GABE (Silicon Valley Billionaires Book 2)

by Leigh James

  I used my wrist restraints to hold me up as I leaned back. Gabe’s hands were on me, pulling me down onto the head of his glorious erection. He proceeded to thrust into me, entering me swiftly, all the way. Holy fuck. He went so deep, I saw stars underneath my blindfold. He held on to my hips and bounced me up and down on his hard length, grunting, finding his own fast, hard pace.

  I groaned and bucked against him, wanting to feel him explode deep inside me, needing my own release. He continued to thrust, and I continued to take it—he was in deep, thrusting hard, unyielding, just the way I liked it. Gabe held me tight, grunting. I could feel the power of his orgasm building as he flexed his hips and cursed—and then poured his hot release into me. My body clenched and shook around him. His fingers went to my clit and circled it, pushing me over the edge, my whole world going white as I almost blacked out from the intensity of my orgasm.

  My body rocked against him. Then eventually, utterly depleted, I went limp. He carefully pulled out and, without letting go of me, undid the tie around my hands. I weakly pulled off the blindfold as we collapsed onto the bed. My legs felt like jelly.

  Gabe opened one eye and looked at me, a satisfied smile on his face.

  “What?” I could only manage the one syllable.

  “I love you.” He kept his eye open. He clearly had something else to say.

  “And what else?”

  He closed his eye, still grinning. “And you better get cleaned up—you have to meet my mother in fifteen minutes.”

  “Ugh—stop!”

  He held up the tie he’d blindfolded me with. “How about I wear this tonight?”

  “Shut up.”

  And then, even though we had a million things we needed to do, we both collapsed in giggles.

  The giggles came to an abrupt halt when Gabe’s phone buzzed a little while later. “Oh boy. My mother says she can’t wait any longer—they’ll be here in a few minutes.”

  I yelped and headed directly to the shower.

  After the fastest shower in human history, I threw on some Hannah-approved clothes. I did my makeup in three minutes—I didn’t need much; I had a post-sex-with-Gabe glow.

  Gabe kept talking as he showered. “She’s so excited, she’s mortifying. Be prepared for lots of hugging and excitement.”

  “About the wedding?”

  “No—she’s excited about me and you. Mostly just you. She’s a little…exuberant, is all. You’ll see.”

  A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and Gabe briefly put his face in his hands. “Get ready for the firing squad.”

  “Gabriel!” Cynthia Betts whooped as soon as she came through the door, followed by Levi, Ash, and Alexander Viejo.

  Cynthia was petite, with an elegant blonde chignon. Still, she locked her much larger son in a bear hug, rocking him back and forth. “My baby.”

  I could see his back stiffen. “Mother, I’m not a baby.”

  She pulled back and swatted him. “You’ll always be my baby.”

  Then, as if she had a homing device, she turned toward me. “You must be Lauren.” She swept me into her arms, and now it was my turn to be rocked back and forth.

  “Mom, you’re probably cutting off her circulation.” Gabe sounded mortified.

  She ignored him, pulling back to inspect me. “Well, I can see why Gabe’s wild about you—you’re stunning. And a natural blonde. I didn’t even know God made those anymore. You look like an angel.”

  Gabe groaned while I smiled at his mother. “Thank you. I’m honored to meet you—you raised a wonderful man.”

  Cynthia’s eyes filled with tears, and she started fanning her face, trying to protect her makeup. “Thank you. I’m just so glad you can appreciate him. He can be so difficult, and he’s controlling, I was starting to wonder if he’d ever—”

  “Mom!”

  “Oh honey, sorry.” But she didn’t look sorry. She clapped her hands, and her face broke into another wide smile, revealing her perfect teeth. “This is the best day ever. All my boys are here, I finally get to meet Lauren, and I’m getting married tomorrow!”

  Gabe and Alexander were catching up, so Cynthia took the opportunity to pull me over to the couch. “You know, dear, none of my boys have ever been in a serious relationship that lasted. Levi was engaged once, but we don’t speak about that, not ever. Tara. If I even say her name, he goes ballistic.” Her eyes were wide. “But I’m excited, and I’m babbling. I’m so happy to hear that you got your sister back—but I’m sorry for all the trouble you’ve been through.”

