by Tawny Weber
She watched through her lashes, waiting for him to take the invitation, wondering where he’d go with it. A five-star hotel or the backseat of his car? Both had their own appeal.
“Where do you like to get naked?” he asked instead, his eyes hot on her face with an intimate knowledge. As if he not only already knew where and how she liked to get naked, but also exactly what she looked like.
Tessa shivered as anticipation sent delighted tingles through her body.
“Wherever it feels good.” Not that she got naked every time it felt good, or in every place presented to her. But she knew that her reputation as a sex kitten was as appealing to most men as her toned body or her pretty face. So she rarely disabused them of the idea that she’d done anything and everyone.
“Do you like candlelight?” he asked softly, his fingers skimming a light pattern over her bare shoulder and down the draping bodice of her dress.
Tessa’s breath caught as he traced gently over the lush mounds of her breasts where they spilled out of the silk. Her nipples peaked, aching and stiff, inviting him to slide beneath the fabric and say hello.
“There is a lot of appeal in candlelight,” she murmured, barely aware of her words because every ounce of her focus was on those fingers.
Skimming closer and closer. With one deep breath she could lift her nipples to meet those fingers. But the anticipation, the game of waiting, was too exciting to end so soon.
“Wine?”
“Mmm, intoxicating,” she breathed, although she knew no amount of alcohol could touch the heady delight he was stirring in her body.
“Music?”
The sound of the pounding surf and whistling wind were enough for her, but she’d feel gauche saying something that clichéd.
Then something clicked in the back of her head. Tessa forced her heavy eyelids up so she could peer at him. With his face still buried in the curve of her neck and his mouth doing wild things to her pulse, all she could see was the top of his head. She frowned a little as she tried to see where his questions were leading.
“I’m already tempted enough to want a taste of you, Romeo,” she purred. “I don’t need clichéd trappings and flirtatious fluff.”
“Trappings?” he said, his breath a warm puff of air over her shoulder, making her shiver as he laughed. Lifting his head, Romeo gave her an amused look, the mirth in his eyes putting her back up for some reason.
“Angel, romance isn’t about trappings. It’s about style.”
“Romance?” Ice poured through her, instantly chilling the passion. “Why ruin a good time with silly ideas like that?”
“Some women find romance appealing,” he pointed out.
Tessa blinked. What was going on? She was talking about getting naked and he wanted to bounce around the merits of emotional platitudes?
“Some women don’t believe in romance,” Tessa said with a stiff laugh. “Starry-eyed teens and eternal optimists might think it’s real. But c’mon, we know better.”
His smile didn’t shift. If anything, he looked even more satisfied at her words than put off.
“You don’t believe in romance?” he asked.
“Not even a little bit.” Impatience at war with confusion, both overlaid by a healthy coating of lust, Tessa gently scraped her nails over his gorgeously impressive chest and arched one brow. “But I do believe in satisfaction. So why don’t we give that a try?”
* * *
HAD HE EVER been more tempted in his life?
Gabriel was pretty sure that answer was a big fat no.
“Here’s the thing.” Despite his body’s protests, Gabriel focused on the bigger picture and reluctantly peeled one of Tessa’s hands off his chest. He brushed his lips over her knuckles before giving her a sexy wink. “I’ll bet we can have even more satisfaction with a little extra effort.”
“I’ll bet we could,” she said with a look hot enough to melt the zipper of his slacks. She shifted her hand to rub her thumb over his lower lip, running the tip of her tongue over her own at the same time.
Gabriel groaned. He’d engaged in some imaginative foreplay over the years, but he was pretty sure this was the first time he’d played a game that kept him entertained, intrigued and turned on all at the same time.
Unable to resist, he leaned down to mimic her move, running his own tongue over her mouth. It was like sipping ambrosia, the taste of her filling his senses with the promise of ecstasy.
“Let’s go,” she suggested breathlessly, her lips soft against his as her hands skimmed down his chest once again, leaving trails of fire in their wake.
“Go where?” Gabriel teased, knowing damned well where she wanted to go. To ecstasy’s gate, a place he was very familiar with, having spent a great deal of time there. He had a feeling that visiting there with Tessa would be beyond anything he’d ever known before.
He could show her a damned good time.
Make her scream with pleasure, whimper with need.
He’d be the best she ever had. He was sure of it.
He wanted to.
Damned if he didn’t.
But he had a plan. A mission.
And a man never walked away from his mission until it was complete.
Still, it took all of his willpower to ease back on the kiss. Like a man about to go on a weeklong fast, he drew in the taste of Tessa as if he could live off her flavor until he got his mouth on her again.
He’d made a living out of tempting fate, doing the impossible. He was trained to take risks and prevent explosions.
But pulling away from Tessa was just about the hardest thing Gabriel had ever done.
Like working with any volatile situation, he eased back slowly. He kept his expression neutral, friendly even. His eyes watchful, senses on full alert, he took a careful breath to settle his pulse. Another to ensure he was focused and steady.
