Rescue Me

by Faye Avalon

  It was during the trip that she’d met Gabe. She’d been instantly attracted to his cool confidence, his devastating good looks and the way he seemed to give her his full attention. It wasn’t long into their intense affair that she’d thought herself in love. More fool her.

  At least she’d grown up. Had learned a valuable lesson about the folly of giving your heart to a man, only to have him break it into a million pieces. When Oscar had proposed marriage purely for fiscal reasons, and to their mutual advantage, it had seemed as good a reason as any to obtain a licence.

  Maddie sighed, watching as the sun set over the principality. Monaco was a stunning place. She’d loved it from the first moment she’d seen it two years ago. Yet, when she’d left, she’d vowed never to return.

  When the evening took on a chill, she tipped back the last of her wine and wandered inside. The aroma coming from the kitchen made her stomach growl.

  She found Gabe wearing oven gloves and taking a pizza from the oven. He turned to look over his shoulder. “What’s funny?”

  Maddie’s smiled widened. “You still have those ridiculous gloves. Most people just use a tea towel.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m not most people.” As he slid the pizza onto a dish, Maddie noted the two place settings at the breakfast bar, plus a bowl of fresh salad.

  “You’ve been busy.”

  “Putting pizza in the oven and throwing a salad together doesn’t take much work.” He nodded to a breakfast stool. “Don’t say you’re not hungry. You can’t have eaten since breakfast.”

  She shrugged, as if she wasn’t bothered, but if he tried to take that pizza away now, she would likely be arrested for grievous bodily harm.

  It wasn’t until she sat that she noticed the cell phone beside her plate.

  “Make it quick,” he said. “Don’t want the food getting cold.”

  She picked up the phone and stared at it blankly.

  “The number’s keyed in,” Gabe said, slicing the pizza. “Speed dial six.”

  Strange that he had her father’s number on speed dial, but since that pizza looked and smelled incredibly good, Maddie didn’t deliberate. She pressed the button, and seconds later her father answered.

  “Dad, it’s me.”

  There was the briefest hesitation. “How are you, darling? Is everything okay?”

  “It’s fine. I’m with Gabe.”

  “Yes, I know.” Another hesitation. “I’m glad you decided to take more time to think about everything. Getting married is a big step, and you should do it with your eyes wide open.”

  Maddie took a moment to think how incredibly reasonable her father was being. It must have been pretty humiliating for him to have stood in a church full of people and not have his daughter show up.

  They spoke for a few minutes longer, and again Maddie thought how calm he was about the whole aborted wedding thing, then they said their goodbyes and hung up.

  Maddie kept the cell firmly in her hand. Should she call Oscar? Knowing Gabe wouldn’t have that number on speed dial, she keyed in the area code for the UK, then stopped. She couldn’t do it. She didn’t want to call him. Nor did she want to call Laura. She didn’t want to call anyone.

  What she wanted was to take a breather from it all.

  She placed the cell back down on the counter, and Gabe slid pizza onto her plate. “Eat.”

  Still thinking about her aborted calls, Maddie reached for the wine Gabe had poured, but he covered it with his hand.

  “Not until you eat something.”

  He held the glass firm when she made another grab for it. “I don’t need babysitting, thanks.”

  “Nor do you need to drink yourself into a stupor because you feel you’ve let your father down.”

  Annoyed because he’d hit on exactly how she felt right then, she tugged the glass away from him. But knowing he was probably right, she picked up a slice of pizza and bit in.

  “Do you know the kind of deals that Kingston’s involved in?”

  Maddie wasn’t an idiot. She knew about Oscar’s reputation. “He’s trying to change,” she said between bites. “Doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance?”

  “Yeah, well, if he’s suddenly become this paragon of virtue, why doesn’t he just sell you back the shares?”

  Maddie had tried that route, but Oscar had insisted he needed the stability of a respectable marriage. “It’s more complicated than that.”

