Pulse (Collide) (21 page)

Sitting in an Adirondack chair, his bare feet perched on the iron railing, wearing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, Gavin sipped on a beer as he watched the waves tumbling in the distance. Another shiver, one that didn’t have to do with the colder air, moved through Emily when Gavin turned. He caught her gaze, his blue eyes beckoning her in an instant. Longing lit up in the hard angles of his face.

Odd. She was no longer chilly.

After placing his beer on the ground, the glass clinking on the concrete, Gavin dropped his legs from the railing. Widening his knees, his smile was slow and deliciously sexy. Emily stepped between his thighs and crawled into his lap. She rested her back against his hard chest, curled the blanket over their bodies, her senses immediately drowning in the raw heat emanating from him.

Gavin pushed her hair away from her shoulder and lowered his mouth to the crook of her neck, his breath hot as he sucked lightly. “I’ve been waiting for you,” he whispered, his husky words telling Emily what she already knew. He was about to inhale her. Snaking his hands under her tank top, he ghosted them across her belly, sliding them upward, until he had both breasts cupped in his hands. “You like leaving me hanging, don’t you?”

Butterflies swarmed Emily’s stomach, her body quivering under his touch. “It’s the only control I have over you,” she breathed, her voice shaky. She could almost hear the smile on his face. She could definitely feel his growing erection pressing against her ass.

With his thumbs, he slowly stroked the swell of her breasts. “Do you want me to keep touching you?”

Nipples hard as pearls, Emily arched her back against his chest. She bit her lip as he nipped her shoulder. “We’re going to stay out here?” she asked. Her attention flew to the beach below them where a group of rowdy, apparently drunk teenagers were setting up a bonfire. “They might see us, Gavin.”

“It’s too dark up here. They won’t see anything,” he whispered. His low, primal voice vibrated over her skin as he twirled her nipples. Pinching them lightly, he licked behind her ear and pulled her tank top up over her head, dropping it beside them.

The cool night air danced across Emily’s bare chest. She tried to breathe, tried to think. Words entirely left her mind.

“Now answer my question,” he whispered, running his tongue up her neck. “Do you want me to keep touching you?”

She wanted him. Wanted him desperately. With each feather-light touch, she felt her core tighten, throbbing, begging to have any part of him inside her. Gavin pinched her nipples again, and she let out a soft moan. Desire won the battle of her embarrassment about possibly being caught, shattering any thought of not allowing this to happen. Suddenly hyperaware of her body, her cheeks flushed. “Yes,” she whispered, “I want you to keep touching me.”

“Tell me where you want me to touch you, Emily,” he commanded, his voice caressing her name.

“My pussy,” she managed to get out.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t hear you. Can you repeat that?” he asked in a low growl, his hands grazing the sides of her ribcage.

Dear, God. His fingertips brushed fire against her skin, simmering heat deep within her belly. “My pussy,” she repeated, trying to keep the undertone of begging from her voice.

“You want me to touch that pretty pussy?” He hooked his thumbs in her shorts, the hard edge in his tone dripping with carnal need. “Is that what you want?”

“Yes,” she moaned, slightly lifting her ass, as he slipped her shorts and panties past her thighs. With her toes, she yanked them down, the blanket following behind them to the ground. To hell with not begging. She was beyond it at this point. She’d do anything he asked her. “God, Gavin, please. Please touch it.” The words tasted like chocolate-covered strawberries, sweet and delicious.

With one hand around her stomach and the other nudging open her thighs, Gavin couldn’t help but groan as Emily whimpered before he’d even touched her. Fuck. She drove him mad. Dismantled him to pieces. He wanted her spread wide. “Put your feet on the edge of the chair.”

