Lost Without You

by Yahrah St. John

  Gabrielle couldn’t help but notice the humor in her voice.

  Once they were back in their suite, Shane and Gabrielle were as hungry for each other as they had been earlier that day. They tore at each other’s clothes as if they were a barrier. They’d gone nearly a week without making love, and Gabrielle thought she was going to explode. Her nipples were swollen and aching with desire that only Shane could quench. They kissed with lips, teeth and tongue, both lost in the pleasure.

  When they were both naked and their clothes were in a pile on the floor, they met together on the bed. The softness of Gabrielle’s curves molded perfectly with the hardness of Shane’s body. He nudged her backward until she fell back against the pillows. He pushed her legs apart and ground his arousal against her tempting heat.

  Gabrielle felt the thick length of his shaft pressing against her, and she circled her legs around his trim waist, easily allowing him entrance. Shane had a wild gleam in his eyes, and she could tell that he wanted this as much as she did. He slid inside her and filled her completely.

  Pure pleasure coursed through Shane as Gabrielle moved herself up and down his shaft. Shane loved being inside Gabby and having her silken heat tight around him. He thrust hard and fast inside her, and Gabby met each thrust by rocking her hips and meeting his rhythm. Soon they were on a frantic ride to completion, one that neither of them wanted to end. Gabrielle climaxed first, but it didn’t take Shane long to give out an exultant shout of ecstasy that sent him spiraling back down to earth.

  * * *

  As they lay in bed the next morning, Shane thought about how he didn’t want to go back to Atlanta. He and Gabby had connected in the same way as they had in Paris. Their bodies had no trouble speaking to each other, so why was it so hard for their mouths to?

  Shane brushed back several tendrils of hair from Gabby’s forehead and looked down at her. When had this fiery diva become so important to him, and why did he feel as if he might not be able to live without her?

  Gabrielle stirred underneath him and then glanced up at him with sleepy eyes. “Hey, you.”

  “Hey, yourself.” Shane pressed his lips to her mouth.

  “Don’t tell me you’re ready again?” Gabrielle said. They’d made love twice last night.

  Shane laughed. “No. Even he needs to rest,” he said, looking down at his member. “So why don’t you tell me what’s on your mind? I feel like there’s something you’re keeping from me.”

  He was right. She wanted to talk to him about her father and the stolen design, Andrew Jackson and the entire mess, but it didn’t seem like the right time. She chose instead to talk about her other least favorite topic, their relationship.

  “I know there’s something, Gabby. Whatever it is, just tell me.”

  Gabrielle scooted toward the pillows until she was in the crook of Shane’s arm. “I guess I don’t know whether we should still keep going.”

  “Are you tired of me already?” Shane asked, jokingly. He couldn’t believe they were having this conversation after the night they’d just shared.

  “Of course not, but we both know this isn’t going to last, so maybe we should get out now before anyone gets hurt.”

  “So you think I’ll hurt you?”

  Gabrielle looked down “Not intentionally…”

  “Gabby, I think the world of you. I love your smile, your warmth, your passion for what you do.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know,” Shane answered honestly. “I’m figuring it out.”

  Should she wait for Shane to decide whether he was in love with her? Because right now, at this moment, Gabrielle knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was in love with Shane. It had been gradual, but there was no mistaking it. She loved him. “I don’t know….” She shook her head. “There’s just so much going on….” She looked at Shane, wanting to tell him the truth about her parents and Andrew Jackson, but she felt guilty.

  A sinking feeling formed in Shane’s stomach, and he began thinking the worst. “Gabby, is there something more you want to tell me?” He couldn’t read her expression or tell what she was thinking, and it scared him. Usually she was an open book, heart on her sleeve.

  “No.” Gabrielle retreated farther away on the bed. “You know, we should really get going. I have a few things to take care of today.” She jumped out of the bed and headed to the bathroom.

  Shane heard the shower seconds later and guessed that meant it was indeed time to go home. He didn’t know what had just happened, but obviously Gabrielle was struggling with something that she couldn’t share with him.

