Author: Jaci Burton

“So you’re not worried about her finding some hot male stripper and running off with him?”

Ty shot him a look. “Uh . . . no. After all, she has me to come home to.”

Gavin snorted, then directed his attention back to the game. After a while, the women came in to watch. Gavin made room on the oversize chair for Liz, who draped her legs over his.

At halftime, the Sabers were still ahead, and Gavin headed outside with the rest of the guys. It was a decent day, so they all shot some baskets, then grabbed more beer and lounged near the fire pit.

“We’re set for the weekend,” Ty said. “We have the trip to Vegas lined up.”

“Cards and booze,” Gavin said. “I’m ready.”

Garrett grinned. “I’m giving Alicia a hard time and telling her we’re club hopping at strip joints.”

Cole shook his head. “Bet she’s loving you for that.”

“She didn’t seem fazed by it. All she said was to remember she’d be doing the same thing.”

Cole laughed. “Got you on that one, didn’t she?”

“Hey, just remember, whatever my fiancée is doing will be the same thing your fiancée will be doing.”

“Huh,” Cole said, frowning. “Good point. Not sure I like the idea of hot, sweaty men rubbing all over my woman.”

“I don’t think there’ll be any strippers,” Gavin said. “That just doesn’t seem like something Jenna would be interested in. But I’ll check with Liz and see if I can find out what’s actually going on.”

“You really think Liz is going to tell you anything?”

Gavin nodded at Ty. “She will. With the right amount of persuasion.”

They went inside and watched the rest of the game, which the Sabers won, fortunately. That made for a hot discussion about football at the dinner table. Of course coming off the recent loss to Mick, Cole nitpicked all of Mick’s deficiencies, which meant Gavin’s dad had to argue and defend Mick. Gavin just sat back silently and ate his lasagna, because there was no way he was going to defend his brother. Mick could defend himself just fine next time he and Cole met up.

“Gavin, could you help me upstairs for a minute?” Liz asked after the plates were cleared and everyone sat in the living room watching a movie.

“Sure.” He got up and followed her upstairs.

She pulled him into his old bedroom, then shut and locked the door. When she pushed him onto one of the overstuffed chairs, he cocked a brow.

“Seriously?”

She unzipped her jeans and shimmied out of them, then removed her panties and climbed into the chair with him, straddling his lap. “You didn’t think I’d forget about this, did you?”

He grasped her hips, his cock twitching to life as she rubbed against him. “I knew you wouldn’t. When you get an idea into your head, it doesn’t go away.”

“No, it doesn’t. You’re not going to complain about it, are you?”

“Hell, no.” He lifted her only long enough to free his cock, which had gone fully hard. “How much foreplay do you want?”

“None. I’ve been thinking about this all afternoon.”

Sucking in a deep breath, he fit his cock to the entrance of her pussy and thrust into her, soaking in the sounds she made as she slid onto his dick.

Oh, yeah. He gripped her hips and began to lift her on and off of him, watching the way their bodies moved together. Being able to see her like this made him even harder.

“Faster,” she said, holding tight to his arms as she leaned back, giving him a full-on view of her sex, of where they were connected.

“You make me want to come, Liz,” he said, his jaw clenched tight as he fucked his cock deeper into her. She grasped her breasts through her top, squeezing them, inciting his desire even higher. He wanted to taste her, to touch her, to get her naked and lick her all over. None of which he had time for with his family downstairs. But seeing her like this, her body undulating against his, was a turn on that made his dick go even harder.

He reached for her clit, wanting her to go off when he was inside her.

“Make me come, Gavin. Touch me there.”

She let him have access to her, knowing he’d give her exactly what she needed.

It didn’t take long. He knew her body, knew how responsive she was to his touch. And when she tightened around him, her pussy convulsing, he let go, driving into her as he came. She whimpered with her orgasm and fell forward, kissing him as her climax drove them both into long, shaking tremors that had them clutching tight to each other.

“God, you make me sweat,” he murmured against her lips.

She pulled back and smiled at him. “It’s good off-season exercise for you.”

She climbed off and they dashed into the bathroom to clean up, then Liz got dressed.

As Gavin zipped his jeans, he looked at her in the mirror. “Now how are you going to explain this one to everyone?”

She grabbed a photo album from the bookshelf. “We were looking for old photos of you from your childhood and I needed your help to find a certain picture that I wanted to put up in the house.” She rifled through the album and selected one of him when he was about eight years old.

“That one?” he asked.

“Yes. It’s one of my favorites, when you switched to first base. I love this pose and that toothless grin on your face. I want to frame it.”

He shook his head. “Okay.”

His wife was one sexy mystery to him.

One of the many reasons he loved her so much.

Chapter Five

There was nothing like a hot weekend in Jamaica to take Liz’s mind off work, wedding and holiday pressure. And the pressure of making a baby. Being with the girls this weekend was going to be amazing.

