by J. Richards
“OK.” She sobs softly. Her fear and stress clog any chance to feel some kind of relief.
“My truck is at the station. I’ll grab your keys and purse, and we’ll take your Jeep to my house.” He stands up and places a kiss against her tear-stained cheek. She watches his back as he makes his way up her driveway and into the open door of her house.
A few moments later he steps back out and down the steps. He stops by the fire truck to shed his thick jacket and helmet. His T-shirt stretches over his pecs, the fabric thin from his sweat. Her body appreciates the sight of him, but her mind has no use for those feelings right now. He hurries back over to her and holds out his hand to help her down. Placing his hand at her lower back, he leads her to the passenger side of her Jeep.
She climbs in and lets him buckle her. It’s funny how the act makes her feel helpless yet cared for all at the same time.
“Thank you,” she whispers before he shuts the door. Her body tilts, and she leans into the glass. Her eyes close, and she drifts into sleep before he is even in the vehicle.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Gavin flicks on the headlights and backs the Jeep out of the driveway, steering around the fire engine and ambulance. Once on the road, he sighs and glances to his right. The woman beside him is the strongest he’s ever met. Today has been one clusterfuck after another, and he couldn’t be more thankful to have her in his sights for the rest of the night. He will not let anything else endanger her tonight. Or for as long as she will allow him to keep her.
The tires eat up the miles to his home. His mind works overtime thinking of coping measures for Victoria to handle the feelings he’s sure will overwhelm her once she has time to actually feel them.
They arrive at his home and he removes her keys. He taps his fingers against the steering wheel before pushing open the door and walking around to her side. He lifts the handle and opens the door only a fraction, shoving a hand inside to hold her limp body up. Once he has her, he opens it the rest of the way and slips her into his arms. He hasn’t ever held a woman as often as he’s held Victoria in the last twenty-four hours. She feels perfect against his chest. A nice warm weight he could get used to.
Inside the house, he carries her into the master bedroom and through the archway to the master bath. She stirs but doesn’t wake. Bending slightly, he turns on the faucet to fill the garden tub. He sets her on the vanity and draws back a little. Holding her arms, he gives her a gentle shake.
“Victoria, baby. It’s time to wake up.”
Her eyes flutter open and she looks up at him. “Hmmm?”
“I know you’ve had an incredibly rough day. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but you need a bath, and I can’t trust you not to fall asleep right now. I’ll give you two options and allow you to choose which will happen, OK?” He waits for her to nod. “Either you let me help you undress and get in the bathtub with you. You can relax, and I’ll wash your body and shampoo your hair. Or I’ll undress you, let you shower on your own, but I will stay in the bathroom in case you need help.”
A small blush covers her cheeks, and he fights his smile.
“I don’t want to do either of those.” She looks up at his face. “But I don’t trust myself either. I am so, so tired.” She looks over to the filling bathtub and back at him. “Can you add bubbles?”
“Of course, I can, Victoria.” He grins and brushes her cheek with his knuckles before stepping back. She doesn’t sway or shift, so he turns to the cabinet to the left and pulls out a bottle of Dr. Teal’s bubble bath. He checks her to make sure she is still upright before moving to the side of the tub and pouring a generous amount into the water. He presses a small button to the side of the knobs. Jets on either side of the tub roar to life and cause the solution to mix faster. A thick foam of bubbles rises to the top of the water.
He steps up to her, between her knees, and grips the hem of her tank top lightly. He begins to lift the fabric, his eyes only on her face. She smiles at him. It’s a weak smile but beautiful nonetheless.
“Arms up.” He peels the top free of her body when she complies. He drops the small top into the right-hand sink. Gripping her hips softly, he pulls her ass from the counter. She looks up at him. Their eyes lock again, and he bends down to his knees. His fingers sink into the waistband of her pajama shorts, tugging them down to her ankles. She lifts one foot and then the other. Her breathing picks up, and he knows she is a bit nervous. “Nothing will happen, Victoria. I only want to make you comfortable and remove the smell of smoke from our skin. Once we are done, I’ll tuck you in bed. OK?”
