“I’m okay, baby. Let me love you. Please, just let me love you now.”
His soft, earnest words quiet my reservations about making love and when that slow, soft smile spreads over Gavin’s mouth, I nod and sink my fingers back in to tangle with his hair.
There’s not another word spoken before Gavin wraps his hands around my hips and urges me to part my legs wider for him.
“More,” he whispers and I do. I open to him and moan cathartic ally when he begins kissing down my lower belly to my core where I’m aching for him so much.
“You are so fucking beautiful, Aria baby. I can’t get enough,” he murmurs as his mouth comes in contact with my opening. He rubs up and down, teasing me there and then finally, God, he settles in to taste me. Slow, long licks and soft nips to my flesh almost drive me to the point of pleasure, almost have me tumbling over into the abyss—but not quite. Gavin hums against my core, pressing two fingers inside me and rubbing in slow, deep circles. My skin lights up, my heart soars, and my sex clenches around him in an effort to make him go faster. I need—
“Aah—yes!” I call out suddenly as Gavin licks and pulls and devours me in that oh so wonderful way of his and I’m climbing higher and higher to ecstasy, so far that I know this is going to be a high I’ve never touched before.
“Please… Feels… Going to come, baby. Faster… ” I’m moaning and lost for words as the waves crash through me, rip me open and make me soar into orgasm.
“Let go, Beautiful. I’ve got you,” Gavin whispers and when he sucks my clit hard and fast, his mouth doing magical things to me—I fall.
“Oh, Gavin,” I whisper, letting my eyes fall open.
“Bed,” he murmurs into the hollow of my neck, scoops me into his arms and carries me towards the bedroom.
“Gavin… You’re—”
“I’m fine, baby. I’m not straining myself by carrying you to our bed.”
As he lays me across the cool-to-the-touch sheets, I let my eyes wander over him. From his gorgeous, out of this world sexy mouth, those deep eyes of his, the light bruising that goes down his neck from when he hit the side of the car in the accident, to his delectable chest, taut stomach and lean hips. Gavin gives me a wide smile, warmed with affection for me and begins to unbuckle his jeans and tread the zipper down.
“You’re staring.”
“Hmm.” I ignore him and continue to explore him with my eyes. He’s just so—sexy. So completely sexy.
“I love you.” The words come easily but still thick with the honesty those three words incite. Gavin’s smirk matches the humor in his eyes as he saunters over to me.
“I have so much to offer, baby. But you just love me for my body.”
Gavin teases, pushes me to my back and rests his arms on either side of my head.
“Well, I love your body, how could I not?” I kiss the side of his mouth softly, feeling his stubble against my lips.
“But what truly made me fall for you? It’s this, Gavin. Your heart. The way you love me, the way you believe in me, in us.” I blink up into his endless blue eyes and a warm smile is tipping his mouth up.
“Aria,” he whispers, grasping my hands and pulling them above my head where he holds them with one of his own. He takes his other hand and caresses down from my torso to my navel, my core, and the apex of my thighs. A breathy moan escapes me when he dips one finger inside me and circles gently, around and around.
“I could touch you all day and never tire of it, Beautiful. Your body drives me crazy with need.”
I wrap my legs around his waist and delight in the weight resting against my belly.
“Then take me, baby.”
Gavin smiles naughtily, grasps my hips and takes me.
Twenty One
MY EYES FLUTTER OPEN to the faint light of dawn coming through the large bay windows across the bedroom. I yawn and stretch my limbs happily, having the first truly good night of sleep in three days, having slept beside Gavin. Except for being woken up twice to make love in the late hours of last night, I feel more rested than I have in what feels like a very long time. I press my face into the pillow and let my eyes wander over to Gavin who’s sleeping soundly beside me. His arm is stretched around my waist while he sleeps, as if he can’t help but touch me, be close to me even as he sleeps in a deep slumber. His face is lit with the morning sun and gently, I skim my fingers down his cheek where I can barely see the bruising and cuts from the accident. God, he’s gorgeous. It still seems unreal that this man is mine.
