“I didn’t say that,” he chuckles. “I said never with a stranger. The last woman I was with…it was a brief friends-with-benefits type of thing right before I moved here. Before that, I was with my ex-wife, Hailey, and before her, my high school girlfriend. That’s it.”
I do the math in my head. “So, you’re saying that you’ve only slept with three women in your entire life?”
“Yep.” He pulls the car into a driveway. “Is that a problem?”
I think about how many guys I’ve been with since I lost my virginity at fifteen. I couldn’t give you an exact number, but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s almost ten times that many. “Not as long as you don’t have a problem with my number.” He starts to open his mouth but I cut him off. “Before you ask, I can’t give you one. Not that I don’t want to; I can’t. But I’m always safe. Always.”
Gavin pulls his key out of the ignition and contemplates that for a moment. “No judgment, Red. We all have a past, right?”
I release a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “Right.”
“This is it.” He nods toward the house as we both step out of the car.
I look up at the quaint cottage-style home which is pretty typical for any beach community. The porch light allows me to see a bench under the overhang with flower beds in front. The yard is perfectly manicured and lined with an honest-to-God white picket fence. Overall, the place seems to be in remarkably good condition. I can hear waves pounding against the rocky shore so I’m sure it has a great ocean view during the day too.
“Nice place. Vacation rental?” Rentals are pretty popular along the coast during the summer months.
“It used to be,” he nods. “I’ve only been here a week so I haven’t had much of a chance to put my stamp on it. It was move-in ready, though, so I’m not complaining.”
“You bought it?” Cybil and I have lived in a run-down apartment my whole life. Well, when I wasn’t bouncing around the system anyway. I couldn’t imagine being able to afford this place. Although it’s not very large, maybe fifteen hundred square feet at best, it’s well-cared for with a view. That’s not cheap real estate, even in shitty Depoe Bay. Usually places like this are owned by wealthy people who rent it out for a week or two at a time.
Gavin shrugs. “I made a nice profit on my house in Sausalito after the divorce. I wanted to stay by the water but in a much smaller town. This place fit the bill.”
“But why this town?”
“I got a job,” he replies. “I applied for several positions along the coast and this one came up first.”
“And what job is that again?”
He smirks. “What was it you do for a living, Red?”
Oh right…we’re not discussing that. “Touché.”
Opening the front door, he says, “You coming?”
I step toward him with a cheeky grin. “If you do your part right, I will be.”
So fast I can barely register the movement, he grabs a fistful of my hair and fuses his mouth to mine. Holy fuck! His lips are just as soft as I imagined but there’s nothing forgiving about this kiss. He dives into my mouth with no hesitation whatsoever. His velvety tongue caresses mine, mimicking what I hope our lower bodies will be doing shortly. His hard muscles press against me in the doorway, the frame digging into my back while his large erection grinds into my stomach. This man is pure cockiness right now. There’s no doubt about who’s in charge as he works me into a fever pitch. What kind of game is he playing? And why am I so effing turned on by the possibilities?
He pulls away, leaving me panting for breath. “Does that give you an idea of what to expect?”
I nod dumbly. “Uh huh.”
He opens the door fully and gestures for me to come in. With a boyish grin he adds, “Good.”
He leads me through the foyer, past a large dining room, into an eat-in country kitchen. I smile when I see the ceramic roosters perched atop the cabinets.
“So, you have a thing for cocks, huh?”
His eyes follow mine and he barks in laughter. “Not really my scene…but I’ve recently developed a fondness for you saying cock.” He punctuates his statement with a wink. “The roosters came with the house, I swear. They’ll be one of the first things to go. They don’t exactly scream bachelor pad. I’m afraid they’re already affecting my game.”
“Maybe just a little,” I agree.
He wags his brows. “Then I’ll just have to rectify that.”
“Oh yeah?” I ask playfully. “And how are you going to do that? Now that I think about it, they are pretty emasculating.”
He places his hands on my hips, leans into my neck, and inhales. “You smell incredible. I want to devour you.”