Jaxson shielded his eyes, swiping a hand through his shaggy black hair. “Mia and I are friends, sure, but not close like you and I are. I can’t show up at her place like that.”
“The only time you don’t like to do something is when you’re nervous. I never saw it before until Dane said it last night. You like her. Why have you never told me this before?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Gabs,” Jaxson said with a laugh that sounded very forced. She propped her hands on her hips and added a tap with her foot. She gave him a look that said he couldn’t escape, which made him cave. “It’d never work between us.”
“And why not?”
Although she had never pictured Jaxson and Mia together, she thought they’d make a great couple. They’d be perfect for each other.
“You know everything about her, and she knows everything about you. You wouldn’t have to go through all those awkward stages of getting to know each other. I’d say it would work quite well. You guys would be great together.”
He took a tentative step toward her. “Does she see me other than a friend? Because I’ll be honest, Gabs. I’ve liked her for a while. I hate seeing those losers she dates come in and out of her life. I never see her look at me like she looks at those jerks.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, Jax. We’ve never talked about you like that, and I’ve never paid attention to whether she liked you more than a friend. But it can’t hurt to try.”
“And ruin a good thing we all have. Ruin a nice friendship. No, thanks, Gabs. I’ll pass.” He walked closer and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I know you like him. I can see that he’s different from the other guys you’ve dated. Be careful. I don’t want to see him break your heart. You’re my best friend. When you hurt, I hurt.”
She grabbed his hand that lay tenderly on her shoulder. “He makes me happy. He also makes me irritated, aggravated, and angry at times. But that also makes it interesting and enjoyable. Who wants a boring, plain relationship?”
“I hear you, but be careful. I’ll leave. See you tomorrow at work.”
He took a few steps before she said, “Are you going to check on Mia?”
Turning around with a pained expression she wasn’t used to seeing on him, he replied, “I don’t think so. Make sure to call her later tonight.”
Gabby sighed and made her way to the kitchen where she saw Dane staring at the microwave, his face pulled down with sadness, as the seconds ticked down.
“You don’t like Jaxson?” Her question came out quieter than she intended. Probably because she didn’t want to ask at all. She didn’t want her potential boyfriend and best friend not getting along.
He turned around. A muscle ticked in his jaw before he responded. “I’m not sure how I feel about him. I’m not sure I like sharing you with anyone. That sounds possessive and jealous, even to my ears. I don’t want to feel like that. Yet, I wanted to shove him out of the apartment several times. Did I hear the door close?”
She stepped into his arms and rested her head against his chest. “He left because I told him I wanted you all to myself. He understood. He’s my best friend, Dane. I also work with him every day, all day. We’re very close. You can’t ask me to shove him out of my life.”
“Did I ask you to do that? I said I wanted to shove him out, but I controlled myself. I know this. I see it. One more thing for me to work through. Patience. Remember?”
“Lots of patience with you. Whatever will I do with you?”
He grabbed her around the waist, lifting her. She giggled, wrapping her legs around him as naturally as drawing her next breath. “I can think of several things you can do with me.”
He started walking out of the kitchen. She glanced back at the microwave that had dinged loudly, announcing that their popcorn was finished. “What about our snack?”
“You’re all the snack I need,” he said as he sat down on the couch with her still wrapped around his waist. She started to try to get up, but his hands were stuck like glue on her waist. “I like it right here.”
She pried his fingers off while smiling deviously at him. Standing up, she bent down to the coffee table where she had tossed a few condoms down. “Me too.”
She took off her clothes, swaying her body in a way that she hoped he found sexy. Dancing provocatively for a man wasn’t something she did. For Dane, she found she liked to do new and exciting things. And if him pausing as he removed his pants was any indication that he enjoyed it, she knew she would continue to do these sorts of things in the future.
Considering her small erotic dance had stalled him from removing his clothes, she took over the task for him. By the time he was gloriously naked for her, she had ripped open the condom package and sat down on his legs.
“You never give me the pleasure of putting this on. You keep your hands to yourself, mister,” she said as she grabbed ahold of his hard cock that stood waiting for attention.
“I can make no promises, Gabriella,” he said with a strangled voice.
“Then you won’t get your treat. You sit still or pay the consequences,” she said with a wicked smile as she slid off his knees to the floor.
“What…what are you doing?” he asked breathlessly, right before she clamped her mouth onto his rock-hard cock.
He had tasted, feasted, and devoured her body several times last night, giving her so much pleasure she could still feel the aftermath. Not once had he allowed her to do anything in return. No more. It was her turn for some fun. And she was having fun.
She sucked him harder when she heard a low groan leave his mouth. She swirled her tongue around, moving her hand in rhythm with her mouth. Up and down. No matter the words she said, he couldn’t sit still, moving perfectly to her tune.
Relishing in the low growls that slipped from his mouth had her squeezing harder and sucking him like a yummy lollipop. Her other hand rested on his thigh and held the condom. But she yearned for more. He tasted delicious, the tiny lifts of his hips each time she moved her tongue in another direction had her wanting to move with him.
