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Quickly turning to face him, she stared into his eyes. “I have to use the bathroom,” she said, the words coming out as breathless as she anticipated they would.

“I’ll take a walk with you,” he replied, wiping a thin sheen of sweat from his brow.

“You don’t have to.”

He smiled at her almost questioningly. “I’m not letting you wander through this mayhem alone.”

She playfully flexed her bicep. “Really, I’m a tough girl.”

“Well, you’re a beautiful tough girl, so I would feel better making sure you don’t get mauled on your way to relieve some of that alcohol out of your system.”

She casually shrugged. “I guess you have a point.”

He led her gently by the elbow to one of the bathrooms located on the first floor. With the long line wrapping its way through the kitchen, they decided to try one of the others available on the second level. Emily peered at the mountain of stairs with a look of grief. Gavin smiled at her reaction and helped her climb her way to the top. To her dismay, the line for that bathroom was longer. Gavin let out a full throaty laugh at the look on her face. She shook her head and explained there was a third level that supposedly had more bathrooms. As he did before, he helped her up the stairs. With no line at all and the top level essentially empty, Emily was in and out within two minutes.

When Emily emerged, she found Gavin leaning against the wall, his eyes locking on hers as she walked over to him.

Mocking his position, she stood next to him, their shoulders barely brushing. She turned her neck to look up at him. “Thank you for making sure I didn’t get attacked on my way up here.”

Pushing himself off the wall, Gavin stepped directly in front of her—so close that he could feel the heat emanating from her body. “Not a problem. Are you ready to go back downstairs?”

Tempting her own destruction, she shook her head. The sounds from the music and party going on below faded away. Other than her own quick breathing, Emily could hear only his voice, see only his eyes, and feel only his hot breath feathering her cheeks.

Gavin could feel the emotions filtering through her eyes. Lust. Desire. Want. Need. All of which mirrored his own. He stepped closer still, their eyes never unlocking. “Tell me what you want,” he whispered.

Not answering and acting on impulse, she pressed herself against him, melting into the solidness of his hard body. She slowly brought her arms up around his neck, stared deep into his eyes, and pulled the smooth musky scent of his cologne through her nose. She anchored him with a salacious gaze, their lips inches apart with her sweet alcohol-infused breath dancing across his face.

“Say it, Emily.” The words came out in a low growl as he grasped the curve of her hips. “I need to hear you say it.”

Even in her alcohol-induced daze, she knew what he meant. With her chest rising and falling from her labored breathing, she answered, barely getting the words past her lips. “I…I want you.”

With the weight of his body, he pressed her back against the wall and licked the soft spot below her earlobe. “Tell me how much you fucking want me,” he breathed.

Heat pulsed in her stomach, tingling through her entire being, as his tongue traced a wet torrid line up her neck. “Oh God, Gavin,” she moaned, her body trembling. “You’re in my dreams, in my thoughts, in my skin.”

Before she could catch her breath, he claimed her mouth. His lips were a shock to her system, breaking the rhythm and certainty of her beating heart. He tasted of mint, a little bit of booze, and something inherently Gavin. Delicious heat curled through every muscle, every fiber, and every cell in her body. With one hand splayed across the small of her back, he took the other and buried it in her tangled curls. Emily moaned softly as the heat of his mouth moved easily over her lips. The assault on her nerves was close to overwhelming, not allowing a single coherent thought to pass through her mind. He might have stolen her breath the first time they kissed, but here and now—stealthy like a cat burglar—he was trying to steal her heart.

With alcohol, lust, and desire reeling through her veins, Emily was dimly aware of them haphazardly stumbling into an empty bedroom. With the back of his foot, Gavin kicked the door closed. They embraced one another like a boa constrictor wrapped around its prey. Gavin let out a groan as their lips briefly tore apart, allowing enough time for Emily to pull his shirt up over his head. Gavin’s fingers fumbled to unbutton her blouse, eventually tossing it to the floor. With both of their chests heaving for air—Emily in her bra, skirt, and heels and Gavin left only in his pants—they stood face to face staring at each other for a beat.

