A Love of Her Own by Bettye Griffin Read Free Book Online Page A

things just the way they are. I have no interest in expanding.”
    Ava glanced at him sharply, but his expression was impassive . Hilton White was clearly content with the status quo. She put his age at about forty. He had plenty of work years left, and she found herself curious about his lack of ambition. Once again she acknowledged that she knew practically nothing about the man with whom she’d just had a date—but this time she conceded that maybe her lack of knowledge about him wasn’t such a great thing. She’d heard her whole life from her parents how important it was to be the best you could be and to keep reaching; it amazed her that he could be content with staying at the same level indefinitely and maybe forever. She could just imagine what her seemingly always critical mother would have to say about that.
    Hilton pulled the Pathfinder parallel to the sidewalk in front of Ava’s house. He quickly got out and came around to the passenger side. When the door was open he took her hand, but instead of helping her down gently, in a sudden movement he pulled her entire body forward into his arms. Holding her tightly against him, he swung her around twice while she let out a sound halfway between laughter and a shriek. Ava was well proportioned but had never been thin, even as a teenager, and even now she weighed one-hundred-and-thirty-eight pounds—not overweight but far from model thin—but Hilton spun her like she was weightless.
    When he stopped she found herself flush against his front . Because he held her at his height level they were face to face, and her arms remained around his neck, where they had instinctively gone when he swung her. Perhaps she should just let go, even if it meant an awkward drop to the ground.
    At that moment Hilton began to lower her . Ava straightened her legs, which had been bent at the knees, in preparation for landing on the ground, but Hilton was letting her down at a snail’s pace. Her wool blazer was open, as was his leather jacket; and she could feel the outline of his engorged flesh through the fabric of his trousers as he slowly slid her past his groin, leaving no doubt as to his desire.
    At last Ava ’s feet were on the ground. As she descended she released her arms from the sink-or-swim hold around his neck, but continued to hold on to his shoulders with her hands, then slid down to rest on his upper arms. She merely looked up at him, hypnotized by his bold action and his stare of open longing and feeling powerless to speak or move…until Hilton’s face moved forward, when she raised her chin, lips parted in eager anticipation.
    His kiss was as slow and deliberate as his lowering of her body against his had been, his tongue lingering as it outlined her lips before pressing inside her mint-scented mouth . Ava’s grip on his biceps tightened as she united her tongue with his, not caring that she was visibly trembling.
    Hilton ’s fingers stroked the back of her neck, then threaded the tapered strands of hair at her nape. Ava hadn’t realized how sensitive the flesh of her neck was until she felt his fingers caressing her…or perhaps it was simply because Hilton knew how to touch her in a way that maximized her pleasure.
    Their lips separated with a soft smacking sound, but Hilton did not release her, nor did Ava desire to back out of his embrace . She did feel she needed to say something to break the silence.
    “ Would you like to come in?” she asked haltingly.
    He responded with his mysterious smile . “Very much,” he replied, his expression becoming serious. “But I think it’s best if I go. I might remember your telling me you’d be all mine tonight and forget myself.” He released her then, casually draping an arm around her shoulder as they walked toward her front door.
    *****
    Once inside the haven of her home, Ava leaned against the closed front door, eyes closed and face upturned. Her breath came out in heavy, ragged gasps. Either it had been too