Conquest of the Heart (36 page)

Two hours later, Gavin sat in the living area
waiting for Faith to emerge. He was handsomely dressed in a black
tuxedo. When she came out, Gavin’s breath was taken away. The color
was perfect against her caramel skin.

“You look amazing,” he said, standing up.

“So do you.” Faith had never seen him in a
formal suit before. In the office, he usually wasn’t wearing his
suit coat unless he was meeting with clients or board members.

Faith walked towards him. He reached for her
hand, pulled her in and kissed her cheek.

“Your outfit isn’t quite
complete.” Gavin put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small
box. Faith’s heart skipped a beat when she saw it. He opened it to
reveal a pair of amethyst and diamond dangle earrings.
‘Phew,’
she thought, in
awe of how the night was going.

“Gavin, those are gorgeous.”

“Put them on,” he smiled, handing them to
her.

Faith took the box and lifted the insert to
remove the earrings. As she put them in, they sparkled in the
light.

“How do they look?” she asked.

“Again, you look amazing.” Gavin hugged her
close, his emotions trying to get the best of him.

“As do you. You sure you want to go
tonight?”

“What? Of course I want to go.”

Faith wrapped her arm around his neck,
pulling him down to kiss him. “I can have you out of this suit in
sixty seconds,” she teased.

Smiling, he said, “Trust me, beautiful. The
concert is only the beginning.”

The two of them enjoyed a light dinner and
then took a limousine to the concert. Once there, Gavin and Faith
sat front and center. Benise played wonderfully, and his dancers
were brilliant. At one point of the show, he came down in the
audience, playing his guitar, personally it seemed, for Faith.
Gavin tried not to show his jealousy. He casually took Faith’s hand
into his, making sure that Benise was clear on whose she was. Not
noticing, Benise kept playing, then returned to the stage to
complete the act. Faith was completely captivated, and barely paid
attention to Gavin. While he liked the show, he didn’t like that
she appeared to be ignoring him on purpose. Trying not to take it
personally, he sat back and watched the remainder of the concert.
Afterward, the two met Benise in person. He was a complete
gentlemen, not mentioning Faith’s beauty to avoid confrontation.
Gavin appreciated that.

Back in their room, Gavin removed his jacket,
unbuttoned his vest, and loosened his tie. He sat down and took off
his shoes. Faith slipped out of her shoes as soon as they walked in
the door. The shoes Gavin had bought were cute, but her feet paid
the price.

Gavin sat with his chin in his hands,
thinking about how Faith was so engulfed with Benise. Noticing,
Faith asked what was wrong.

“Are you okay?”

“I was just wondering if you enjoyed yourself
tonight.”

“I did,” she said hesitantly. “Didn’t
you?”

“I didn’t appreciate the fact that Benise
singled you out and flirted with you while I was sitting there. Did
you enjoy that too?”

“I believe that was part of the show. It
could’ve been another woman sitting there, and he probably would
have done the same thing.”

“There were other women sitting around us.
Why not choose one of them?”

“I’m sure it was completely random,
Gavin.”

“He ignored me when I grabbed your hand, and
so did you.”

Faith frowned, now taking her earrings off,
and heading to the bedroom to take off her dress.

“Seriously? Please tell me you’re not saying
what I think you’re saying?”

“Were you attracted to him?”

“Incredibile,” she spouted
in Italian. (
Incredible.
)

“Lei non ha risposto alla
domanda,” he shot back. (
You didn’t answer
the question.
)

“Non avrei dovuto rispondere
alla domanda,” Faith snapped. “Sapete gia la risposta.”
(
I shouldn’t have to answer the question.
You already know the answer.
)

She stormed to the bedroom took off her dress
and put on her sleepwear. Gavin threw his tie on the floor,
unbuttoned his shirt and threw it on the couch. He stormed after
her.

