Her Gabriel was gone, replaced by Gabriel Devereaux, captain of industry, master of all he surveyed. She’d done that to him by pushing him away. The dangerous predator was back, the mask of indifference firmly in place. For the first time, standing there in her cutoff jeans and tank top, she felt under-matched, as if she were some party girl picked up for a weekend of fun.
She rubbed at her chest, her heart aching. Was she being fair to him, to them? She had good reason to want some time to think things through and decide what she should do about Gabriel, about their relationship. Most importantly, she needed to decide what to do about her father and everything he’d done. How could she hope to move forward with Gabriel if she didn’t have a final confrontation with her father and let him know without any doubt that she chose Gabriel?
“You should go to the stateroom and try to get some rest.” Gabriel’s voice washed over her as if she’d fallen into an icy river. “We’ve got several hours before we land in New Orleans. You also don’t have to worry about our third date for charity. The foundation already has its money, so you don’t need to feel obligated to continue.”
The clear dismissal was a slap to the face. She stared down at him, but he didn’t look at her. Maybe he’d decided to cut his losses. Maybe he’d decided that loving her wasn’t worth the effort.
It was for the best. There were too many years and too many issues between them. Too much that was impossible to overcome by simply exchanging words of love. Better to cut it off now than suffer a greater embarrassment before the prying eyes of New Orleans. Maybe by the time they landed she could have her own mask of indifference in place and she could part ways with Gabriel under the pretense of being friends instead of a brokenhearted lover. Again.
Maybe by the time they landed she would even believe it.
* * *
“I’ll get out of your hair,” Karina said thickly, then headed toward the bulkhead separating the main cabin from the private stateroom. Gabriel gripped his armrest to keep from going after her. He’d made her a promise to prove what he felt for her and he’d see it through even if it killed him. It probably would.
It was difficult to hold back when all he wanted to do was wrap her up and never let her go. He’d left the house the night before because he couldn’t bear to be there with her, knowing what he’d lost through his own actions. He’d hurt her; hurt her so badly that he didn’t think she’d ever forgive him.
He had to try, though. Had to try for her, had to try for him. The days he’d spent with her were the best he’d had since he’d lost her. Her laughter, her passion, and her love had made him a better person. Literally. Without her, he was just the Bayou Beast, a cold sonofabitch, and he didn’t like that guy anymore.
After takeoff, he tried to turn his mind to business, but couldn’t concentrate. He powered up his cell phone only to find dozens of messages from his partners and his lawyer. Figuring his lawyer wanted to talk about his plan to transfer the Armistead company over to Karina, he returned the call.
“Morgan, do you have the papers ready?”
“Gabriel. Thank God.” Relief was evident in his lawyer’s tone. “Don’t worry about the papers. We have bigger problems.”
“Like what?”
“Like the FBI wanting you for kidnapping.”
“Kidnapping?” What the hell?
“It’s all over the news. Where have you been?”
“St. Philippe.” Gabriel rose, found the remote for the display, pressed a button. A slot on the credenza opened, and the LCD monitor rose silently, powering on as it reached the correct height. He normally had it tuned to the financial channels, but switched it over to one of the twenty-four-hour news networks.
“Beauty and the Beast Kidnapping—Were Drugs Involved?” blazed across the bottom of the screen. The split screen showed images of the talking head speculating whether Gabriel had drugged Karina, as well as a rotating collection of photos featuring him and Karina from the auction, their first date, and the shopping trip in Miami.
Fuck. “Morgan, what is this? Sebastian and Raphael know where I am and their fiancées know Karina and know where she is. So does her team. Our bodyguards are with us. No one has been kidnapped!”
Everyone in the main cabin looked at him, awaiting orders. Except Daniel. Karina’s bodyguard held his gaze as he slowly moved past Gabriel aft to the stateroom. Gabriel gave him a nod. Daniel could break the news to Karina while he focused on damage control.
“I know that. You know that. All of your friends know that and have been saying so very loudly,” Morgan replied. “The deafening silence from you two hasn’t helped matters. Someone swore out a missing persons report for Karina. The FBI won’t tell me who, but said that their information was credible enough that they had to look into it.”
“I have a good idea.” Only one person would be so furious, so mentally unbalanced to accuse Gabriel of kidnapping Karina despite all the evidence to the contrary. Only one person who could dredge up the false charges from ten years ago. While Karina might make an effort to laugh off the media uproar over her alleged abduction, realizing her father could be behind it would break her.
“We’re flying in to Lakefront Airport.” He turned to the navigation display showing a digital representation of their flight path, an image of a jet showing their current location. “We have about three hours left. I want you at the airport, Morgan. I want the best from your firm there for Karina.”
“That’s a potential conflict—”
“Fuck the conflict! There’s no conflict of interest because there’s no kidnapping, no crime. It’ll take too long for Karina’s lawyer to get there. I don’t want her exposed to this for one minute longer than necessary, you got me? You get your best on this to represent her with the FBI and you get her out of there. Understand?”
“Understood.”
Gabriel disconnected the call then immediately placed a call to Raphael. His partner answered on the first ring. “You heard?”