Then, and only then, he offered her a charming smile.
“You’re amazing,” he said truthfully. “But we can’t have sex tonight.”
Tessa’s lush lashes fluttered as she blinked, her sharply arched brows drawing together before she shook her head as if clearing her ears.
“I’m sorry?” she said as she looked askance.
Gabriel barely managed to keep from laughing aloud at the expression on her face.
God, he loved confusing her.
Not quite as much as he enjoyed pleasuring her, of course. But enough that it was easy to shift from one to the other if it’d guarantee an extension of the pleasure until he was ready.
“I said—”
“Is this some sort of SEAL superstition?” she asked, peering at him through narrowed eyes. “Like if you step on a crack you’ll break your partner’s back? Or that if you change your socks before a mission you’ll endanger the entire team?”
His lips twitched. He was pretty sure that not changing his socks would be more danger to the team.
“Because if it’s a matter of endangering one of your missions—or at least, endangering it in your mind—I totally understand.”
At his surprised look, Tessa shrugged. “Hey, I can be patriotic. Call it my way of supporting our troops...or in this case, you.”
If she’d whipped an AK-47 out from beneath her tiny little dress and knocked him upside the head with it, Gabriel couldn’t have been more floored. Had anyone outside of the team itself ever been so unquestionably supportive of what he did? His mind was blank, so he took that as a no.
“You’re so damned sweet,” he said, frowning a little. Sweet, patriotic, sexy and funny. Something in his chest tightened as he stared at the beauty that was Tessa’s face and realized that he’d barely scratched the surface of this gorgeous woman. And now, more than anything, he was determined to delve deep until he’d learned every sing
le thing about her that he could.
He didn’t know what that feeling was going on in his gut right now since he’d never felt anything like it before. But it demanded to be acknowledged. So he did just that in the only way he knew how.
He kissed her again. But before it could get too hot, even heavier, he made himself stop. Slowly, reluctantly, he pulled back with a heavy sigh.
“I want to take you out,” he said after clearing his throat. “Dinner, dancing, maybe a moonlight walk on the beach.”
“Out?”
“A date.”
“Mmm,” she breathed as she leaned closer again. Her tongue slid along his bottom lip before she gave it a gentle nip. “Why don’t we skip to another type of moonlight dance? A naked one that includes a myriad of hip thrusts and slow grinds.”
“Because as much as I really, really want to get naked together and worship each other’s bodies, I want to romance you first. I’m going to show you what it feels like to build the anticipation and layer the needs,” he promised. “You’re going to want me so badly by the time I’m through that all it’ll take is a touch to send you flying over the edge of screaming pleasure.”
“And you’re going to make me wait for this? Not for the good of your team or because you’re superstitious?”
“Yep. Because I’m going to romance you first.”
Tessa was looking at him as if he’d lost his mind.
All things considered, Gabriel wasn’t so sure that he hadn’t.
Especially when he watched her turn from hot to cold with just a sweep of those lashes.
“Let me get this straight,” she said, stepping back to give him a chilly look. “You are turning me down? Walking away from your only shot because you want, what was it? Romance?”
Well, when she put it that way, he sounded like an idiot. Unable to stop himself, Gabriel frowned. He was pretty sure he’d never had anyone question his intelligence before. His taste, his decisions, his ability to make anything worthwhile out of his life, sure.
But never his expertise.
His expertise let him see the signs.
Tessa’s dilated pupils, her still-labored breath and the slight trembling of her limbs made it clear that she was operating under a high level of sexual need.
For him.
His ego took those signs as confirmation that his plan was working.
He had her attention.
With just a taste, he’d started the addiction.
If he fed it too fast, it’d detonate. It’d feel great. But like any one-shot explosion, it’d be done. They’d be done.
Now he just had to tease it out, feed the hunger until she was starving for more and finesse the spark into a conflagration. And, of course, enjoy the results.
Gabriel’s frown slowly shifted into a wicked smile, making Tessa’s frown deepen.
Good.
That meant she was confused.
His smile widened as he skimmed his knuckles over the silky warmth of her cheek before sliding his hand into her hair.
Confusion was the point of this particular mission. And as much as he hated leaving a lady disappointed, he was all about the bigger picture here.
He was out to win the war, not just one battle.
No matter how satisfying, how delicious, how carnally incredible that one battle might be.
“You’ll love it,” he promised in a husky whisper as he skimmed the knuckles of his other hand over her breast, her nipple rock hard and tempting against his skin.
He watched her eyes narrow, the frown edging dangerously close to a scowl. She pulled back, forcing him to release her. She didn’t take her eyes off his face as she stepped around him so he had to turn to follow her movements. Tessa leaned sideways to grab one shoe. Without looking, she slipped it onto her foot, then with perfect balance reached down to the other one, too. Gabriel’s brows arched, impressed that she’d done all that without even checking left from right. Gotta love a woman who had a knack for doing things by feel alone.
