With his hand still fisted in her hair, he gently urged her back up, and she came willingly. Lashes at half mast and a sultry, gratified smile curving her mouth, she licked her lips, and he nearly lost it right then and there. Within seconds he had the covers pulled down and her pushed back onto the bed and centered in the middle of the mattress. He straddled her waist with his heavy erection sliding against her belly and reached for the bright red silk scarves he’d stashed beneath one of his pillows earlier.
“I take it this is where you tie me up,” she said, glancing at the bonds he’d produced.
“Yeah.” He ran one of the scarves along his palm and through his fingers, taking his time and increasing the anticipation.
She eyed the feminine article in his hand. “Tell me you didn’t borrow them from your mother’s room.” She looked worried and embarrassed at the thought.
“Nope.” He grasped one of her hands, lifted it above her head, and tied her wrist to the wooden post on the headboard, then did the same with the other. “I went out and bought them today. I figured they might come in handy in the future.”
She stiffened beneath him, and her eyes flashed with a hint of begrudging envy. He could only guess that she was thinking of him with other women. Good, he thought with a private smile. A little jealousy never hurt in a man’s attempt to influence a woman to want him even more.
He gave her bonds one last tug to make sure the scarves were secure, but not hurting her in any way. Satisfied with his work, he took a moment to drink in the sight of her—naked, long-limbed, and blessed with generous, feminine curves.
She shifted restlessly under his scrutiny. “You look like you’re about to devour me.”
“Oh, you can bet I will, sweetheart,” he drawled, and set out to fulfill that promise.
It was a night that allowed for no inhibitions, and he spent the next half hour worshiping her body with his fingers, his mouth, his tongue, leaving no part of her untouched. He branded her with the glide of his erection along her taut breasts, her soft stomach and sleek thighs, and discovered erogenous zones with his mouth she didn’t even know she possessed. With slow, teasing foreplay he brought her to the peak of orgasm repeatedly, until she was begging, trembling, and pleading for release.
She strained against her silken ties as his mouth drifted once again over her belly, and she panted from the exquisite sexual tension thrumming through her body. “Oh, God, Gabe, please…make me come.”
Knowing he’d made her wild enough, he moved lower and gave her body what it ultimately craved. She was swollen, pink, and wet, her female flesh glistening with desire for him, and he covered her with his mouth, grazed her cleft with his teeth, and swirled his tongue against the nub of her clitoris. Her stomach quivered, her thighs clenched against his arms, and then she was unraveling and screaming as an intense orgasm raged through her.
While she recovered, limp and boneless, he reared up and untied the scarves, freeing her, then pushed her thighs wider apart with his knees. Settling between that warmth and softness, he moved over her so that they were finally face-to-face. Holding her gaze, he sank into her welcoming heat in one long, smooth thrust. The thrill and perfection of being sheathed inside her made him shudder.
Her hands were all over him, sweeping down his back and grasping his buttocks to urge him deeper. Her hips rolled, undulating eagerly against him, and he tightened his jaw to keep from giving in to the temptation to make love to her hard and fast, as she seemed to want.
Grabbing her wrists, he held them down at the side of her head and pinned her squirming, gyrating body with the length of his. “Ms. Chloe,” he managed in a low, gruff tone of voice, “this is my fantasy, and I’m gonna dictate the speed, so you might as well settle in for a long, slow ride.”
Her lashes fluttered closed on a protesting moan that vibrated against his chest.
“Look at me,” he said, refusing to let her retreat now, after everything they’d just shared. “Don’t shut me out. Not now. Not tonight.” Not ever.
She opened her eyes slowly, gazing up at him through a heavy haze of passion. And that’s when he saw the emotion he’d been waiting for…a longing that wrapped around his heart and touched his soul.
He did his best to touch hers in return. “I gave you romance with flowers, a candlelight dinner, and a romantic movie,” he murmured, moving slowly, lazily within her. “Now it’s time to make our own fireworks.”
The implication and intimacy of his words registered in her eyes, but she didn’t deny what he was asking for. Instead, her body embraced his, met him stroke for stroke and matched the pulsing rhythm he set. And then they were both falling, tumbling together in a burst of brilliant heat and scorching passion. He watched her come for him, with him, as his own orgasm crested. The intensity of the moment stole his breath, made his pounding heart skip a beat, and utterly drained him.
Long minutes later he moved off her so he didn’t crush her with his weight, and she automatically scooted closer, cuddled up to his side, and smiled up at him. “That was incredible.”
He smiled back and kissed her temple. “Yeah, it was,” he agreed, still recovering from the encounter.
Resting her head on his shoulder, she draped an arm over his stomach and slipped her slender leg between his as if they’d been sleeping together for years. She felt so good and right snuggled next to him, and he finally had her right where he wanted her…in his bed and in his arms. Tomorrow morning would be soon enough to hash out the past and plan their future.
Chloe awoke before the break of dawn, with Gabe cuddled up to her from behind. His face was buried in her tousled hair, his warm, even breath caressed her shoulder, and a heavy arm kept her back secured close to his chest. While her body was replete and sated from a night spent fulfilling provocative fantasies, her emotions were in tatters and Gabe was far from being purged from the deepest recesses of her soul, as she’d hoped.
