FLEE Read online

  I opened the door and he strode right in. He was wearing khakis and a snug t-shirt, which hugged his broad shoulders. He had the usual leather strap around his wrist. Even though I had spent a lot of time with him, his obnoxiously perfect good looks always caught me by surprise. “Good morning. I’ve been knocking at your door for a few minutes, but I figured you were asleep.” He appraised me. “You look cute.”

  “No, I don’t.” I looked down at my rumpled gown. “What time is it?”

  “10:00 a.m. and our lunch reservations are at 12:00. I’ll wait while you get ready.” He plopped down on my couch. He removed the empty wineglass from the top off a pile of books, picked one up, and flipped through it. I stared at him for a few seconds before I understood he wasn’t going to leave.

  I did my best to focus on a hot shower and brushing my teeth, trying not to think of the gorgeous man sitting ten feet away in the living room.

  I stepped out of the shower dripping wet, wrapped a towel around me securely, and walked out of the bathroom. “What should I wear? What kind of place is this?”

  He dropped the book he was holding. “How am I supposed to answer your questions when you look like that?” His British accent was stronger than normal.

  I followed his eyes as they roamed over my body. My wet towel was white, and now see through. Not a lot left to the imagination.

  Oops.

  I stood in front of him, fiery tension working its way through my body as he watched me with desperate, hungry, eyes.

  I cleared my throat. “Dress it is.” I forced myself to step away from him. I would not jump his bones like a cat in heat. Nope. Not me.

  I came out of the bathroom in my sundress, towel drying my hair.

  Gavyn was waiting for me right outside the bathroom door. He swept me up and carried me to the bed, gently laying me down. He lay on top of me, propping himself up with his arms to keep his full weight off of me.

  “What were you saying?” His hand went up my dress, gently caressing the outside of my thigh. His fingertips danced down leg and rested around my knee.

  With one strong motion, he pulled my knee up, wrapping my leg around his torso. His hardness pressed into me. My breath hitched as I pushed back into him.

  His soft lips traveled down my neck, into the hollow of my throat. He moved my sundress strap with his fingertip, stroking my skin as he did so. His mouth traveled oh so gently across my collarbone.

  I writhed under him, desperate to taste him, to touch him.

  He entwined his hands with mine and pushed them to either side of my head. His lips were on my hungry mouth.

  My body exploded with a hollow, thirsty longing for him. I wrapped my other leg around him, and arched my back.

  “Stop being such a gentleman, please,” I breathed, tugging at the bottom of his shirt and pulling it over his head, admiring his finely muscled shoulders and torso.

  “As you wish,” he said, eyes burning.

  He pushed himself into me, strong hands roaming my body. My sundress fluttered to the floor, followed quickly by my bra and panties.

  His mouth was hot on mine, our bodies wrapped together in heaving flesh on flesh. We moved together, travelling higher and higher with a rough abandon. Then I was soaring, and I was his, and he was mine.

  He yelled my name as I contracted around him.

  I collapsed next to him. My thoughts scattered in a thousand different directions as my body hummed with pleasure.

  “Wow,” he said.

  “Wow,” I agreed.

  We lay in bed for several minutes until our breathing slowed. He propped himself on one elbow and absently traced circles on my stomach with his finger.

  I giggled and pulled up the sheet.

  “No,” he said, pushing it back. “Please let me enjoy the view.”

  I rolled so I was facing him. “I’m starving.”

  “Oh, but I’m not done.” His hands slid down my body to a place where they were much appreciated.

  Eventually hunger overtook other urges.

  I bounded out of bed, pulling my sundress on in record time. In the bathroom mirror I tried to get a handle on my messy but mostly dry hair. By the time I was done, Gavyn was already dressed and waiting. “Ready?”

  “Yep. Where are we going anyways?”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  We walked into the parking lot, but he led me over to a midnight blue luxury car.

  “New ride?” I asked.

