The tender action and intimate tone were as unexpected as her reaction. Her chest squeezed tight and her limbs began shaking in what she could only assume was delayed reaction. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat and nodded, not wanting to show what a girl she was by freaking out now that the action was over.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, quickly giving her a once-over that was anything but personal.
She shook her head, not sure she could trust herself to speak without giving away how affected she was.
“Maks sent us this guy’s info.” Quan had gone over and now stood looking down at the still-unconscious man.
“And?” Gabriel’s eyes stayed on her, but when the pregnant pause stretched, he snapped an impatient, “Quan. What the fuck is it?”
“Sensitive.”
Her brow furrowed as Gabriel swung away and stalked over to have something whispered in his ear. “Jesus Christ,” he muttered. “Get him the fuck out of here.”
Quan bent down and, with remarkable ease, threw the unconscious man over his shoulder and headed into the gardens. The Russian speaker and the guy with the scar followed at a leisurely pace as Gabriel returned to her side. Clasping her upper arm, sending little zings of electricity shooting up to her shoulder and into her chest, he led her to the stone bench. He sat her down before going back to retrieve her clutch, which had fallen to the ground during the altercation.
“Where did you learn to throw an elbow like that?” he asked.
“Definitely not the same place you did.” She pulled in a slow breath in the hopes it would settle her crackling nerves. “What did he say to you?”
“Who?”
“Your security guy; Quan.”
“Nothing. Are you sure you’re all right?” He sat, taking up what was left of the bench, then handed over her purse.
She didn’t appreciate the dismissive tone, but she let a beat pass as she tucked away a strand of hair that had escaped her updo. “Yes. Why won’t you tell me?” she pressed.
“Because you really don’t want to know.”
Annoying. “Were those other guys also a part of your security?”
“One of them. The other is the business partner I mentioned earlier, as well as one of my closest friends. They’re all friends, really.”
“One was Russian,” she mused distractedly, shivering as paranoia came out of nowhere. “How…how did you know…I mean, did you know…” She struggled, not sure how to ask what she wanted without sounding conceited or weird. “How did you come to be out here in time to stop that guy?” Were you watching me from the shadows? “Were you in an office? Did you see what was happening on a monitor or something?”
“I was making a call in the solarium.” He nodded to an enclosed area about fifty feet to their right that showcased an abundance of plant life surrounding a large waterfall. “Quan spotted you through the window.”
Oh. Well, that was a simple enough explanation. But with everything going on lately, she forgave herself for being suspicious. “Sorry. I’m just spooked. That guy said he had a message for me. I wonder what he meant.” She was rubbing away the goosebumps that popped up on her arms when she felt the gentle brush of Gabriel’s knuckles across her jaw. She lifted her eyes and their gazes locked.
“Don’t be afraid, Eva. I won’t allow anyone to hurt you.”
As her heart rate kicked to life, he dropped his hand, and then his eyes, severing the connection.
Rattled to the core, she tried to think of something—other than You’re my hero—to say. “Are you someone important?” was all she came up with as she fidgeted with the clasp on her clutch.
“Why would you ask that?”
“Regular people don’t have private security following them around.”
“Hmm. I’m no one of any importance. Big money brings out parasites who want a cut but are too lazy to work for it. I have guys to take care of them if they bother me. Why were you crying earlier?”
So he’d seen that through the window, too. She shrugged. “I was talking with my mom’s friends. I guess seeing them made me emotional. I’m getting better,” she reassured him in case he thought she was about to fall apart. “But it’s still hard.”
“Of course it is, sweetheart. Don’t rush your grief. It’ll get easier, as everything does, and you’ll come out okay on the other side.”
She melted, appreciating the supportive words more than he’d ever know. She placed her hand on his forearm. “Thank you, Gabriel. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come out when you did.”
He straightened, charging the energy between them in the blink of an eye when the movement brought their faces close enough for her to feel the warmth of his breath. “It was my pleasure.”
God, he was really beautiful. Sexy. And charming. Powerful. Would he taste as good as he smelled? she wondered, unable to prevent her gaze from landing on his mouth.
Her breath caught.
His head…
It was coming down…
He paused, as though giving her time. Time she didn’t need or want. She was ready.
When he continued to hesitate, she gave in to the pull and closed the distance. The moment their lips met, Gabriel made a rough sound and she felt his fingers slide into the hair at her nape. Using the hold, he took control by tipping her head, deepening the kiss by bringing his other hand up to cup her jaw. Using a slight pressure from his thumb on her chin, he opened her so that his tongue could invade in a deep, wet sweep she felt throughout her entire body.
Holy…shit.
The foundation of Eva’s world shook, so much meaningless shit crumbling and falling around her. When the tremors faded, a disturbing sense of rightness was left behind to spread through her as this man she barely knew ravaged her mouth with a skill she should probably want to slap his face for having. But, no. She accepted it, gave in to it, to him, and savored the softness of his lips. His firm, controlling hand. His absolute confidence in his actions. And that…that sound he’d just made. Like a low growl, it thrilled her into moaning a response into his mouth.
She moved into him, wanting more. More of him. All over her.
Inside her.
