ten minutes later gavin's office door opened. footsteps faded down the hallway to sierra's room and her door closed. she hadn't slammed it. that was a good sign.

rielle took a deep breath and knocked. she expected to hear, "come in," but gavin answered the door.

he peered down the hallway almost as if he was disappointed to see her. "ree? hey. what's up?"

"i thought you might be hungry so i brought you a snack. and tea."

"oh. well. sure. i could eat." he grabbed the tray from her, and slid it on his desk, but didn't invite her in.

she followed him anyway and shut the door behind her. her heart hammed like crazy when he turned around, surprised to see her there. no excuses. just say it straight out. she marched up to him. "i'm sorry for the way i acted earlier. it was wrong, i was wrong and i hope you'll forgive me."

gavin rested his backside on the edge of his desk and crossed his arms over his chest in a go on posture.

"i don't want to explain because i'm afraid it'll come off sounding like an excuse. there isn't any excuse for the defensive way i acted and the accusations i made. i was shocked by the invite. of course because it's me, i wasn't immediately thinking of all the fun and romantic things we could do together. i immediately thought, i don't have a passport. i've never been on a plane. you would be so cool and sophisticated and i'd stick out like a country bumpkin. during the panicked stage, i only thought of myself and how i'd feel. i shoved aside the thoughtfulness and sweetness of even being asked to spend two weeks with you in paris."

he stared at her. "and?"

"and what?"

"and what about your comments about the differences in our financial situations?"

rielle twisted her fingers together.

"what about that pride of yours that can fill an entire room?" gavin stood up and stalked her. "what about the fact we're lovers, we've been lovers for several weeks and you still won't let me do things for you."

"i, umm, let you buy pizza the other night."

"any other time, that would make me laugh. but the fact i have to explain to you just how ridiculous that statement is, is a big part of the problem."

"i'm used to splitting costs-"

"with your daughter. with your friends. not with a lover. and as your lover, i've earned the right to do some things for you. things that will make me happy."

her back hit the door. how had that happened? "like what?"

gavin braced his hands beside her shoulders. "i want to take you out for dinner tomorrow night and you'll let me pay. for everything."

she started to shake her head but stopped when he made that growling noise. "um. okay."

"i want you to turn over the log splitting and wood hauling duties to me."

"gavin. i can't do that."

"why not?" he waited and then answered, "because you've always done it by yourself, right? well, guess what? no more. it will now fall under the realm of my household responsibilities. and the first time you ask me if i've filled the wood box? i will put you over my knee and paddle your ass."

holy shit.

"we clear?"

"yes."

"good. now there will be more things that occur to me, and we'll discuss them, just as long as you understand some of the no thanks, i don't need your help bullshit is gonna stop."

"does it really mean that much to you?"

"ree. it means everything to me. i'm tired of waiting for your permission to let me be the man you need. accept that if we're together things are going to change."

gavin was so close his body-heat-warmed cologne drifted into her nose until her entire being filled with his scent. she wanted him. no niceties. no foreplay. just thinking about him yanking her jeans down and driving into her made her wet. wet and achy. wet and achy and wanting.

"rielle."

he'd drawn out her name to three syllables. her gaze snapped to his. "what."

those blue eyes glittered. "don't look at me like that."

"like what? you said you wanted to do things for me."

his focus dropped to her mouth as she licked her lips.

"prove it. there's something you can do for me right now."

"name it."

she turned her head and sank her teeth into his bicep. then she rubbed her face against that smooth, hard flesh. her tongue traced the crease in the crook of his arm. "fuck me."

that was all it took.

gavin used one hand to lock the door and the other to pull her mouth to his in a ravenous kiss.

her head spun and her blood coursed faster, pooling like liquid fire in her pussy and throbbing in her nipples. she thought he'd shove her against the door, but he brought them to the floor, his mouth hungry on hers as he tried to unzip her jeans. and his jeans. at the same time.

she broke the kiss. "you do yours, i'll do mine."

then they were naked from the waist down and neither bothered with the top half.

levering himself over her, he kneed apart her thighs. he rolled his pelvis, rubbing his shaft over her mound. then he canted his hips and plunged inside her fully. he groaned, "jesus you're wet," against her throat.

