Crazy Stupid Obsession Part 10

"But I need a little more time," I finally add to my previous statement after several long moments. "Can you give me that?" I ask, knowing the last thing I need is to just jump in head first without really thinking this through.

"I'll give you anything you want if it means at the end of the day that I get to call you mine." He nuzzles against my chest.

"Thank you."

I don't know if he hears my weak statement. It's more of a whisper that barely breaks the surface, but I don't make any attempt to say it again. Instead, I tighten my arms around Gavin and take a deep inhale of his incredible scent.

I may not know what the future holds. This may end up being the best thing I've ever done or my biggest mistake. All I know is right now he's all I want.

I want to commit every inch of his body to memory. I want to memorize his scent, the sound of his voice, the way his silky hair feels between my fingers. I want to remember every single detail of the moments I have with him.

Because with a man like Gavin Porter, you never know how long they'll last...

Chapter Twelve.

Harlee "So you have two sisters?" I ask, my fingers tracing lazy circles across Gavin's stomach as I lay curled into him with my head resting on his chest. "But no brothers?" I continue.

"I have two brothers," he corrects. "Decklan and Paxton."

"You know what I mean," I interject.

"I do and I answered." He chuckles lightly, his chest vibrating against my ear.

"So Mia is how old again?" I ask, just trying to make sure I have all my facts straight about him.

I'm desperate to know every detail about this man's life. I don't know why, but in a way the more I learn the closer I feel to him. And I want, no I need, to feel that closeness right now. I'm grasping at anything and everything that will calm the quake inside of me that's raging below the surface.

Fear. Love. Guilt. It all bleeds together, leaving me with a thick knot in the pit of my stomach.

"She's thirty-two," he answers on a yawn, resting his cheek against the top of my head. "And Charlie is twenty-one. While I'm at it, my mom is fifty-eight. Anything else?" He fakes annoyance.

"Shut up." I lightly smack his stomach with my hand. "Was it hard growing up with two sisters I mean?"

"Not really. I mean, Deck and I were inseparable as kids. h.e.l.l, he practically lived at my house years before he actually moved in with us, so it always felt like I had a brother, too. What about you?"

"Only child." I try to play off the spike in my voice by quickly continuing. "I liked it better that way. No one to compete with." I laugh lightly, doing my best to mask how completely uncomfortable I am talking about my childhood.

While I'm dying to know everything about him, there are parts of myself I'm not ready to share. There are things that I haven't even told Kimber despite the fact that one of the reasons we bonded so quickly was because of our mutual dislike for our parents.

Only Angel knows everything. My mom. The way I found her. I shake away the thought, determined to not let the demons of my past ruin the otherwise perfect moment Gavin and I are sharing.

"What about your parents? Do they still live around here?" he asks, already knowing that I graduated from the same high school as him and Decklan. Of course, that was six years later so we never crossed paths.

"My mom died when I was ten," I admit, knowing that he probably already knows this or will eventually find out. It's not like it's some big secret.

"I'm so sorry." His arms tighten around me and for a moment I take comfort in his embrace, letting myself feel a small sliver of sadness for the mother I never got to have, for the one I had to bury nearly ten years ago.

"It was a long time ago." I shrug.

"And your father?" He speaks against the top of my head, his grip on me not lessening.

"He lives about an hour south of here," I answer truthfully. I just leave out the part where his residence is Oregon State Penitentiary.

"Do you see him often?" he asks, clearly not realizing that his questions are digging into a very sore subject for me.

"Not really. We aren't close," I admit.

Now that I think about it, it's been close to two years since the last time I visited my father. I hate seeing him in there. Despite the fact that he was a lowlife, deadbeat father to me and deserves to be exactly where he is, he's still my family. Seeing him in there was too hard for me, so eventually I just stopped visiting.

"Enough about me." I prop my chin up on his chest so I can peer up at him, the sight of him causing my chest to constrict.

My G.o.d, this man is beautiful.

"I want to know more about you," I add.

"I'm pretty simple." He tucks a strand of hair behind my ears. "What you see is what you get, baby." His mouth turns up in a crooked smile.

"Somehow I find that hard to believe." I roll my eyes, pushing myself up into a sitting position. "I do have a question, though."

"Shoot."

"Well, more of an observation really. You haven't smoked since I've been here."

"I quit," he replies casually.

"Seriously?" I blurt.

"Yeah, this girl I'm into kinda hates it." He shrugs, sending my heart pounding all over again.

He quit for me? The thought sends a rush of emotion flooding through me.

"Is that so?" I question playfully.

"Yeah, apparently it's really bad for me." He gives me a wide grin.

"So I've heard." I laugh, shaking my head at him before shifting toward the edge of the bed.

"Hey! Where are you going?" He grabs for me just seconds after I slide out of his reach, sitting up in bed with a playful scowl on his face.

"You can't expect to keep me prisoner here all weekend and not feed me," I whine, grabbing his vintage looking Seattle Mariners t-shirt from the floor.

I smile and take a deep inhale the moment I slide the material over my head. His scent instantly engulfs me, and I love the way it smells against my skin.

"Oh, I'll feed you alright." He gives me a wicked smile before throwing the covers back, revealing his still very naked torso.

I can't stop my eyes from trailing down the length of him. I swear there is not one inch of this man that is not complete perfection.

"Funny." I fake laugh, turning my back to him to slide my panties on. "Seriously, though," I start, my words instantly falling away when I turn and run smack dab into his hard chest.

"I wasn't trying to be funny." He dips his face down eye level with mine, his tongue darting out across his bottom lip.

At first, I think he's going to kiss me but then he backs away, a very satisfied smile pulling up the corners of his mouth. Apparently, he saw exactly the reaction he was looking for on my face.

