by Becca Dale
“I give. Stop!”
“Is Marc better looking?” His fingers didn't cease their torture.
She fought for breath. “No.”
“Are you lying?”
“No!” She wiggled to get away, but his arms tightened.
He nuzzled his nose against her neck, and shivers skipped over her skin. “Admit you think I'm sexy.”
She dropped her head against his shoulder and fought to slow her breathing. Instead she inhaled the heady scent of his cologne. Unexpected awareness zipped over her skin to sizzle and tease. “Confessions under duress don't hold up in court.”
“How about if I go first then?” His sensual voice had her squirming. He pulled her closer still. “You have the most incredible smile. Not puppet-like at all.” He chuckled when she smacked his arm. “And a man could drown in your eyes.”
Despite the warning flags that screamed he was far more than she could handle, his masculine charm eroded her defenses. “I thought you were going to be nice?”
“I'm the perfect gentleman.” He nestled his face beside hers, and his breath whispered over her cheek in a delicious goose-bump-evoking caress. “My hands are at your waist instead of exploring you perfect breasts, and I haven't said a thing about my fantasies involving those incredible legs of yours wrapped around my hips while I do things to you that would break every vow ever written.”
“Gavin, please.” His solid body cradled hers, inducing feelings she had never experienced before. She craved him and the things she imagined he could do. Things she couldn't name or explain. The shivers intensified as she soaked up his heat. Sensation awakened and stretched, reaching for the seductive draw of his caress.
He drew a deep breath as if to calm himself. “One kiss. Give me one real kiss and I'll let you sit back over there.”
“And answer my questions?”
“That, too.”
“What do you mean by a real kiss?” The one in his truck had felt pretty damn real. Did kisses get better than that?
His thumb brushed an inch below her breast, tempting her to ask for more. “Just say yes, beauty.”
Could she trust him? Did she care? She shifted slightly until her back rested against his raised knee and his strong arm supported her shoulders. She ran her tongue across her lips in anticipation of his mouth. “Yes.”
He groaned, and his free hand burrowed into her hair. He cupped her skull to hold her steady. She wanted to keep her eyes open, needed to learn what pleased a guy like him, one so different, so irresistible. They closed of their own accord as his lips brushed over hers, back and forth, no more than a feathering. Confused by such tenderness from so strong a man, her heart stumbled. His tongue traced her mouth lightly before his lips finally claimed hers, blocking the stars and the night.
She clung to his shirtfront, afraid to allow herself the luxury of touching his incredible body. The thought of doing so threw her self-imposed rules off kilter. Tantalizing and forbidden, his hard muscles called to her inner female. Her tongue danced with his as he taught her the art of kissing him. Quivers and desire hummed in every portion of her body. She longed to please him, to take pleasure of her own without restriction or guilt. Unwilling to end the embrace, she followed him as he broke the kiss.
He tipped his head back on the box rail and pulled her to his chest. She snuggled in, listening to his heartbeat beneath her ear, relishing the agitated rise and fall of his ribs. “Can I stay here while we talk?”
He moaned and his hand tightened at her hip. His erection pressed against the other. “You're killing me.”
She contemplated pleading, but she refused to be that pathetic. What she craved and what she had believed for so long warred in her head and body. The man intoxicated her without alcohol, urging her to let down her defenses, but she could feel him holding back. His evident desire did not negate the feeling that he didn't want to want her for some reason. She pushed from his warmth, but he pressed her back down.
“Don't go.”
“You said—”
“I say a lot of things. Let me hold you.”
The man confused her beyond reason, but she nestled back in. Pledge or no, she wouldn't pass up the opportunity to be close to him for a little while at least. “So tell me your secret.”
“Are you always so persistent, Savannah?”
“Only until I get my way?”
A chuckle rumbled in his chest. “Sure you have time?”
“I have all night, remember? No cops ‘til morning”
He chuckled again. “If your guard dog actually waits that long, I'll be surprised. I expect to hear choppers any moment.”
