When he ground against her, she lifted up, making sure he was buried deep, loving the look of fierce passion that furrowed his brow, the dark, predatory need reflected in his eyes that told her he was right there with her.
She wrapped her legs around his hips and held him there, her body hovering on the brink of oblivion. He knew it, too, because he stopped moving, and it was as if the earth had stopped spinning, as if the two of them were suspended in space. All she could hear was their breathing, all she could feel was the hard pounding of their hearts against each other and his cock twitching inside her.
It was heaven, and pure, torturous hell at the same time.
Then he kissed her, drove hard within her, and she shattered like a broken lightbulb, every piece of her gloriously illuminated from the inside out as he shuddered and came with her. He groaned against her mouth, his tongue twining with hers as they rode out their orgasms together.
Out of breath, she held tight to him, so glad to be home and in his arms. Because nothing was more perfect than this.
“All is right in my world again,” she said, pressing a kiss to his shoulder.
He disentangled and pulled her against him. “Mine, too. I had fun this weekend, but I’m happy to be back home. Happy to have you back, too.”
She tilted her head back and he brushed his lips against hers.
She was glad to have this idyllic moment with him, because she knew the next few weeks were going to be anything but calm.
Chapter Seven
Nathan had come home, and Tara and Mick were having everyone over for dinner to welcome him. Plus, he'd brought his girlfriend with him, and he wanted to introduce her to the immediate family before the wedding so she wouldn’t be too overwhelmed.
Which immediately made Liz curious because she’d known nothing about this girlfriend.
“Did Mick tell you anything about her?” Liz asked Gavin as they drove over to the house.
“Just that she’s pretty and she plays for the basketball team at UT.”
“Hmmm.”
Gavin glanced over at her. “What does that mean?”
“Absolutely nothing. I wonder if this is a new thing, because Tara hasn’t mentioned her to me.”
“Imagine that. You, not in the know about something.”
She laughed. “Shut up.”
“I guess you’ll just have to find out about her like the rest of us.”
“I suppose so.”
They pulled up in front of the house and parked, then headed to the front door. “Looks like everyone’s already here.”
He grabbed her hand. “We’re not late, Liz. You’re just worried you’re going to miss some vital gossip about this hot mystery girlfriend of Nathan’s.”
She squeezed his hand. “I am not. I couldn’t care less.” Okay, maybe she did care. She’d kind of taken it upon herself to become Nathan’s not-quite-related-except-by-marriage-but-cared-about-the-kid-deeply aunt. Plus, she was firmly convinced Nathan had a profound athletic future, so she was a little overprotective of him. The last thing he needed was some gorgeous groupie sticking her claws in him and riding his coattails all the way to the NFL.
Gavin paused. “Liz.”
“Yes?”
“Mind your own business.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Nathan. You don’t want to step into that again. You know what kind of trouble you got yourself into before with Mick and Tara. You don’t want to do it again.”
“For God’s sake, Gavin. I’m not even thinking about meddling in Nathan’s personal life.” Geez, her husband was annoyingly psychic at times.
And of course he was right. Which didn’t mean she wouldn’t ask this new girlfriend of Nathan’s some probing questions. She wouldn’t interfere, of course. It was more like . . . protecting him.
“Oh, you’re here.” Tara greeted them at the front door and led them inside. “The guys are in the game room.”
“Later, gorgeous,” Gavin said, giving her a swift kiss before heading toward the men.
Liz rolled her eyes. “I knew I’d lose him as soon as we walked in the door.”
“I know, right? Mick loves the game room. So do his dad and his uncle. They’re all like kids in there with the TV, pool table and video games and the rest of the stuff.”
Tara led her into the kitchen. “Something to drink? I made this amazing nonalcoholic punch, plus there’s wine, beer, and tea.”
“I’d love some punch.”
Tara poured her a glass. “Everyone else is in the family room.”
“Is Nathan here?”
“I sent him and Sonja on an errand. They should be back soon.”
“Sonja, huh? Nice name.”
Tara smiled. “Nice girl. Wait ’til you meet her. You’re going to fall madly in love with her.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes. She’s sweet. I can’t believe he met someone like her. She’s smart and so athletic. And funny, too.”
Liz was going to reserve judgment about Sonja until she had a chance to grill— uh, talk to her.
She settled into the family room and visited with everyone, including Mick and Tara’s little boy, Sam, who was pulling himself up on the furniture. His hair was dark and curly, and when he giggled, it shot straight to her heart. He had the sweetest smile and charmed everyone in the room as he made his way over to them, laughing every time he fell down.
When Sam came over to her and rested his cheek on her knee, every part of Liz ached. She picked him up and kissed his cheek, but after only a few seconds, he wriggled to get down.
“Okay, mobile man, I know you don’t want to be cuddled right now. Off you go.”
“I told you,” Tara said. “I think my cuddling days are over.”
“You might be surprised how much he still wants to cuddle his Mama,” Gavin’s mom said to Tara. “He might want to be moving around right now, but wait until he falls and cries. Then he’ll want you holding him.”
“You’re right, of course,” Tara said.
After a few minutes, Liz heard the front door open.
“Mom, where do want this stuff?”
“Excuse me,” Tara said. “If I don’t direct Nathan, he’ll end up putting milk in the pantry.”
Liz got up, too. “I’ll help you.”
She followed Tara into the kitchen.
Nathan was in there and she was struck by how much he’d matured in the past few years. He was taller, and had picked up a lot more muscle. He wore his hair shorter now, and it was a darker brown. Though still young, he was no longer a young boy. Now he was a young man.
“Hi, Nathan,” she said.
He smiled at her. “Hey, Liz. How’s it going?”
“It’s going good. On errand duty?”
He grinned. “Always.”
A tall, quite gorgeous young woman carried a bag in. “Where do you want this one, Mrs. Riley?”
“On the counter, Sonja. Thanks.”
The girl had to be nearly five-eleven or maybe even six feet tall. Considering Nathan had shot up his senior year to six-four, he was still taller, but wow. She was beautiful, with café au lait skin, honey colored eyes, and sleek black hair.
Wow.
“Oh, Sonja, this is Nathan’s Aunt Elizabeth, but we all call her Liz.”
Liz stuck out her hand in greeting. “Nice to meet you, Sonja.”
“Same here. And I’m probably never going to remember everyone’s name so I’m going to apologize if I have to ask it again.”
Liz laughed. “That’s okay. Ask away.”
“Hey, I warned you I had a big family,” Nathan said, casting a grin at his girlfriend.
“You did.”
“Where are you from, Sonja?”