by Karen Renee
My lips pursed and his lips tipped up as though he liked making me angrier. I planted my hands on his shoulders, my knees in the bed, and I rode him. Hard. Sensations were building, and I knew I was getting close. My head tilted back as I yanked down my bra cup to pinch my nipple and had the other hand half-way to my clit when Gabe grabbed them both.
“Ah-ah-ah, Cassandra. That’s all me, honey. You come when I say you can come.”
I whipped my head forward, shooting daggers at him with my eyes. “Since when?”
He let go of one hand to grab my ass, and then he flipped us without unseating himself from me. “Since I’m always in charge of when you come, Cassandra. This might be our first angry fuck, but that doesn’t mean you get off on your own. You get off because I set you off. Always.”
He kept thrusting, but grabbed both my wrists and held them in one hand above my head. Perversely, this turned me on even more. I’d always wanted someone to do that to me. I had no idea I’d enjoy it more with so much anger between us.
I rolled and bucked my hips, but Gabe didn’t take the bait. He kept a steady pace, and finally, he lowered a hand to my clit and made me come. I feared it wouldn’t be as good as it should’ve been since I had been right on the edge earlier. But, I didn’t fall over the edge into a climax, I flew over that edge and it was the best damn orgasm I had ever had. Bar none.
When I finally came down from my high, I realized Gabe had lowered all his weight onto me. His breathing was extremely labored, though, so I had to guess he had just come.
I foolishly blurted, “Did we really just argue about my family and have angry sex because of it?”
His arms tightened around me. “Yeah. Wasn’t my intention, honey. Though, that’s the best sex I’ve ever had, so even though I am sorry, I’m not that sorry, if you know what I mean. Bottom line, you’re right. How you grew up, and who your father is doesn’t change shit. It just caught me off guard, baby.”
My mind raced backwards. Gabe had never called me ‘baby’ before, and my belly flipped. Him calling me that cut my anger in half.
I looked up at him. “Are you sure?”
He smiled. “Yeah. I’m sure. Unfortunately, I have to get rid of this condom.”
He kissed me slow and sweet while gently slipping out of me. Then he whispered, “Don’t go anywhere.”
I chuckled.
When he returned to the bed, he wrapped his arms around me as tightly as before he left the bed. “Why do you need a roomie for your peace of mind? You worried about Asher?”
My brows furrowed because I hadn’t thought about Asher in weeks. “No. It’s more so I don’t feel like I’m taking up more space than I should.”
“What?” he asked through a chuckle.
“I don’t need two bedrooms. I should be in a one-bedroom, but I didn’t like the layout. Plus, a roommate keeps me from talking to myself too much.”
“You are a nerd.”
“Yeah, whatever,” I muttered trying to break free of his hold, but he didn’t let me go.
“So, you’re a trust-fund girl?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, and no. My trust fund only pays tuition and rent. Dad made me scrimp to put money down on my car, which I paid off last year.”
“So, no free ride.”
“More like tough lessons in money management.”
“Do you only get half the rent from your trust fund?”
I smiled with tight lips. “No. The rent Kaylee paid me, I put in my brokerage account. I used it to buy and sell covered calls and other options trades.”
A puzzled look crossed his face. “Okay, I know what a brokerage is, but ‘covered calls’?”
“Yeah. It’s different from buying a stock outright. The specifics will bore you, but I managed to earn money on her money, so when she left, I basically gave her back her rent.”
“What?” he cried and pulled me on top of him. “Are you telling me you’re a financial genius? Why are you wasting time working for Pruitt?”
“I wouldn’t say that. I took a few risks. Dad thinks I should be more careful, but I remind him ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained.’”
“Wow,” he murmured. “Just when I thought I knew all about you.”
I smiled. “It’s good to learn new things, right?”
He smiled devilishly. “Yeah, like now, I’m gonna learn how quickly I can get you naked.”
