Gabe reached down with one hand and took hold of his cock. He rubbed it in my wetness, then slid it over my swollen clit.
I jerked from the pleasure and couldn’t help the pathetic cry that escaped my lips.
“Is that what I do to you, Allegra? Make you so wet your dripping with it?” he asked. “I’m going to taste you now until you see stars. But first …”
Gabe grabbed a Dark Decadence from the cooling rack and stroked a finger through the dark chocolate and cream cheese frosting. He lifted it to his lips and sucked it off.
“Delicious,” he groaned. “You’re a master baker.”
He stroked his finger through the icing a second time and then streaked it across my stomach and downward. Downward until he circled my engorged clit with his sugar laden finger. I couldn’t keep my hips from bucking upward as I cried out his name.
“That’s it, gorgeous. I love the sound of my name on your lips even more than I loved my cock on your lips. I’m going to keep track of how many times I can make you scream it. Moan it. Whisper it.”
“Oh my God.” The epithet escaped on a sigh as his head bent between my legs and his tongue flicked out in one blissful touch. I wanted to grab his head and thread my fingers through his thick hair so I could pull him closer. Increase the pressure since I was already so close, but my current position didn’t allow for it. He held all the power.
Gabe reached his hand upward to knead my breasts and pull on my already erect nipples. With each tug of his magic fingers, I felt an answering tug deep inside me. My hips shot up again, begging for relief. Every stroke, every caress of his tongue drove me to the brink, sending electric shocks to every cell of my body.
He lifted his head from between my legs and grabbed the cupcake once again. He flicked its pillowy top across my pebbled nipple and then sucked it between his lips until it was a straining point in his lush mouth.
“Mmm … you taste incredible, Allegra. Everywhere. But I knew you would,” he moaned. “I’ve needed a lot of dates with my hand since we met. You smell of musk and desire and I knew you’d taste like honey even though you tried to fight it. I’m so glad you’re not fighting it now.”
He slid back down my body and licked me again, swirling his tongue against my wetness. Then, he lifted his hand and spread me apart to grant himself greater access to my swollen clit.
My blood roared and my entire body quaked with an explosion of heat as he worked me over with his lips and tongue. That was all it took and the most spectacular orgasm of my life rocketed through my body like lightning. The blinding wave of release drowned out any thoughts of worry or heartbreak or anything. Anything but him.
“That’s it,” he said. “That’s my gorgeous girl. I’ve never seen anything as rapturous as your face when you’re coming. More rapturous than Red Velvet Rapture.” Then he entered me in one smooth stroke.
I shuddered and gasped, clutching at him.
“You’re so tight, so wet. Swollen,” he licked his lips. Then he licked mine, and worked his shaft inside me.
I wrapped my legs around his waist and angled myself upwards, so he could go deeper. As deep as I could take him. I placed my hands on his ass, forcing him to go faster, harder.
He bent over me, panting. “Come for me,” he growled in my ear. “Come for me again so I can watch from above you.”
It was as if he had control over my mind. The words left his lips and my pussy clenched tight. Waves of pleasure crashed over me, and I screamed, jamming through the second orgasm, pushing his cock deeper, burying it in me to the hilt. Milking him with each convulsion.
“Allegra,” he grunted. Then his cock grew impossibly big. “I’m coming for you.” He squirted inside me, filling me up with his hot seed.
He collapsed on top of me, breathing hard, still pulsing.
I clung to him and shut my eyes.
Chapter 14
I stood behind the counter and stared at my cupcakes. The Dark Decadence looked the most appealing, but that was probably because of what happened the night before. I’d never look at the kitchen the same way again and Tess would wonder about the smirk on my face. And I swear on the Mother Mary and baby Jesus that I bleached every millimeter of the counter. Twice.
Gabe.
I smiled and pressed my hand to my lips. It’d been the most amazing experience of my life. I hadn’t told Kelly yet. On some level, I didn’t want to share what happened with anyone. The best sex of my life felt too intimate not to be kept close to my heart.
