Pulse (Collide) Read online

  Emily watched Javier retrieve her luggage from the trunk and pass it to Gavin. After thanking him, Gavin grabbed Emily’s hand, his grip tight as he led her toward his car. Struggling to keep up, Emily’s heels clicked frantically against the pavement. She stared at the two women.

  The brunette quirked a brow and placed a hand on her hip. “Um, we’re not opposed to adding a fourth, but I still think you should’ve asked us first.”

  The blonde nodded and straightened her pink tank top. Emily bit her lip, her eyes wide on Gavin.

  Gavin released a weighty breath, pulled Emily to the passenger side, and opened the rear door. He tossed her suitcase into the backseat. Opening the front door, he looked at Emily. “Get in.”

  “What?” she questioned, shock shimmering in her eyes.

  “You heard me, Emily. Get in,” he replied as he rounded the car.

  The blonde cocked her head to the side. “Where are we going?”

  “You two are going home,” Gavin answered, his tone clipped. He looked at his driver, who appeared equally confused. “Necesito que lleves a estas dos a su casa, de acuerdo?”

  “Si, Señor Blake.” Javier waved the two women over.

  This time, the brunette cocked her head to the side. “You’re making us leave? You can’t do that.”

  “I just did. Have a great day, ladies,” Gavin replied, staring at Emily over the roof of his car. With a casual shrug, he brushed off the gasp one of them emitted. “Get in the car, doll.”

  Bending to his will, Emily snapped her mouth shut and ducked into the vehicle. After closing his door, Gavin pushed a button and started the car. He punched the gas a few times and the engine roared, warning the two women still standing behind the vehicle. Taking him seriously, they stepped back onto the grass and crossed their arms in clear annoyance. Once out of his way, Gavin floored the gas, and the sleek Jaguar careened in reverse out of his driveway.

  Gavin lowered the window and called out to Javier, who was about to get into the limo. “Sabes en que hotel se esta quedando?”

  “Si, en El Real, Señor Blake.”

  “Gracias,” Gavin replied. With one hand gripped tight around the wheel and the other on the shift, he looked at Emily. “Get your seatbelt on.”

  “What did you just ask him?”

  “I asked him what hotel you’re staying at. Now get your seatbelt on.”

  Feeling the tension pour off of him, Emily pulled the belt over her waist. After it clicked, Gavin slammed the gear into first and took off. Dust from the gravel road swamped the rear and sides of the car. Out of the corner of her eye, Emily watched Gavin, his eyes focused on the road, his face painfully impassive. Her heart clenched against the long stretch of silence taking hold in the air around them. Gavin turned onto a highway, and adrenaline washed through Emily’s veins as he kicked through the gears effortlessly. Ripping in between slower vehicles, the odometer neared 85 mph.

  Emily tensed, grabbed the handle above her head, and looked at Gavin. “You’re going to kill us.”

  “I’m already dead,” he answered, clenching his jaw. He gripped the steering wheel tighter and punched the gas again, this time harder.

  The force jerked Emily’s body back. “Gavin! Have you lost your mind?”

  Without looking at her, Gavin cut the wheel hard right, and the car fishtailed to a screeching stop on the side of the road. Other drivers blared their horns, flying past Gavin and Emily as dust settled around the vehicle. Both heaving for air, their gazes caught one another.

  Clung.

  “I’m already dead,” Gavin repeated, the words spoken low, but the undertone of anger as clear as the cloudless sky. As angry as he was at her, like a rubber band, something snapped inside of him as he stared at Emily’s lips. In one swift movement, he reached for her, lifting her over the console and onto his lap.

  Emily straddled him, and her breath faltered as she stared at his face, his pained eyes staring back. Unable to contain her want, she crashed her mouth to his and gripped the back of his hair, her apologies whipping past her lips as she soaked in his familiar taste with each stroke of her tongue. “I’m so sorry, Gavin. I can’t take away what I’ve done to you. I know I can’t, but I love you. God, I love you so much.”

