Conquest of the Heart (35 page)

“I know you’ve been upset. The truth is that
I’m not ready to say how I’m feeling. That doesn’t change the
message I was trying to send.”

Faith took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for
being angry. I just don’t want to play games when it comes to
that.”

“I understand. Forgive me?”

“Yes,” she said. Faith stood up and walked
around her desk. She approached him slowly, burying her head in his
chest. Gavin wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head.

“I hated being unable to talk to you. Let’s
try not to do that again, deal?”

“Deal.”

The next day, Gavin and Faith left for
Atlanta. Outside of scheduled meetings, they enjoyed the Atlanta
Botanic Gardens, attended an opera, visited the Atlanta History
Center and Art Museum, and ate at great restaurants. However, it
was their private time together they took pleasure in the most.

One morning, during the weekend, Gavin gently
showered Faith with kisses to wake her.

“Why can’t you sleep in on the weekends? This
is so unfair,” she groggily said.

Gavin grinned but didn’t answer. He caressed
and kissed her body, pleasured her orally, and once again, climaxed
himself without any stimulation. This was fine for now, but he knew
that he would soon need to make love to her.

Still breathing somewhat heavily from their
pleasure, Gavin kissed her.

“Good morning, beautiful.”

“He speaks,” she grumbled.

He kissed her shoulder, “You enjoyed it.”

“Sleep. I enjoy sleep.”

Gavin smiled and started to tickle her.
“Admit it.”

“No,” she tried not to laugh.

He found just the right spot on the inside of
her thigh, and Faith screamed and laughed, “Okay, okay.”

She rubbed her fingers through his hair,
“Yes. I always enjoy it. Why must you wake up so early, though?”
Faith stuck her lips out, pouting.

“Hmm, I’m laying next to an extremely sexy
woman, whom I have a very hard time keeping my hands off of, and
it’s morning. There are certain things that happen to a man early
in the morning.”

“Can’t you wake me up at seven? That would
work out much better. Let’s sync our calendars, shall we?” Faith
reached for her phone.

Gavin tickled her again. She
scrunched up, laughing. When he stopped, he just stared at her,
moving stray hairs out of her face. He loved her so much.
‘Why can’t I say it,’
he
thought.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said, kissing her
softly.

“You’re not too bad yourself.” She smiled and
caressed his face as they continued to kiss each other.

Faith and Gavin returned to the office
exhausted. The trips were taking their toll. There was one left –
San Francisco. In the mean time, they had a great deal of work to
catch up on. Chandler was making every attempt to sway Gavin’s mind
back toward her, but he was in love with Faith. He refused to even
humor her, sending her away immediately when she tried to talk to
him. She was disappointed and becoming desperate, and it started to
show in her work. Her boss warned her to get focused, or someone
else would have her job. Chandler also tried to follow Faith home
from time to time, but most nights Faith went to Gavin’s house. She
was so sure that there was something that Faith wasn’t telling
anyone. If she didn’t find out soon, she felt her chances with
Gavin would be lost.

The evening before their trip, Gavin asked
Faith to have dinner with him. Chandler followed Faith to his
house, and waited.

“That was delicious, as usual,” said
Faith.

“Thank you. Would you like to dance?” Slow,
romantic jazz was playing softly in the background.

“Things happen when we dance. I’m thinking
not.”

“Please? This isn’t Rumba
music. It’s
‘sway back and forth’
music,” he extended his hand for her to join
him.

She gave him a suspicious look,
“Alright.”

Faith put one hand on his shoulder, and the
other in his hand. They glided across the floor, gazing into each
other’s eyes.

“Just one more trip,” Gavin said.

“Yes, I’m glad. It’s been tiring.”

“Which city have you liked the most so
far?”

“Denver,” said Faith. Her head was now
resting on Gavin’s chest. “The people there were great, and I loved
the time we spent there.”

“I agree. A lot happened between us.” Gavin
stopped dancing. “I never showed you, did I?”

“What?”

