Conquest of the Heart (24 page)

“No worries. I was just out for a walk when I
saw you go in here,” he said, motioning to the store with his
head.

“I was out doing the same.” Faith quickly
looked at her watch, trying to change the subject to avoid the
option of walking together. “I was just getting ready to go back
and call it a night. This week has been long already, and it’s only
Tuesday,” she smiled.

“You’re right about that. I’m going to stay
out for a little while. Have a good evening,” Carter said.

“You too,” she said, walking away.

Carter stared at her as she made her way
across the street, going back towards the hotel. She looked back to
see the creepy look on his face as he stood there. Forcing another
smile, she waved, then turned and hurried back to her room.

As the week drew to a close, Faith wanted to
take advantage of the outdoor pool at the hotel. The sun was just
starting to set, and there was a nice breeze. At home in France,
Faith loved to go sit by the pool in the evenings, enjoying the
cool breeze rising up from the water on her skin. She found a
lounge chair with a good view of the Rocky Mountains. After
adjusting it down a couple of notches, she sat down, closed her
eyes, and relaxed. Carter had a good view of her from his room. She
was conservatively dressed in a tank top bathing suit, with a wrap
that touched just above her knees. He began to imagine her without
any clothes on, becoming aroused. Soon, it was too much for him to
handle and as he continued to look on, began to masturbate. This,
along with the stalking, summed up his behavior for the week. He
stayed in for the night since he was scheduled to leave so early
the following morning.

The earliest that Gavin could get into Denver
was seven o’clock that evening. He checked into his room, and
immediately called Faith’s room to see if she wanted to take a late
walk. When he didn’t get an answer, he went to her room. She wasn’t
there. Gavin went back to his room and was about to call her on her
cell phone, when he looked out of his window. Faith was by the
pool.

Gavin walked down the stairs and outside to
see her.

“There you are, beautiful. I’ve been looking
for you,” he said walking towards her. He pulled a lounge chair
closer to hers, leaned down and kissed her cheek, then sat
down.

“You’re here. Why didn’t you call my cell?”
she asked.

“I was about to, but I saw you sitting out
here. It’s nice here,” he said, looking towards the mountains. “How
was your week?”

“It’s been interesting. Carter saw us hugging
at the airport. He made sure he let me know as soon as we got on
the plane. I did as you asked and kept our contact limited to
meetings and such. Outside of that, things went well.”

“Did he try anything?” he asked.

“No. It was pretty quiet. Maybe that’s
because I stayed away from him,” she said.

Gavin looked at the inviting water in the
pool. “Why aren’t you in the water?”

“I just like to relax and feel the cool
breeze. I don’t swim that often. How was your week?”

“It was long.” He looked at her and
continued, “I missed you.”

Faith cocked her head to the side and smiled,
“I missed you, too.”

“No. I really missed you. I couldn’t
concentrate, my focus was off. Adrian threatened to take my phone.
I was miserable without you there, and miserable for not being
here. When I told you I wanted more, I meant it. I haven’t felt
this way in a long time.”

Faith sat quietly, speechless. She wasn’t
expecting this.

Gavin took a deep breath. “You’re the only
one who has wanted to know who I really am. You allow me to be me.
You know how much I love the company, and appreciate my
intelligence. When I’m a complete ass, you’ve been able to handle
it. You are the only one I want to spend time with, Faith. I want
to know everything there is to know about you,” he said, keeping
his eyes on her, waiting for a reaction. When she didn’t say
anything, he continued, “You don’t have to respond right now. I
just thought you should know.”

He looked out towards the mountains again.
“Would you like to take a walk with me?”

Faith shook her head, as if trying to wake
herself. She said, “It’s starting to get late. I think it’ll be
better to wait until morning for a walk.” She was still
stunned.

“Can we go back to our rooms and talk, then?
I just want to be with you.”

“Sure,” she said, sitting up and swinging her
legs over the side of her chair. Gavin stood up and helped her
stand. They walked back into the building together.