  * * *

  The drive back to Atlanta was fraught with tension. Neither Shane nor Gabrielle said much, and the few times they did speak revolved around the weather or traffic on the interstate.

  Gabrielle felt terrible for jumping up the way she had at the chateau, but when she’d looked in Shane’s eyes, she couldn’t find the right words to tell him how she’d been duped by her own family. Even worse, she felt that he would blame her for the leak. It was her negligence that could cost his family millions.

  * * *

  Shane was frustrated by the seesaw that was his relationship with Gabrielle. One moment they were up, enjoying a great weekend with his family and making love, the next moment she was shutting him out and running away from him. She couldn’t get out of the car fast enough yesterday when he’d brought her back to her apartment.

  It was Monday, and now he had the unfortunate task of listening in as security interrogated every member of his staff. Gabrielle was next. Ethan had brought in a top-notch investigator who was skilled at getting to the truth. He’d even brought in a lie-detector test, which he would offer to each chemist. He’d already put two of his chemists through the wringer, quizzing them about their background, their education, their work history, until Mai-Li had finally rushed out of the room weeping. Shane was furious, as he thought it was over the top, but this time Kayla had stood by her husband.

  “We need to get to the truth, Shane,” Kayla said when he’d asked her to halt the proceeding.

  It made Shane sick to his stomach to treat his people this way. He was happy when the lobby receptionist informed him a package had been couriered over to him. Shane left the remaining chemists, including Gabby, sitting in the hall to head to the lobby.

  He accepted the package and didn’t waste any time ripping open the envelope. Shane stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the contents of the package. Inside was a picture of Gabby and Andrew Jackson at a restaurant. Shane immediately slid the picture back inside the envelope and glanced around to make sure no one else had seen it. He quickly walked back to reception.

  “Who delivered this package?” Shane inquired, holding up the envelope.

  “A courier service,” the woman answered. “Is something wrong, Mr. Adams?”

  “Uh, no.” Shane gave her a kind smile. “I’m sorry if I sounded angry. It wasn’t directed at you.” And with that, he stormed off in the direction of the elevators. What the hell was going on? Why had Gabrielle had a meeting with Andrew Jackson? Was he trying to recruit her? Or worse yet, did Gabby have something to do with the leak of the design or the missing formula? Was she in cahoots this whole time with Jackson? Had he been duped?

  Shane’s hands were shaking as he pressed the down button to go back to the laboratory. His first inclination was to confront Gabrielle with the incriminating evidence, but he didn’t have any real proof that she was involved in the theft. So, he went back to the scene of one of the crimes. He was surprised to find the laboratory locked. Mai-Li clearly hadn’t returned after her meltdown, and the other chemists must have gone to lunch. Shane glanced down at his Swiss watch, which read 1:00 p.m.

  It was perfect timing. Shane knew what he had to do, but he didn’t relish going through Gabrielle’s desk or her belongings. He used his master key to open her desk and rifled through several papers. He found nothing at first, but then he pulled out the drawer
s entirely. It was then that he came across the most damning evidence of all. When he turned over one of the desk drawers, tucked inside was a copy of the formula to Ecstasy.

  All the air in the room whooshed out of Shane’s lungs, and he took a step backward, falling against the lab counter. There was no reason for Gabrielle to have the formula and certainly not hidden in her desk. She had to be working with or for Andrew Jackson. She’d obviously insinuated herself into the laboratory so she could spy on Adams Cosmetics and report back to Andrew Jackson. And Andrew, being the slimy bastard he was, was ratting her out by sending that photograph of their secret meeting.

  Gabrielle had used him. She’d played the sweet, innocent chemist in need of a makeover, and they’d all bought it. Kayla and Ethan had been taken in by her credentials, and Courtney had fallen for the ugly-duckling act. And he, well, he’d been had. Worst of all, Gabrielle had acted as if she didn’t want him at first, but it had all been a ploy. She’d intentionally played hard to get to make him fall for her. And he had, hook, line and sinker.

