Unforgettable, page 17
“Oh, but it’s true. I should know. I was once a teenager.”
“Then I’ll just have to use you as my tester.” She flashed him a pretty smile.
She unwittingly brought his gaze to her body. His hungry eyes lingered on the thrust of her full breasts. He could see the way her nipples beaded against the silk of her blouse.
He put down the sandwich he’d taken one bite of and surged to his full height.
“What? Something wrong with your sandwich?”
“There is plenty wrong with me.”
Gavin grabbed her by the waist and pressed her soft bottom into his arousal. Just in case she failed to feel his erection, he leaned against her stomach. He dipped his head until he covered her tempting lips with his own.
He groaned at the sweetness he discovered deep inside as he caressed her tongue while cupping her breast in his wide palm. Anna trembled as he used his thumb to worry her nipple through the layers of her bra and blouse.
“Gavin…” She clung to his shoulders. No one had ever made her feel this way. So feminine. So incredibly desirable.
“Baby, tell me what you need,” he whispered against the side of her sweet scented soft neck. “You can have me any way you want.” Only a sliver of control prevented him from rubbing his aching penis against her.
“Gavin…”
He smiled against her soft lips as he murmured, “Yes, baby, it’s me. Say my name again.” He took her tongue inside his mouth and began to suckle.
Anna whimpered.
Gavin moaned heavily as he quickly lifted her up on the counter. He positioned himself between her thighs. His open mouth journeyed along her neck, tonguing her ear, and then sponged the sweet, scented hollow at the base of her throat.
“Anna, let me see you. Let me touch you. Please, baby.” His big body trembled with desire as he rested his forehead against hers.
14
“Not here,” she barely managed to whisper. “What if Kyle came down for something?”
His kiss was hard, hungry. “Wrap you legs around my waist.”
Cupping her soft bottom, he effortlessly carried her down the hall into his office. He used his foot to push the door closed. He put her down on top of his desk, pushing folders, telephone, and everything in the way onto the carpet. He paused long enough to lock the door. His approach was slow and deliberate. He removed the clasp holding her long locks in place, moving his fingers into her cottony black hair.
“What are you doing?”
“You know exactly what I’m doing and why. You’re driving me insane with need. I’ve been aching for you for months,” he said an instant before his mouth took hers.
He took his time as he sucked her plump bottom lip before he stroked her tongue with his own. The hot, honeyed taste of her mouth was too much, yet not nearly enough.
Anna moaned softly, pressing her breasts against his cashmere-covered chest. The sound was both low and sexy, driving him closer to the edge.
“Baby…” His voice was raw, raspy.
Yet there were some limits he wouldn’t, couldn’t cross, not without her consent. As desperately as he wanted to rip her clothes away, he stopped. “Let me…” Before he could get the request past his lips she kissed his brown throat, tonguing the male-scented hollow.
“Yes…touch me.” She buried her face against the place where his neck and shoulder joined.
Gavin whispered, “Where, sweetheart? Where do you need my hands?”
He was determined to ignore his own raging needs even though he was so hard that all he could think about was burying himself in her feminine sheath. More important, he wanted her to need him just as desperately as he needed her.
Anna surprised him when she grabbed the hem of his sweater and yanked it up his chest and over his head. She caressed his dark, hair-roughened skin, her fingertips lingering at his small dark nipples.
After one hungry kiss, he held her still. “I can’t take the feel of your soft hands.”
His chest was bare but she was still buttoned up tight. He began opening the buttons that lined her blouse before dropping his head to lick her collarbone. Her sob encouraged him to continue down to the sweet scented valley between her breasts. His breath was as uneven as hers.
“Anna, I’ve waited so long to have you this way.” He followed the upper swells of her breasts with the pointed tip of his tongue while filling his lungs with her floral scent.
“Oh yes, please hurry,” she whispered.
