“Incredible, love. Just incredible.”
I blink. “Are you finished?”
He swings a grin my way. “No, but I will be later.” He winks, then stabs his teriyaki chicken and takes another massive bite.
I was too tired to cook after my shift at Top Shelf tonight, and while Gavin offered to take me out, the idea of sitting on the couch with him surrounded by takeout containers was much more appealing. That was before he started making those noises.
“Stop being so annoying.” I push at him with my feet, hunkering even farther down into the couch, a cardboard container sitting on my chest. I pick out another green bean, then suck it into my mouth.
“I’m not being annoying. You just have a perverted mind.”
“Do not,” I say, kicking at him again.
He grabs my foot, tickling me right where he knows it affects me the worst. I yelp, trying to wiggle away from him, but it’s pointless—he’s too damn strong for me.
“Gavin!” I say through loud giggles. “Stop it!”
“Not until you admit you’re a naughty, horny little thing.”
“I am not!” I argue.
Isoam. Honestly, if he’d have kept those moans up much longer, I would have had to crawl over andreallygive him something to moan about, but I’m not doing that now with him tickling me to death.
“Stoooop!” I whine, still trying to get away.
My green beans go flying to the floor, but neither of us seems to care about the mess. We’re too busy having fun. But Gavin makes a mistake—he pausesjustlong enough for me to get free, and I run. Straight down the hall, toward the other bedrooms.
“Where are you going?” he calls, racing after me. “My bed is the other way.”
“Exactly! You think you’re getting lucky after that? Not a chance!”
I grab the handle to the bedroom that houses his hockey stuff, knowing he won’t dare mess around in there. He’s too worried about breaking any of his things.
The door doesn’t give way, though. In fact, it’s locked. I stop, my senses rapidly switching from fun mode to suspicious. Why the hell is the door locked? Does he not trust me? Does he think I’m going to steal his stuff and sell it online? Is he…hiding something?
No, no. Gavin would never.
I thought Neal would never, too.The thought crashes into me, and all those feelings of betrayal and hurt slam back into me. I don’t want them. I don’t want to be thinking this way, but try as I might, I can’t shake them. Not even when Gavin catches me, boxing me in against the door.
“Ha! I gotcha,” he says, his mouth falling to my neck as he peppers me with familiar kisses.
I let him, even though my mind is now a million miles away, thinking up all the reasons he could possibly have locked this door, the one that’s been open since the day I moved in here. I would know because I’ve come in here a few times when he’s been on the road, just needing a piece of him.
Is that why it’s locked? Does he know I come here? Is he mad that I look through his things? No, he would tell me if he had a problem. He’s always been open. So, what could it be, then? I don’t know, but I can’t shake the feeling he’s hiding something from me.
Not even when he spins me around and drags his kisses from my neck to my lips, or when he lifts me and wraps my legs around his waist. And not even when he carries me to his bedroom and lays me down before peeling my clothes off me, our mess in the living room long, long forgotten. I don’t even stop thinking about it as I finally drift off to sleep.
What the hell is Gavin hiding?
Heavy clouds cover the sky, and cold nips at the air. If I were back in Upstate New York, I’d be inside the warmth of my house, sitting by the fire with hot chocolate and a good book. But this isn’t New York, and people are still milling about the city like this cold, rainy weather is nothing new to them.
“Thanks again for meeting me here,” Auden says as she settles in across from me at The Coffee Spot, a cute place I found a few weeks ago when I was looking for somewhere new to sketch.
The Serpents are doing a thing at the Children’s Hospital for the upcoming holidays, so when she called earlier wanting to get out of the house, I jumped at the chance—anything to keep me from looking at that damn locked door. I’ve tried it every day for the last four days, but I haven’t had any luck. I keep trying not to think about what he could be hiding, but it’s slowly driving me mad. Ineedto know why he’s shut me out—literally.
“Of course,” I tell her, grinning down at Alana, who sits happily in her stroller. I reach over and tickle her chin. “Hi, my beautiful niece. Are you being spoiled? I hope so.”
“Oh, she’s being spoiled, all right. Hutch brings her something home from every city he visits.” Auden rolls her eyes. “And my father is just as bad, always ‘dropping by’ with something new. Even Rory keeps buying her onesies. It’s ridiculous.”