I arched a brow. “That’s not even a challenge since I’m only wearing a bra.”
The devilish smile widened. “You’re right, baby. Got a better idea. We’re gonna learn how inspired things can be with the right movie.”
I AIMED THE REMOTE at the television to pause the movie as Gabe sauntered back into the room from the bathroom. The movie had definitely spiced things up, even though I didn’t think we needed that sort of thing so early in our physical relationship.
He arched a brow at me as he grinned. “Are you trying to find out if the boss walks in on them?”
I chuckled. “I think they left that as a gaping plot hole, honey.”
He grinned at me. “I will not make the obvious joke. But why aren’t you turning it off?”
I widened my eyes. “Just like you thought I grew up in a mansion, I did not grow up wasting money. It feels like such a waste that we watched like what, fifteen minutes of this? And we’re being billed—”
He put his finger over my lips, and with his other hand he grabbed the remote to turn off the television. “Don’t worry about it,” he said.
I pulled away from his finger ready to retort, but he shook his head and arranged us under the covers.
“Baby, it’s an indulgence. A dirty one, but fun. Besides, incidentals are on me anyway.”
I stared at him for a moment, before I settled beside him and drew patterns on his chest with my finger. “So, I ever get to L.A. where’s the bitch I need to cut for doing you wrong?”
Gabe laughed and shook his head. “Darlin’, it’s over. It was six years ago.”
That was a fair amount of time, and I could see his point, but I really wanted to know more. I exhaled through my nose so I wouldn’t sigh outright, but Gabe chuckled.
“You aren’t gonna let it go, are you?”
“I’m sorry. I just... never mind. You don’t want to talk about it, that’s cool.”
“I mentioned I crashed with Dad’s Army buddy. Well, I met Jessica because she’s his niece and Rex thought she could show me around.”
Suddenly, I didn’t want to know. “Okay, I get it—”
“No, Cassie. You want to know. We hit it off and within three months we were living together.”
“Wow,” I whispered, because that seemed fast.
He gave me a weak smile. “It’s expensive to live out there. But she paid her share for three months. Then she lost her job. After that, she did what she could.”
“Oh boy,” I whispered.
He smiled again, and I knew nothing good would come of this.
“We struggled, but made ends meet for another three months. Of course, we did that eating ramen and generic mac-and-cheese. But, I had saved a small stash of cash. When she left me, she took my cash, my trumpet, a guitar, my laptop, and a bunch of other audio shit.”
I gasped.
He still smiled at me, but this one held disdain. “Yeah. I thought that was as sucky as it got, but no. She told me she’d paid the electric bill, only she hadn’t. Told me a lot of shit, but she hadn’t done it, and in the end, my credit score took the hit. Dad had to bail me out, and I left Cali so I could get my shit right again. That’s why it took me so long to start college. I wasn’t going to put Dad out of more money, and I wasn’t even considering loans with my credit in the shitter.”
My brows furrowed. “But student loans normally don’t—”
“I should add, Dad wanted me to keep student loans to a minimum, which is really to say avoid them if at all possible.”
“Ah,” I said raising my chin. “My dad would concur.”
He smiled and it made his eyes twinkle. “‘Concur.’ Only you use words like that.”
I gave him a look. “Other people use that word, Gabe.”
“Right, people over thirty use that word.”
“Stop it.”
“No,” he whispered.
I hesitated. “So, your issues with women and money have less to do with your mother than they do with this Jessica chick.”
His eyes narrowed a little. “Both of them left me high and dry, Cass. I never wanted to end up like my Dad, and as soon as I let a woman into my life seriously, I found myself almost just like him. The only upside was there were no children involved.”
That broke my heart, but I knew Gabe would not take well to my sympathy. “All right. That definitely explains a lot, honey.”
“Yeah,” he whispered.
Leaning toward him, I nudged his shoulder with mine. “And, I wasn’t kidding. I get to Cali, I’m gonna hunt her ass down. Former-Army uncle or not, I’ll take her for doing you like that.”
