by Faye Avalon
Just when he thought he’d reached his limit, she stretched across him and picked up one of the condoms scattered over his bedside table.
She used her teeth to rip the packet and took the condom out slowly. “It’s amazing how these little things can stretch so big, isn’t it?”
The witch was teasing him, making him suffer.
She shimmied down his body, just enough that his cock sprang up between them. “Of course, it’s got its work cut out here. Look how big you are.”
She fluttered her eyelashes, all innocence. Why didn’t she just put the damn thing on? “You know that saying?” he said, his chest squeezing with the effort of getting the words out. “What goes around...”
She smiled, then placed the condom beside them on the bed. “You can remind me later.”
With which she hustled lower down the bed, placed her hands around the base of his erection and leaned down.
His eyes rolled back in his head as she lowered her mouth onto his cock. She used her tongue, swirling it around in erotic circles before taking one long lick up his length. She used her teeth, nibbling gently at his flesh until he felt the room tilt.
He moved his hips in time to the rhythm she set as she took him deep in her mouth, while her fingers glided softly across his balls.
“Fuck... Maddie...”
Everything inside him tightened, and he knew he was about to lose it. He shifted her fast, so that she was on her back. She looked a little shocked, her mouth a delicious pout, and her lips full from where she’d sucked him.
He reached over, grabbed the condom and dressed himself. Seconds later, he was inside her, pumping hard. He brought his hand between them and slid his thumb against her clit.
Her body tensed, her breath caught and she came. Seconds later, he joined her.
They lay there, the morning sun easing between the gap in the blinds, and Gabe drew her across him, holding her close.
“How’s that enthusiastic cock doing?” she asked, touching her mouth lightly to his chest. “Was that enough attention?”
“It’ll hold him. For now.”
Gabe stayed there until he felt Maddie’s breathing lengthen, then eased himself out from beneath her. At the side of the bed, he looked down, smiling as she curled under the duvet and gave a little hmm sound.
Gabe drew the duvet over her bare shoulder, then turned and went to the bathroom.
When he came out, he saw the bed was empty and headed into the living area. He found Maddie thoughtfully contemplating a series of small Picasso prints adorning the west wall.
She wore his discarded shirt from yesterday and nothing else. Her head was cocked to one side, her arms crossed over her chest with her forefinger pressed to the centre of her chin. She looked so fucking desirable he wanted to whip her up and take her straight back to bed.
“These are wasted on this wall,” she said without turning to look at him. “They’d be much better over there where they’d be sheltered from the worst of the sunlight.”
Gabe spared them a glance as he moved up behind and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Okay.”
She tilted her head more when he kissed her neck. “Who decided to show them in black frames?”
“No idea.” And who the fuck cared? All that concerned him right then was sampling more of her delicate, warm flesh.
“The black is too harsh,” she continued. “It needs something softer to bring out the delicacy of the pastel palette.”
“Okay,” he said again, feasting on his own creation of delicate pastels that bloomed gently on her creamy flesh courtesy of his mouth and teeth.
She tapped her hands on his, which were still around her waist. “You should move that Modigliani, too. It would look fabulous over the glass unit, and it would pick up the warm tones of the furnishings in here.”
“Uh-huh.”
She turned in his arms, the movement affording him a welcome flash of her breast. He took a moment to thank the heavens that she’d neglected to button the shirt right up.
“You’re not listening.”
Already his arms were around her. “I heard every word. Picasso. The Modigliani. Glass unit.”
She looked up at him from beneath those long lashes, tried not to smile as he grinned. “Can I use your laptop?”
The abrupt change of topic brought him up fast. He’d been anticipating rumpling the bed-sheets again and she’d been planning to surf the web?
“For what?”
“I want to email the office.”
He wasn’t entirely happy with the idea. Despite their newfound peace treaty—or maybe that should be sex treaty—he wondered if she’d contact Kingston.
“I gave you a week, Gabe,” she said, cutting into his thoughts with uncanny skill. “I’m not going back on my word.”
Nodding, he rubbed his hands along her arms. Since he needed to contact his office, make some calls himself, he stepped back. “Okay. Go ahead.”
“Thanks.”
Gabe watched her pad along to his office before heading back to the kitchen to grab them both coffee and a croissant.
* * *
Maddie had spent the past few hours catching up with Mallory HQ in London and had just finished a quick email to Laura when she heard the door open.
Gabe leaned against the door-jamb looking indecently edible in jeans and a black T-shirt. “Want to go out?”
“Out? You mean outside into the real world? I’m no longer to be held prisoner in your ivory tower?”
Pushing away from the door-frame, he strode into the room. “You’re still my prisoner,” he said with a grin. “But seeing as my ivory tower has nothing more to offer than cold pizza, we’re spreading our wings. How does lobster linguine sound?”
He held out his hand, waggled his fingers and heard her stomach rumble in answer.
“Like heaven?” She glanced down, having forgotten she was still wearing his shirt. “I’d better change if we’re going to a swanky restaurant.”
“Who said anything about swanky?”