  Gavin squeezed her thighs and slipped his hands under her sundress. Gripping Emily’s waist, a groan ripped through his throat when she arched her chest against his. He could feel her hardened nipples through the thin cotton, and he swore he would lose it right there. Licking fast through her mouth and trying to savor every moan she expelled at his touch, Gavin fought against doubt plaguing his mind. With one hand still caressing her waist, he took the other and fisted her hair, pulling her down harder to his lips. She moaned and circled her hips, grinding hard against his rising dick. Her panting breaths echoed in his ears along with the words she’d spoken to him the night of her rehearsal dinner.

  “Fuck!” he snarled, tearing his mouth from hers. Hand still tangled in her wavy curls, he stared at her with narrowed eyes.

  Before Emily could catch her breath, he swung open the door and slipped out of the car, leaving her on her knees in the driver’s seat. She curled her fingers around the head rest and watched him pace on the side of the road, both of his hands gripping his hair.

  “Fuck!” he yelled out again, reaching down to the ground.

  Eyes wide and breathing heavy, Emily jerked with sudden fear as he pelted a rock against the back window. The glass split into a cobweb. Without hesitation, he rocketed another against the taillight. Emily gasped, but with confusion and anger bubbling in her stomach, she hauled her suitcase over the seat and tore out of the car. She headed away from Gavin, tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried to pull the wheeled luggage through the rocks.

  “Where are you going, Emily?” Gavin called, following her.

  Without stopping, she flipped him the bird and continued her pursuit into nowhere land.

  Coming up beside her, Gavin grabbed her elbow and spun her around, a lopsided smirk tipping his lips. “You’re in the middle of Mexico, doll.”

  “And you’re an asshole!” she hissed, defiance glittering in her eyes. She wiped the tears away from her face.

  “Ahh, still so beautiful when you’re mad.” He cupped her chin and smoothed the pad of his thumb under her eye. After wiping the smudged mascara from her face, he stepped back and crossed his arms. “And you still love calling me an asshole, huh?”

  Throwing her arm out to the side, she stepped forward, her chin jutted up. “What do you want from me, Gavin? I came here to apologize. You knew damn well I didn’t marry him, but yet you didn’t take my calls and you say you’re dead? I’m dead right now!”

  “I am fucking dead, goddammit!” He stepped closer, curled his arm around her waist, and pulled her against his chest. Staring into her watery, green eyes, he resisted the urge to kiss her again. “You killed me, Emily,” he breathed, brushing her hair away from her face. Leaning into her ear, he yanked the suitcase from her hand, his voice a heated whisper. “I didn’t know you never went through with it. I chucked my phone the night I came out here, and I haven’t read any messages my fucking housekeeper left for me. I threw each and every single one of them away.” He whipped around and headed for the car.

  “Gavin, wait!” she called out. He came to a stop and shook his head, refusing to face her. Inching toward him, Emily swallowed nervously, her head more confused than when she’d first showed up. “What are you trying to say to me?” she asked, taking a cautious step forward. “Say it if you have to, Gavin, but I need to know. What are we doing?”

  Gavin turned around and raked his hand through his hair. “I don’t know what we’re doing, Emily.” He paused, his gaze shifting between her and the highway. He shook his head again, then brought his attention back to her. “I don’t know what I want right now.”

  “I’ve broken us,” she whispered, slowly bringing her hand up to her cheek as she stared at the ground. Trying to catch th
e breath that’d been stolen from her, she lifted her head. Her eyes locked on Gavin’s. “I have. I’ve broken us.”

  Gavin cupped the back of his neck and stared at her a long moment, his mind fighting against what his heart wanted. “Yeah. I think you have,” he answered softly. He pulled in a deep breath and turned around. “Come on... I’m taking you back to your hotel.”

  Emily felt lightheaded. Felt the blood drain from her face. She knew when she got there he could reject her, but no amount of mental preparation could’ve prepared her for the loneliness slamming through her. In a daze, she made her way back to the car and settled into the seat. Barely able to make sense of her emotions, Emily couldn’t look at Gavin when he slipped in and started the engine. She rested her head against the seat and blankly stared out the window. With everything in her, she tried to contain herself from breaking out into hysterics as Gavin eased the car back onto the highway.

