by Claire Adams
“Yeah, that’s the part.” She swallowed, doubt coloring her eyes. I needed it to be gone.
“Every word. I love you, Gabrielle Ralls. I thought that my heart was full after Harper came along, but it seems to have grown bigger to accommodate you. At the risk of sounding like a pussy, I’m so fucking far gone for you, Gabbi.”
Her eyes lit up, and the brightest, most gorgeous smile formed on her full lips. “I love you too, James Skye. I was wondering when you’d come around.”
There was my girl. She was really mine. I fucking loved it. I lowered my lips to hers, wrapped my hand around the back of her neck, and kissed her like the fucking ship was going down.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Gabrielle
My mind whirled, unable to completely comprehend what was happening. It was a miracle that I hadn’t fainted when he said that he loved me in that office.
At first, I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to allow myself to, just in case it was some kind of game or stunt or something.
My heart had stammered to a stop when he’d offered to give up his dream for me. I couldn’t let him do that. I had to make my father see. I’d muttered my confession about the bar exam before I’d had time to think about it.
It seemed to have done the trick. It made my father realize that there was more to it than James trying to get into my pants.
I was stuck in a daze as I walked to my car, then shocked when James suggested that we talk at his place instead of mine.
For the first time, I allowed myself to maybe believe that he had been telling the truth. I knew how big of a deal it was for him to have a woman over to his house. Even if it didn’t seem like Harper was there.
God, I hoped she wasn’t, given that we were locked in an entirely inappropriate embrace, lips moving together like we were trying to devour one another right there in his kitchen.
I broke the kiss, speaking against his lips. I couldn’t bring myself to move too much further away from him. “Harper?”
“Not here. Won’t be for hours.” His mouth crashed into mine. The tip of his tongue traced my lips. I opened for him. Our tongues stroked and danced and explored like we’d never kissed before.
We had never kissed like this before, though. It was like I could feel his love for me radiating from his every pore. His kisses grew harder. Hungrier.
I responded with equal passion. I needed him. Now. I needed our bodies to become one, just as our hearts were.
My hands traced the hard lines of his chest, his toned stomach, falling to the edge of his shirt. I reached underneath it, running my fingers along the waistband of his jeans.
He groaned. The sound was music to my ears. I loved it. I needed more of it. I repeated the action. He tightened his grip on my hair, his fingers digging into my hip. My hips rocked against his.
He was as hard as the kitchen island he pressed me into. I gasped at the contact. The delicious friction.
I rocked against him. Again and again. Bursts of pleasure shot through me at each pass of my crotch against his.
“Enough.” His voice was low, raspy, commanding. A shiver shot down my spine, straight to my core. God, it was sexy when he spoke like that.
His lips were inches from mine. His eyes hooded with desire, pupils dilated with want.
For me. My sex clenched. The ache building between my legs was becoming unbearable.
“James,” I whimpered.
“Right there with you, babe.” I wanted him so much that I didn’t bother calling him out on the babe thing. He could call me whatever he wanted, as long as he was inside me soon.
He scooped me into his arms and carried me through his house, bridal style. His eyes never left mine.
We reached what I assumed was his bedroom. He set me down gently on a gigantic bed covered in forest green sheets.
He crawled onto the bed with me, caging me with his body. I loved it. I loved the way he looked at me like I’d hung the stars, like I had the answer to every question he’d ever had. He kissed me deeply, his weight sinking us deeper into the mattress.
His lips moved from mine to my jawline, kissing a path down my neck, my collarbone, and my chest. He slid down my body to kneel at my feet. His heated gaze sent sparks flying through me as he undid the straps of my sandals, pressing a kiss to each foot as he released it.
He tugged his shirt over his head and made quick work of his own shoes, letting it all fall from the bed without a care in the world.
My entire body hummed with need. I ached to reach up. To touch to the incredibly hard planes of his torso, but the intensity that shone in his eyes kept me pinned to the bed, watching in fascination as he moved.
My eyes followed his hands to the button on his jeans. I nearly panted as it popped open. Zipper. Unzipped. His jeans fell to the floor. Someone moaned as he stepped out of them. It barely registered that it was me.
I was completely enraptured by the practically naked Adonis that still devoured me with his eyes. I had never felt so wanted. So sexy. So beautiful. And I was still wearing all my clothes.
James reached for the button on my shorts. My skin burned where his fingers made contact with it. He moved slowly. Too slowly.
I lifted my hips helpfully. A devilish, knowing smirk played on lips, but his eyes still burned into mine, like he could see all the way to my soul.
He rolled my shorts and my underwear off in one fluid movement. His breath caught as the scent of my arousal hit his nostrils. His eyes fluttered closed, breaking eye contact for the first time. He breathed deeply and groaned. “God, Gabrielle.”
His reaction set fire to my veins. My sex throbbed.
His eyes met mine again. I didn’t think it would be possible, but they shone with even more intensity than before. Between his eyes and his voice, I was quite convinced that I would come before he even touched me.
He reached for my shirt, unhooking each button like he was unwrapping a cherished gift. He was taking his sweet time about it, too.
