Nikki’s tongue was tied as he drew his thumbs over the tips of her breasts.
“I don’t remember what they looked like. My imagination has been vast. Don’t get me wrong.” He plucked at one nipple, wringing a sharp gasp out of her. “But I don’t remember how they felt, and my imagination only gets me so far.”
“Well, I hope they lived up to whatever your imagination has conjured.”
Thick lashes lifted, and his intense gaze pierced her. “They surpass my imagination.”
Gabe slid his hands to her ribs and then he lifted her slightly, bringing her forward as he leaned in. His mouth closed over her nipple and he sucked deep. Sensation exploded as her back arched.
“Did I do this? That night?” he asked, voice ragged.
“No,” she whispered.
He nipped at the sensitive flesh. “I didn’t take my time with you. I remember that.”
He hadn’t.
“I’m going to fix that.” His tongue swirled over her nipple as he caught the other one between his fingers. Her head fell back as she rocked her hips against his.
Aching emptiness roared to life. She wanted him to carry through on his promise to fix that night right now. She didn’t care that they were here, on the rooftop. She needed him, wanting him so bad it—
“Gabe? You up here?” Devlin’s voice suddenly rang out, rippling over the rooftop.
Nikki gasped as Gabe stiffened under her. For a moment, she couldn’t react, couldn’t even think, and then her brain screamed Devlin is here! And here she was, straddling Gabe with the top of her dress tugged down, exposing her breasts.
She was absolutely frozen, knowing that the curtains around the couches would only offer so much cover. Not with the soft glow of the gas fire pit.
Well, Devlin was about to find out firsthand exactly what Gabe was doing up here and that involved her.
This was not how she wanted what they were doing to get out. It meant she was going to have to tell her parents, because there was no way she expected Devlin to keep his mouth shut. And even if he did, knowing that someone so close to them knew, she’d have to tell them.
That thought didn’t horrify her as much as she used to think it would. This was going to be measurably embarrassing, but a stupid grin tugged at her lips as a giggle rose in her throat. They were about to be caught like two horny teenagers. Ridiculous.
Gabe pulled back and . . . and everything about him changed in an instant.
“Shit,” he muttered, gripping the bodice of her dress and tugging it up, over her chest. The giggle died in her throat as he gripped her hips and lifted her off him, onto her feet. He rose swiftly, his gaze focused on the slight gap in the curtains, and then he turned to her. “If you head out that way, you’ll be able to come back around and go to the elevator without running into him. I’ll keep him distracted.”
The grin faded as she turned, her brain slow to process what he was saying. He wanted her to get out of here before Devlin saw them—saw them together.
I thought you didn’t care who saw us?
The question rose, but it never made it to her lips. The back of her throat burned as stupid, stupid tears caused her to blink. She shouldn’t be surprised. Why was she?
“Go.” Gabe kissed her cheek and patted her hip. “I’ll text you later.”
Numbly, Nikki did just that.
She turned and left, heading in the direction Gabe had told her, wondering what the hell they were doing.
What was she thinking?
Chapter 25
Cursing his brother and himself, he watched Nic slip out between the curtains and disappear. What in the hell was Dev doing here?
He adjusted himself, because the last thing he needed to do was to meet his brother with a raging, evident hard-on, and then parted the curtains. Stepping out under the night sky, he scanned the rooftop, finding his brother by one of the tall plants. He had a drink in his hand.
“What are you doing up here?” he asked, striding across the rooftop.
“There you are.” Dev turned to him. “I was told you headed up here with a very pretty lady.” He frowned, looking around. “I was curious.”
“You heard wrong.”
Dev’s gaze slid back to his. “What a strange thing to have heard wrong.”
He didn’t respond to that, because there was a good chance he was going to coldcock his brother for interrupting what had been turning out to be one of the best moments of his life.
“If you weren’t with someone, what were you doing?”
Gabe exhaled through his nose. “Just enjoying the solitude. Obviously that didn’t work out for me.”
“Really?” His brother’s response was dry. “Seems counterproductive to come to a restaurant to seek solitude.”
“I did have dinner,” Gabe replied, “and then I thought I’d come up here.”
His brother smirked as he took a drink. “Interesting.”
Nothing about the way he said that made Gabe think for one second he believed a single thing coming out of his mouth.
Dev confirmed his suspicions a moment later. “The waiter who mentioned you said you were with a young lady.”
Gabe stiffened, and not in a good way.
“Said she was very beautiful with big brown eyes,” Dev continued. “Reminded me of someone we both know.”
“You know a lot of pretty ladies.”
“I do.” He glanced over at Gabe. “But not many you’d bring up here. I can only think of one.”
Gabe said nothing.
Silence fell between them and then Dev asked, “What are you doing, Gabe? I’d expect something like this from Lucian—well, before he met Julia. I never worried that you would be spending your evenings with a—”
“Careful how you finish that sentence,” Gabe warned.
“So, it’s true?” Dev faced him. “Don’t even bother lying. You’ve had this ridiculous habit of defending Nikki since she was a girl, getting herself in trouble.”
