LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

crews had encroached on the property only to have Gavin’s men run them off again.

      The coroner had released his mother’s remains and yesterday morning a private memorial service had been held. Jamie Blake had been reburied beside her husband in the family cemetery. Layla had stood beside Gavin along with his grandmother, Caldwell and Gavin’s teammates. Even his commanding officer had flown in to attend the service.

      After dinner, Gavin’s teammates left to return to their various homes, but not before each one had given her a huge hug and told her how glad they’d been to meet her. She had gotten to know the four well and could see why they and Gavin shared such close relationships. Bane, Coop, Flipper and Mac were swell guys who were fiercely loyal to each other. She couldn’t thank them enough for their part in recovering Jesse James’s loot.

      Now that the dig was over, Layla could feel Gavin withdrawing from her. She had tried ignoring it but she knew something was bothering him. She thought it was related to his mother but, to be totally honest, she wasn’t sure.

      There was no reason for her to remain on the ranch any longer and she had mentioned that she would be leaving in a couple of days to return to Seattle. She had hoped he would ask her to stay but he hadn’t. Instead he’d merely nodded and hadn’t said anything else about it. Was that his way of letting her know she had outstayed her welcome?

      The thought that he wanted her to leave his ranch had tears welling up in her eyes. She’d known when she fell in love with him that there was a big chance he wouldn’t love her back. So why was the thought that he didn’t breaking her heart?

      The time they had spent together on the Silver Spurs had been special but now she had to move on.

      * * *

      Gavin placed his coffee cup on the table, stared at his grandmother and then asked, “What did you just say?”

      Melody Blake smiled brightly. “You heard me right, Gavin. Caldwell asked me to marry him. This was his third time asking and I finally said yes. We don’t want to make a big fuss about it and Reverend Pollock agreed to perform the ceremony next weekend. I’ll be moving into Caldwell’s place afterward.”

      Gavin didn’t say anything for a long moment. He was happy for his grandmother and Caldwell. It was about time. “Congratulations. I’m happy for you, Gramma Mel. Caldwell is a good man and I believe the two of you will be happy together.”

      “Thank you. What about you? What are your plans regarding Layla?”

      He lifted his coffee cup and took a sip before saying, “What makes you think I have any?”

      His grandmother frowned. “Don’t try pretending with me, Gavin Timothy Blake III. You love Layla. You’ve admitted as much. I would think you’d want to take the next step.”

      Yes, he had admitted it to her and he didn’t regret doing so. “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,

Скачать книгу