If anything, the past four nights had entrenched him more deeply into her heart. She’d witnessed a kind and caring man who’d grown up with a wealth of insecurities, but had managed to make something of himself despite all the obstacles thrown in his way. She’d experienced tenderness and an intimacy with him she’d only dreamed of finding for herself, and he’d given her a wealth of sensual, erotic memories to take with her.
So why did she feel so empty and cold deep inside?
Because it was over. The painful thought caused a swell of aching tears to gather in her throat, and she resolutely swallowed them back. Gabe had paid his bet in full, as well as tied up his loose ends with her, and in a matter of days he’d be returning to Chicago. She’d gotten exactly what she’d bargained for, and the last thing she wanted was to face an awkward morning-after scene with him. She’d leave him a brief note, slip out of the house quietly, and end their affair with as much dignity as she could muster. And with no guilt or regrets for either one of them.
More tears threatened to fall, and she shifted next to Gabe, doing her best to slip from his embrace without waking him. He sighed deeply in his sleep and turned onto his back, freeing her to move off the mattress without disturbing him. Quietly, she grabbed her clothes from the floor to put them on in the living room, and stopped at his bedroom door to look at him one last time.
He looked so peaceful in sleep and overwhelmingly sexy with the covers slung low on his hips and one bare, muscular leg exposed. The urge to return to bed and make love to him one last time was strong, but she forced herself to turn around and be the one to walk away this time.
Unfortunately, she’d be leaving her heart behind when she left.
Gabe blinked his eyes open with a start, glanced over at the empty side of his bed, and instinctively knew that Chloe had snuck out on him. A note lying on the pillow beside his confirmed his suspicion: Your bet is paid in full. Have a safe trip back to Chicago. Chloe.
“Shit,” he muttered. Tossing the piece of paper aside, he flopped back on the bed in frustration. He glared up at
the ceiling, wondering how in the hell she could doubt the depth of his feelings for her after everything they’d shared last night.
But he knew the answer to his own question—after his past track record, she feared him leaving again. Didn’t trust him to stick around for the long haul. Didn’t believe he wanted her for anything more than scratching a six-year-old itch.
She couldn’t be more wrong. He’d given her up once, and he refused to do so again. This time he wasn’t about to leave for Chicago without confronting her with the truth about what he truly desired. Their bargain wasn’t even close to being paid in full when his demands included a lifetime commitment.
A faint sniffling sound from the living room caught his attention and jumpstarted his pulse. Was Chloe still there? Driven by the hopeful thought, he scrambled out of bed and yanked on the pair of jeans he’d worn the night before, zipping them up but not bothering to fasten the top button. He padded quietly down the hallway, stopped at the entrance to the living room, and found Chloe bending over by the couch to pick up the sandals she’d left there the night before while they’d watched the rented movie together.
She slipped the pair on her feet and swiped her fingers beneath her eyes, wiping away the moisture dampening her cheeks. His heart twisted in his chest and he had to forcibly resist the urge to go to her and take her in his arms…He wouldn’t take such liberties with her until she invited him there.
She reached for her purse, and he spoke before she could grab the leather bag. “Going somewhere?” he asked, his voice still raspy with the remnants of sleep.
She spun around, her eyes big and round and puffy from crying, and looking as though she couldn’t decide whether to stay rooted to the spot or bolt. True to the Chloe he’d grown to love, she stayed put and her chin lifted mutinously. “I…uh, just thought it would be best if I was gone when you woke up. No sense us dealing with an uncomfortable good-bye.”
He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his bare chest. “You’re assuming I want to say good-bye.”
“Saying good-bye is inevitable, and we both know it, so why make things any more difficult than they need to be by stringing it out?”
He shook his head, openly discounting her logic. “Haven’t you listened to a word I’ve said all week?” he asked, his low, calm tone contradicting the uncertainties he couldn’t shake. “I want you, Chloe.”
“You’ve had me for four nights,” she refuted, her defenses in place.
“I want you,” he clarified, and pushed off the wall so he could close the distance between them. “And four nights doesn’t even come close to what I have in mind for us.”
She stared at him, her wariness apparent. “You want to have a long-distance affair?”
He stopped in front of her, but didn’t touch her. Yet. “I can’t say that appeals to me, but I’ll take you whatever way I can have you.”
Her gaze narrowed and her mouth pursed with annoyance. “Why are you doing this, Gabe? You got exactly what you came for. You tied up your loose ends in San Diego, so don’t make this any harder than it already is for me.” In a huff, she paced away from him, but turned back around to finish her tirade. “Dammit, you’re the one who walked away six years ago and we both made up for lost time these last four nights, but it’s over. You’re free to go back to Chicago and resume your life, and I’ll do the same here in San Diego.”
He inhaled a steady breath, wondering if he’d ever be able to heal the devastating hurt he’d inadvertently dealt her that long-ago night. He was willing to spend a lifetime trying to make amends, if only she’d let him.
“What if I don’t want things between us to be over?” he asked, refusing to give up on her, on them. “What if I want what we shared this week to be the beginning?”