“I heard. We’re on the way.”
“Good. You’re making the PR department work overtime on this one. I have no idea why the FBI isn’t believing anything we say, except maybe whoever contacted them has some serious political clout.”
“None of that will matter when we get back and they hear from Karina,” Gabriel retorted. “I need a security team waiting for us. We only have four guards with us and I have a feeling it’s going to be crazy when we land.”
“You and your understatements,” Raphael said. “We’ll have the team ready.”
“Thanks. Tell PR that we’re going to speak to the FBI at the airport when we land, and we can make a joint statement or separate statements afterward. It’ll depend on what Karina wants to do.”
Karina. God, she probably wouldn’t want anything to do with him after this. With his damn heart stuttering in his chest, he turned toward the doorway leading to the lavatory and the stateroom.
She stood in the doorway, her cell phone in her hand, a stricken expression on her face. “I’ll call you back,” he said to Raphael, then disconnected. He took a step toward her before he remembered her request for space, and shoved his hands into his pockets instead, gritting his teeth against a curse. “Karina.”
“Oh my God,” she whispered, raising her head to stare at the news display. “What the hell is going on?”
He willed his feet to stick to the floor. “Apparently someone decided to swear out a warrant for my arrest for kidnapping you. Since we left the country and went incommunicado for a couple of days, the FBI is extremely interested in talking to both of us when we get back and making sure you’re safe. My lawyer will be meeting me when we land. Someone from his firm will be waiting to represent your interests but you may want to get your own lawyer, at least for the interview with the agents.”
“A lawyer—for what?” she demanded, shock giving way to anger. Her cheeks flushed red. “You didn’t kidnap me. That’s complete and utter bullshit!”
He a
llowed himself a second of relief at seeing temper instead of tears before reality reasserted itself. He gestured at the monitor. “Unfortunately it’s all too easy for some to believe the worst of me regardless of what the truth might be.”
“Gabriel.” She buried her face in her hands.
Fuck giving her space. He ordered Kilgore to work with Karina’s guards and the security team to get her from the plane to the FBI and away with the least amount of disruption. Then he did what he’d wanted to do for hours—he pulled Karina into his arms then guided her past Daniel and the lavatory to the stateroom.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
She was exactly where she wanted to be, in Gabriel’s arms, but for all the wrong reasons. She felt as if she’d entered some twisted alternate world where everything she thought she knew was a lie.
“Kari, don’t cry.” Though his voice and touch were gentle, she could feel the tension in his muscles. “There’s nothing I can safely punch at thirty thousand feet.”
“Dammit, Gabriel, how can you crack a joke over this?” She grabbed handfuls of his lapels. “The FBI and the media seriously think you kidnapped me. Kidnapped!”
“I know, sweetheart. We’ll straighten it out when we land. It’ll be all right.”
“All right? How can this possibly be all right? It’s all over the news. People actually believe you abducted me, and now the FBI’s involved.”
“I don’t think the FBI believes you were abducted, not with our friends telling them the opposite and our dates are public knowledge. I just think the person filing the complaint is credible enough and connected enough to make an investigation happen.”
She wrapped her arms tightly around him, wishing she could burrow into him, curl up in that safe place in the past where she’d been so wrapped up in him she believed nothing would come between them. “My father,” she said because it needed to be said, because she needed to say it. “My father filed that warrant.”
A shudder passed through him before he returned her embrace. “I think so.” He stroked a hand down her back, soothing her. “He’s the only one who would, damn the consequences.”
“He hates you, Gabriel.” It hurt her to say it, but she had to face the truth and accept it. “My father hates you, and I don’t know why.”
His embrace tightened. “I don’t either.”
“It’s something personal, but what?” She rubbed a cheek against his chest, taking the comfort he offered, wishing she could give it back to him. “It’s not fair. It’s not fair that he won’t leave you alone—leave us alone. Do you—do you want me to call him?”
“Hell no. He’s not going to get another chance to verbally abuse you for whatever sick reason he’s got stuck in his head. If you talk to him, it will be on your terms, not his.”
She nodded with relief. She wasn’t ready to face the FBI, but they were far more preferable than dealing with her father. “So what are we going to do?”
He drew back, his thumbs lightly brushing at the tears collecting on her cheeks. “We’re going to tell the truth. There’s nothing to hide. We had a romantic getaway on a private island and now we’re coming back home.”
“You’re right.” Anger flared again, anger that anyone could think so badly of this man. “I’ll post some of our photos and then put a video up on my KamiKari channel. Social media will make this a nonissue before we land.”
“Your fans love you,” he said, his tone and expression grave. “They’ll be glad to know you’re okay.”
She frowned up at him. “They’ll also know you gave me the best vacation I’ve had in years. You’re a good man, Gabriel Devereaux. I’m going to make sure everyone knows it.”
“Your opinion is the only one that matters to me, Kari,” he told her softly, resting his forehead against hers. “I don’t care what anyone else thinks.”
She reached up, cupping his cheek. “I care.”
He held himself still as he stared down at her, dark eyes full of emotion. “Do you?”