She didn’t have to say it twice. Gavin pushed the blouse off her shoulders and down her arms. He couldn’t look away from her lush breasts cradled in an ivory lace bra. Her skin looked so incredibly soft and silky. She was a creamy brown, and all he could think about was tonguing every delectable inch of her shapely frame.
Instantly embarrassed, Anna dropped her long lashes and tipped her head forward so that her long hair flowed over her shoulders and shielded her from his view. When she moved to cover herself, he caught her hands and held them.
“Why, baby?”
She shook her head.
“Please, let me look at you.” He nestled his face against her throat, warming the sexy mole he fond there with his tongue.
“I thought…”
“What?”
She blushed when she admitted, “You didn’t say anything. I thought you were disappointed.”
“Disappointed? You can’t be serious.” He studied her bowed head for a moment. “Anna, you’re so beautiful that for a few moments I couldn’t find the words to express how perfect you are to me.”
Her eyes questioned his. “Really?”
“Yes, really. I’ve never meant anything more.”
Gavin kissed and then licked her soft skin from her collarbone down to the swells of her breasts. He quickly released the clasp behind her back and eased the straps off her shoulders and down her arms.
He released a husky moan as he finally peeled away the lace cups. He hungrily kissed her again and again. She released a sigh when he let her breathe. Then she arched her back, thrusting her large, dark brown nipples forward.
It was Gavin who groaned, as his penis hardened even more. It was all he could do not to rub his sex against her mound. He reminded himself to go slow. Her experience couldn’t match his own.
“Sweetheart…” he said as he filled his hands with her breasts.
He gently squeezed her softness, using his thumbs and forefingers to gently tug on the ultra-sensitive peaks. Trembling, she arched her back even more. He growled, eased her back over his arm while he lowered his head. He licked the entire globe from the upper swell to the sensitive underside.
“Your skin is like silk.”
By this time, she was more than ready for him. She begged, “Please…”
Gavin chuckled throatily. “You want my mouth, sweetheart?” he said an instant before he took one hard nipple into his mouth. As he circled it with the pointed tip of his tongue, Anna cried out her pleasure, which intensified when he sponged the engorged nipple again and again.
“Oh!” Her eyes were tightly closed as she struggled to catch her breath. She pressed her aching mound forward, seeking the firm pressure of his hard-muscled thigh.
He groaned in response as he gave her what she needed. He looked forward to the day when she would be comfortable enough with him to tell him exactly what she needed from him. He took her nipple into the heat of his mouth to apply the exquisite suction they both had waited so long to experience.
He shifted until he could cup her feminine mound through the layers of her clothes. He squeezed rhythmically. He took his time, concentrating on one thing…giving her the utmost pleasure. The combination of his mouth and his hand didn’t ease until she was sobbing his name. Only then, he slowly moved to the other breast, overwhelming her with the same sizzling hot attention. Anna clung to him as she cried out, quivering all over as she reached a climax.
He assumed that it had been a very long time since she’d known a man’s touch and was thrilled that he was the man doing the giving. As much as he relished the taste of her breasts, he longed to taste her feminine core and to hear her scream his name as she reached an even more powerful release.
When Gavin lifted his head, he was forced to accept how close he was to losing control of his own desire. He was needy, hungry for more. He took her mouth in a hot, unrelenting kiss of unfulfilled longing. Then he quickly refastened her bra, threaded her arms into her blouse, and buttoned it. His hands were far from steady when they rested on her waist. He rested his forehead on hers.
“Why did—” She stopped, unable to say the words aloud.
“Why did I stop? Because I was losing control. It’s been a long time since I’ve been with a woman. I don’t want to take you here, nor do I want to take you quickly. We both know it’s too soon for us to make love. You’re still uncertain of how much you want me.”
“I do…”
“No, I’m not talking about how much you want me at this moment. I genuinely hope you are as wet for me as I am hard for you.” He took a calming breath, then said, “I want more than sex from you, sweetheart. And I think you do too. Our timing is lousy. We need to talk about what we want from a relationship and how badly we want it.”