I turned to dust off the shelves behind me.
The bell above the door tinkled and my stomach did a gymnastic flip flop. I wanted to see him again, even though I shouldn’t.
I turned slowly, with a smile I reserved for Gabe, just in case.
But it wasn’t Gabe.
Matthew stepped through the door, wearing his cop uniform. “Hello, Ally, how are you doing?”
“What do you want?” I asked, kneading the worn denim of my jeans and glaring at him.
“That’s hardly an appropriate way to greet an old friend,” Matthew replied as he ruffled his dark hair and strode toward the counter. He took off his cap and tucked it under his arm, then dusted snow off the sleeves of his winter jacket. His gun nestled in its holster. “I came to check how you’re doing.”
“I’m fine. You can go now,” I said. Seeing him brought back memories I’d rather forget. I’d buried the pain of what’d happened under layers of toil and determination.
Matthew glanced at the empty ring finger on my left hand. “So, you finally made good on the whole bakery idea,” he said, twirling his hands to encompass the front room. “Congratulations, I knew you had it in you.”
I raised my right eyebrow and the corner of my lip simultaneously. Matthew had been nothing but negative about my business from the start. “I repeat, what do you want?”
“I came to warn you about something.”
“Huh?” I shrugged swiftly, then looked pointedly at the door of the bakery and back at him. “What’s that exactly?”
“Gabe Moreno.”
“How do you —?” I cut off and gulped air.
“We travel in the same circles. I was there the night he saved you from the fire.” Matthew stated it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“The fire?” I frowned, scratching at my forehead. “The bakery fire? But he didn’t save me, a firefighter did.”
“He is a firefighter, darling. He’s the one who brought you out. I saw it with my own eyes. But I see you don’t know that. Thought that might be the case. Probably not the only thing you don’t know. That he conveniently forgot to tell you.”
“Why?” The question was for so many things, but it was all I managed to articulate. My palms had gone all sweaty. I wiped them on my printed apron. What had I done?
“Because that’s what Gabe does. Everyone knows that. He goes after chicks, fucks them, then dumps them. You haven’t slept with him yet, have you? Fallen for his charming, silver-tongued bullshit?” Matthew smirked at me, then scratched his smooth chin.
“I’m not discussing my personal life with you. Leave my bakery right now.”
Matthew raised his palms. “Look, I just came to warn you, because I care. He’s a liar, Ally. Just be careful, all right?”
“Get out,” I replied, pointing at the glass door. I’d sprayed snow-in-a-can on it earlier, trying to get the bakery into the holiday spirit.
“Fine,” he snapped, “but I’ve done my part. It’s not my problem if you pop your legs open and end up getting hurt. Then again, you’re not enough to keep a player like him around. He’s used to girls that are far more … talented. And beautiful. And thin.”
“Get the fuck out of here!” I shrieked, finally losing my cool. Anger at Gabe and Matthew mingled and boiled through my veins. I searched the countertop for something to throw at him.
I grabbed one of the Dark Decadence cupcakes. “Get the fuck out!”
He laughed and turned
his back on me, walking to the door as he muttered, “I knew you’d fucked him already. Idiot.”
I lobbed the cupcake at him and it splattered against the window beside his head. Matthew looked back over his shoulder. “See you around, slut.”
Then he left, taking the shattered pieces of my trust with him.
Chapter 15
“What’s the matter?” Gabe asked, striding through the door to my upstairs apartment for the first time. He glanced around, taking in the small size and shabby chic décor. It wasn’t the Ritz, but my place was clean and pretty. Girly. Like me.
I called him the minute Matthew left. Just let him try to talk his way out of this shit storm. He’d first tried to tell me he was busy, until I asked whether fighting fires was a hobby or a career path.
“You lied to me,” I said as I paced back and forth in front of my sofa. Codsworth meowed his disapproval, then sprang away and disappeared into the bedroom with his white-tipped tail in the air.
