Reality of Love Boxed Set: Books 1-3

by Marika Ray

  She assessed me, those golden brown eyes flitting over my face and then briefly down my body, like the truth to my statement was down there somewhere. When the blush hit her cheeks, she nodded. “Okay, apology accepted. Wanna shower?” She uncrossed her arms like that was that, then hooked a thumb over her shoulder.

  I nearly swallowed my tongue. “Um, hell yeah, a shower would be great.” Did she mean together?

  She reached behind her and unsnapped her bra, letting it drop, along with my jaw. Of course. I should have known. Gabby, with the perfectly straight nose, gorgeous almond-shaped brown eyes, the always manicured burgundy nails, and gorgeously curved body that I was finally being granted the right to behold, had the most luscious breasts I’d ever laid eyes on. They weren’t big enough to distract from the rest of her, yet I knew from experience they’d fit perfectly in the palm of my hand. Her nipples pebbled as I watched. The sight stole the breath from my lungs. If this was my last moment on earth, it was well spent taking in the statuesque beauty of Gabriella Cole.

  Gabby lifted her hands to cup her own breasts before traveling down her flat stomach to the waistband of her jeans, popping the button and sliding the zipper down. Who would have guessed that Gabby was actually a seductress under those suits she wore to the office? I continued to watch, mesmerized. I may have even drooled a bit, but I think I was allowed a bit of bodily function loss, given the sensory overload.

  The jeans hit the tile floor before being kicked to the side by one perfectly muscled leg I’d seen in—and been tortured by—pajama shorts every night. All that stood between my eyes and Gabby’s naked body was a pair of black lacy underwear that matched her hair falling all around her shoulders. I finally moved, reaching for the wall next to me. I was a bit dizzy.

  Gabby hooked her thumbs in the sides of the thong, slowly inching it down her hips and then down her thighs. She turned, hips swaying in a mesmerizing motion, and I got an unobstructed view of her ass. When she finally stood back up, her thong pooled at her feet, she lifted her arms and gathered her hair to one side of her shoulders.

  I swallowed hard and followed the line on either side of her spine, taking in the whole of her. She was simply magnificent.

  In the next moment, I was moving without thought, needing to be closer to her like the air I really needed to breathe in if I didn’t want to pass out. My head lowered and my lips met with the back of her neck. She gasped. A waft of her perfume, plus a touch of sweat hit my nose, conjuring up images of sweaty skin sliding together. My body practically vibrated with need. Need to touch, need to taste, need to devour.

  “Rhett…” Her breathy moan was all the invitation I needed.

  My hands smoothed her hair away from her back, giving me full access to the skin I’d been dying to see and touch at will. Trailing a single finger down her spine, a pleasing sense of pride flooded my system as I saw her skin ripple in response to my touch. When I reached the swell of muscle below her waist, I fell to my knees and kissed each globe in reverence, holding her up when her knees buckled. My hands trailed down her legs, tracing the muscles I’d enjoyed seeing flex and move so gracefully these last few weeks, taunting me with their flawlessness.

  “Shower,” she breathed.

  I stood up, all too happy to follow her commands, even if they came out as moans. I moved away to flip on the water. When I turned back to her, she was now facing me, eyeing me in a way that heated my blood far hotter than any shower could.

  “Take off your shirt.” Gabby’s eyes widened, like she was surprised the words came from her mouth.

  I, for one, was delighted with her forthrightness. I loved a woman who knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to ask for it. Especially when the commands, still on shaky newborn legs, came from Gabby, a woman just learning she deserved everything she desired from a man. Confidence wasn’t something she lacked in other areas of her life, so to see it come alive here in the bedroom—or bathroom—with me was hot as hell.

  Without missing a beat, I wrenched off my shirt and waited for her to tell me what else she wanted. She could take all day if she wanted. I had the best view in the house.

  She tilted her head while her gaze raked over my torso like an actual caress. A red-tipped nail found its way to her lips and I changed my mind. She didn’t have all day. She had precisely one minute before I tipped the scales and took over. I’d already exploded in my pants that one night. I wasn’t sure my ego could handle that happening again.