He cupped her face in his palm. “Anna, I want you to think about us. Really think about us. I won’t hide what’s going on from your family. I can’t do that and still call myself a man. I won’t lie to men that I’ve grown to both love and respect.” He hesitated. “I want your family to know that I care for you.”
Her heart was racing with excitement when he said, “You’re a very special lady. You’ve helped me so much with Kyle. Supported me in ways I never expected. You matter to me.” He frowned. “Honey, I want to be in your life, and I want you to be a part of mine. We both know we’ve moved beyond friendship.”
Anna bit her lips as she suddenly recalled what she had planned to say to him. The one thing guaranteed to push him away. Only the words wouldn’t come. No matter what she thought was best, she couldn’t make herself say those words.
“Gavin…”
He pressed his fingertips to her lips. “Never mind. Don’t say anything for now. Just think about us. Decide if you want me enough to do it openly. Promise me you’ll think about it?”
“I will.”
“Good. Now I think you better go on up to bed while I’m able to let you go alone.”
“Okay.” Before she left, she pressed a kiss against his lips.
The next morning Kyle had that chip back on his shoulder. He was every bit as distant as he had been the day he arrived. Gavin tried to give him a few days to settle down. After nearly a week with no progress, he had no clear idea of the best way to resolve the problem. Nothing he did or said made the slightest difference.
They were in Gavin’s Navigator en route to school when Kyle asked if he could spend the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend with Wayne at the Prescotts’. Gavin refused outright.
“What do you mean, no?” Kyle threw his brother an angry look.
“You heard me. And you know why I said no. You’ve been walking around with an attitude since I got back from Atlantic City. I’ve tried to talk to you half a dozen times and so has Anna. You can hardly open your mouth to say a kind word to anyone. Well, I’ve had it. Until your attitude changes, don’t expect to be going anywhere other than school or church. As far as having company over, the answer is the same.”
“That’s not fair. Wayne asked his parents and they said yes.”
“You have my answer. Get used to it.” Gavin warned, “Don’t let me get a bad report from your teachers, or you may not be going anywhere until the New Year. You know what it takes to turn things around.”
“You’re not my father. I don’t have to follow your rules.”
“You do as long as you’re living with me. Do you have enough money for lunch?”
The rest of the trip passed in silence. When Kyle reached for the door handle, Gavin held his arm. “I asked if—”
“Yes, I do.”
“Good. You have less than a week to change that attitude if you want to spend Thanksgiving weekend at the Prescotts’.”
Kyle nodded and then got out of the car without slamming the door behind him.
Gavin waited until his brother was inside the school building before he pulled out into traffic. He headed toward Allen Park for the team’s headquarters.
It had been a rough few days, not all due to Kyle’s attitude. He had made a concerted effort not to pressure Anna into giving him an answer. He intended to give her all the time she needed. He’d hoped she would make the decision quickly, but that hadn’t happened.
To make matters worse, she hadn’t said a word about what had happened between them the other night. He was doing his damnedest to keep his libido under control. It wasn’t easy. He was getting sick and tired of cold showers and restless nights. He didn’t need a psychic to tell him that he ached to have her in his bed each and every night.
His patience was hanging by a weak thread. It wasn’t that he had any doubts that she was more than worth the wait. Hell, he had been without for too long. Yet, no other woman even came close to her.
He could have easily asked Mrs. Tillman to stay with Kyle while he went out to one of the clubs around the city or to one of his ex-lady friends for some much needed sexual relief. There were plenty of hopeful females willing to do any-and everything to be with a pro player, especially while the team was on the road. There wasn’t a player alive who had to sleep alone unless he chose to do so.
The problem was with him. He didn’t want to get laid. What he wanted was to make love to Anna. Only she could do what needed to be done to ease the emptiness deep inside. It was her kisses he longed for, her body he wanted desperately to be a part of. Just the taste and smell of her satiny brown skin was enough to keep him hard and needy.
