A Deal Made in Texas

by Michelle Major

  At this moment he didn’t give a damn that she was too good for him. He couldn’t find it in himself to care about anything except the feel of her pressing into his chest. Her curves, her scent, the sweetness of her very essence.

  Then she pulled away, and Gavin wanted to growl his protest. Was she going to send him away? Close herself off the way she had in the past week? He wasn’t sure he could take that distance again.

  “Why haven’t we had sex?” she blurted, her eyes a little hazy but otherwise focused intently on his.

  Just when he thought she couldn’t surprise him anymore, another inadvertent blow sent him reeling.

  “Um... I’m trying to respect you,” he said, the words ringing false even to his own ears.

  Her delicate brows drew together until she wasn’t so much frowning as glaring at him. “You only sleep with women you don’t respect?”

  “No,” he answered quickly. “I didn’t mean that. What I’m trying to say is...” Oh, hell. What was he trying to say?

  “You don’t want me like that,” she supplied and it took a moment for her words to register in his muddled mind. Right now the majority of his brain cells had gone on hiatus, allowing the lower half of him to take over the controls. That half wasn’t exactly known for its good judgment.

  “I want you in every way possible.” He moved forward, and she stepped back as if putting distance between them was an unconscious response. No. He couldn’t let her put up a wall between them. Not tonight.

  He softened his tone and let his need for her flood his gaze. His career and the choices he’d made to keep himself closed off in his personal life had made him a master of the poker face.

  He wondered if he’d ever been like Christine, whose beautiful emotions were written on her face.

  “You agreed to help me because of the pressure from my family,” he said slowly, needing the words to come out right. Knowing this moment mattered. “I don’t want to take advantage of that...of you.”

  One side of her mouth kicked up. “What if I want to be taken advantage of?”

  “Christine.”

  She studied him for a moment, and he could almost see the emotional war going on inside her. Which side would win out?

  “I want you, Gavin.”

  He could have dropped to his knees in thanks. At the same time he didn’t want her to have any doubts or regrets so he asked, “Are you sure?”

  She took a step closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Never more sure,” she promised and kissed him.

  He let her set the pace and gave himself over to her slow, seductive torture. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this happy, and it was all because of the beautiful woman in his arms.

  * * *

  More.

  That was the refrain echoing in Christine’s mind as she kissed Gavin. His hands reached up to stroke her bare shoulders, thumbs grazing over her collarbones. The featherlight touch made goose bumps break out along her skin, and all she could think was more.

  She broke off the kiss, gratified when it took a few seconds for Gavin’s gaze to focus on her. He’d given her the choice tonight, and she loved him for it. For so many reasons. Despite her doubts and the understanding that heartbreak was inevitable, she wanted this moment. This man.

  Hitching in a breath, she pushed the suit coat off his shoulders and tossed it onto the counter. Gavin’s nostrils flared as she moved closer and tugged on his tie, loosening the silk and sliding it from the collar.

  “You can probably do this with more efficiency,” she said, her voice husky as she started at the buttons of his shirt with shaky fingers.

  “I like you undressing me,” he whispered.

  With every button, another inch of his muscled body was revealed. The shirtless Gavin she’d seen in photos from Fortunado beach vacations over the years didn’t do justice to Gavin in the flesh. Heat radiated from him, and his skin felt soft yet firm under her touch.

  When he’d shrugged out of the shirt, she took a moment to admire his body in a way she hadn’t been able to the night of Diana’s trip to the vet. Her girlie parts screamed to get on with things but she hushed them. This was every one of her fantasies come to life, and she had every intention of savoring the experience.

  He gave her a sexy half smile. “I had no idea I could be so turned on just by how you look at me.”

  She reached out a hand and smoothed it up the hard planes of his chest. “How about when I do this?” she asked, wondering where in the world this confident seductress had been hiding.

  Or perhaps not hiding. Maybe she’d simply been waiting for the right man to unlock her passion.

  No doubt that Gavin held the key to everything.

  “I love it.”

  She took her other hand and skimmed it across the front of his trousers, and she knew without a doubt he wanted her. He let out a soft groan as she cupped him then he encircled her wrist with one hand. “You’re making me crazy, and I love it.”

  “It’s an adventure,” she told him, earning a low laugh.

  “The best kind,” he agreed, lifting her hand to his shoulder. Then he reached around and unzipped the back of her dress. The silky fabric slid down her body and over her hips with ease, pooling at her feet.

  Although inwardly cringing at standing in front of this perfect man in nothing but a black strapless bra and pair of lacy panties, Christine forced herself not to squirm. As she had minutes earlier with him, Gavin took his sweet time studying her, his chest rising and falling sharply as his gaze wandered along her body.

  The need and desire she saw there gave her confidence, and for the first time she tried to see herself through Gavin’s eyes. Clearly, he liked what he saw. Although she hadn’t been overweight for over a decade, Christine still viewed herself through the lens of the chubby girl she’d once been. The misfit. The loser.