Slowly, like licking the side of an ice cream cone wanting to savor each bite, she slid her tongue to the top, detangling herself from the temptation in front of her.
“I want more.”
He grabbed her arms, pulling her onto his lap. “Yes, more—now.”
She rolled the condom on, slowly, even as her body flamed with desired to take him already. But the act of teasing him a little bit longer couldn’t be contained. She enjoyed each time a throaty groan left his sweet lips. To know that he was enjoying himself, letting loose, made her feel special. She was making him feel like this. Nobody else. Just her. Like she had some sort of superpowers hidden inside. Because she imagined he never let himself act like this.
“Gabriella…”
Chuckling at his begging growl, she finally gave in to the torture. With delicious intent, she slid down his hard length and sighed. Bending low to his ear, nibbling, she whispered, “Is that better, Dane?”
“Much.”
She stopped his hands from grabbing her hips, waggling her finger in his face. “Tsk, tsk, Mr. Holloway. Hands to yourself, remember?”
She laughed again at his defiant stare, knowing she was testing his control to the brink. He didn’t like to surrender control, but she was making him. To think he was letting her. It was like sitting on the edge of a cliff, dangling her legs, knowing at any moment she could fall off with one tiny swing of her legs. She loved the exhilarating feeling. Perhaps seeing him lose control would be like free-falling off that cliff, the wind blowing in her hair, her arms wide open as if she could fly like a bird. But not yet. She was in control right now.
Slowly, because any other way would have defeated the delectable torture she was creating, she started to move. She bestowed a kiss on each of his eyelids when he closed his eyes to savor the way she moved. He was still letting her enjoy the freedom of having control. Simply amazing.
She took her time to love him on t
he couch, moving up and down, brushing her body against his, her nipples hard pebbles that had him shivering under her touch. No more words were spoken. Just their bodies as they started to move as one. He never moved his hands to her hips, or on her breasts like she cherished, or a smooth hand running through her hair. No. He sat there, moving his hips in tune to her movements, letting her take them for a ride. She couldn’t have asked for anything better. Perfection.
Before long, her body needed more, craved more. She increased the speed. Dane kept up with the pleasure. She cried out when she hit the peak, her body tensing with burning tingles of ecstasy. All thoughts vanished from her mind. Even the fact he grabbed her hips to keep the momentum going, joining her a few seconds later in his own delirious climax.
Resting her body against his, snuggling her head into his neck, she inhaled his warm scent. “This has to rank as one of the best vacations I’ve ever had.”
He chuckled into her ear, swiping a lock of hair away from her face. “Even the parts where I made you repeatedly walk to the file room in those treacherous high heels you hate?”
“Even those parts. I hate that I had to lie to you. I’m sorry.” Lifting her head, she smoothed a hand across his stubbled cheek. A touch of roughness, like him sometimes. “I can’t regret any part, though, because I never would’ve met you. I like what’s happening here. I like you, Dane.”
As those words fell from her lips, a part of her wished she had swapped “like” for “love.”
But that was too soon.
Right?
Kissing her lightly, he lingered for a moment, brushing his hands up and down her body. “I like you, too, Gabriella.”
She swore she heard a bit of hesitation of the word like from him as well.
Were they on the same wavelength? Was this love?
“And you were the best damn secretary I ever had. I have no idea what I’m going to do Monday morning.”
11
Dane rubbed a tired hand across his face, glancing at the clock for the twentieth time. The thought of moving the clock to another part of his office crossed his mind several times until he realized he’d have to throw his watch away as well. Because all he’d have to do is lift his wrist to see the time if he removed the clock from his office wall.
Concentration. He lost that weeks ago when he started dating Gabriella. Figuring out the meaning of that word couldn’t even be put into words anymore. She was all he thought about every day. At work. At home. Hell, even when he was with her, his mind wandered to every wonderful thing he enjoyed about her.
Spectacular. That’s what she was, just as he thought she would be when he first started daydreaming about her. She had lived up to that word, plus some.
A woman of many facets. Humor. Kindheartedness. Friendly. Lovable. Stern. Heated. Opinionated. Gorgeous.
He couldn’t even describe her with all the words in the dictionary. She was too complicated of a woman to even try.
He treasured each day he had with her—something he made time to do whether his work was completed or not. When five o’clock rolled around, he left the office.
It hadn’t been easy at first. His work had been his solace for quite some time. To drop it all for something—a woman, no less—had been difficult.
He worked late that Monday after the glorious weekend they had. Like a jackass, he didn’t even call her. She scared him. Messing with his emotions like she had, making him feel things that were foreign to him. He didn’t know what to say to her, so not calling her at the time seemed like the best option.
He had been swamped with work. The energy to find a secretary never even touched his bones. He immersed himself back into his work like nothing had changed.
But his beautiful Gabriella wasn’t one to let him get away with acting like that. And who was he kidding? When did she ever let him get away with something? Never. She always told him straight—another beautiful trait he liked about her.
