An intense yearning gripped his chest, tight and fast, that he found himself cutting through the small group to stand beside her. He heard a slight intake of breath when her gaze turned away from the casket to look at him. Her eyes were shielded behind dark shades, but he sensed by her lifted brows that she was surprised to see him. No other reaction from her followed, and she turned away.
Then, suddenly, warm, slender fingers entwined with his hand. She didn’t look at him or speak, just held on, and angled her frame with a tilt of her head to rest upon his shoulder. He wanted to draw her in close to carry the weight of her grief within his embrace but thought better of it. He’d let her lead and give her however much she wanted to take.
About twenty minutes later, the service ended. He couldn’t tear himself away from her.
“Thank you,” she voiced low. Her fingers squeezed his before their hands separated, and without another word, she walked away with Bailey and Faith at her side.
He watched her until she got into the limo. It took immense strength to stay planted and not follow her.
Lucas approached and palmed his right shoulder. “Give her time.”
Gavin swallowed the aching lump choking his throat. “Yeah.”
Chapter Thirty-two
The chime of the security alarm jolted Gavin upright out of a sound sleep. Several beeps followed; someone entered the code to disarm. Resting back upon his pillow, he expected one of the guys, all of whom had the code and a key to his place, to come strolling into his room. It had to be that knucklehead, Dax.
Gavin gave a look at the clock illuminating on the nightstand—5:07 a.m. Eyelids heavy, he tunneled his head beneath the pillow in preparation to block out the impending disturbance. Sleep called to him, and he easily drifted off.
What seemed like short moments later, the fragrant aroma of fresh coffee woke him like a lover’s morning kiss. He got up and turned on the table lamp, then stalked out of the room, intent on revoking Dax’s damn key access privilege.
Crossing the living room into the kitchen, his lips pursed to curse at the guy, he froze. Sienna stood before the stove. A small glass mixing bowl was nestled in the crook of her arm as she beat the eggs within. She was here. Was he dreaming? It had been about two weeks since the funeral, and there hadn’t been a day that he hadn’t checked on her through Lucas. Rubbing his eyes, he padded forward. Her head came up from her whisking. Her focus moved to his bare chest, on down to his black boxer briefs, then back up, connecting with his. A ghost of a smile touched her lips.
“Lucas let me borrow his spare key.” She turned away and reduced the fire beneath the skillet that sizzled with strips of bacon, then started another skillet to heat. “Hope you don’t mind?” Her attention came back to him as she resumed whisking her eggs, then a slight pause. “Maybe you do mind.”
Gavin blinked. He was so surprised to see her, he hadn’t realized that it had been posed as a question. “Why would I mind? This is your home, too.” With the mixing bowl secured in her arm, she filled a cup with coffee and held it out to him.
He accepted it as he sat down on the barstool. “It’s five in the morning.”
She poured the smooth eggs into the heated skillet, scrambling. “I couldn’t sleep. Do you like Canadian bacon?”
“I like bacon. Period.” In minutes, a plate of fluffy eggs and bacon was set before him. Staring at him with a quiet intensity, she rested back against the counter while sipping a glass of water with lemons floating in it. “You’re not going to eat?” he asked as he took a sip from the cup.
She raised the glass in her hand. “I’m not hungry.”
“I would guess not; it’s hardly morning. How are you?”
“It’s been difficult, but I’m okay. Thank you for coming to the funeral.”
“You don’t need to thank me. I called Lucas to see if you needed anything. I wanted to be there for you, but I figured you wouldn’t want—”
“I needed space,” she said softly.
Space from him, he surmised. “Your visit with Faith seemed to turn out okay,” he said after a long silence. “Lucas said she stayed over for a few days.”
“Yes. It was nice to have her and Bailey there with me. It gave me a lot to think about. That’s one of the reasons why I’m here.”
Gavin stood up and rounded the island, coming up to her. “I’m glad you came. I want us to talk, talk about everything.”
