Collide (Collide #1)(135)

He ran his palm over his face and let out another groan. His lips curled into a sensual smile. "You're killing me, Emily - literally killing me."

She smirked, reveling in the fact that she could make such a powerful man crumble. Rolling off him, she started to laugh. "Hmm, who's begging now?"

Shaking his head, he swung his legs over the side of bed and laughed. "Oh, you will pay for that one, I promise."

As she listened to him speak with whoever was on the other end, she smiled and ran her fingers across his back, hoping he would make good on his threat.

"Can't it wait?" he asked the caller.

Emily sat up on her knees and feathered kisses along his shoulders.

Loving the way she felt, Gavin rolled his neck to the side, inviting her into his mouth. She smiled and kissed him for a few seconds before he spoke again.

"Alright, give me a minute," he groaned into his cell. Cupping his hand over it, he turned to face her. "It's Colton. I have a few things I need to go over with him about some bullshit at work. I might be a while."

Emily nodded.

He touched her cheek with the back of his hand, stroking the curve of her chin. Settling his lips over hers, he kissed her tenderly. "Open the rest of your gifts, go take a shower, and I'll make us some breakfast when I'm done talking with him."

Again she nodded, her eyes following him as he made his way out of the room. Trying to tame her heated senses, she drew in a deep breath and started going through the rest of the items. Along with a pair of pink-and-gray Nike Shox sneakers, she also found the necessities needed for her to take a shower. From shampoo to an array of body wash and razors, he seemed to have covered all the bases. There was also a bottle of Jimmy Choo perfume. Emily figured he must have spoken with Olivia because that was her favorite kind. Opening the thinnest box, she smiled when she found a pair of black lace panties and a matching bra.

After gathering everything together, Emily slipped from the bed and padded into the bathroom where she indulged in a hot, soothing shower. Though her body felt physically at ease in complete bliss, her thoughts were anything but. Overwhelmed would have been an understatement. She had a lot that she knew she had to face when Dillon got back. Frankly, it terrified her right down to her bones. She ran over the things she would tell him. However, she still couldn't push away the feeling that somehow the whole scenario was about to go up in flames - torching her, Gavin, and Dillon in the process. Stepping out from the shower, she grabbed a towel off the rack and tried to push away the festering negative thoughts that were taking residence in her head.

Once dressed in her less-than-appealing Yankees attire, she made her way into the living room, her eyes sweeping over Gavin's collage of black-and-white photos; most were massive in size. Unlike the time before when she was there, this time she actually studied them. It was then that she noticed every picture hanging on the wall was a building or famous structure of some sort. She recognized one as the Pantheon located in Rome. Another was a French portrait of the Palace of Versailles. Her eyes scanned over the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, and the Gateway Arch. She wondered if these were places Gavin already visited or if they were on his list of places to see.

With that thought, she followed the voice of the man she wanted to know more about. She found him in his office, sitting at a large mahogany desk with Manhattan's skyline just beyond the floor-to-ceiling window behind him. Although the structures of the most powerful city in the world towered over his frame, in her eyes, he looked like a king seated on his throne.

And now that king was hers.

With his eyes downcast, staring at his laptop, still in business mode with his Bluetooth receiver in his ear, Gavin didn't notice her observing him while she leaned against the doorframe. To her disappointment, he'd already gotten himself dressed. However - as casual and relaxed as he appeared in a pair of black sweatpants, a white V-neck T-shirt, and reading glasses - in that moment, she felt drawn to him. Quietly, she moved across the room, bridging their distance. It wasn't until she was within an arm's length of him that his head snapped up, a contagious smile washing over his face.