  But she was a different woman now, and it was past time she start embracing who she’d become. She refused to allow herself to be stuck in her old insecurities.

  Biting down on her lower lip, she reached around her back and unclasped the bra strap, tossing the thin piece of fabric to one side. Then she hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her panties and slid them down her hips.

  All the while, Gavin’s gaze remained on hers as his breathing grew more ragged.

  “You have too many clothes on,” she whispered.

  “Damn straight,” he agreed, his voice shaky.

  He made quick work of his shoes and socks then unfastened his belt buckle and took off his pants, pushing them down his hips along with his boxers.

  Suddenly, Christine had the realization that they were standing at the edge of her kitchen. Now what? She’d only been intimate with her previous boyfriend, and that had strictly been a lights out in the bedroom type of affair. Spontaneity was new for her, and while her body was a big fan, her brain wasn’t quite sure how to deal with the reality of her new adventure. “Oh, my gosh.”

  Gavin chuckled. “I’ve gotten a lot of reactions in my day, but that’s a new one.”

  “We’re in the kitchen,” she told him.

  His grin widened, and he stepped forward. “You’ve never christened your kitchen?” he asked with a wink.

  She shook her head.

  He moved closer, reaching for her. “I like watching you try new things, and I have lots of them planned for tonight.”

  “You have a plan?” Her voice came out in a squeak.

  “Do you trust me?” he whispered against her mouth, licking across the seam of her lips.

  “Yes,” she breathed.

  “Good,” he said and lifted her into his arms.

  She gasped. The feel of his body was even more amazing than she could have imagined. Then she gasped again when her backside hit the smooth wood of the kitchen table.

  Gav
in trailed kisses along her jaw then down her neck and lower. He cupped her breasts in his big hands. When he took the tip of one, and then the other, into his mouth, she moaned from the pleasure of his mouth on her body. One hand moved lower, grazing her hips before gently pushing apart her legs and inching closer to her center.

  She thought the attention to her breasts was enough to drive her mad with desire, but this was something else entirely. His fingers found a rhythm that had her craving more, the pressure in her body building with excruciating sweetness until she finally cried out. It felt as though a thousand stars were crashing over her, bathing her in a bright light that was like nothing she could have imagined.

  Gavin kissed her, deep and slow, as the pulsing release subsided.

  “I’ll never look at this table the same way again,” she whispered when he pulled away.

  “I’m going to take that as a compliment,” he answered with a husky chuckle.

  “But you didn’t...” Christine cleared her throat. “We aren’t finished?”

  “Not by a long shot.” He gave her a sexy half smile that made her toes curl. Then he bent and took a wallet from his pants’ pocket, pulling out a condom wrapper. “The next part of my master plan is moving to the bedroom.”

  “I like that plan.”

  She went to stand but before she could get to her feet, Gavin picked her up, one arm under her knees and the other cradling her back.

  “Down the hall?”

  She nodded. “You’re pretty good with your hands,” she told him, placing a hand on his bare chest. “But you haven’t turned me into so much contented jelly that I can’t walk.”

  “Pretty good?” He made a sound low in his throat. “That sounds like a challenge. And I could carry you for miles.”

  She bit down on the inside of her cheek when a denial popped to her lips. She might not feel confident about her body, thanks to years of being overweight, but she knew enough not to point out her flaws to Gavin.

  He seemed as enthralled with her as she was with him, and that thought only served to open her heart to him even more.

  “I can hear you thinking,” he told her as he entered her bedroom.

  She laughed softly as he tugged down the comforter and sheet and placed her on the mattress. “Then you’d better distract me.”

  “Exactly what I had in mind.”

  He opened the condom wrapper and, a moment later, skimmed his hands up her body until he was leveraging himself over her. She could feel him between her legs, but he held still as he smoothed his thumbs along the sides of her face, gazing into her eyes with an intensity that stole her breath.

  “You’re amazing,” he whispered.

  She automatically shook her head. Christine knew she was many things. Smart. Loyal. Dependable. Okay, that sounded more like she was describing her dog, but it was difficult to argue with the truth.

  Gavin gripped her head and said again, “You. Are Amazing.”

  Oh, no. She blinked several times. There was no way she was going to cry in front of him because he’d said something nice and she wanted desperately to believe him. She lifted her head and kissed him. Then he was inside her, moving in a rhythm that she knew was unique to the two of them. It was everything, and she still wanted more. Pressure built again, consuming her, but this time she wasn’t alone in giving in to the pleasure. Gavin stayed with her, in her, until they lost themselves in the moment and all the things she felt but couldn’t put into words.

  And Christine knew the emotion...this night...this man...would change her life forever.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The next morning Gavin blinked awake, disoriented for a moment by his surroundings. The bedrooms at both his loft in Denver and the Driskill, where he was staying in downtown Austin, were decorated in a neutral color palette and dark wood furniture, so the pale blue walls and creamy white furniture he woke up to weren’t what he expected.

  The woman curled against him, still fast asleep, was another unexpected occurrence. Well, not exactly unexpected. He’d spent most of the night making love to Christine, which had been better than he ever could have imagined.