  “Thank you. She’s home now, and she’s safe. We’re still waiting to see how her boyfriend’s doing, but I’m trying to stay positive.”

  She nodded, and I could tell that she was listening to me intently, filing away each detail. She kept smiling, reaching out, and holding my hands. She asked me more about how I’d met Gabe, then questions about Hannah, my company, and my parents. Five minutes into the conversation, we were both sniffling into our respective Kleenexes. There was just something about the Betts family… The last thing I ever wanted to do was talk about my personal life or the loss of my parents, but they had this way of extracting things from me.

  “I’m so sorry about your mom and dad.” She blew her nose with one hand and patted my knee with the other. “Gabe was just in third grade when Lou died. It broke my heart to watch him cry like that.”

  I don’t know if Gabe heard his name or finally noticed both of us were crying, but he extricated himself from the men and came over. “What’s wrong?”

  Cynthia blew her nose again. “Nothing, dear. Lauren and I were just talking about her parents, and I was just telling her about Lou. It’s terrible to lose the people you love.”

  She reached over and held my hand. “But we’re family now. You won’t ever be alone again.”

  “You just might wish you were,” Gabe said under his breath.

  His mother swatted him again. “That’s enough out of you. Now, tell Alexander to come over. He’s been looking forward to seeing Lauren again.”

  He must’ve heard us, because he ambled over immediately. Just as I remembered from my time at MIT, Alexander was a dapper dresser, wearing an impeccable shirt and tie.

  I shook his hand. “So nice to see you, Professor.”

  He smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he pulled me in for a brief hug. “I consider it an honor to see you again. I’m thrilled that our paths have reconnected. You left school too early, you know.”

  “Alexander. Do not badger her!” Cynthia called good-naturedly.

  “All right, all right,” the professor said easily. “But I can’t wait to catch up with you and hear about all the wonderful things you’ve done. Thank goodness we’ll all be a lot closer soon and have more time.”

  “Closer?” I asked, confused.

  He just winked and patted my arm.

  Ash and Levi came over, both already wielding bourbon. Ash leaned over to hug me. “We missed you this afternoon. I’m getting used to being your roommate.”

  “Don’t get too used to it,” Gabe said under his breath.

  I had a feeling there was going to be a lot of that—the talking under his breath—this weekend. Gabe was regressing into a petulant teenager before my eyes.

  Of course, being madly in love with him, I found it adorable.

  “Lauren, I feel like I need a hug too,” Levi said, reaching in. “All we’ve done is work since I met you—we haven’t had any fun.”

  Gabe moved next to me and protectively wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “You can stop touching her now.”

  Levi laughed and released me. “Do you believe this guy? He can’t even stand to share you for a second. Ever since I took little Evie Brittain to the prom, you just can’t let it go—”

  “You knew I was going to ask her,” Gabe said heatedly. “You could’ve asked anybody else.”

  Levi smiled wickedly. “Yeah, but Evie was nice. Classy.” He got a dreamy look in his ey
es, and Gabe’s grip tightened around me.

  Levi took a sip of his bourbon, and I realized that he’d started drinking on our flight, hours ago. “You know who else is nice?” He leaned toward me conspiratorially. “Your lawyer.”

  I sat up straight. “Bethany?”

  Next to me, Gabe cursed while Ash did a double fist pump, celebrating as though he’d just scored a winning touchdown. “Yes! I called it. Pay up.” He held out his hand to Gabe, who was fishing in his wallet.

  Gabe handed him a hundred-dollar bill, cursing some more.

  Levi watched the exchange, scowling. “You guys were betting on me?”

  Ash shrugged good-naturedly. “I knew you thought she was hot—she’s got all that swishy blonde hair, and she keeps bossing you around.”

  “Which is totally your type,” Gabe said.

  Levi puffed his chest out. “Is not.”

  Gabe puffed his chest out. “Is too.”

