The ache was a constant, but he was glad she was there to help him through it. He wrapped his arm around her.
“There’s nothing scarier than the possibility of losing someone you love.”
Where was she going with this? He frowned, looked down at her. Tears shimmered in her eyes.
She had no family, none that counted anyway.
Except his.
He pulled her around to face him. “It’s okay to love them like they’re yours, Lizzie.”
Her bottom lip trembled.
His tough Elizabeth, never one to show weakness to anyone. She had to be everyone’s rock. Who was hers?
“Baby, I’m okay,” he said.
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
He drew her against him, and she let out a hiccup of a sob, and he realized she was the one who needed to fall apart.
“It’s okay. Let it go.”
She shuddered, then gasped, clutching the back of his shirt as she wrapped her arms around him and released into a full cry.
Oh, damn. It was gut-wrenching hearing her sob out her heartache over his dad. Tears pricked his eyes as he held on to her while she wept. He stroked her hair, kissed her head, held tight to her, and let her cry it out. And with every tear she shed, he realized that the shell she kept around herself all these years was nothing but a fa?ade to protect herself.
This was the real Elizabeth.
She had a heart. She had feelings. She cared.
She cared about his family, about him. She cared about his father, his mother. She even cared about Mick, and she’d made a mistake, a mistake she’d paid heavily for.
And she’d had no one to lean on when she fell.
She sniffed, pulled back, and tilted her head to look at him. Despite the tear-streaked face, she’d put the shell back on, because she was smiling again.
“I think I’m supposed to be taking care of you.”
He swept his thumb across her cheek, wiping away the remnant of a tear. “You did.”
“I’m sorry, Gavin. I didn’t mean to fall apart like that.” She tried to pull back, but he wouldn’t let her, held her there in his arms.
“You’re entitled to care about my father.”
“Of course I care about your father.”
She was trying to brush it off as something less than what it was to her. He wasn’t going to let it go that easy. “Sometimes the world falls apart. Sometimes your world falls apart. And it’s okay for you to let people in and let them see you crumble.”
She lifted her chin, her barriers back in place. “You didn’t crumble.”
“Didn’t I? You’ve been leading me around for hours now. I wouldn’t have been able to find my way to the hospital, let alone my dad’s room, without you guiding me. I was in a haze, Lizzie. I couldn’t have done it without you helping me.”
She blinked, droplets clinging to the spikes of her lashes. Her eyes were wide pools of sea green, mesmerizing him. Her lips parted, and he suddenly wanted to offer her comfort and maybe take some for himself.
He brushed his lips against hers. Without question she kissed him back, her soft hands at his back switching to her nails digging in as the quiet kiss turned more demanding.
Passion flared, and need arose. Hunger flashed between them, and Gavin pushed her onto the bed. Elizabeth pulled off her top, kicked off her sandals, and scooted back on the bed, already drawing her Capris down her hips while he tore his shirt over his head and reached for the button and zipper of his jeans.
She had her bra and panties off by the time he was naked. He climbed onto the bed and grabbed her, needing the feel of her skin against his. It had only been hours since they’d made love, but his need for Elizabeth was like a hunger that hadn’t even come close to being satisfied. Only she could give him what he needed. He needed to get lost inside her, to shut out what had happened at least for a little while, to feel nothing but pleasure, nothing but her heart beating against his, his cock swelling inside her, her heat surrounding him.
She held out her arms, and he came to her, already hard. He slid inside her and put his mouth on her mouth, driving away everything but her touch, her taste, her skin against his. Her moans and the way she lifted against him were all he needed right now.
She wrapped her legs around him, and he drove against her, lifting up on his hands to look down at her as her gaze met his. Her lips parted, her lids partially closed as he shifted and ground against her, making sure to rock his body against her clit. He wanted to take her there, to make her come so she’d shatter around him.
She scored her nails down his arms, the sensation rocketing to his balls. He shifted and drove deeper inside her, reaching for one of her legs so he could push her knee against her chest, needing to be deeper inside her.