Gabe said nothing.
“What are you thinking?” Dev demanded once more. “Wait. I get it. She’s twenty-two and she’s beautiful. What man wouldn’t be interested? But you of all people should know better. Getting off can’t mean—”
“Enough,” snarled Gabe, stepping toward his brother. “Nic is not up for discussion with you. Not now. Not ever.”
His brother tilted his head. A moment passed. “I’m here with a few of the board members. Since it appears I’m no longer interrupting anything, why don’t you join us. At least for a drink or two?”
Gabe’s jaw locked down. Joining his brother was the last thing he wanted to do. He’d rather find Nic. He felt like shit for running her off like that, but she did not need Dev finding them like that.
Dev waited.
“I’ll be down in a moment,” he said.
“We’ll be waiting.”
Gabe watched his brother disappear as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, opening up his messages. After debating on what the hell to say, he sent a quick text to Nic.
Sorry about that. Text me when you can.
Gabe stared at the message for a moment and then cursed. He got his feet moving and then he was heading down to join his damn brother.
She hadn’t responded by the time he found his brother at his table, practically holding fucking court, and as minutes ticked into hours, she didn’t respond.
Nikki felt . . . gross.
Not sick gross, but like she’d-done-something-bad-and-needed-to-shower kind of gross. She’d felt that way before, four years ago, and after Friday night, she was feeling that way again.
And if that wasn’t a wake-up call, she didn’t know what was.
When that stupid reporter had talked about good people like her getting hurt, she was sure he hadn’t meant in this way, but he’d been right.
Her heart hurt.
That angered her, because she’d brought this on herself. She really had, because what in the hell had she been think
ing messing around with Gabe?
Why in the world did she think her heart wasn’t going to get involved?
She didn’t even know why she was surprised or disappointed by the fact he hadn’t wanted Dev to see him with her. Even though he’d claimed not to care, he did.
And she cared about people finding out, because she . . . she didn’t want to feel like she had to hide this thing with Gabe. But the truth was, she was being hidden.
So Nikki ignored Gabe’s text on Saturday, holing up in her room and focusing on packing what few belongings she had that weren’t in storage. Then she finished the bracelet, painting it red to match the bag Rosie had given her. She placed it on a piece of ripped cardboard and left it out to dry.
After taking a quick shower, she picked up her purse and headed downstairs. Her mom was in the living room, thumbing through a magazine. The color was already starting to return to her cheeks.
“I’m heading out to grab some extra boxes. Do you need anything?”
Her mom looked up, shaking her head. “No, but thank you.”
She walked over to her, kissing her cheek. “You look good today.”
“I feel good.” Her mom smiled as Nikki straightened. “Thinking about getting out in the backyard and doing some weeding.”
“And what will Dad say about that?”
Her mother snorted. “If he knows what’s good for him, he won’t say anything other than Get them weeds, honey.”
Nikki laughed, knowing that was not what her father was going to say. “I’ll see you guys later.”
The skies were overcast as Nikki walked out front to her old Ford. She hoped that her mom wasn’t outside if it started to rain. Colds could turn into pneumonia when your immune system had been all but obliterated from chemo.
Backing out of the driveway, Nikki knew of one place that had a lot of empty boxes and that was Gabe’s workshop. She seriously doubted he’d be there at this time, so close to dinner. Not that she was avoiding him, because seriously, she was going to have to see him on Monday. She just didn’t know what to say to him at this point.
Traffic made the drive to his shop take longer than necessary, but she was relieved to find a parking spot on the same block.
Unlocking the front door, she took a deep breath and peeked in. The main floor was dark. Relief coursed through her. Quickly closing the door behind her, she locked it and hurried toward the back hall, to a small room where she knew Gabe had broken-down boxes stored.
She crossed the main floor, not hesitating. All she wanted to do was get the boxes and get out. Reaching the hall, she glanced at the closed door a few feet down the hall, the one she knew led to Gabe’s office.
Shaking her head, she reached for the other door and opened it. Nikki took one step when her heart lurched into her throat as the office door swung open.
Gabe stepped out into the narrow hall.
Shit.
That was all she could think. Shit.
Several seconds passed as they stared at each other. “Why have you been ignoring my texts?” he asked—no, he demanded.
Her spine straightened. “Why are you here?”
One eyebrow lifted. “It’s my workshop.”
“Yeah, but all the lights were turned off, and you’re in your office, door closed, and . . . and stuff.” That last part sounded lame to her own ears.
“I’m in my office, because I needed to find an order someone called about. The lights aren’t on, because I hadn’t planned on working,” he replied. “And you haven’t answered my question. Why have you been ignoring my texts?”
“I haven’t been ignoring your texts,” she lied. “I’ve been busy. I’m actually still pretty busy. Packing. I came here to grab some extra boxes I saw.”
“Bullshit.” He stepped forward, and since the hall wasn’t that big, he was right there, looming over her. “I’ve texted five times.”