He couldn’t forget how her beautiful breasts had filled his hands. Everything about her was soft. When he’d cupped her mound, he wasn’t sure if his imagination had taken flight, but he was certain he felt her heat through her clothing.
Given time, he knew he could make her want him the way he wanted her. If only she would give him her trust. He knew that she wasn’t as experienced as the women he dated in the past, but she wasn’t a virgin. He longed to show her the difference between those college boys she used to date and a man who yearned to pleasure his woman. How he ached to make her his alone.
There was no way Gavin could let himself touch her if she were an innocent. As badly as he wanted her, he would have no choice but to move on. Every woman deserved to be with the man she loved her first time. And regardless of her denial, he knew she had to have cared for the guy, or she wouldn’t have given herself to him.
Sweet, sweet Anna. She had no idea how close he’d been to taking her. He had nearly lost control, something that had never happened to him before. It had taken all his willpower not to open her slacks and bare her feminine folds. The next time they were together like that—assuming there was a next time—he would not stop until neither one of them knew where he ended and she began.
Gavin shifted uncomfortably. How much longer would she make him wait for her answer? Kyle wasn’t the only one who wanted Thanksgiving to come. He grinned. He too was hoping that Kyle would get his act together and could spend the three-day weekend with Wayne. A few days alone with Anna would be like heaven. Could he convince her to openly go away with him…just the two of them? He sighed, knowing it was only wishful thinking on his part.
Although Thanksgiving morning dawned cold and crisp, it was also bright and sunny with no indication of the rain and snow mix that was forecast. Much of the city prepared for the annual Marshall Field’s Thanksgiving Day Parade that would make its way along Woodward Avenue. Gavin and Kyle, along with the Prescotts, including Devin, Anna’s second oldest brother who had flown home for the holiday, spent the morning volunteering at one of the city’s soup kitchens. They pitched in to help prepare the food and the dining room for the holiday meal scheduled for the homeless or anyone in need of a hot meal or just company.
Wesley and Gavin were the first to leave in order to suit up for the upcoming game at Ford Field. When the Prescott men and Kyle left for the game, the ladies headed to the house to prepare their dinner, planned for late that day. Even though a small television that sat on the kitchen counter was tuned to the game, no one was really watching.
“Anna, I want those sweet potatoes whipped not candied,” Donna said sharply as she basted the twenty-five-pound turkey.
Anna and Kelli exchanged a surprised look. Kelli’s widowed mother, who usually joined the family’s holiday meals, had flown out to spend Thanksgiving with her sister in South Carolina’s low country.
It was Anna who asked, “What’s got you so upset, Mama?”
“I’m not upset,” she answered.
“You are,” Kelli added, as she made a vegetable and cheese tray. “It’s Aunt Ester, isn’t it?”
Anna’s father’s elderly aunt, Ester Prescott, had flown in from Atlanta for the holidays. She had been in the house only four days and already had Donna on edge.
“Nothing I’ve put in front of that woman has pleased her,” Donna said in a frustrated whisper. “The bacon is too salty, the eggs aren’t fluffy enough. I tell you, I’m about ready to send her home.” Donna sighed heavily, then forced a smile. “Don’t mind me. I’m just a little tired. Aunt Ester is really a wonderful person. She’s your father’s only living aunt, and he loves her dearly.”
“If she’s so wonderful, how come her daughter Chandra sent her up here for the holidays?” Anna pointed out and had all of them laughing. None of the ladies was paying attention to the action taking place at Ford Field.
“Hush now. We don’t want her to hear. She’s only taking a nap in the family room. Besides, I don’t want her back in here telling me how to cook,” Donna said as she went back to shucking corn.
“I told you that you should have sent her home when she made that nasty comment about your rolls. You make wonderful homemade rolls. She just wishes she had your light touch,” Kelli defended. “When Wesley and I were over on Tuesday night, she had plenty to say about everything Donna put on the table. Of course, she never said it in front of Lester.”
