It's Only Love(48)

“Stop thinking and just feel,” he whispered. “Just feel.” He withdrew from her slowly, leaving her bereft without him hard and strong inside her. Beginning at her throat, he kissed her everywhere—along her collarbone and down to her breasts, teasing them with soft kisses everywhere but where she wanted them most.

With her hand on the back of his head, Ella tried to direct him.

“Be patient.”

“I have no patience.”

He took mercy on her and ran his tongue over her nipple, back and forth until she was about to start begging.

“Gavin!”

Laughing, he drew the hard tip into his mouth, sucking and biting down nearly to the point of pain.

Ella jolted and almost climaxed from the live current that traveled from her nipple to her clit. Good God . . .

He kept up the slow, sexy seduction until she was reduced to a quivering mess of sensation.

She was right on the brink when he pushed into her again and sent her flying over the edge, screaming from the power of her release. Nothing had ever been like this. Ever. Wrapping her arms around him, she drew him into a kiss that ended when he threw his head back and came with a low growl. He was so fierce and beautiful, his strong jaw clenching, his eyes closed and his lips parted.

Ella took a mental picture of what he looked like as he lost himself in her. It was something she wanted to remember always. She held on tight to him, locked in the bliss they found together. It was everything she’d ever hoped it would be and so much more that she’d never dreamed possible.

If they could have this, just this, for the rest of their lives, Ella would never want for anything else.





CHAPTER 15




There is no grief like the grief that does not speak.

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow



On Thursday night, Gavin’s parents invited them to a cocktail reception at the Guthrie Inn.

“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Ella said, tuning in to his reluctance.

“I want to support my parents. The inn has been so good for them.”

“But?”

“No buts,” he said, forcing a smile for her. He honestly didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to be around women who’d lost their husbands to war. Though he supported the wonderful work his parents and Hannah were doing at the inn, he didn’t want anything to do with it.

But he couldn’t very well tell his parents that, not when the inn had given them new focus and energy as they worked in Caleb’s name to help others. It would be petty of him to undermine their newfound purpose by appearing less than supportive. He couldn’t do that to them.

So they went.

His mother greeted them with the big, bright smile that used to be so much a part of who she was until her son’s death dimmed the light inside her.

It was a relief to see her eyes dancing with excitement and joy again. Gavin hadn’t realized how much he’d missed that until now.

“Come in, have a drink, and Hannah made some delicious appetizers.”

“Sounds great,” Ella said. She was stunning in a black sweater, sexy gray pants that showed off her spectacular ass and even sexier black boots.

Gavin was so damned proud to have her at his side. This last week with her had been right out of a dream. He’d forgotten what it felt like to be happy—truly, deeply happy. Everything, even the supremely crappy days at work, had been easier to deal with knowing he got to go home to her each night.

His gaze shifted from Ella’s sexy body to the picture of his brother that adorned the foyer now that the Guthrie family home was the Capt. Caleb M. Guthrie Memorial Retreat. Caleb’s fierce expression in his official Army Ranger photo got to Gavin every time he allowed himself to look at it. Almost eight years later, it was still a vicious punch to the gut to remember he would never see that face again.

Gavin forced himself to look away lest he be dragged down into the rabbit hole of despair once again. He refused to let that happen when he had so many good things happening in his life. Resisting the rabbit hole had become a part-time job, but it was easier now with Ella by his side.

With her hand curled around his, he followed Ella into the kitchen, where her sister was arranging bruschetta on a platter. Hannah was beginning to show in the subtle rounding of her abdomen. Her cheeks were fuller, too, but her eyes told the true story. She’d rediscovered her joy, and it was a lovely thing to see indeed.

For so long after Caleb died, the two of them and his parents had been like the walking wounded, none of them quite sure how to go forward without the man who’d been at the center of all their lives. The other three were showing signs of recovery. Perhaps it was time for him to let it happen to him, too.

Caleb wasn’t coming back, as much as he wished otherwise. None of the raging, fighting or drinking had done a damned thing to assuage his bitter loss. If possible, he’d only succeeded in making everything worse.

Gavin took a deep breath, forcing his wandering mind to stay in the present rather than drifting to the past where trouble lay.

As she talked and laughed with her sister, Ella kept a firm grip on his hand, as if she knew he needed the connection.

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze that she returned, making him feel as connected to her as he did when they made love.

Nolan came into the kitchen, carrying an empty tray. “You’re a hit, babe. Everyone is clamoring for more.”