  Gabe picked up his pizza and bit in while he watched her. “What if I can arrange for you to get back controlling interest in the company without you having to sign away your freedom?”

  I’d strip naked and dance on your terrace.

  Not that she was about to get too excited. Gabe’s help would come with his own version of strings. “Oscar and I had a deal. We shook on it. I don’t go back on my word.”

  He brushed pizza crumbs from his fingers, then slid his fingers over his jaw. “Shit, Maddie. You’re too fucking obstinate for your own good.”

  “Oh, butt out, Gabe.” Frustrated by the conflicting thoughts buzzing around in her head, she went to the water cooler in the corner of the kitchen.

  She stood there, trying to remember which cupboard the glasses were kept in. Gabe came up behind her and offered her one he’d filled. His presence wrapped around her, all heat and solid masculine power. The breath she inhaled was filled with him, too. That citrus cologne he favoured, a hint of the ocean and something desperately and uniquely him.

  “You can’t tell me you want to sign yourself away to a man who could never appreciate the kind of woman you are.”

  Oh hell. His voice was a provocative rumble against her ear, his muscular chest brushing her shoulder blade. She swallowed. “Yeah, well. Needs must.”

  When his hands landed softly on her shoulders, she resisted closing her eyes against the flood of memories. “You’re willing to forgo being kissed? Being touched?” His fingers dug in a little as if to emphasise what she’d be missing and reminding her of his spectacular ability to fire her up fast with just a simple touch.

  “What are you planning to do, Maddie? Pleasure yourself? Use your own hands to bring yourself to climax?”

  Just, please. Stop talking.

  Heat snaked between her legs, the muscles of her pelvis clenched and everywhere she felt the sharp pull of desire. Her panties were soaked through, and all it had taken was a few choice words uttered in that low, gravelled tone while his mouth flirted with her ear. His very essence filled her now, doing all kinds of weird and sexily wonderful things to her body.

  As her hands shook, Maddie gripped the glass. Maybe it was time to return the favour. Make him tremble and remember. But then he slid his hands down her arms, so slowly she wanted to scream.

  “Do you remember how it was with us?”

  Was he kidding? She remembered it all. Every smile. Kiss. Touch. Embrace.

  “How I’d undress you, slide my hands over every inch of you.” Those treacherous hands continued to roam, bracketing her hips, skimming her thighs, before wrapping around her waist. “You’d shiver beneath my touch, the way you’re doing now. But your skin would heat up and I’d feel the blood pounding in your veins.”

  The onslaught of sensation just wouldn’t let up, and with each word, each new touch, Maddie knew she’d never be able to resist him.

  “You’d fire me up,” he continued in that raw tone. “Make me so hard that I feared I’d lose it before I even managed to get inside you.”

  He nudged her backside, and as his erection pressed against her, Maddie closed her eyes.

  His lips were warm and sensual against her throat, the gentle slide of his tongue easing her ever deeper into a kind of sensual haze. Powerless to resist, she let herself slide further down, so far that there was no place for thought, for reason, for regret.

  His hands moved ov
er her stomach and up to cup her breasts. Her head fell back against his shoulder, and he rewarded her with a soft kiss to her neck.

  He felt so good. It had been ages since she’d had sex, mostly taking care of things herself in the way Gabe had so graphically stated. And since she’d reconciled herself to enforced abstinence for the duration of her marriage, having Gabe touch her this way felt decadent and oh so amazing.

  His thumbs slipped over her nipples, hardening them into tight buds. Her breasts felt swollen, sensitive, and her stomach tightened with need.

  With one hand on her breast, he slid the other down, hitching up the front of her dress. His breath brushed her ear again, his tongue flicking gently around the lobe, exactly the way she loved it.

  He’d obviously remembered that, and a sweet but incredibly painful memory of how attentive he was to her physical needs slipped through her. Not that she was in a position to give it much thought, not since he was cupping her mound and sliding his finger along the crotch of her damp panties.

