“Go away,” came from beneath the covers.

He sat on the edge of the bed and reached for the blanket-covered lump, but he jerked his hand back at the last minute when he heard a muffled sound. He heard it again. Sounded like a…sob.

Shit. Was she crying?

Gavin pulled the covers back and she curled into a little ball, further away from him.

You’re an asshole.

“Ree. I’m sorry.”

“Go away.”

“I’m here now.” He put his hand on her butt and rubbed. “We could—”

“No! I will not be a quick fuck during a break in your stupid football game.”

Tell her it’s not the end of the quarter yet.

He should’ve earned some points for walking away from a game in progress, right?

You’re an asshole.

“Please talk to me.”

Rielle pushed up and glared at him. “I don’t do this seduction stuff. And whenever I try, I feel like a total idiot because it doesn’t have any effect on you and I’m never doing it again. So go away.”

His gaze dipped to her chest. Damn. She’d already put on her nightgown.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Now you’re staring at my tits when they’re covered up, but you couldn’t be bothered when they were bouncing right in front of your face? Get. Out.”

Man. He’d fucked this up. “Look. I’m sorry. I’ve spent a lot of years by myself, watching football games uninterrupted. And I didn’t handle…you wanting my attention, in the best way.”

“Ya think?”

Anything he said would likely piss her off, so he kept his stupid mouth shut.

“Do you know why I’m upset?”

Do not say because I didn’t drop everything and fuck you.

Luckily, she jumped right in and answered. “You are so smooth. Seducing me with words. You’ve got all the hot sex moves and you know a hundred ways to turn me inside out. You intimidate me sometimes, Gavin.”

That brought him up short. “I intimidate you…sexually?”

Rielle blushed but she didn’t look away. “Yes. You know I don’t have—didn’t have—much experience before we got together.”

“Why would you think I did?”

“Because you’re amazing in bed!”

Gavin felt cocky even when he wanted to laugh. Time to come clean. From the bottom drawer of his armoire he took out the four books he’d hidden. “You have no idea how happy it makes me that you think I’m amazing in bed. Despite what you think, that’s not because I have some type of…McKay sexual history.”

“You don’t?”

“No. I knew from the first time I kissed you we’d end up in bed. And I wanted to make it good for you, Ree. I wanted you to think I was amazing in bed and I might be the same kind of sex stud my brothers and cousins are rumored to be.” Gavin tossed the four how-to sex books on the bed. “So I bought these. I read them cover to cover and hoped like hell I could remember anything when I finally got you naked with me.”

Rielle stared at the books, frowned and looked at him. “I don’t understand.”

Gavin blushed. “I had to read up on how to be a good lover. Because before you? I didn’t have a clue.”

“Did these books help?”

“Some. But being with you…my instincts took over. Your body, your eyes, every sexy little moan you made taught me what I needed to do to be the lover you want. The lover you deserve. The lover I’ve always wanted to be, but I’ve only ever been with you.”

Silence.

Way to throw it all out there, loser.

“Oh my God, Gavin Daniels, I love you.”

He froze. “For real?”

She nodded.

“Because I wasn’t some macho stud in bed before I met you?”

She nodded again.

That made no sense…and yet perfect sense because this was Rielle. “You are one weird-ass woman, but I’ll take it.” Grinning, he said, “So…you love me, huh?”

“Yes. Even though you are a pain in the ass sports fanatic. Who ignores a naked woman for football.”

“I’m here now, aren’t I?” He kissed her. “And just so we’re clear. I’m in love with you too.”

He stripped, ripped away the covers completely and crawled on top of her.

“Gavin. Don’t you want to—”

“Nope.” He smoothed his hands up the insides of her bare thighs. “Goddamn. I’m already hard. You—” his mouth meandered down her throat, “—have cast a spell on me.”

“Same.” She groaned. “Yes, put your mouth right there.”

“You do like that,” he murmured, teasing the spot with his teeth and tongue.

“I love that.” Rielle moaned again. “It’s another one of those hot spots I wasn’t even aware I had.”

Gavin mouthed the tip of her breast through the thin fabric of her nightgown.

