ankles.
“Lay down,” he said, his expression laced with hot, carnal promise.
Staring at him, Emily slid across the massive bed. The cool Egyptian cotton sheets further awakened her senses. With her head nestled against feather pillows, her body trembled in anticipation as Gavin crawled between her shaky legs. Like a hawk stalking its prey, he hovered, his eyes pinned to hers for a beat before his mouth found hers again. He pressed his lips to hers with scorching possession and tasted her with unrushed, deep licks.
With their kiss building in intensity, Emily intertwined her fingers through his hair, her lips parting in a gasp when she felt the thick crown of his cock barely ease into her. It flared open her entrance. Another gasp left her lips when he slowly pulled it out, leaving her quivering for more. Sinking his mouth to one of her breasts, his eyes locked onto hers, holding her in place. Growling, Gavin swirled his hot tongue around her hardened nipple. As if the air had been sucked out of the room, Emily tried to breathe, but she couldn’t. She was drunk with pleasure, drunk with need, as Gavin continued to lick slow, languorous circles around her swollen breast, his fingers flexing restlessly against the other.