  “It’s safer and,”—he bent down to whisper in my ear—“a little sexier, no?”

  “That,”—I turned my lips into his—“it is.”

  I settled into my seat and watched the pretty hill-country terrain fly by. The Guadalupe River ran by the road. Through the trees, the sun danced off the swiftly moving water.

  We stopped in front of massive, Victorian style home nestled against thick trees. Fountains dotted the huge front yard. Multi-colored pebbled stones curved a walkway to the front porch. Graceful white columns towered on the front of the house. It was three floors, all bright sparkling white.

  “Bed and breakfast?” I said.

  “Yes. You like?”

  “Haven’t you had enough today, young man?”

  He helped me out of the car. “No, but we’re not getting a room here.”

  Gavyn grabbed my hand and pulled me through the lobby and out a rear exit. Outside, a beautiful restaurant was built onto a large deck. Small round tables with white table clothes shifting in the breeze filled the space. Each table was topped by a bright aqua colored umbrella. It was perfect, and very private.

  He was watching me as we sat down. “This is beautiful,” I told him. “Really. This is perfect.”

  “Good. I hoped you would like it,” he said.

  The waiter brought over the menus. A single dish cost more than I spent on groceries in a week. Reflexively, I started scanning for the lowest priced items.

  Gayvn was watching me closely. “Do you not like French food?”

  I laughed. Sometimes I forgot we lived in different financial stratospheres. “No, the prices. Sticker shock.”

  “My treat. Please order whatever you’d like.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate it, but that’s not I’m worried about.”

  “Then?”

  “It’s these places I couldn’t otherwise afford without you footing the bill all the time. I’m not entirely comfortable with it. I’d like to be able to pay for some stuff, too.”

  “I understand. But if take my girlfriend out to a nice lunch, I want you to be able to accept it. I’ve never had anyone to share this with.”

  “Okay, but within reason, and you know, it won’t hurt us to eat at normal people restaurants every once in a while.”

  He smiled. “As opposed to abnormal people restaurants?”

  I snapped my menu shut. “Correct.”

  After a delectable lunch where I discovered I love things drenched with truffle oil, he drove to a small town nearby with a huge farmer’s market. I walked around the stalls, admiring the different cultural crafts, the brightly colored fruits and vegetables, and the wide variety of people. Soon, every direction I looked someone was snapping pictures of Gavyn as he walked by.

  When a definitive crowd formed around us, he put his fingers on his brow, blocking his face with his hand. “Let’s go. Sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize.”

  By the time we got back to his hotel, the sunlight was fading behind the hills in the distance.

  As soon as he shut the door behind me, he pulled my sundress over my head and carried me back to the bed. After some spirited adult activities, we were a sleepy, happy tangle in the soft bed. As sleep overcame me, I decided this was the best day of my life.

  So far.

  Chapter 7

  I took my time parking in the crisp, fall morning. The semester was creeping to a close. It should’ve been a relief, but it wasn’t. Finals were coming up. Since one final was one hundred percent of your grade
for a class, it tended to add some stress to your life.

  I got out of the car and mashed the buttons on the electronic key until it beeped twice. I was 80% sure that meant the car was locked now.

  “That isn’t your car,” said a feminine voice directly behind me.

  “Jesus Christ, Bree! Don’t sneak up on me.”

  She smiled. “This must be Gavyn’s, unless you’ve been pretending to be poor this entire time.”

  “He leases it, and yes, he added my name to the lease.” I pushed some buttons again until the trunk popped open.

  She fished my backpack out and handed it to me. “That’s pretty significant, don’t you think?”

  I shrugged.

  We walked through the parking lot together. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You practically live with him,” she said.

  “Not true.”

  “Oh yeah? When was the last time you slept in your own apartment?”

  “Hmm. I suppose it’s been a few weeks.” I hooked my arm through hers as we approached the classroom building. “Do you blame me?”

  “That I do not.”

