GABE (Silicon Valley Billionaires Book 2)

by Leigh James

  Jarred from my reverie as the driver pulled up in front of the hotel, I laughed when I saw the opulent, spectacular façade.

  Timmy turned his beefy neck around. “This is The Stanford.”

  “Of course it is. Hannah loves this place.” I smiled to myself, even though it hurt to think about my sister in her carefree days. Still, she’d be thrilled I’d finally made it here—The Stanford was a “Hannah-approved” institution.

  Gabe had texted he was running late. I went and checked in, making sure Timmy’s adjacent room was ready while gawking at the lobby. Everything was designed in clean, modern lines, but the hotel boasted ornate touches of floor-to-ceiling marble, crystal chandeliers, red velvet banquettes, and pillars enameled in gold. It was Silicon Valley meets mid-century Paris. I made a reservation for dinner, even though I had no appetite. Gabe should at least eat.

  I laughed again, delighted, when I got up to the room. It was just as over-the-top as the lobby, with a minimalist, modern design punctuated with lush details—red tapestry curtains, oil paintings, and more crystal chandeliers. I supposed that other Silicon Valley CEOs might frequent a trendy hotel like this, but I never would’ve known it existed if it wasn’t for Hannah.

  Hannah had great taste and style. She would make a much better billionaire than me.

  I sank down on the bed, thinking more about my sister. Financially, she was doing extremely well. Her stake in Paragon had earned millions since we’d gone to market. I needed to get her back so she could start spending some of the money. Barneys’ shoe department and the economy at large need her, dammit! And so do I!

  Wesley needed her too. Hannah had always enjoyed a throng of admirers and a steady stream of boyfriends, but she usually didn’t take her relationships too seriously. I wondered if it was different with Wesley.

  I wondered if I’d ever find out.

  I stayed on the bed, sitting and staring out at the city lights as the sky darkened. I couldn’t see the stars. My vision was being blocked, I mused. There was too much light pollution for me to see what was out there—the true answers, the true sky. If I could just get to the end of the week and finally see Hannah—finally reach out and touch her again—I would be able to think and see clearly. Because she was the real light of my life.

  There was a knock on the door, bringing me back to earth. I got up and let Gabe in.

  “Hey.” He looked exhausted but also incredibly handsome in a T-shirt, blazer, dark jeans, and a pair of black Chuck Taylors. He was the epitome of Silicon Valley style—another thing I never would’ve known about without Hannah.

  He pulled me in for a tender kiss. “Hey yourself. I’m so glad this sounded good to you. I thought we could use a little vacation.”

  I gave him a wan smile. “I’m not sure I deserve a vacation right now…or anything else.”

  Gabe wrapped his arms around me protectively. “Come on now, Your Highness—let’s not indulge in self-flagellation tonight. Let’s just pretend that everything is okay and enjoy our time together.” He kissed me hungrily, and my body immediately responded, lighting up beneath his touch, in spite of my sorrow.

  I pulled back, breathing hard. “We have dinner reservations in ten minutes.”

  “They’ll live without us.” He rubbed his erection against me and grinned, flashing his dimple. “We can eat at the bar when we’re done—if we’re ever done.”

  He kissed me again, and although it felt wonderful, part of me felt strangely detached. Whenever we made love, Gabe and I were completely connected. But as he ran his hands down my back and pulled me closer, I felt a distance between us, even though our bodies were intertwined.

  He stripped off my clothes, and I removed his quickly, eager to feel his skin against mine. He took my face between his hands after he laid me back on the bed, a worried look in his eyes. “Babe? Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I lied. “I just want to feel you. All of you.” I grabbed his firm ass and pulled him against me.

  He brushed the hair back from my face. “Now?”

  “Now.”

  He entered me all at once and I cried out, grateful to be filled by him and frustrated by the fact that I couldn’t lose myself in his embrace. My mind wandered elsewhere, on the sadness and fear I couldn’t forget. Still, I moved against him hungrily, desperate for the release that only Gabe could give me.

  Unfortunately, it never came.