  As he moved, his tongue against her throat mimicked the movement.

  It was hard to breathe, hard to stop from melting into him and letting him continue the sensual onslaught that drove all logical thought from her head.

  “Open your legs,” he growled, his voice low. “Let me touch you.”

  She went lax, and as her fingers lost their grip, the glass slipped. Water spilled over her hand, breaking the sensual spell.

  She blinked, exhaled a breath as she set the glass down, then turned to face him. He raised his eyebrows in a kind of well, shall we continue? manner. While she’d considered a fling with him, no way was he going to be in the driving seat. During their brief affair, he’d basically pulled all the strings. Not this time.

  She slid a fingertip down his cheek, loving how his breath hitched. Slowly, she shook her head. “You’re a real class act, Gabe. What? Did you think I’d be gagging for it about now?”

  His eyebrows drew together in a deep frown. “A woman like you can’t live without passion. Besides, weren’t you the one who mentioned a swan song?”

  Maddie widened her eyes. All innocence. “Oh, and that refers to my wanting sex, does it?”

  “Cut it out, Maddie. We both know what the fuck you meant.”

  He drew her against him, the feel of him pressed close reigniting all those wants and needs she’d tried to bury.

  Placing his hands either side of her face, he held her steady as he leaned down and brushed her lips with his. The kiss started slow and easy, a steady slant of his mouth over hers.

  Maddie brought her hands to his waist, feeling the heat of his body through his shirt. The moment she touched him, he changed the timbre of the kiss. Now his mouth was hot...demanding...relentless. It moved over hers with expert skill, and Maddie moved in to him as his arms banded around her. She matched his kiss, making demands of her own as his tongue probed and explored her mouth.

  The slow grind of his hips pushed his impressive erection hard against her pulsing heat, making her core ache and her intimate muscles clench.

  She had a fleeting consideration that being with Gabe might destroy her all over again. Since their break-up, no man had come close to how he made her feel. But this time would be different. This time she knew the score.

  This time if he destroyed her, she’d make sure to destroy him, too.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  WHEN MADDIE SLID her hands up between them, Gabe feared she might be about to push him away. But there was no indication of that from the way she was kissing him. Her hands settled on his chest, her fingers stroking the buttons on his shirt in a slow and sensual rhythm.

  His breathing, already unsteady, hiked up several notches when her hand slid down to his belt, her fingers flirting with his fly.

  “I always liked the feel of your chest,” she said against his mouth. “It’s all hard and hot and heaving.”

  “Yeah?” Shit. His lungs were screaming. “Got news for you. That’s not my chest.”

  She grinned, her lips brushing over his at the same time her fingers pressed harder against his crotch. “My mistake. Although my description holds.”

  “Can’t argue with that.”

  Wanting to balance out the scales, and needing his hands on her, Gabe hoisted her up so that she wrapped her legs around his waist. The movement hiked up her dress, and her naked thighs hugged his hips. From the heat emanating from her, Gabe knew she would be slick and ready.

  It fired up his loins to unbearable levels as he turned out of the kitchen. All the while she kissed and nibbled at his neck, making those erotic little sounds that always shot his pulse into overdrive.

  Unable to make it to the bedroom, he dumped them down on the nearest sofa and pushed at her skirt. Fuck, but he was a man possessed, with no clear thought other than to take. She’d ignited something inside him that he’d forgotten existed, making his cock scream for blessed relief from the intense sexual desire that thundered through him.

  He covered her mouth with his, using his lips, his teeth, his tongue to explore every inch of her mouth. She matched him, her arms tight around his neck, her back arching so that she pressed her breasts to his chest.

  Placing one knee on the sofa, he anchored himself with his hands either side of her shoulders, while her tongue danced with his, her passion on course with his own.

  Releasing her arms from his neck, she flicked open the buttons of his shirt, her movements urgent now. She yanked the shirt from his trousers, pushing it off his shoulders when he leaned back to shrug out of it.

