Page 23 of Forgotten Comeback (Parisi Family #5)

Chapter

Twenty-Two

Taylor

“Gavin, this is unhinged,” I argue, peeking out the blinds. Sure enough, the man’s standing at my door.

“As unhinged as your back door?” he counters.

“Ugh!” Ending the call, I march downstairs and fling open the front door. “Come in. You’ve already given my neighbor enough to talk about.”

“If you insist.” He saunters into my living room, a tool kit in one hand, a large paper bag in the other.

“I don’t insist,” I inform him. “You’re the one who tracked me down like a psychopath and invited yourself.”

“And aren’t you glad I did, because I brought lunch. Come eat while I change out your lock.”

“Can I really trust a man who stalked me and broke into my apartment?” I cross my arms.

“And returned your panties. You left out the most important part,” he says solemnly.

Narrowing my eyes, I tell him, “That was a rhetorical question. The answer is clearly no.”

“Come eat. That lock isn’t going to change itself.” He takes off to the kitchen.

“Of course, you know the way to my kitchen,” I snipe, chasing after him.

I should call the cops. I should kick him out. I should stop checking out his ass. A damn fine backside, not to mention the front view. The man knows what he’s doing in those gray sweatpants.

Gavin smirks as he begins unscrewing the door handle, and I avert my gaze. Busying myself with the food, I unpack a drink carrier with smoothies and takeout boxes. “Pick what you want. I ordered a couple of different things,” he tells me.

I open boxes, finding salads, protein bowls, and fruit. My stomach twists in a knot. Is this a subtle hint about my weight?

“I’m taking my training seriously,” Gavin explains, and I feel silly for jumping to conclusions. “Cutting out all the booze, weed, cigarettes, and junk.”

“Good for you,” I tell him sincerely, choosing a chicken bowl and a smoothie before taking a seat at the table.

He nods. “A fiery redhead challenged me to get my ass in gear.”

I eye him suspiciously. “Gavin, what are you doing?”

“Changing out your lock.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“I need the old key.”

Sighing, I hop up and grab my keys from the living room table, twisting the key off my key ring.

Returning, I hand it to Gavin and watch him work as I take a seat.

“How do you know how to change a lock?” I’m not completely helpless as far as home projects, but I’d need a step-by-step tutorial and a few hours of cursing.

“Jack of all trades.”

“Master of none,” I finish the phrase.

“Master of your pussy, seeing that you squirted like a fire hose,” he says with pride.

“Oh my God, will you stop?” I groan, red creeping up my neck.

He smiles smugly, grabbing a different tool.

“Come eat before your food gets cold,” I find myself telling him.

“If you insist.” He places his tools down before selecting his food and joining me. “Glad to see you’re able to feed yourself today. A miraculous recovery,” I drawl.

“Ice and your pussy. My new post-fight regimen,” he agrees.

Refusing to be flattered by his fuckboy charm, I ask, “When’s the next fight?”

“Next weekend. I’d like you to be there,” he says, bringing a bite of steak to his mouth.

“Why?”

He lifts a shoulder. “I won my fight with you watching. Let’s keep the winning streak going.”

“Is it your goal to fuck me, since you and I both fucked Mia, but not each other?” I wonder, taking a sip of my smoothie.

“Has it occurred to you, man-eater, that I might actually like you, and this has nothing to do with Mia? But you keep bringing up the woman, to where I’ve gotta wonder if you’ve still got a thing for her,” he says, the last part with something flickering in his eyes. Jealousy, maybe?

“Tell me why you fucked Mia, and we can drop the subject for good.”

Gavin

“I fucked Mia so you’d break up with her, because I’m interested in you.” Which is a happy byproduct of my scheming, but not my motive. But I can’t be completely honest with Taylor; as Inferno reminded me, loose lips sink ships, and I’m not going to be responsible for sinking my family’s vessel.

“If that’s true, wouldn’t it have been smarter to wait until Mia and I broke up, so I didn’t hate you?” she points out.

“Smarter, maybe.” I shrug, finishing the last bite of my steak. “But patience has never been one of my virtues.”

Taylor takes a sip of her smoothie, considering me. She has a way of seeing straight through me and my bullshit. It’s as much refreshing as it is unnerving. “Because you’re used to having any woman you want. Rejection’s a foreign concept.”

