by Jaci Burton
She threaded her fingers through his dark hair as she watched his tongue roll over her clit. “You make me want to come. I’m ready. So ready.”
He put his lips flat against her and sucked, catapulting her into orgasm. She rocked against his face, crying out as her climax sent her reeling. When he stood, she cupped the back of his neck and brought him down for a deep, soulful kiss that only made her pussy quiver more.
Gavin pushed her onto the bed and dropped his jeans. He was inside her a heartbeat later, her pussy still spasming. She tightened around his cock, feeling every inch of him thicken inside her. And when he began to move within her, it was the sweetest pleasure, a reminder of why she loved being with him. He knew just how to touch her, the exact rhythm that would get her primed and ready to go again.
When he ground against her, she lifted up, making sure he was buried deep, loving the look of fierce passion that furrowed his brow, the dark, predatory need reflected in his eyes that told her he was right there with her.
She wrapped her legs around his hips and held him there, her body hovering on the brink of oblivion. He knew it, too, because he stopped moving, and it was as if the earth had stopped spinning, as if the two of them were suspended in space. All she could hear was their breathing, all she could feel was the hard pounding of their hearts against each other and his cock twitching inside her.
It was heaven, and pure, torturous hell at the same time.
Then he kissed her, drove hard within her, and she shattered like a broken lightbulb, every piece of her gloriously illuminated from the inside out as he shuddered and came with her. He groaned against her mouth, his tongue twining with hers as they rode out their orgasms together.
Out of breath, she held tight to him, so glad to be home and in his arms. Because nothing was more perfect than this.
“All is right in my world again,” she said, pressing a kiss to his shoulder.
He disentangled and pulled her against him. “Mine, too. I had fun this weekend, but I’m happy to be back home. Happy to have you back, too.”
She tilted her head back and he brushed his lips against hers.
She was glad to have this idyllic moment with him, because she knew the next few weeks were going to be anything but calm.
SEVEN
Nathan had come home, and Tara and Mick were having everyone over for dinner to welcome him. Plus, he’d brought his girlfriend with him, and he wanted to introduce her to the immediate family before the wedding so she wouldn’t be too overwhelmed.
Which immediately made Liz curious because she’d known nothing about this girlfriend.
“Did Mick tell you anything about her?” Liz asked Gavin as they drove over to the house.
“Just that she’s pretty and she plays for the basketball team at UT.”
“Hmmm.”
Gavin glanced over at her. “What does that mean?”
“Absolutely nothing. I wonder if this is a new thing, because Tara hasn’t mentioned her to me.”
“Imagine that. You, not in the know about something.”
She laughed. “Shut up.”
“I guess you’ll just have to find out about her like the rest of us.”
“I suppose so.”
They pulled up in front of the house and parked, then headed to the front door. “Looks like everyone’s already here.”
He grabbed her hand. “We’re not late, Liz. You’re just worried you’re going to miss some vital gossip about this hot mystery girlfriend of Nathan’s.”
She squeezed his hand. “I am not. I couldn’t care less.” Okay, maybe she did care. She’d kind of taken it upon herself to become Nathan’s not-quite-related-except-by-marriage-but-cared-about-the-kid-deeply aunt. Plus, she was firmly convinced Nathan had a profound athletic future, so she was a little overprotective of him. The last thing he needed was some gorgeous groupie sticking her claws in him and riding his coattails all the way to the NFL.
Gavin paused. “Liz.”
“Yes?”
“Mind your own business.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Nathan. You don’t want to step into that again. You know what kind of trouble you got yourself into before with Mick and Tara. You don’t want to do it again.”
“For God’s sake, Gavin. I’m not even thinking about meddling in Nathan’s personal life.” Geez, her husband was annoyingly psychic at times.
And of course he was right. Which didn’t mean she wouldn’t ask this new girlfriend of Nathan’s some probing questions. She wouldn’t interfere, of course. It was more like . . . protecting him.
“Oh, you’re here.” Tara greeted them at the front door and led them inside. “The guys are in the game room.”
“Later, gorgeous,” Gavin said, giving her a swift kiss before heading toward the men.
Liz rolled her eyes. “I knew I’d lose him as soon as we walked in the door.”
“I know, right? Mick loves the game room. So do his dad and his uncle. They’re all like kids in there with the TV, pool table, and video games, and the rest of the stuff.”
Tara led her into the kitchen. “Something to drink? I made this amazing nonalcoholic punch, plus there’s wine, beer, and tea.”
“I’d love some punch.”
Tara poured her a glass. “Everyone else is in the family room.”
“Is Nathan here?”
“I sent him and Sonja on an errand. They should be back soon.”
“Sonja, huh? Nice name.”
Tara smiled. “Nice girl. Wait till you meet her. You’re going to fall madly in love with her.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes. She’s sweet. I can’t believe he met someone like her. She’s smart and so athletic. And funny, too.”
Liz was going to reserve judgment about Sonja until she had a chance to grill—uh, talk to her.
She settled into the family room and visited with everyone, including Mick and Tara’s little boy, Sam, who was pulling himself up on the furniture. His hair was dark and curly, and when he giggled, it shot straight to her heart. He had the sweetest smile and charmed everyone in the room as he made his way over to them, laughing every time he fell down.
