again. “Do you, Gavin—”
Gavin held up his hand, stopping the vow prompt midsentence. Gripping Cassidy’s fingers, he imagined what it was going to feel like when she was soft and naked in his bed. “I do,” he muttered. “I definitely do. And now I’m going to kiss my bride.”
Cassidy had heard the term swept off her feet, but she had never actually experienced the phenomenon. The moment when Gavin scooped her up against his chest was both emotionally and physically exhilarating. Her heart pounded and her stomach fluttered.
It was ridiculously retro to be aroused by a man’s physical strength, but damn...Gavin Kavanagh was a sexy beast. Ever since Rhett Butler carried Scarlett O’Hara up that grand staircase to have his wicked manly way with her, women had secretly judged a guy’s swoon factor by how easily he could heft his lover.
Cassidy could stand to lose ten pounds. But Gavin lifted her as if she weighed no more than a child. Oh, my...
She tasted desperation in his kiss, laced with a nuance of the nice champagne. Her breasts were squished up against a hard rib cage. Kissing him back eagerly, she might have forgotten a thing or two. Like the fact that they had a witness.
Robbie moved restlessly. When she sneaked a sideways peek at him, he was slack-jawed, perhaps stunned. “I need to get back to the office,” he muttered. “You two can show yourselves out.”
Cassidy wiggled until Gavin released her. There was a look in his eyes that made her a little crazy. But she concentrated on her cousin. “Thanks for showing us around, Robbie.”
“Thanks for stopping by to see me.” He lifted a hand. “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
She hugged him and kissed his cheek. “You’ll get the hang of this. Just stick with it.”
Moments later, the little chapel was silent. Gavin crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her with an expression that could have meant anything.
Following an impulse, she held out her hand. “Let me have your phone. I want you to have a picture to remember me by.”
She was somewhat bemused when he cooperated. Scooting up against him, she tapped a couple of icons and held the phone at arm’s length. “We have to document this night.”
Unfortunately, her arms were short and Gavin was tall. She couldn’t actually hold the camera far enough away.
He took it out of her hand. “Give me that.” With one hard arm curled around her waist and the other extended, he framed the two of them in the small screen. “Say cheese,” he muttered.
Just as he hit the button, she reached up and kissed him on the chin. Afterward, she bounced on her toes. “Let me see, let me see.”
The shot was surprisingly sweet. She studied Gavin’s face in the image. Even if she hadn’t met him in person, she would be impressed with the man in the picture. He looked like a throwback to the steely-eyed cowboys of the past. All brooding machismo and sizzling intensity. “I like it,” she said. “You’re very photogenic.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “No. I’m not. Let’s get out of here.”
She followed him obediently, smothering a smile. Apparently a man like Gavin took her compliment as an affront to his masculinity. Since she had wounded his pride, she held out the car keys. “I don’t have to drive.”
He shook his head and slid into the passenger seat. “Yes, you do,” he said, his eyelids drifting shut. “I’m taking a nap between here and the hotel so I’ll have the energy to rock your world.”
Laughing out loud at his tongue-in-cheek boast, she started the car. Maybe he was serious. He didn’t even flinch when she whipped out into traffic. But minutes later when she eased into a spot in the parking garage, he sat up and ran a hand through his hair. “What time is it?” he asked, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.
Cassidy glanced at the dashboard. “Almost four.”
He grimaced. “There’s something unnatural about a city where no one sleeps.”
“They sleep,” she protested, vaguely defensive about her hometown. “But not necessarily from midnight until morning.” Though Gavin Kavanagh would never be anything other than handsome, he definitely looked the worse for wear. Dark circles beneath his eyes and a pale undertone to his skin bespoke his exhaustion. “I should go,” she said impulsively, squashing her disappointment. “You need to get some rest before you fly out.”
The look he gave her sizzled nerve endings in some very interesting places. “I can sleep when I’m dead,” he growled. “You’re not going anywhere.”
The arrogance was justified given her propensity for throwing herself at him tonight. But it rankled nevertheless. “Is that a threat?”
He cupped her neck with one hand and pulled her into his kiss. “Call it what you want, Cassidy Corelli. But if I’m going to be a guinea pig in your goofy cousin’s wedding charade, then I think I’m entitled to a fake honeymoon, too.” He claimed her mouth with knee-weakening mastery. “C’mon, Cass. I need a bed. ASAP.”
“Because you’re tired?”
He got out and came around to her door, helping her to her feet. “Because I need you. Now.”
* * *
Gavin had never been more serious or more desperate to have a woman. Granted, it had been several months since the last time he’d been naked with a female. In addition to his youthful catastrophic history in misjudging the fairer sex, when he lost himself in his work, his hermit leanings tended to take over. He liked people. But solitude gave him energy. Sharpened his mind. Spurred his creativity.
When it came to Cassidy, however, he was neither clearheaded nor particularly intelligent. His brain was not in the driver’s seat. He wanted her. Fiercely. Madly. In a way that wiped out all his normal reservations. With an insanity no doubt induced by sleep deprivation and champagne and recent celibacy. But insanity nevertheless.
Later, he would not be able to recall the exact sequence of steps that took them from the artificially illuminated parking garage to the thickly carpeted hallway where his room was located. But through it all, he kept Cassidy by his side, hip to hip, his arm around her shoulders.
She laughed at him when he fumbled the key card from his shirt pocket and took three tries to open the door. “Are you sure this is your room?” she whispered.
The door swung wide. “Don’t you remember? You were here not that long ago.”
She passed him, entering the suite with a swish of hips and a low chuckle that went straight to his gut and hardened his aching sex even more. “All these hallways look alike.”
The door closed with a muffled sound. For the first time, his charming, funny tour guide seemed momentarily abashed. Her eyes wouldn’t meet his. Graceful hands fluttered as if not knowing where to land.
He restrained the urge to grab her, an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Problem, Cass?”
She licked her lips. “No.”
The simple negative didn’t sound convincing. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She kicked off her shoes as she had earlier, still not looking at him. “Would you mind if I take a quick shower...alone?”
He frowned, immediately suspicious. “If you think waiting will make me want you more, you’re crazy. I’m far past teasing, I promise you.”
Her chin came up at last and she grimaced. “I’ve never showered with a man. It may not seem like it, but I’m shy in certain situations. I won’t linger, I swear. I want this, too.”
Something about the vulnerability and