The Remingtons_Blush of Love Read online

  “You’d want to hang around with a bunch of engineers?” Safire teased him. “Okay, let’s go over there.”

  She tugged his hand and they headed to the side of the bar with the pool table. Various people, some with costumes and other wearing evening apparel, greeted Safire.

  “Hey, aren’t you Gunner Gibson?” a brunette wearing a gothic space costume asked. She jutted her ample breasts at him and licked her dark purple lipstick. “I’m Stacy Sparks, your number one fan.”

  “Cool.” Gunner gave her his usual noncommittal greeting reserved for fans.

  Undeterred, she waved to her friends. “Hey everyone, Gunner Gibson’s here, and he’s going to give me a New Year’s kiss.”

  Gunner kept his hand on Safire. “Actually, I’m here with Safire, your company’s Designer of The Year.”

  His words did nothing to keep the woman back. “We know you can do all of us tonight and not bat an eyelash.”

  Safire’s eyes widened and she backed away from him. “What is she talking about?”

  “Nothing,” Gunner mumbled to Safire. “Just a reputation I have from being a football player.”

  “Oh, he’s a player all right.” Stacy, who looked like she flew out of a Transylvania space opera, waved her hand back and forth. “I say there’s room for you, too, Safire. We don’t even have to get in line. Gunner’s that good.”

  “Excuse me.” Gunner grabbed Safire’s arm. “I don’t know you or what you’re talking about.”

  “You’ve forgotten us so fast?” Another woman slurred, raising her cell phone camera. “You used to be the party boy we could all count on.”

  “Selfie with me for old time’s sake?” A different woman said. “Actually hadn’t been that long ago. Remember, you invited me to your mansion?”

  “Your mansion’s the happening place,” the space opera vamp shrieked. “Can we all get rides in your limo?”

  “Sorry, girls.” Gunner put his hand out to ward them off. “I’m with Safire tonight and every night from now on.”

  Safire’s face was flushed bright red, and she still hadn’t said anything. Her eyeballs went back and forth between the motley gang of women and her mouth was open in shock. She nailed him with a steely gaze and said, “I thought you were a gentleman.”

  At that, the gaggle of girls burst out in raucous laughter.

  Gunner took the opportunity to beat a hasty retreat. “These women are crazy. They just want to get publicity from being seen with me or imagining themselves with me. It’s the price of being a celebrity.”

  “I guess you’re right.” Safire turned around and bumped into a man wearing desert camouflage.

  “Safire, it’s good to see you again.” The man grinned and looked genuinely happy to see her. Behind him stood a tall blonde who looked as athletic as Jayla Stone. Her hair, though, was bleached much lighter.

  “Finn, Kerry,” Safire sputtered. “How nice to see you two. Are you back on leave?”

  “A very short one,” Finn said. “Situation’s getting worse in the Middle East. Kerry and I have this last weekend together, and then she’s off to surfing competitions Down Under and I’m back to the warzone.”

  “Well, enjoy yourselves and Happy New Year.” Safire turned to Gunner. “This is Gunner Gibson.”

  Gunner had heard about Finn from Clarissa. Of course, he was the ex-boyfriend, the one who was in the Army. Safire was disappointed and broken-hearted when he stopped calling her and had had to take a mental health break. That was why Clarissa wanted him to be very careful with her sister. What had she said? Fragile, clingy, and socially inept?

  “Nice to meet you two,” Gunner said, shaking hands with them. “It’s always great to ring in the New Year with someone special.”

  “You can say that again.” Finn roped Kerry in for a kiss.

  Gunner bent toward Safire and kissed her on the cheek. “Let’s leave these lovebirds. Wonder if your sister’s going to show up.”

  “She’s staying home and drinking by herself,” Safire said. “She doesn’t have the Asian flush gene. Lucky her.”

  “No, lucky me.” He tipped her chin up and stared into her sparkling eyes. “I’ve got the girl with the glow.”

  He licked his lips and wanted very much to kiss her, but it wasn’t after midnight, and she wasn’t the type of woman he used to hook up with—the ones who worked the strip clubs or massage parlors.