  Shane turned away and allowed his head to fall into his hands. Gabrielle Burton had set him and the entire Adams family up. How could he have been so blind? How could he have allowed himself to be taken in by her? He’d even begun to think that perhaps his mom was right, and he should try the long-term-commitment thing. Gabby had been so good at fooling him that he’d actually believed she had sincere feelings for him.

  Although Gabby had made a fool of him, Shane wasn’t going to let her get away with it. He would make her pay.

  * * *

  Gabrielle was tired of the endless questions the investigator kept asking her. No matter how many ways he tried to rephrase them, her story was the same. She had nothing to hide, until he asked her why she’d stayed in Paris so long after school. That’s when she faltered.

  “Why is that any of your business?” Gabrielle inquired.

  “I’m just trying to get to the truth here, Ms. Burton,” the investigator returned.

  “And the truth of the matter is that my reasons for staying abroad were personal and do not concern my employ at Adams Cosmetics.” There was no way Gabrielle was about to get into her relationship with her parents.

  Just then, Shane came walking through the door. “The interview is over,” he told the investigator.

  “Mr. Adams,” he began, but Shane cut him off.

  “I said the interview is over,” Shane barked and then glared at Gabrielle.

  Gabrielle didn’t know why Shane was furious, but she was grateful that he’d stopped the interview when he did.

  “Why don’t you wait outside.” Shane kept the conference door open. “I’ll call you when I’m done.” Reluctantly, the investigator headed toward the exit and Shane closed the door.

  “Oh, thank God.” Gabrielle rose from her chair and came toward Shane with her arms open. “That guy was giving me the creeps.” She gave Shane a hug, but noticed he didn’t return it. She stepped away and looked at Shane. His eyes were cold with contempt, and it scared her. “What’s wrong?”

  “The jig is up, Gabrielle.”

  Gabrielle noted how he didn’t call her Gabby as he usually did. That didn’t bode well. “I don’t understand.”

  Shane threw down the photograph of her and Andrew Jackson for her to see. “You want to explain that?” he asked, looking like a volcano on the verge of erupting.

  Gabrielle picked up the photo, and when she saw what it was, a soft gasp escaped her lips. No, not now. Her mind raced. Please, God, not now. She’d wanted to tell him herself at the chateau, but she had chickened out. And now here it was in color. There was no denying she knew Andrew Jackson. How could she explain? She would have to try. Her life depended on it. “Shane…”

  “Don’t even bother to lie,” Shane replied. “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

  “I wasn’t about to lie.”

  “Weren’t you?” He raised a brow. “Like when you acted like you didn’t know who Andrew Jackson was? When in fact, you’d been meeting with him secretly?”

  “I know this picture looks damning,” she responded. Her hands shook as she held the evidence. “I wanted to tell you about it. I even tried to at the chateau.”

  “But you just couldn’t find the words?” Shane taunted. “What do you take me for, Gabrielle?”

  She flinched at the harsh sound in his voice. “There is an explanation for that photo, if you care to hear it.”

  Shane laughed bitterly. “If I care to hear it? Are you kidding me? You have been playing me and my family for fools since the day you got here from Paris. Is that when Andrew recruited you? Or was it after that you decided to turn on us?”

  “Neither!”

  “And you expect me to believe that?”

  The distrust in Shane’s eyes chilled Gabrielle to her core. She gulped hard as hot tears began slipping down her cheeks. “Shane, please… I know this looks bad, but you have to believe I would never hurt you or your family.” After everything they’d shared, he at least had to believe that she wasn’t capable of such deception.

  “Crocodile tears. Wow!” His voice was bitter. “Even now, you can turn them on at will, and I almost want to believe you.” He held up his finger. “Almost, but not anymore, Gabrielle. You may have played me for a sucker, but no more. You gave Andrew a photograph of the prototype and my formula, and that photo is proof.”

  Gabrielle shook her head. “I… I didn’t do it, Shane.” She tried to take in slow, shallow breaths so she could calm down and try to convince him, but she couldn’t get any air into her lungs. “I…I swear it.”