She shook her head jerkily, causing her disheveled hair to swirl and shimmer about her shoulders. “It’s not enough,” she whispered, the words escaping on a note of anguish.
His entire body tensed, and knowing he had nothing left to lose, he laid his soul on the line. “What if I tell you that I love you?”
More tears flooded her eyes, and she valiantly blinked them back. “Don’t mess with my emotions, Gabe.”
His heart squeezed tight. “Sweetheart, after this week, how can you even doubt the way I feel about you?” he asked gently, sincerely.
“Because I thought you cared once before and you walked out of my life without looking back or giving me a second thought.”
He felt as though she’d punched him in the gut, deservedly so for the emotional upheaval he’d put her through. Once again he moved closer, and when she didn’t step away he reached out and caressed his thumb along her taut, stubborn jaw.
“Ahh, Chloe, I’m so sorry about that,” he murmured. “More than you’ll ever know. I swear there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t regret the way I handled that night up on the hill, but I was so damned confused and the last thing I wanted to do was cause you any pain, and I did that anyway.”
“Why, Gabe? Why did you leave and not contact me again until now?” She searched his face for answers. “I have to know.”
He nodded sagely. “Yes, you deserve to know everything.” He rubbed at the back of his neck, hoping and praying that she’d understand and accept his reasons. “When I came home six years ago I was still recovering from my knee injury and I knew my career as a professional football player was over. The goals I’d worked so hard toward, all the years of training and single-minded determination to make it to the big leagues, gone. And all the insecurities I felt growing up came flooding back, and all I could think was that I was never going to claw my way out of the poverty that had been my way of life since I was a kid.”
She continued to listen, and he went on. “I wanted you so much that night, but I knew I had no right to make love to you, not when my life was such a mess and I had no idea what was in store for me or how my future would turn out. I believed you deserved to find someone who could give you everything I couldn’t.”
“What gave you the right to take that decision and choice away from me?” she asked, a thread of anger vibrating in her voice.
A wry grin tipped his mouth. “I thought it was for the best. Sort of like you thinking it best to sneak out on me this morning without saying good-bye.”
She bristled, ignoring his attempt at humor. “So, you came back, intent on seducing me and making up for that night up on the hill?”
“Yeah, something like that. I’ve always made goals for myself and set out to achieve them. You’ve always been an unattainable dream for me, and I need to finish and solidify what’s always been between us.”
“I think we accomplished that this week.”
He shook his head. “That’s not what I mean.” Unable to find the appropriate words to explain, he decided to give her viable proof of his intentions from the very beginning of their affair. “I have something to show you. Stay put,” he told her, and headed back into his bedroom.
He returned seconds later with a folded piece of paper in his hand, which he held out to her.
She eyed the note, but didn’t take it. “What’s that?”
“Don’t you recognize your stationery?” he asked, tipping his head. “It’s the personal, private bet I put out on the table during our last poker hand. I want you to read what it says, Chloe.”
Tentatively, she plucked the note from his fingers and read the message he’d written as his bet. “‘Be mine forever,’” she read, then looked up at him, her gaze shining with hope and the need to believe.
He cupped her cheek tenderly in his hand and gave her all the proof she needed to trust in him. “For six long years I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I couldn’t stop loving you, and I was finally willing to take a risk to have you in my life. I deserve you, and I’m so damn lucky that some other guy hasn’t snatched you up before now. And just for the record, I’m not letting you go again.”
A smile wavered on her lips. “No man I dated e
ver stood a chance against you, Gabe.”
“What are you saying?” He held his breath as he waited for her to answer.
“You’ve had my heart since the moment I met you.” She swallowed hard and clutched his note to her chest. “I love you, Gabe MacKenzie.”
An overwhelming wave of relief made him shudder. “Be mine forever, Chloe. In every way. As my best friend. My lover. My wife.” He brought her mouth to his and kissed her softly, reverently. “Marry me. I need you in my life, in my future.”
The misty longing in her eyes made his heart soar, as did her joyful reply. “Yes.”
He secured their promise with a long, deep kiss that left them both breathless and aroused. “Come back to bed with me,” he urged. “Let me make love to you, and this time wake up in my arms, right where you belong.”
She sighed. “I’d like that very much.”
They made their way back down the hall to his bedroom in between kisses, caresses, and the removal of their clothes.
“We’ll make a relationship work whatever way we need to,” he said as he stripped her dress and bra off and ran his hands over her breasts. “And we might have to do the long-distance thing until I settle everything in Chicago and find a new agency to work for here in California.”
She caught his head just as he lowered his mouth to taste her puckered nipples, and brought his gaze back to hers. “You would do that for me?”
“I would do anything for you,” he said, and meant it. “I don’t want to take you away from your family, and I want our kids to grow up with their grandparents and uncles nearby. I’m ready to come home, Chloe.”
Smiling, and with her heartfelt emotions shining in her eyes, she gave him a light shove, toppling him backward onto the bed. He grabbed her around the waist, taking her with him, and they rolled on the mattress until she was on top and he was sprawled beneath her. She peeled his jeans off, straddled his thighs, and reached for the red scarves on the nightstand.
I Love Bad Boys Page 17