I lean forward on my elbows. “You don’t seem to have a problem rejecting me.”

She nearly chokes on her smoothie. “I let you eat my pussy last night in a club where a woman you fucked was serving our table. I’d hardly call that rejection. More like delusion.”

“Mmm, delusion. I’m getting hard just thinking about my head between your legs,” I tell her, my dick jumping in agreement. “A wet fucking dream, last night. You squirting on my tongue.”

“Stop,” she says in that husky tone of hers that sends a jolt right to my dick. “Gavin, we are not having sex.”

I lift an eyebrow. “You can’t stop me from dreaming about it, man-eater.”

Taylor’s cheeks flush, and she ducks her head.

“What is it?”

“Nothing.” She focuses on her food.

Understanding dawns on me. “You’ve dreamed about me.”

She makes an annoyed sound in the back of her throat, stabbing a sweet potato cube with her fork.

“You have!” I say with glee, feeling a hell of a lot better about my own dream. “When was this? Before last night?”

Taylor makes a face, silently chewing.

“It was, wasn’t it?”

She rises and marches to the trash, tossing her empty bowl. “You are beyond annoying.”

“What was the dream?” I press.

“No fucking way I’m telling you.” Taylor feigns annoyance, but her jade eyes are dilated.

This woman can put up a front all she wants, but she feels this crazy attraction as much as I do.

“Gavin, I don’t have time to play your games.

I need to get ready for work. Can I trust you alone down here to finish up with the lock? ”

“Call me Mr. Trustworthy.”

“Suuuuure.”

Taylor walks out, and I smile triumphantly. She doesn’t have time to play my games, which means she’s still in the game.

I put away the leftovers in the fridge and get back to work, changing out the lock and testing it with the new key.

She enters a few minutes later, dressed in her casino uniform, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, face fresh. “You have freckles on your nose,” I say, noticing for the first time as I hand her the key.

“Yeah, I was too lazy to redo my makeup.” Taylor slips it on her key ring and drops it in her purse.

“They’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.” The words tumble out of my mouth.

She rolls her eyes. “Stop with the horrible lines.”

I advance until I’ve pinned Taylor with her back to the wall, caging her in with my hands. “I won’t stop, because they’re not lines.”

Her lips purse. “The little boy who cried wolf.”

“I don’t follow, and you know there’s nothing little about me,” I say suggestively, having caught her more than once checking out my dick while I was working on the door.

“You’ve used lines so many times that even if you were sincere, no woman would believe you,” she tells me dismissively.

“I don’t care what other women believe; I want you to believe me.” For whatever reason, I do want that.

“Actions speak louder than words, Gavin.”

“Then let me prove my worthiness, mi lady,” I say in my best medieval tone.

Taylor tries not to, but a laugh escapes those plump lips of hers.

I inch closer to where we’re sharing the same breath. Moving that last little bit, my lips meet hers. Wanting to show her how serious I am about this, I keep it chaste, gently pressing my lips to hers before pulling back to gauge her reaction.

“Sorry, I fell asleep,” she taunts.

I wrap my hand around Taylor’s throat, and her eyes blow out completely as I jerk her head to mine, claiming her mouth in a punishing kiss.

I nip her bottom lip, and she gasps as I invade her mouth with my tongue.

We fight for dominance with each flick of our tongues, my dick lying hard and flat against her stomach.

“Ga-vin.” The way Taylor moans my name has my dick throbbing.

“Yeah, man-eater.” I flick her tongue as I grind my hips, needing to relieve some of this ache.

She gives me a little shove. “Gavin, I have to go to work.”

I groan, stealing one last kiss before releasing her from my cage.

“Have that thing stand down, lest you give Mrs. Parker a heart attack.” She glances at my dick, ushering me to the door.

“Mrs. Parker’s already got her eye on me, just to let you know,” I tease her.

“Is there a woman who doesn’t have her eye on you?” Taylor says dryly.

“Only one, but I think she’s starting to come around.”

“Get out of here with those lines.” She shoves me out the door, locking up behind us.

I escort Taylor to her car, opening the door for her. “Mi lady.” I bow dramatically.

She shakes her head with a little laugh, sliding behind the wheel. “You are ridiculous.”

I grin, closing the door and watching her drive away.

Maybe I am ridiculous, but damn, this is what fun feels like. It’s been so long since I’ve had any, I almost forgot.