Pulse racing wildly and already soaked in anticipation, Emily did as he said. Gently, he pushed two fingers inside of her, and she flung her head back against his shoulder, her arms instinctively flying behind her. She tensed, fighting her fear of being discovered. Quietly moaning, she dug her fingers into his hair, her clawing grip tight as she moved in synch with his strokes. With the sound of the tide ripping in and out in the cool night air, and their breathing picking up pace, Emily shamelessly ground harder against his fingers. Her muscles clenched, drawing them in deeper. Trailing his lips along her shoulder, Gavin dragged his free hand from her stomach, up over the lush swell of her breast, and settled it around her neck. He pushed deeper inside her warmth. Emily’s breath caught as he swirled his thumb in quick circles over her wet clit, his low groans and greedy mouth devouring her flesh, arousing her further.

Pulling her back by her neck, fingers slowly pumping in and out, Gavin angled her face and crushed his mouth to hers. “Take your hands out of my hair and squeeze those beautiful tits for me,” he groaned, licking through her mouth.

His voice so carnal, so full of lust, made her body shake. With his words twisting deliciously in her mind, Emily untangled her hands from his hair, and once again, did as he said. Bringing her hands to her breasts, she palmed them for a second before tugging on her nipples. Tension built, growing fierce between her legs. She rode every screaming wave of desire he brought her with each thrust of his fingers. Spasms hurtled through her body, sending her higher and higher. Though she was close, so close, she needed him inside her and she needed him now. She couldn’t wait.

As if sensing what she wanted, Gavin eased his fingers out of her, leaving her pussy hot and wet in their wake. She could feel the protest crawling up her throat, but it died on her lips as he hoisted her up, his one hand sliding underneath her ass as the other yanked his shorts and briefs down just enough. Within a split second, he’d pulled her down onto him. Emily sucked in a ragged breath as she felt the head of his cock spread her swollen flesh, the pleasurable burning nearly sending her into orgasm. Her eyes went wide. Though still in shock over where they were, his growls and heavy breathing made the risk of getting caught worth her while. Hot and hard, he was nothing but pure, primal, fierce, consuming alpha male. He filled her. Claimed her. Broke and owned her. Brought her full circle from the woman she once was to the woman she was becoming. The woman she was meant to be with him.

“Fuck,” Gavin bit out, his voice strained. Digging his fingers into her hips, the pressure and need that’d built up throughout the day nearly exploded as Emily thrust down hard onto his aching cock. His muscles jumped and twitched. He brought the fingers he’d had buried inside her to her mouth. “Taste yourself on me. I want you to lick your sweetness off my fingers.”

And she did. She sucked on each one with an intensity she’d never before shown him. So entranced by her, Gavin felt lightheaded as her hand curled around his wrist, licking and stroking her tongue along his fingers.

“Tell me how good my pussy feels, Gavin.” The demand burst from Emily’s lips as she pulled his fingers from her mouth, leveraging forward to place her hands on his knees for balance. She moved up and down, her speed increasing. “Tell me.”

Holy shit. Gavin swore he was about to lose it right there. Fisting one hand in her hair, he took the other and gripped her waist, guiding her body in vicious strokes up and down his cock. “You feel like heaven wrapped around me. Fucking heaven.” And she did. Soft velvet over hard steel. Her slickened warmth, so tight, had Gavin’s balls nearly climbing into his stomach. He wanted to spill every ounce of himself into her. But he would wait.

Wanting to always get her off first, he slipped his hand from her hair to her clit and rubbed hard and fast. Fuck. Emily gasped and her muscles tightened, constricting and clamping down around him so fiercely, he wasn’t sure he was going to make it. She saved them both when she arched her body against his chest, her movements a sexy, sensual rhythm. However, it was all the more devastating to Gavin’s already heated senses because now he could feel her core in its entirety, felt each flick of her hips as she circled his cock.

“Jesus Christ,” he groaned, skimming his palm from her waist to her breast. He cupped it, squeezing. With the other, he kept steady pressure on her clit, stroking and teasing the swollen bud. “That’s right, baby. Fuck me slow. Nice and slow. Let me feel every bit of you.”

So turned on, Emily drew in a breath, overwhelmed by the sensations. “Please don’t stop rubbing me.” She whispered the plea, bringing her arms up and entangling her fingers in his hair. God. Between his mouth closing over her shoulder, his hand playing with her breast, and the other tripping over her clit, Emily was close to done for. Licking her lips, she whimpered. “Please, Gavin.”