“OK.”
He stands back up and makes quick work of removing his soiled clothing. He takes no measure to conceal his body from her as he steps into the warm water and bubbles. He sits down and stretches out his legs, the water lapping at his chest. He holds out his hand, a welcoming gesture she’s probably getting used to. He helps her step into the bath and waits for her to be seated, her back to his hard chest.
Every bone in her body seems to melt against him. He lifts the small, adjustable showerhead and turns it on, testing the temperature before using it to wet her hair. Victoria’s chin lifts, and a small, satisfied sigh escapes her lips. His dick twitches at the sound, and her back stiffens. Silently, he curses his body for responding this way.
“I am sorry, Victoria. My body doesn’t understand the circumstances.” He continues to wet her hair with the small hose, shutting it off when every strand is soaked. He picks up the bottle of shampoo on the tub’s edge and begins to massage it into her scalp.
“I can do it myself.” She places her hands on his thigh to push herself up so she can get out of the tub. Gavin presses both hands on her shoulders and lowers her back down.
“I might not be able to control my body’s response to your body, but I can control my actions, Victoria. Please relax. You can trust me.”
“OK,” is her only response. Her spine is still stiff, but she isn’t trying to go anywhere.
He lifts the showerhead again to rinse the suds from her hair. He exchanges the shampoo for the bottle of conditioner and lathers it into her hair. He squirts body wash onto a black loofah and rubs it together. The soap foams and drips from his hands. He starts at her neck, over her throat, gently washing her shoulder and down her pale arms.
“Your hair and skin are so beautiful,” he says. The loofah drops between her breasts and over her belly. He bends forward, folding her slightly as he scrubs her thighs. “Lift your leg for me.”
She does and he coats her knees and shins in the soap that smells like him. A primal feeling of marking her in his scent stirs his cock again. This time she doesn’t jump away. He smiles behind her and lets her switch legs, giving the other the same attention. He drops the loofah, letting it float around them. He again picks up the showerhead. Starting at the top of her head, he rinses all of his efforts away. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you that I called Doc just before my shift. He says Kane is doing very well, and you can see him in the morning.”
“Really?” She turns to look at him and gives him the first real smile he has seen from her all day.
“Yes, if he’s released we can bring him home.”
“Home.” She looks down quickly. He knows exactly when her eyes spot his hard cock because she gives a small gasp and looks right back up at his face.
“Bring him here, I mean. Until your house is ready. You’re both welcome for as long as you need.” He keeps his face serious. She twists slightly and wraps her arms around his neck.
“Thank you, Gavin.” She speaks into his neck, and the feeling is indescribable. “For everything.”
She pulls back from the hug and kisses his lips. A soft, almost fleeting pressure. Her eyes meet his before she leans back in. She closes her lips around his tighter, her tongue slipping from her mouth to trace the seam of his mouth. Gavin reaches under her hair for the base of her neck. He lets his tongue brush over hers quickly before pulling back.
&
nbsp; “Let’s get you dry. Are you hungry?” A pulse ticks in his jaw. If this were any other day, he would pull her over his lap and sink into her body, fucking her senseless and taking what he wanted. But it isn’t any other day. It’s been a tornado of a day, and being rushed or used is the last thing he wants her to feel.
“No.” Victoria stands up and the water runs off her skin. He can’t look away as she steps from their bath. She wraps a towel around her sexy curves, and the spell over him is broken. “Not for food.”
He clears his throat as he exits the bath, draining the water before wrapping himself in a matching towel.
“I will not take advantage of you, Victoria,” he says, trying to ignore his cock, which has a mind and needs of its own. “If you feel the same way in a couple of days, we can figure it out then.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Vicki watches has he pats his body dry, his cock still standing tall and straining for her. She bites into her lip. The muscles against his side bunch and flex as he tucks the towel to secure it along his hip.
