by Nana Malone
* * *
Elina knew she was on edge. Ever since her mother’s call Saturday, she hadn’t been able to focus or think. That was probably also because her mother had called no less than twenty times since to discuss wedding plans.
The last thing she needed was the constant reminder that she had her mother’s genes, that she could manifest feelings for just about anyone. Even some guy she met for one hot night in the Hamptons. To be fair, Gabe wasn’t just any guy. He wasn’t some random. He was really sweet, and right now, doing his best to be her friend.
He followed her out of the building and waited while she locked up. “You might as well say yes. I’m not going to let you walk all the way home by yourself.” He shrugged. “And you need to eat.”
She started down the street at a fast clip, her platform heels making a clack and clomp sound as her stride ate pavement. “Gabe, thank you for being so nice to me. But I’m in a crappy mood and to be honest I don’t really have time for dinner or a drink. My mother wants me to deal with the flower arrangements. And to pick her caterer, vegan of course, and she wants my opinion on all her dresses, and she wants it done this week. If I don’t do it this week, she’ll just keep calling until I do. So I just want to go home and—”
He pulled her under an awning, out of the way of the pedestrians on the street. “Wait, she’s getting married? Again?”
“That’s funny, because your reaction mimics my own. But she’s my mother, so not much I can do except smile and nod and let her do what she wants. Never mind that she’s going to get divorced in a few months and I’ll be left to also pick up those pieces.”
“Have you considered just telling her no?”
She blinked. “Have I considered—” Elina sputtered. “The last time someone told Gigi Meyers Sinclair James Adams Sinclair Thomas Stoya Sinclair no, she divorced them. This is a pattern of hers. She gets all excited and it’s my job to be excited for her. And then she figures it out eventually, that the guy she’s gung ho about isn’t the right guy. Most of us call that dating. My mother, she calls it auditioning new husbands. Not all of them make it to the altar. I’m hoping this guy is one of those.”
“Oh, Elina, I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how frustrating this must be for you. How can I help?”
“You can help by not being so damn nice to me. You’re like that perfect guy. You’re ridiculously gorgeous, and you have that charming lopsided smile and those eyes that can see clear into my soul. Did you know you have flecks of blue and brown and yellow in them? It’s very distracting and hard to look away. I try to look away all the time.” Time to stop talking.
She threw her head back and covered her face. “And you have to stop looking at me like that.” She was losing it. Keep your mouth shut, Elina. The tears pricked her eyes and she rapidly blocked them away behind her hands. She was not going to cry in front of him.
Before she knew what was happening, Gabe pulled her into an embrace. He tucked her head under his chin and he held her. It wasn’t sexual in any way. It wasn’t even all that intimate. It was just one friend holding another. And damn it felt so good. He was warm and solid and smelled amazing. Her body melted into his, and for the first time since Saturday morning, she relaxed.
“It’s okay to say you’re not fine with this. It’s all right to be irritated and pissed off about it. You don’t have to keep it together.” He loosened his grasp and went to release her but she held on. She didn’t want to let go. Not yet. Just another minute of torture, please.
This is a bad idea. For so many reasons. She looked up at him and focused on his lips. Perfectly sculpted, they were already tipping into her favorite smile. He’s an actor. He probably uses that smile all the time. It didn’t matter to her, because right now she felt like the only woman in the world.
“You keep looking at me like that, Elina, and I’m going to do something we’ll both regret. Well, more you than me, but still.”
She blinked away the sting of rejection and pulled herself out of his hold. He was right. She was stepping over a line she had drawn herself. She shuffled her feet and ducked her head. “Yeah, you’re right. I think I just want to order takeout and veg. Thank you for the hug and the chat and whatnot, but my place is only three blocks from here and maybe it’s time to call it a night.”
“Elina, don’t shut down on me. Not when we’re making progress. You’re running, just like you did on the yacht.”
A flash of anger coursed through her. “You don’t even know me. You think a couple of kisses and a hug and we’re be—”
He cut her off with a kiss. It had quickly become her favorite argument-ender. She moaned into his mouth as she tried to hold on. His lips were firm, demanding. When he dug his hands into the hair at the nape of her neck, heat pooled in her core.
He held her still as he devoured her mouth, never losing contact, barely letting her come up for air. His tongue delved into her mouth and his teeth grazed her bottom lip every time he pulled back.
With his other hand, he held her body tight against his, sliding it just over her ass and cupping her against him.
And then just like that, he released her and staggered back. As he dragged in deep breaths, he glared at her. “You can’t not know how much I want you.” Gabe ran both hands through his hair and shoved his hands in his pockets and took another deliberate step away from her. “But you’ve made it clear that’s not what you want from me, so I’m trying to be respectful and be your friend. But so you know, I think about that night in the Hamptons every night. I can practically feel you responding to me every night. I want you so bad. Your body sliding over mine. Wet and ready. It’s driving me insane.” He cleared his throat. “But you don’t need the guy who wants you naked. You need the guy who wants to make you smile. And I’m going to be that guy. No matter how much I’d rather be the other guy.”