  “Aw, come on—knock it off.” Ash held up the money. “The drinks are on me. Let’s get this wedding party started!”

  Both Gabe and Levi deflated and amiably accepted Ash’s offer for drinks. I learned, over the next few hours, that with Gabe’s family in celebration mode, there were drinks followed by more drinks. I lost track of how many bourbons they drank after we headed downstairs to the lounge, drinking, laughing, and eating until the place closed. Once Gabe loosened up, he and his brothers told story after story about growing up in Boston, and how wild they were after their father had passed away. Cynthia rolled her eyes at many of their stories. Others made her threaten to retroactively ground them.

  They talked about Lou. “He was tough, but he was a good man,” Cynthia said, dabbing her eyes.

  She patted Alexander lovingly on the arm, making sure his feelings weren’t hurt because she was speaking of her late husband. He nodded at her kindly, encouraging her to continue.

  “He would be so proud of you boys today,” Cynthia said. “You’ve become great men, just like him. I even think he would approve of me marrying Alexander. He told me on his deathbed that he wanted me to move on. To live my life to the fullest.”

  She took another sip of her wine and motioned to her boys. “But all I wanted when you kids were growing up was to be there for you. To be a good mother. Even though you boys ran a little wild, you always came home. You were always my good boys.”

  The brothers all looked touched. Gabe raised his glass in a toast. “To Mom. I’m so glad that you’ve finally found someone extraordinary to share your life with. You deserve it. Alexander, as you are a biochemist, a genius, and a tenured professor, I expect that you will be very civilized and take excellent care of my mother. Not that she needs it—we all know she can take care of herself. And the rest of us.” Gabe secured his arm around my waist, pulling me closely against him, making me feel included, safe, and loved. Making me feel like I was part of the family.

  “To Mom,” Levi said, raising his glass.

  “Mom,” Asher said.

  I clinked my glass too, feeling warm and happy inside.

  Cynthia dabbed her eyes again. “I’m so glad we’re all going to be close again,” she said, sniffling. “I missed my Gabey. And now, especially with Lauren in the picture, being in California’s going to be so much fun.”

  I felt Gabe stiffen. “Huh?”

  “Alexander’s accepted a faculty position at Stanford, sweetheart,” Cynthia said. “So we’re moving out in the spring. And your brothers are too. Levi’s decided to expand his West Coast operations.”

  Gabe turned to Levi. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d made it official?”

  “Don’t sound so excited,” Levi said. “Besides, the way you’re burning through my agents, you should be relieved that we’ll be closer. I’ll be able to ship an endless amount of men over, and I won’t have to charge you airfare for a change.” He grinned at Gabe.

  “I’m coming too,” Asher said. “I’m sick of the winters out here. Besides, I wouldn’t want Mom to miss me too much…since I’m her favorite.”

  There were more drinks, discussions about the upcoming move, then we all stumbled off to our respective hotel rooms. By the time we climbed into bed, I needed a fire hose, or quite possibly a gamma ray, to blast Gabe’s booze breath away from me.

  He crawled toward me on the bed with droopy eyes and a happy, slightly dazed look on his face. “Lauren, I’m coming for you…”

  I rolled out of his way as he collapsed onto my pillow. “Babe.” His voice came out muffled. “Where’d you go?”

  I couldn’t help laughing. “Away from your dragon-like breath, babe. Go to sleep. I think you and your brothers finished almost all the alcohol in the bar.”

  “Babe. Come back.” His voice was still muffled against the pillow.

  “I’m not going anywhere.” I sank back down beside him on the bed and ran my fingers lightly through his coarse hair. “I will not be kissing you until that breath has abated—hopefully by tomorrow—but I promise, I’m not going anywhere.”

  Ever. Because, after being lonely my whole life, I’d finally found a home.

  GABE

  The wedding was scheduled for four o’clock at the Parish of St. Paul in Cambridge, affiliated with Harvard University—Alexander was a proud graduate, and I was an equally proud dropout. After the ceremony, we’d head back to the Four Seasons for the formal, proper reception Cynthia had planned. More than two hundred guests would attend the black-tie affair.

