THE OFFER STUNNED HER as much as Gavin’s assertion that she was just as capable as her brilliant younger brother. Everything Pete did seemed to come easily: academics, sports, girls. Amandine wasn’t like that. She was too clumsy for sports. And academics? Forget about it. No matter how long she’d stared at her math textbook, she hadn’t been able to figure out basic algebra.
“Pete’s a talented guy, but my business requires more than just talent. And just because you can’t do something he or I can doesn’t mean you aren’t smart.” Gavin speared the last bit of duck from her plate and put it in her mouth.
Left without a choice, she chewed. Her husband wouldn’t give up until she finished everything. Surprisingly, she wasn’t overly stuffed. Maybe she did need some extra calories after the past few days.
“You do things with a canvas that I could never dream of,” Gavin said. “And I spent a year of my life in art class.”
“Can you paint?” She’d never seen him hold a brush, even at the Art4Kids classes.
“If you can consider what I do ‘painting,’ sure.” He grinned. “I thought if I got good enough, I would do nudes.”
“You mean women.”
“Basically. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“How old were you?”
“High school freshman.”
She chortled. “You wasted all that effort for nothing when all you had to do was be yourself.”
“Not enough.”
“You gotta be kidding. I’m sure any girl would’ve been flattered by your attention.” He might have been awkward in his teen years, but his innate charisma and brains would’ve been evident.
“I needed an angle. I was too shy to just lean over and kiss a girl. You know, like this.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips against the corner of her mouth. His tongue traced the gentle curves there.
Amandine trembled at the touch, desire unfurling inside her like a blooming orchid. She’d missed his touch in the last two months. “This solves nothing,” she murmured.
“Then why not just enjoy it?” he whispered.
Oh , why not , she thought. She tilted her head so their mouths could fit better. Her hands rose and wrapped around his shoulders and drew him closer.
No further permission was needed. His mouth grew hungry over hers, and she responded, wanting to consume him, devour this moment so they could never be apart regardless of what she’d said in Samantha’s office. Her right hand traveled and stopped over his heart. It thudded against her palm.
“Feel how much I want you,” he murmured, his voice rough and uneven. “This isn’t just my cock speaking.”
“I know.”
No matter what, Gavin had never let his most basic urges control him. Heat flooded her. This incredible man—her husband—still wanted her like this after three years of marriage.
He brushed the back of his hand over her breast, and she shuddered at the intensity of need his barest touch aroused in her. He picked her up, crushing her to his bare chest, and carried her into the bedroom. His mouth never left hers; with every step, her breasts moved against him, inflaming her further. She wanted to wave a wand and make her dress disappear so her nipples could rub against his wiry hair. Moist heat pooled between her legs, and she felt bereft without him inside her.
He let her body glide down his at the foot of their bed and she moaned softly at the delicious friction. His erection pushed against her belly. She rose to her toes and pressed her lips against his neck where his pulse throbbed. She smelled the ocean and tasted salt on his hot skin. He unzipped her dress and pushed it down her body, groaning at the sight of her lacy demi-bra and matching thong.
“Christ, those’re hot. Good thing I didn’t see them earlier. I might not have waited until you finished dinner.”
She smiled. “You sure? You were pretty determined that I’d have my double portion. Eating for two and all that.”
His palm rested gently on her still-flat stomach. “I still can’t believe you’re carrying my baby.”
Fresh anxiety gnawed at her. “You want it?” They’d never talked about the child beyond what it meant to their marriage. Their lawyers had treated it as a bargaining tool. Amandine didn’t want that for their baby. It should be born into unconditional love.
Gavin’s head snapped up, his dark eyes boring into hers. “Of course I do.”
* * *
How could Amandine doubt that he wanted their baby? Did she think he only saw it as a way to keep her with him? He didn’t have the words to express what the little life inside her meant to him. It was the most precious thing anyone had ever given him. It was a part of her binding with a part of him that would become something bigger than either. He already loved it so much his heart ached, and what he felt for Amandine made his knees weak.
“Gavin?” she said softly.
Tell her . Tell her how you feel .
His throat froze. Whenever he’d expressed his feelings, one way or another he’d lost the person who’d inspired them. Even the mention of a proposal to Catherine had sent her running to another man. On the other hand, he’d never said a word about his intentions toward Amandine while they’d been dating…and here they were.
Better to keep the words and show her instead.
