Collide (Collide #1)(112)

Anger of his own surged hot and deep inside him as he backed her against a wall on the side of the terrace. He stared at her, his blue eyes brooding in the dimly lit space with an expression so hard it was granite. "This has nothing to do with me wanting to f*ck you."

"Oh, it doesn't?" she breathed out, wiping her wind-blown hair away from her face.

"No, 'cause let's not forget that I could've f*cked you." Positioning his hand on the wall above her, he pressed his entire body against hers. She brought her hands up against his chest and tried to push him away, but his strength overpowered hers. Grazing his lips against her ear, he drew his words out in a slow, hot whisper. "I could've f*cked you over...and over...and over again, and I could've f*cked you very well to be honest, but I stopped because that's not the way I want you."

With her chest heaving for air, her heart racing, and her panties saturated in desire, she looked away. "Then what do you want from me, Gavin?" she asked, her voice an aggravated whisper.

He caught her by the chin and made her look at him, his eyes - that light, wild blue - blazing into hers. "Damn it, Emily. I want us! You belong with me, not him." He half snarled the declaration. "Every part of you was made for me. Your lips were made to kiss mine, your eyes were made to wake up to me looking at you in my bed every morning, and your f*cking tongue was made to roll my name off of it. I am more certain of us than I'm certain that I require oxygen to breathe."

Like a thief in the night, his words nearly stole her breath. She looked practically on the verge of tears and went to speak, but Gavin suddenly brought his hand up and cupped it over her mouth. He gave a quick shake of his head. At first, she didn't realize what he was doing, and then the sound of Dillon and Trevor's voices cut through their frantic breathing. With widened eyes, Emily's heart quickened as she stared at Gavin.

"Well, where is she?" Dillon asked, his tone filled with anger and concern. "And where the f*ck is Gavin?"

A few seconds went by before Trevor answered, and as fast as Emily's heart was pounding, she was sure Dillon could hear it. All Dillon had to do was round the corner of the terrace to find her and Gavin in the shadows.

"The room was too loud, and Gavin had to take a business call. He went upstairs to find somewhere quiet." Trevor cleared his throat a few times. "Let's go back in, and I'll have Olivia check out the restrooms again."

Emily heard Dillon let out a heavy breath, and then their footsteps receded back inside.

As the oxygen redistributed itself back into her depleted lungs, Gavin slowly dragged his hand away from her mouth. Other than the distant sound of laughter and conversation from the party, deafening silence descended as they stared at one another. Emily pushed herself from the wall and started to walk away, but as soon as she did, Gavin called out to her.

She came to an abrupt stop but didn't turn to face him.

He slowly came up behind her, brushing his hands down her arms, his spoken words muffled into the crook of her neck. "I'd never hurt you, Emily. Stop fighting me. Stop fighting what you already know."

With his touch heady and intoxicating and her heart still slamming in her chest, she didn't turn around. She couldn't. On shaky legs, she made her way back into the party, the sudden need for absolute numbness overriding her thoughts. She gave the room a once over to make sure Dillon wasn't in her line of sight. As soon as she knew it was clear, she weaved through the guests, her mind racing a mile a minute with the fear that Dillon could've caught them. Her body jerked with a surge of adrenaline when she felt a hand grab for her elbow, but the tension in her shoulders deflated when she turned to find it was Olivia.