by Cali MacKay
Leaving his brother behind, Gabe managed to tone down his grin as he wandered around the conference table to Hadley’s side. “Ms. Moore. I’m ready if you are. Would you prefer to go over this here, or would you rather convene in my office?” Or my bed? With your lips wrapped around my cock? With you bent over as I fuck you until your knees buckle and you’re screaming my name as I tear orgasm after orgasm from your sweet little body?
The poor girl looked mortified, her entire body rigid as another wave of heat blushed her cheeks with…arousal? A promise of retribution? Fury? Not that it mattered when he was going to have so much fun.
He could even see her racing pulse, beating just under the skin on her neck—soft flesh that he was desperate to feast upon once again. Her eyes flitted around the room as people filed out, and if he was reading her right, he didn’t think she wanted to be under anyone’s scrutiny more than she had to.
She took a deep breath and pursed her lips together. “I suppose your office is best so we can access all your accounts and files.”
“Excellent. I’ll drive since you’re new to town.” Gabe tried not to look triumphant—since he didn’t even know what he was triumphant about—but he just couldn’t help himself, even if he managed to suppress most of it.
Maybe it had to do with the fact that he’d had an amazing time with her. She’d been a hell of a lot more fun than anyone he’d been with in a long time, and though he usually stuck to a strict one-date rule, he found himself wanting to make an exception for Hadley if it meant the chance to fuck her again.
He led the way out of the police station and towards his car, but the moment they were a safe distance away from anyone who might overhear, she started cursing under her breath. “What the hell, Gabe? I could lose my job over this.”
“Babe…I swear, I had no idea.” He grabbed her hand but she yanked it free, and damn, but that did not make him happy. Though he loved all that incendiary heat between them, he hated the fact that he was truly stressing her out—and hated it even more that she was pushing him away.
Well, that was one challenge issued—and one he’d happily rise to take.
“Don’t touch me, Gabe. From here on out, our relationship is strictly professional. Last night? That never happened.” Despite being nearly a foot shorter than him, he had to pick up his pace to keep up with her, her stride brisk even in those heels. “And don’t call me babe.”
“But, babe…” He had to laugh when she glared at him. “I had fun last night, and frankly, I want you wrapped around my cock again. I want to make you come, darling, and I fucking want to watch your face when you come undone in my arms.”
He unlocked the door to his car and she got in before he had a chance to say anything else. Letting out a sigh, he tried to remember the last time a woman had given him such a hard time—and came up blank. He slipped in behind the wheel of his SUV and pulled out onto the road, heading for his office.
“Look, I don’t mean to be a bitch, but it was a one-time thing. That’s it. It’s not happening again.” She shook her head, and shifted in her seat to face him. “I’ve worked too damn hard to screw up my career because you think it’s fun to toy with me about one night that was clearly a huge mistake.”
“I get that you don’t want to get into trouble at work and you’ve got your reputation to consider. But fuck, Hadley…” He didn’t want to argue with her, but he refused to let her dismiss him as if he didn’t matter, especially after the way she booted him out the door that morning. “It was no mistake when I made you come—too many times to count, mind you. And if you don’t remember screaming out my name in fucking ecstasy, then maybe I need to refresh your memory.”
Gabe didn’t know why she’d gotten under his skin—and in less than twenty-four hours—but she had, damn it. And he wasn’t happy about it. Now, she was like some goddamned itch he needed to scratch—except she wasn’t letting him find any relief.
“Last night never happened, as far as I’m concerned. Do you hear me, Gabe? Never. Happened.” She pulled her file out of her bag and started flipping through the papers, although as fast as she was going from one page to the other, it was clearly just an excuse to ignore him.
Well, there was no fucking way he was going to let her just dismiss him. He wasn’t a big enough ass to get her into trouble, but she was stuck working with him until they figured out who was gunning for him and his family, and he was going to make damn sure they went through all that information alone. Just the two of them, so he could weaken her defenses. Because last night? There was no way it was a one-off. Not when he still wanted to bury his cock in that sweet pussy of hers…her mouth…her…
“Where the hell are we going?” Every time she glared at him, he found her more and more irresistible.
“We’re going to one of my offices.” An office where they’d be afforded all the privacy he wanted. There were still unresolved issues they had to deal with—like the fact that he desperately wanted to fuck that pretty little mouth of hers—and until they’d sorted out some of the tension between them, they were better off staying away from places where they’d be under scrutiny. Especially if she wanted to keep their fucking a secret.
And they would be fucking again. He’d make damn sure of it. Though he’d slept with his fair share of women, none had left him wanting more. They’d been there to satisfy his sexual appetite, and they had done just that—nothing more, nothing less. Hadley, on the other hand, had the complete opposite effect on him. She not only left him feeling fully satisfied once he’d had her, but she also stoked his need for more.
It was like those goddamned trick birthday candles. Just as he thought he’d snuffed out his need for her and was feeling satisfied, it’d pop back up with a vengeance, leaving him desperate to quench it once more before he went up in flames. He just hoped he had it in him to put out that flame, to put out his need for her, permanently. Because she was already making him crazy and he’d only known her less than twenty-four hours.