“Love you,” I whisper into the hollow of his neck and press a kiss there.
“Hmm,” he hums in his sleep, and I carefully slip out of bed, softly step onto the hardwood floor and locate a pair of yoga pants and my favorite cotton tee to wear for a lazy day at home.
Slipping into the bathroom, I hear my phone ringing from the kitchen. Hastily, I dress and pull my hair into a messy ponytail before heading to the kitchen to check my phone.
It’s still somehow ringing when I step into the large kitchen that Gavin had done specifically for him when he bought this penthouse. God, I love this kitchen.
“Hey,” I answer, seeing that Farah is calling. She sniffs on the other end of the phone, not answering me and immediately I’m worried.
“Sweetie? You there?”
“I—God, I’m so sorry Ari. Jay came home from Seattle yesterday and we both turned off our phones to have a day together, just to spend time. I had no idea—Gavin, is he okay?”
She’s so upset, I can hear it in her voice.
“Hey, it’s okay Farah. Gavin is home, everything is okay. Honestly, Kel was with me and so was Gavin’s family. I wasn’t alone.” I hear her audible exhale.
“What happened? All Kel told me was that Gavin was in an accident and that you were at the hospital with him for most of the night.”
I sit at the kitchen table and run my hand through my hair absentmindedly.
“I was at the last show for the academy, the showcase. Kel was with me getting ready and then I got that call from Callie. I swear to God Farah, my world stopped.”
Hell, my heart stopped in those moments in between. Not knowing if he was okay, if I’d lost the love I’d found… it was unbearable.
“But he’s alright? Was he injured?” Her voice is filled with concern and I so wish we were in the same room so I could hug her and reassure her not to feel guilty about any of this.
“No he’s—he’s OK. We’re fine, now. Stop worrying, Sweetie. Enough about me. How are things with Jaden?” I want to hear about something other than the last three days in the hospital.
“Wonderful, but I swear to God this man has the stamina of a bull.”
I almost choke on the piece of toast I’m chewing after hearing that.
“Wow, Farah! Warn a girl why don’t you?”
She starts laughing and soon I’m joining in, especially when she tells me how many times she and Jay the Bull went at it last night.
“And then he showed me … ” I stop listening when Gavin comes out of the bedroom and grins slowly at me. He’s shirtless with a pair of loose-fitting blue pajama bottoms hanging low on his hips. A shot of desire courses through me at the sight of him. He just rolled out of bed and I already want to drag him back in there…
“Have to go, let’s have lunch soon?”
“Oh, I see how it is. Gavin up for round two?” Farah teases and I know she’s rolling her eyes.
My chair is spun towards where he’s standing in front of me and those deep, deep eyes of his take me in.
“Bye, sweets.”
I put down my phone and smile slowly at my man. He looks too damn sexy in the morning.
“Morning, baby.” I lean forward and suck his bottom lip into my mouth, tugging gently.
“Hmm,” Gavin groans, kisses me lightly and then tugs me to stand without another word.
“Where are we going?” I ask as he leads me out of the kitchen and back into the bedroom.
“Breakfast
, I’m going to need my energy today.”
“Oh?” I ask innocently, biting down on my lip when he smiles sexily at me.
He slides his hand down my nape and places a kiss at the top of my head.
“Because were not leaving this bed all. Day. Long.”
Gavin keeps his hand holding mine as we walk to a small diner located close to the penthouse. Even just the small contact of skin on skin keeps the buzz of need alive inside me.
“You’re blushing,” he murmurs, stopping on the sidewalk and cupping my cheeks gently.
“Am I?” I grin, knowing he knows exactly what I’d been thinking about just now. He knows me so well.
Gavin skims his thumbs over my jaw, drawing small circles, igniting my skin underneath his touch and my eyes fall closed.
“Open, baby.”
I open my eyes and see the softness in his.
“These,” he rubs his thumbs against my temples right next to my eyes, “are what made me fall for you, Beautiful. So bright, so expressive.”