She huffed. “If I recall, your tastes don’t extend to hamburger and chip drive-ins.”
She hadn’t taken the hand he offered, so he reached down and wrapped his fingers around hers. “I just might make you eat your words.” He brought her hand to his lips, nibbled her knuckles and made her insides flutter very pleasantly. “Right along with that linguine.”
* * *
The limo was waiting when they left Gabe’s apartment, and they drove along the coast to Menton, close to the Italian border. It was a beautiful evening, despite a slight chill that kept everything fresh. Although not the height of the tourist season, the pretty seaside resort was full of people out enjoying the delights of the town.
They stepped from the limo and made their way across the promenade and onto the beach, where sand trickled into Maddie’s open-toed sandals. Her dress, another simple shift, was light peach and cut to just above the knee. It was sleeveless but she had her cream wrap, which sparkled with tiny sequins around its edges.
A dozen tables had been planted on the sand, complete with red-checked linen tablecloths and bottles of oil, salt and vinegar in the middle of each one. Gabe and Maddie were shown to a table edging the water, and the sea breeze whispered balmy and light over her arms. She pulled the wrap around her shoulders as Gabe held out her chair.
“Are you too cold here?” Gabe asked, his breath brushing her ear and making her pull the wrap even tighter.
“No. This is perfect.”
The waiter fussed and offered menu choices, seemingly delighted when they both decided on his recommendation instead of the lobster.
Maddie looked around. Families frequented the place, both locals and tourists, alongside couples who tucked into their generously sized meals.
“The portions are enormous,” Mad
die said, already feeling her waistline expand. “And I’m hungry enough to delve right in.”
Gabe laughed. “It’s a local hot spot. A bit out of the way for most tourists, but word spreads.”
“You never brought me here...before.”
“Yeah, well, I wanted to impress you with fancy dining in Monte Carlo, especially since it was your first visit.”
“I remember that I didn’t expect to like it much, not with all the glitz and glamour. But I did. It has a fairy-tale quality to it—at least, that’s what I thought back then.”
Gabe’s expression told her he knew the direction of her thoughts. “Until it turned into a nightmare?”
“Kind of.”
Maddie didn’t say anything more, but she was acutely aware of Gabe watching her. His gaze set every inch of her alight, making her blood simmer beneath the surface of her skin, causing tiny shivers to trickle along her nerve endings.
“Addiction is a disease, Maddie.”
His voice was low, full of compassion, and for some reason it made her feel guilty. Probably because he had assumed the nightmare she referred to was her father’s gambling problem, whereas she’d been thinking about her time with him.
“I know it’s a disease, and he’s worked really hard to overcome his addiction.”
“But?”
She shook her head. “He won’t trust himself. He keeps beating himself up.”
“It’s early days. At heart he’s an honourable man. He takes responsibility for his actions. He cares very deeply about you and values your opinion of him.”
It felt weird having Gabe jump to her father’s defence. She didn’t know how to react. For two years she’d thought of Gabe as the enemy. They’d enjoyed a hot, steamy affair, but beneath it all he’d had an ulterior motive.
Perhaps she’d set him up on that blame pole because it meant she didn’t have to blame herself. Didn’t have to look too closely at her own part in it all. How she’d thought he felt the same way she did, that he’d wanted her as much as she’d wanted him. The truth was, he hadn’t even tried to stop her when she’d left. He’d just let her go.
After their meal, they walked along the shore toward Menton’s small harbour. The way was flanked by brightly coloured restaurants interspersed with market stalls selling jewellery, mementoes and crafts. Rounding a small promontory, they saw people at the water’s edge, laughing as they paddled in the shallow water.
“Want to cool off?”
Maddie turned to see Gabe’s wicked grin as he cocked his head toward the small crowd. “Paddling?” she asked. “Are you insane? The water will be freezing. It hasn’t had enough summer to warm up yet.”
“Let’s live a little dangerously.”
“Being kidnapped on the way to my wedding is living dangerously enough for me, thanks.”
He stepped right up to her, making all her nerve endings go on full alert.
“Chicken.”
“That’s as may be, but at least I get to keep all my toes.”
“What’s a little frostbite among friends?”
He waggled his eyebrows and made her laugh. Hell, what the heck. The last couple of days had been filled to the brim with angst, frustration and desperately hot sex. What was a little bit of freezing water in the scheme of things?
He reached for her hand. “Come on. Unless you want me to put you over my shoulder.”
“Ha. Like I’d let that happen.” His dark eyes crinkled at the corners and sent a wave of trepidation through her. “Don’t you dare. Gabe...”
He winked at her, a desperately sexy action that threatened to buckle her knees. “Have a little fun. You’re due.”
“I’ve already had fun. The kind that got me naked and in bed with you.”
He drew her in close. “And you’re enjoying every moment.”
How could she refute that? Her hormones still hadn’t settled. She doubted they ever would. Already she was anticipating another sex-filled night. “Maybe.”
“You’ve got that crease between the eyebrows going again,” he said, tapping the spot with the tip of his forefinger. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“All this sex is great, but I need to keep focussed.”