  But Gavin didn’t typically spend the night with the women he dated. More than typically. He didn’t ever stay over an entire night. He also hadn’t had a woman stay overnight with him since... Well, Christine’s sleepover in his hotel room after Maddie’s wedding had been the first.

  It was part of his unwritten list of relationship rules not to complicate things. Simple was easier when it came to women, but Christine and their unorthodox arrangement were changing everything, especially his self-control.

  He thought about sneaking out quietly but couldn’t quite force himself to move. Her bright auburn hair was messy—thanks to him, most likely—and he loved how relaxed and unguarded she appeared in sleep.

  Scratch that last bit. He liked it very much. Not loved. He wasn’t a man who threw around the word love in any capacity with the women he dated. Dangerous territory that led to expectations he couldn’t possibly meet.

  Maybe that was why it was so easy to let down his guard with Christine. Their built-in end date was a safety net for his heart. So why did it feel like he was walking on an emotional tightrope with nothing but cold, hard ground beneath him as a landing?

  He shifted away as a reality he wasn’t willing to accept pummeled at his defenses, a tornado of doubts and long-held beliefs tearing at his walls.

  Christine sighed then opened her eyes, her gaze soft and sleepy. Damn if he didn’t want to pull her close, bury himself inside her and try to give her everything he’d never thought himself capable of offering a woman.

  The mental reminder of his own shortcomings was enough to have him jerking away and climbing out of bed as if she’d just tried to bite him.

  He was a damn coward.

  She sat up, lifting the sheet to cover her beautiful breasts. Now that he knew firsthand the sweet taste of her skin and the way she fit with him, he had to force himself not to crawl under the covers again.

  “Good morning,” she said, and he hated himself for the doubt that clouded her eyes.

  “Hi. I’ve got to go.”

  “Oh.” The smile she gave him was shaky at best. “I understand.”

  She couldn’t possibly because he was fumbling around with no playbook for this moment. Clearly, since he was making a complete mess of it. “I had fun last night,” he said, even as he pulled on his trousers.

  At some point during the night, he’d brought his clothes into the bedroom and put on boxers to sleep. Now he fastened his pants and reached for his shirt even as he shoved his feet into his loafers.

  “Me, too,” she said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind one ear. “Have you heard anything more about Ben or confirmation on the cause of the fire?”

  Gavin glanced at his phone sitting on the nightstand. He hadn’t even thought to touch the thing since she’d invited him in, so caught up in Christine as he was. He shook his head. “That’s why I need to leave. I want to check on Ben.”

  She nodded, although the doubt remained in her gaze. “Let me know how he’s doing. Maybe later we could—”

  “I have a meeting tomorrow morning with a client and a presentation I need to finish. It’s going to be a late Sunday in the office for me.”

  This time she didn’t nod in agreement, and when her eyes narrowed as she studied him, a bead of sweat rolled down between his shoulder blades.

  “Is there anything we need to talk about?” she asked, and he could tell how hard she was working to keep her composure. He couldn’t admire her or hate himself any more than he did at this moment.

  “Nope,” he lied.

  “Right.” She shifted to the edge of the bed, still holding the sheet up to cover her body. “I need to get dressed and take Di for a walk.” When he didn’t move, one delicate e
yebrow arched. “Which means you should leave now.”

  Bam.

  He thought he couldn’t admire her more, until she went and gave attitude right back to him. Good for her. His Christine was stronger than she believed herself to be.

  No. Not his. He was in the process of messing it up, because that was how he handled real intimacy.

  He wasn’t sure if it helped or made things worse to know he was an idiot.

  With a sigh, he bent to kiss her goodbye. She turned her face at the last moment so his lips landed on her cheek.

  “Have a nice rest of your day,” she told him, refusing to make eye contact.

  “I’ll call you later,” he promised.

  “You can text me,” she advised. “It’s simpler that way.”

  Simple. Right. His new least favorite word in the English language.

  “Have a good day,” he said quietly. “And thank you again for last night...for everything. I—”

  “It’s fine, Gavin. We have an agreement. I get that. I hope you get positive news about Ben.” With those polite words, she showed him that he was—without a doubt—the biggest jerk on the planet.

  He didn’t want to be. He didn’t want this arrangement or the way she made him feel more than anyone ever had. But he couldn’t find the words to make it better. Not when the hollowness inside his chest was a gaping pit that he couldn’t seem to escape.

  So he gave her a charming smile, even knowing she saw through that tired mask, and walked away.

  * * *

  “You look like hell.”

  As Gavin climbed in the passenger side of his brother’s car, Everett studied him over the lenses of his mirrored sunglasses.

  “Just drive,” Gavin muttered, buckling the seat belt.

  Everett chuckled and pulled away from the hotel’s entrance. They were heading to the hospital to check in with the Robinson branch of the family. Gavin had spoken to Wes Fortune Robinson earlier. Ben’s twin had reported that his brother was in stable condition but they were still monitoring him to ensure there was no additional injury to his lungs.