  My classmates were nice enough not to stare at me anymore for dating a movie star. One of my other classmates was dating a professional basketball player. I was glad for the focus to slide to her.

  “I like you better when you’re getting laid. You’re a lot more relaxed. I guess you just needed some orgasms to get those endorphins flowing,” Bree said.

  “You’re all sorts of wrong, you know?”

  She wiggled her hips in her special dork dance. “Actually, I’m the shiz. Speaking of which, you know about the par-tay this weekend, right?”

  “Nope.” I opened the doors to the building and gestured for her to walk in front of me.

  “Of course, you’ve constantly holed up in your luxury suite with Gavyn. It’s a law school tradition. Every Halloween weekend, everybody drives up to the Guadalupe River in the hill country. The student bar association rents out cabins and campgrounds. We party, hike, eat, drink and play for the weekend. Families and significant others are included.”

  “Cool. You going?” Hill country meant thick, tall trees. Lots of trees gave strange people places to hide and stalk me, but I hadn’t seen anyone in a while. Probably because I spent most of my free time in Gavin’s bed.

  “Girl, shoot! Hell to the yes I’m going, and so are you.”

  “Well, maybe I could go for one night.”

  “What? Go for two, with me. Bring Gavyn. It’ll be fun.”

  “I don’t know,” I said.

  “Oh, come on. People have gotten used to the idea of him being your boyfriend, or whatever he is. I bet after a few hours people would stop staring. I’ll spread the word for people to treat him like everyone else. No autographs or anything.”

  “We’ll see. I’ll talk to him.”

  She grabbed my arm outside the classroom door. “You need to do this. These classmates are going to be your coworkers someday. It is a very small legal community, and you need to try, at least a little bit.” She let go of my arm and opened the door for me. Her bright smile was back. “Plus, I’m going. And you know you love me, bee-yotch.”

  “Okay, okay.”

  ***

  After a long day of classes and library study time, I drove home to find Gavyn stretched out on my couch and flipping through channels. His presence shouldn’t be a surprise to me since I’d given him a key, but he never ceased to knock my socks off with his general hotness.

  “Hello, my lady.” He pulled me into a tight embrace.

  “Hi.”

  He kissed the tip of my nose. “Did you finish all your reading?” he asked.

  “Yes. What time did you get up this morning?” He’d been gone when I woke up at 5:30.

  “3:00,” he said. “It did not feel good, but I had to there by 3:30.”

  “You must be tired.” I threw my backpack on the ground near the front door and lowered myself on to the couch.

  He sat next to me. He looked tired, pale, and his eyes were off. “You want to go the wine bar?”

  We ordered a Chilean Cabaret and found a small couch in the corner of the dimly lit bar.

  He looked at me for a couple of minutes without saying a word. He was fidgety, playing with the leather strap on his wrist and continually adjusting his shirt.

  “Something wrong?” I asked.

  “No, not wrong. Not really.” He stuttered when he spoke. It was weird. He never stuttered. Stuttering was my gig.

  “What is it?”

  He ran both of his hands though his thick black hair, still not saying a word. He took the wine glass out my hand and set it on the table, wrapping his hand around mine.

  Oh crap. I was so getting dumped.

  “Aurora.” His voice was very quiet. “I love you.” He took a deep, shaky breath before continuing. “I’m sorry if this is too soon.”

  Whoa. My heart flip-flopped around in my chest. Crap. Wait, this was good. And bad. And Complicated.

  But I did.

  He held up a hand. “You don’t have to say anything if you’re not ready. Are you okay with this?”

  “Yes, because I love you,” I said, testing the words in my mouth. They felt good.

  He cradled my face in his hands and kissed me. “Thanks.”

  “Thanks?” I repeated. “Why are you thanking me?”

  “For being you. And loving me.”

  “Now that we are officially lovers, do you have free time this weekend?” I asked.

  “Yes. Why?” His face was dark again.