  “Pants,” she said, her voice gaining volume with each command.

  I kicked them off in record time, my muscles twitching with the effort of holding myself back. There was far too much space between the two of us.

  “Boxers.”

  I slid those off too, standing tall and proud, seeing her look her fill. I’d been dealt a few shitty hands in life, but I’d been dealt a damn good hand when it came to the thunder down under, if I do say so myself. He was proud of himself too, standing straight up at attention, all too happy to have the gaze of a beautiful woman.

  “Shower.” Gabby’s voice came out strangled, the pink of her cheeks turning decidedly red.

  I lunged for her hand, hauling her into the shower stall with me. She gasped as the spray hit us both, dousing us immediately. Her skin turned slick and now that she was in my grasp, I let my hands roam. She swiped her hair back from her face and I took the opportunity to get her lips back on mine. Her body melted against me as I deepened the kiss. Every second of wanting I’d felt the last few weeks, being in her presence and not being able to touch her like I wanted, rumbled through me, intensifying the kiss until it raged out of control.

  I pulled back abruptly, the image of Gabby fluttering her eyes open, her lips puffy from my kiss, the water sluicing down her naked body, engrained in my brain for all eternity. The thing was, I wanted her so badly I physically ached to lift her up and take her against the tiled wall until I couldn’t stand on my own two legs any longer.

  But more than that, I wanted to show Gabby a level of respect and care that she deserved. Which meant the shower wall was out of the question. Clenching my jaw and summoning a level of maturity I had yet to reach in my twenty-eight years, I grabbed the soap instead of Gabby, sliding it across her belly. The sooner I got us cleaned up, the sooner we could be in her bed, setting the sheets on fire.

  She smiled shyly, always enchanting me with the many sides of Gabby. Just a moment ago, she’d been the seductress, telling me exactly what she wanted me to do. I could spend a lifetime trying to figure her out and still find something new to delight in.

  After she was thoroughly soaped up, she grabbed the bar out of my hands and returned the favor, taking her time on my chest and arms, then sliding down my abs. The tip of her tongue appeared between her lips and I just about reverted to my original plan of using the shower wall. Her slick hands wrapped around my gearshift and all thought was swept from my brain. I was just a pulsing organ at her mercy. She gave him a thorough washing, all the while I bit my lips and thought of all the things I hated in the world to keep from spilling myself all over her before I got inside of her.

  Pickles, natural deodorant, stingray stings, hangovers, cracking knuckles…

  “Did you say something?”

  Opening my eyes, I saw Gabby staring at me intently, the bar of soap no longer in her hands and the soapsuds completely washed away.

  Shit, I was wasting valuable time. I smiled at her, kissing away her confusion. I got us wrapped in towels and out of the shower.

  “Excuse me, I have to send a text.” I grabbed my phone out of the pocket of my shorts that lay on the ground. I thumbed out a quick text and waited for a reply.

  “Really, Rhett?”

  Gabby’s face held a trace of hurt, which jolted me out of my single-minded thoughts.

  “No, I—I’m texting the studio to get them to shut off our bedroom camera. I don’t want to share you.”

  Her face melted into the sweetest smile, making me feel ten feet
tall. My phone pinged with a text confirming they’d shut it off for the night. Thank God. Game on.

  Gabby launched herself at me and I dropped my phone to the tile, not caring if the damn thing cracked on impact. She kissed me sloppily while her hands tried to open up the towel at my waist. I reached down and helped her, then pulled away as she tried to grab ahold of me again.

  “Wait.” I paused until her eyes focused on me. “You haven’t said you want a real relationship with me, but I want you too much to hold out any longer. But just so you know, I do this with protest.”

  She snickered, which I had to join her in as my statement was a bit ridiculous, but I wanted her to know I would still press for a relationship. Sex wouldn’t be enough for me. I wanted everything with her.

