“You really want to know?” he asks.
No. “Yes.”
“Let’s just say… over the six months I was writing Killing the Tides, I did a lot of experimenting. You can call it research if you want.”
I give a nervous laugh. “Like bondage or something.”
He never drops his eyes from mine, and his voice is hard when he admits, “BDSM, multiple partners, orgies, anal, voyeurism, sex in public. You name it… I probably tried it. Does that turn you on or off, Sweet?”
My mouth falls open in disbelief, and a strange feeling takes hold. I’m slightly disgusted by this, but at the same time, a little bit turned on. I realize without a doubt that I’m completely out of my league with him, and that what we did this morning… while it was the most erotic thing that’s ever happened to me… it’s probably on the tame side for him.
Sadness overwhelms me as I realize and think to myself, How could I ever be enough for him?
“What about you?” Gavin asks, not bothering to wait for my answer. Not that I’d ever admit that what he said turned me on or off.
I blink at him. “What about me?”
“The unprotected sex,” he says with a smirk. “I’ve assured you, now you assure me.”
My face burns hot, and my eyes lower to the table. I fiddle with my napkin on my lap, because how presumptuous of me not to have immediately put his mind at ease.
“Sweet?” he calls to me softly. “I can tell you don’t have much experience, so I’m not too worried about catching anything from you. Am I right?”
My eyes lift to him, and I nod in assent.
“But—”
“And I’m on the pill,” I say hastily.
Gavin’s breath comes out in a rush of relief, and he says, “Thank God.” I find it interesting that he was clearly more worried about me getting pregnant than getting a dose of the clap, although both seem equally disconcerting to me.
He smiles at me then, and it’s the most brilliant smile I’ve seen on his face yet. He reaches his hand across the table at me, and I release my napkin to take it. “Now that that’s out of the way, tell me your secret.”
“My secret?” I ask in confusion.
“The secret you said you would tell me maybe someday,” he reminds me while stroking his thumb over the back of my hand.
“Oh, that,” I say with immediate understanding. “It’s not all that interesting.”
“It must be if it’s a secret,” he prompts.
“It’s not really a secret. It’s public knowledge, just not something I talk about.”
“Yet, you told Brody about it.”
“He’s my friend… my closest.”
“I’m betting Brody was never as close to you as I was this morning… when I was deep inside your body.”
I pull my hand away and glare at him. “Why do you always try to shock me with your sexual innuendos?”
“Love,” Gavin drawls in that sexy, English accent. “That wasn’t innuendo. That was pure fact… I was deep inside your body this morning, feeling every inch of your sweet pussy surrounding me.”
“Stop it,” I hiss at him across the table.
He leans back in his chair slowly, giving me a calculated smile. Drumming his fingers on the table, he says, “It’s time for you to stop being shy with me, Sweet. I know you inside and out now.”
“You don’t know anything about me,” I counter.
“I know plenty. I know you’re unbelievably sweet, kind, and caring. I know you have an amazing work ethic. I know you’re smart and funny, and you’re fucking sexy as hell. I also know that you’re a risk taker and that you are nothing like I first thought you were. I know you’re private and timid, but when you get angry, you stand up for yourself. I know your body feels amazing wrapped around me, and I know that I want to feel it again… tonight as a matter of fact. I know that I love to hear you scream in pleasure, and I know my cock is aching for you right this very minute. If I thought you’d let me, I’d pull you into the bathroom right now and fuck you standing in one of the stalls, hopefully while someone came in, and we’d have to be very quiet so as not to get caught. And I know… without a doubt, you’d scream anyway, regardless of the danger.”
Heat courses through my body, along with gratification that he does know quite a bit about me already. That means he was looking at far more than just my tits and ass, and he has found appreciation outside of those things that normally a man would notice about a woman.
“Now, tell me your secret,” he commands.