I smile softly, take his hands and kiss his palm. His words are filled with love and in this moment I feel so loved by this man.
“You’re sweet.” I tug his hand to keep walking and he follows, then wraps one strong arm around my shoulders to keep me close. God, he feels good.
* * *
Ruby’s is nestled between downtown and South-side Chicago, with a large neon sign hanging above the entryway. It looks like one of those fifties diners you see on Happy Days where the waitresses rolled around in skates and did drive in service all day. It’s cool and different and I immediately love it.
“This is so cool, Gavin. Why haven’t I heard of a diner like this?”
He opens the glass door for me and places a hand at the small of my back. The contact sends tingles up my spine.
A small petite woman with strawberry blonde hair and sky blue eyes greets us.
“Greta! How are you?” Gavin says happily, obviously pleased to see her. I wonder how long he’s been coming here. Years? Did he come here with his father? I flick my eyes up to him as Greta goes around a crowd of teenagers and clasps his hand in hers. Her warm eyes and kind nature is natural to her, it seems.
“Greta, this is the girl I told you about. Aria, meet Greta. She’s my mother’s best friend. And she makes the best Omelet known to man.” He winks down at her, those blue gray eyes warm with affection and I see how near and dear Greta is to him, even after all these years.
“It’s wonderful to meet you, Greta.”
She pulls me in for a long hug, pats me softly on the back and to my surprise, whispers in my ear.
“You’re good for him, Aria.”
I lean away a bit and smile at her.
“He’s good for me, too.”
Then she takes my hand and leads me towards the back with Gavin surely behind us. I like her easygoing nature and her devotion to Gavin. She considers him family, and she wants him to be happy. When we’re both seated at a corner booth; away from the hustle and bustle of other diners, Greta leaves us to talk and decide.
“I really like her,” I say as soon as we’re alone. Gavin smiles widely and hands me an animated menu.
“Greta loves you already. Not that I can blame her.”
His eyes are smiling and I look down to the menu, though I’ve already decided on an omelet with everything on it. I’m sure that it’s the best known to man, as Gavin told me.
I feel his eyes on me as I flick through the brightly colored pages, seeing that this diner is the quaint, lively eatery that I hoped.
“Do you know what you want?” I ask, reaching over the table to wipe a strand of his light brown hair away from his eyes. Gavin leans forward and grasps a strand of my hair, twirls it around his finger.
“Yes, I think I do”
Twenty Two
THE MOMENT I TASTE Greta’s infamous omelet, I moan in satisfaction.
“Oh my God, this is so good.”
I take another bite and look up from my plate to see Gavin watching me. The look in his eyes is deep, hungry and it’s not for food.
“What? It’s really good.”
“They’re the best known to man, baby. I did warn you.”
I take a sip of water and smile at him.
“You did. Can we get out of here, now?” I’m eager to go home and have him all to myself again. Three days apart made me desperate to be with him, and he did say we had all day. I fully intend to soak up every precious minute with Gavin as much as I can.
Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Gavin takes my hand and helps me out of the booth and then puts two bills down on the table.
“Let’s go.”
As we’re heading back towards the trail that leads to the penthouse and Garment district, my phone starts to ring. I’m tempted to let it go to voice mail, knowing that it couldn’t be important this early in the morning. But Gavin smiles slowly, in that way I love. He nods, urging me to answer it. I take my cell out and look down at the screen in confusion. I don’t recognize the number.
“Farah again?” he asks, sliding his fingers through mine. I’m honestly not sure until I remember that I do recognize the number. It’s Mr. Pearson, as in Grayson Academy. I haven’t spoken to him since the showcase last week. Oh, no. Why could he possibly be calling me?
“Hello?” I begin to bite my lip, nervously. There is only a sliver of hope inside me telling me that maybe he was able to keep my spot in the program. I did tell him that I had a family emergency and I couldn’t attend the showcase. Maybe…
“Aria, this is John Pearson from the academy. How are you?”