  I adjusted my tuxedo while Lauren finished with her makeup. “I don’t know why my mother’s insisting on having a big, formal wedding. It’s her second marriage, and quite frankly, they’re old.”

  “Stop.” Lauren frowned at me. “She seems happy—I think she wants to celebrate. Plus, she said they have a lot of friends coming. It’s sort of a going-away party for them too.”

  I popped an ibuprofen—my mother’s impending move, my persistent hangover, and my nerves about other things were giving me a headache. “I can’t believe they’re all moving out to California. I have a feeling they’re going to try to cramp our lifestyle.”

  “You should be excited.” Lauren hustled out to the bedroom to get dressed. “You’re lucky that they’re going to be close by. I think it’s wonderful.”

  I followed her, looking for my other cufflink, and saw Lauren zipping up her dress.

  My heart stopped as I looked her up and down. “Holy shit, babe.”

  “What—is this not the right kind of dress?” She looked panic-stricken as she smoothed it. “Hannah picked it. Oh no.”

  “Stop right there. Turn and look at me, so I can see the whole thing.”

  She stopped and turned. The black-sequined gown was floor length, strapless, and fit snugly, embracing her curves. I put my hand over my heart, making sure it was beating again. “I take back what I said about my mother insisting on a formal wedding. I’m thrilled about it.”

  “Okay…?” She sounded confused.

  “You look absofuckinglutely gorgeous in that dress.”

  “Oh. Huh. Thanks.” Her shoulders relaxed. “You look very handsome. I’ve never seen you in a tux before.”

  “That’s because I can’t breathe in them.”

  She grinned at me. “I can’t breathe in this either.”

  “We’re quite the pair, aren’t we?”

  I closed the distance between us and pulled her against me, wrapping my arms carefully around her waist. “I want to kiss you—actually, I’d like to push you back on the bed and utterly defile you—but that dress looks delicate, and I know you just finished your makeup. I can’t wait to show you off to everyone. Now I’m glad my mom and Alexander invited everyone they know in Boston. All the more people I can parade my beautiful, brilliant girlfriend in front of.”

  Lauren blushed, but she looked pleased. “Stop.”

  “Not ever, babe.”

  Chapter 27

  Lauren

  The Catholic ceremony seemed to go on forever. My agnost
ic parents had never taken us to church, and I was baffled by all the sitting, standing, and kneeling—but it did help me figure out how to maneuver my dress without ripping it. Good thing Gabe was one of the attendants. He would’ve laughed if he’d seen me struggling to keep up with the priest’s nebulous instructions.

  When the priest announced Alexander and Cynthia as husband and wife, the crowd cheered. The couple grinned at each other and sealed their vows with the traditional kiss. When they turned to face the pews, they both looked exuberant.

  Gabe turned from his mother and stared at me, an intense look on his face. I smiled, and he flashed his dimple, but his eyes were fiery…almost as if he were seeing me for the first time.

  Back at the Four Seasons, enormous floral arrangements dominated each table. A giant crystal chandelier and hundreds of flickering candles washed the room in a warm, elegant glow.

  Even with the gorgeous backdrop, Gabe’s mother stole the show. She couldn’t stop smiling, and her enthusiasm as she held on to Alexander while hugging her family and friends was infectious.

  She greeted me warmly, pulling me in for a hug. “You’re so beautiful, Lauren.”

  She turned to Gabe, giving him a long, admonishing look—almost as if she was about to ground him—then leaned over and whispered something in his ear.

  She winked at me when she pulled back.

  A faint blush crept up Gabe’s cheek—something I’d never seen before. He glowered at her. “See you on the dance floor, Mother.”

  Gabe pulled me away and hustled me through the reception, grabbing two flutes of champagne as we went. “Please don’t let her scare you away.”

  I shook my head. “I love your mother.” She had many of the same good qualities as Gabe. She was open, confident, and loving. Gabe had all those traits, but they were wrapped in an aggressive, relentless package; his mother wore them more softly.

  He had a long sip of champagne—more like a slug. “She’s obviously crazy about you. In an absolutely mortifying way.”