Gavin took Faith by the hand and led her to
the entry way. He had taken the pictures that they painted at
Canvas and Cocktails and hung them side by side. Underneath, there
was a plaque that read:

“
Starry Night”

By Faith and Gavin

Canvas and Cocktails – Denver, Colorado

July 10, 2010

“Gavin, this is great,” she said, kissing
him. “I love it.”

“I’m glad you like it. That was such a fun
day.” Gavin touched her cheek. He leaned down and gently kissed her
lips. He gave her an intense look, then continued to playfully kiss
her. Faith craved a deeper kiss, but Gavin wouldn’t give it to
her.

He led her back to the living room. Faith
went and sat by the fire while Gavin got their drinks. They talked
for a little bit, discussing everything from work, to childhood to
whatever came up, losing track of time. The lights were dim, and
the fire was crackling. Gavin pulled Faith close to him, finally
indulging her desire with a deep, passionate kiss.

“I want to make love to you,” he
whispered.

“Gavin, I can’t. It’s getting late and we
have to get up early in the morning.”

“You can’t or won’t?” he asked in
frustration.

“Can’t.”

“I don’t want to keep messing around, Faith.
I need you. You know my feelings.”

Faith looked away. “I know, Gavin. You know
I’m not about playing games, and I’m really not trying to do that.
I want to make love to you, too. I just can’t right now.”

Gavin gently stroked her cheek, and kissed
her lips. “I want you so much. I’m not sure how much longer I can
wait.”

“I wish I didn’t crave your touch so much.
It’s like I need it.”

Gavin gently rubbed Faith’s breast. She
moaned from the pleasure it brought her. He kissed and licked her
neck. He switched his attention from her breast to her thigh,
slowly sliding his hand underneath her dress. With his free hand,
Gavin unzipped her dress, and caressed her back. Faith unbuttoned
Gavin’s shirt so she could touch his chest. She loved to feel his
skin.

“Oh,” he said breathily, “I crave your touch,
too. I need you.”

Gavin rubbed gently underneath Faith’s
underwear. Her breathing intensified. “We should stop this.” She
tried to push his hand away, but he was too strong, as was her
desire for him to keep going.

“Gavin,” she tried to speak. He kept his
fingers where they were, moving slowly to prolongue her climax.
Faith whimpered, sending tingles through Gavin’s body.

“Gavin, stop,” she managed breathily. He
ignored her request, and kissed her. Faith frowned and bit her lip,
not knowing how to handle the extreme enjoyment she was having.
Then it happened.

“J’aime la facon dont tu me
touches. S’il vous plait ne vous arretez pas.”
(
I love the way you touch me. Please
don’t stop.
)

Gavin lost it. He had to kiss her fast. His
climax came quick and strong, as did hers.

As their kissing slowed, Faith looked him in
the eyes, taking deep breaths to calm down.

“Why did you do that? You know your French
drives me crazy,” he said.

“You wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t control it.
This is the first time it’s happened that way.”

“Did I make you uncomfortable?”Gavin asked,
concerned.

“No, the exact opposite,” she said as she
kissed him passionately.

“I didn’t want to stop. I couldn’t. What’s
amazing to me is that I keep climaxing and we haven’t even made
love yet.” He sat up and gazed at her seriously. “Faith, I want to
make love to you soon. No is not acceptable.”

“I can’t promise, Gavin. Not right now.”

“I guess that’ll have to be good enough,
huh?” he said as he was leaning close to her, barely kissing her.
“Don’t keep me waiting, Faith. I can’t take much more of this.”

Faith didn’t respond, only hugged him.
Moments later she spoke.

“I should go.” She stood up, pulled her
nylons back on which she had removed when she arrived, and zipped
her dress.

“Stay,” said Gavin, getting up. “You have
enough clothes here, and we can share a suitcase.”

Faith cocked her head to the side, smiled and
walked closer to him. She stroked his face and said, “Not
tonight.”

She stepped back and walked to the front
door, putting her coat on and grabbing her purse and keys. Gavin
reached out and moved some hair from her face. He pulled her close
and kissed her deeply, causing Faith to drop her purse and wrap her
arms around his neck.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” she said
quietly. Faith picked her purse up. “Thanks for dinner.” She opened
the door, walked to her car and left. Gavin stood in the doorway
with his hands in his pockets, watching her leave.

