He kissed her again, nipping at her bottom lip.
She wrapped her hand around his nape to keep him there, opening her mouth to his tongue. After having a taste of him, she was hungry for more. She had a big week coming up at work with the staff retreat on Friday night and the subsequent kickoff of the holiday shopping season. They really ought to blow out the candles and go to sleep or she’d be a wreck tomorrow.
But with Gavin Guthrie naked in her bed and throbbing inside her, sleep was the very last thing on her mind.
CHAPTER 9
The only cure for grief is action.
—George Henry Lewes
It had been a very long time since Gavin had felt as good as he did lying in Ella’s arms after making love to her for the first time. The spinning had stopped, the sickening despair was gone and what remained was a tiny kernel of hope that wanted to bloom into something strong and lasting.
She was like an oasis, offering him things he hadn’t known he needed. Her sweet softness was a welcome respite from the hell his life had become.
The stroke of her fingers through his hair soothed and calmed the restlessness he carried with him always.
“Gav?”
“Hmm?”
“Can I ask you something that’s none of my business?”
“Sure.”
“Why aren’t you going to Dylan’s wedding?”
The question took him by surprise, and he had no idea how to reply in a way that she would understand. “Work is so busy. It’s hard for me to get away.”
“Surely you have someone you could leave in charge for a few days.”
“I suppose, but I’d be stressed out worrying about it the whole time I was gone, so why bother going?”
“Because your good friend is getting married, and he wants you there?”
Gavin already felt guilty enough about declining the invitation to Dylan’s wedding. How could he explain that Dylan was really Caleb’s friend, and the only reason he’d been invited was because he was Caleb’s brother? “I’d love to be there.” He said what she needed to hear, because the truth was too painful to discuss, especially when he was feeling so damned good for a change. “Dylan understands about the business and how hard it is for me to get away.”
“Hmm.”
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing, I’m just listening.”
“Why do I feel like there’s so much more you want to say?”
She didn’t say anything for a long time. And then . . . “It’s just, I wonder . . .”
“What do you wonder?”
“What’s the point of being self-employed if you can’t do what you want once in a while?”
“You’re self-employed. Do you get to do whatever you want?”
“For the most part. We try to respect the fact that we have nice jobs and are fortunate to work for ourselves. We don’t take advantage, but no one is hanging over our shoulders making sure we do our jobs. Hunter wants us there on time in the morning because it sets the right example for the sales force, and we agree with that. As much as we love the store and working for the family business, we have lives outside of work that we love just as much. It’s called balance. You need to get some if you feel like you can’t take a week off once in a while.”
She made good points, and they were things he’d certainly thought of himself. However, work brought a rhythm to his days that he badly needed to stay on track. The thought of a week without work made him twitchy and nervous. If he hadn’t had his business to focus on over the last seven years, he’d probably be institutionalized by now.
As much as he loved the way he felt when he was around her, especially now that they’d made love, she was the one mirror he couldn’t avoid. She saw him so clearly. His bullshit didn’t stand a chance against those insightful brown eyes that studied him so knowingly.
Grasping the base of the condom, he withdrew from her carefully.