Chapter Twenty-Six
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A riptide of hunger and possessiveness swept through Gavin as he stared into Autumn’s worried, pale green eyes. He wanted to wipe that look away forever. Prove to her once and for all that she could trust and count on him as her lover and partner no matter what.
“But you—”
“I told you what I wanted the other night. Nothing’s changed for me. If anything, this just solidifies everything.” He reined in his impatience when she looked skeptical. He remembered her reaction in the kite store, the way she’d paled when the woman thought he was Carly’s dad. Then her expression later when he’d said he didn’t want kids. “I know what I said on the beach, but I also told you I love you, and in case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve changed a lot. Matured.”
She nodded, looking contrite. “Yeah, you have.”
“And you know I love Carly to death.” He’d been waiting for months for her to come out here, trying to come up with a plan to confess his feelings and then prove to her that they were meant to be together. He’d wanted them to be permanent. Had never dreamed that she and Carly were already connected to him forever.
Another nod. “But then why did you say that about not wanting kids?”
This wasn’t a comfortable admission, but he had to be honest with her. “Because I don’t want to find out I suck as a father by messing a kid up.”
Her expression softened. “You can’t really believe you would be like him.”
His hands balled into fists on his lap to keep from hauling her off that couch and kissing the breath out of her. If he touched her, there was no way he could stop, and they needed to talk this out. “You know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for either of you, and Carly’s half grown now anyway. I might never have expected this, and I might still be worried that I’ll screw up as a parent, but I’m ready for it. For both of you. There’s no way I’m letting either of you go, no matter what mistakes we made in the past.”
Autumn blinked fast, tears glistening in her eyes. “Do you mean that?”
“God, yes, I’ve never meant anything more in my life.” He reached out a hand, palm up, his throat thickening. “Just give me a chance to prove it to you. I won’t let you down, I swear. Either of you.”
She gave him a tremulous smile, then squeezed his hand in return. Sealing a silent pact.
God.
Suppressing a groan of relief, Gavin tugged her off the cushion and pulled her into his lap, ignoring the pain in his bruised ribs as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. He buried his nose in her soft, clean hair as he closed his eyes and just breathed her in. This felt like a miracle.
“She’s ours, Autie.” He still couldn’t believe it. Everything he’d ever wanted was coming true.
“I know. Isn’t that crazy?” Autumn whispered. She felt like heaven, all warm and soft in his arms, giving him her trust.
The hunger inside him rose sharply. He needed her. Needed her to believe in him. Needed her love. “She’s ours, and I love you both so damned much.”
She lifted her head, cupped his face between her hands to search his eyes. “Gav...”
No more talking. His hand slid around the back of her neck to draw her in for a kiss, but she had other ideas. Instead, she brushed her lips over the Band-Aid on his eyebrow, light as a butterfly’s wings, yet he felt that tenderness all the way to his bones.
She kissed the center of his forehead. The bridge of his nose. His eyelids, taking special care with the swollen one before gliding down his right cheek to the cut on his lip. She kissed it gently. Once, twice, while desire and anticipation coiled tighter inside him, his body already hard and ready for her. He took over and pulled her mouth to his, ignoring the sting of the cut.
He was starving for this. For her to trust him enough to lower the protective wall she’d put between them and let him in completely. He was going to worship her, show her how good it would be between them. Wanted to imprint himself on her on an elemental level so that she would never want to pull away after this.
His hand cradled her jaw as he consciously gentled the kiss, teasing her tongue with his. He wanted her to be as desperate as him. Never wanted her to forget tonight.
She made a soft sound of yearning that ripped through him and pressed closer, her rounded breasts flush against his chest. Mindful that Carly was just down the hall, he stood, taking Autumn with him.
She locked her legs around his waist, her arms wrapped around the back of his neck as he carried her to his room. He gave her more slow, decadent kisses along the way that had him hard as a pole and her squirming in his grasp.
He pushed the door shut with one hand, locked it, then turned and swiftly crossed the plush carpet to lower her onto his bed. He’d imagined her here so many damned times.
She moaned softly into his mouth when he came down on top of her, bracing most of his weight on his elbows as he covered her face in more kisses. Trailed them down the side of her neck while his hands found the hem of her top and pulled it over her head, leaving her in a black bra sheer enough that her pink nipples were visible through the lace.
He stroked them with his thumb. Delved his tongue into her mouth while he pinched them gently, drinking in her plaintive cry.
One hand slid beneath her to undo the catch. The scrap of fabric slid easily off her arms, leaving her breasts bared to his ravenous gaze. They were fuller, softer than he remembered.
He cradled them, dipped his head to suck one, then the other, rubbing his tongue across the sensitive tip. This was so much better than last time. More intimate.
Autumn’s hands plunged into his hair and held him there, arching up to his mouth like an offering. By the time he got her pants off, they were both breathing fast.
He eased off her and sat back on his haunches, looking down the length of her gorgeous body to the scrap of lace between her thighs. Helped her strip his shirt off, the swift burn across his ribs barely registering under the heat roaring through him.
“Oh,” she breathed, sitting up to gingerly stroke her fingers across the deep bruise that was turning from black to purple and green. “Oh, Gav.”