  “How do I know you’re not going to go back to him?” Gavin’s soft, broken voice cut through the silence. “And what makes you think I can trust you won’t?”

  Emily snapped her head in his direction, her lips parted as she gazed into his eyes. They held so much pain, and it was then she realized how badly she’d hurt him. She took a calculated risk and reached over, brushing her fingertips along the dark stubble on his jaw. She felt him tense, and it stung her heart. She dropped her hand into her lap and looked down. “I’m not taking him back, Gavin. I love you,” she whispered, swiping away a tear that’d trickled down her face.

  “You say that now.” He dragged his attention from her and brought it back to the road. “You love me while you’re here, Emily. What about when we get back to New York? What happens when you see him again?”

  She cupped her hand over her mouth, and a sob crawled up her throat as she stared at him. “I don’t know how to get you to trust me other than giving me the chance to prove it to you, Gavin. I don’t.”

  Exhaling, Gavin gripped the steering wheel and didn’t say another word for the remainder of the ride.

  By the time they pulled up in front of the hotel, Emily wasn’t sure if her heart was still beating. She wasn’t sure if she could move… could breathe. However, she was sure her soul had shattered into a million tiny pieces, scattered somewhere along a highway in Mexico. With hues of pinks, purples, and orange replacing the lazy sun disappearing from the sky, Gavin slipped from the car and retrieved Emily’s luggage. Handing it to the bellboy, Gavin reached in his wallet for a tip and spoke something in Spanish.

  Emily climbed from the car and walked over to Gavin. Staring up into his eyes, her words softly fell from her mouth. “Do you know how scary it is to want something so bad you’re willing to change your whole life for it?”

  Gavin searched her face. “You mean the way I was willing to change mine for you?”

  “Yeah. I guess we were both willing to do that, Gavin. I was ready to take that plunge and never look back. Never. I was ready to risk everything for you, to push away the overwhelming fear I had because I knew you and I are worth it. We fell in love in a second. I was barely able to blink, and you had my entire world upside-down. I was scared you weren’t… real. I was scared no one could be as magnetic as you are to me. It still scares me. You still scare me.” Pausing, Emily shook her head. “Then I saw Gina, and all my fears came back. My heart wanted to believe you, but my head wouldn’t allow it after I’d already taken that risk on us. I’m so sorry, Gavin. I don’t know what else to say other than I love you and need you with everything inside me.”

  Gavin cleared his throat but didn’t say a word.

  Once again unable to resist her want, her need, Emily moved closer, pushed up on her tiptoes, and placed a soft, lingering kiss on Gavin’s cheek. She closed her eyes as his heat radiated over her body.

  Gavin lifted his hands, burrowing his fingers tight around Emily’s waist. Emily felt his lips brush against the crown of her head and heard him suck in a steeling breath, but before she could open her eyes, he let go. With her heart pounding, she watched him duck back into his car, his tires screeching as he veered out of the parking lot.

  Feeling as though Gavin couldn’t get away from her quick enough, Emily hugged her stomach, sickened by what she’d done to them. All hope gone and head in a daze, she looked at the bellboy who’d been waiting with her luggage. Sporting a warm smile, he nodded and led her into the hotel lobby. She followed, her breathing shallow as she tried to unscatter her thoughts long enough to show the proper ID to the woman seated behind the front desk.

  After handing Emily’s passport back to her, the young, dark-haired woman smiled. “Thank you for choosing the Royal Playa del Carmen, Señorita Cooper. Rafael will show you to your room. The presidential suites are located in a separate building, but they’re within walking distance.” She slid a pamphlet and room card across the clay-colored marble counter. “Any information about your suite and the amenities the resort offers can be found here, or you can call the concierge desk at any time. I hope you enjoy your stay.”

  “Thank you.” Emily turned to Rafael and shook her head. “I don’t need any help with my bag, but thank you.”

  “Are you sure, señorita? I’m more than happy.”

  “I’m sure.”