Damn it, now she really was going to cry. “Do you have to be so damn perfect?”
His lips quirked. “If you like, tomorrow, I’ll try to be a little less perfect. But right now, I’m going to walk you home. Then we’re going to order takeout. Maybe even rent a movie, and you can forget all about wedding nightmares for a night.”
She could certainly use a night off from her mother’s madness. “Okay, that sounds like a deal.” Then she added quietly, “Thank you. To both those guys.”
Chapter 11
Elina couldn’t focus on anything. Not with Gabe sitting so close. They’d picked one of his favorite movies tonight, Inside Man. And there was enough garlic on their pizza to make sure that neither one of them wanted to kiss the other. But that didn’t stop her from feeling every single movement he made.
Every breath, every laugh, every bunch of his muscles. She was that aware of him. She even considered excusing herself to give herself a break in the bathroom. But she wanted to be close to him.
Man, you really are an addict. Just like her. Elina licked her lips, and she could still taste him. Shifting in her seat and trying to get more comfortable, she ignored the pulsing between her thighs.
Gabe slid his gaze over her. He opened his mouth, but then snapped it shut.
“What? What were you going to say?”
“It’s nothing. And it’s not helpful.”
“You realize that you’re driving me crazy, right?” She wanted to smack the smug expression off his face.
“Yeah, I know.” He shrugged, then laughed. “Come on. Lean back, just relax. It’s fine. We can be friends. We can ignore the attraction. We’re two grown-ups.”
Right about now, Elina felt like a hormonal teenager. But she took his advice. Carefully eyeing him, she settled into the crook of his arm and leaned back against him. His scent wrapped around her and all she wanted to do was snuggle in deep.
It took her thirty minutes, but she finally relaxed. She liked the feeling of being held.
It was nice. Better than nice. Being in his arms could be addictive.
As they watched the movie, his fingers carelessly toyed with the ends of her hair, and more than once she had to stifle a moan. He wasn’t doing anything erotic per se, but his fingers in her hair felt incredible.
Near the end of the film, though, he transitioned to smoothing it just off her cheek, and she turned to face him.
* * *
Gabe met her gaze. His heart thundered against hers and he couldn’t swallow. If they did this, they couldn’t go back. He knew that, and so did she. That didn’t stop him from wanting. With each shallow breath she drew, her breasts shifted up and down and dragged his attention away from her beautiful face. “Elina. I want you.” He shook his head, trying to shake off the wave of lust. “But I want to give you what you asked for. Do you want to do this? Because if you do, that changes things.”
Her tongue peeked out to moisten her lips, and her gaze never left his. “AlI I know is I care about you. Is that enough for now?”
His heart pinched. That wasn’t what he needed to hear. He needed to hear that she wanted him for more than just tonight. More than just a blistering night between the sheets. But the truth was he wanted her any way he could have her.
He settled her away from him and stood up, before extending a hand out to her. For what seemed like a lifetime, she stared at it, as if weighing her decision. As if mulling over the consequences of each action. But then she stood, sliding her hand into his.
He exhaled a long breath of relief. “Where’s the bedroom?”
Her lips trembled when she spoke. “Down the hall to the left.”
The last time they’d been together, it was so frenzied. This was deliberate action. He tugged her down the darkened hall and pulled her through the nearest door. Thankfully, she had a dimmer so when the lights turned on, a soft glow washed over everything.
Her room looked like her. Classic and chic, but unfussy. And organized. He pulled her close and slid his fingers into her hair. He kissed her softly, and still felt like he’d been hooked up to a live wire. But he was determined to take it slow and not rush through everything like the last time.
That had been the plan, anyway. But then she touched her tongue to his, and he lost his grip on control. The blood from his thinking brain rushed to his dick, and suddenly he was wondering why he was being so careful with her. Because you love her.
He pulled back from the kiss and gulped in a deep breath. Hell. What? He couldn’t focus with her standing so close, pressing her body into him. He kissed her again. This time deepening it, letting his tongue explore, making her moan. This he knew how to do. He understood seduction. He understood lust. He knew dozens of ways to make her come. The thing he didn’t know anything about was love.
But maybe for once he could try it. With this girl. It might be worth putting himself out there. Trying. Because what he did know was he’d never felt like this before. Gabe poured everything he had into the kiss. She might be afraid to fall for someone, but he could show her that she didn’t have any reason to be afraid of him.
* * *
Elina trembled under Gabe’s hands from the butterfly staccato touches of his fingertips along her spine. She wanted hard and fast and desperate and hungry. But instead, he was giving her soft, sweet, seduction. Tenderness and...love.
The primal, instinctual part of her told her to run. To put as much distance between the two of them as possible. But she didn’t. It felt too good being in his arms. He was right. There was no going back after this. They couldn’t pretend it hadn’t happened. And there was certainly no way he was letting her run from this tomorrow. She wouldn’t be able to retreat and put distance between them. He would make her deal with the feelings.
His fingertips massaged her lower back briefly before sliding over her ass and pulling her flush against him. Bringing her aching center into contact with the firm length of his thick erection. And then Elina did something she didn’t like to do very often. She surrendered to him, to the kiss. To the possibility.