When Sam came over to her and rested his cheek on her knee, every part of Liz ached. She picked him up and kissed his cheek, but after only a few seconds, he wriggled to get down.
“Okay, mobile man, I know you don’t want to be cuddled right now. Off you go.”
“I told you,” Tara said. “I think my cuddling days are over.”
“You might be surprised how much he still wants to cuddle his mama,” Gavin’s mom said to Tara. “He might want to be moving around right now, but wait until he falls and cries. Then he’ll want you holding him.”
“You’re right, of course,” Tara said.
After a few minutes, Liz heard the front door open.
“Mom, where do you want this stuff?”
“Excuse me,” Tara said. “If I don’t direct Nathan, he’ll end up putting milk in the pantry.”
Liz got up, too. “I’ll help you.”
She followed Tara into the kitchen.
Nathan was in there and she was struck by how much he’d matured in the past few years. He was taller, and had picked up a lot more muscle. He wore his hair shorter now, and it was a darker brown. Though still young, he was no longer a young boy. Now he was a young man.
“Hi, Nathan,” she said.
He smiled at her. “Hey, Liz. How’s it going?”
“It’s going good. On errand duty?”
He grinned. “Always.”
A tall, quite gorgeous young woman carried a bag in. “Where do you want this one, Mrs. Riley?”
“On the counter, Sonja. Thanks.”
The girl had to be nearly five-eleven or ma
ybe even six feet tall. Considering Nathan had shot up his senior year to six-four, he was still taller, but wow. She was beautiful, with café au lait skin, honey colored eyes, and sleek black hair.
Wow.
“Oh, Sonja, this is Nathan’s Aunt Elizabeth, but we all call her Liz.”
Liz stuck out her hand in greeting. “Nice to meet you, Sonja.”
“Same here. And I’m probably never going to remember everyone’s name so I’m going to apologize if I have to ask it again.”
Liz laughed. “That’s okay. Ask away.”
“Hey, I warned you I had a big family,” Nathan said, casting a grin at his girlfriend.
“You did.”
“Where are you from, Sonja?”
“A small town in southwest Texas that no one’s ever heard of. Nathan wanted to drag me here to see more big-city life.”
“Well, St. Louis isn’t exactly a huge city.”
Sonja leaned against the counter. “Bigger than where I grew up, that’s for sure.”
“What’s your major?”
“Marketing with a minor in communications. And I play for the UT basketball team.”
“She’s good at it, too. One hell of a guard,” Nathan said. “You should keep your eye on her, Liz. She might go pro.”
Sonja laughed. “I don’t know about that. I’m just happy to have the scholarship so I can get my education.”
“Yeah, and she’s being modest. She really is good.”
“Then I’ll definitely keep my eye on you.”
“Liz is a sports agent,” Nathan said to Sonja. “She could get you a great deal.”
“Nathan,” Liz warned.
Sonja just looked at her. “I’m not even thinking that far ahead. I just want to get a degree.” She elbowed Nathan. “Quit being so pushy. You’re making your aunt uncomfortable.”
He shoved back into her. “Hey, I believe in you.”
She laughed. “Whatever.”
He put his arm around her. “Come on. Let’s go hang out.”
“Dinner’s in about thirty,” Tara said.
“Okay.”
After they left the room, Tara asked, “So? What do you think?”
“I think she’s stunning.”
“I know. Isn’t she? Like fashion-model beautiful. And she’s very smart. Nathan said she has a 4.0 GPA, plus she plays sports, too. She’s outgoing and she really seems to be into Nathan and he’s obviously very much into her.”
And she very obviously wasn’t at all how Liz had imagined her. So she relaxed on that count. “She’s very sweet. Nothing like that first love, is there?”
“Well, I wouldn’t know about that since my first love got me into a lot of trouble. But yeah, I like her. She seems grounded and reasonable and not flighty and all into Nathan just because he’s the quarterback. She seems to have her own goals and ambitions. So that reassures me.”
“I’m sure it does.” Liz was a bit reassured, too. She wished Nathan didn’t have a girlfriend at all, but she supposed that was a bit unrealistic. He was in college and out on his own now, and he needed to have some fun, to grow up some and become a man. He was going to likely have a lot of girlfriends in his lifetime.
She wasn’t his mother, so she had no idea why she was so nervous about Nathan getting involved with Sonja. She should just let it go.
But she did watch them during dinner, when the family could really get noisy, talking over each other and often arguing over the most innocuous topic. Maybe they were on their best behavior tonight because Sonja was there and they didn’t want to scare her off, but it was relatively calm. Plus, the baby was still awake and he captured a lot of attention. In fact, Nathan sat next to Sam and he and Sonja entertained him during dinner, feeding him and making him laugh.
Sonja seemed at ease with the family, which didn’t happen often with strangers. After dinner she even helped Tara in the kitchen.
“You seem pretty comfortable around our crazy family,” Liz remarked as she, Tara, Alicia, and Jenna, along with Gavin’s mom and Alicia’s mom, helped Tara with the after-dinner mess.