Spinning around, he heads to the dresser that sits along the far side of the room. I can't stop my eyes from following him, focused directly on his bare a.s.s as he rifles through drawers. He finally pulls out a plain black t-shirt and a pair of dark gray boxer briefs, sliding them on before turning back around to face me.

While I swear this man would look good wearing a garbage bag, I can't help but feel slightly disappointed that his incredible body is now hidden from my view. He must sense my disappointment because he lets out a small chuckle and shrugs.

"You had your chance." His smile is enough to make my knees shake slightly just from looking at him.

"This isn't over," I warn, spinning around and heading toward the door.

Before I can reach it, his arm snakes around my waist and he pulls my backside flush against him.

"Think again," he rasps against my ear before spinning me back around, laying a hard smack to my a.s.s as he does. "You're not going out there in that." He points to my attire.

"Why not?" I question, looking down at myself. His shirt hangs down mid-thigh on me, so it's not like I'm not covered.

"Because I have a temporary roommate, and I am not going to give him the pleasure of seeing what belongs to me," he growls. "Pants. Now."

"G.o.d, you're bossy." I stick my tongue out at him before picking up my gray leggings off the floor and sliding them on. "Better?" I huff, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

"What will be better is when you've had a chance to eat and are back in my bed with not a f.u.c.king thing on." His eyes darken as they trail from my face to my feet and then back up again before he rips the door open and disappears down the hallway.

I can't help the huge smile that spreads across my face, my feet temporarily unable to move as the pure rush of excitement seeps through my body. I can't believe I'm here. I can't believe I've spent the last thirty-six hours in Gavin's arms, in his bed.

"Are you coming or what?" I hear him yell down the hall, snapping me out of my momentary haze.

"I'm coming. I'm coming," I call back, exiting the bedroom.

"Not the first time I've heard that come out of your mouth," he quips the moment he catches sight of me from the kitchen.

"You're really on it tonight. I bet you think you're really something special," I tease, sliding up onto the kitchen counter so that when he turns away from the refrigerator I am sitting eye level with him.

He looks at me for a long moment before crossing the short distance between us, sliding the lunch meat and condiments onto the counter before stepping in between my legs, his lips instantly finding my neck.

"Do I need to remind you just how special I am?" he asks, his fingers closing down around my hips as he pulls my body flush against his, the evidence of his arousal pressing into me.

I let out a small gasp before wrapping my hands around the back of his neck and pulling his face up to meet mine. "I think you might need to," I challenge, pressing my lips firmly against his.

He immediately deepens the kiss, his tongue sliding against mine hungrily like we haven't just spent the last several hours devouring one and another. I slide my hands down his back, pulling him even tighter against my body, wanting nothing more than to feel him inside of me right here and now.

"I'm going to f.u.c.k you, Harlee. Right here on this f.u.c.king counter." He nips at my earlobe, coaxing a small groan of pleasure from my mouth.

His grip on my hips disappears seconds before I feel his hand grip the hem of my shirt as he starts to pull upward. I lift my arms but then immediately drop them when I hear the front door open and then slam shut.

I scramble to compose myself, quickly fixing my shirt just seconds before Paxton appears through the half wall that opens up into the living s.p.a.ce.

"Hey." Gavin nods toward Paxton before stepping out from between my legs, leaving me sitting on the counter as he resumes collecting the items needed to make our sandwiches.

"Hey." Paxton doesn't seem the least bit surprised to see me here, but I suddenly feel very out of place. "What are you making?" Both men carry on as if Paxton hadn't just walked in on me and Gavin about to have s.e.x directly on top of the kitchen counter.

"Turkey sandwiches," Gavin answers, dropping a loaf of bread on the counter next to me. "You want one?"

"Nah, I'm good." He shakes his head. "I got some s.h.i.t to take care of. Just needed to stop by and take a quick shower."

"Where've you been?" Gavin questions, laying out two pieces of bread before stacking three slices of turkey on top of each one.

I flip my eyes between the two of them, staying silent as I observe their casual interaction. While Gavin seems completely at ease like he doesn't have a care in the world, Paxton seems kind of anxious.

"I stayed at Dad's last night. We had a few beers with dinner and instead of driving I just decided to crash on his couch."

I don't know why, but I get the feeling something is off with him. Of course, I don't know him well enough to say that as a fact but if I had to guess, there's something going on that he's not letting Gavin in on. I can't help but wonder what it could be. I make a mental note to find out more about Paxton next time I talk to Kimber.

"Nothing. I like it plain," I say when Gavin holds up a bottle of mustard and mayo. He scrunches his nose before slathering his sandwich in mustard.

I'm about to make a comment when the sound of my cell phone signaling a new message from the living room grabs my attention.

"I'll be right back." I slide off the counter.

By the time I reach my purse lying on the couch, Gavin has already moved on to asking Paxton something about his gig at Deviants tomorrow night. Honestly, the moment I see the slew of messages that litter my screen, I stop hearing what they are saying.

There has to be at least twenty messages, all from Bryan...

Where are you?

Are you alive?

You missed dinner.

I'm worried. Will you call me, please?

The last one had come in just moments ago. The guilt that previously consumed me comes rushing back like a tidal wave, flooding through every part of my body. I look up to where Gavin and Paxton are still in casual conversation before turning my attention back down to my phone, immediately typing out a quick text.

So sorry. I'm fine. I came to Portland with Kimber last night and my phone died.

I hit send, praying that in his attempt to make sure I was okay that he didn't call Kimber to see if she had heard from me.

His response comes back instantly.

Thank G.o.d! I was so worried about you. You missed our date last night.