  When she nodded, I yanked her towel off and lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around me and I nearly lost my balance from wanting. I finally made it over to the bed, laying her down carefully. I wanted to see every square inch of her up close. She tried to pull my head back to her for another kiss, but I was a thorough kind of guy. When you made a surfboard, you didn’t rush to the end when you poured the resin and saw the finished product. You had to take care with building the stringer first. I didn’t think Gabby had a wooden stringer, but she had parts I wanted my hands on just the same.

  Kneeling down, I grabbed her feet and kissed each instep, loving the gasp and giggle she gave me. The sounds were my catnip, spurring me on and riling me up even further. I progressed to her calves, then her knees, and finally her thighs, crawling my way onto the bed between her legs. She spread for me, telling me not-so-subtly where she wanted my kisses next, but my girl wasn’t the only one who was unpredictable.

  Lifting up, I grabbed her arms instead, placing them on the bed above her head and kissing my way down the first one and then moving to the other. This placement meant Godzilla dragged across her stomach and between her perfect breasts. Just as I got to her other arm, I felt the warmth of a thousand suns on the tip.

  “Ahh!” I screamed like a little boy, nearly losing control with the sight of Gabby’s lips wrapped around me and that thing she was doing with her tongue. I aborted the arm kissing and pulled myself out of her mouth to save the situation. I was a millisecond away from spilling myself in her mouth and ending this way too early.

  I lay down flat on top of her and caught my breath. “Damn, woman. Save that for our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary when I can control myself a bit more.”

  I both heard and felt the snort-laugh, loving that even while making love, I could make her laugh. When I felt like I could continue without embarrassing myself, I lifted up onto my elbows and gave her time to catch her breath.

  “Sorry about lying on you like that.”

  She smiled up at me. “Sorry for sucking on you like that.”

  I flinched, absolutely delighted to hear her talk dirty. “Maybe I should return the favor and suck on you for a little bit. Would you like that, Snookums? My tongue on your clit, my fingers spreading you wider?”

  Her cheeks flamed and I gave her a lecherous smile. This is the most fun I’ve ever had with a woman. The thought flitted through my brain as I shifted to settle my face between her legs. She gasped and I dove in, lapping her up like a five-course meal at Kitty and Jasper’s house, tasty but never enough. Her thighs clenched around my head and I had to reach down to grab my dick in a tight squeeze to keep myself in check.

  Gabby let out a loud string of curses before going silent, her back bowing off the bed. I slowed my movements, letting her come down slowly. I kissed my way back up her body, hovering over her on shaking arms, taking in the lazy smile that graced the face I’d come to cherish.

  This time I let her hook her arms around my neck and pull me down. She didn’t go for my lips, though. Instead, she slowly licked one side of my mouth and then the other.

  “Those dimples,” she muttered, licking her lips, “and my taste all over them. Perfection.”

  That was the exact moment I lost control. I simply couldn’t handle a dirty talking Gabby. I smashed my lips on hers ungracefully, needing more of her in any way I could get it.

  “Please tell me you’re clean,” she gasped against my lips.

  “Yeah. We just took a shower,” I muttered back, distracted.

  She huffed a laugh, tickling me with her breath. “No, silly. I mean, can we forgo the condom?”

  I dropped my forehead to hers, her meaning finally getting through to my foggy brain. “Yes. Totally clean. And I already know you take birth control. I see you pop it into your mouth every morning.”

  “Then give me the hammer right fucking now.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Reaching down, I lifted her knee up high and notched myself to her entrance. I paused there like an idiot, needing a second to just savor the moment. She growled and I gave her what we both wanted, plunging in until I’d sunk fully inside her. I may have seen the heavens, heard the choir singing, felt the wind from a thousand angels cheering.

  “Mmm, yes, Rhett.”

  I slid back out, lunged back in, and earned another groan. I quickened my pace, chasing the pleasure that rippled down my spine. The rest of my body went numb, like every nerve ending gave up their post and raced to my cock to get in on the electric pulses stealing my breath.

  Gabby threw her head back and thrashed about, making her hair a tangled mess, but the movement also thrust her breasts up at me, so who was I to worry about the tangles? She clenched, gripping me tightly and making me falter in my rhythm.

  “Do that again,” I whispered.