“I’m fine,” he assured her, and lifted her chin to capture her lips once more. He didn’t want her worrying about him right now. He wanted her so far gone she couldn’t even speak, much less think, focused only on the orgasm he was about to deliver.
He pressed her down onto her back, sat up to glide his palms down the length of her shapely legs, over her thighs and calves. Then he slid them back up, slowly, pausing to tease the center of her panties with his thumbs.
She sucked in a breath and parted her thighs more, watching him with glowing green eyes. He tugged her panties off, slid his arms under her thighs and parted them to make enough room for himself between them.
The sight of her slick, pink folds made his mouth water, her clit peeking out at the top. He lowered his head, tightened his grip around her thighs, and dipped down to run his tongue along her.
This is how it should have been the first time. But the wait made it all the more intense. More meaningful.
She gripped handfuls of his hair, a tight sound of need coming from her throat. He did it again. And again, a little firmer, pausing at the top to swirl around the sensitive bud.
“God, Gavin,” she groaned, pulling him closer.
He went willingly, delving deeper, stroking and sucking her tender flesh, then sliding a finger into her core to make it even better. She whimpered and threw her head back on the pillow, breathing fast.
He slid a second finger inside her. Caressed the edge of her clit with the flat of his tongue. Felt the ripple that sped through her taut muscles.
He’d dreamed of her like this so many times. Fantasized about his tongue between her legs while he made her mindless, made her beg for him. But it went way deeper than just the physical now. He wouldn’t settle for anything less than all of her, body and soul.
He focused on her every reaction, the ache in his cock almost unbearable as he pushed her higher. When her thighs and belly tensed, her fingers clenching in his hair, he stopped to quickly strip off the rest of his clothes. He pulled out the condom he’d put in his pocket, came up on his knees to tear it open.
Autumn sat up to run her palms over his chest and down his belly, the feel of her hands on his bare skin forcing the remaining blood out of his head to pool in his groin. Her soft, slender fingers slid lower, finally wrapped around his cock and stroked up to the tip.
He hissed in a breath as pleasure licked up his spine, grasped her hand to still it, and they rolled the condom down him together. Feeling her hands on him was incredible.
“Lie down.” His voice was guttural.
She twined around him as he came down on top of her, kissing her slow and deep as he positioned his throbbing cock at her entrance. He settled his thumb along the edge of her clit, stroked gently as he slid the head in.
The heated friction was so fucking good. His chest heaved with the effort of holding back when all he wanted to do was bury himself to the hilt.
He broke the kiss, braced on one forearm to cradle the side of her face in his hand as he slowly eased forward, stroking that sweet spot inside her. The sound she made set his blood on fire.
She clung to him, moving with his slow, shallow thrusts while he drank in every nuance of her pleasure-drenched expression. Reveled in the way she writhed beneath him.
She was close. So close while he felt like he was slowly dying, tendrils of ecstasy wrapping along his spinal column.
Steeling himself, he pushed deep in a smooth, controlled thrust that seated him to the hilt in her slick heat. His heart pounded, his pulse thudding in his ears over the sound of his strained breathing. He smothered her fractured cry with another sensual kiss, flicked his tongue along hers before lifting his head, the pleasure eating him alive.
“Tell me you love me,” he demanded, watching her face. He needed to hear the words from her. Now. Nothing held back.
Her eyes opened slowly, hazy and heavy-lidded as she gazed up at him while he was buried deep inside her.
He caressed her clit again, driving the point home. He was in charge, wouldn’t let her come until she gave him what he wanted. What he needed. “Say it.”
“Yes, yes, I love you, I always have,” she gasped out, her voice tight, breathless.
He growled low in his throat, drew his hips back slightly and thrust again, this time faster, his heart about to burst with triumph and tenderness. Seeing that level of enjoyment on her face while he was buried deep, knowing he was responsible for it and about to give her an incredible orgasm, was the biggest rush he’d ever known.
“Tell me you’re mine.”
Autumn nodded helplessly, her eyes squeezing shut, fingers biting deep into his back. “I’m yours. Gavin—”
He rocked his hips forward again, every slick, exquisite inch of friction along his cock sending streamers of fire licking up his spine. Again. And again. A steady, endless rhythm while the last of her control disintegrated.
Her core rippled around him. He captured her lips with his just in time to drink in her shattered cry as she started coming, the slick pulses milking his cock.
A low growl of mingled pride and ecstasy locked in his throat. He rode her just like that until he couldn’t take it anymore and the orgasm ripped through him, more intense than he’d ever known.
There was nothing but this moment. Only him and Autumn, the two of them connected as deeply and intimately as humanly possible, clinging to each other while release crashed through them.
When the sensation finally began to fade into little pulses he groaned and slowly lowered his full weight onto her, his body sinking into her soft, warm embrace. She sighed and stroked a lazy hand through his hair, down his nape to his damp back, gliding up and down. Soothing. Calming.
She was the center of his universe. Always had been.
“I love you,” she murmured into the stillness of the room.
He slid his arms underneath her torso to hug her tight. Hearing her say those words in the quiet aftermath when she was clear-headed was even sweeter than when he’d been inside her. “Love you too.”