  “Babe?” he said a few minutes later. “I’m close…” The strain was clear in his voice.

  “So am I.”

  He pulled back and looked at me. “You think I can’t tell you’re lying?”

  I wrapped my arms around him, kissing him desperately. I wanted to feel him come inside me, to be comforted by his body’s pleasure, even if I couldn’t join him. “Please,” I whispered, “please.”

  Gabe gently rolled off me. “I can’t.” He let out a flat laugh. “You’ve ruined me. I can only come when you come. You’ll never get rid of me now.”

  I laughed, and then I realized I was crying.

  He pulled me onto his chest and stroked my hair, letting me get it out. “I’m sorry—this was a bad idea.” He sounded miserable. “I was being selfish…I wanted you all to myself.”

  “N-no. It’s me. I’m sorry I’m ruining our time together.”

  He tightened his embrace and kissed the top of my head. “Shh. You don’t have anything to apologize for.”

  I forced myself to calm down. Everything Gabe did, he did for me—a fact I was well aware of. No other man could handle me, or would’ve had the patience to wait to lure me out of my ivory laboratory, divest me of my virginity, and handle every other crazy thing that’d come our way since.

  “I love you,” I said.

  “I know.” He kissed my nose. “And I love you too.”

  “Even though you have…blue balls?” I laughed, trying to lighten the mood, although my face reddened at the topic.

  Gabe looked at me, startled. “Lauren Taylor, where on earth did you hear such an expression?”

  “High school AP chemistry,” I admitted, and laughed again. “We were doing a section on cryogenics. The boys in my class passed me a note about it—they used to call me ‘The Ice Queen.’ They said I was the freezer of all balls. They wouldn’t stop laughing.”

  Gabe grimaced. “Do you remember who they were? They might need a visit from your big, bad, vendetta-loving boyfriend.”

  “Oh, I already took care of them. I got an A-plus in that class, beat them all out for the last remaining spot in the National Honor Society, and I also compromised the integrity of their test tubes so they shattered during our next experiment.” I smiled at the memory. “After I started Paragon, one of them had the nerve to try to add me to his LinkedIn. I blocked him, of course.”

  “Nice.” Gabe sounded impressed.

  “It seemed appropriate. The Ice Queen doesn’t let shit like that go.”

  Gabe pulled me against him. “That’s why she’s the boss.”

  I clung to him. I never thought I’d meet a man who understood me, let alone embrace me for who I was. “Thank you for…loving me. Me, the giver of blue balls.”

  He patted my hand. “Me and my balls love you—a lot. We’re good, babe. But we should try to get some rest while we can—are you okay?”

  I relaxed against his chest. “I’m okay.” And for that brief moment in his arms, I actually meant it.

  After a quick nap, we left our suite for the lounge. The bartender put menus in front of us, and I struggled to concentrate on the words. I kept thinking about Hannah, about how time was moving—too fast and not fast enough. I wanted my sister back, but I didn’t know what was going to happen…to me.

  I clung to Gabe. Four days. What if I have to say good-bye to him?

  I shuddered, and Gabe gave me a questioning look, his hand roaming dangerously up my thigh. “We should order, huh?” He threw the menu open one-handed and looked at it as he squeezed my leg again, making me ache for him
.

  Hannah and Gabe. Gabe and Hannah. The two people I loved the most—one I might get back, the other I might have to leave…

  Sighing, I closed the menu without reading it.

  “You need to eat.”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  The bartender came over, and Gabe ordered for me anyway: marinated artichokes, pan-seared scallops, and a martini.

  “I can’t really argue with that,” I admitted.

  “Good.” He squeezed my thigh again.

  I took a shaky sip of my martini. While we’d been resting upstairs, I’d had a thought. An idea…about how to fix our non-orgasming intercourse. If we only had four nights left together, I sure as hell wasn’t going to waste this opportunity. I needed to be with him, the way only we fit together. If I had to leave him, I wanted to have the memory of his hands on my body.

  But I didn’t know how to tell Gabe what I wanted. I didn’t even know how to admit it to myself.