She had stormed into his office the next day, wondering what they were doing that night. At first, only shock registered. Then complete numbness took over. Her beauty still had a way of distracting him with ease. He took one look at her and knew how idiotic he’d been by not calling her the day before. After the weekend they shared, he knew better than that. Something she told him, too. He had nodded in agreement, locked his office door, and proceeded to love her on his desk like he imagined since the day he hired her as his secretary. She hadn’t argued once with him.
From then on, he had established a routine that fit them both. He worked a few nights while leaving at the normal time of five o’clock the other nights to spend with her. “A compromise,” was what she had called it.
Except, as time went on, he found himself wanting to leave early and not work any late nights. He wanted to spend all his time with her.
What utter, complete foolishness.
He couldn’t become an idiot over one woman.
But every time her face penetrated his thoughts, he knew why he was acting completely out of character. She was worth it.
Still, the rate at which their relationship was moving scared him at times. Keeping their compromise would be the best decision, no matter how hard it was to stay at work.
Dane glanced up at his office door with an annoyed glare when his brother stepped through. “I hate it when you don’t knock or announce yourself. Why can’t you ever do that?”
Champ shrugged. “Because you hate it so much.”
Dane wanted to wipe off the ceremonious grin plastered on his face. “What do you want?”
“Do you have the specs for the Miller building? I’ve been waiting on them for a while now.”
Dane tried not to roll his eyes as he pointed at the folder sitting on the corner of his desk. “There they are. I’m sorry I don’t run to you like a little lap dog. I do have other things I need to get done. If you want it so bad, get it yourself.”
Champ sighed and ran a hand over his jaw. “Are we ever going to have a peaceful conversation? A little respect.”
Dane stood up, bracing his hands on his desk. “Geez, Champ, where’s the respect when you walk into my office? You don’t even respect my wishes about knocking on the door. If you want a little respect, show some yourself.”
A small knock sounded on his door with a little blonde-haired woman peeking through.
“Yes, Ms. Wallace?” Dane gave her a small smile to try and ward off the tension swirling in the room.
It didn’t work to dispel the tension, but he could see it made Ms. Wallace feel marginally better.
“Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Holloway. It’s four-thirty. I need to leave. I wanted to let you know I was heading out the door.” She didn't even glance at his brother Champ. Ms. Wallace was a very smart woman.
“Of course. Have a wonderful evening. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Since Gabriella, he had worked very hard at being more respectful to his coworkers, and not being as harsh. He had his days where he failed, but usually not with Ms. Wallace. Besides Gabriella, she was the best damn secretary he’d ever had.
She nodded her head, then snapped her fingers. “I almost forgot. You were on the phone earlier, but Gabby called. She’d like you to call her back when you get a chance.”
Dane had the intense urge to look at his cell, wondering why she hadn’t called him on that but instead smiled with appreciation. “Thanks.”
Of course, his brother zeroed in on that information as soon as his secretary walked away.
“Who’s Gabby? That name sounds familiar. And since when do you let your secretary leave early?”
Dane refused to look at Champ as he pushed the button on his cell, lighting it up. A missed text from Gabriella. How had he missed that? Especially considering he’d been daydreaming about her, like usual.
“Ms. Wallace is a wonderful secretary. It’s not going to kill me to let her leave early once in a while. Her son has a baseball game at five. She doesn’t want to miss it.”
&
nbsp; Champ’s mouth dropped open. “You’re letting her leave for a dumb baseball game? What the hell happened to my brother?”
“Have you ever had a brother? Do we act like brothers? Grab your folder and leave. I still have work to do before I leave.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
Dane whipped the folder off the desk, shoving it into Champ’s chest. “I don’t need to answer any of your damn questions, especially when it comes to us being brothers.”
Champ grabbed the folder before it tumbled to the ground when Dane let go without waiting for him. “I wasn’t talking about that question. Who’s Gabby? Was she talking about my Mia’s friend, Gabby?”
Dane looked back at him, laughing. “Your Mia? She hasn’t been anything to you for over a month. She deserves better than the likes of you.”
“So, it is that Gabby? Why would she be calling you? In fact, why haven’t you been working as much as you used to? I came here last week, late at night, and you weren’t here. And you weren’t at home. Shit, you were with this Gabby chick, weren’t you?”
Dane advanced at Champ again, his fists clenched by his sides. “It’s none of your damn business. But to get you to leave my office, we’re dating. End of story.”
“You’re dating her? The woman who ruined it for me with Mia.” Champ took a step closer to Dane.
“She ruined it? Are you kidding me? You ruined that, Champ. You screwed your secretary on your desk with the door wide open. That’s your own fault.”
“The door wasn’t wide open,” Champ ground out. “It was a mistake. One little mistake. Mia won’t even give me the time of day to explain. I blame your girlfriend for that.”
“That’s not a little mistake. That’s just plain stupid. And it’s not Gabriella’s fault. It’s yours for what you did with the door wide open.”
He couldn’t resist needling his brother.
Champ clenched his teeth, the muscle in his cheek ticking like a time bomb. “It wasn’t wide open. Lies. That’s all your girlfriend knows how to do. She’s still feeding you lies.”
The Wrong Brother (a perfect for you novel Book 1) Page 13