“I want that, too.”
Taking her hand, he guided her over to the couch and took a seat next to her. “Before you say anything, I ask that you hear me out. Can you do that for me?” A slow nod was her reply. Gavin rubbed his hands on his thighs to settle the trepidation quivering low in his gut, bracing for her expected reaction. “I’ve been working for my father.”
“What!” She bolted to her feet, eyes hard, brows low. “Damn it, you lied to me . . . again!”
Gavin stood up. “I know by not telling you, it’s a form of lying. But you said you’d listen.” He took her hand and met resistance. “Let me explain. Please, baby, just sit down, and let me explain everything. You came here to talk, so let’s do that.”
She made an aggravated snort, expression dark, cutting, but returned to her seat.
Exhaling a deep, quiet breath, he sat down, and got right to it. “I owed my father a debt for the use of his men that protected you. It was a stupid move to call on him for help. I was just so damn scared when I found out that you had been shot, I wasn’t thinking straight. All that mattered was protecting you. I didn’t know what that shithead, Dale, might try to do, so I had my father’s men guard you until I arrived from California. For that, I’ve been given assignments to complete.”
“Assignments?” Her features shifted from infuriation to quizzical. “What type of assignments? Like being a hitman or something?”
“No. I had . . . have to act as my brother’s second when he goes out on jobs that my father orders.”
Her stare at him sharpened. “These jobs,” she air quoted, “are what exactly? And you said have. Does that mean you’re still doing work for him?”
“It’s been primarily package exchanges. I have no idea what’s in the envelopes, and I couldn’t tell you who the individuals are that we meet. Frankly, I don’t want to know. It’s not social. We get in and out. I agreed to three assignments. My father tacked on a fourth when I had his men find Dale. After I met with the guy, I—”
“After you beat him up, you mean.”
There was a strange impassive reserve about her regarding that part of his confession as she got up, went to the counter, and took a sip of her water. “I have one assignment left,” he finally said when she returned to her seat with her glass.
“When is it?”
“Don’t know. Whenever I get the call from Dylan.”
“All the phone calls and text messages . . . So you weren’t out with another woman when you didn’t come home until who knows when?” He observed her expression slide from quizzical back to prickly displeasure.
Gavin frowned that time. “Hell no! I love you. Even if you choose to walk out that door after learning everything I’ve just told you, I won’t stop loving you. You’re all I want, believe that.” His mood was anxious as he watched her sip her lemon water. Seconds that felt like hours passed with no words spoken, and then, she stood up.
“Is there anything else you need to tell me? Quite honestly, I’ve heard enough. I told you I don’t want drama in my life. I’ve had enough of the shit to last two lifetimes.”
“That’s everything. There’s nothing else.” Gavin rose to his feet. He’d laid everything out, and now, she would leave him. It had been a pipe dream to think he could have someone as wonderful as her. “I want you to know that I’m sorry for keeping this from you. I was afraid you’d . . . you’d . . . ” Scrubbing his fingers across his forehead, there was nothing else he could say. “Anyway, I’m sorry.” He stepped out of the path of the entry door.
Taking his hand, s
he led him down the hall to the master bedroom, took off her canvas sneakers, stripped out of her T-shirt and shorts, and slid beneath the rumpled bed sheets. “Are you just going to stand there?” She aimed a cool stare at him when he didn’t move.
The relationship thread between them was warily thin; Gavin hadn’t wanted to assume. He took off his underwear and climbed in next to her. He wanted to make love to her, but right then, he needed the feel of her in his arms more. Pulling her in close, her back against his front, they lay there silently, their leveled heartbeats catching a steady rhythm.
“I’m sorry for keeping those things from you. I’ll be upfront with you about everything from now on,” he said softly as he listened to the even pitch of her breathing, not certain if she’d fallen asleep.
“I know you will,” was her low, yet firm reply after short minutes had gone by.