“You can do both. Aren’t women supposed to be multitaskers?”
“It’s not funny, Gabe. It’s my responsibility to make sure the company is safe.” She waited a beat. “What makes it even more difficult is that I know you won’t tell me what you find out unless I keep pushing and prodding you.”
“You gave me the week,” he said at length. “It’s only fair I give you something back. I agree to keep you informed of everything I find out about Kingston.”
Maddie contemplated his words for long moments, dissecting them in case she might have missed some loophole. Since she couldn’t find one, she slipped off her sandals. “Okay then. If that’s the case, and you mean it, in the spirit of quid pro quo, we get to go paddling.”
With her sandals dangling from her fingers, she stepped to the water’s edge, aware that Gabe hadn’t moved. She turned, looking at him over her shoulder. “Now who’s chicken?”
He raised his eyebrows, then bent and removed his shoes before turning up his jeans.
With a laugh, Maddie touched her toes to the water and shrieked at the first chilly hit. “It’s freezing.”
Gabe came up beside her and stepped into the water without so much as a wince. “Afraid of a little cold water? And here’s me thinking you were made of stronger stuff.”
Before she could respond, he took her sandals, dropped them next to where his shoes lay on the sand, then bent and plucked her up into his arms. Maddie squealed and gathered the hem of her dress, hoping to avoid flashing her panties to all and sundry.
Thankfully, the tide was out and the water shallow, because Gabe started wading.
“Stop,” she hissed. “For God’s sake, people are looking.” She wouldn’t put it past him to drop her in just for the hell of it.
He stopped, his eyes gleaming in the moonlight. “You don’t want to go swimming in the freezing waters of the Côte d’Azur?”
“No. You’re bloody insane.”
His gaze slid over her mouth and, unable to resist the devilish gleam in his dangerous eyes, the stubborn and sensual line of his formidable chin, Maddie leaned close and kissed him.
“How about hot sex in a warm bed?” Gabe said when they came up for air. “Would you prefer that?”
She shivered. “Every time.”
“Okay then.” He kissed her this time, even more passionate and heated than hers had been.
When he ended the kiss, he turned and walked to shore. Back on dry land, Gabe let her down, but he kept her close against him amid the friendly jeers of the disappointed crowd.
“We should offer them a consolation prize.”
Maddie wrapped her fingers around Gabe’s arms. He felt solid and safe, warm and secure, and she leaned in to him. “What did you have in mind?”
“This.” Leaning down, he kissed her again, stopping just short of heating things up like he had while they’d stood in the shadows of the water’s edge. The onlookers cheered and clapped, while a couple of more ribald spectators shouted something in French.
“What did they say?” Maddie asked, her head spinning from the kiss.
“Something along the lines of get a room, which I have every intention of doing.”
He bent to pick up their shoes, then slid his arm around her waist and led her back to the promenade, saluting a group of good-natured men who clapped as they passed.
Once they’d slipped their shoes on, Gabe took out his cell to call his driver. Maddie wandered toward several tourist stalls lining the promenade, making straight for one selling pretty handcrafted jewellery.
Admiring a sweet bangle that would be perfect for L
aura, Maddie glanced up as Gabe joined her. “Look at the beautiful filigree effect on this bracelet. Can you imagine how the light would catch the polished shell? Laura will love it.”
“It’s pretty,” Gabe said, already pulling out his wallet.
Maddie put her hand on his arm to stop him, before realising she had absolutely no money to pay for it herself. She considered changing her mind, but the bangle was already being wrapped. Discomfited, she took the money Gabe offered and tried not to look awkward as she handed the euros across to the vendor.
“You should have bartered,” Gabe said as they walked to where the limo waited. “Nobody pays the asking price.”
“It was a fair price. I’m happy to pay it,” she said. “Which reminds me, I owe you.”
“No need.”
She stopped, waiting until he did, too. “We need new ground rules. If I’m staying with you, I’m paying my way. Which means I want my phone, my credit cards and my passport.”
Gabe stuck his hands in his pockets and shifted from one foot to the other. “It was just a bracelet. A few fucking euros.”
“Which is so far from the point, I’m not even going to argue it.”
He stepped toward her, lifting his hand to brush his fingers across her cheek. “I’m trying to do what’s best here, Maddie. I’m trying to protect you.”
“I don’t need protecting.”
But she felt her annoyance levels diminish. Maybe it was the soft plea in his eyes. The gentle way he said her name. The tender way he touched her face. Whatever it was, nothing else seemed as important right then as letting him draw her close and kiss her.
Maybe there was a time for arguing, for fighting, for determining to prove a point. Right then, in Gabe’s arms while the soft Riviera breeze slipped around them and the balmy night worked its magic, proving a point seemed like a total waste of time.
Maybe tomorrow, devoid of that soft breeze, the balmy, magical night, she would feel more inclined to pick up the battle. She would pick up the battle. For now there was only Gabe’s arms and the welcome feel of his mouth on hers, the steady beat of his heart against hers.