He grins at her and grabs another, smaller-sized towel. He places it over her crown and helps dry her hair. No man has ever taken such care with her, or been more respectful. With that enormous dick, she is surprised he as any blood flow left for his brain, and that he is able to function. She wishes he would just use it to make her forget everything that has happened. To blur her brain until it contains nothing but his name.
Then Dave’s words crash into her mind, dampening her lust. He was a psycho, but she wants to understand what he meant about how Gavin “has to beat his woman to get off.” Maybe Dave was just talking crazy about Gavin. That wouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination, considering he believed they had some kind of relationship, and she was cheating on him with Gavin. But it was best that she find out for sure. Before things went any farther.
“Gavin? Can I ask you something?” She peeks up at him through her lashes.
“Anything.” He finishes with her hair and hangs up the towel. Placing his hand on her lower back in the comforting way he always does, he ushers her out of the bathroom and into his bedroom. He drops his hand and walks into the closest, returning with one his T-shirts in his hand. He has pulled on pajama pants, and they hang low on his trim hips. His cock tents them in the front. Her eyes linger over his solid mid-section. She can count all eight abdominals, and her tongue traces the back of her teeth as thoughts of outlining each one come to mind.
“Dave said you beat your girlfriends.” She looks down, embarrassed and surprised she had the balls to even ask him.
“I have never beaten anyone, Victoria.” His fingers lift her chin, making her gaze meet his. “Do you know what BDSM is?” he asks softly, eyes never leaving hers. A deep red blush blooms over her cheeks and throat. “Ah, so you do.” He chuckles. “I would never do anything to a woman that she didn’t want me to do, Victoria.”
“Oh.” She is at a loss for words. Bondage is something she has always wanted to try but was too afraid her partners would think she was a freak. A strange, kinky person. She never had the nerve to ask any of them to explore that with her. The discipline part always made her panties a little damp, but she was never too sure about the sadism and masochism part of the acronym.
Gavin pulls the towel from around her body and lets his gaze move up and down every inch of her skin. When he has had his visual fill, he tugs his T-shirt over her head. She slips her arms in, and the tee falls to her mid-thighs.
“Have you ever played, Victoria? Or only fantasized what it could be like?” He reaches under her hair and frees it from the T-shirt’s collar.
“I never have,” is all she can get out of her mouth, her throat having closed up from the heat burning in his eyes as he looks her over.
“Let’s talk about it in the morning before I change my mind about not ravaging your body after the day you’ve had.” He smiles at her before drawing back the bed covers and letting her slip inside their warmth. He climbs in after her, pulling her against him. His arm curls around her waist, his hand resting just under her breast. He must be able to feel her heart pumping quickly. She scoots back a bit more and her round ass meets his cock. Instantly he is hard as a rock again.
“Gavin?” She wiggles against him.
“Go to sleep, baby girl,” he whispers in her ear and kisses just below her earlobe.
She gives a heavy sigh but stills her wiggling. Within moments her breathing slows into the soft pattern of sleep, and she finally feels safe enough to risk dreaming.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Vicki wakes up feeling surprisingly refreshed. No nightmares clawed at her subconscious during the night, a blessing she couldn’t be more grateful for. Gavin’s arm is still locked tight around her middle, but during his sleep his hand had moved from her ribs to her tit. Her breasts are large but his wide hand almost cups all of her. The light weight of his hand is comforting. She turns her head to see his face, slack in his sleep. His face is stunningly handsome. All hard edges but soft, lush lips. The kind of lips a woman could suck and nip at for hours without getting tired.
His body jerks slightly, his hand falling from her body as he rolls to his back. She takes the opportunity to turn over and inspect his body without him catching her. Everything on this man bulges! From his sculpted shoulders to his large pecs. His breathing is still steady with sleep, and she traces a vein pulsing down his bicep.