Rielle hissed and arched back, thrusting more of her breast into his hot mouth.

He sucked her nipple through the sheer fabric. Then switched sides, lost in the way she clung to him and how much he loved having her nails digging into his back.

But he wanted her naked.

“Lift up so I can take this off.”

She kissed him with sweet fire. Then she pushed him away with a smirk.

“What?”

“Go watch your game.”

“What? Now?”

“Yes, now.”

“But…” I’m as hard as a fucking two by four.

“I know you wanna watch it. And from now on, I won’t seduce you on game day, at least until the game is over.”

He grinned. “Rielle Wetzler, you are the perfect woman.”

“You know it.”

Gavin slipped on his sweat pants. “You really don’t mind?”

“I’ll be right here, waiting. I’ve got some good reading material. Who knows what new things I’ll learn when I’m flipping through your sex books?”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Late January…

Freedom could be spelled one way: C-A-R.

God. Her life had gotten so much better in the last month since she could drive.

No more begging rides.

No more sitting around doing nothing.

No more waiting for Marin to toss her a few scraps of friendship. She made her own fun and her own friends.

She’d met a lot of people at house parties the last four weekends, when she, a lowly sophomore, became the undisputed beer pong champion. She preened at the comments about living up to the McKay reputation.

Sierra Daniels had arrived.

Her transformation had started during Christmas break, when her mom had lifted her curfew, handed her the keys to her Escalade and told her to have fun. Wasn’t it proof of how awesome she was that so many people from her old school wanted to hang out with her?

Amazing how many friends you have when you’ve got wheels and booze, isn’t it?

She shoved that bullshit thought aside. People liked her. And she liked herself.

Her dad hadn’t wanted her to go out tonight, but that was too bad. After all the times she’d sat at home by herself since they’d moved to Wyoming, it served him right to spend a night or two alone. Besides, if Rielle had been around this weekend, he wouldn’t have even noticed she was gone.

“Sierra!” Kara yelled from across the room. “Come here, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

Sierra weaved through the crowd, saying hi to some people, hugging others. She’d heard the buzz around school after she’d started going to parties that she wasn’t the stuck-up rich girl that people thought.

“This is the one I was telling you about,” Kara said to the guy sitting next to her, who was probably five or six years older than her. “Sierra, Tyler. Tyler goes to Vo-Tech in Gillette.”

A college guy. A cute college guy. Although he did appear a little rough around the edges. “Hey.”

“You were right, Kara. She is hot.” Tyler lifted a bottle and drank.

“Sierra just moved here from Arizona,” Kara added.

“No shit. A buddy of mine is working construction down there.”

“Really? Is that what you’re going to school for?”

“Nope. I’m in auto mechanics.” He cocked his head and his brown-eyed gaze flicked over her, from her boots to her eyes. “I like things that go fast.”

Cheesy line, but he was obviously interested. She’d flirt. No harm in that.

Kara mouthed, “Later,” and ditched her.

“So, ah, Tyler, how’d you hear about the party?”

“Around.” He eyed her cup. “Whatcha drinkin’?”

“Beer. Why?”

He waggled a bottle of Jack Daniels. “I’m willing to share.”

“Yeah? What’s the catch?”

Tyler grinned. “Smart girl. Why don’t you do a couple shots with me and we’ll figure something out.”

“Sure.” Sierra drained her beer and tossed the cup aside. She snatched the bottle from him and drank. Somehow she withheld a shudder. Jesus. That stuff tasted like shit. The Crown XR her dad drank was way better.

He laughed and grabbed the bottle back. “Eager. I like that.” He tipped the bottle, somehow keeping his gaze on her chest while he guzzled. “I haven’t seen you here before.”

“Really? I was here last weekend.”

“I wasn’t. I had to work.”

“That sucks. It was a great party. Been a lot of great parties lately.”

“And you’ve been to all of them?”

She grinned. “Yep.”

“So you don’t got a job?”

“No.”

“Must be nice.” He knocked back another slug. “So if you ain’t workin’, what do you do for fun?”

“I’ve been stuck at home for a few months without wheels, so it’s been a long time since I’ve had any fun.”