  “I don’t believe you,” Shane replied. “Matter of fact, I don’t want to hear anything that comes out of your lying mouth. We’re over, Gabrielle.”

  Gabrielle stared wordlessly at him, her heart pounding in her chest. Shane didn’t believe her. He truly thought she’d faked every moment they’d ever shared together. And it broke her heart. Stunned, she rushed out of the room.

  Chapter 13

  “No, you’re wrong!” Courtney shook her head adamantly later that evening. Shane had called a family meeting in the living room at the Adams estate. “I know Gabby, and she would never do what you’re accusing her of.”

  “I wouldn’t have thought it either, Courtney,” Shane said. “Don’t you think I of all people wanted to believe it wasn’t true? But the evidence is right there.” He pointed to the photograph of Gabrielle and Andrew Jackson lying on the cocktail table and the copy of the formula. “That’s hard to refute.”

  “Well, did you give her a chance to explain?” Courtney asked. She could just see Shane going after her with guns blazing, especially if he thought he’d been fooled. She knew Shane was starting to fall in love with Gabby, so it must have hurt seeing such incendiary evidence. Which meant he’d shown her no mercy.

  “What’s there to explain, Courtney?” their father said. “It’s right there. She’s been conspiring with that bastard Jackson this entire time, cozying up to my son and my daughter to get in our inner circle. Sounds exactly like Jackson to me.”

  “I’m with Courtney on this,” their mother replied. “I saw Gabby with you, Shane, and I just can’t believe that this young woman would be that devious. She was crazy about you. It was written all over her face.”

  Shane turned away. That’s what he’d thought, too, but he’d been wrong. He’d been completely taken in by her go-get-’em persona at work; her modest, yet naive look; and her passionate nature in the bedroom. “She was a good actress.”

  Courtney rushed over to Shane and spun him around to look at her. “You can’t believe this, Shane. Tell me you don’t really believe this.”

  “Courtney, you’re much too close to this to see the truth,” Ethan said, taking a much-needed sip of Scotch. Even he’d been thrown by this latest development. He’d always thought himself to be a good judge of character, and he’d had such a good feeling about Gabrielle. Apparently, he’d been wrong, as had Shane.r />
  “What do you know?” Courtney sniped at her brother-in-law.

  “Easy, Courtney,” Kayla said. She attempted to rise from the sofa, but given her enormous belly, she couldn’t muster it. Ethan leaned over to help his wife up. “If you’ll excuse me, I need a potty break. You guys are making me nervous.”

  Kayla left the room, but that didn’t stop the bickering. Courtney was more determined than ever to stick up for Gabrielle’s good name.

  “What I know,” Ethan replied, “is that I could bring a lawsuit against her and Andrew Jackson for corporate espionage and stealing intellectual property.”

  “Serves them both right,” Byron huffed. “Andrew just can’t stand to see us succeed. He’ll do anything to sabotage us. I should go over there right now and give him a piece of my mind.” Byron made as if he was heading for the door, but his wife’s voice stopped him.

  “And what would that accomplish, Byron? It would just put you in jail for assault. Because you know Andrew would press charges.”

  Byron paused midstep and turned back around. “I suppose you have a point, Elizabeth.”

  “She does,” Ethan concurred. “The last thing we need is bad press. We already have a fragrance in jeopardy.”

  “What are you going to do about all this, Ethan?” Byron asked.

  Ethan smiled that his father-in-law was finally managing to call him by his first name. “Publicity is using the leak to generate press, and no one knows that the formula has been stolen. I made sure of it.”

  “We’re moving up the date of the launch,” Kayla said, waddling back into the room. She was exhausted and ready for the baby to come.

  “I, for one, can’t wait,” Shane said after being quiet for some time. “Getting this one to the finish line has been mentally exhausting.”

  “And what about Gabby?” Courtney asked Shane. “Don’t you care about her anymore?”

  Shane replied without hesitation. “I never want to see Gabrielle Burton again. And I want her to stay as far away from me and my family as possible.”