Chandler had finally caught a break. She had
almost fallen asleep, waiting and hoping that Faith would leave and
go home. She started her car and carefully pulled away from where
she was parked, following Faith home. Chandler just needed to know
where she lived for now. When she was satisfied with that
information, she drove to her own home. Knowing that Gavin and
Faith would be gone for the next two weeks, she would have plenty
of time to get the information she needed to prove Faith had
something to hide. That is, if she really did have something to
hide.

The next morning, Faith and Gavin were on
their way to complete their last tour in San Francisco. Gavin spent
a lot of time planning to make this as much a of romantic getaway
as it was business. Each night and weekend was filled with
something to do. They strolled on the beach in the moonlight, took
a catamaran ride at sunset while sipping cocktails, enjoyed a
couple’s massage, took a tandem bike ride across the Golden Gate
Bridge, and shared a soufflé by candlelight. They also had a picnic
by the water at Golden Gate Park and ordered breakfast in bed.
Faith was exhausted from all of their activities. However, she
never expected what was to come their last Friday there.

On this day, they spent half of the day in
their final meetings. Gavin had a surprise waiting for Faith when
they returned to their room. First, as was normal with him, he had
a dozen red roses delivered to the room. They were placed on the
coffee table in the living area. Then there was an article hanging
high on the bedroom door. Faith asked what it was.

“Did you get some clothes dry cleaned? This
wasn’t here before.”

Gavin smiled. “No. That is for you. Open
it.”

Faith was like a little girl. She snatched it
down, unzipped the bag, and uncovered a stunning purple cocktail
dress with a dare-to-bare patch on the left side which continued up
in sheer fabric with purple and white beading across a single
long-sleeve. The opposite side of the bodice was strapless in a
draped purple material that wrapped around the body, revealing
peaks of sheer material and sparkle, all the way to the short
bottom hem. He also bought her a pair of purple sequined shoes to
match.

“This is a beautiful dress. What are we doing
tonight?” she asked, smiling. “You didn’t plan all of this when we
got here, did you?”

“No, beautiful. I’ve had this planned for
about six weeks. The flowers were spur of the moment. I just like
to buy them for you. We’re going to a concert. Some guitar player.
Benise (pronounced Buh-nes-say), I think. Ever heard of him?” He
knew she had.

“Was I sleeping that much the week we had off
together that you had that much time to look at my iPod?” she
beamed. “Of course I know who he is. I love his music.”

“We’ve got front row seats, and VIP passes.
This is our last weekend together on these trips. I wanted it to be
special.”

Faith walked over to him from the bedroom
doorway. She touched his face and said, “Why are you so good to
me?”

“Because you’re good to me. You’re good for
me.” He brushed her lips with his, keeping it short and sweet, not
wanting to get ahead of himself.

“
There’s just one
thing.”

“What?” he asked.

“This dress is a little short,” she said,
lifting it up.

“Faith, it’s not that short. It’s not a
comfortable length for you, I know, but you have gorgeous legs. I
want to see them. I would never put you in something that was
inappropriate or that wasn’t you. This dress is so you.”

She smiled. “I do like it. I love everything
about it, except for the length. You’re right, though. I just like
to cover up more. This is risky, daring. I don’t take risks when it
comes to clothes.”

“You should. You’re beautiful.”

“No one needs to see me except for you. I’m
not into broadcasting the goods.”

“Humor me for tonight, okay? I think if you
just put it on, you’ll see it’s not as short as you think it is.
Please?”

“Only for you.” She got up and started for
the bedroom. “What time does the concert start? Are we going to
dinner, too?” she asked, looking back.

“We’ll eat downstairs at the hotel
restaurant. I’ve heard the food is excellent. It’s going to take
some time to get to the concert, which starts at eight. We have
about two hours to get ready.”

“Alright. It’s three thirty. I’ll go ahead
and get started so I don’t feel rushed later. I’ll shower first.”
She continued into the bedroom and started the shower.