“What the hell are we doing at a marina?” She spun in her seat to face him, as he pulled up to a spot and parked.
“Like I said, it’s one of my offices.” He grabbed his laptop from behind his seat and then went around to the other side of the vehicle to get her, since she clearly had no intention of budging any time soon. “Come on, Hadley. We’ve got work to do.”
And they did. As much as he wanted her, they still had to figure out who the hell was gunning for him and his brothers. That was his priority. Fucking her could wait until they’d made some headway.
He grabbed her hand and helped her out of the vehicle, giving her a moment to collect her things before he started walking towards his boat, leaving her to follow. He’d grabbed the dock line that secured his yacht to the dock, when she put a stop to it. “I don’t want to go out. I’ll work with you on the boat, but we stay put. Do you hear me?”
“Sweetheart, it makes no difference to me.” Because, one way or the other, he’d have her again. Naked, on her knees, on her back, on all fours…begging him to fuck her, to feed her his cock, to make her come. It was just a matter of time.
Ignoring his hand and offer of help, she hopped onto the deck of the boat, heels and all, like she might be capable of running a marathon in those spindly things. “And don’t call me sweetheart. This is a purely professional relationship.”
“But, babe…” He just couldn’t help himself. And damn, but the girl was even more smoking hot when she was angry.
She looked ready to slap him. “You can be a real jerk. You know that, right?”
He unlocked the door and let her into the cabin, following behind her. “I’d be less of a jerk if you weren’t pushing me away. Though you didn’t seem to mind my cock buried in your tight pussy last night.”
“Yeah, that’s really professional.” Hadley shrugged out of her suit jacket, and sat down on the sofa, ready to work with her laptop out, as Gabe took a seat next to her, needing to keep her within arm’s reach. �
��Are we going to get started or not?”
“May as well. I want to catch whoever it is that’s doing this as much as you do. No one gets away with threatening my family and the people I care about. No one.” He’d tear the bastard apart when they finally found him.
Hadley shifted in her seat so she could easily face him, while tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes alight with intelligence. “Good. That means you’re motivated to stay focused on the task at hand.”
He loosened his tie and pulled it off, not having bothered with a suit, since he’d have to go to one of their jobsites later. His job always had him juggling meetings and contract negotiations, between running to construction sites to make sure their projects were on track. It kept him busy, but he liked that. “I’m always motivated, babe. When there’s something I want or something needs to get done, I make it happen.”
Her eyes narrowed imperceptibly, as if trying to figure out if his words meant anything more than the obvious. Well, they did. He still wanted her and he was a determined man. Work first. But then he sure as hell would be making time for play.
“Let’s start at the beginning.” She pulled out a notebook and pen, and opened her file. “It looks like the fire at the Old Port Bistro was the first incident?”
“Yeah, it was. Although there were also small things that occurred at the Old Port before that: a broken fridge, a shelf of wine giving way—that sort of thing. Nothing major, and the police don’t think those are related to the fire. Turns out it was an employee of the restaurant.” Gabe let out a small sigh as he thought of Emma, and how much of a jerk he’d been to her in the beginning. He’d been completely mistaken about her, and truthfully, she was good for Quinn, who couldn’t look any happier now that the two of them were together after a slight hiccup in the road. “You need to know that the owner of the Old Port is my brother’s girlfriend, in addition to the fact that Ryker Investments owns the building.”
Hadley jotted a few things down. “Do you think the less serious incidents are related to the fire?”
“The police didn’t think so.”
“And what about you? I want your opinion on the matter.” Her gaze was intense, as if she were analyzing his every move, every thought that crossed his mind. He could see how she might be a damn good investigator.
“I’m not so sure. I like Emma, and she’s pretty damn nice. Forgiving too. I can’t see why anyone would dislike her enough to cause her problems. That said, arson and being run off the road are a pretty big fucking leap from broken bottles of wine and a busted fridge.” Thank fuck, Morgan was going to be okay.
“I agree, though I’ll be speaking to Anthony Sturgis myself.” He was the employee who’d admitted causing Emma problems. Hadley scribbled down some more notes on her pad of paper before she flipped through the file she’d been given on the case. “Looks like most of the other employees were cleared or had an alibi for the fire and for the night when you were run off the road. All except for one—Jake Foley?”
“That’s Emma’s right hand in the kitchen and a good friend of hers. I can’t imagine he’d do anything to hurt her.” Though damn...Quinn had said something about Jake being in love with Emma. Needless to say, Quinn hadn’t been happy about it, though things were good between them now.
“What is it?” Her gaze bore through him. Damn, but the girl didn’t miss a thing. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”
“Jake’s in love with Emma—or was, at any rate.” Gabe had only met the guy a handful of times, and liked him. Still…if it was Jake, there wasn’t much of a connection beyond Emma and Quinn. “It wasn’t Quinn who got run off the road, though. It was me and my other brother, Morgan. Neither of us really knows the guy.”
Hadley shrugged and wrote down a few more things. “Tell me about the accident.”
