The muffled sound of wheels rolling over rustic hardwood turns my head in the direction of the door. A tall man in black pants and a white chef’s tunic enters the room with us now, bringing in a silver cart of covered bowls and pedestaled plates with him.
Although I’ve only seen Gavin Castille on television and the Internet, his trademark dimpled grin and mane of beachy blond hair is unmistakable. The power of that grin, coupled with his pale green eyes, hits me like a tidal wave blast as he approaches Nick and me at the table. After cuffing Nick on the shoulder, Gavin looks at me.
“You must be Avery.” He holds out his large hand, and my fingers are engulfed in his warm, firm grasp. “Everything to your liking tonight?”
“Yeah, um, yes,” I stammer. “Everything was incredible.”
“Glad to hear it. I don’t make a lot of house calls, but my good buddy here said this one was special.” He glances at Nick, giving him a crooked smile. “You weren’t kidding, mate.”
Nick’s gaze is still searing me, but my senses are tempted by all of the intriguing goodies hidden beneath the polished steel domes on the dessert cart Gavin has brought. I smell warm chocolate, buttery cake, and fresh fruit. I can’t see what awaits us, but I’m certain it’s decadent.
“How did you manage all of this?”
“Aussie magic,” Gavin replies with a wink. “And a portable, full kitchen in the truck we’ve got parked out back of the building.”
“Castille on Wheels,” Nick adds drolly.
“Hey, that’s not bad.”
“I’ll have my assistant bill you for the marketing advice.”
Gavin chuckles. “Yeah, you would, ya bastard.”
As impressed as I am with Nick for his tremendous business success and his obvious erotic prowess, it is this other side of him I’m seeing now that makes me fall even further under his spell. I love his thoughtful generosity when it comes to the children he aims to help through his recreation center project. I love his unexpected romanticism with me tonight, and his easy camaraderie with his friend.
God, the truth is, I simply love . . . him.
“All right, you two,” Gavin says, giving a clap of his hands. “We’re cleaned up and ready to roll. I’ve sent my staff home and I’ll be shoving off here in a minute myself.”
Nick nods. “Lock up on your way out.”
“You got it, chief.” Gavin pivots to me and offers a slight bow. “My lady, a pleasure.”
“Thank you, Gavin. Nice to meet you too.” I glance at Nick in question as our handsome personal chef strides out of the room, cutting the lights as he goes, and leaving us alone under the candle light. “They’re not going to serve the dessert?”
“No,” Nick says, a dark glimmer in his eyes. “I am.”
Chapter 10
I watch, transfixed and anxious, as Nick slowly stands up, unfastening his tie. Draping it over the back of his chair where his jacket rests, he steps away from the table and walks toward me, casually rolling the sleeves of his white shirt up on his muscled forearms.
“Don’t move, Avery.”
Oh, God. I couldn’t if I tried. His voice is so deep with carnal command, it roots me to my seat.
I’m not even certain I’m breathing as he approaches me on the other side of the table. He’s so tall and powerful, so darkly masculine, everything female inside me responds with eager, wanton invitation.
“You look so beautiful tonight,” he murmurs, reaching down to cup my face in the cradle of his broad palm. “Do you have any idea how hard it was for me not to send everyone away so I could touch you—so I could taste you—the way I’ve been dying to all damn night?”
His words make me shiver. They make the warm, wet knot of yearning between my legs twist even hotter, even wetter. His fingers slide beneath my chin, traveling along my jaw line toward my ear as he moves behind me now. I close my eyes when his hands come to rest lightly on my shoulders. The heat of his body at my back radiates so intensely it’s a wonder I don’t melt right where I sit.
“Jesus, these pearls,” he says, moving his hands down onto the swells of my breasts, then into the tender valley between them where the long strand is nestled. He leans down, so close to my ear that his voice vibrates through me. “I can’t see you in them without remembering how sexy yo
u looked with them roped around your wrists while I fucked you.”
“Yes.” My words shudder out of me, my heart pounding rapidly. “That’s all I think of when I’m wearing them too.”
My sex clenches at the memory of his cock buried deep within me and his finger delving into the tight channel of my ass until I came in wave after wave of violent pleasure. For as long as I live, I know I’ll never be able to see a string of pearls and not think of Nick and all of the dirty, wicked, delicious things we’ve done together.