The Article

ANNA

I had no idea how to respond as he carried me through the pool, over to the steps, and out across the path to the main house.

“You were with Chelsea,” I said quietly as he pulled open the back door.

“You were twenty,” he pointed out. “You were a bright-eyed kid, and I was your boss. I figured it was an infatuation, and I needed to ignore it. Plus, you were by far the best assistant I ever had. I wasn’t willing to risk losing you.”

He walked through the house with both of us dripping on the hardwood floors. I cringed inwardly at the thought but tried to maintain my composure.

Finally, he set me down on the kitchen counter and stood between my legs. My hands were still wrapped around the base of his neck, and his were on my hips.

“I couldn’t get over you,” he admitted. “You are one of the most pure-hearted people I’ve ever met, despite how hard you’ve had to work. Not to mention how smart and beautiful you are. I admire your determination to make it on your own.

“Obviously, I never acted on my feelings,” he continued. “But I couldn’t help but watch you become this incredible, confident woman and wish to have more of you in my life.”

“Why now?” I asked. “What made you suddenly decide you wanted to be married?”

His hands tightened where he held me, and I frowned in confusion. He seemed to notice and sighed before loosening his grip and shaking his head.

“You started your mission to find a man,” he said with obvious annoyance. “It started to bother me more and more to hear you talk about dating. So much so that it became impossible to ignore.”

I giggled. “You could’ve just offered to take me on a date.”

“You never would have said yes,” he scoffed. “You always kept things professional.”

I stayed quiet and avoided eye contact.

“I dunno,” I murmured. “I might have agreed.”

He gave my sides a gentle squeeze before leaning closer.

“Did you have a little crush on your boss, Ms. Miller?” he asked teasingly.

I knew he was joking, but it was hard for me to see the humor. I looked up at him and felt my cheeks heat.

“Of course I did,” I said quietly. “To me, you’ve always been larger than life, Gavin.”

“Hmm.” His brow furrowed. “You’ve always treated me like anyone else.”

“Should I have treated you differently?” I asked as my hands once again started trailing their way over his body of their own volition. Up close and barely dressed, he was all but irresistible.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” he said. I placed a kiss on the pulse at the base of his neck. “It’s just—”

He stopped and drew in a sharp breath when I shifted closer to the edge and pressed my body to his.

“Mm-hmm,” I murmured and nipped at his chin. “I’m listening.”

“That’s very distracting,” he responded huskily.

He thrust his hips slightly so that the bulge at his groin ground against my center. I wrapped my arms around him and ran my fingers through his hair before kissing his lips. His mouth met mine with vigor while his hands cupped my ass to press me against him.

I couldn’t resist the urge to circle my hips against his and relished the delicious friction. He’d successfully gotten me completely hot and bothered in the pool.

Even with the weight of our conversation, I couldn’t help but remember the way we spent the night before. I craved him. Based on the arousal tenting his boxers, the feeling was mutual.

One of his hands slipped under the triangle of my bikini top, and I gasped in pleasure as I arched against him. I slipped a hand into his waistband and felt the smooth flesh there. He groaned as I started to stroke him and met my touch with a thrust of his own.

I felt my top give way as he untied the back before tossing the material to the floor. He leaned back slightly to look at me, and I fought the urge to shrink away from his gaze. He lifted my chin with one finger.

“Fucking gorgeous, Annalise,” he said. “You’re perfect.”

His head dipped, and I moaned as he took one of my nipples in his mouth and swirled his tongue. The sensation was so intense, I couldn’t tell whether I wanted to pull him closer or push him away.

When his long fingers pushed my bottoms to the side and plunged into my folds, my head fell back with a cry.

Gavin caught me before lowering my back to the cool marble counter. His eyes darkened further as he scanned over my body splayed before him. I reached for him, but he shifted lower. When I realized what he was about to do, I tried to protest. He placed a firm hand on my stomach and shouldered my thighs wider.

My back arched as his mouth found my center. It was an ecstasy that I’d never felt, and my reservations were quickly forgotten.

I felt him grin when I fisted my hands in his hair and pulled him to me. His pace quickened, and I felt my climax as a growing heat in my abdomen.

“Please,” I begged.

I wasn’t sure what I was asking for until I felt Gavin slip two fingers into my slick entrance. His tongue flicked over my clit while his fingers pumped me. It was mere moments before I cascaded over the edge, shouting his name. He kept up his delicious torture until I was a languid puddle before him.

When he stood from between my parted thighs, Gavin licked his lips and stared down at me like a predator hunting prey. I reached for him, but he caught my wrists.

He lifted me up and spun me around so that my front faced the counter. With a gentle but firm hand, he pushed down on my back between my shoulder blades.

I tensed and felt my breath quicken. I was standing on my tiptoes just to reach the floor. That position made me all but powerless to resist him, even if I had wanted to. Gavin leaned forward so that his torso pushed me down farther. The difference in the cool of the marble to his warm body made my skin pebble.

“Relax, Annalise. I have you,” he said calmly into my ear. “Do you trust me?”

His voice was like a siren’s song that I was compelled to follow. I nodded slowly and forced my body to do as he said.

He kissed the small of my back before I felt him bend over to pull off my bikini bottoms. The cool air in his absence made me feel all the more exposed, and the fact that I couldn’t see what he was doing was both nerve-racking and exhilarating.

A breath later, I felt his length push against my entrance.

“So wet for me, baby,” he murmured approvingly.

With a quick thrust, he slid to the hilt, and I cried out. He remained still only briefly and then grabbed onto my hips as he set a demanding pace.

Despite the cold countertop, my entire body felt as though it was on fire.

“Your ass is incredible,” his voice broke through my sexed haze. “I love watching my dick between your cheeks.”

I moaned his name as he drove deeper. He reached between my legs and circled his thumb around my clit.

The added sensation was enough to send my eyes rolling to the back of my head.

I was getting close to the edge when he suddenly pulled me back against him with a hand around my throat. It wasn’t tight enough to restrict my breathing, but I found the thought that it might be surprisingly erotic.

He kept my hips pinned between him and the counter as he continued to thrust.

“You are mine,” he growled into my ear, and I moaned in response. “Say it, Annalise,” he commanded. “You are mine.”

“I’m yours,” I answered breathlessly.

He flicked over my clit again before I broke apart around him with a cry. My hands grabbed onto his forearm still at my neck to keep myself upright.

He quickened his pace for a moment before stiffening with a grunt behind me. I felt his warmth spill inside of me as my walls clenched around him.

We stood there for several breaths. My entire body felt spent.

If not for him holding me, I wasn’t sure I could remain upright.

“I need you to promise me something,” he said in a low voice.

“Hmm?”

“No matter what, you won’t leave without saying something again. Ever,” he said. I heard the seriousness in his tone. “I know you said you wouldn’t make that promise before, but I need you to.” He shook his head and swallowed. “If you’re going to leave me, I at least deserve to know why.”

I leaned my head back to look up at him. He looked somewhat tortured, with a deep frown marring his handsome face.

I reached up to touch his cheek.

“I promise,” I said quietly. “I won’t leave without telling you where I’m going.”

He wrapped his arms tighter around me and buried his face in the crook of my neck.

I leaned further into his hold, knowing otherwise I might fall completely.