Читать книгу Ultimate Romance Collection - Rebecca Winters, Amalie Berlin - Страница 28

Seventeen

Gavin wanted to pull his truck to the side of the road and catch his breath. But he couldn’t. Something propelled him to keep driving until he reached the party house. He needed Layla as much as he needed to breathe. She wasn’t saying anything. Just sitting in the bench seat beside him and staring straight ahead. It was as if she knew he needed complete silence. His mind was in a state of shock and he was fighting to keep control. Fearful that at any moment he might lose it.

Every time he thought about what Lott had confessed to doing, his mind would spin. Become filled with deadly thoughts and tempt him to turn the truck around and go back to the shack and beat the hell out of the man. How could anyone do what Lott had done and live with himself all these years? And to think no one had suspected a thing until Layla had shown up wanting to dig on their property.

Gavin released a deep breath when he turned into the driveway. Moments later he brought the truck to a stop beside Layla’s rental car. Then he was out of the vehicle and moving to the passenger side of the truck. He was there when she opened the door.

Sweeping her into his arms, he headed for the porch, taking the steps two at a time. Grateful that in their rush to leave they’d left the door unlocked, he pushed it open and went inside. Barely taking time to close it behind him, he put Layla on her feet and began ripping off his clothes. She followed his lead and quickly removed hers.

He needed to be inside her. Now.

Taking hold of her waist, he lifted her up and released a throaty growl while pressing her body against the door, spreading her legs wide in the process. Then he was at her entrance, filled with an adrenaline high so potent he could feel blood rushing through his veins, especially the thick ones at the head of his shaft. Desire, as intense as it could get, became a throbbing need pulsating within him.

He thrust hard into her. Over and over again. Needing the release that only her body could give him. Leaning in, he captured her lips with his as sensations, too overpowering to be controlled, rammed through him. When she wrapped her legs around him, she propelled him to make his strokes harder and longer.

Their kiss was so sexually charged he wasn’t sure how much longer he could last. He was being robbed of any logical thought except becoming a part of this woman’s body. This woman, who had come to mean so much to him. This woman, who made him feel things he’d never felt before with anyone else.

And when she tore her mouth away from his just seconds before her body detonated, her spiraling climax triggered his own and he stroked her with hard and steady thrusts. He hollered her name, drowning in emotions so powerful they seemed to rock his world. A world that a short while ago had been torn apart. He couldn’t stop his heart from racing at the magnitude of what he felt. At the magnitude of all he desired.

He knew then that if he’d had any doubt before regarding what Layla had come to mean to him, there was none now.

* * *

“Sorry. I should not have taken you that way. But I needed you so damn much, Layla.”

They lay together in bed. After making love against the door, Gavin had picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. Then they’d slid beneath the covers and he had held her. She had held him. Layla knew that sleep wasn’t an option.

She snuggled closer, needing his heat. Needing a reminder of how much she had been desired. “No apology needed. I liked it.”

“I was rough.”

“You were good as usual.” He had needed her, just like he’d said. Layla had felt that need with every stroke.

“I lost control,” he admitted in a low voice. “That’s never happened to me before. Hell, Layla, I didn’t even take time to put on a condom.”

She’d noticed. Had exhilarated in the feeling of being skin to skin with him. Had loved the moment he had blasted off inside of her. The feel of his hot release had felt so right. How could she tell him that? But she knew she had to.

She lifted her face from his chest, met the dark eyes staring down at her. “I liked the feel of you inside me without a condom, Gavin. And don’t worry about me getting pregnant. Although I was never sexually active, I decided to get the birth control implant anyway. Better to be safe than sorry. I didn’t have to think about it, not like the pill where you have to remember to take one every day.” She paused. “And I’m healthy so you don’t have to worry about me giving you anything.”

He shifted their positions in bed, slipping his arms around her and holding her close. “I’m healthy, too, and you don’t have to worry about me giving you anything, either.”

He then cupped her chin. “Although I didn’t like being rough with you, I enjoyed making love to you without a condom, too.”

And then he didn’t say anything and she didn’t, either. She figured he needed the silence. But when it stretched for what she thought was too long, she moved to lie on top of him and stared into the face she loved so much.

“Talk to me, Gavin. Tell me what you’re feeling.”

A part of her wondered what right she had to stick her nose into his business, to assume he wanted to tell her anything. But another part of her knew she couldn’t let him withdraw. Just like he’d needed her physically, she wanted him to need her emotionally, as well.

She knew his eyes well. Just as well as she knew the shape of his mouth and the fullness of those lips that had kissed her earlier. He would try to fight her on this but she wouldn’t let him. He’d been by himself this way for so long she figured it was hard for him to allow another person into his space. Especially a woman. But she had news for him. She wasn’t just any woman. She was the woman who loved him.

And for some reason, although he’d never given her reason to say the words, a part of her believed he knew how she felt. A part of her wanted to believe that he knew she wouldn’t share her body with just anyone. This wasn’t just an excavation fling for her. It was more. But maybe he didn’t know. Men had a tendency to be dense when it came to the I-love-you stuff.

“For a minute I felt like a loose cannon, Layla,” he said, interrupting her thoughts. “So out of control. I could have snapped and killed Lott with my bare hands. It would have given me pleasure to hear the sound of his neck breaking.”

His words, spoken with deep emotion, invaded her mind. She had felt his anger and she’d seen how he’d managed to hold it in check after hearing everything the man had said. Of course the sheriff had been there to stop Gavin from taking matters into his own hands. And his SEAL teammates had been there, too, although she wasn’t sure if they would have stopped him or helped him.

“But now you know the truth, Gavin. Your mother never left you and your dad, after all. She’s been here all this time. Here on the Silver Spurs.”