Her touch gentled even more when her fingers paused on his bruised ribs. “You okay?”
The bruise was throbbing with its own heartbeat, but he had zero regrets. “Are you kidding? I’m fantastic. Don’t even feel it now.”
“Liar.” She kissed his shoulder, made a contented sound and was silent for a long moment before speaking again. “What do you want to do about Carly? We have to tell her.”
“We’ll tell her tomorrow. Then my family. Then your parents.”
“You sure you want to tell everyone this soon?”
He didn’t even hesitate. “Positive.”
“They’re gonna be shocked.”
“They’ll deal. And Tris already knows.”
Her hand stilled in the middle of his back. “He does?”
“I told him when we were out looking for Carly.”
“Oh. How did he react?”
“He was surprised, and I’m pretty sure if we hadn’t been in the middle of the search, he would have done a Decker and taken a strip off me for having a one night stand with you back then.”
“Well, he’s always been my other favorite twin.”
The unhurt side of his mouth lifted at her sass. “You know he’s always loved you like a sister. And that he adores Carly. I think he’s ecstatic to know she’s his blood.”
“He can take over being her funcle now.”
He chuckled softly. “Yeah.” He sobered, a moment of self-doubt hitting hard.
As if sensing his tension, she tipped her head back to look up at him. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m kinda late to the parenting party. I have no idea what I’m doing.”
She snorted. “Hate to break it to you, but none of us really know what we’re doing with the whole parenting thing. We just do our best as we go.”
“You say that because you’re a natural. You’re an incredible mom, have been since day one.”
“I’ve had my moments over the years, believe me.”
“You’ve been Carly’s rock and biggest supporter, providing her constant love, guidance and stability her entire life. She doesn’t know how lucky she is to have you as a mom.” Autumn had always had her shit together, had provided a stable, loving, and supportive home for Carly all by herself while juggling a job and managing her household. Sure, her parents had helped out when she needed, but Autumn had borne the day to day things alone for the past dozen years.
“Aww, that’s lovely of you to say so. But for the record, I already know you’ll be an amazing father. You’ve loved her since she was a baby. Today you risked your life to save her. That should tell you everything you need to know about what kind of parent you’ll be.”
Okay, there was that. If love was enough, and with Autumn there to guide him, maybe he wouldn’t fuck up too badly.
“And besides, she’s about to be a teenager. I’m gonna need all the backup I can get,” Autumn said dryly.
“God help me,” he moaned. “Suddenly a dad to a teenage girl. It’s like a bad comedy.” He thought about himself going through puberty and the teenage years, all the attitude he’d thrown all over the place. Poor Marley.
“No, you’ll be fine. I have faith in you.” She cuddled up again, her cheek nestled over his heart. God, he loved holding her like this and knowing she was his. “We still have so much to talk about.”
“We’ll handle it all starting tomorrow, so don’t worry about anything else. The rest of tonight’s just for us.”
She hummed softly, and her lips curved into a smile as he leaned in for another kiss. “I love the sound of that. I didn’t dream all this, right? This is really happening?”
“You need more proof?” He stroked the pads of his fingers down her spine, making her shiver.
A naughty gleam twinkled in her eyes. “I might.”
“Sweetness, I’m more than happy to oblige.”
He rolled her onto her back and blanketed her with his weight. But as incredible as it felt, he couldn’t fully relax. Because Autumn was right. They had a lot to figure out in a short time since she and Carly were still leaving in only a few days. “Can you change your flight back and stay another week or two?”
She stroked her fingers down the side of his face. “Wish we could, but Carly has to present her report at school, and then there’s her grad ceremony that Friday.”
Yeah. Damn. “I’ll ask for some time off tomorrow. I want to be there for that.”
“Carly would be thrilled. We both would.”
He came up on his elbows, ignoring the flash of pain in his ribs, and stared down into her eyes. “Stay here with me.”
Her lips twitched. “I already am. All my stuff’s in your closet and bathroom.”
“No, I mean come live here with me.”
He could feel her surprise and rushed on before she could voice any protests. “Don’t say it’s too fast, because it’s not. We’ve known each other our whole lives, and we love each other.”
“All right. I won’t say it.”
“You told me once that your boss would let you work remotely. Carly’s moving to a new school this summer, and she told me most of her friends are all scattering to different districts, so she’ll have to make new ones anyway. The high school here is great, and there are tons of sports teams and clubs for her to join if she wants. We’ll get our own place, find a little house with an ocean view. Carly could finally get a cat.”
Autumn snickered and wrapped her arms around his back, the way her curves cushioned his weight pure perfection. Soothing him on a level he hadn’t known existed until now. “I’ll think about it. But mostly because of the ocean view and the cat.”
His lips twitched. They still had a lot of things to work out, and everything was moving at warp speed. Even so, this didn’t feel rushed. So fuck it. He was putting it all out there right now, making it clear. “I’m marrying you.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Are you asking, or telling?”
He dropped a tender kiss on her upturned lips, his heart overflowing with love for this woman. “Just giving you fair warning that I plan to make you mine forever.”