Unrelenting, unforgiving, and unstopping, Gavin bucked his hips, filling Emily completely. No longer breathing, thinking, or worried about who might be watching, painful pleasure shot through her body. It exploded, unfurling a release so intense, so deep, and wicked in its potency, she thought she was going to lose her mind. She cried out his name, her voice louder than expected, but she couldn’t help it. It was pure fucking bliss.
He
was pure fucking bliss.

Spasms tore through every one of her muscles as Gavin slid his hand over her mouth. He held it there as she felt his orgasm hit, felt his hot, silky semen spilling into her. His body tightened, shuddering violently beneath hers, his breathing coming rough and fast against her ear. With shockwaves still possessing her and her body limp like a wet rag, lost in a haze of passion, Emily’s breathing started to slow. She turned her head to the side, catching Gavin’s mouth with hers. For a long moment, he kissed her deep and hard as he groaned, palming her breasts.

Spent and completely sated, Gavin reached for the blanket and covered Emily’s naked body. Moving her long, damp hair away from her bare shoulders, he feathered his lips along her neck. “I love you, Emily, and I need you to know there’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be than here with you.”

Turning, Emily stared into his eyes. They held so much passion and dedication, her heart swelled. With an intensity bordering obsession, she kissed him, thankful their roads had crossed paths once again. She drew strength from him she never knew she possessed. She blossomed when he was near. Holding her life in his hands, he was nothing short of carbon to a flame within her, waiting to ignite. Slowly breaking the kiss, Emily turned back around, taking in the heat of Gavin’s strong arms wrapped around her stomach. Her gaze fell from the clear sky blooming with stars to the dark waves, dappled silver by the light of the moon. Emily released a satisfied sigh, her soul warm with a love she was certain she’d never find with anyone else. She knew tomorrow would be hard, but somehow, she also knew this might be one of the sweetest Christmases she would ever have. As Gavin pulled her closer, she was pretty sure she was correct.

Emily awoke when the bright sun coming in through the blinds hit her face, its warmth not so welcomed considering she and Gavin had stayed up into the late hours of the night. Pillowed against his chest, his peaceful breathing in her ear calmed her. But that only lasted so long. Emily’s thoughts struck, just as unwelcome as the early morning wake up. Flashes of last Christmas hit, a day spent in the hospital next to her dying mother, nearly yanking the air from her lungs. Dillon was also there in her mind, further souring her stomach.

Lifting her head, she glanced at Gavin’s beautiful face, beyond grateful for him. Though she was happier than she could ever remember, her mood shifted as emptiness anchored deep in her gut. She didn’t want to look back, but ghosts from her past wouldn’t allow her to move forward. Her ache for her mother hovered like a dark storm, bringing a cloud of sadness.

Trying to escape the despair taking hold, Emily slipped from the bed. The yearning for her mother followed her with each quiet step she took across the cold wood floor. She shivered as she reached for the door handle, careful not to wake Gavin as she opened and closed it. Being it was just shy of a quarter to eight, the house wasn’t alive yet. Void of any sound and clear of any movement, Emily was alone in her thoughts.

On a sigh, she moved toward the Christmas tree. Her gaze fell upon several ornaments she and Lisa had made for their mother when they were little girls—paper angels glued to clothespins and silver, red, and gold glittered reindeer highlighting each of their names tossed themselves into her memory. Emily ran her fingertips across the fading reminders of the past as tears gathered in her eyes. She swallowed, her body instantly shaken, her heart instantly crushed. Had she already been without the only parent she’d ever known for close to a year? The same parent who’d brought her love and insanity in equal parts? Her mother’s voice danced in her ears as she tried to compose herself.

Emily didn’t hear Gavin come into the room, but she didn’t need to. His soothing presence blanketed the air. He wrapped his arms around her from behind as she wiped away an errant tear slipping down her cheek. Still staring at the ornaments, she shook her head and sucked in a deep breath. “How do I let her go?”