Pulse (Collide, #2)(53)

“What?” Emily giggled, straddling his waist. Looking down at him, she frowned. “I want to know. You told me why you got it where you did, but you left out why you picked a dragon.”

Eyes zeroed in on her lips, Gavin smirked. “I got the dragon because I knew women would never… ever… ever be able to resist licking it.”

Emily playfully swatted his arm. “You bastard. Are you saying I’m not the first to lick it?” In one quick movement, Gavin slipped his arm behind her waist and flipped her onto her back. Emily gasped, her heart nearly stopping as he hovered above her, lightly brushing his mouth against hers. “Oh my God,” she breathed. “I was right. You are crazy.”

“And you’re trying to kill me with your questions,” Gavin countered, nipping her bottom lip, which she started to realize was something he loved to do. “You’re no longer allowed to say the words ‘lick it’ in my presence. Is that understood, Miss Cooper?”

His demand drifted over her like a caress, but she was about to push a few buttons. She popped a brow, her mouth curled into a smirk. “Lick… it… Caveman.”

Gavin’s eyes went wide right about the same time he dove his hand under her tank top. Emily squealed, squirming under his embrace. She yanked his hand away from her breast. “Gavin! No, I want you to open your gifts.”

“It’s a done deal,” he replied, his voice a desperate groan. “I’m convinced you’re seriously trying to kill me. I thought I was pretty on point with my game. Where did I go wrong?”

Emily released another giggle. “You could never go wrong, and I swear I’ll make it up to you later.”

Grinning, Gavin shook his head and sighed.

After kissing his cheek, she eased out from beneath him and straddled his lap as he sat cross-legged. Reaching for the bag that had gotten lost under the tangled mess of blankets, Emily smiled and pulled out a small envelope. “Here. This is something that you have to use for the rest of your life.”

Gavin looked at the envelope. Written across the front in Emily’s handwriting was:





With a small smile, Gavin pulled out a thin card, showing Emily had purchased him a lifetime subscription to Architectural Digest. It was then he realized she also remembered things he’d told her. Wrapping his arms around her waist, Gavin ducked his head, whispering a soft kiss on her lips. “You’d be happy with me if I was an architect?”

“I’d be happy with you if you picked garbage up off the side of the road if that’s what you wanted to do.”

“You would?” He knew Emily wasn’t with him for his money, but her answer somewhat shocked him. Most, if not all, women he’d encountered would’ve told him to stuff his dreams up his ass if he wasn’t making the millions he did with Blake Industries. Though a career as a sanitation worker would never be his choice, his heart warmed. He’d found a woman who would accept him under any circumstance he might find himself in.

“Of course I would,” Emily replied, tossing her arms around his neck. A teasing smile crept across her lips. “And I’m thinking you’d look pretty damn hot in the uniform.”

“Ah, always an ulterior motive.” Gavin popped a kiss against her forehead. She smiled, and his features sobered as he stared into her eyes. “Thank you. I love it.”

“No. Thank you,” she whispered against his lips. Unwrapping one of her hands from his neck, she reached into the bag and pulled out a small box. “I have more gifts for you. This one kind of coincides with the subscription in a weird way.”

Gavin smiled and started unwrapping it. Once he’d peeled the red wrapping paper away, he found a black box with the name Patek Philippe Calatrava engraved on it. Shocked, because he knew his time pieces as well as he did cars, Gavin knew it held a very expensive watch. Upon opening it, his suspicions were correct. Trimmed in gold, the piece was amazing and something Gavin could easily see himself wearing. He ran his fingers over the soft black leather wristband, his eyes taking in the fine, Switzerland-made contemporary design. Though the Breguet piece he was currently wearing dented his checkbook a cool $260,000, this particular Patek Philippe Calatrava must’ve cost Emily upwards of $25,000.

Emily smiled, and handed him a second card with the words:





Now he understood how the two gifts fit together. Gavin cupped her cheek and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “Thank you,” he whispered, stroking her hair. Emily smiled, but Gavin couldn’t help wonder how she was able to afford the watch. “Did you use the funds I put into your bank account to buy me this?” Gavin searched her face. Though she’d argued with him about dumping any cash into her account, spending it on him was the last thing he wanted her to do. “I told you not to buy me anything with that money.”

Emily rolled her eyes. “Do you like it?”

“Of course I like it. I love it. But I don’t want you spending money like this on me, Emily.”

With a sigh, Emily rolled her eyes again. Bringing his face close to hers, her expression became serious as all hell. “Gavin. First of all, I didn’t use the funds you gave me to buy it. I have my own, and I used some of it to purchase that for you.”

“Emily. Even though you make some extra cash waitressing, I highly doubt a substitute teacher’s salary would allow you to spend this much on a watch.”