“Then I’ll just have to use you as my tester.” She flashed him a pretty smile.
She unwittingly brought his gaze to her body. His hungry eyes lingered on the thrust of her full breasts. He could see the way her nipples beaded against the silk of her blouse.
He put down the sandwich he’d taken one bite of and surged to his full height.
“What? Something wrong with your sandwich?”
“There is plenty wrong with me.”
Gavin grabbed her by the waist and pressed her soft bottom into his arousal. Just in case she failed to feel his erection, he leaned against her stomach. He dipped his head until he covered her tempting lips with his own.
He groaned at the sweetness he discovered deep inside as he caressed her tongue while cupping her breast in his wide palm. Anna trembled as he used his thumb to worry her nipple through the layers of her bra and blouse.
“Gavin…” She clung to his shoulders. No one had ever made her feel this way. So feminine. So incredibly desirable.
“Baby, tell me what you need,” he whispered against the side of her sweet scented soft neck. “You can have me any way you want.” Only a sliver of control prevented him from rubbing his aching penis against her.
“Gavin…”
He smiled against her soft lips as he murmured, “Yes, baby, it’s me. Say my name again.” He took her tongue inside his mouth and began to suckle.
Anna whimpered.
Gavin moaned heavily as he quickly lifted her up on the counter. He positioned himself between her thighs. His open mouth journeyed along her neck, tonguing her ear, and then sponged the sweet, scented hollow at the base of her throat.
“Anna, let me see you. Let me touch you. Please, baby.” His big body trembled with desire as he rested his forehead against hers.
14
“Not here,” she barely managed to whisper. “What if Kyle came down for something?”
His kiss was hard, hungry. “Wrap you legs around my waist.”
Cupping her soft bottom, he effortlessly carried her down the hall into his office. He used his foot to push the door closed. He put her down on top of his desk, pushing folders, telephone, and everything in the way onto the carpet. He paused long enough to lock the door. His approach was slow and deliberate. He removed the clasp holding her long locks in place, moving his fingers into her cottony black hair.
“What are you doing?”
“You know exactly what I’m doing and why. You’re driving me insane with need. I’ve been aching for you for months,” he said an instant before his mouth took hers.
He took his time as he sucked her plump bottom lip before he stroked her tongue with his own. The hot, honeyed taste of her mouth was too much, yet not nearly enough.
Anna moaned softly, pressing her breasts against his cashmere-covered chest. The sound was both low and sexy, driving him closer to the edge.
“Baby…” His voice was raw, raspy.
Yet there were some limits he wouldn’t, couldn’t cross, not without her consent. As desperately as he wanted to rip her clothes away, he stopped. “Let me…” Before he could get the request past his lips she kissed his brown throat, tonguing the male-scented hollow.
“Yes…touch me.” She buried her face against the place where his neck and shoulder joined.
Gavin whispered, “Where, sweetheart? Where do you need my hands?”
He was determined to ignore his own raging needs even though he was so hard that all he could think about was burying himself in her feminine sheath. More important, he wanted her to need him just as desperately as he needed her.
Anna surprised him when she grabbed the hem of his sweater and yanked it up his chest and over his head. She caressed his dark, hair-roughened skin, her fingertips lingering at his small dark nipples.
After one hungry kiss, he held her still. “I can’t take the feel of your soft hands.”
His chest was bare but she was still buttoned up tight. He began opening the buttons that lined her blouse before dropping his head to lick her collarbone. Her sob encouraged him to continue down to the sweet scented valley between her breasts. His breath was as uneven as hers.
“Anna, I’ve waited so long to have you this way.” He followed the upper swells of her breasts with the pointed tip of his tongue while filling his lungs with her floral scent.
“Oh yes, please hurry,” she whispered.
