“Sometimes taking the next step isn’t always possible.”
“Why not? I’d think you’d want something permanent between the two of you.”
He shook his head. “Layla and I are very different. Dad took Mom out of a big city and brought her here and she was miserable. Layla is from Seattle. She’d be just as unhappy and miserable here as Mom was.”
“Have you talked to Layla about it? Have you asked her how she feels?”
“No.”
“Then maybe you should. You’re basing your opinions on assumptions. I know for a fact Layla loves the Silver Spurs. She said as much.”
“But that doesn’t mean she loves me. If she doesn’t love me, then there’s nothing to hold her here. She’s gotten a lot of job offers from a number of big universities, including Harvard. All we have in Cornerstone is a small college. Why would she settle for that?”
“Well, I think you’ll be making a big mistake if you don’t talk to her about it, tell her how you feel. Let her decide what she wants to do. You might discover that she loves you as much as you love her.”
* * *
An hour or so later, Gavin entered the party house. He removed his hat and shook off the snow from his jacket before hanging both items on the rack.
The first thing he noticed as he headed for the kitchen was that the curtains were still closed. Everything was just as he’d left it at daybreak, which meant Layla hadn’t gotten up yet. Placing the box containing the breakfast his grandmother had prepared on the table, he moved down the hallway to the bedroom. Opening the door, he stuck his head inside and saw Layla curled up in bed still sleeping.
The bad weather had pretty much dictated that everyone stay inside. He knew his men had a card game going and he could certainly join them. But he much preferred staying here and joining Layla, right in that bed. What if Gramma Mel was right? What if Layla wanted to stay on the Silver Spurs with him? Would it be fair to ask her to stay when a call from his commanding officer meant he would drop everything for a covert operation? Would she want that?
He sat in a chair and removed his shoes and socks before standing to take off the rest of his clothes. No matter the temperature, he preferred sleeping in the nude, something he couldn’t do while away on missions.
Crossing the room, Gavin slid into bed with Layla and pulled her into his arms, to warm his body as well as his heart.
* * *
Layla thought she was dreaming when she felt a hot and husky whisper against her ear. It took a moment to open her eyes and gaze into a pair of sexy dark ones staring back at her. Gavin’s body was pressed close to hers. It was warm, even hot in certain places, and she knew without a doubt that he was naked.
“We need to talk, Layla.”
She heard the seriousness in his voice. Why did they need to talk? He was ready for her to leave. She got that. But why was he rushing her away? Did he already have another woman lined up to share his bed? The thought made her mad and she buried her face in the pillow, but not before saying, “I don’t want to talk. I have nothing to say to you.”
He pulled the pillow away from her, frowning. “What the hell did I do?”
“Just being a typical man. You share a bed with a woman, and then you tire of her and want her gone so you can replace her with another.”
He stared at her. “You think I would do that?”
“Why wouldn’t you? You’re a man, aren’t you? You’re not tied to any woman, especially not to me. It’s not like I didn’t notice that reporter flirting with you.”
He frowned. “What reporter?”
Layla rolled her eyes. “The one that kept putting that microphone all in your face and kept touching your shoulders every chance she got, even when she didn’t have to.” Layla hated that she’d said something about that. Now she sounded like a jealous hag. Just because they’d slept together a few times didn’t mean she had dibs on him.
Before she could catch her next breath, he had flipped her on her back. He loomed over her and held her hands in a tight grip above her head.
“Why would I want another woman, Layla?”
That was really a silly question. “Why wouldn’t you want another one?”
He stared down at her with an intensity that made a rush of desire claw through her insides. “Because you are all the woman I need. Hell, I can barely keep up with you, Layla.”
* * *
Lord knows that’s the truth, Gavin thought, as he felt familiar need hammer through him. Only Layla could do this to him. Make him feel so consumed with desire for her, he would go up in flames. More than once his teammates had told him to take a cold shower when just looking at Layla heated an entire room.
Gavin just stared down at her. She was wearing a nightgown, but barely. It was made of flimsy material and part of it was bunched up around her waist, leaving her bare below. Her hair was loose and tousled around her shoulders. Because of the way he was holding her hands, her breasts jutted up, firm and hard. He could see the impression of rigid nipples through the thin material of her gown.
Just that quickly, her breathing changed. He heard it and then he felt the sinfully erotic movement of her hips against him. After all the times they’d made love right here in this bed, not to mention the times they hadn’t made it to the bed, didn’t she know how much he wanted her? Her and no other woman? She actually thought she had a reason to be jealous of some damn reporter who couldn’t keep her hands to herself?
He knew from the eyes staring back at him that his grandmother was right. Layla had no idea how he felt about her. The woman hadn’t a clue. He had told her they needed to talk, and then she’d gone on the offensive. Why? Had his grandmother been right on both accounts, that Layla cared for him as much as he cared for her?
There was only one way to find out.
“Let’s backtrack for a minute, Layla. Earlier I asked you why I would want another woman, and you asked why I wouldn’t want one. I don’t think I made myself clear enough. The main reason I don’t want another woman is because I love you. I’ve fallen in love with you, Layla, and when a man falls in love with one woman she takes away his desire for other women. She becomes the one and only woman he wants in his life, his bed, his home, his mind and his heart. You are that woman for me.”
She stared at him for a long time without saying anything. And then he saw it, the tears forming in her eyes. “But if you love me, why were you sending me away?”
He frowned. “I wasn’t sending you away. The other night you told me you were going. What was I supposed to do, tell you that you couldn’t go?”
She frowned back at him. “You could have told me you loved me.”
“Why would I tell you that when I didn’t know how you felt? Hell, I still don’t know. With your credentials, you can teach anywhere. I know about all those job offers that have come in. Why would you want to stay here? My mother hated it here.”
“I