How the hell was this happening to her? Why now? Why at all? Other than her friendship with Caleb, she steered clear of men. She didn’t trust them. Didn’t want to get close to them. Hadn’t thought she’d need more than the love and comfort her mom had offered when she’d been alive.
But lately, she was lonely. Lonely to the point where she ached for the human comfort of something as simple as a hug. Like the one she’d gotten from Nika today.
But this. This was different.
This wasn’t familiar. It wasn’t comforting. It was erratic and mind-blowing and scary—
With one last lazy pass of his tongue weaving around hers, Gabriel drew back. She swayed forward, trying to follow.
“That’s enough, sweetheart.”
His firm tone had her heavy lids coming up, the strain in his voice registering. His expression was hard, unreadable, though his choppy breathing matched hers. He cursed, all but glaring down at her as he brushed his thumb across her mouth before withdrawing completely.
“But…that was…” Didn’t he feel that? The energy. Chemistry? Maybe just lust. Whatever its name, it was snapping and crackling in the air all around them.
She blinked, her cheeks flaming when he peeled her fingers away from where she’d only now realized she was fisting his lapels.
“Oh, God. I’m sorry.” She quickly swiped at any wrinkles she’d made. She couldn’t even remember raising her hands.
His expression softened, his lip quirking. “Don’t be. If we weren’t out in the open it would probably be in a heap on the floor anyway.”
What did that mean? That, if they were somewhere private, they would have undressed? Gotten naked?
Had sex?
As he stood, her heart fluttered wildly, her skin suddenly feeling too tight on her bones
. She should probably feel insulted. Did he think she’d be so easy? She was a fucking virgin.
Yeah. A virgin who currently wanted to see what this guy looked like without the tux.
But that didn’t mean she’d fall into bed with him.
As the fire sparked again, spreading, she waited for her morals to echo a resounding agreement. When they didn’t, she pushed to her feet, horrified.
“You know what? I should go.” Her unease grew when the thought of leaving him brought about a weird feeling of panic. What the hell was wrong with her?
“Good idea,” he muttered almost too quietly for her to hear before he hustled them back to the ballroom.
Mortified by her behavior, not to mention Gabriel’s lack of protest, Eva excused herself long enough to say good-bye to her mom’s friends, hugging them and promising to join them for coffee soon.
She was tempted to sneak away, but unable to be so blatantly rude, she rejoined Gabriel, who’d waited a couple of tables over. Quan had reappeared, and she did her best to return his friendly smile while self-consciously accepting the arm his boss held out. She prayed her mom’s friends weren’t watching. If they were, she’d have some explaining to do over that coffee.
As they walked through the hotel with Gabriel nodding to the odd person, Eva wondered if there was any way she could end the night with some grace.
She cringed inside. Probably not. “This is good. You don’t have to walk me all the way out,” she said when they were halfway across the lobby. “I see a couple of taxis.” Three were parked under the canopy outside.
“I’ll take you home.”
She stopped dead when an image of him in her bedroom flashed through her head. “No. You don’t have to do that.” What if, despite his eagerness to get rid of her, she was overcome with lust again when he got her alone in his car?
He looked down at her, his eyes searching. Then he knocked her silly by smiling. The expression, as devastating as it was, had a playful, teasing air. “I don’t often get the chance to play gentleman, Eva. Humor me. No fucking around.” He held up three fingers. “I swear.”
“I don’t,” she blurted. “Fuck around, I mean.” She flicked a glance to the side and was relieved to see Quan was too far away to have overheard her. “I’m sorry if I gave you that impression out there. That wasn’t like me—”
“Hey. You don’t have to explain yourself to me.” There was a tenderness in the way he ducked his head to meet her eyes. “Not that you’re lacking in skill, but it’s clear you’re not in the habit of making out with any guy who shows an interest.”
“It is?”
He put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a soft stroke with his thumb. “Yeah, sweetheart. Despite the outer package, your innocence comes through.”
“Car’s here,” Quan said as he went ahead of them.
“Is he driving?” If they had a chaperone…
Gabriel nodded.
“Oh. Uh, okay then.” Or not, she thought when his deep, knowing chuckle tickled like a soft feather down her spine.
“Do you live alone?” he asked as he got them moving and through the revolving door.
“Um…” As she debated whether to answer that or not, Caleb popped up in her head, waving his muscular arms and furiously shaking his head.
Her libido gave him the finger.
“Can I get a photo, Mr. Moore?” A guy holding a camera came over, the tag hanging around his neck clearly stating he was a photographer from the Seattle Times. “The Times,” he said, waving the tag. “We’re doing a spread on the event.”
Gabriel gave a cool nod and slid his arm around her, turning them with a hand resting on her hip in a gesture that could only be described as intimate. He squeezed so gently it may have been involuntary, but it had her looking up at him. That’s when she heard the click.
“Name and proper spelling?”
Feeling dazed and annoyed with herself, she looked at the photographer to see that he was speaking to her. She supplied the information.
Great. She might end up on their website tomorrow, and she was going to look like a tomato who hadn’t had enough sense to look into the camera and smile.
Nika was going to laugh her ass off, she thought as Gabriel ushered her into the back of a black Escalade waiting at the curb.