  Safire was a respectable woman, and he was moving up in the world. He’d woo her properly. It wasn’t a matter of reforming his image, the way his old publicist had said. Heck, for an athlete, it was beneficial to be known as a bad boy. Fans loved it, and women flocked to him.

  It was more a change from the heart. He’d seen the way certain people disdained him and figured him to be a lowlife from the wrong side of the tracks. His mother might have been a single parent and he came from the trailer park, but she’d raised him right. And it was about time he made her proud.

  Chapter Five

  “Ten, nine, eight, seven.” Everyone inside Nightcaps waved streamers and watched the giant screens set above the bandstand. Every eye was on the image of the giant ball at Times Square parked above the countdown clock. It sparkled and glistened in the chilly night air, a mosaic of triangles inside triangles of crystal. “Four, three, two, one.”

  The ball dropped as fireworks flared all around it. Cheers rang out, and the partyers blew horns. A confetti machine sprayed glittery bits of paper over Safire and Gunner.

  “Happy New—”

  Gunner’s lips cut off Safire’s breath as he pressed lightly over her lips. “Happy New Year.”

  Was he kissing her or only speaking into her mouth? Safire’s heart jolted, wondering if she should kiss him back. After all, she’d always read too much into a guy’s actions, or at least that was what Clarissa said. With Finn, she’d thought that once they went to bed together, it had meant an exclusive committed relationship. Sure, he was in the Army and had to go back on deployment, but she had believed she was officially his girlfriend.

  “Are you going to kiss me back?” Gunner asked, his voice deep and gentle.

  Oh, right. He was a gentleman.

  Safire looped her hands around his neck and angled her head, locking her lips with his strong, firm ones. Gosh, he was intoxicating, tasting like a bite of whiskey.

  All around her, people were kissing as the band played Auld Lang Syne. Safire let herself go with the flow. Her mouth opened, and she flirted with Gunner’s tongue. He wasn’t sloppy or messy, but he sure knew how to kiss. He played with the tip of her tongue and sucked at her lips, and they swayed to the music, humming the traditional New Year’s tune. She could feel him smiling against her lips, and she knew she was sporting the biggest grin. Her heart swelled with happiness. She could finally relax, because she was with a good guy now. One her sister vouched for.

  After the debacle with Finn, she was ready to move on, and she had the hottest guy in New York City in her arms. This time, she wasn’t going to assume anything. She’d enjoy the date tonight and whether she went home with him or went home alone, it would all be the same.

  Tomorrow, actually tonight, was a new year, and the new Safire was going to be bold and confident. She’d get what she wanted and not hold back.

  And right now, she wanted Gunner Gibson.

  Opening her mouth wider, she deepened the kiss and wrapped her tongue around his. She breathed him in, inhaling him, and he responded passionately, furrowing his fingers through her hair and gripping her tighter. Their bodies pressed together, and she was relieved to find his hard-on against her belly. Her neck was tired from the angle, and he was bending over her, too tall to be truly comfortable.

  “Shall we go somewhere more comfortable?” She backed off and spoke in what she hoped was a sultry, seductive voice.

  “I’ll call my driver.”

  “Great. Let me use the ladies’ room, and I’ll meet you at the door.” Safire reluctantly let Gunner go and headed for th
e restroom.

  Her heartbeat and pulse raced as she took several deep breaths. Was she more nervous than horny? Or was the combination of alcohol and Gunner stirring emotions she’d tucked away after her breakup with Finn? In any case, tonight was magical in a way she hadn’t experienced before.

  Gunner was one hundred percent male, and he’d stood up to her boss and his brothers. Not only was he bigger than all of them, but he hadn’t allowed them to rattle his cage.

  Safire stepped into the restroom and ran into Siena who was on her way out.

  “Happy New Year,” Siena said. She came back into the ladies’ room. “Congratulations on your award. My brother’s really proud of you.”

  “Thanks, and Happy New Year to you, too.” Safire couldn’t help noticing the circles under the other woman’s eyes. The fact that her firefighter hadn’t been at the party probably had something to do with it.