  “It’s a law school thing, a tradition on Halloween weekend the student bar association rents out some cabins on the Guadalupe River in the hill country. People bring their families or whatever, camp out, and have a good time. Bree wants me to go, and she thinks you should go too.”

  “Would you like me to go with you?”

  I took a long drink of my wine. “Yes. I don’t want to be away from you the whole weekend.”

  He looked at his hands, which were folded on the table. “Okay. I’ll go.”

  “What’s wrong? You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

  “We’re wrapping production down here next week. I’m going back to L.A.”

  “Oh.” Now it was my turn to stare at my lap.

  “Please say something,” he said.

  “That blows.”

  He smiled, but it was weak and didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m going to figure something out.” He reached for my hand. I hesitated, but he grabbed it and squeezed it between his. “I mean it when I say I love you. I want this. I want you. I will figure this out for us, okay?”

  “Okay. Sure.” I tried to smile back, but I could already feel the slices of pain about his impending departure.

  ***

  Gavyn drove to the campground on the Guadalupe. South Texas has blessed us with perfect seventy-eight degree weather and a cloudless blue sky. It was only a forty-five minute drive from downtown, but were both silent. It felt like we were driving to a funeral. After all, it was our last weekend together.

  The silence was okay. I needed some time to think.

  I had let myself fall in love. Time to cue the happy music and ride off into the sunset.

  Reality was a little different. Gavyn was based out of London and Los Angeles. He was a movie star with a very tight schedule that would pull him all over the world. I was a poor law student in Texas, with a demanding schedule that would tether me to my law school. More importantly, I was a circus freak. There was no way I’d be able to hide it from him forever.

  But there was a tiny little piece of good in all this. If Gavyn lived in Los Angeles and I lived in San Antonio, then maybe I could hide it from him. I’d just have to exercise great caution for the next few dates and the time we spent together in the future. At least I could buy some time to figure out if Gavyn had a permanent relationship in mind, something that would warrant a full disclosure of all superhuman attributes
.

  “Hey, beautiful, glad to see you’re smiling.”

  “Thanks. I’m happy to be with you right now.”

  “Good.” He reached over to pat my leg. “I hope you don’t mind. I got us a little private cabin.”

  “Oh?”

  Or course, it turned out it was no simple cabin. It was two stories, with a loft overlooking the living room, and a vaulted ceiling with a skylight. There was a full kitchen with stainless steel appliances, stately leather furniture, and huge bedroom with the biggest bed I had ever seen. A small back patio, complete with rocking chairs, overlooked a beautiful view of trees and a sliver of bubbling river. The cabin was at least five times the size of my apartment.

  “Gavyn! This isn’t a freaking cabin. This is a house!”

  “Do you like it?”

  “Oh, my God! It’s too much.”

  “It’s really not a big deal for me to do this, so let me do it, okay?”

  “Right, sure.” I nodded.

  “What time did you say the barbeque was?” he asked.

  “Three. What did you have in mind?”

  He maneuvered me onto the ridiculously large bed and showed me what he had in mind.

  We managed to crawl out of bed and get dressed by mid afternoon. I was sore in the right places and my legs were shaky, but Gavyn was a ball of energy. He loaded up a small backpack cooler with our steaks, beer, and ice.

  “You ready?” His smile was so wide it looked like his face might split open.

  “Yeah.”

  “I was thinking we could walk. It’s not even a mile away, and it’s so nice outside. We’ll walk back and get our car before it gets dark,” he said.

  “Good idea.”

  He pulled a map out of his packet, consulted it, and seemed confident with what he saw. He led me to the thick tree line right behind the cabin.

  The trail we chose was a narrow strip of packed dirt. Knobby tree roots stretched across the path, which I, in my infinite grace, occasionally stumbled over. Gavyn kept his hand on my arm during the steep parts, making sure I wouldn’t fall. The trees were so thick that only small streams of sunlight filtered through the leaves, making woven patterns on the ground. Occasionally, we would hear rustling in the trees as we approached and scattered the wildlife.