"When did you start dancing?" he asks, his deep voice next to my ear."When I began preschool, my mom enrolled me in a toddler dance academy, and my love for it grew from there.""Is your mom a dancer?” Gavin’s hands skate down my arms, causing goose bumps.I giggle and press closer to him. Being in his arms feels better than I could have imagined. "That’s two questions, but no, she isn’t. She's a model and travels a lot, too." The last thing I wantto think about is my absentee mother, but he asked and, truly, I want Gavin to know me."Did I upset you?" he asks, turning me so that I’m facing him. I hastily shake my head, pressing it against his shoulder as his hand strokes up and down my back."No, she wasn’t around a lot when I was growing up, though. I actually haven’t talked to her in a long time."Deftly, Gavin lifts my face with a finger under my chin and gazes into my eyes."I understand, but if she doesn’t appreciate you then it’s her loss, Sophia, not yours." My heart skips
"My dad passed Thomas Corporations down to me, the family company, last spring. He’d been priming me for it since I was fifteen years old. I own and operate it now, along with my mom, of course, who runs the offices and legal aspects of it."My breath catches. I struggle to imagine how much money he must make, owning a growing computer technology corporation like that. Mom always told me to follow the men with gold, but it doesn’t make me want him any less or any more. It’s just a surprise."Wow. I mean I figured you had a pretty high-end job to afford your Jaguar, but I didn’t expect that. What do you do? It’s computer technology, right?" He nods and leans back a little so his eyes meet mine in the setting sun."We try to innovate mobile and computer technologies for modern-day society. After Windows 8, our system was in almost every PC in America."I give him a smile, reassuring him that I’m only curious about his work and not trying to pry."Windows 8?""Yeah, once we put together
As I make my way into the kitchen, I see my dad giving Kel a hug. I squeal, a huge smile on my face since I haven’t seen him in weeks. Excitement bubbles up inside me when he turns and sees me."Pumpkin, come here,” Dad says, pulling away from my sister. I run into his arms, so happy to see him as he lifts me off my feet and kisses my cheek."When did you get here?" I ask, pulling back to take a look at him. I laugh, seeing his beard coming back. He has new lines around his eyes and mouth, but his deep amber eyes, the same as Kel’s, are as bright as they’ve always been."You look happy, Sophia," he says, twirling me in a circle like he always does."Dad, you seriously have to shave!” I laugh through the words. He throws his head back and laughs, pulling me with him. He makes his way into the kitchen where Kel places three plates of mac and cheese on the table.“I’ll take it under advisement, pumpkin,” Dad winks at me.Turning to my sister, he says, “This is great, Kel. Thank you." I si
GavinThe cup of steaming hot coffee meeting my taste buds could be described as the highlight of my day on most days I spend in the office. Today was different. Meeting Sophia Jones was the highlight, and if I could have spent more time with her today, I would have jumped at the chance. I haven’t truly thought about a girl or rather, a woman, in any way other than an easy fix at the end of a very long day in I don’t know how long. Back in college, it had been different. I was convinced that my girlfriend at the time, Jasmine, was the one. The one. As I think about it now, I have to laugh at myself.I didn’t know how naive that sentiment was. As if there was one woman that would stay by me through thick and through thin. As if there was a woman out there that could look past my name and the number attached to my bank account. Maybe even past the dollar signs on my paycheck each month. I’d thought she was that one woman. Shit, was I wrong. I sip my coffee slowly, closing my eyes f
Sophia "My Sophie," he whispers, sending terrible shivers down my skin as I writhe against his hold, finding myself trappedagainst his hard, heavy, unyielding body. His cold, hard eyes stare down at me. He grasps the button of my jeans,undoing it and roughly pulling them down my legs as I sob, feeling helpless against his weight and his greedy hands. "Please, stop. Stop, Bryce...you’re hurting me...no!” I whimper and scream fearfully as he holds me down,he’s having no mercy as I clutch the bed covers and sobs rack my body. The pain is relentless as I feel his hard lipsagainst mine. I can’t get away. It hurts! "No! Get off me...It hurts!!" I writhe and scream, crying out for help as he slaps me hard across my cheek,making me whimper in pain. I yearn for it to stop, but it never does. "Stop...please..." He chuckles, taking me again as I feel my sex spasm painfully against his punishment. I have no way ofgetting him off me with his death grip on both my hands. "Shut up, bitc
As I slip my ballet flats on and fasten the ribbons of my leotard, my cell rings. I skip over, almos falling as I’m reaching for it. I see Gavin’s name on the screen and smile. It’s been about a week since the night he held me, comforted me after that horrible dream. We’ve gone out to lunch almost every day, growing closer and I’ve found so many things I like about him. His laugh when I try to impersonate my family members or friends as I’m telling a story. His passion for the work his father has done in the technology world, the fierceness in which he speaks when we talk about his sister, Callie. I’ve learned he’s very protective of the only daughter of James A. Thomas. I’ve learned he will only drink when in the company of people he trusts, for some people will stop at nothing to get close to him and his family. When he told me that, I was intimidated. The lavish life style he has is something that is not new to me and though it is a lot to take in, Gavin is much more than a bil
Even after the movie ends, we sit and cuddle and stare at each other, not saying anything. A hand rests at the small of my back when he takes a big breath and I feel him stiffen a little as he holds me. "What happened earlier?" I murmur, trying to read his expression. "I don’t want to scare you off with what I’m about to say." I gaze up at him, a little uneasy about what he could possibly say to scare me away. "Look, if you’re changing your mind after last night, Gavin, I’d completely…" He interrupts with an index finger to my parted lips. His eyes blaze and I can’t take mine away from his. "I want us to be exclusive, baby." My heart stops and then immediately speeds back to a rapid beat, soaring at the sound of those words. He hasn’t changed his mind. He really wants to be with me, and I can see it in his eyes. I gasp, rendered speechless, and his hand comes up to my cheek, his eyes clear of the darkness I saw before. "Are you sure?" I whisper, my palm resting over his heart
He kisses me back, his hand anchoring my head to his mouth, gripping my hip with the other. I feel the tightening in my core, wanting to kiss every possible surface of his skin, but knowing I can’t yet.I’m breathless, forcing myself to pull away, my mouth tingling in aftershock from the kiss. "How did you know?" I ask as he leads me up the walkway, his hand in mine. "What?" I lean down and pick up a lilac, cradling it in my palm. "That this is my favorite flower. Did Kel tell you?" He takes a step back, his eyes first filling with confusion and then with sheer excitement. "Really, beautiful?" I nod, my face stretching in happiness. His eyes lock on to mine and he pulls me into him, wrapping an arm around my waist. The sweetest of kisses is pressed to my temple. "Ever since yesterday, I’ve noticed you always smell like lilacs, Sophia. It’s intoxicating and sweet, making it impossible for me to stay away from you." Oh, my. How can a guy like this exist and actually like me? My