† † †
“So you live alone.” Gabriel snapped his seatbelt on and watched Eva do the same. Chriiist, she was sweet. Sweet and nervous. Breathtaking.
She glanced up at him then away. “What makes you think so?”
And so fuckin’ tempting he barely held off suggesting they head up to his suite so he could fuck her out of his system. “Your reluctance to answer.” Would never do that, though.
In fact, he was beginning to wonder if he even could now that he knew the goddamn woman responded to him like a match to tinder. And they’d only kissed. If they fucked? It would be explosive. Spectacularly so.
“Do you often have paparazzi approach you?”
He almost laughed while Quan replaced the valet behind the wheel and set them in motion. “They know better.” He had to remember to get that photo buried. If the damn thing showed up somewhere, Gabriel might as well send an engraved announcement to his brother with a neon arrow pointing at Eva’s perfectly biteable ass.
“Where are we going, Eva?” Quan asked, offering her a disarming smile through the rearview. Guy was smooth as shit.
“Mercer Island.”
“Got it.”
As Quan turned on the radio, Gabriel angled himself so he could admire his companion. “You’re a private person,” he commented. “That’s good. Smart.”
“Yeah,” she said on a humorless chuckle. “Hasn’t helped, considering my life lately.” She looked around the interior and then out the window. “You really didn’t have to drive me home. It’s kind of far.”
“We don’t mind. Have you lived on Mercer Island for long?”
“Most of my life—not counting the time I spent in New York for school.” She fiddled with her small purse that she had clutched in her lap. “If things work out and I get a call from TarMor, I suppose I’ll have to sell my house.”
Call your real estate agent, sweetheart.
“Though, I guess I could always keep it as an income property. Everyone seems to be doing that these days.”
Ignoring the urge riding him to drag her into his lap, he nodded before backtracking. “Why do you say being private hasn’t helped in your life lately?” She had to be referring to his brother. “Aside from that asshole earlier, of course.”
She looked over the empty expanse of seat between them, teasing him with glimpses of her stunning features as they flashed bright then dark under the passing streetlights. “Speaking of that asshole, did your people turn him over to the police? I’d actually like to talk to him. Ask him about that message. Maybe find out who he works for, if anyone.”
Damn. Shut down. Hard. He sat in that for a second, unfamiliar with the sting. Usually when he asked someone a question, they tripped over themselves to give him an answer. This one basically told him to mind his own business.
She was his fucking business.
He wondered idly if she suspected a connection between Skars and Stefano. Because she certainly hadn’t written off her meeting with his brother as unimportant. She was too smart for that. Smart and beautiful. Goddammit, Stef could have done some real damage had he—
“Gabriel?”
Shit. He shifted in his seat when he realized he’d been staring at her. Idiot. “Or, considering you’re a single woman who lives by herself, you could leave well enough alone. My guess is you were a random target and that stupid fuck mentioned having a message to distract you before dragging you away.” Goddamn prick was gonna hurt for touching her. “You have a security system in your house, right?” he asked, trying to keep with the pretense that he didn’t already know all this shit.
She nodded while Quan cleared his throat in a warning to slow
down.
What. If Gabriel didn’t distract her with his ability to be a tyrant, how the fuck was he gonna get her off the subject of involving the police? Take her down to the mats and pound one out?
Nope.
Couldn’t.
Already crossed a line.
But, man, did he want to get her naked.
Couldn’t. There’d be no going back after that. He could write off a kiss. Vasily would never need to know.
But to actually fuck her? he thought as guilt clobbered him.
Mmm. To spread her legs and sink into her body—
He pinched his thigh hard enough to wince and gave his own throat a good clearing while thrusting her safety to the forefront of his mind.
Right. Maybe they should turn back. He could settle her in his suite. She’d be under twenty-four-hour surveillance—she already was. No one would be permitted to see her but him. She’d be untouchable. By anyone…but him.
He ground his teeth together. Sure, she’d be safe, but that wasn’t why he wanted her all to himself.
As he continued to fight his nature, they crossed over Lake Washington and she directed Quan to her place—his boy played dumb like a pro. Once in Eva’s driveway, Gabriel climbed from the truck and followed her up the walkway. Bobby T’s dark sedan was sitting about two hundred feet up the street, and the drapes on the second-floor window in Nick’s house had just fluttered.
Fuck. He felt like he was seventeen and it was the end of prom night.
Though Gabriel had spent what should have been his prom night sitting in the front seat of a rotted-out Chevy in a noisy salvage yard, “learning” the “proper technique” from his father for “interrogating” those with “enough balls” to “cross the family.” He’d been “given the honor” of pulling the trigger on the two who’d been “earning shy” because they’d been pocketing a percentage of their take.
Eva retrieved a set of keys from her purse, but before she unlocked, she turned and looked up at him through her lashes.
“Thank you for going out of your way to get me home.” The she fuckin’ smiled.
Innocently seductive. Didn’t have a goddamn clue he wanted to push her against the wall and have her right this second, screw whoever cared to watch.
Vengeance Unleashed (The Wanted Men Series Book 1) Page 6