  He nodded, and Emily made her way out of the pristine lobby and into the humid night air. Glancing at the pamphlet with her room number on it, Emily rounded the corner and followed a cobblestone path to the back of the resort. A mariachi band in the distance and laughter from vacationers hummed through her ears. She pulled her luggage and tried to drag her attention from several happy couples dancing under the woven diamond of stars above. Envy pierced Emily. That should’ve been her, and she’d ruined any chance at having that. At her building, she slid the room key into the glass door, shuffled into the small lobby area, and slipped into the elevator. With her heart aching for Gavin, she wondered why she was even staying the night. She didn’t belong there, and she knew it. Her reason for being there was gone, lost from her life forever, and there was nothing she could do to change his mind.

  When the elevator doors slid open, she stepped into a hallway housing six suites. Scanning the numbers on each, she eventually found hers and swiped her card through the entryway scanner. Emily pushed open the door and flipped on the lights. Pain continued to crush in around her as she made her way through the expansive suite. Exhausted and mentally spent, she curled her hand around the sleek bamboo of one of the four posters of a king-sized bed. She slid off her heels and dropped them onto the cold marble floor. Feeling depleted—mind, body, and soul—she sank onto the bed and pressed her face into the pillow, a rush of tears falling from her eyes. He was gone. Her Yankees-loving, bottle cap-giving, dimpled smile other half was gone, and there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do to turn back time.

  However, her time was up.

  Eyes fluttering open, Emily rolled to her side and yawned. For a second, she didn’t know where she was. Her gaze caught the clock on the nightstand. It was just past two in the morning. Then reality hit. Unrelenting sadness lashed her as she sat up on the edge of the bed. Staring around the empty suite, visions of Gavin swam in her mind. He clearly wasn’t coming back. She sank deeper into a cesspool of pain. She gazed at the clock again before grabbing her luggage and tossing it onto the bed. After rummaging through it, she padded into the bathroom.

  Weariness pulled at her, and regret weakened every muscle as she stepped into the shower. Standing under the hot spray, she decided to leave. She couldn’t stay, even if leaving meant she had to spend the night in the airport. Though a part of her begged her to call a cab, head over to Gavin’s house, and plead with him to take her back, the other part shielded her from any further hurt. She heaved an exhausted sigh, reached for a towel, and wrapped it around herself. After blow drying her hair, she changed into a pair of jean shorts and a T-shirt. She tugged her bag from the bed, gave the breathtaking room one last look, and left.

  In the hallway,
Emily turned and felt her legs buckle. Her eyes locked on Gavin stepping from the elevator. When their gazes caught, Emily tried to swallow, but her throat felt too dry and tight. She drew a shuddering breath and let it out as he moved slowly toward her. Her heart tripped, stopped, and restarted when he came within inches of her. His heady, masculine scent engulfed her.

  His gaze zeroed in on her mouth, his voice soft. “I stared at the ceiling half the night wondering if I could honestly go the rest of my life without kissing these lips ever again.” Gavin grazed the pad of his thumb against Emily’s mouth. Letting it linger, he traced the top and bottom. She parted her lips, her mind desperately trying to remind her how to breathe as she stared into his eyes. Gavin stepped closer. “I paced the house when I couldn’t sleep, imagining another day of not feeling this body against mine. This body was made to fit me in every possible way.” Gavin’s fingertips ghosted across her cheek, along the curve of her neck. Coiled heat simmered through Emily’s stomach as his hand drifted down her shoulder, brushed the side of her torso, and finally settled on her waist. He squeezed, and desire jolted up her spine.

  Trembling, Emily dropped her head to the side, but Gavin found her chin and gently lifted her face. She swallowed back tears and turned her green eyes to him.

  He rolled his tongue over his lips and took a breath. “The thought of not seeing your eyes when I wake up, or not hearing your heart next to me when you’re asleep made me sick. With all of that, I decided no, I can’t go another day without you. I don’t want to go another day without you.” Gavin stepped closer, and suddenly, Emily’s back was against the suite door. “You’re mine,” he added. “The second you showed up at my place that night, you sealed your fate.” Emily’s heart pounded. He placed his hands on the sides of her head. “Do you love me, Emily?”

  Her belly knotted, and her breathing became shallow. “Yes, I love you,” she whispered, staring into his blue eyes.

  He licked his lips, dropped a hand to the door, and leaned into her ear. “Do you know you’re mine?”