  Siena gave her a stiff smile. “I’m never truly used to being a firefighter’s girlfriend. He’s out there fighting a four-alarm fire at a hotel.”

  “Oh, I hope it’ll all be okay.”

  “I’m sure it will be. How’s it going with Gunner?”

  Safire wasn’t sure she should be talking so intimately with her boss’s twin sister, but Siena seemed genuinely interested. Besides, she was curious about the attitude of her brothers toward Gunner.

  “We’re having a good time. He’s very considerate.”

  “That’s good. I’m glad.” She headed toward the door. “He has a reputation, so forgive my brothers if they’re overprotective.”

  “Oh? What do you mean? Do I have something to worry about?” A prickle of anxiety made her eye twitch and she blinked, biting her lip.

  “He seems to be enchanted by you. I don’t think you have a thing to worry about.”

  # # #

  Gunner checked his text messages before calling for his driver. It was an all clear. Clarissa had gotten everything he needed and was sure she’d discovered the secret level. She requested or demanded that he now bring her sister back and said she would be watching for them.

  Let her watch all night. Gunner silenced his phone and called his driver. The night was still young, and he had a woman who made his pulse race and everything below his waist feel alive. Ever since he quit the strip club scene, he’d been celibate—which was pretty hard to believe for an active professional football player, but it had been part of his emotional makeover.

  He was tired of the emptiness surrounding hookups with people who were basically strangers. Especially tonight, watching the way the Remington girlfriends were so devoted to their guys had a way of making him feel second tier.

  Safire came out of the ladies’ room and held her hand out to him, like she was a part of him and couldn’t wait to be joined with him. The look she gave him was pure adoration and it did funny things to his heart.

  He grasped her hand and reeled her in for a kiss. He shouldn’t be encouraging this, especially with Clarissa’s warning, but Safire seemed taken by his charm, and why shouldn’t he enjoy her as far as she was willing to go?

  He was an adult, so was she. And the way his body reacted to her was like dynamite. Even more worrisome were the jitters in his belly. He’d never felt quite so unsettled around a woman as he now felt with Safire.

  “Ready?” He put her wrap around her shoulders and took her hand. “How’d you like to take a tour of bridges, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburgh, Queensborough, the Triborough and cruise the FDR drive back to your place?”

  “You’re trying to get more time with me.” She tiptoed and touched his face. “I like that.”

  “I like you. A lot.” He drew her closer and kissed her across the lips. He couldn’t help it, and in the back of his mind, he knew he was moving way too fast—falling back into his smooth talking and aggressive moves to steer a woman into his bed. But this was Safire Chu, a woman of quality, and if he wanted her devotion, he was going to have to earn it.

  Chapter Six

  Safire and Gunner sat at the back of the limo so that they both faced the driver. In front of them was the long bench seat across from the bar where a bottle of champagne sat in a bucket of ice.

  “Go ahead and have a glass,” Safire said. “I don’t want you to stop drinking on my account.”

  “Actually, let me see if they stocked it with fruit juice.” Gunner reached across with his long arms to the onboard refrigerator.

  The limo moved slowly in traffic, and Safire leaned back to watch the panoply of bright city lights stream across the view from the darkened window glass.

  “I think I can swing another glass of champagne,” she said. “I’m not feeling as buzzed as before.”

  “You sure?” Gunner held a carton of orange juice. “I don’t want you to overdo it.”

  “I don’t ever drink except New Year’s Eve.” She stretched, feeling feisty and alive. “Besides, I’m sure this is expensive champagne.”

  “Only the best for you.” Gunner made quick work of uncorking the bottle of bubbly and poured for Safire and himself.

  “A toast,” she said. “To the best New Year’s Eve date and a real gentleman.”

  “To you, a sweetheart of a date.” Gunner clinked his glass with hers and tilted his head back for a swallow.

  The champagne warmed more than Safire’s belly. Her entire body tingled and felt electric, and everything seemed brighter and happier. The limo floated through the city streets, approaching the first bridge. Its lights arched and dotted over the river like a jeweled bracelet.