She didn’t have to say it twice. Gavin pushed the blouse off her shoulders and down her arms. He couldn’t look away from her lush breasts cradled in an ivory lace bra. Her skin looked so incredibly soft and silky. She was a creamy brown, and all he could think about was tonguing every delectable inch of her shapely frame.
Instantly embarrassed, Anna dropped her long lashes and tipped her head forward so that her long hair flowed over her shoulders and shielded her from his view. When she moved to cover herself, he caught her hands and held them.
“Why, baby?”
She shook her head.
“Please, let me look at you.” He nestled his face against her throat, warming the sexy mole he fond there with his tongue.
“I thought…”
“What?”
She blushed when she admitted, “You didn’t say anything. I thought you were disappointed.”
“Disappointed? You can’t be serious.” He studied her bowed head for a moment. “Anna, you’re so beautiful that for a few moments I couldn’t find the words to express how perfect you are to me.”
Her eyes questioned his. “Really?”
“Yes, really. I’ve never meant anything more.”
Gavin kissed and then licked her soft skin from her collarbone down to the swells of her breasts. He quickly released the clasp behind her back and eased the straps off her shoulders and down her arms.
He released a husky moan as he finally peeled away the lace cups. He hungrily kissed her again and again. She released a sigh when he let her breathe. Then she arched her back, thrusting her large, dark brown nipples forward.
It was Gavin who groaned, as his penis hardened even more. It was all he could do not to rub his sex against her mound. He reminded himself to go slow. Her experience couldn’t match his own.
“Sweetheart…” he said as he filled his hands with her breasts.
He gently squeezed her softness, using his thumbs and forefingers to gently tug on the ultra-sensitive peaks. Trembling, she arched her back even more. He growled, eased her back over his arm while he lowered his head. He licked the entire globe from the upper swell to the sensitive underside.
“Your skin is like silk.”
By this time, she was more than ready for him. She begged, “Please…”
Gavin chuckled throatily. “You want my mouth, sweetheart?” he said an instant before he took one hard nipple into his mouth. As he circled it with the pointed tip of his tongue, Anna cried out her pleasure, which intensified when he sponged the engorged nipple again and again.
“Oh!” Her eyes were tightly closed as she struggled to catch her breath. She pressed her aching mound forward, seeking the firm pressure of his hard-muscled thigh.
He groaned in response as he gave her what she needed. He looked forward to the day when she would be comfortable enough with him to tell him exactly what she needed from him. He took her nipple into the heat of his mouth to apply the exquisite suction they both had waited so long to experience.
He shifted until he could cup her feminine mound through the layers of her clothes. He squeezed rhythmically. He took his time, concentrating on one thing…giving her the utmost pleasure. The combination of his mouth and his hand didn’t ease until she was sobbing his name. Only then, he slowly moved to the other breast, overwhelming her with the same sizzling hot attention. Anna clung to him as she cried out, quivering all over as she reached a climax.
He assumed that it had been a very long time since she’d known a man’s touch and was thrilled that he was the man doing the giving. As much as he relished the taste of her breasts, he longed to taste her feminine core and to hear her scream his name as she reached an even more powerful release.
When Gavin lifted his head, he was forced to accept how close he was to losing control of his own desire. He was needy, hungry for more. He took her mouth in a hot, unrelenting kiss of unfulfilled longing. Then he quickly refastened her bra, threaded her arms into her blouse, and buttoned it. His hands were far from steady when they rested on her waist. He rested his forehead on hers.
“Why did—” She stopped, unable to say the words aloud.
“Why did I stop? Because I was losing control. It’s been a long time since I’ve been with a woman. I don’t want to take you here, nor do I want to take you quickly. We both know it’s too soon for us to make love. You’re still uncertain of how much you want me.”
“I do…”
“No, I’m not talking about how much you want me at this moment. I genuinely hope you are as wet for me as I am hard for you.” He took a calming breath, then said, “I want more than sex from you, sweetheart. And I think you do too. Our timing is lousy. We need to talk about what we want from a relationship and how badly we want it.”