“You couldn’t take a mouse, Cassandra. Even if it were to feed one of the cats at the shelter. But I appreciate the thought.”
I arched a brow. “You may think all that, Gabe, but make no mistake. Us short girls fight dirty. Dirt-tee!”
“Yeah, but you’re not short.”
“Don’t argue with me, Gabe Sullivan!”
IN THE MORNING, GABE ordered room service. After he tipped the hotel employee who delivered it, he arranged it so we ate in bed.
He bit into a strawberry, giving me an odd look. After he swallowed, he said, “When you mentioned having your dad or one of his partners look over my plans, were you gonna mention who he was?”
I smiled. “Be hard not to, since I intended for you to meet him.”
“Mm-hmm,” he said.
I shrugged a shoulder. “Offer still stands. I’ve mentioned you to him before.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. Let’s just say he’s curious about you.”
“Me?”
I nodded. “He’s sort of a romantic and has always believed friendship leads to lasting love.”
Gabe nodded. “Don’t know about that, but he might be right.”
“Might be,” I said, and rolled out of bed.
I padded over to my bag.
“Unless you’re hunting for a condom, Cassandra, you need to get back here.”
I straightened from my bag and looked over my shoulder at him. “Gabe, I have a shift at the shelter today.”
He set his plate on the nightstand and tossed the covers aside. “No, you don’t. I called Nona and told her you were ill yesterday. Better to—”
I turned to face him. “You did not!”
He grinned. “Okay, no. Your incessant need to tell the truth would have been a problem. But I did call her to cancel your shift. So, we’re taking advantage of the late check-out.”
Gabe had slept naked next to me, and only threw on a pair of gym shorts to deal with the room service. I had slept in my underwear and a cami. Until he prowled my way, I forgot he’d shucked his shorts before getting into bed with me. His body deserved to be sculpted in bronze, except I hated the idea of anyone staring at him in the buff.
He grabbed my hand to lead me back to the bed. “Gotta say, I love how your thoughts are written all over your face. Especially when you see me naked.”
“Don’t get arrogant, Sullivan.”
When we were even with the bed, he stopped. “Not arrogant, baby. Just stating a fact.”
My chin dipped a fraction. “Said with blatant cockiness.”
A slow smile spread on his handsome face. “Gonna give you some of my blatant cock, is more like it.”
I laughed as he guided me to my back on the bed, enjoying all of his blatant cockiness.
20
Poof! You Disappear
Cassie
JUST AFTER ELEVEN IN the morning on Monday, a slight knock sounded at my office door. I looked up and saw my mother leaning in the doorway, wearing a designer plum-colored suit with black pumps.
“Mother? What are you doing here? And how did you even know I was here?”
“Cassandra, really. We may not speak as frequently as you do with your father, but he tells me about your master’s degree progress and any new venture you take on.”
I dipped my chin in agreement. “So, what brings you by?”
“I’m taking you to lunch, if that’s all right with you.”
I double checked the clock on my computer. “It’s pretty early, wouldn’t you say?”
She grinned. “For any place other than the Kres Chophouse, you would be right. But we have a reservation, and we’ll have to find parking.”
Mother insisted on driving us, and I didn’t know if it was because she needed the control or if it was so she could listen to the local public radio talk show, which I always thought was a ruse so she didn’t have to talk to me.
I shouldn’t have been surprised she dropped by for lunch. She attempted to spend time with me at least once between terms. During semesters, she left me be. Nevertheless, our infrequent mother-daughter time always felt stilted.
The hostess led us to our table, and we silently perused our menus. Mother snapped her menu shut and set it beside her plate. I glanced up to see her sitting with a smug smile on her face.
“Don’t be like your father, Cassandra. Do order something other than the club sandwich.”