  She did and I was addicted. I slammed into her again and again, finesse forgotten. When the clenching around me started in rapid succession, I needed more from her.

  “Look at me.”

  Her eyes fluttered open, the pupils dilated. We stared at each other, neither of us breaking our gaze. She gasped and sputtered, then chanted my name over and over, a few Tesoros thrown in there. Her orgasm was a green light, giving me permission to let go.

  And let go I did, spilling into her until I was wrung out, possibly dehydrated, and saying incomprehensible things. I swear I blacked out and saw stars, vaguely wondering when we’d taken this outside and if a lost goat would be ruining our fun any time soon. The earth trembled and I was happy to let the quake take me. My life was complete now anyway.

  A poke in my side had me bracing for the goat. I blinked a few times and came back to the room. Gabby was giggling underneath me, poking me repeatedly.

  “Get off me, you heavy blanket!” She let out another peel of laughter and I realized I was lying on her, all my dead weight probably crushing her.

  I popped up to my elbows, happy to see my arms still worked. “Did you just call me fat?”

  Her eyes danced, tears gathering in the corners. “Yes! You tricked me with your chiseled abs and muscles everywhere and tracks of veins. Now I know you’re actually obese!”

  I grinned, lopsided. “You take that back, Snookums.” I poked her in the side, a tickle war starting, which wasn’t a good idea when you couldn’t feel your legs or properly defend yourself. Or when still inside a gorgeous woman.

  She snorted and tried to tickle my obese abs, which actually did tickle. I pulled away, which caused me to slide out of her, a move I wasn’t ready for. Maybe ever. But tickle wars required one’s full attention, so I focused on that, delighted to find Gabby’s hands all over me, looking for ticklish spots.

  Yeah, I was a bastard, getting hard all over again, letting Gabby think I was ticklish everywhere just so she’d keep touching me. We rolled a few times, coming perilously close to the edge of the bed, but I pulled her back each time.

  “Okay! Uncle!” She gasped, her hair a mess, sticking to her sweaty cheeks, tears squeezing out of her eyes as she laughed. She’d never looked more beautiful.

  “Joy looks good on you,” I whispered in her ear as I pulled her in for a hug. She melted against me, holding me tight. We stayed with our back
s leaning against the headboard for long minutes, just breathing each other in, feeling our heartbeats settle into a rhythm together. I stroked a hand down her back, deciding I’d never tire of touching her, feeling her soft skin, giving her comfort while also taking it too.

  Gabby kept her face nuzzled into my neck but rearranged her legs to wind up straddling me. She drifted a hand down between us to find my hard love sausage, lifting up only to slide down onto me inch by inch. My eyes rolled back in my head.

  She began to move slowly, agonizingly so. Her hands rested on my shoulders, her gaze never leaving mine as she rode me back to heaven, the bright lights and soft, fuzzy clouds welcoming us. Not once did she look away from me, just stared into my soul as we shattered together.

  I may not have had a verbal commitment from her, but there was no way this was a casual fuck. We were in this thing together now, whether Gabby could admit it or not.

  We had to be.

  Because there was no way I was letting her go.

  24

  Rhett

  The whole next week was better than I ever believed to be possible. Gabby and I were attached at the hip, teasing and silly one minute, serious and soul-deep the next. I’d texted the producer to permanently take that camera out of our bedroom. He’d only relented when I said it was coming between us since we liked to fuck nightly and couldn’t since they’d installed it. I didn’t say I’d sue him for my relationship problems, but I didn’t not say it either. The thing was gone the next day and I celebrated by pinning Gabby against the wall it had been installed on. She’d eventually screamed long and loud in celebration of its removal.

  It was more than the sex, even though hum-didler tried to make it all about himself. The bliss came from the way Gabby opened up to me. The constant touches even when the cameras weren’t around. The looks she gave me across the table as she ate the eggs I’d made her. The way she wasn’t afraid to show her anger in front of me, while also showing me her soft and vulnerable side. She’d crack a silly joke and my heart would leap in my chest. She was everything rolled into one woman and I loved it all. Hell, I loved her.