She watched his eyes flash with confusion. She explained further. “You remember when you told me how the south pasture was your favorite area and your father’s, as well. How the two of you would often camp out there. How you loved the feel of sleeping under the stars?”

“Yes.”

“I want to think that although the two of you didn’t know it, the reason that area meant so much was because your mom was there. She was there, Gavin, and when you were there, without knowing it, you were close to her.”

She saw the moment when her words sank in. Something broke within him. His eyes might not have been expressive to others but they were expressive to her. Without saying anything, he cupped the back of her neck and brought her mouth down to his. Their tongues tangled in a mating so intense that when he finally released her mouth, she felt light-headed and breathless.

Layla was glad she had given him something to think about. But she knew he must still feel guilty over what he’d believed all these years—that his mother had deserted him and his father. His next words proved her right.

“But I didn’t know, Layla. I thought she had gone. I thought she was living another life somewhere without us. I thought—”

She placed a finger to his lips. “What you thought was understandable. You were only a child when she disappeared. But your dad knew his wife. He knew their love. He always believed she would come back. And she did. In fact, she never left. She’s been here for the two of you the entire time. And I know she was proud of your dad and was just as proud of you. The man you’ve become.”

He pulled her close, buried his face in her neck. And she held him. Held him tight and near her heart. A part of her wanted to tell him now how much she loved him, but she knew it wasn’t the time. That admission would come later. For now this was what he needed. To know she was here and that he wasn’t alone.

* * *

Bane’s ringtone woke Gavin and he glanced out the window as he sat up. It was daybreak. “Yes, Bane?” He nodded. “We’re on our way.”

When he clicked off the phone, he said, “Let’s get dressed. Both your team and mine are ready. Now they have two treasures to find.”

A short while later, Gavin pulled his truck to a stop in front of what Layla knew should have been the excavation site. Instead it resembled a crime scene with yellow tape marking the area. Upon hearing the sound of the truck, everyone turned their way. A blanket of snow covered the hillside and forecasters predicted even heavier snow by the weekend. They would need to work quickly.

Layla saw her students standing in a huddle. They’d probably heard what was going on and were trying to figure out how they’d slept through it all. She also saw Ms. Melody standing close to Caldwell, the man’s arms wrapped protectively around her. Nothing discreet there. If anyone hadn’t realized they were a couple before, they sure knew it now.

Roy was talking on the phone and Gavin’s teammates stood next to the digging equipment. She wondered if they’d gotten any sleep, although they looked wide-awake and ready for any action that might come their way.

She’d been so busy observing everyone that she’d failed to notice that Gavin had gotten out of the truck until he was opening the passenger door. He leaned over her to unsnap her seat belt and then effortlessly lifted her out of her seat. “Thanks,” she said, when he’d placed her on her feet.

“Don’t mention it.”

Taking her hand, he walked to where the others were standing. His grandmother left her place by Caldwell’s side and walked over to Gavin. He released his hold on Layla’s hand and pulled Ms. Melody into a big hug. Giving the two some privacy, Layla joined her students. She figured they would have a lot of questions.

After talking to her team, she returned to Gavin and his teammates. Coop explained how they’d fingered Sherman Lott as the bad guy. “After you told us about the footprint and how it was apparent more pressure was being placed on one foot than the other, we knew we were looking for someone with a leg injury or some kind of impairment and who was wearing worn shoes. When we saw Lott’s shoes and saw him rubbing his leg more than once, I got suspicious. I offered him my chair so he wouldn’t have to stand. I told him that I noticed his leg seemed to be bothering him. That’s when he said it occasionally did and was the result of a horse riding accident years ago.”

Coop then nodded for Bane to continue.

“Last night after everyone had gone to bed,” Bane said, taking up the tale. “Mac and I decided to go to Lott’s ranch and snoop around, to see if we could find the kerosene can. Imagine our surprise when we got there and saw him loading up a kerosene can onto his truck, with plans to head back over to your place to burn down the shack. We called Coop and told him to contact you and to call the sheriff. Lott was caught red-handed about to pour kerosene around the shack to torch it.”

Roy approached with an angry look on his face. “What’s wrong, Roy?” Gavin asked.

“One of the disadvantages of a small town is not having manpower when you need it,” Roy said, drawing in a deep breath. “I talked to the sheriff in Palmdale and he said it would be four to five days before their dive team could get here.”

Gavin nodded as if he wasn’t concerned with that news. “Is there any reason we can’t start digging?” he asked.

Roy frowned. “Yes, there’s a reason. This is a crime scene.”

Gavin shook his head. “Technically it’s not. Although I believe everything Lott said, until I find my mother’s body there’s no proof a crime has been committed. Besides, I’d rather be the one to find her, Roy. And those students over there are entitled to their treasure hunt.”

Roy didn’t say anything for a minute and then nodded. “Okay, but I will stay here to help and step in if any evidence is found.”

“Absolutely,” Gavin assured him.

Roy drew in a deep breath and ordered one of his deputies to remove the yellow crime scene tape.

* * *

Less than an hour later, the remains of Jamie Blake were found. And within twenty feet of where she’d been buried, a strongbox filled with gold pieces—Jesse James’s loot—was also recovered.

Deciding not to wait on the dive team from Palmdale, Flipper had jumped into Lott’s lake without any diving gear. When he hadn’t resurfaced in five minutes, Roy became worried. Gavin and his other teammates had not. They explained that although the water was icy cold and Flipper had been under longer than normal, Flipper was far from ordinary. They were proven right when a short while later Flipper resurfaced with the license plate he had removed from the car. The license plate was identified as that registered to Gavin and Jamie Blake.

The charges against Sherman Lott were changed from suspicion of murder to murder.