She rolled over, and he stared down at her face, taking in her lovely features. He’d missed simply looking at her. He kissed the well of her collarbone on down to the split of her breasts, drawing in the familiar scent of her skin. His tongue swirled over her stiff nipples, from one to the other, gave a long lick down the center of her body, and settled between her soft thighs. No time was wasted devouring her pussy. Starved for her taste, he sucked her clit, his teeth worrying the rapidly swelling bud before sucking more. He licked the smooth lips of her sex, separated her labia with his thumbs and speared her with his tongue in deep, long strokes. He kept it up, feasting as she bucked and rolled her hips wildly through long breathy pants. He continued to eat her out long after she’d climaxed, lapping greedily the sweet taste of her, then came up, and settled back between her smooth thighs.
She laced her fingers in his hair and brought him down to the crush of her mouth, nipping his lips, stabbing her tongue deep within, kissing him with a rough hunger, then finally reared back wearing a floppy grin. “Oh, how I’ve missed that skillful tongue of yours,” she breathed.
“And I’ve missed tasting you, touching you.” Keeping most of his weight on his left forearm, he studied the mark at her side. “What did the doctor say about your rib during your last visit? Has it healed as it should?” He lightly brushed a finger across the fading scar above her brow. “And this?”
“All good. I’m fully healed.” Her nails ran back and forth over his buttocks, adding pressure, which brought his cock snug within the shelter of her slick folds.
Gavin brushed his lips over hers, sharing more of her sweet taste as he sheathed himself deep inside her in one smooth thrust. They both let out deep exhales from the overwhelming rush of sensation.
With a bow to his back, he captured and nipped her right nipple before clamping down on her breast, savoring. Coming back to her mouth, his hips rocked with a non-stop thrusting. He slid a hand between their moist bodies and fingered her clit, circling in swift determined strokes, as she gasped out her pleasure, eyes closed, her head pressed into the pillow, back arching.
“Oh yes,” she panted and raised her hips to meet his powerful thrusts. Her face pressed into the side of his neck, and he felt her nuzzle, nip, and lick his fevered skin.
Gavin drew back to look at her. She was hot, carnal pleasure incarnate, complete and utterly wonderful in every way. “I love you, Sie.”
She palmed his face in her hands. “I love you, too, and I so love this penis of yours right now.” She grinned. “Turn over.”
He withdrew from her welcoming heat and rolled onto his back. She straddled his hips, the hot dampness of her pussy lips scorching his dick as she came down over him, her erect nipples grazing his chest, teasing the fine hairs while offering up gentle kisses along his neck and shoulders.
He reached down to align himself with her opening, desperate to be wrapped inside her tight comforting heat once more, but she raised up slightly, preventing their joining.
“What are you doing? Sweetness, if you only knew how bad I want you right now, you wouldn’t tease me. I need to be inside you like an addict needs a fix.”
She laughed. With her eyes never leaving his, a hand balanced on his hip as she guided his cock back inside her, excruciatingly slow. Offering small lifts, her eyes shut, and she moaned. “I can feel every single inch of you, so full, so hard, so deep.” Her hand then reached back and gripped his thigh as she rocked leisurely back and forth.
The slow, wet glide caused a rush of blood to flood the head of his cock. Gavin had to grab hold of her hips to still her movement, otherwise he’d come too soon. She pushed his hands away and began to ride him with a fierce purpose.
He watched her, mentally recording each new expression as she took her pleasure. When her hand went between her legs and stroked her clit while the other pinched and rolled her nipple, from one to the other, he hissed a shaky breath. “Yes, play with yourself. Keep that up, don’t stop.”
“Fuck me, Gavin, baby.”
In a flash, he sat up. His arms circled her waist, and he came up with her on his shins. Holding her buttocks tight, he began power driving his cock in and out of her. Her face buried in the side of his neck as moans and pants of warm breath licked his skin.
“Don’t stop. I’m going to come,” she panted in short bursts.