She moaned into his mouth, and he wasted no time with the T-shirt she’d thrown on once they arrived at her place. Her bra was gone next. His hands skimmed up her torso, taking the time to caress every inch of her skin. Like he was trying to memorize it. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered against her lips.
“Gabe, I—”
He kissed her again and cut her off. Elina moaned, looping her arms around his neck.
His skilled hands had her out of her shorts and underwear in seconds. When his fingertips trailed over her sex, he groaned. “You’re so wet already. Is that because of me?”
She swallowed around the sawdust in her mouth. “Yes.”
A shiver racked his whole body, and he picked her up, gently depositing her on her bed. Making quick, haphazard work of his own clothes, he tossed them aside before joining her.
He knew just how to make her body hum. How she liked her nipples sucked, how much pressure, how little. Shifting his weight to her other nipple, he licked the tip into his mouth as he slipped a finger inside. Elina hissed and dug her hands into his hair, and Gabe muttered a curse against her flesh as he gently penetrated her. Gently he withdrew before sliding in with two. “Oh, Gabe.”
“Yes, baby?”
“Oh my, I—” The orgasm hit her completely by surprise with enough power to make her body go limp.
Gabe released her nipple, kissing his way back up her body. When he reached her lips, he gave her the smile that made her fall for him in the first place. He reached for the condom he’d tossed onto the bedside table and made quick work of the foil and latex. When he settled against her again, Elina reached for him. Needing so much more than she thought she could want from him. From anyone.
He held the tip of his erection against her opening, and Elina’s lids fluttered closed. Inch by inch, as he filled her, the electric currents of need and desire crackled around her. She bit her lip to keep from crying out and begging him to keep touching her.
“Look at me, sweetheart.”
Elina forced her eyes open and gazed up at him, and he flashed a grin. Some sensation squeezed her heart and Elina tried desperately to get a handle on her emotions. But it was too late for that, because he started to move.
Gabe’s hands fisted in her hair as he made love to her. The sweat dripping off his forehead, her body covered in a thin sheen. His hand gripping and tightening one moment, and soothing and massaging the next.
Her body arching into his, his driving into her as he whispered into her ear...
“Gabe.”
“I have you, sweetheart.”
And he did. Every bunched muscle. Every quirk of his lips or soft kiss. The tight grip on her hip and the fist in her hair. As they made love, she knew what he was telling her with his body but not those beautiful sculpted lips.
The trembling started in her toes, then shot through her body, lightning-quick and laying waste to her emotions like a tornado. While Elina’s body pulsed and quaked, she fell in love with Gabe Alexander, and it terrified her.
With his lips on hers and stroking deep, Gabe shook above her, finally letting go with her pulsing around him.
Chapter 12
Gabe had Elina on the brain. Somehow she was able to be cool and professional. Distant, even. He’d stayed the night. They’d made love again...twice. But this morning, before he left, she’d been...distant.
Things were finally starting to progress for him, and all he could think about was her. Last night, if possible, was even hotter than the night on the yacht.
She was responsive and beautiful, and he didn’t want to let her go. They needed to take it slowly; otherwise he was going to spook her. And he didn’t want her running again.
The problem was now all he could think about was last night. Okay, the three ti
mes last night... But so far this morning, she was cool at best.
He didn’t have time for this. He finally had a sit-down with Breckenridge Studios as well as one of their financiers, and he had to keep his head in the game. He had a job to do, and lusting after Elina Sinclair wasn’t it. Although if that was a possible job description, then he’d be in line for promotion.
Delilah had assigned Elina to accompany him to the meeting and make sure he had everything he needed.
When the car service picked them up, she was all business. In the cab ride on the way over, once they pulled away from D. Donovan, he leaned over for a kiss and she shook her head. “You can’t show up for your meeting with ruby lipstick all over your face.”
She had a point, but he was still irritated, like an addict in need of a quick hit to get him through the day.
She finally leaned over, smiling sweetly, “Do you want this, Gabe?”
He scowled. “You know I do.”
“Good. So spend less time focusing on my boobs and more time focusing on your script and your pitch. It’s showtime.”
And now that they were here, she was busy prattling on about who he was meeting with and what to make sure to say.
He knew what to say. He didn’t need her telling him. Easy, Alexander. She’s just doing her job. But a part of him wanted her to do less of her job and more of focusing on him. Of course that was stupid. But how could she be unfazed about what happened last night?
Once they were seated in the offices across from Julian Morte, the studio VP, and Colby Jakes, the financier, he couldn’t keep his thoughts together. The beginning of his pitch was disjointed and sloppy.
But at one point, he met her gaze and she nodded her encouragement. She believed in him and this movie. That was just the jolt he needed. He managed to drag his focus back where it needed to be and away from Elina...and her boobs. And suddenly he was on. He walked the team through casting choices and why he’d made them. He even provided a CD of the recorded read-through for the execs to listen to on their own time. Once he got going, he settled into it. This was what he was meant to be doing.
