Emily’s knees went weak, her eyes steeped in confusion. “I didn’t marry him, Gavin. You know that. I… I called. I left you messages.” Though she tried, she couldn’t keep tears from pooling in her eyes as she stared at his shocked expression. Suddenly, she found her words tumbling from her mouth. “I left Dillon that night and went to your penthouse. I’ve called your phone every day over the past few weeks. Colton called and left your housekeeper messages. Trevor, Olivia, we all did.” Emily looked away, her eyes locking on Gavin’s two companions. Leaning against his Jaguar, they peered in Emily’s direction as she shook her head and brought her gaze back to his. “I don’t expect you to take me back, but I needed to come here and tell you how sorry I am. I needed to tell you how much I love you, Gavin. How much I need you in my life.”

Looking at the ground, Gavin grabbed the back of his neck with both hands. He snapped up his head and looked at the driver. “Javier, dame sus cosas.”

Javier nodded. “Por supuesto, Señor Blake.”

Emily watched Javier retrieve her luggage from the trunk and pass it to Gavin. After thanking him, Gavin grabbed Emily’s hand, his grip tight as he led her toward his car. Struggling to keep up, Emily’s heels clicked frantically against the pavement. She stared at the two women.

The brunette quirked a brow and placed a hand on her hip. “Um, we’re not opposed to adding a fourth, but I still think you should’ve asked us first.”

The blonde nodded and straightened her pink tank top. Emily bit her lip, her eyes wide on Gavin.

Gavin released a weighty breath, pulled Emily to the passenger side, and opened the rear door. He tossed her suitcase into the backseat. Opening the front door, he looked at Emily. “Get in.”

“What?” she questioned, shock shimmering in her eyes.

“You heard me, Emily. Get in,” he replied as he rounded the car.

The blonde cocked her head to the side. “Where are we going?”

“You two are going home,” Gavin answered, his tone clipped. He looked at his driver, who appeared equally confused. “Necesito que lleves a estas dos a su casa, de acuerdo?”

“Si, Señor Blake.” Javier waved the two women over.

This time, the brunette cocked her head to the side. “You’re making us leave? You can’t do that.”

“I just did. Have a great day, ladies,” Gavin replied, staring at Emily over the roof of his car. With a casual shrug, he brushed off the gasp one of them emitted. “Get in the car, doll.”

Bending to his will, Emily snapped her mouth shut and ducked into the vehicle. After closing his door, Gavin pushed a button and started the car. He punched the gas a few times and the engine roared, warning the two women still standing behind the vehicle. Taking him seriously, they stepped back onto the grass and crossed their arms in clear annoyance. Once out of his way, Gavin floored the gas, and the sleek Jaguar careened in reverse out of his driveway.

Gavin lowered the window and called out to Javier, who was about to get into the limo. “Sabes en que hotel se esta quedando?”

“Si, en El Real, Señor Blake.”

“Gracias,” Gavin replied. With one hand gripped tight around the wheel and the other on the shift, he looked at Emily. “Get your seatbelt on.”

“What did you just ask him?”

“I asked him what hotel you’re staying at. Now get your seatbelt on.”

Feeling the tension pour off of him, Emily pulled the belt over her waist. After it clicked, Gavin slammed the gear into first and took off. Dust from the gravel road swamped the rear and sides of the car. Out of the corner of her eye, Emily watched Gavin, his eyes focused on the road, his face painfully impassive. Her heart clenched against the long stretch of silence taking hold in the air around them. Gavin turned onto a highway, and adrenaline washed through Emily’s veins as he kicked through the gears effortlessly. Ripping in between slower vehicles, the odometer neared 85 mph.

Emily tensed, grabbed the handle above her head, and looked at Gavin. “You’re going to kill us.”

“I’m already dead,” he answered, clenching his jaw. He gripped the steering wheel tighter and punched the gas again, this time harder.

The force jerked Emily’s body back. “Gavin! Have you lost your mind?”

Without looking at her, Gavin cut the wheel hard right, and the car fishtailed to a screeching stop on the side of the road. Other drivers blared their horns, flying past Gavin and Emily as dust settled around the vehicle. Both heaving for air, their gazes caught one another.

Clung.

“I’m already dead,” Gavin repeated, the words spoken low, but the undertone of anger as clear as the cloudless sky. As angry as he was at her, like a rubber band, something snapped inside of him as he stared at Emily’s lips. In one swift movement, he reached for her, lifting her over the console and onto his lap.

Emily straddled him, and her breath faltered as she stared at his face, his pained eyes staring back. Unable to contain her want, she crashed her mouth to his and gripped the back of his hair, her apologies whipping past her lips as she soaked in his familiar taste with each stroke of her tongue. “I’m so sorry, Gavin. I can’t take away what I’ve done to you. I know I can’t, but I love you. God, I love you so much.”

Gavin squeezed her thighs and slipped his hands under her sundress. Gripping Emily’s waist, a groan ripped through his throat when she arched her chest against his. He could feel her hardened nipples through the thin cotton, and he swore he would lose it right there. Licking fast through her mouth and trying to savor every moan she expelled at his touch, Gavin fought against doubt plaguing his mind. With one hand still caressing her waist, he took the other and fisted her hair, pulling her down harder to his lips. She moaned and circled her hips, grinding hard against his rising dick. Her panting breaths echoed in his ears along with the words she’d spoken to him the night of her rehearsal dinner.

“Fuck!” he snarled, tearing his mouth from hers. Hand still tangled in her wavy curls, he stared at her with narrowed eyes.

Before Emily could catch her breath, he swung open the door and slipped out of the car, leaving her on her knees in the driver’s seat. She curled her fingers around the head rest and watched him pace on the side of the road, both of his hands gripping his hair.

“Fuck!” he yelled out again, reaching down to the ground.

Eyes wide and breathing heavy, Emily jerked with sudden fear as he pelted a rock against the back window. The glass split into a cobweb. Without hesitation, he rocketed another against the taillight. Emily gasped, but with confusion and anger bubbling in her stomach, she hauled her suitcase over the seat and tore out of the car. She headed away from Gavin, tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried to pull the wheeled luggage through the rocks.

“Where are you going, Emily?” Gavin called, following her.

Without stopping, she flipped him the bird and continued her pursuit into nowhere land.

Coming up beside her, Gavin grabbed her elbow and spun her around, a lopsided smirk tipping his lips. “You’re in the middle of Mexico, doll.”

“And you’re an asshole!” she hissed, defiance glittering in her eyes. She wiped the tears away from her face.