Right Where We Belong (Silver Springs #4)(39)

He caught her face between his hands. “I do see you. And I like what I see. You don’t need to hide from me. So come on, Savanna, show me more.”

Closing her eyes, she tried to let go of her worries, to embrace the buzz the wine had given her as well as the pleasure of desiring a man who desired her in return. Even if Gavin wasn’t as impressed with her body as she wanted him to be—which was partly what was hanging her up; no one had seen her after she’d had her children except Gordon—what did it matter? This was only for one night. And then it would be over. She had nothing to worry about. She’d cared so much about everything for so long. Now she was exhausted in a way she couldn’t even describe and refused to care about anything except getting lost in this moment.

“There you go,” he murmured as she pulled her shirt over her head, revealing the sheer black bra underneath.

When he backed up to look at her, and she saw the effect she had on him—the highly focused expression and proof of his arousal farther down—she grew confident enough to smile as she unhooked her bra.

“That’s the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen.” His gaze shifted to what she’d revealed, and he added, “Damn, you’re gorgeous!”

Encouraged, she started to undo her jeans, but he couldn’t seem to keep from touching her any longer. Closing the distance between them, he ran his knuckles down her bare arms before lowering his mouth to hers.

His lips felt every bit as good as Savanna had hoped. So did his hands. They moved up her back as he parted her lips and found her tongue.

She wasn’t sure if she was the one who moaned or he did, but when he cupped her breasts, her knees nearly gave out on her. “This feels completely new,” she said. “As if I haven’t been touched in years.”

“You obviously haven’t been touched in the right way,” he said.

There was a reverence in how he treated her that made her feel valued, important. He gave her the impression he felt lucky to have this opportunity and respected her as an individual, another person with the right to make choices and decisions of her own. After they were married, Gordon had so often treated her as an object, one that existed solely to make his life easier. The stark difference between the two men bolstered her belief that Gordon had to be guilty of attacking those women, and that came as a relief. After the excuses he’d given her this morning, her confidence had begun to flag, and those terrible questions she tended to ask herself—Am I the one at fault here? Could I or should I have done more?—had started eating at her again.

She leaned back as Gavin’s mouth moved down her neck. All the nerves below her stomach seemed to be drawing into a tight knot, creating a minibomb of energy that felt ready to explode. And he hadn’t even taken off his clothes yet.

“Your skin is so soft,” he said. “I’ve never touched anyone this soft.”

When his beard tickled her breast, she almost laughed. She remembered wondering what kissing him would be like. Now she knew. She could definitely feel his facial hair—on her lips and on her body. But she liked it, liked him. The deliberate way he kissed her. The confident and yet sensual way he touched her. She couldn’t regret inviting him over.

His mouth settled over one of her nipples and that proved the end of clear thought. Everything melted into sensation and instinct took over. As she rubbed her pelvis against him, he responded by squeezing her ass and finding her mouth again.

It took some self-restraint to break away. But before this went any further, she had to ask him a question. “Do you have birth control? Because I stopped taking the pill...”

Looking slightly dazed, he lifted his head. “I grabbed a couple of condoms when I went home.”

“A couple?”

“Okay, three. Since tonight’s all we have, I didn’t want to be caught shorthanded.”

“Sounds as if we’re going to make the most of our time together.”

He gave her a devilish grin. “We’re definitely going to do that.”

She liked the conviction in that statement, the license it gave her to cut loose and enjoy his body without reservation or restraint. Pulling the tie from his hair, she let her hands delve into the silky thickness, even buried her face in it. “Your hair smells nice,” she said.

“You’re easy to please,” he joked. “It’s time a man took better care of you.”

“I can tell I’m in good hands now. I bet there aren’t many men who know how to make love like you do.” She could tell he was surprised by the generosity of the compliment, but she meant it. Maybe he could tell. Maybe that was why her words seemed to stoke the fire of his excitement, making it burn that much hotter and brighter. She loved the purposeful glint in his eyes as he started to undo her pants.

She dragged his mouth back to hers and kissed him deeply, hungrily and far more passionately than she’d ever kissed anyone else. She was letting loose, letting herself forget the concerns that had been weighing on her so heavily. “Just tasting and touching you. It’s so good. Maybe it’ll be enough,” she told him.

“I hope not,” he said with a hoarse laugh.

She laughed, too. “You’re right. Forget I said that. When are you going to get rid of your clothes?”

“After the lights go off.”

She could tell he was joking. “Funny,” she said. “But the lights are staying on. It’s my turn to see you.”