Her delicate feet strapped in those skyscrapers once again, Tessa mounted the first step so they were eye to eye. Hers were about as cold as the ocean behind him, but beneath the irritation there he could still see the heat.
“What d’ya say, angel?” he asked in his most charming tone, fanning those flames. As added incentive, he leaned forward to give her a soft kiss. Given that she was baring her teeth, he considered himself lucky she didn’t try to snap his lips off. But hey, he was a SEAL. Never let it be said that he didn’t take risks to complete his mission. “Let’s go on a date. It’ll be fun. We’ll move on from a first-name basis and see where it goes.”
“Move beyond?” She laughed, shaking her head so that gloriously long mane of hair waved over her breasts, making his mouth water. “Romeo, we’re not on a first-name basis now.”
“Well, then, we’ll change that.”
Tessa gave him an assessing look, then stepped to the edge of the stairs. She tucked her finger into his freshly rebuttoned shirt and gave a light tug to pull him closer. Not needing any encouragement, he settled his hands on her hips with a smile.
“There’s nothing to change,” she told him in a chiding tone, her finger tapping on his chest in time with her words. “Do you know why we refer to each other by nicknames?”
“Everyone refers to me by my nickname,” Gabriel said with a laugh.
“You and I, we’re a lot alike, Romeo,” she pointed out. “We use nicknames to keep people where they belong. At a safe distance so they don’t get in our way.”
“You’re too pretty to be such a cynic,” he said with a laugh, pretending her words hadn’t hit home.
“I’m a realist, not a cynic,” she argued.
“And you’re as hot for me as I am for you,” he noted, his eyes skimming the rigid peaks of her breasts standing in stark relief against her silk dress. His fingers burned to follow up the look with a caress, but he knew that’d undermine the progress he’d already made. Progress that had come at great physical distress, he admitted, shifting a little to ease the painful pressure of his zipper against his aching erection.
“So?” Tessa challenged with a dismissive shrug. “What’s hot got to do with it?”
Appreciating her nod to Tina Turner, he grinned, reaching out to rub her hair between his fingers.
“Now that you’ve had a taste, you’re not going to walk away from this heat between us,” he told her confidently. “You might want to. But you won’t.”
Her eyes flashed, fury so intense he was surprised she wasn’t shooting lightning from those blue depths. He could see her jaw clench, but her amused smile didn’t shift. God, that control of hers was a turn-on.
“Actually, that’s exactly what I am going to do.” She tapped her finger against his lips this time before giving him a dismissive smile. “Watch and learn, Romeo. This is what happens when you push a good thing too far.”
Those brilliant eyes locked on his for one second longer before Tessa spun on her skyscraper heels and offered him an up-close and not personal enough view of her back, before she sashayed away.
Watching her climb the stairs as if she were out for a casual stroll instead of storming off after a heated rejection, Tessa proved once again that she was in a class by herself.
A very sexy, very tempting class. The silky fabric of her dress swayed in time with those lush hips, cupping her ass with each step. Gabriel had to force himself not to go after her.
He’d see her again, he reminded himself. Their two best friends were not just a couple now, they were a couple hell-bent on nesting. Nesting people did social things that included their friends. And then there was all of the wedding crap Irish had going on.
Yeah. They’d be seeing a lot of each other over the next little while. He wouldn’t have to w
ait long to see if his gamble had paid off.
Gabriel shoved his hands in his pockets, not an easy feat considering the erection Tessa had left him with. Rocking back on his heels in the sand, he mused that this was the first time in his life that he’d bet against his own talents.
It’d be interesting over the next few weeks to see how many times he’d have to put those talents to the test before being declared the winner.
That he’d win was a sure thing.
Gabriel Thorne never lost.
Especially when it came to the games between the sexes.
5
“IT’S A GAME. It has to be. I mean, what kind of idiot says no to great sex because they’re holding out for romance?” Tessa asked, spitting the last word out as if it tasted nasty.
“Me.” The response was accompanied by a heavily ringed hand waving absently over a frizz of orange hair, which was all that could be seen of the speaker.
“You actually believe in romance?” Tessa asked, her surprise not slowing her stomp from one end of the office that housed the heart and soul of Flirtatious to the other. “Given everything we write about? The relationship statistics? The long-shot odds? Heck, the men you’ve dated? With all of that data, you’re holding out for moonlit lies and sand-castle dreams?”
“It only takes one Mr. Right to beat the odds,” Maeve Bannion said absently, her attention still zeroed in on her computer screen. “And I don’t put out if he don’t put out.”
Tessa snorted.
“So you’re saying you think guys pay for sex with romance?”
“No more than I think women pay for candlelight dinners, expensive flowers or dancing under the stars with sex.”
Tessa frowned, her laughter fading as she thought of the many, many men who figured she’d show her appreciation sexually for being taken to a fancy restaurant or sent lavish gifts. It always seemed so fake to her. She couldn’t remember the last romantic date she’d had that wasn’t a sad, sad cliché.