  Safire hooked her arms around Gunner’s neck and found herself in his lap. He was big all over, and hard as a rock. His muscles were hot, and everything about him was sexy. Safire wasn’t a blushing virgin, and she knew exactly what would happen if she allowed it.

  Frankly, after the year she had pinning all her hopes on an absent Army man, she deserved to let loose and have some fun. Finn had been the romantic one, the one with the sweet words and he’d told her he was looking for love—a woman to come home to. Unfortunately, he fell out of love as easily as he fell into love.

  With Gunner, Safire had no such expectations. He was a man at the top of the dating totem pole and could have any woman he wanted. And right now, he was into her—kissing her with fiery passion, snaking his tongue into her mouth, his big warm hands firmly massaging her back, moving down to her ass, and brushing her breast.

  He wasn’t wearing a tie, so in no time at all, she had her hands inside his shirt, with his pounding heartbeat pulsing underneath her palms.

  She moaned when he cupped her breast and rubbed his thumb over her bra, stimulating her nipple and filling her with a roiling desire in her lower regions.

  As she delved into his strong mouth and ran her hands up and down his chest, he swept a large, capable hand up her thigh and rolled his fingers over the patch of lace she wore over her sex.

  She buried her face in his neck and sucked on it, tasting the salty tang of his skin. Jolts of pleasure shot through her as he rubbed her sensitive flesh. She’d never been so close to coming at a mere touch.

  “Do you want this?” he asked, moving her around the corner of the L-shaped bench to the long arm. He lay back, holding her above him and peered into her eyes. “Is this comfortable enough for you?”

  “Very.” She couldn’t help drowning in his deep blue eyes. “Lying down, I’m the same height as you.”

  “Not quite, but it’ll work.” His eyes crinkled with amusement. “When I brought you on this ride, it wasn’t to seduce you.”

  “Somehow, I find that hard to believe.”

  “I thought to give you a tour of the bridges. I think we just went over the Queensborough.”

  “Oops. I wasn’t paying attention.” She giggled, still feeling the flush of the champagne. “Maybe I can be riding high when we cross the Brooklyn Bridge.”

  “I like the sound of that and the view from here.” He lifted her slinky cocktail dress and she raised her arms, letting
him strip it from her body. “So freaking beautiful.”

  Gunner’s eyes darkened at the sight of her strapless bra. Hungrily, he lifted his head and tugged the top of the bra down with his teeth before his hot lips encircled her nipple.

  “Ooohh.” Safire couldn’t help the sounds coming from her throat. Everything felt more intense and exciting with the edge of alcohol in her veins.

  She hastily unbuttoned his shirt and unzipped his pants, eager to handle his extra large cock. He was all man, a pro football player, an athlete, and she was about to have the ride of her life. The privacy screen between the driver and the passenger compartment was shut tight, and she was as ready as ever.

  Gunner groaned as she tried to encircle his thick cock. He was already long and hard, but the girth? It might not fit, because it was a monster.

  “Condom?” she asked as her insides throbbed. Forget foreplay. The entire party had been one long mind-fuck, with the dancing and kissing, and the way Gunner’s hands had expertly explored every nook and cranny of her body while still seeming to be respectable had her flushed with excitement.

  Just being pressed against him was enough to make her combust. What would it feel like when this monster hot rod was inside of her? Assuming she could fit it in?

  The thought made her hornier and more swollen as she watched Gunner lower his pants and dig a plastic packet from his pocket. His cock stood straight up, possibly more than nine inches, and the hard planes of his abs laddered down to the thatch of dark hair made her almost weep with anticipation.

  Safire watched entranced as he sheathed himself, then pulled her over him so that her knees were on either side of his hips. Hooking a finger, he ripped her lace panties and positioned the head of his cock at her entrance.

  The moment felt exactly the same as being at the top of a roller coaster, looking down at the drop and plunging, screaming off the edge of the precipice.

  She lowered herself and threw her head back, mouth open, as she felt every glorious inch of him tear into her, pleasure, pressure, and pain heightening the sensation and passion.