The connection caught and ricocheted through them. Never breaking his gaze, Gavin bent his head and crushed his mouth to hers again, her lips tasting better than he remembered. His hands roamed over her soft skin as he studied every inch, reading her flesh like a novel written in braille. Everything about her was pure deliciousness. He kissed her as though the brief time they had been apart had starved him of all basic human necessities. Emily released a soft whimper as his tongue laved over her ear, down to her neck, and across the curve of her collarbone. That whimper—that lusty little whimper—sent Gavin’s body and mind into overdrive when they fell back onto the bed.

Dillon’s name vaguely surfaced in Emily’s mind, along with the guilt for what she was about to do, but those thoughts quickly faded when Gavin pulled down the scalloped edge of her white lace bra. Pushing his knee between her legs, coaxing them to open, he leaned down and licked the soft swell of her breast. Circling his lips around one taut peak, he sucked it in softly. Emily felt herself flush and grow hot as she pressed against his mouth, her body writhing with burning pleasure under his attack. His tongue skillfully made the burning heat in her stomach unfurl while each slow languorous circle and gentle stroke unraveled her by the second.

Gavin pulled her skirt above her waist, his kiss growing frantic, as his hands skimmed the smooth flesh between her legs. Emily moaned as he yanked her panties down to her thighs. Her breath caught again as his smoldering blue eyes watched her reaction when he slid two fingers—and then a third—inside her wet folds, her back arching against the sensation. Her eyes never left his as she let out a gasp. She brought her arms up, threading her fingers through his hair, and pulled him back down to her lips. As the kiss grew deeper, Gavin’s response was a long drawn-out groan into her mouth, only increasing the fervor running through her.

His mouth was hot and hungry over hers—tongue sliding in and out—tasting her sweetness until he was straining for more. His body pulsed with pleasure as her nails bit into his shoulders, clawing and digging as she circled her hips against his hand. Pulling back, his mouth abandoned her lips as he continued to thrust his fingers inside, her breath mounting faster while his gaze raked over her beautiful face.

Staring into her green-and-gold-flecked eyes, a knot suddenly formed in Gavin’s chest, nearly blocking his ability to breathe. She was forbidden fruit, and God knew he wanted a taste. He had been ready to do anything to have her. He craved her. He needed her. But he realized as much as he ached for this moment, he couldn’t take her drunk, and he wouldn’t allow himself to have her like this—in some stranger’s home. He wanted her when she was in the right state of mind—and in
his
bed. He wanted to wake up with her beside him, and he needed to know that this wasn’t just the alcohol making the decision for her. He withdrew his fingers from inside her in an attempt to stop, but as soon as he did, she reached for his wrist and pulled his dampened fingers into her mouth—sucking on each one like a lollipop.

The simple act was so deliciously hot to Gavin; he felt his blood rush through his body even faster. Once again, his lips slammed into hers, stifling her moans while he plunged his fingers back inside her warmth. He kissed her harder, groaning as her legs lifted to frame his waist. When Emily released her hold on his hair and ran her fingers down his stomach to unbutton his pants, it was then that he knew he had to stop again.

With tortured, brutal, agonizing restraint, Gavin shot up from the bed, his chest heaving up and down. He walked clear across the room, dragging his hands through his hair.

Lying on the bed in utter shock and trying to catch her breath, Emily looked at him with the flush of desire still blooming on her cheeks. “What’s wrong?” she breathed out, her voice a ragged mess.

“I can’t do this, Emily.” He plucked his shirt from the floor and pulled it over his head. Grabbing for hers, he tossed it across the room onto the bed, making sure he didn’t get too close to her again. If he did, he knew there was no turning back. “Get up and get dressed.”

Sitting herself up, humiliation tore through her as she shrugged into her blouse. She was panting and confused beyond any rational thought. “But I thought this is what you wanted.”

At a loss for words, staring at her beautiful face and still trying to talk his own raging hormones down, Gavin swallowed and simply shook his head.

“Oh my God, I knew this would happen,” Emily whispered, stumbling to her feet, her head still dizzy with alcohol. “You don’t want me. You never wanted me. I’m just one of your sick, twisted void fillers for the night—another pawn in the let’s-fuck-with-women’s-heads game for you.”

In two quick strides, Gavin was across the room. Taking her chin in his hand, he rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip. “No, Emily, just listen to me.”