"i know. get busy and fuck me."

"repeat that last part again."

"fuck me."

"i love to hear you say that." he held her hands above her head and rammed into her over and over. his eyes locked to hers. leaning closer to bestow a kiss that made her thoughts sweetly muzzy, even as he pounded into her flesh like a pile driver.

the quietness between them heightened the intensity. heat and breath and bodies in motion. each thrust drove them closer to the top. each kiss brought them closer to each other.

when rielle couldn't take any more, when she felt the tingling zip in her tailbone and her vaginal muscles tightening around his cock, she arched, coming hard with a gasp she couldn't contain.

then gavin's lips were on hers, absorbing the sound. he pumped into her faster; his deep groan rumbled in her mouth as he followed her over the edge.

sometime later-several minutes at least-sprawled on her body, he murmured, "i never want to move," and started kissing her neck in that distracting way.

"you have to so i can breathe. you are one solid man."

"and you're such a delicate flower." he pushed up and his perfect lips were curled into a very sexy, very satisfied male grin. "i'm starved."

"good thing i brought you a snack. but i'll bet your tea is cold."

"hot woman or hot tea. i'll take the hot woman every time."

chapter twenty-four

just to prove his point, gavin made supper and didn't allow rielle to help. he forced her to sit at the breakfast bar with a whiskey coke, and the stack of catalogues she'd been stockpiling but hadn't made time to read.

after he'd thrown the sliced potatoes, kielbasa and onions in the pan, he poured himself a drink and sat beside her. she was idly flipping through a beekeeper's supply catalogue.

"see anything you can't live without?"

"not so far. it's crazy how much the prices have increased since last year. since there isn't a local supplier, i'm stuck paying premium prices and shipping."

"i admit, i find beekeeping a lot more fascinating than i used to."

rielle batted her eyelashes. "because i explained it so well or because i look so completely sexy covered up in the beekeeper suit holding a smoker?"

"must be the latter." he snatched her hand and kissed her knuckles. "so honey, we need to talk."

she rotated on her barstool. "is this about how hot it was when you threw me on the floor and fucked me senseless in your office?"

"no." he allowed a wolfish smile. "but it was fucking amazing."

"what's amazing to me is i finally know what heart-pounding passion feels like. it's a first. you say that i don't let you do things for me. without sounding mushy, what you give me when we're alone together is something i've never had before." she kissed the back of his hand. "so thank you."

maybe the booze had loosened her tongue, but he was grateful she was finally opening up to him. "you're welcome. you do know it's the same for me, right?" his eyes searched hers. "i've never had this with anyone else. i don't want to go too fast or push too hard because i'm used to getting things my way, on my timeframe."

"no," she said with sarcasm. "really? i never noticed that about you, tycoon."

"such a smart mouth. but i am serious, ree. i don't want to screw this up."

"you won't. i won't let you. because i'm right there with you in trying to figure this out."

"good. now onto the other thing we need to discuss. christmas. or more accurately christmas vacation."

she didn't pull back.

encouraged, he laid it all out there. "the paris trip is off. for a number of reasons; the biggest one was that sierra didn't want to go. there's no way i'll force my daughter into a situation she doesn't want to be in. but she also needed to understand her mother has every right to spend time with her. so we arrived at a compromise."

"which is?"

"we'll spend christmas here as planned. then three days after christmas, sierra and i will fly to arizona. ellen will fly over from france and she and sierra will spend two weeks together in scottsdale."

"that's a great compromise, although i'd bet you're paying for ellen's plane ticket."

of course rielle would pick up on that. "that's a much cheaper solution than us going to paris."