He cupped her face in his palm. “Anna, I want you to think about us. Really think about us. I won’t hide what’s going on from your family. I can’t do that and still call myself a man. I won’t lie to men that I’ve grown to both love and respect.” He hesitated. “I want your family to know that I care for you.”
Her heart was racing with excitement when he said, “You’re a very special lady. You’ve helped me so much with Kyle. Supported me in ways I never expected. You matter to me.” He frowned. “Honey, I want to be in your life, and I want you to be a part of mine. We both know we’ve moved beyond friendship.”
Anna bit her lips as she suddenly recalled what she had planned to say to him. The one thing guaranteed to push him away. Only the words wouldn’t come. No matter what she thought was best, she couldn’t make herself say those words.
“Gavin…”
He pressed his fingertips to her lips. “Never mind. Don’t say anything for now. Just think about us. Decide if you want me enough to do it openly. Promise me you’ll think about it?”
“I will.”
“Good. Now I think you better go on up to bed while I’m able to let you go alone.”
“Okay.” Before she left, she pressed a kiss against his lips.
The next morning Kyle had that chip back on his shoulder. He was every bit as distant as he had been the day he arrived. Gavin tried to give him a few days to settle down. After nearly a week with no progress, he had no clear idea of the best way to resolve the problem. Nothing he did or said made the slightest difference.
They were in Gavin’s Navigator en route to school when Kyle asked if he could spend the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend with Wayne at the Prescotts’. Gavin refused outright.
“What do you mean, no?” Kyle threw his brother an angry look.
“You heard me. And you know why I said no. You’ve been walking around with an attitude since I got back from Atlantic City. I’ve tried to talk to you half a dozen times and so has Anna. You can hardly open your mouth to say a kind word to anyone. Well, I’ve had it. Until your attitude changes, don’t expect to be going anywhere other than school or church. As far as having company over, the answer is the same.”
“That’s not fair. Wayne asked his parents and they said yes.”
“You have my answer. Get used to it.” Gavin warned, “Don’t let me get a bad report from your teachers, or you may not be going anywhere until the New Year. You know what it takes to turn things around.”
“You’re not my father. I don’t have to follow your rules.”
“You do as long as you’re living with me. Do you have enough money for lunch?”
The rest of the trip passed in silence. When Kyle reached for the door handle, Gavin held his arm. “I asked if—”
“Yes, I do.”
“Good. You have less than a week to change that attitude if you want to spend Thanksgiving weekend at the Prescotts’.”
Kyle nodded and then got out of the car without slamming the door behind him.
Gavin waited until his brother was inside the school building before he pulled out into traffic. He headed toward Allen Park for the team’s headquarters.
It had been a rough few days, not all due to Kyle’s attitude. He had made a concerted effort not to pressure Anna into giving him an answer. He intended to give her all the time she needed. He’d hoped she would make the decision quickly, but that hadn’t happened.
To make matters worse, she hadn’t said a word about what had happened between them the other night. He was doing his damnedest to keep his libido under control. It wasn’t easy. He was getting sick and tired of cold showers and restless nights. He didn’t need a psychic to tell him that he ached to have her in his bed each and every night.
His patience was hanging by a weak thread. It wasn’t that he had any doubts that she was more than worth the wait. Hell, he had been without for too long. Yet, no other woman even came close to her.
He could have easily asked Mrs. Tillman to stay with Kyle while he went out to one of the clubs around the city or to one of his ex-lady friends for some much needed sexual relief. There were plenty of hopeful females willing to do any-and everything to be with a pro player, especially while the team was on the road. There wasn’t a player alive who had to sleep alone unless he chose to do so.
The problem was with him. He didn’t want to get laid. What he wanted was to make love to Anna. Only she could do what needed to be done to ease the emptiness deep inside. It was her kisses he longed for, her body he wanted desperately to be a part of. Just the taste and smell of her satiny brown skin was enough to keep him hard and needy.