“Non andartene via da me. Ho
bisogno di sapere,” he said sharply. (
Don’t
walk away from me. I need to know.
)

“Maledizione, Gavin. Che gia
conosci. Questo e ridicolo,” responded Faith. (
Damn it, Gavin. You already know. This is
ridiculous.
)

“Cosa? Che cos’e che dovrei
gia sapere qaundo sei completamente affascinato da un altro uomo?”
Gavin’s anger was growing. (
What? What
should I already know when you were completely captivated by
another man?
)

“Si tratta di stronzate!”
Faith said, shaking her head. She walked into the bathroom to wash
her face and brush her teeth, slamming the door shut. Gavin tried
to open it, but it was locked. (
This is
bullshit!
)

Pounding on the door, he said, “Faith! Faith
open up!” He pounded some more, but to no avail. He leaned up
against the wall next to the door, waiting for her to come out.
Moments later, she did. She eyed him, saying nothing.

“Noi non siamo finiti,” he
calmly said. (
We’re not
finished.
)

“Oh, si che siamo.”
(
Oh, yes we are.
)
Faith tried to walk towards the bed,
but Gavin grabbed her by the arm, pulled her into him and kissed
her deeply on the lips. She fought him at first, but slowly gave
in. The kiss continued as Gavin moved her to the bed and gently
laid her down.

Breaking the kiss, Faith said, “You’re the
only one I desire to be with, Gavin. Don’t ever question that.”

“I know,” he said, gazing into her eyes. “I’m
sorry.”

“You’re pretty damn sexy when you’re pissed
in Italian.”

“So are you,” he said. “I had to kiss you. It
was driving me crazy.”

“Our arguments won’t last very long if
they’re always like that.”

“I’d pick a fight just to see you like that
again. Making up would be fantastic,” Gavin smiled.

Faith giggled and pulled him down, kissing
him and rubbing his back. He moaned in satisfaction.

“I need to change,” he said, lifting himself
off her.

“Okay,” she yawned. She scooted to one side
of the bed, got underneath the covers, and rested her head on the
pillows. Her eyes closed immediately.

Gavin went to the bathroom and changed into
his silk pajama pants, brushed his teeth, and washed his face. When
he returned, Faith was fast asleep. He smiled as he looked at her.
After standing there for a few seconds, he went to make sure the
door was locked and all the lights were turned off. He came back
and laid down next to her. He scooted in close, draped an arm
around her, and fell asleep.

Back in New York, Chandler was watching
Faith’s home like a hawk. There were a couple of times that she saw
someone coming and going from the home. She finally came up with a
way to find out exactly what was going on.

As she approached the front door, she took a
deep breath and rang the doorbell. A woman answered the door.

“Yes, can I help you?” she asked. She was
wearing turquoise scrubs.

“Umm, this is sort of embarrassing. Faith
asked me to check up on her house while she was out of town. I
forgot where she told me the spare key was, and she certainly
didn’t tell me her sister was going to be here,” said Chandler. She
was trying to get more information.

“I’m not her sister. Faith didn’t tell me
anyone would be stopping by,” the woman said suspiciously.

“Well, she was in such a hurry. If you’re not
her sister, why are you here?” asked Chandler. “I mean, I’m sure
Faith doesn’t want any strange people in her home.”

“I’m a family friend. I care for Mr. Rousseau
when Faith is working or out of town. She is very aware that I’m
here.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to accuse you of
wrongdoing. She didn’t tell me her father was staying with her,”
Chandler baited.

“Faith’s father is not here. I care for her
husband,” replied the woman, hesitantly. “I’m sorry, who did you
say you were?”

“I’ve taken too much of your time. Please
forgive the interruption. I’ll be going now.” Chandler quickly
turned and walked back to her car. She sat and watched the woman
close the door. As she drove off, she could feel a sense of
victory.

“Finally,” she said out loud. She had all the
information she needed to separate Faith and Gavin for good.

Gavin woke up at his usual time the next
morning. He gently ran his fingers along Faith’s arm, almost waking
her with the tickling sensation. She turned over, on her back from
her side. Gavin softly kissed her neck, and caressed her breasts.
She moaned slightly, frowning from being bothered but not
contesting his touch. He slowly licked his way down her stomach,
making his way to her lower area.

