Swallowing hard, Emily’s body shook. She backed away from him, not meeting his eyes, her voice low. “I can’t do this with you, Gavin. We…we can’t do this.” He moved toward her, but she stepped away further. “Tell Olivia I’ll meet her back at the apartment. I have to leave.”
She spun on her heel and headed for the table to grab her clutch and shawl.
With tangible shock on his face, Gavin watched as she scurried through the ballroom, making her way through the crowd. However, he wasn’t about to let her go. He wasn’t about to let her walk out of his life.
Not now. Not ever.
In a few quick strides, he made his way through the throng of guests and caught her by the elbow in the lobby. Eyes filled with confusion, he looked down to her, his heart pounding. “Why are you running from me, Emily?”
“I’m not running from you,” she whispered, her eyes brimming with threatening tears.
Sighing, he plowed his hand through his hair. “You are running from me, and I want to know why.”
She looked away. She refused to see the pain evident in his eyes—and refused to feel the pain in her heart. “It’ll never work out. You and Dillon were friends, and he’d never allow this to happen.”
“What?” he asked in disbelief, stepping closer. She backed away. “How do you think he’d be able to control anything between you and me?”
“He will,” she said as tears slipped down her cheeks.
“The hell he will,” he breathed out, taking another step closer. Before she could back away again, he gripped her waist with one hand as the other wiped the tears from her face. “You’re supposed to be with me, and you know it. You said it yourself that you feel me when I’m not near you.” Dipping his head, he looked straight into her eyes, his voice low. “God, Emily, please…you have to give us a chance. Let me take care of you. Let me love you.”
She waited for the words—the right words—to come to her, but they didn’t. Cupping her hand over her mouth, she backed away, feeling Gavin’s fingertips fall from her waist. A steady stream of tears dripped from her eyes. She looked at him for a moment while her heart grated to shreds in the process, and without another word, she walked out of the lobby.
Watching her slip into a taxi, Gavin stayed rooted in her wake, his heart sinking as he tried to process what had just happened. He knew Dillon had a hold on her, but Emily believing he would be able to come between them fucked with Gavin’s head—and it fucked with it bad. Before he knew it, he was digging in his pocket for his keys and heading out to his car. After sending his brother a text to let him know that he had left the party, he found himself driving all over the city. Part of him wanted to drive over to her apartment and push the issue further, but logic told him that he had pushed far enough. There was nothing more that he could say to her, so all he wound up doing was going home.
Upon entering his penthouse, Gavin shrugged out of his tuxedo jacket, grabbed a bottle of bourbon, and promptly poured himself a shot. After tossing it back, he ripped the bow tie from his neck, kicked his shoes off, and sat at his kitchen island. He couldn’t help but let out a laugh, although inside he wasn’t laughing. He was sinking—sinking further into what he needed. Pounding his fists on the counter, he damned himself for not going to her apartment. Remembering his brother’s words, Gavin knew right then and there that he hadn’t fought hard enough for her. Standing up, he paced back and forth, staring at his phone while debating what to do. He went to dial Emily’s number but stopped himself. This didn’t merit a phone call. He needed to go to her—and he refused to stop himself this time.
“Fuck it,” he said, digging back into his pocket for his keys.
Swinging the door open, he all but forgot about his shoes, but it didn’t matter—because he was met by the most beautiful green eyes staring back at him. They didn’t say hello. Words were unnecessary. They both knew right then that they would speak volumes through their actions before dawn broke. Spontaneous combustion ignited within both their bodies as they lunged at the same time—colliding—their mouths sliding over one another. Somewhere in between, the door snapped closed, and Gavin’s shirt was ripped off.
Cradling the back of her head, Gavin’s kiss exploded like tracer bullets against Emily’s lips. Before she knew it, he had her lifted up off the ground and pressed against the wall. Placing her arms above her head, he shackled her wrists in his hand as she wrapped her legs around his waist. With the hard, rigid set of his body pushing against hers during their heated kiss, Gavin’s free hand fell to her thigh, sliding her dress up over her waist. The air hissed with the sound of her panties being torn from her body. In anticipation, her wet slick center ground hard against the refined material of his pants. As a deep yearning desire began to blaze through Emily, she pulled her wrists from his hold and feverishly started unbuckling his belt.
“I couldn’t get out of the taxi, Gavin. God, I couldn’t get out,” she moaned against his mouth.
The feeling of want, the feeling of need, and the feeling that they belonged together was something she couldn’t ignore anymore. She didn’t want to ignore it anymore. He was all she craved and desired, and the only thing she feared was that she wouldn’t be able to get enough of him.
“I was coming to get you,” he growled, sliding his tongue across her jaw. “I wasn’t letting you go this time.”
Reaching down, Emily slipped her hand below his boxer briefs, skimming over his thick, hard length. She started stroking him, her senses reveling in the feel of his pearly fluid against her thumb circling his tip. A deep ragged groan tore from Gavin’s throat as she stroked him up again, releasing his shaft from its confinements. His lips moved from her mouth to her ear and down her throat, biting and sucking, as she pumped her hand around him.
“I need to feel you inside of me right now, Gavin, please.”
“I have to get a condom,” he groaned against her mouth.
“I’m on the pill,” she breathed out, sweat glistening on her neck.
That’s all he needed to hear before he hoisted her up higher—only to pull her down onto him. Pushing up inside her hot, wet warmth, Emily’s head snapped back against the wall, unable to believe how incredible he felt. She let out a forceful breath as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Arching her back, he thrust inside her again, completely burying himself to the hilt. Tongue sweeping in and out, Gavin groaned when she tightened her legs around his waist, her hands knotting in his hair. Although her back chafed against the wall with each thrust, the pleasurable burning sensation of his girth overrode any pain she should’ve felt.
Gavin pulled back, and they gazed into each other’s eyes, drinking up the emotions in the air. Their chests were rising and falling together with every shallow breath they took. As ripples of pleasure shook through Emily’s body, Gavin slammed his mouth over hers, continuing his exploration of her tongue as he carried her into his bedroom.
A small groan of agony escaped her lips when he placed her on her feet. Emily stood before him, her body trembling from head to toe as she tried to catch her breath.
Without hesitation, he rid himself of his boxer briefs and socks, his predatory gaze hot and focused on her quivering lips.
Emily’s eyes traveled from his beautiful face and moved lower to take in the delicious sight of his taut abdomen, the V leading her straight to the long-awaited answer of where his tattoo ended. It was magnificently beautiful. Straight from his left rib cage, it snaked its way down, curving over his hip before dipping lower still. As Emily’s eyes followed its progression, she admired the elaborate black ink circling down around his thigh, the dragon’s tail wrapping itself around and around. She imagined her fingers or even her tongue pursuing the same path tonight.