I moaned, pressing my legs together in a futile attempt to relieve the pressure that was building there.
“I know, Gabrielle, trust me. I’m dying to sink into you as much as you’re dying for me to do it, but I want to savor this moment. And you.” His voice sounded pained, his features tight with restraint.
“Yes,” I breathed. I would give him whatever he wanted. Everything I had. As long as he kept doing what he was doing, as long as he kept looking at me the way he was.
My shirt finally fell open. I shrugged out of it. James unhooked my bra, slowly sliding the straps from my shoulders. It followed the rest of my clothes to the floor. He leaned back on his heels to admire his handiwork. Me.
His eyes raked every inch of my body. I swore that he stopped breathing.
“You are exquisite, Gabrielle. You are the most beautiful woman that I have ever laid eyes on. I’m the luckiest asshole on the face on this earth.”
I melted. It was too much. He was too much. I reached for him. He came willingly, wrapping his arms around me, pressing his warm skin to mine. Our hearts raced together.
I wound my arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. Passionately. Once I was breathless and achy with need, I tore my lips from his and pressed a soft kiss to his jaw.
He had made me feel adored. Worshipped. Loved. I wanted him to feel the same way. To know that I felt the same way about him.
I nudged his legs and lifted my hips. He obliged my unspoken request and rolled us so that I was straddling him. I locked my eyes to his as my fingers traced every line that they had been itching to touch.
He held still as I explored, even as his fingers dug into my thighs and the muscles in his throat worked when my hand reached the elastic of his briefs. I dipped my fingers lower. He groaned.
I still struggled to believe that he could possibly want me as much as I wanted him. Love me as much as I loved him, but the evidence was right there. In every sound, every movement, every intense stare.
&nbs
p; He interrupted my thoughts. “What are you thinking?”
“That you are every dream that I have ever had, come true. I can’t believe that I get to touch you. You?”
“Pretty much the same. Just dirtier. It’s hard to think right now.” He gritted out.
I cocked an eyebrow and played with his waistband, grinding my center against his erection. “Pun intended?”
He moaned. “It wasn’t, actually.”
His moan and the way that his hips moved with mine as if they had a mind of their own drove me out of my mind.
I slid my leg back so I was no longer straddling him and moved to rid him of his briefs. He lifted his hips. My eyes widened as his erection sprung free. An involuntary moan escaped from my lips.
As if my moan were the starting pistol, he moved lightning fast. The very next second, I was on my back. His hips pinned me to the bed. His tip strained at my entrance. I shuddered with anticipation, with need.
“I want to make love to you now. That okay?” His forehead rested against mine, eyes holding mine.
“Please,” I breathed.
He shifted, propping his weight up on his elbows. “I love you, Gabrielle Ralls.”
“I love you too, James Skye.” He didn’t break eye contact as he pushed into me. We both cried out as he slid home.
He didn’t break eye contact when he started to move. Slow, deep strokes that filled every inch of me.
Tension knotted in my stomach and my core. I arched my back, pressing my breasts to his chest. He read me like an open book, moving faster. Harder. My hips moved with his, meeting him stroke for stroke.
His eyes still never left mine, even as they grew more hooded. Darker. I recognized the look in his eyes. He was getting close.
God, how I needed to see him come apart. I wanted his pleasure as much as I wanted my own. His rhythmic strokes drove into me, sending me higher and higher. Closer and closer.
His breathing became ragged and uneven. My moans permeated the air around us. I angled my hips so his pubic bone would rub against my clit.
Pleasure spread through my core. Almost. James sensed what I needed. He moved faster, pressing his pubic bone to me on each thrust.
My breathing became erratic. White lights exploded behind my eyes. He moved faster still until he hit every spot exactly the way that I needed him to.
My sex pulsed. “James.”
I went flying over the edge with his next stroke. My entire existence was reduced to pleasure. Wave after wave of it crashed into me, spreading from my core to every nerve in my body.
“God, that was beautiful,” James growled, moving faster, chasing his own release. His eyes still burned into mine. His thighs trembled, and the muscles in his back tensed under my palms.
His eyes fluttered closed, and he groaned. His moans ran into one. There. His cock twitched deep inside of me as he came undone, my name on his lips.
When we finally stilled, James rolled onto his back and cradled me to his chest. We were lost in our thoughts as our heartbeats returned to their regular pace. One of his hands stroked my hair. The other intertwined with mine on his taut stomach.
“James?” My voice was barely more than a whisper.
“Hmm?”
I lifted my head to look into his eyes. “Thank you.”
His eyes widened. He seemed genuinely puzzled; then puzzlement gave way to mischief.
“You never have to thank me for that. Trust me.” He smirked.
I swatted his shoulder gently. “That’s not what I was talking about.”
“Thank me for what, then?” He stopped playing with my hair.
I took a breath, trying to formulate the right words. “For what you did today. For coming clean to my father. Just… all of it.”
“I should have done it right from the start. I was just being an oblivious asshole. It took almost losing you to realize that I love you. And how much I love you.”
I nestled into him. “I love you too, James. I have never felt this way about anyone.”