Thinking that whoever invented front-clasp bras should get a Nobel Prize, he unhooked the garment and pulled it off. Her breasts came free, their peaks rosy and pointed. He’d always thought the bigger the better until he’d seen Amandine’s. She had just enough to drive him insane with want.
He rolled her nipples between his fingers, his touch gentle. Their bodies changing, women grew sensitive during pregnancy. Gavin wanted to learn what his stunning wife liked now and make her feel really, really good.
A soft moan escaped her lips, and her hands wrapped around his upper arms. A delicate shade of rose flushed her beautiful cheeks, and she arched her back, pushing her breasts toward him for more.
Who was he to deny her? He obliged, tugging gently on the nipples and observing her reaction. Her breathing grew ragged, her eyes darker and glazed. “Please,” she gasped. “Suck on them. Now.”
Your wish is my command .
He dipped his head and pulled one pointed peak into his mouth. She moaned loudly, her hold on him tight—almost painful—as her long nails dug into his flesh. He didn’t care. What mattered was that she loved what he was doing to her. He moved both of them onto the bed without losing the nipple.
Her back arched, thrusting her breast into him. Her legs parted in welcome, and he reined himself in. Christ, she was beautiful, her response wild and hot. He fingered the delicate folds surrounding her sex and groaned at the slick heat.
His swollen cock grew impossibly hard. He wanted to prolong this, but it’d been so long since he’d been inside her.
He discarded his shorts and underwear in a hurry and rubbed the head of his cock against her clit.
“Oh my god. That feels amazing. Don’t stop…” she moaned.
She spread her thighs wantonly, her knees bent. He pushed two fingers into her and almost exploded at how tightly she clenched around his digits. Gritting his teeth, he pumped his fingers in and out of her, watching her and loving the way pleasure snaked through her, twisting and tightening her gorgeous face.
She couldn’t possibly leave him. No woman who responded to a man like this could walk away. And he wouldn’t let her go, wouldn’t make a relationship-ending mistake. She was his.
His.
Desperate to bring her to orgasm, he knelt and took her clit into his mouth.
“Gavin.” She whispered his name like it was the secret of the universe. “Gavin, Gavin.”
“Yes, baby, yes.” He pressed another finger into her. “Come for me,” he commanded and put his mouth back on her clit, licking, sucking and scraping it with his teeth, while he worked his fingers.
Her body bowed, her head thrown back. A tortured scream tore from her throat as an orgasm spasmed through her.
He kept his mouth on her, helping her ride wave after wave and stroking her gently as she came down from her high. Her face was peach pink, her lips swollen and kissable. Good lord. He was so damn close. Couldn’t wait even a second more.
The burgundy stiletto sandals looked wantonly sexy dangling at the end of her still spread legs. He put them over his shoulders as he positioned himself.
“Yes. I need you,” she said, her eyes glittering with desire. “Let’s make ourselves feel good.”
He thrust into her in one smooth motion. She was so hot and tight, his cock felt like it’d burst inside her in an instant.
Shit.
He hadn’t lost control like that since high school, and he wasn’t going to on his second honeymoon. He moved, setting a good pace that would help him prolong the moment. But from the way her face flushed and her head tossed back and forth, he knew she was really close, just needing a gentle push to send her over into the oblivion of another mind-shattering climax.
Desperate for the release yet even more desperate to hold onto their closeness, he kissed her. Their tongues tangled carnally, and she wrapped around him as though she was afraid he’d vanish.
Never. Never. Not him.
She was the one who was about to slip from his grasp unless he could make her stay beyond the four months. He wanted to make her come so hard, make her feel so ecstatically good, she would want to stay with him for the sex if nothing else.
He slipped a hand between their bodies and bumped his thumb against her clit while increasing the rhythm of his thrusts. She made a soft keening noise that rapidly escalated into a scream, her spine arching as a second orgasm ripped through her. Her inner muscles gripped him hard as they contracted. Teeth clenched, he came, spurting hotly inside her, feeling like the top of his head was exploding with the uncontrollable pleasure of loving his wife.
Instead of collapsing on top of her, he rolled over with her on top of him. Her long curls settled over them like a golden blanket.
More than the sexual satisfaction, it was the sense of peace and rightness of having her in his arms that loosened the knot of tension that had been plaguing him since her bombshell announcement at La Mer. She could see how he felt about her, couldn’t she? She’d forgive him for the disastrous anniversary, right?