She keeps her touch light so he won’t wake. Her small fingers move to the valley between his abs. Again her tongue wants to trace the area. She settles for following it with her fingertip, for now.
Another, beautiful vein throbs over his protruding hip bone and down to that inhumanly sexy V that she never knows the name of. She drags her finger along the vein. It ends at the waistline of his p.j. pants, which brings her eyes to glance a fraction lower.
Yup, just like she thought. Everything on this man is bulging. She smiles to herself and glances up at his face. So morning wood is actually a real thing? Huh. Who knew? She very gently shifts to her knees.
She feels like she is playing that Operation game. She needs to get to her prize and get out before the buzzer sounds—or wakes, in this instance. Vicki straddles the thigh closest to her. His cock is lifting the front of the p.j.s, the tiny button there straining to hold the fabric together. She pinches the material and pulls up just enough to push the button through the slit without touching him.
When she lets go of the pants, it parts beautifully. His dick stabs through the pants to stand tall and free for her pleasure. She bites into her lip as she inspects him. He is much larger than any man she’s ever been with.
Bravely, she leans forward. Her tongue slips from her mouth, and she licks a long, slow line up the underside of his penis. He tastes like the Nivea soap he used on them last night and the slightest trace of manly musk that is uniquely Gavin.
Gently, she wraps her tiny fingers around his shaft. Her thumb and forefinger don’t even come close to touching. She gives a soft moan of appreciation of his manhood. Opening her mouth, she tests how much she can fit inside her. The velvety, coated steel of him slides over her tongue and stretches her lips wide.
A sharp sigh rumbles in Gavin’s chest. She looks up quickly, but his eyes are still closed. She sits up a bit taller and drags her lips back up his shaft. He is now shiny with her saliva, and something in her lower belly heats up. A strong pulse begins throbbing in her clit. She presses her center against his solid thigh to try to stop the ache.
Vicki kisses the crown of his dick before she sucks him back into her mouth. She lowers and lifts her head in slow, exaggerated motions. Gavin’s quads bunch under her and spur her on. She tightens her lips.
“Well, now, is this a show of gratitude or lack of self-discipline?” Gavin asks in a husky voice filled with sleep and desire. His hand lifts to caress her cheek. He’s not asking her to either stop or continue, but giving her the choice.
Vicki shifts her tongue from left to rig
ht against the underside of his dick while pulling up and down quicker than before. Each time she meets the ridge of his head, her tongue follows the line around and back into place.
“Ahhh, shit.” Gavin’s chin lifts slightly, and his eyes close. His thumb strokes her cheek in matching rhythm to her sucking.
Vicki turns her chin to coat more of him with her tongue. This time, as she comes up, a large drop of precum oozes from the slit in his head. Her eyes flick up to meet his. She moans deeply around his shaft and uses her tongue to search for more evidence of his pleasure.
“Oh, OK. Enough of that now, pet.” Gavin sits up and presses her shoulders softly, making her remove her mouth from him. She sits back on his thigh and looks down at him, her head tilting to the side.
“Pet? Seriously?” she asks, confused by the name. “Like a fucking dog or cat?”
He chuckles and traces his fingers up her right thigh. “Are you not like a feisty little kitten? Begging for me to stroke your fur? Yet willing to nip my fingers when I try?” He tugs at the hem of the T-shirt she wears, his T-shirt, that lies against her thighs.
“Oh.” She smiles. “I guess when you explain it, it isn’t so bad.”
He laughs again and tucks his cock back into hiding, buttoning his pants closed and looking over her body.
“Hey, I wasn’t finished with that.” She pouts playfully.
“Really?” His face breaks into a sexy grin. “Well, I had no idea you would be so eager. We have some talking to do first.”
“No, Gavin,” she interrupts. “Please, I want you to fuck me.” She lowers her gaze. “I don’t want to feel the things I am feeling.”
He grabs her waist and lifts her while simultaneously rolling them over, switching their positions.