Faith had to change, so they agreed to talk
in her room. She walked into her bedroom closet and began to comb
through her clothes to find something comfortable.

“How were your board meetings?” she called
out to Gavin.

He didn’t answer, so she asked again.

“Gavin, how were your board
meetings?” she called out again. Again no answer.
‘Maybe he went to his room for something,’
she thought.

Faith found something to change into. When
she turned around, Gavin was standing right there. He grabbed and
pulled her in close, planting a gentle and soft kiss on her lips.
She had no warning. He playfully caressed her lips with his own.
Faith slowly gave in, dropping the clothes she had in her hand, and
responding to him. Pulling her in closer, he deepened the kiss. Her
knees almost buckled as she reached up and wrapped her arms around
his neck. They continued to kiss a few more moments before Gavin
broke it. He looked into Faith’s eyes, now glazed over, and
smiled.

“You never let me kiss you. I knew I would
have to catch you off guard to get one,” he said, cupping her face
and touching her lips with his thumb.

“Make it count. This might be the only one
you get for a while,” Faith said.

Gavin pulled her in again, kissing her more
passionately than before. He removed the sarong from around Faith’s
waist. When he tried to reach underneath her tank top, Faith pulled
away.

“I should, you know, change,” she said
picking up the clothes she dropped. “I think we should go in the
living room.”

Gavin pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed
it. “You think that if we’re not in the bedroom, nothing will
happen?”

Faith wanted to say something, but found she
didn’t have an answer.

“No,” Gavin answered for her. “It doesn’t
matter where we are, Faith. There’s always going to be a chance for
more to happen. Even back at the office, there was a chance. The
attraction between us is that strong. I’m not expecting anything. I
just wanted to kiss you.

“I’m going to let you change.” He moved close
and kissed her cheek.

Faith changed into the clothes that she had
picked out. She walked to the living area and stopped, looking at
Gavin. He glanced over at her as she stood there.

He tipped his head to the side and asked,
“Are you afraid to come near me now?”

Faith shook her head and walked to the couch.
He took her hand as she sat down, wondering whether he would be
able to continue what he had started in the bedroom. Gavin leaned
in to kiss her. Initially she turned away.

“Mnm mnm,” he said. “You told me to make it
count. I wasn’t done.” He turned her face toward him and kissed her
gently. Faith slowly closed her eyes, getting butterflies in her
stomach. They laid back on the couch, with Gavin resting partially
on the couch and partially on her. He reached underneath her shirt
and rubbed her stomach. When he was able to do this without
resistance, he stopped and looked at her.

“You should be speaking French by now? What
happened?” he frowned, continuing to stroke her skin.

Faith bashfully smiled and said, “I guess I’m
not uncomfortable anymore.” She reached above her head to stretch,
letting out a deep yawn. She returned her arms to his back,
massaging it softly. It was getting late.

“I’m tired, too. Let’s call it a night,
although I would rather be here.”

“You had a long day and a long trip. You need
your rest,” she said, now playing with his hair.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” he said,
standing up, and helping her up as well.

They walked to the door hand in hand.

He turned to face her, placing his arms
around her. “Good night, beautiful.”

“Good night.”

He kissed her deeply on the lips, and almost
couldn’t stop. Pulling away he said, “Mm. I better go.”

Gavin opened the door and went to his room.
Faith closed and locked the door. She took a shower before retiring
for the evening.

During the night, Gavin found it hard to
sleep. He tossed and turned, unsuccessfully achieving the rest he
needed so much. He couldn’t stop thinking about Faith and how
wonderful it felt to finally kiss her. After about another half
hour, he sat up, staring at the clock. It was two o’clock in the
morning. He took a deep breath, swinging his legs around the side
of the bed. Gavin reached for his t-shirt at the end of the bed and
put it on. He grabbed his room key and slipped on a pair of sweats.
He left and walked down the hall.

Gavin didn’t like waking her, but he didn’t
know what else to do as he knocked. It took a few moments for her
to come to the door. She was completely out of it as she opened
it.