“I didn’t lie to —”
“Don’t bullshit me, Gabe, you told me you were a broker. You didn’t tell me you were the firefighter who saved me in my own bakery.”
I placed a hand on my chest, steadying myself. I needed to find my core, my center. Meditation breathing. I knew I could do it as I pulled in deep breaths through my nose and expelled them out of my mouth.
No wonder his scent was so familiar. Pair that cologne with some smoke and voila, one mystery savior coming up.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want you to think I was a creep.” Gabe said, grabbing the back of his neck and stroking it. “After that night, I couldn’t get you out of my mind. It was something in your eyes after I held you in my arms and you realized you were going to make it. I tried to forget you, all huge terror filled green eyes and luscious curves, all right? But you were with me constantly and I couldn’t shake it. I had to see you again.”
“So, you came to my bakery, extorted a date out of me, then promptly lied to me about what you did for a living? Is Gabe even your real name?” I flung my arms wide, then flapped them to my sides.
“Of course it’s my real name. I’m the same guy you met; I just didn’t know how to talk to you about this. It seemed weird, kinda like I was…” He trailed off and searched the living room for the right term.
The sofa remained stubborn and silent.
“A stalker?” I filled it in for him. I wasn’t about to candy coat anything. I did not appreciate being lied to. My mom had cemented that hatred when she’d told me she was clean for the first time. But I could see the tracks up her arms. Like footsteps in the sand.
I’d found her using in the bathroom that same night.
“Yeah, exactly. I didn’t want you to think I was a stalker. I really like you, Allegra, I didn’t want to lose my shot with you. Girls like you, they’re …”
“Save it,” I snapped. “I’m done. Look, it’s been fun, but I think it’s time you leave.”
“Don’t do this.”
“Get real, Gabe,” I replied. “It’s not like we’re dating. We fucked once. Isn’t that what you wanted? A quick fuck? So you could tell your friend on the phone that the fat chick sucked your cock so hard you almost came in her mouth.” I over-pronounced the words, coloring them with vulgarity.
Gabe flinched. My words landed like the weapons I’d intended. “No, that’s not what I want. What friend on the phone?”
“The one that made you leave the restaurant that night. The one you told I’m here with her. Is her the fugly one, Gabe? Was I some kind of a cruel joke for you and your fireman friends? Do you try to get in the pants of every woman you save from a burning building with the hose between your legs? If not, I’m not sure what you want; I’m struggling to see it.”
He remained silent. Glaring me down as if he couldn’t dignify my rant with a response. As if it had actually hurt him. His feelings. His pride.
“Just leave,” I said.
“I can’t. I don’t want to end it between us,” Gabe replied, “not like this. When you’re angry and confused.”
I trembled with anger and something else. Was it desire? Seriously? I wanted him that much that even when I was furious with him, I still longed for him to reach out and touch me. Most of all I wanted his lies to go away. The ones that had hurt me and cut to the quick in spite of the short time we’d known each other. I’d let him in. I’d been wrong again.
He seemed to sense it, so hurried towards me. “I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have lied to you. I just couldn’t stand the thought of never getting a chance with someone like you. Someone I … admire.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me that when you came in the first time?” I placed my fists on his chest, trying to push back, but putting no real effort into it.
“You stunned me. I could hardly speak the first time we met.”
I’d felt that too. The incredible need. I’d been so crippled by that electric chemistry so I hadn’t put two and two together. A handsome stranger just happened to wander into my shop and ask me out on a date. How had I not seen it sooner?
Gabe lowered his lips to my throat and kissed it softly. “Forgive me.” His breath feathered across my skin. Danced over it. Tickled it.
I was instantly wet again.
No.
“Can you forgive me for this, Allegra?” Gabe asked, then kissed me again, up my throat this time and onto my chin. He kissed my lips and stared deep into my eyes. “Can you?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered.