Everything she felt for him, wanted with him, flowed through her, filling her up. She hoped he could see it in her eyes as she answered, “I do. I love you, Gabriel, and I wish the world could see you the way I do. See how honorable and protective you are.”
His eyes slid closed for a moment as he shuddered. “God, Kari. Only you see me that way. I am ruthless and driven and a brutal sonofabitch. Don’t you remember everything I told you last night? It doesn’t matter if it’s in the ring or in business or going against your father, I’m always going to be the Bayou Beast.”
She grazed his lips with her own, needing to protect and defend him the way he did her. “Maybe to them, but not to me.”
“Not to you,” he agreed. “Never to you. But you end up getting hurt anyway.”
The ache in his voice nearly broke her heart. He was facing a potential clusterfuck when they landed, but he was upset that he’d hurt her.
“Gabriel. Gabriel, do you love me?”
He looked at her, pain etched on his features. “More than anything. Maybe more than I should.”
To hell with that. She palmed his shoulders. “As of right now, we’re done with this pushing each other away bullshit.”
“Kari—”
“No. I’m going to bombard all my social media sites with the awesome week I’ve had with you. We’re going to meet with the FBI, and then we’re going to tell my father to shove it. Then you and I are going to discuss where we’re going from here.”
“Are you forgiving me?”
She could hear his doubt. “I understand why you did what you did. My father needs to pay for everything he’s done. I even think he needs to step down and let Paul take over. Your plan to use me was so not cool, but you thought I was part of those horrible charges. So I understand that too.”
“But understanding isn’t forgiving.” Some of the remoteness reentered his eyes.
She tightened her grip on him. “I’m done focusing on the past, especially when our future looks so promising—once we get over this hurdle. Yes, I forgive you. Now forgive yourself so we can move on.”
Some of the tightness eased from his expression. “This is strange.”
“What?”
“Having someone fight for me.” He caressed her hair, the pain transforming to wonder. “It’s weird, but it’s good.”
He claimed her mouth with a desperate siege, his hunger and need evident in the brutal clash of his lips against hers. She threw her arms around his neck, drawing him as close as she could as she kissed him back with equal ferocity. Kissing wasn’t enough though, not for her, not for him.
“I need you, Kari, so damn much.” The raw hunger in his tone stole her breath. “I need to know we’re good. Will you let me have you?”
“You already do.”
He shoved her shorts and panties down. She kicked them away, then made quick work of her blouse and bra before helping him out of his suit. Scooping her up, he bore her back onto the bed, placing her down among the pillows.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he said, his voice low. “I can’t believe you’re mine. Are you mine?”
She could hear the doubt in his tone, so very slight, but it tore at her. She held her arms up and open. “Yes,” she said simply. “But if you doubt my word, maybe you’ll believe this.”
With a low groan he covered her, kissing her again with sweet desperation that called to her to respond. Their tongues wrestled as she shifted against him, needing to feel his strength, his warmth, his need for her. “My beautiful little fighter,” he murmured against her throat. “You keep fighting for me, and I’ll fight to be worthy of you and what you give me.”
“Gabriel.” Tears pricked her eyes, tears that quickly dissipated when his fingers lightly brushed against her nipple, swelling the distended peak even more. She had to bite her lip to keep from crying out as his teeth lightly closed over the hardened tip. Sensations rocketed through her as he suckled her, batting every emotion away except the love she felt
for him.
He kissed his way down her body, whispering words against her skin that she didn’t understand but echoed through her anyway. He needed this, she needed this, connecting to each other again, committing to each other again. Heart, mind, body, soul—she surrendered them all to him, to the promise that they would move forward together, overcome together.
The first stroke of his tongue against her clit had her bowing off the bed, wanting more, needing more. He gave it to her with gentle flicks, broad strokes, and a sweet suckling pressure that had her quivering on the edge of release. Thrusting her hands into his dark waves, she held him where she needed him, his name a pant on her lips as the pressure rose higher and higher, rattling her body, her muscles quivering with the instinctive effort to hold it in and tamp it down.
Gabriel’s sensual onslaught was impossible to resist. All too soon she felt the pleasure gathering, lifting her up, throwing her over the peak of ecstasy. The orgasm rolled over her, spreading out from her center. Gabriel surged up and into her before she could scream her release, capturing her cry as he sealed his mouth to hers.
The sudden fullness had her inner muscles spasming around him. They both groaned at the overwhelming pleasure, the rightness of their bodies joining. A shudder passed through him as he balanced on his hands, staring down at her with concern. “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice strained.
“Don’t stop.” She wrapped her legs high around his waist. “I need this. I need you, Gabriel. Let go.”
Dropping to his forearms, he melded their bodies together head to toe. His breath scorched her throat as he powered into her, swiveling his hips, leaving no part of her core untouched. Filling her. Claiming her. Ruining her for any other man.
Her fingernails sank into his buttocks as she thrust against him, stoking the fire of passion burning between them. Wild, unfettered, they moved against each other like two opposing fronts crashing together to form a tornado. The desire swept her up in a swirl of pleasure and need and want. “Gabriel, hurry.”
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