I fought crossing my arms on my chest. When Dad showed me his investments, he also made it clear that in order to have a healthy portfolio one couldn’t overindulge in luxuries. And eating out was always –but always– a luxury in Dad’s eyes. Subsequently, my mother made the most of her outings with me by taking me to places my father would reserve for special occasions only. The first few times she did it, I had felt special. Then she pointed out my tendency to order the most inexpensive menu item and made me feel bad for it.
“If it helps you, dear, I’m ordering the Duck Pepperpot to start, and my main dish will be the New York Strip. The mashed potatoes here simply cannot be beat.”
I shifted in my chair so I could re-examine my menu, but a well-built, dark-haired man caught my attention across the restaurant. He turned just as I glanced toward him, but I caught enough of his profile to know it was Brock.
“Have you decided?” Mother asked.
“Yes,” I fibbed, glancing at her.
I turned back and lifted my hand to wave at Brock, but he wasn’t there.
“What are you doing, Cassandra?”
I looked at her. “I saw someone I know sitting over there, and now he’s gone. That’s really strange.”
The next time I looked to Brock’s seat, an older gentleman sat there. That was bizarre. I wasn’t prone to seeing things, but I knew I saw Brock, especially since my first instinct was that he was Gabe.
After the server brought our drinks to us and had taken our food orders, mother spoke.
“Your sister told you about your cat, right?”
I did my best to keep my expression neutral. “Yes. She did. In fact, I’m picking up Mom’s ashes after work today.”
Mother shook her head, none of her perfectly-coiffed dark hair moving. “How you’ve managed higher education is a riddle, seeing as you couldn’t name a cat when you were a mere nine years old.”
I fisted my napkin in my lap, but leaned toward her. “The barbs? So early? And here I thought this might be an enjoyable lunch.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry. That was low, even for me.”
Not even for her. But I didn’t want things to escalate. In that effort, I kept quiet.
She leaned back in her chair. “Tell me, why have you taken this bookkeeping job? I know it’s at your father’s request, but it seems beneath your capabilities.”
I dipped my chin. “Everyone has to start somewhere, Mother. Besides, it isn’t like I don’t do similar work at the shelter each week.”
She leaned forw
ard. “Another fine point. The shelter work was one thing, since I had hoped it would allow you to meet a man, but truly? Are you still doing that too?”
I smiled with saccharine sweetness. “Yes, mother. Volunteering is important, no matter how well-off one is.”
She looked past me with an unimpressed expression. When she caught my eyes again, she muttered, “You are very much your father’s daughter.”
I tilted my head for a moment. “That’s why you love me though, right?”
The server’s timing couldn’t have been better, as that was when he arrived with mother’s starter. Little would he ever know, he saved me from hearing whatever retort she might have had.
MOTHER DROPPED ME OFF at Club Eclectic, and I returned to my desk with a full belly but a drained heart. Very damn little about our lunch made sense to me. She had asked why I was working this job, but surely Dad would have told her about his suspicions regarding Ryan.
Fact of the matter was, I had been too distracted by seeing Brock there to circle the conversation back around to my employment. It hadn’t been my imagination, and I made a mental note to drop by Gabe and Brock’s apartment to confront him about it.
Making it even more bizarre, the man who sat in his place ordered a whiskey. Then every time I glanced his way, he was checking his watch or texting on his phone. Part of me found it to be a show, but the third time I looked his way, he had gone to the restroom.
I had to dismiss the idea it was a show, because not long after he returned, a beautiful dark-haired woman in a summer dress joined him. They leaned toward one another across the table, and I nearly felt the intensity of their conversation.
Being five weeks into the job, I wrapped up my work a little earlier than normal. Rather than leave, I checked older journal entries to see if I could find anything wrong. Nothing jumped out at me, but then again I didn’t expect it to. However, there were some entries for a few vendors which seemed sketchy. Between lunch with my mother and the long afternoon, my mind was muddled. I flagged those entries so I could examine them in the morning with fresh eyes and a clear mind.