He kissed me again, and I melted against him, grasping at his arms to keep me upright. Why did it matter that he’d lied if he was only a fling? Why did he care? Why did I?
I broke away to ask him.
“Allegra Wilson?” a voice called from downstairs. “This is Officer Carlson, I’m here to talk to you about the fire.”
I pulled away from Gabe as my face burrowed into a concerned frown. Why had the police come? I could understand the insurance company sending a technician, sure, but the cops? This was weird. And worrying.
“I have to talk to him,” I said, then hurried down the stairs and into the bakery.
Officer Carlson stood with his hands behind his back, waiting patiently. He was old, with tufts of grey hair poking out from beneath his dark blue hat.
Tess stood next to one of the ovens, glaring at him, but the officer, to his credit, ignored the dagger stares and studied the kitchen instead.
“Can I help you?” I asked as I stepped into view and held out my hand for his meaty one.
The officer started and turned to me, brow wrinkled as he clasped my hand in a firm shake. “You’re Miss Allegra Wilson?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“I’m here to tell you that you’re being investigated for arson. We’ll be sending a team over to sweep the kitchen in a few hours.” He stated it like it was the most natural thing in the world.
My insides crumbled to dust. My knees could barely support me. “Arson?”
“We were contacted by your insurance agency. A guy named Mr. Brown assessed the damages and concluded that arson was the most likely cause of your fire. He suggested we look into it.”
That bastard. I’d known he was up to no good the minute he set foot in my kitchen. I was surprised he hadn’t asked me to go down on him to prevent him from filing his bogus report.
“Officer, I assure you, I didn’t do anything to start a fire. I was upstairs when it broke out.”
“Do you have a valid alibi? Anyone to back that up?”
“Well, no. It was before I opened the bakery to the public. I hadn’t hired Tess yet.” I chewed my bottom lip.
Officer Carlson took out a pen and pad and started making notes. “Do you have a bad financial history, Miss Wilson?”
“What? No! I mean, I owe money to the bank because I took some loans to start my business, but that’s it.”
“I see,” the officer said, in a way that said he saw a
lot more than he should.
“No, this is ridiculous, I would never do anything to jeopardize my business,” I insisted, “I had to delay opening this place because of that fire. I almost died! Codsworth almost died.”
“This Codsworth, is he a business contact of yours? An accomplice?”
What the fuck was wrong with this guy? He couldn’t seriously believe I’d set fire to my own damn business. “He’s my cat.”
“What seems to be the problem, officer?” Gabe flew down the stairs behind me, two at a time.
I clenched my fists. Just what I needed, complications.
“I’m here investigating a case of arson. Are you a colleague of Miss Wilson?” He asked the question, but his obsidian eyes said he already knew exactly who Gabe was.
“No, I’m her boyfriend,” he said, reaching out to shake Carlson’s hand. “Gabe Moreno.”
Boyfriend?
The cop wasn’t having any of it. “I know who you are, Moreno. I merely questioned your relation to Miss Wilson.”
“Stop calling me that,” I snapped, “I’m Allegra, or Ally. Enough with this Wilson crap.” I took a deep breath and pressed my lips together, then peeled them apart. “Let me assure you, Officer Carlson, I would never do anything to harm my bakery. I love what I do, and no amount of money could replace that.”
“Not even the amount which the insurance company would pay out? I find it interesting that your boyfriend is a firefighter.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I started.
“Then what the fuck am I?” Gabe asked, grabbing my wrist.
The best fuck of my life.
I wrenched it from his grasp. “Now is not the time!”
Gabe balled his hands into tight fists and turned to the cop. “Officer Carlson, is it?”
“Yeah, that’s right,” he replied, his upper lip curling back in a snarl. Why the fuck did the cops hate Gabe so much? This reaction from Officer Carlson was almost as bad as Matthew’s.
“Do you have a warrant for Allegra’s arrest?” Gabe asked.
Line: Alpha Billionaire Romance Page 28