As he slipped her pajama bottoms and
underwear off, she squirmed as her body began to respond to him. He
carefully stimulated the area with his tongue. Faith groggily
whimpered. This excited Gavin even more. At this point, he was
completely naked, which she was unaware of. He led her to climax
more than once. She waited for him to make his way up to her lips
for his own climax, but he didn’t do that. He just continued to
stimulate her.

Faith opened her eyes, with little control of
what was going on. “Gavin, we should stop.”

“I don’t want to stop,” he said sharply, now
kissing and licking her stomach.

She frowned, breathing heavily from so much
stimulation. “I need you to stop.”

He was now gently sucking and licking her
breasts. “You don’t want me to stop.”

Then she felt him, realizing he was naked. By
this time he was kissing her neck, and had started to grind against
her. While she wanted him to take her, she couldn’t bring herself
to allow it.

“Gavin, I need you to stop.”

He gazed into her eyes and kissed her
sensuously. Faith could feel a flood of sensation as he continued
to grind.

“No,” he whispered.

Gavin knew this might happen. His hope was
that she would be too far gone to deny him. For reasons unbeknownst
to him, she was fighting against her own will. He kept gently
grinding and kissing her. A thousand thoughts were going through
Faith’s mind. She had to stop this before it was too late.

“Gavin,” she said firmly. “Please.”

Finally she had gotten through to him. He
slowed his pace, breathing heavily. He buried his head in the
pillow and pounded his fist against the bed. Faith was startled and
flinched. She closed her eyes, knowing he was upset.

Gavin raised himself away from her. He
climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom, immediately turning on
the shower. Faith watched as he quietly closed the door, not once
looking back at her. She took a deep sigh of relief. After a few
minutes, she sat up, pulled her underwear and pants back on, and
got up to make the bed. As she was finishing, Gavin emerged from
the bathroom, fully dressed. He stood there and looked at her
without cracking a smile.

“I’m going to take a walk,” he said.

“I’ll go with you.”

“No. I need to be alone.”

Faith nodded, and sat on the bed, staring at
nothing as he left. It took everything she had to stand up and take
her own shower, as if the heaviness of the situation was pushing
against her. Afterwards, she grabbed one of the books she had
bought at the airport and climbed on the bed. She curled her legs
up and began to read. Being completely engulfed, she didn’t hear
Gavin come back. He stood in the doorway of the bedroom.

“Faith,” he said quietly.

She looked up, tried to smile, and said,
“Yes.”

“You are going to tell me why you won’t let
me make love to you, right?”

Faith briefly looked back down at the pages
in her book, then glanced back up at him. “Yes.”

“Soon, Faith. Soon.”

She didn’t respond, only nodded.

“Are you hungry?” he asked flatly.

Again, she only nodded.

He stood up straight, stretched out his hand
and said, “Let’s go.”

Faith swung her legs around the side of the
bed, put her shoes on, stood and took his hand. The rest of their
weekend was strained. While he still showed affection towards her,
he kept his distance. The plane ride was uncomfortably quiet, as
was the limo ride to her house. She turned to him, pleading with
him to say more than a few words.

“Will you please say something? You’ve barely
spoken to me all weekend.”

He sighed, gently stroked her cheek and
leaned in and kissed her. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Disappointed, Faith said, “Okay.” She climbed
out of the car, and thanked the driver for getting her suitcase.
She walked to her house without turning around.

The next morning, Gavin brought Faith her
coffee as normal.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he said as he
walked in her office. He sat her cup on the desk and continued,
“We’ve got a meeting with Adrian at ten to discuss the trip. Just a
reminder. I’ll see you then.”

As quickly as he came, he left. He didn’t
like treating her this way, but he wanted to get his message across
that he was serious about what he had said. He got back to his
office, sat down and closed his eyes in the quietness. It was
interrupted by an annoying, familiar voice.

“Glad you’re back,” Chandler said.

“Today is really not the day, Chandler. What
do you want?”