She played with the top button on his shirt while she talked herself out of opening it. Would he have a hairy chest or a smooth one? “Quit stalling.”
“Fine. Here goes. My mother married the love of her life two weeks after she met him. I was born a year later. Six years later, my baby sister came along.”
“Your partner's wife?”
“Yeah, Darcy. How'd you know that?” Suspicion returned to his eyes.
“I saw the wedding announcement in the paper. Kate pointed it out because the salesgirl at Hallman's thought you were the groom.”
“Oh. So you went looking for information about me?”
Did the man mean to sound defensive or pleased? She shook her head. “Stop changing the subject. You were telling me about your mom.”
He closed his eyes briefly before he continued. “All right. For the first year of Darce's life, the world seemed fairly perfect. Dad laughed all the time and my mom sang. Then, the day my sister learned to walk, an aneurism burst in our mother's head and everything changed.”
Savannah gasped and tried to sit up, but he didn't ease his hold. She pressed her hand to his heart as if anything could heal the ache felt by a seven-year-old little boy. “You poor babies. That's terrible.”
“It got worse. My father decided to remarry for my sister's sake so she would have a mother. Unfortunately, my stepmother's a fucking cunt.”
The harsh word jarred her senses and seemed out of place coming from the man who had been so gentle with her. “Oh, Gavin, that's not fair.”
He snorted. “I don't mean that in a no-one-could-ever-replace-my-mom kind of way. She's really a bitch. She already had a toddler, and she and Dad have two girls together. My dad tried to be what she wanted, but he never quite got it right. She made Darcy's life hell. Even though she's the only mother Darcy's ever known and my sister treated her with love and respect, the woman gave nothing back beyond ridicule. Me, she ignored until the day I caught her fooling around with the next door neighbor. She threatened to tell my father that I hit on her if I said anything. After that, we went out of our way to avoid one another.”
His heartbeat had slowed from their kiss but accelerated again as he vented. Savannah stroked his chest, offering what meager comfort she could. “Did you ever tell your father the truth?”
He shook his head, and his chin brushed the top of her head. “No, I ran off and joined the Marines instead. Dad probably knew though. He simply didn't have the energy to kick her out, especially when the kids were little.”
“And now?”
“The youngest started college last fall, and Dad hides out at the office to avoid his home.”
She couldn't stand not seeing his face. “Let me up.” When he loosened his embrace, she turned far enough to watch his expression without leaving his arms. Open resentment hardened the angle of his jaw, and she traced her fingers over the tight muscle. “So that's your secret, that you dislike your stepmother?”
“No, just the reason for it.”
His brows drew together above his gorgeous eyes. She rubbed the furrow they formed with her thumb. “Tell me.”
“I intend to ignore the family blessing—or curse as the case may be. Mom's side, the Wallace family, falls hard and fast. Grandpa, my uncles, my mom, my sister Darcy, all of them fell in love within hours of meeting their spouses, and
all were married within a few months or less. I've given up on that. I'm thirty years old, and I've lived all over the world. I thought that if I hadn't met her by now, I never would.”
Thought? Hope coiled low in her stomach and spread upward. It was too soon, too fast, but her heart and body screamed to be part of him. “So how is that so bad?”
“I'm getting there. I've been trying for the last three days to figure out how I could find you and break your engagement without being a complete dickwad.”
Really? Her heart skipped but she tried to laugh. “So that's what you're hiding then? That you fell madly in love with me even when you thought I was engaged?”
He shook his head in denial again. “No. Not quite. I contemplated destroying your relationship, but I have no intention of ever getting married.” He took her hands in his, his gaze steady. “I want you more than I've ever desired another woman in my life, but I can't love you. I'm a cold-hearted prick.”
He might as well have slapped her. His confession shattered the euphoric world he had created briefly. Her foolish faith in the man rebuilt it in an instant. “No, you're not.” He obviously worried about his sister and his dad. He hadn't pushed her even when she practically threw herself in his arms. Gavin Ferguson was far from cold nor was he a prick.