“Neither have I, Gabbi. Neither have I.” Then he tugged me into his lap and kissed me until all rational thought fled my mind.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
James
“I’m not going to lie to you, son. I was more worried about you and my Gabbi than I was ready to admit at first.” Richard swirled scotch around in his tumbler and took a deep swig.
It was late afternoon, I was leaving soon to surprise Gabrielle at the examination center, so I stuck with water. I wasn’t sure that it would be much of a surprise, though. We’d been practically joined at the hip for the last month unless she was with a study group or I was in the gym.
She stayed over at my house most nights, and on the nights that she begged off to study late, I stayed up until she let me know that she was winding down for the night, and then I’d be at her door before her pen hit the desk.
“You and me both, then. I was fucking petrified.” I chuckled. “We’re good, though. I think Gabrielle will be much better after she sleeps for the entire time that she waits for her results.”
Gabbi was taking the bar that day, and the stress of the exam had weighed heavily on her narrow shoulders. Especially for the past week or so.
She’d jump up in the middle of the night to check some note or another. I’d even caught her sighing names of cases in her sleep. It was adorable, but I was really fucking happy that it would be over soon.
I hated that I couldn’t take the load off her shoulders. It killed me, but I’d soldiered through somehow. It helped that I could ease the tension by promising her orgasms as rewards when she hit her target for reviewing for the day.
Other than that, I had kept my hands strictly to myself, even if I was dying to spend at least a couple of days getting lost in her. I’d known that she had a difficult month ahead of her when I’d come clean about how much I loved her, and it wasn’t as if I’d been abstaining. She had a lot of targets, but damn.
I had more of a surprise planned for her than just meeting up with her at the exam center. We were headed to a small private beach I knew nearby for a couple of days. I had packed her bag. She had toiletries, lingerie, and bikinis in it.
Mrs. W.’s kids and grandkids were busy, so she’d agreed to stay with Harper while I whisked Gabbi away. In her words, that girl deserved a month on an island, not just a few days at a nearby beach. I tended to agree, but that wasn’t an option for either of us at the time, so I settled for the best that we could do.
Even Harper was excited for Gabbi to be done with her studying. She had taken to Gabrielle like a bee to honey. As did Gabbi with her. Those two got along like a house on fire. It was the most beautiful thing to behold.
I didn’t need a reminder of how lucky I was, but Mrs. W. took it upon herself to tell me every time she saw them together. Which was practically every day. She got all teary about it.
I was surrounded by women, and I didn’t mind it one little bit. Gabrielle’s things were spread around my bedroom and en suite. Harper’s things were scattered through the rest of the house, and Mrs. W. cooked for an army every day. She turned my kitchen into a war zone, then had it clean as a clinic before I could blink.
When Gabrielle took breaks, she and Mrs. W. cooked together like they’d been doing it for years. They swapped recipes, squealed over flavors, and fixed each other coffee every morning. I had no idea that Mrs. W. loved the stuff, but Gabrielle had bonded with her over it on her first morning at my place.
Richard’s voice brought me back to the present. “You hid your fear, arrogant swagger and all.”
“I did?” I smirked.
“You sure did. How was she this morning?” Concern furrowed Richard’s brow.
“She was okay. Strong and stubborn as always. I organized with Heather to pick her up from the house so that her car wouldn’t be stuck at the center all weekend.” I took a swig of water and shot a quick glance at my watch. Almost time to leave.
Richard caught the
gesture. “You know, you’re good for each other. I’ve noticed a change in Gabbi this month. We haven’t spoken this much in, well, ever. You’ve matured again, as well. I feel like I’m getting old.”
“We are good for each other. We’ve talked a lot about everything. I think she’s starting to see things from your point of view as well. I told her about how much you helped me when Harper came along.” My voice was quiet, contemplative.
“Thank you, James. I didn’t expect that from you.” Our conversation was fast becoming too serious.
“I know, but your relationship with her means a lot to her. I never wanted to get in the way of that. It was one of the reasons why I tried to deny that there was anything going on between us, why I pulled away from her before.”
I needed to add something to lighten the mood, so I fixed him with a goofy smirk. “Besides, if we ever get married, you’ll be Harper’s granddaddy. So maybe you are getting old.”
I dodged the hand aimed at slapping the back of my head and laughed.
“Wiseass.”
“And proud of it.” I placed my hand solemnly over my heart.
Richard grew quiet again. “Is that something that you’re thinking about already?”
“I think that we’re both a long way away from that. I’ve never believed in the institution. I still don’t really. We haven’t talked about it.”
Richard surprised me by smiling in understanding. “It’s only been a month son. You’re only 24. You’ve got time. As long as Gabbi knows that you don’t believe in it.”
I’d mentioned it, but that was when things were different. I didn’t even know if she remembered it. Not that much escaped that big brain of hers. “She does, but I’ll talk to her about it again.”
“You do that. You’d better leave if you don’t want to be late.” Another stolen glance at my watch confirmed that he was right.
****
In no time, I pulled up to the exam center, two massive coffees in hand. I owed Heather for playing along that morning, and I was still getting into her good graces after all the shit I’d pulled.