He tried not to grit his teeth, but he was still pissed. Fucking furious. “I was with Morgan. We’d been out at a club—Quinn had been with us earlier that night but left early to see Emma. They were having problems at the time. We left the club at closing time, and then headed for some late night grub. I was driving Morgan home when we got rammed. Repeatedly. They ran us off the road just as we got to the cliffs near the ocean. There aren’t many drops around there, but they timed it perfectly.”
“So they likely knew the area or had researched it prior to the incident.” More notes. “Don’t suppose you know of anyone who wants you dead?” Her eyebrows perked up in question. “Husbands, boyfriends, ex-girlfriends?”
Gabe reached over and twined a lock of her hair around his finger, a smile tugging at his lips. “I don’t have a husband, a boyfriend, or an ex-girlfriend. No wife either, though you didn’t ask.”
“No ex-girlfriends? You’re lying.” She glared and slapped his hand away. “And quit playing with my hair.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not saying I haven’t been with my share of women, but I’ve never let it get serious. So no ex-girlfriends. And I don’t lie.”
“Well, I suppose that’s good to know.”
Chapter Five
Hadley didn’t know why she should be so shocked by Gabe’s declaration that he didn’t get serious with women. After all, he was young, sexy as hell, beyond successful, and stinking rich. So, maybe it wasn’t so much a shock as a disappointment, though she hated to admit it.
Well, it was just one more reason to make sure she didn’t sleep with him again. She still couldn’t believe it. Out of all the men in Portmore, it figured that she’d end up hooking up with one of the three brothers who were off-limits. She should have known that her crap luck hadn’t changed.
Here she was trying to start a new chapter in her life, and at the rate she was going, she’d be doing just that—as an unemployed investigator. She could not let Gabe get to her. There was too much at stake, and she couldn’t afford to have her career ruined because Gabe felt like toying with her.
She and Gabe spent the next several hours going over the details of the investments and the sort of businesses the Ryker family ran. And damn, but she was impressed. How could she not be? The Ryker brothers had come from nothing. But rather than let the premature death of their father and their poor beginnings hold them back, they were now one of the largest investment firms in the state, and were worth big money, even though not one of them was over thirty.
Gabe stretched, making it impossible for Hadley to ignore the way his muscular form shifted under his perfectly fitted shirt, her mind automatically flashing to images of him naked. Aroused. Wanting. Fucking her… His next words jolted her back to reality. “I don’t know about you, but I need to take a break. Move around. I can’t sit still for this long.”
“Yeah…of course.” Hoping he didn’t notice the blush that just crept across her cheeks, or the fact that she’d been staring, Hadley jotted down a few more notes, not wanting to bother him—or let herself get distracted. She needed to stay focused on work—not his rock hard abs, or even harder cock. “I’ve got more information I need to get through, so—”
“So nothing. It’ll still be here once you’ve taken a breather, and I want company.” He grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet, ignoring the glare she gave him, as she craned her neck to look up at him.
Lowering his head to hers, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, his body firm against hers and his erection impossible to ignore.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” She put a hand on his broad, muscular chest and tried to push him away, though she might as well be trying to budge a stone wall. “Let go of me, Gabe.”
“Come on, sweetheart…there’s no one here to see us, and you know we’re damn near perfect together.” Gabe tipped her chin back so she’d be forced to look at him. “I want you, and we both know you’d only be lying if you said you didn’t want me too.”
“What I want is to keep my job. And why the hell do I matter when I’m clearly just one in a long line of many? Just move
on to your next lay, Ryker, and leave me alone to do my job.”
So then, why the hell did that bother her so much? What did it matter if he went from one woman to the next? She was sure the women he usually dated were clued in as to who he was before sleeping with him, unlike her—who’d been completely clueless that she was hooking up with one of the area’s most eligible bachelors.
Yet when it came down to it, there was no doubt in her mind that Gabe did an amazing job of taking care of them. She was proof of that, that’s for sure. Because the man was nothing if not a sex god. The things that man was capable of…the things he did to her were nothing short of—
“You were just thinking about me fucking you—and you liked it, babe.” He gave her a smug and self-satisfied grin, his hold on her tightening. “I can see it in your eyes—your gaze gets all unfocused and your lips pout just the slightest amount.”
“You clearly don’t know shit.” She shoved his chest, for all the good it did. “And if you don’t let go of me, I’m going to handcuff your ass and have you arrested for harassment.” Okay, maybe not, though he didn’t need to know that.
“Babe…” He cupped her face in his large hand and ran a thumb across her cheek. “That fucking turns me on like you wouldn’t believe.”
Hadley leaned into his touch before she could stop herself, her eyelids slipping shut. Damn him! “Fuck, Gabe. Why are you doing this to me? I know I’m nothing more than a quick fuck to you, but you’re messing with my career. My livelihood.”
And thanks to that jerk of an ex-husband and her legal fees, she had practically nothing left in her savings. If she lost her job, she’d be screwed. Not to mention her professional reputation would be ruined, making it damn hard to get another job without references.
“I could hire you…” He leaned in and caught her bottom lip between his teeth before grazing her mouth in a whisper of a kiss, his hand reaching down with familiarity to cup her ass and pull her against his hard cock. “You could protect me.”