When she didn't say anything more, he caught her under her arms and pulled her toward him with aching slowness, giving her time to run. She couldn't. “I'm not joking, Savannah. You're clearly looking for a white picket fence, babies, and a man who will tell you that he loves you every day of your life. I won't give you that. Ever.”
She rose to her knees and cupped the sides of his face in her hands. His rough shadow scraped and teased her palms. The lost little boy he had been gazed sadly from the eyes of the hardened man. The man who made her forget every reason to walk away. “I don't believe you're as unfeeling as you sound.” She leaned forward and brushed her lips over his in a whispered kiss.
A guttural moan vibrated in his chest when he gently moved her back. “Damn it, beauty. I'm trying hard to keep my hands to myself for your sake, but if you don't tell me to fuck off pretty soon, I will use your inexperience against you and show you exactly what you've been missing.”
Suddenly, the pact didn't matter. She had found the man she could commit to whether he wanted her that way or not. Anxiety and excitement fluttered together in her chest and throat. “I want you, too.”
Desire blazed through him, a white-hot flashover. “Fuck.”
She laughed her sweet, sultry laugh as her fingertips traced his chest through his shirt. Light pink tinted her cheeks. “Show me what to do, Gavin. I don't know where to start.”
God, she's innocent. He caught her hands in his and brought her fingers to his lips for a brief kiss. “If we do this, it's your show. You choose how far we go and what we do. I'll help you get what you need.”
“I don't know what that is.”
“Act out your fantasies. What do you imagine when you touch yourself?”
The color in her face heightened to red. “I don't do that.”
Lie number one? “Don't be embarrassed. Everyone masturbates.”
“I don't.” She sat on her heels and pulled her fingers from his grip. “That makes me sound like a child, doesn't it? The minister cautioned everyone to be pure in all ways. He said we wouldn't miss what we didn't understand.”
Was she serious? “He was probably referring to kids who use oral and even anal to protect their technical virginity. I don't think he meant you couldn't touch yourself.”
“I know that. I'm not stupid, but it made sense to me. I've never gone further than kissing with a man because I didn't want to think about it later.”
Gavin slid off the tailgate and stuffed his hands in his pockets. What the hell am I doing? The woman went beyond pure. “Come on, beauty, let me take you home.”
Savannah didn't say anything. He gave her a moment to collect herself before he turned. The hurt and confusion on her face slugged him in the gut. Her lips quivered in a blatantly fake smile. “Okay, and on that note.” She jumped down and started for the cab.
Damn it to hell and back! I'm so screwed. “Savannah, wait.” Letting her go would be the right thing to do. Maybe. Probably. But she looked too hurt to believe he was playing the good guy. Why it mattered what she thought of him wasn't clear. He caught her arm and turned her so he could see her expression. “Forgive me here, but I'm confused as shit. What do you want from me?”
Her fingers trembled when she ran them through her hair, but her shoulders straightened, and spirit sparked in her eyes. “If I knew that, we wouldn't be in this situation, would we?” She tugged her arm from his hold and stepped back. “You think I'm some sort of freak.”
“You're not a freak.” Gavin hesitated, unsure of what she needed. “Talk to me.”
“I don't want to talk.” She huffed and placed her palms flat against his chest in a tender plea. “I want you to make me forget why I put myself in this position in the first place and teach me what most women learn in college. I feel like a fool. You said you could use my inexperience against me if you wanted. You're right and I hate that, hate the thought that someone could manipulate me so easily.”
“I doubt that would happen. You're what, about twenty-five, twenty-six?”
“Twenty-nine.”
“Really?” At her nod, he continued, “Then, if someone hasn't broken through your defenses by now, you're more than capable of fending them off until you're ready.”
“That's just it. I've pushed men away for so long that I don't even think about it anymore. At least I didn't until that day in the bridal shop. When you danced with me, you woke me from a stupor.”
He shrugged and fought down the insane urge to grin. “It was the dress. It made you feel safe, like you had fulfilled the pact.”
