“Gavin . . . Don’t stop.”
“I’ll never stop loving you, Ella. Never.” He sucked hard on her nipple and thrust against her until she came with a sharp cry of pleasure. “Yes, baby, yes. Let me hear you.”
Mindful of their neighbors and who they were, she didn’t fully give in to the urge to scream, but she wanted to.
“Mmm,” he said against her nipple as he continued to stroke his tongue over her sensitive skin. “You’re so hot when you come. I could watch that all day and never get tired of seeing you let go.”
She ran a hand down the front of him, cupping his hardness. “What about you?”
“That was more than enough for me.”
“It wasn’t enough for me. Turn over.”
“No, El, really . . . We don’t have to.”
“Turn over.”
Sighing, he flopped onto his back. “If you touch me, I’ll explode.”
“That’s kind of the idea, isn’t it?” She kissed her way down the front of him, paying homage to his rippling abs before freeing him from the board shorts he’d worn to the beach.
“Ella . . . Christ . . .” As she stroked him, he raised his hips, and true to his word, he came within seconds of her first touch. “Told ya.”
“Feel better?”
“A little.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I won’t feel completely better until I can do that inside you again, until you stop waiting for me to fuck up again, until I’m sure that you’re sure you can trust me to be what you need. Then I’ll feel better.”
She rested her head on his shoulder. “Today was a good day.”
“Tomorrow will be, too. So will the day after and the day after that. You’re stuck with me.”
CHAPTER 29
And now these three remain: faith, hope
and love. But the greatest of these is love.
—1 Corinthians 13:13
Over the next few days, Gavin went out of his way to make sure his actions matched his words, choosing Ella’s company over that of his friends, arranging a candlelight dinner for two on the beach one night and leaving her only once—to play golf with the guys on Thursday afternoon ahead of the dinner Dylan was hosting the night before everyone was due to head home.
While the guys were golfing, Ella spent the afternoon at the spa with Hannah, Cameron and Megan. After a massage and facial, she returned to the room to dress for dinner. Gavin was in the shower when she got back. He emerged a few minutes later with a towel wrapped around his waist and came to find her on the deck.
“Hey, baby,” he said, kissing her temple as he wrapped an arm around her waist. “How was the spa?”
“Heavenly. How was the golf?”
“An exercise in frustration.”
She smiled up at him. “Seems to be the word of the week, huh?” Though they’d continued to make out every chance they got, among other things, they’d yet to actually make love.
“It’s been a great week. I’m sorry it’s already time to go home. Maybe we can come back here sometime.”
“Maybe.”
“Can we take a walk on the beach before dinner?”
“Sure. I need to grab a quick shower, and then I’m all yours.”
“I like the sound of that. All mine.” He leaned in to kiss her. “Don’t keep me waiting too long. I’ve already had to be without you for hours today.”