The Rules (21 page)

Terri gasped. Her heart now racing out of control. “Gavin…”

“I just wanted you to know how I feel. You don’t have to say it back. There’s no doubt in my mind that you care about me.”

“Gavin…”

“I love you, baby.” He touched a finger to her cheek, the tenderness in his gaze pulling at her heart. Emotion seized her vocal chords. “I didn’t expect this to happen, but it did. You’re beautiful on the outside and on the inside. You have no idea how rare that is.”

Terri loved him, too, but the words lay wedged in her throat. She’d fought the emotion tooth, nail, and dagger, determined not to break the most important rule of the new life she created in Seattle. To never fall in love. But he charmed his way into her heart, and how could she not love a man like Gavin? He was a series of lovely, exquisite contradictions. Strong but tender, firm but affectionate, arrogant yet humble. From the first night they met and he decided to pursue her, she never stood a chance against his advances.

He kissed her neck, gently biting the skin on her collarbone, and Terri closed her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “Gavin,” she whispered again.

“I love you, baby,” he said again, offering the words freely, even though she didn’t reciprocate.

His hips started moving again. His thick length slid in out of the slickness between her thighs.

“I love you,” Gavin panted, keeping an eye on their joined bodies.

“Gavin,” she gasped, pressing her cheek against his. Her legs clenched tight around his waist, loathe to allow even the merest distance between them.

Gripping her bottom, he thrust harder and faster. He pressed her deeper into the sofa, his breaths rough and heavy. He bit into her nipple, and she arched her back at the searing pain. He made her wetter, made her hotter.

Harder and faster, he drove into her, her cries growing louder with each solid pump of his hips.

“Oh god,” Terri breathed. She bit his shoulder and gripped his broad back, sinking her nails into his flesh as he rotated his hips and used long deep strokes to drive her out of her mind. His tongue dipped into her mouth, stirring a passionate response that made her hips move faster. He matched her pace and released her mouth to drop kisses along her jaw and down to her neck.

She gasped his name again and he swore viciously. Their bodies became a tight bundle of thrusting hips and panting breaths.

Terri came first with a loud cry. Limbs contracting, rough tremors shaking her body as she pulsed around him.

Gavin placed his hands on her hips and yanked her even closer, digging deeper, knocking his hips against hers fast but with such precision that another orgasm broke from her loins. She shivered, burying her face in his neck, fingers and toes constricting against the tremendous force of ecstasy that hijacked her nerves, her cells, her muscles.

Above her, Gavin gasped as his body shuddered and emptied, his hand tightening on her hips, his forehead resting on the cushioned pillow beneath her head.

In the afterglow, spent, his sweat-damp body collapsed atop hers. That’s when Terri realized the mistake they made.

He hadn’t pulled out.

“I’ve been thinking about opening a mechanic shop. Been working on a business plan.” Damian’s voice on the phone sounded timid, as though embarrassed or afraid to get his hopes up. “Found a couple of books at the library that were helpful.”

He loved cars and went to tech school to work on them. He’d done well, too, and apprenticed under another mechanic at one time.

“I believe in you. I know you can do it,” Terri said.

“Yeah well, we’ll see.” Damian cleared his throat. “Hey, the money you sent the other day—”

“Was a gift.” Since she didn’t have to pay rent or utilities anymore thanks to Gavin, Terri took the extra money and put away half for herself and sent the other half to her brother. “You have a wedding to plan, and it’s the least I could do.”

“You don’t owe me anything. When are you going to forgive yourself for what happened?”

“It was only a few hundred dollars,” Terri said, but planned to send more next month.

“Leesh, if you’re—”

“Don’t worry,” Terri said, recognizing the warning in his voice. “I’m not doing anything stupid. I learned my lesson.”

“I hope so, because I’m beginning to wonder how a nail tech can afford to send her brother that kind of cash when she has bills of her own.”

Terri didn’t respond.

“Are you seeing someone?”

She remained silent, wavering on how much to share with her brother.

“You gonna answer me or not?”

She sighed. “I’m seeing someone, and…I like him.”

“A lot?”

“A lot,” she confirmed. “Actually, he told me he loves me, and I love him, too.”

Damian let out a heavy breath. “Damn, you and this love thing.”

“He’s different,” Terri assured him.

“How does he treat you?” her brother asked, skepticism lacing the question.

“The way you treat Shanae, like I’m special. He opens doors, and he likes taking care of me.” In fact, he asked her to move in with him a couple of days ago. The question surprised but thrilled her, and she told him she’d think about it. She worried about repeating the same mistakes, but Gavin was different. No doubt about it.

“What about his family?”

“I met them. I like them, and they like me, too.”

Boating season started in May, and she’d joined the Johnson clan on their yacht during the Seattle Yacht Club’s Opening Day Parade. The boat was crowded with the entire immediate family, a few cousins, and friends, standing out on the deck and waving to people on the shoreline during the parade of boats. Gavin participated in the sailboat race, and he and his crew had won first place. She looked forward to the Fourth of July party where they went out on the boat again, ate, drank, and enjoyed the fireworks.

She’d participated in several outings to restaurants where the extended family, including spouses and girlfriends, dined in private rooms. Friends sometimes joined them, but for the most part, they seemed more inclined to spend time with each other.