Jenna had originally thought about going to Las Vegas, but Ty had told her that was where he and the guys were going, and she didn’t want to accidentally run into him. She truly wanted a girls-only experience, so Liz suggested they head toward Jamaica. Sure, it was out of the country, but Liz had connections and booked them into an all-inclusive resort. They were going to do the beach, and the spa, and then party away at the clubs until their feet were so sore they couldn’t stand anymore.

Liz was going to make sure Jenna had the time of her life while she was still single. Not that they planned to get Jenna laid or anything, but she knew from experience that once you got married, you got wrapped up in each other, and less involved with all things related to the single life. Why not let Jenna cut loose and have a little fun?

Their rooms were beautiful and spacious, with a magnificent view of the ocean. She’d booked adjoining suites so they could all move back and forth and hang out together. She and Jenna were in one room, while Savannah, Tara, and Alicia were in the other.

Jenna got as far as opening her suitcase before she wandered out onto the terrace. “Get out here, Liz.”

Liz followed.

“This is fucking fabulous. I’m never leaving. Ty’s going to have to come down here for the wedding.”

Liz grinned. “So you like it?”

Jenna looked at her. “What’s not to like? It’s warm, gorgeous, and there’s no work to do. Put a drink in my hand and I’m telling you, you’ll have to drag me kicking and screaming back on the plane.”

“Let’s get unpacked, hit the beach, and get started on those drinks, then.”

Liz unpacked and changed into her swimsuit. She put on a cover-up and slipped on her sandals. By then, everyone else was unpacked. Jenna was nearly vibrating with excitement, so they all headed downstairs to the pool area.

Liz had called down to rent a cabana while everyone else was unpacking and changing.

“This is sweetly decadent,” Savannah said as they were escorted to the sheltered, private space right on the beach. “I could definitely get used to this level of pampering.”

Immediately, a waiter showed up to take their drink orders.

“I want something with rum in it,” Jenna said. “I think just a rum and pineapple juice.”

“Trying to keep it simple?” Alicia asked.

“Yes. Nothing too fruity. Those complicated recipes will sneak up on you and kick your ass.”

“I’ll have the same,” Alicia said.

“I’ll have rum and coconut juice,” Savannah said.

Tara debated. “Actually, the pineapple juice does sound good. I’ll have that one.”

The waiter looked at Liz. “Just orange juice, plain, for me.”

Jenna cocked a brow. “Designated driver?”

She laughed. “No. Just not in the mood for a cocktail yet.”

The cabana was gorgeous, the sun warm, which made Liz glad for the shade since she’d burn to a crisp without it. Jenna and Tara made a beeline for the water and the waiter brought their drinks. Liz settled against the back of the chaise with her orange juice.

“I think I’m going to swim,” Savannah said. “It looks so good.”

“I’ll join you,” Alicia said, getting up from the chair. She looked over to Liz. “Are you coming?”

“No. I’m going to sit here and stare at the sea and bask for a while. You two go ahead.”

Alicia grinned. “Okay.”

After they left, Liz closed her eyes and soaked in the heat, suddenly aware of how much she missed Gavin already.

Ugh. Love was such an all-consuming thing. She’d never wanted to fall in love, had never thought she would. Unfortunately, she’d been in love with Gavin for what seemed like forever. She’d thought marrying him would settle her feelings, make them a little less . . . intense.

She’d been wrong. They’d only grown more, the yearnings she felt for him intensifying the more time they spent together. He was everything to her—kind and generous and fun and playful. He was a generous lover, and even when they argued, which was rarely, it was still with a fiery passion. And their arguments tended to fizzle out quickly, because they communicated so well.

She’d found the man of her dreams and she considered herself so lucky.

She should be wholly content. And she was. Except she wanted to have his baby, and Mother Nature or some cosmic force in the universe refused to grant her this one wish. Maybe it was because she was so exceptionally happy in all other facets of her relationship. Maybe this just wasn’t meant to be, and she was going to have to learn to accept it.

They had already talked adoption, and she certainly wasn’t opposed to that. She’d love a child they could raise together, no matter where that child came from. She was going to give it another six months to a year. If they weren’t pregnant by then, they were going to start seriously pursuing adoption. By then she’d have figured for sure that pregnancy wasn’t an option for her.

The women all came back, dripping wet.

“How was it?” she asked.

“Fantastic,” Jenna said. “The water is warm and perfect. You should have joined us.”

“I will the next go-round. My fair skin can only handle so much of that sun. Besides, I sat back and enjoyed the quiet, something I don’t get a lot of with the fast pace of my job.”

Savannah grabbed a towel and patted herself down. “I understand that. It’s always run here, run there, grab a flight and run somewhere else.” She took a seat in the chaise and let out a breath. “It’s nice to just . . . sit and take a breath.”

“Yes, it is.”

Jenna stretched her legs out. “And here I am running you all ragged for my wedding.”

Tara squeezed her hand. “Honey, this is paradise. It’s hardly what I would call running us ragged.”

“I just don’t want to exhaust all of you. I know you live busy lives.”

“And you don’t?” Liz asked. “You have the club to run, and I know that despite the fact you turned over Riley’s bar to a new manager, you still have your thumbprint all over that place.”