“Oh, I come from a big family. I have three sisters and two brothers.”
Liz’s eyes widened. “Really. Wow. So dinnertime is a lot like this.”
Sonja laughed. “Yes. Exactly like this. Only maybe more yelling. My brothers are younger than me, so they’re a little . . . boisterous.”
“Boys do tend to be like that,” Gavin’s mother said from across the room.
Tara nodded. “Yes, they do. And I only had one. Well, one at a time, anyway.”
“I imagine it takes parents ruling with an iron fist to keep a brood like that under control,” Alicia said.
“My mother is pretty fierce. When she speaks, believe me, you listen.”
“And your dad, too?”
“He died when my youngest brother was two years old. It’s mostly been just my mom for a while.”
Liz laid her hand on Sonja’s arm. “I’m so sorry.”
“I am, too.” Tara pulled up a chair at the kitchen island. And suddenly the women surrounded Sonja.
“Oh. Wow. Well, I didn’t mean to talk about it. But he got cancer and it took him pretty fast. It was hard on my mom having all us kids to deal with, but she had my aunts and uncles and my grandparents to help her. It’s been okay, really.”
Gavin’s mom patted Sonja’s hand. “It’s nice that she had all the family to help support her.”
“It was.”
And Liz could tell Sonja was uncomfortable.
“Hey, how come the guys never help with the dishes?” Liz asked, sliding off the barstool. “Sonja, let’s go track down Nathan and my husband and find out where they’re lurking.”
“Sure. If you all don’t need me in here.”
“We’re fine. We’re just about done anyway,” Tara said.
As Liz led Sonja down the long hall toward the back of the house, Sonja turned to her. “Thanks for that.”
“For what?”
“For pulling me out of that conversation. I miss my dad for sure. But I just don’t like to talk about it.”
“Understood. Especially with a bunch of people you don’t really know.”
She smiled. “Right. Not that I don’t like all of you. You’re all . . . great.”
“Hey, you don’t have to sell me. I get it. We’re all pushy and nosy and overprotective, and we’ll ask you a million questions if you let us. So don’t let us and feel free to tell us to back off.”
“Oh, I’d never do that. But I might have to ease my way in. Things with Nathan and I are just getting started. And we both have our priorities, which are school and career first.”
The more she talked to Sonja, the more she liked her. “Those are good priorities to have.”
“Yeah, I mean we’re just eighteen. Plenty of time for all that romance later.”
Liz laughed. “Yes. Much later.”
* * *
Give a guy a game room, and the world is a happy place. At least a guy’s world is a happy place. There was pinball, pool, video games, and even a foosball table, which reminded Gavin of college and of old times in their family basement, when he and Mick would go at it for hours. Gavin, of course, was the Riley foosball champion.
Mick, on the other hand, remembered it differently, claiming he consistently kicked Gavin’s butt. So they had to have a rematch.
Gavin won. Until Ty joined in and kicked his ass. And then Nathan took over and trounced all of them one by one.
Damned kids.
He sat back drinking a beer and watched Nathan and his girlfriend Sonja flipping the handles as they faced off against each other. She was pretty good at it, and Nathan didn’t let up just because Sonja was a girl. It was a pretty fierce competition, but in the end, Nathan won again.
>
Garrett rubbed his hands together. “I’m going to take you down this time, kid.”
“You’d like to think so, wouldn’t you?” Nathan asked with a gleam in his eye.
Sonja sat at the bar with a soda and grinned as Nathan took Garrett down easily. And then the women came in and started their own tournament. Tara faced off with Liz, and then Sonja hopped in. It was clear that Sonja and Nathan were going to be the foosball champions tonight.
“She’s cute,” Gavin said to Mick as they watched.
“Who? Your wife? She’s all right, but I’d have to say I prefer my own.”
Gavin laughed. “I meant Sonja.”
“Yeah, she is. Nathan really seems into her.”
“I assume you’ve had a long conversation with him about sex and birth control and not screwing up his future in that way.”
Mick shot him a look. “I’ve had lengthy conversations with that kid about everything that could screw up his life. Including that. He’s tired of seeing me head his way. He knows what’s what. He’s not stupid.”
“I figured, but just thought I’d throw it out there.”
Mick took a swallow of water and laid his glass down on the table behind them. “Could you ever have imagined the day we’d be the old men talking to kids about not knocking up their girlfriends?”
“No. I never saw that one coming,” Gavin said with a wry smile. “Time goes by fast and your kid has really grown up a lot in a few years. He’s a man now.”
“He is. And with that comes responsibility. The kind I blew off in college. So he’ll just have to get used to my Dad lectures.”
Gavin laughed. “I guess so. Hopefully someday I’ll be able to give a few of those to my own kids.”
“Any of those coming soon?”
“We’re working on it.” He shifted his gaze across the room to Liz, who caught his gaze and smiled at him, a hot, I-know-what-you’re-thinking smile.
She made a motion with her head and went upstairs. As soon as Ty came over to talk to Mick, Gavin eased his way upstairs. She was in the kitchen.
“Do you want another beer?” she asked.