  “Oh God, yes,” she said, racing her hands over his pectorals.

  Right then Gabe couldn’t find it in him to speak; he couldn’t find the words. His whole focus was on touching her, feeling her softness beneath his hands, sliding into her. He unzipped her dress and shoved it right up, taking it over her head to throw it aside. Reaching beneath her, he unhooked her bra and peeled it away so that he could admire the soft satin of her breasts.

  Only her panties kept him from having her fully naked, so he hooked his fingers in the sides of them and as she raised her hips, he stripped them away.

  With his hands on her knees, he drew her thighs apart, and even though his lungs screamed, he took a moment to admire her.

  He licked his lips, his cock throbbing at the sight of her full breasts, her slim waist and the hot, pink slit that made his mouth water. The need to get between her milky thighs was insane, but he wanted to savour every inch of her first, take her to dizzying heights where she’d be begging him to finish the job.

  She reached for him as he coaxed her legs wider, and he leaned down and kissed her, sliding his lips along her jaw, down her throat. All the while, she drew her warm hands across his back, tracing the shape of his shoulder blades before sliding down to his waist.

  She tried to undo his fly, but he tapped her hand away. “If you touch me right now, things might move too fast. And there are things I want to do to you first.”

  Her eyelids fell heavily over her languid eyes, her lashes soft as they fluttered briefly across her cheeks. “Help yourself. Just know that I intend to return the favour.”

  The way her words slurred told him just how turned on she was, which was exactly how he wanted her. He just hoped that he could pleasure her without losing his load before things got really interesting.

  He cupped her breasts, loving the way they felt in his hands, and he trailed his mouth down to take one nipple into his mouth. She arched, saying something unintelligible, but he got her drift. So he tugged the tight bud into his mouth and laved his tongue across the tip before doing the same with her other breast.

  “Gabe...that feels...amazing.”

  She’d always loved having her breasts touched, but she tightened up a little as he kissed farther down her body. While he’d gone down on her too many times to count, she seemed hesita
nt the closer he came to her mound.

  So he waited, keeping his hands firm on her still parted knees. Then he looked up. “Let me taste you, Maddie.”

  His heart hammered while he waited for her response, then she caught her bottom lip between her teeth and gave a tentative nod.

  It was all the encouragement he needed, and he lowered his head. The first taste of her shot desire through him like a fucking rocket launcher. It hammered at his system, relentless in its pursuit.

  He used his mouth lightly, teasing her fleshy lips with the tip of his tongue. She arched, made those needy little sounds, the ones that used to drive him to the brink of insanity. Fuck, but she was wet. Her scent flooded his nostrils with that priceless fragrance that could send a man happy to his grave. He breathed deep, taking it down into the depths of his being.

  “Gabe...”

  His name on her lips further inflamed his senses. The hard length of his cock pushed relentlessly against the fly of his trousers.

  When she said his name again, he glanced up. She had her eyes closed, her arms flung above her head in a gesture of helpless abandon. He kept his gaze on her as he pressed his tongue farther inside her. Deeper, deeper, enjoying the way she arched and gyrated beneath his mouth.

  Her erotic squirming and those carnal moans did brutal things to his cock, but he wanted her on the brink of ecstasy when he entered her. He raised his head, enjoying the protest that left her lips. “There’s more of that to come,” he said, drawing the back of his hand across his mouth. “I’ll go down on you so hard, you’ll be screaming.”

  Using his knee, he coaxed her wider, so that her leg draped over the edge of the sofa. Wanting her wide open to him, he raised her other leg and hooked her foot on the sofa’s back ledge.

  Fuck. Was that the best idea? She looked wanton and so fucking sexy he wasn’t sure he could keep his shit together. Blood pounded at his temples, his cock aching and throbbing in his pants. He needed to be inside her. All the way inside her, as deep as he could get. He wanted to fill her, claim her. He wanted everything she could give him.