  We finished our dinner and drinks in record time. It was as if there was a large clock near us, counting down the hours until the exchange. Neither of us mentioned it, but we both felt the urgency, the stress. Gabe practically threw me over his shoulder on the way upstairs. The distance between us from earlier seemed to have receded. A hot desire burned between my legs as I remembered our sex from a few nights ago—with the plug. “Make you forget. Take your mind off things…” Gabe’s words echoed in my memory.

  That was what I wanted. I wanted him to make me forget, the way only he could.

  I was glad Timmy wasn’t in the elevator with us, because it gave me the opportunity to press myself against Gabe. I stroked his erection through his jeans, desperate to salvage the evening.

  “Jesus, babe—stop. I want to actually be inside you when I come.”

  A thrill went through me, and I rubbed his crown one last time before letting go. “I think I’m…feeling more like myself.”

  “You mean, you want to go look at cellular slides? Or did you have something else in mind?” He gave me a teasing grin.

  “Something else.” I licked my lips. “I want you to do all sorts of things to me right now.” The words came out fast and hot, before I had the opportunity to censor myself.

  Gabe arched an eyebrow, his eyes glittering. “What sorts of things? I’m very curious.”

  “I don’t know…” I let my voice trail off as the elevator got to our floor, then grabbed his hand and hustled him to the room.

  “You seem to have some sort of plan.”

  I’d been distracted and holding back before, but now, my need was urgent, consuming me. There was a sharp pang between my legs. I needed Gabe to fill me, to make me forget, but also to remember that I was here, right now.

  With him.

  I couldn’t share my fears—that I might be taken from him this week. I didn’t want to say it out loud, because Gabe would lock me up. I clung to him, on the edge of tears, emotion churning through me.

  We locked the door behind us, and I kissed him deeply, our tongues lashing, my heart racing.

  I wanted to feel something sharp, something jarring that would make me never forget this moment, and block out all the other troubling thoughts I was barely managing to keep at bay. Once we pulled apart, I looked into Gabe’s eyes. “I want you to…spank me. Before you fuck me.” My breath came out in a rush. “While you fuck me.”

  He took a step back. “You don’t need to be punished, Lauren. This isn’t your fault.”

  “I’m not asking to be punished. I just want to…feel something. Something bright—something sharp.” Something that would make me feel an emotion other than loss, a loss I couldn’t bear to face. “Like the other night…with the plug. You made me forget. I just want to feel something big, to block everything else out.”

  “Was earlier too…vanilla for you?” He looked wounded.

  My shoulders slumped. “Of course not! No one’s more vanilla than me!” I reached out and grabbed his hand. “But I want something…more intense. I just want to feel your hands on me. I want you to take over…be in charge of my body…make me feel alive, the way only you can.”

  The muscle in his jaw jumped. “I’m not going to hurt you, babe. I don’t have that in me.”

  I shook my head and moved closer to him. “I’m not asking you to hurt me. I’m asking you to make me feel something bigger than the pain I’m feeling inside right now. I want you to make me forget. I want you to just make me feel. Just feel you.” I reached for him, my heart hammering in my chest. “I want this—just for now. Will you do it?” I reached down and stroked his cock through his pants again. “For me?”

  His eyes darkened. “You’re not playing fair.”

  I squeezed the head of his erection. “I’m not playing.”

  Without another word, I went into the bedroom, stripping off my clothes as I went. Once I was naked, I got on all fours so my ass and my sex were open for him, waiting. I shivered in the cold room even as heat gathered in my body.

  He followed me. “You know I would do anything for you.” His voice was thick with emotion.

  “Then do what I asked.” I reached around and spread my ass cheeks apart so he could see me, see how I wanted him. “Please.”

  Gabe groaned—either because he wanted me too, or because I was torturing him, I couldn’t tell which.

  “I need you.” I started to stroke myself, unable to bear the burning need.

  “Take your hands off yourself. Let me do that, for Christ’s sake.” I heard him undo his belt buckle, then he kicked his pants off. “You know,” he said, as he came to the bed and slowly, deliberately fingered the wetness between my legs, “for someone who was a virgin not that long ago, you’re pretty bold.”

