FORTY-SEVEN
MILLIE
Gavin lifts me up and carries me to his bedroom. Rather than dropping me on the bed, he heads straight to the shower.
Still clinging to me, he angles to one side to turn the water on, struggling a bit to reach the knob with me still in his arms.
I rake a hand through his hair. “You can put me down, you know,” I tease.
He presses a kiss to my forehead and continues his task. Once the water is running, he looks at me, his eyes hungry still. “Didn’t want you to think I was done with you like you did the first time we had sex.”
God, that night—when I sat in his bedroom at the penthouse, listening to the water run, believing he was done with me—was a lifetime ago.
“I’ll never be done with you,” he murmurs, as if reading my thoughts.
Warmth spreads through me. “I know.”
Gavin holds me tighter with one arm and tests the water, then steps inside the oversized stall. Only then does he set me on my feet. Almost immediately, I feel the evidence of us between my legs and go to wipe it away.
With a hiss, he grabs my wrist. “Let me.”
He snakes a hand between my thighs and lowers his hooded eyes. “My cum stays in you,” he says as he pushes two fingers inside me.
“Oh,” I moan, my legs going weak.
Gavin grips my thigh with his other hand and holds me in place. “One day, when you’re ready,” he murmurs, head still bowed, focus still on what he’s doing to me, “maybe you’ll let me do this again.”
“One day,” I whisper back.
His gaze shoots to mine, and his lashes flutter three times. “Yeah?”
I smile. “Yes, Gavin.”
“Fuck.” His body visibly shudders. “I just had you, and already, I’m starving for you again.” He slides his fingers in and out of me, working me up again. Then he drops to his knees at my feet.
“What are you doing?”I ask, palming his cheek.
He looks up at me, dark eyes so full of desire and earnestness. “Apologizing.”
“Gavin.” His name comes out on a laugh. “I already accepted your?—”
He sucks on my clit, stealing my words and pulling a moan from me.
His breath is hot against my sex. “You were saying?”
“Okay, yeah. You can apologize,” I pant, grasping his hair.
His resounding chuckle sends shivers up my spine. He dives back in, feasting and apologizing, until I’ve come two more times.
By the time we’re slipping into bed, me in one of his T-shirts because we couldn’t separate even for a moment so I could run to my room for pajamas, it’s after midnight.
“Who’s her mother?” I whisper once we’re beneath the covers, my head on his chest. I’ve been scared to ask, mostly because, before tonight, he would have bitten my head off. But now I need to know.
Gavin rubs soft circles on my back. “I don’t know.”
My heart pinches. I wish that Vivi was mine. Either way, I’m glad I’m here now. I’m so incredibly thankful for the time I get with her. “You’re a wonderful father.”
His arms tighten around me. “Thank you for saying that. Most days, I know I’m failing her, but having you here—it makes it almost bearable. Like maybe she’ll be all right because we’ve got you.”
“Gavin,” I say softly, my heart squeezing tight. “She really left her at your door?”
He nods, his expression grave. “One minute, we were having dinner with the team, and the next, we were reading a note from Vivi’s birth mother, and I was a dad.”
“Holy shit.”
He hums, his cheek pressed to the top of my head. “The moment I laid eyes on her, it was like I just knew; I’d been put on this earth to be her father.”
Tears well behind my lids. “She’s pretty special.”
Fingers dancing lightly on my back, he brings his hand up to my neck, then buries it in my hair and maneuvers me so I’m looking at him. Expression intense in a way I’ve rarely seen, he studies my face. “The same thing happened when I met you. Can’t explain it, but I was drawn to you. I knew you were special. Knew you were mine.”
I blink back the emotion. “What do we do now? My dad?—”
“I’ll talk to him.”
I sigh as nerves skitter through me. It won’t be easy. “And Vivi?”
Brows pinched, he frowns. “What about her?”
With a hand pressed to his chest, I swallow and ask, even as I worry I’ll upset him. “Are you worried her mother will ever come back?”
Scoffing, he gently guides my head to his chest again. “Not if she knows what’s good for her.”
I sigh and close my eyes. So many things remain uncertain. So many obstacles still stand in the way. But Gavin is right. One thing remains true: I am his, and as long as he’ll have me, I’m not going anywhere.