I lift my eyes to see Gavin silently watching me. I mouth Grayson Academy to him and he nods but then frowns. He must see the fear in my eyes that I’ve lost my chance.
“I’m—well, I’m good,” I stutter my words.
“Good. I wanted to let you know that the Showcase did have to go on without you and I couldn’t keep your spot open. I did try, Aria, but it just wasn’t possible. I’m sorry.”
Immediately my heart falls into my belly and I feel tears well in my eyes. I lost the opportunity I’ve been working for these past weeks, hell months. But how could I have done anything differently when I got that call from Gavin’s sister? I had to go, I had to be with him.
“Thank you for letting me know, Mr. Pearson, and thank you so much for everything.”
“I didn’t do anything. Ms. Morgan, anyone could see your talent. I wish you all the best.”
“Thank you.”
I click off my phone and stare at it for a long time before I feel Gavin tip my chin up to look at me. I sigh and open my eyes to see his worried expression.
“You OK, baby?” He frames my face with his hands and all I can see are his deep blue eyes.
“I lost the spot.” The words are whispered, as if I’m telling myself and not him. I don’t want to believe that I’ve truly lost such an amazing opportunity. The kind that could have made my career in dance. It’s what I’ve worked for all my life.
“How? The Showcase, Kel told me you were on next to perform when I called her. What happened, baby?” I rest my hands on his waist and take a deep breath.
“The moment Callie called me, nothing else mattered to me. The only thing I could focus on was getting to you, to the hospital. And well, the show must go on. They filled my spot.”
I see the understanding in his eyes and as he cups my nape and dips his mouth to my forehead, the breath whooshes out of me.
“I’m sorry, Aria. I know how much you wanted that spot. It meant so much to you.”
“I know.” I rest my cheek against his chest and we stand there, him holding me around my shoulders, my nose pressed to his neck and I feel so safe in his arms. It hurts that I won’t be able to work with the company and talents I thought, but there are so many other opportunities out there. This, right here, is what’s important.
“Let’s go home.”
* * *
Gavin deftly un
ties my sneakers and pulls them off my feet as he kneels at the foot of the bed. I have my eyes closed and I’m enjoying the light touches he gives me as he undresses me slowly. His hands come up to my ankles where he peels off my socks, then glide up to my calves. I feel the comforter shift around me, Gavin climbing onto the bed and kneeling between my parted legs. The buzz of anticipation makes my body sensitive to each and every touch of his fingers.
“So smooth,” he praises, skating his hands under the band of my yoga pants and slowly peeling them over my waist, down my thighs, and off my legs entirely.
“Please, Gavin. Love me,” I beg, opening my eyes and reaching for his hand as he unbuckles his jeans, pulls the black belt off and drops them to the floor. I lose all the breath inside me as he stands in front of me wearing only a pair of navy blue boxers. Those blue gray eyes of his are filled with wanton desire for me. For me only. I bite my lip to stifle the moan that bubbles up in my throat when he slides the boxers off his hips and lets them fall to the floor, too.
“I’m going to love you now, baby.”
I smile wide and wrap my hands into his hair. God, I love how his messy hair goes every which way.
“Finally,” I whisper against his lips as he kisses me breathless. Gavin’s body hovers over me and both his knees are trapping mine. I feel the delicious weight of his want on my lower belly.
“I missed this.” He places a kiss against my throat, right under my jaw.
“Having you in this bed.” Another kiss to my throat where he settles in to tease me.
“Making love to you.” The words aren’t teasing and I know he’s talking about our time apart.
“Gavin.” My legs wrap around his waist and my hands smooth up his magnificent chest to frame his gorgeous, incomparable face. I have never seen deep eyes like his; they are my weakness for sure. I feel his hands close around my laced boy short panties; his breath hits my barely covered breasts.
“Oh, please… ” I say and God, finally, he reaches under me and rips my panties from my body. My bra is next to go and then I’m bared under him. His eyes become hooded with lust, his bottom lip traps between his teeth and he smiles that oh so sexy smile.
Finding Beautiful Page 19