She’d even had an occasion to wear the ruby necklace Gavin gave her, during a charity event she attended as his date. When she saw the satisfaction on his face, she was happy she hadn’t done something foolish like pawn it to get money when she lost everything in the fire. She apologized profusely for not wearing it before. He seemed to get such pleasure from taking care of her, and what woman in her right mind didn’t like getting spoiled by her man—even a little bit.

There always seemed to be some local engagement the Johnsons, or at least a representative from the family, must attend. Terri had become lax about being seen at public events with Gavin, but she restricted the appearances to local ones, managed to stay out of most publicity shots, and insisted Gavin not share her image on social media.

During evenings out with the family, she noticed the eldest brother, Cyrus, had warmed to her, and was much more polite than the first time she met him. Last time they all went out, his wife shared pictures of the new house they bought in Spain. While Cyrus smiled indulgently at her, Daniella complained about the task of having to decorate their new home long-distance, at which point Constance recommended a decorator in France she had worked with.

It was very interesting to watch them have these conversations, talking as casually as someone like her would mention needing to find a pair of shoes to match a new outfit. Charity events, interior decorators, and vacation homes was their normal, and she had an insider’s view into that lifestyle.

“Does your new guy know everything?” Damian asked.

Terri hung her head and stared at her sandaled feet propped on the coffee table, toenails painted in a creamy beige this week. “No.”

Her brother grunted. “When are you going to tell him?”

“I don’t know,” Terri snapped. “Why are you badgering me?”

“Because I don’t want to see you get hurt. Is this great, wonderful man who’s so in love with you going to understand everything about you and your past?”

“I’ll tell him when I’m ready.”

“I heard the smile in your voice when you talked about him. If you’re serious about him, you have to be honest. Now, before he finds out on his own and everything blows up in your face.”

Terri was fairly certain that wouldn’t happen, but she did have doubts, and those doubts reined in her natural inclination to declare her love for Gavin—shouting it from the rooftops—even as she basked in the warmth of his love.

“Tell me again that you love me,” she said.

His hand moved to her belly, pulling her tighter against his body. “I love you.” He kissed the top of her spine. “Did you kill someone?” he asked, amusement in his voice.

“No.” But she had a sordid past.

“I bet whatever you did isn’t even as bad as you think it is.”

“What if it is? What if it’s really bad?”

“It can’t be that bad,” he said with confidence.

Terri twisted around and threw a leg over his hip, seeking his heat. She wanted more of this. Every single day, she wanted to wake up next to him or roll over in the middle of the night and feel his warm body.

“You always smell good,” she said to his chest.

“You smell better. Every time I see you, I want to eat you.”

She giggled, running her fingers through the sprinkling of curly hairs on his chest. “Stop.”

“I’m serious.” His arms tightened around her. “I’m not going to stop loving you because you did something bad. That’s not the way love works.”

“I’ll handle it, Damian. Stop worrying about me all the time and worry about yourself and your family.”

“
You’re
my family, and I can’t stop worrying about you.” His voice sounded resigned and defeated.

Terri gnawed a nail. “I’ll tell him about my past. Soon.”

“Will you let me know how the conversation goes?”

“Yes.”

They hung up a few minutes later, and Terri sat with her knees pulled up to her chest, the heels of her feet on the edge of the sofa.

Over the years, she’d grown adept at answering questions about what she wanted to do with her life and where she saw herself in five years. She gave the same answer each time, extolling the virtues of being an entrepreneur and how much she wanted to run her own salon one day. Because those were the politically correct answers.

The truth was, she didn’t want any of that. It was strange in this day and age to be ashamed or embarrassed about her real desires, but being a business woman sounded much better than admitting she wanted nothing more than to be a wife and mother. To have the security and protection of a man who really loved her. Each time she tried to go down that path, she had failed miserably, playing house with men she shouldn’t have.

Her arms tightened around her legs, and she closed her eyes. She felt in her heart that Gavin was different, but he only knew one side of her. What would happen when he found out everything?

Would he walk away? And take away this feeling that she enjoyed so much more than ever before. For once in her life, she felt…loved.

Gavin didn’t have any idea whether or not his ideas were good. The team Trenton assigned to work with him acted nervous in his presence. He was pretty sure they’d agree with any crappy idea he came up with simply because he was one of the owners.

At a soft knock on the door, his head tilted up. He welcomed the interruption after staring at the designs on the easels for a long time without the spark of a better idea.

“Come in,” he called. Ivy poked her head in the door. “What’s up?”

The tentative smile on her face made him aware that something was wrong, and right away, he stood up from the desk.

She came in all the way and clasped her hands behind her back. “How’s it going?”

“Could be better. Not sure marketing and promotions is my thing. I can’t get an honest answer out of the team.”

She smiled, a genuine smile this time. “It’s because they’re not used to you. They’re very candid with Trenton.”

“I’ll talk to him about the situation because this isn’t working.” He waited.

Ivy inhaled deeply and her eyes skirted away from his.

Shoving a hand in his pocket, Gavin asked, “What’s going on, Ivy? You look like you have something to say.”

“I didn’t want to do this, but…it’s about Terri.”

Worry sliced through his stomach. “What about her?”

His sister took another breath, her expression pained. “Remember Lucas thought that he recognized her from somewhere?”

Recalling the night of Walt’s retirement dinner, Gavin nodded.

“The reason he knows her is because she has a record.”

“A what? You mean a police record?”

“Yes. There was a big scandal in Atlanta over three years ago, and Terri was at the center of it.” Ivy pulled sheets of paper from behind her back. The name Candi Rayne appeared at the top of document. “I printed this from the Internet.”