He couldn’t forget how her beautiful breasts had filled his hands. Everything about her was soft. When he’d cupped her mound, he wasn’t sure if his imagination had taken flight, but he was certain he felt her heat through her clothing.
Given time, he knew he could make her want him the way he wanted her. If only she would give him her trust. He knew that she wasn’t as experienced as the women he dated in the past, but she wasn’t a virgin. He longed to show her the difference between those college boys she used to date and a man who yearned to pleasure his woman. How he ached to make her his alone.
There was no way Gavin could let himself touch her if she were an innocent. As badly as he wanted her, he would have no choice but to move on. Every woman deserved to be with the man she loved her first time. And regardless of her denial, he knew she had to have cared for the guy, or she wouldn’t have given herself to him.
Sweet, sweet Anna. She had no idea how close he’d been to taking her. He had nearly lost control, something that had never happened to him before. It had taken all his willpower not to open her slacks and bare her feminine folds. The next time they were together like that—assuming there was a next time—he would not stop until neither one of them knew where he ended and she began.
Gavin shifted uncomfortably. How much longer would she make him wait for her answer? Kyle wasn’t the only one who wanted Thanksgiving to come. He grinned. He too was hoping that Kyle would get his act together and could spend the three-day weekend with Wayne. A few days alone with Anna would be like heaven. Could he convince her to openly go away with him…just the two of them? He sighed, knowing it was only wishful thinking on his part.
Although Thanksgiving morning dawned cold and crisp, it was also bright and sunny with no indication of the rain and snow mix that was forecast. Much of the city prepared for the annual Marshall Field’s Thanksgiving Day Parade that would make its way along Woodward Avenue. Gavin and Kyle, along with the Prescotts, including Devin, Anna’s second oldest brother who had flown home for the holiday, spent the morning volunteering at one of the city’s soup kitchens. They pitched in to help prepare the food and the dining room for the holiday meal scheduled for the homeless or anyone in need of a hot meal or just company.
Wesley and Gavin were the first to leave in order to suit up for the upcoming game at Ford Field. When the Prescott men and Kyle left for the game, the ladies headed to the house to prepare their dinner, planned for late that day. Even though a small television that sat on the kitchen counter was tuned to the game, no one was really watching.
“Anna, I want those sweet potatoes whipped not candied,” Donna said sharply as she basted the twenty-five-pound turkey.
Anna and Kelli exchanged a surprised look. Kelli’s widowed mother, who usually joined the family’s holiday meals, had flown out to spend Thanksgiving with her sister in South Carolina’s low country.
It was Anna who asked, “What’s got you so upset, Mama?”
“I’m not upset,” she answered.
“You are,” Kelli added, as she made a vegetable and cheese tray. “It’s Aunt Ester, isn’t it?”
Anna’s father’s elderly aunt, Ester Prescott, had flown in from Atlanta for the holidays. She had been in the house only four days and already had Donna on edge.
“Nothing I’ve put in front of that woman has pleased her,” Donna said in a frustrated whisper. “The bacon is too salty, the eggs aren’t fluffy enough. I tell you, I’m about ready to send her home.” Donna sighed heavily, then forced a smile. “Don’t mind me. I’m just a little tired. Aunt Ester is really a wonderful person. She’s your father’s only living aunt, and he loves her dearly.”
“If she’s so wonderful, how come her daughter Chandra sent her up here for the holidays?” Anna pointed out and had all of them laughing. None of the ladies was paying attention to the action taking place at Ford Field.
“Hush now. We don’t want her to hear. She’s only taking a nap in the family room. Besides, I don’t want her back in here telling me how to cook,” Donna said as she went back to shucking corn.
“I told you that you should have sent her home when she made that nasty comment about your rolls. You make wonderful homemade rolls. She just wishes she had your light touch,” Kelli defended. “When Wesley and I were over on Tuesday night, she had plenty to say about everything Donna put on the table. Of course, she never said it in front of Lester.”