Gavin pumped his hips even faster, deeper, grinding her pussy with determined force. His teeth grazed and nipped her shoulder. Her breath hitched sharply, and she cried out his name as her body began shuddering, her core contracting around his dick in quick ripples. He squeezed her buttocks in both hands as jets of come pulsed from him, filling and overflowing. Her cheek rested on his shoulder; warm exhales fluttered across his chin. When they could take in an even breath, she climbed off him, and they stretched out beneath the cool bed sheets.
Snuggling close, her leg draped over his hip and his arm slipped across her narrow waist. Neither moved nor spoke for long minutes, simply bathing in the afterglow of their lovemaking.
Her head came up from the crook of his arm, her features languid, yet displaying a satiated grin. “That was . . . oh my god, baby, you know how to work it.”
She scraped her blunt-cut nails lightly across his moist chest, provoking his sexually charged flesh to shiver from the sensation, easily stirring his cock back to life. “Me? Woman, you put it on me. I see someone was horny,” he teased, and she playfully nipped his chin. Her expression suddenly grew serious. He tensed. “What is it?”
“Though I don’t approve of what you did to Dale, I understand why you did it. Faith explained he’d threatened to send the drug dealers after Bailey and me if she didn’t do what he wanted. There were other heinous things he’d intended to do to Faith had she not cooperated.”
“That bastard would’ve done something like that?” Gavin clenched his teeth to tamp down the swift surge of anger. She palmed his cheek, her fingers stroking the tight angle of his jaw.
“Like I said, I get why you did what you did. He deserved the beating you gave him.”
“Damn right.”
“As for you working for your father, you said you have one job left to do?”
“Yes.”
“After it’s completed, your debt will be paid.” She paused. “Gavin, I don’t want any part of that world. If that’s the direction you see yourself going—
“It’s not.” He fingered the soft spray of fine hairs at her temple. “My father would like me to come into his organization, but I have no desire to be part of that life. When I finish my final assignment, I’m out.”
Soft, slender fingers threaded in his hair at the nape. “That’s great to hear.”
“Sie-Sie, you’re important to me. I’ve never wanted any woman as much as I want you. You’re so goddamn wonderful.” He came up on his left elbow to look down at her face. “Sienna, will you marry me?” She gasped sharply and flinched against him. “I know I don’t come from what you might call good stock, but—”
“Yes.”
Gavin blinked. “Yes?” She nodded, her smile wide. “Hell yes!” he shouted and bounced her up an
d down on the bed. “She said yes!”
Sienna laughed. “You’re too much.”
His mouth settled over hers, enjoying the familiarity of her soft lips and warm tongue, angling his head to take all that he could. Finishing with several light pecks, he drew back. “Let’s go look at rings today.”
“Today?”
Grabbing the remote from the nightstand, he put up the blinds. “The sun’s almost up. It’s supposed to be a nice day. What better way than to spend a beautiful Saturday with my fiancée looking at wedding rings.” There was an eagerness he felt to get a ring on her finger, he realized, needing the small security of her commitment. “Well, sweetness, what do you say?”
“Okay. Sure, let’s do it.”
Gavin gave her a quick kiss on the lips, unable to remember a time when he’d been as happy as he was in that moment. “Lucas has a great jeweler. You’ve seen that rock Bailey’s sporting. I’ll shoot him a text to get the number and see if we can get an appointment today.” He reached to the nightstand for his cell, but it started ringing. Seeing Dylan’s name on the display, he released a cursed breath.
“Who is it?”
“Dylan.”
“Does that mean you’ll have to do a job?”
“Yeah, likely,” Gavin muttered, the fucking assignment ruining his happy moment. He’d become engaged to the woman of his dreams. They were going to look at rings to make it official, but now this damn assignment he’d have to do would prevent it.
“Gavin?”
Pulled from his thoughts, he looked at her. “Hmm?”
“It stopped ringing.” They both looked at the phone. “There’s a voicemail message. Are you going to listen to it?”
“No.”
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