“I’m having a hard time getting to sleep. Can
I stay with you?” he asked.

Faith left the door open, as she turned
around to go back to bed. Gavin entered, locked the door behind
him, and walked to the bedroom. By the time he got there, she was
already lying down, and appeared to be asleep. He slipped out of
his sweats and t-shirt, leaving only his boxer briefs on, and laid
next to her. He got as close as he could without waking her,
slipped his arm around her, and quickly fell asleep himself.

Waking early the next morning, Gavin was
pleased to find that Faith had turned toward him at some point that
night. He was still very tired, but was used to getting up at the
crack of dawn. He laid there and watched Faith sleep for a few
moments before kissing her on the forehead. He continued to gently
kiss her randomly on her face, slowly bringing her out of her
sleep.

Faith sleepily opened her eyes. Seeing Gavin
she said, “What are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t sleep. I asked you if I could
stay with you, remember?”

Faith shook her head. “No. When I’m really
tired, I sleep pretty deep. It’s hard for me to recollect things
when I’m like that. Why didn’t you sleep on the couch?”

“I wanted to be next to you,” said Gavin as
he moved hair away from her face.

Faith nodded, then thought about something.
As she frowned, he could see she had a question. “Did we do
anything?” She was still trying to wake up.

Gavin quietly chuckled, “No. We didn’t. I
fell asleep immediately.”

“Last night would have been a good time to
take advantage of me,” she smiled and said with her eyes
closed.

“Now you tell me. I’ll keep that in mind in
the future.”

“What time is it? It’s Saturday, right?”
asked Faith.

“Yes. It’s almost five,” said Gavin. “Time to
get up.”

“Do you always get up this early?” Faith
asked, moaning as she rolled over on her back.

“Yes. Habit. I usually go for a run around
this time,” he said, kissing her shoulder.

“I don’t run on the weekends. Why don’t you
go, though?” she said, yawning.

“I want to be with you.”

“I’m going back to sleep. It’s too early.
Maybe you can learn how to relax and sleep in,” she said, closing
her eyes.

Gavin watched her as she slipped back into
her sleep coma. Unable to go to sleep again himself, he figured
he’d enjoy the moment. Faith slept in a short and tank top pajama
set. Gavin raised her top just enough to expose her stomach. He
smiled deviously as he looked up at her. He gently kissed and
licked her, glancing at her from time to time to see if he could
get a response. She frowned a little bit and moaned.

“What are you doing?” she asked. “You’re
supposed to be going back to sleep.”

“Can’t,” Gavin said in between kisses. “This
will keep me busy.”

“You should go for a run or something,” Faith
whined as her body slowly began to respond to Gavin’s touch.

“Nope. You’re right. I should learn how to
relax. So I’m going to stay right here,” Gavin grinned.

As he continued to shower her stomach with
gentle kisses, he slowly moved his hand down along her thigh. As
his hand made its way back up toward her hip, he tried to slip it
underneath her shorts. Faith quickly put a stop to it.

“No,” she squirmed. “I think you were right.
We should get up.”

“I totally agree with your first assessment
of the day. Relaxing is so much more appealing,” Gavin said, now
reaching closer to her breasts. Faith stopped that, too.

“I changed my mind,” she said shortly. She
was still squirming, but Gavin wasn’t budging.

“Me, too,” he smiled again, looking at her to
see how uncomfortable she was.

Gavin began to move a little lower than her
stomach, now kissing on top of her clothes. Faith struggled to keep
him from moving down any further, but her fight wasn’t just with
him. She battled with her own body, which was now completely awake,
and completely willing.

“Gavin,” she said. Her body was taking over.
She couldn’t quite say what she wanted.

“Yes,” he said as he continued to make his
way down to her womanhood, still covered by her shorts.

“Please,” she whispered.

He looked up at her, his own body now
standing at attention, “Please what?” He kissed her lower area, his
hands now underneath her shorts and steadily moving to reach her
mound.

Faith moaned and took a deep breath. She
grabbed at the sheets. She swallowed hard and said, “Stop.”