Savannah tossed him a look that said he was a moron. “Forget it. Take me home.”
“No.” Taking her home made sense. Doing so would be better for them both, but wounded pride and confusion still clouded her eyes. Whatever she needed trumped everything else.
“Fine. I'll call Kate.”
She headed for the cab again, but he swept her off her feet and plopped her butt on the tailgate. “What are you driving at?”
Savannah hesitated and her gaze dropped to her lap. “Instead of thinking of all the reasons I should walk away from you, I keep imagining what it would be like to touch you or see you naked.” Her lashes fluttered up and her blue eyes melted his will. “I'm too old to be this damned naive.”
Yep, definitely screwed. “All right.”
Hurt flashed across her face before she schooled her features. “I'm not a charity case.”
She tried to get down again, but he grabbed her shoulders and held her in place. “I can't win if you think like that.” He rested his forehead on top of her dark curls and sucked oxygen deep into his lungs. Her lovely scent fueled desire but gave him the strength to resist stripping her naked. “Listen to me very carefully, beauty. I want you. So much so that if we start this, I'm not so sure I'll stop even if you ask me to. I wouldn't force you, but I won't hesitate to convince you to see things my way either. So take a second before you trash more than a decade long promise.”
Slender fingers played with the top button of his shirt. “Kiss me, Gavin.”
He groaned and tipped her chin so he could see her eyes. “Last chance to run. Are you positive?”
Her tongue darted across her lower lip leaving a moist shine behind and his cock swelled.
“I am. What about you?” A shaky laugh tugged at his heart. “Sure you want to take on someone who's clueless?”
He had no idea how to respond to that. She represented everything he'd ever wanted, but she didn't need that bit of deadly information since a night or two was all he intended to offer. Instead of answering, he captured her mouth beneath his. Slow and light at first. Gradually, he deepened the kiss. Savannah clung to his shoulders, and her n
ails dug into his skin through the thin cotton of his shirt. He slid his hands up her sides and palmed her tempting breasts. A tiny whimper rewarded him when he thumbed her nipples.
He broke away from her mouth. “I promised this would be your game.”
Stepping back to give her room to breathe, he almost forgot the reason he had stopped. Puffy from their kiss, her gorgeous lips glistened. Her breasts pebbled, enticing and seductive through her shirt. He pinched them lightly until her lips parted on a sigh. His dick ached to slide inside her mouth and feel the stroke of her tongue. He pulled on her nipples, tugging them to ridged peaks. When she gasped, he took her mouth again. His tongue swept over hers coaxing her to play along as he imagined the thrust of his cock in her pussy.
Her hands slipped between them and released the buttons on his shirt. She didn't bother removing it from his pants before her graceful fingers traced his chest muscles. He suppressed a moan against her throat as she explored.
He stood up straight, jerked his shirt from his pants and tossed it into the truck bed. When he reached for her again, she edged closer but did not press her slender softness to him. Instead, she teased his pecs and the narrow line of hair that disappeared beneath his waistband before wandering upward to tug lightly on the few curls sprinkled over his chest. “It's not as coarse as I expected.”
He tried to think of a smartass comment to help her relax, but words dissolved to a guttural groan when she scraped her nails over his nipples then caught them between her thumbs and fingers to pull and tease as he had done to hers.
“Can I kiss you, Gavin?”
The moonlight lit her blue eyes to crystal ice. “Anywhere you want to, beauty. Whatever you want.”
Her lips brushed his right nipple, teasing it even stiffer than her fingers had. When her tongue flicked across it, Gavin's knees buckled. Son-of-a-bitch. Get a grip, Ferguson. You're not the fucking virgin. He caught her hips and turned them both so he could lean on the tailgate. Her long legs slid down to nestle between his thighs. Tension coiled as Savannah's mouth ventured lower, licking and nibbling over his stomach.
She ran a single fingertip along the waistband of his pants. When she looked up, uncertainty danced in her eyes. “I've been told that some guys like to be in charge at all times, but I...”