She swatted his hand off her face as tears sprung in her eyes. “I can’t believe this. I feel like such a fool.”

“Emily,” he whispered. Seeing that she was clearly drunk made him feel less of the man he thought himself to be. “Please don’t think that I don’t want you. What just happened…what just occurred…” he said, pointing to the bed. “That little bit I had of you makes me want so much more—just that little bit puts anyone I’ve ever been with to shame. I want you more than anything. I just can’t have it happen like this.”

Seemingly unaffected by his declaration, Emily attempted to button her shirt. “You don’t want me. I need to leave,” she sniffled, trying to make her way toward the door.

Gavin caught her by her elbow and spun her around, placing his hands on her hips. She tried to pull away, but between his ironclad grip and the amount of alcohol running through her system, her effort was worthless.

He leaned down and looked her in the eyes. “Do you think it was easy for me to stop, Emily? You have no idea how much I want to do this with you…to touch you again,” he whispered, brushing his hand across her cheek. “To taste you again.” He licked his lips, savoring her lingering juices. “To finally feel you beneath me.” His fingers slowly teased into her hair. “I told you…I want you more than anything but not here in this house and not while you’re drunk.”

A frown marred the space between her brows as she wiped a tear from her face. “Oh, the epiphany comes now, huh?” She yanked herself from his hold, wobbling toward the door again. “Go to hell, Gavin.”

Still trying to assist her out of the room, Gavin scooped her up off her feet in one graceful movement, like a groom carrying his bride over the threshold.

Having no choice but to cling to his neck for support, Emily breathed out heavily. “Put me down.”

“You can barely walk.”

“I can walk just fine. Now put me down!”

Gavin ignored her request and pulled the door open. Upon emerging from the room, the once empty hallway now looked like a certified brothel with couples making out in every direction Gavin turned. It only sickened his stomach further, knowing that he had Emily pent up inside that room in a scene like this. He belted down the stairs with her in his arms. Although she tried to squirm out of his embrace, her efforts were futile as her head lolled backward and her eyes closed with every step he took. Not even the deafening music pulled her from her drunken stupor.

Scanning the maddening mess of intoxicated bodies, Gavin made eye contact with Trevor who had Fallon curled up in his lap on a recliner. Trevor’s forehead creased when he saw Gavin with Emily. Seeming to be out of it herself, Fallon stayed rooted to the chair when Trevor stood up and walked over to Gavin.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“She doesn’t feel good,” Gavin answered. “Go find your sister and meet me in my car.”

Emily gingerly lifted her head from Gavin’s shoulder. She smiled in Trevor’s direction. “I feel fine, Trevor,” she slurred. “But Gavin’s an asshole.”

And with that, she closed her eyes, her head plummeting back against Gavin’s shoulder with her arms dangling to the side.

Trevor cocked a brow.

“Don’t even ask right now,” Gavin remarked. “Just do what I said.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure I’m going back to Fallon’s place tonight,” Trevor beamed. “Go ahead, get Emily into your car, and I’ll find Liv and send her out.”

Gavin gave a quick nod and weaved his way through the party. A few guys whistled and cheered for him, yelling that he was going home with “a nice piece of drunken ass.” Fighting back the urge to set Emily down for a brief moment and knock them all out, Gavin continued to snake his way through the throng of partiers and eventually made his way out the door.

Emily’s eyes fluttered open as Gavin attempted to place her on her feet while he opened the passenger-side door. “I’m not sitting up front with you, Gavin,” she slurred.

Stumbling away, she grabbed for the rear door and slid herself across the backseat. Within a split second, she was out cold.

Shaking his head, Gavin moved around the car, got in, started the engine, and pulled to the front of the house. A few minutes later, with the aid of her brother, Olivia got into the front seat.

Trevor smiled. “Make sure you get my two girls home safe. I’ll call you tomorrow, man.”

Gavin nodded.

“Love you, bro,” Olivia laughed and blew him a kiss as they drove away. After glancing back at Emily, she slipped her heels off and propped her feet on the dashboard. “She’s fucking down for the count, huh?”

Gavin didn’t answer as he stared straight ahead.