  I moaned as he stroked me, giving myself over to the sensation. “Maybe it’s years of pent-up frustration finally coming out. Or maybe it’s just you—you make me bold. You make me want all sorts of things I never even knew about.”

  His hand worked his way up to my clit, and he circled it slowly, making all the muscles in my body ripple in pleasure. “I think it’s innate. It’s definitely you, babe.” He moved behind me, climbing up on the bed and testing me with his fingers. He grunted, satisfied I was ready, and then slid his cock all the way into me, suddenly and completely.

  My body stretched to accommodate his, and I groaned in satisfaction.

  “Is that okay?” His voice was soft, but there was a hard promise behind it, and that was what I wanted to get at.

  “Yes. Give it to me. But don’t forget—”

  “It’s not like I could forget.”

  He thrust into me, and I shut up, the feeling of fullness eclipsing everything else. He was in deep this way, behind me, and I loved it. My body contracted around his, and he grunted as he continued to pump into me. His cock was large and thick, and my body gripped it greedily, waves of pleasure coursing through me.

  And then he stopped.

  I looked over my shoulder, breathing hard. “You okay?”

  He nodded. His eyes were laser-focused on mine. “Are you sure you want me to do this?”

  I licked my lips. “Yes.”

  He pulled out and smacked my bum a little.

  “I feel like you’re swatting a fly,” I complained, “and it’s a fly you really like.”

  Gabe sighed. “I do really like it.”

  “Do it harder. Please. I want you…” I gathered the courage to tell him about the image in my mind. “I want you to do it hard, so it stings.” I shut my eyes. “And then I want you to fuck me. Hard. And I want you to do it again and again.”

  He didn’t say anything. I couldn’t tell if that was a good sign or a bad one.

  I opened one eye and peered at him. “Haven’t you ever done this before?”

  He scoffed. “No, babe, I haven’t.” He went quiet for a second. “Have you?”

  My cheeks flamed. “Don’t be ridiculous! Of course not!”

  Neither one of us said anything for a moment
, and I worried that the mood had been shattered.

  “If this is what you really want, I’ll do it,” he finally said. “But if it hurts too much, you have to swear you’ll tell me.”

  “I swear.” I turned to look back at him. “But I don’t want you to do it if it makes you uncomfortable.”

  He gave me a wry smile that made his dimple flash, simultaneously calming me and making me swoon. “I already told you, I would do anything for you.” He ran his hand down my back, making me shiver. “If this is what you need right now, I can do it. And if it excites you, I’m sure it will excite me.”

  His hand reached my bottom, and he cupped it, looking at my body worshipfully. “Are you ready?”

  I nodded, and suddenly, he slid up beside me, pulling me in for a kiss that made me woozy. His tongue searched for mine. I sighed in pleasure as he cupped my breast, and I felt his erection brush against me. Then he was behind me again, rubbing his cock against my wet slit.

  Then he pulled back and smacked my ass.

  I sucked in a deep breath. It stung a little, but not much. “Do it harder.”

  He rubbed my cheeks first, priming them, and then gave me another sharp crack. I shuddered in pleasure.

  “Spread your legs open a little.”

  I did as I was told and cried out in surprised pleasure when he put his face between my legs, licking my sex until I wobbled beneath him.

  Then he pulled back and slapped my exposed sex. Softly.

  I let out a short puff of breath. That was what I wanted—what I hadn’t known I’d wanted. “Do that harder. And then fuck me.” I spread my legs open farther, and he first spanked my ass cheeks, harder this time, causing them to sting. Then he spanked my sex, making it burn—sharp and bright, just like I wanted.

  Then he notched his cock into me and fucked me, hard.

  I relished his brute strength as he gave me what I wanted, his strong hips bucking against me. He held my ass and pulled me against his erection, filling me almost painfully, and then he stopped again.

  “More,” I begged quietly. “I want more, and then I want you to come in me, hard.”