“No,” she said. “You texted—”
“Three times today and twice last night, and the last time I checked, three plus two equals five.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I thought you meant today, smartass.”
“No one is too busy to return a damn text.”
That was true. “Whatever. I just need to grab some boxes—” She started to turn, but he caught her hand. Her eyes flew to his. “Seriously. I just want to grab boxes and get out of here.”
His shoulders tensed. “You’re pissed.”
Nikki was about to deny that, but then, she just let it out. All those ugly feelings she had been stewing in since last night erupted from her. “Last night made me feel like shit,” she said, yanking her hand free from his. “Like I was something to be hidden, to be ashamed of—”
“I’m not ashamed of you, Nic.” His eyes widened. “How could you think that?”
“Really?” She laughed. “You literally lifted me off you and told me to run away before Devlin found us. How was that supposed to make me feel?”
“You really wanted Dev to find us like that?” he asked. “Dev?”
“Obviously I didn’t want to be found with my breasts all out there for the world to see—”
“Glad we’re on the same page when it comes to that.”
She ignored that. “But I also don’t like being made to feel like I have to hide, and that’s what I had to do.”
His eyes searched hers. “I didn’t mean for you to feel that way.”
“Well, I did.” She crossed her arms, shaking her head as frustration rose. “What in the hell are we doing, Gabe?”
He fell silent.
Her chest rose with a painful breath. “Do either of your brothers know about this? Whatever this is? They don’t. Neither do my parents. I guess that’s because we’re not in a relationship, right?”
Gabe looked away, a muscle flexing in his jaw.
“So, I don’t even know why I’m pissed or disappointed, because it’s not like we’ve even talked about what the hell we’re doing.”
“We’re talking now.”
Nikki’s laugh was harsh. “Yeah, well, it’s a little late for that.”
“Is it?” His gaze swung back to hers. “How is it too late when we are now just talking about this?”
“Because we’re now just talking about this!” She drew in a slow, even breath. “Like last night wasn’t even a date. It was a dinner to celebrate me getting an apartment, but—”
“How is that not a date?” he fired back. “We went out. We had dinner. I would’ve picked you up, but it was you that was dead set against that.”
She opened her mouth. Well, shit. He had a point there.
“And we were getting to the part of the night that really felt like a date before we were interrupted.”
“You mean when you asked me to run away before your brother found us?”
His nostrils flared. “Look, I get that I handled that wrong, and yeah, I felt like shit afterward. I was trying to protect you.”
“Really? Or were you trying to protect yourself?”
Gabe’s jaw hardened. A moment passed. “I guess I was trying to protect both of us.”
She stared at him, unsure of how to feel about that.
“I didn’t want you to have to deal with Dev. You know him. He would’ve said something incredibly offensive, because that’s how he is,” Gabe went on. “But I shouldn’t have had you leave. That was wrong, because I’m not trying to hide you.”
“You’re not?” The knot was back in her throat.
“This situation isn’t easy, Nic. You know that.” He dragged a hand through his hair as he gave a little shake of his head. “All I know is that—fuck, I can’t stop thinking about you. When you’re not right in front of me, I’m wondering where you are and what you’re doing. And when you are near me, it takes literally everything in me to keep my hands off you. I know that I want you more than I ever wanted anyone in my life.”
He drew back like his own words shocked him.
What he said . . . wow. More th
an anyone in his life? More than Emma? Because if that was the case, that was huge, but that . . . that was all lust. It was sex. It wasn’t romance. It sure as hell wasn’t love.
Love?
Where did love come into play?
Her shoulders squared. She wasn’t kidding herself any longer. Love was involved, because if last night had hurt her heart it was because her heart was open to him.
“You say all of that,” she said. “But you haven’t even kissed me, Gabe.”
“What?” He looked confused.
“Kissed me. On the lips with your lips,” she explained, rolling her eyes. “So don’t stand there and tell me you—”
He moved so fast she wondered if he had special powers. Before she could even take her next breath, his hands were on her cheeks and he was tilting her head back.
And then his mouth was on hers.
Chapter 26
It was just a kiss—their first kiss—but Nikki knew the moment his mouth touched hers, she’d never been kissed like this.
His lips were on hers and there was nothing soft and sweet about this kiss. Oh no, this kiss branded her within seconds. His mouth moved along hers as his fingers played out across her cheeks.
Everything they’d been arguing about seconds before slipped away, and it was just him finally, finally kissing her. Nikki’s body, her heart, and every part of her took over. Rising onto the tips of her flats, she wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him back.
Gabe shuddered, and Nikki thought that she might’ve stopped breathing right then and there. Mind reeling and senses spinning, she trembled as the kiss deepened, and when the tip of his tongue rolled over hers, she was lost.
And she’d been right. She’d never been kissed like this—like he was tasting her and owning her. A near-primitive sound rumbled from within him.
He lifted his head, breathing heavy. “You’re right. I haven’t kissed you. Shouldn’t have waited this long.”
Moonlight Seduction Page 26
