I swallow hard.
“Just hang in there. Remember, it’s only one week. You can do anything for one week, and at the end, you get your baby.”
Right. I must keep my focus on that. I can do anything for a week, even tolerate his crotchety mother.
At least, I think that I can.
“Alright.” Conner comes and stands in my doorway. “Are you all unpacked?”
I nod.
“Cool. Want to go and explore for a bit? We can take one of the boats out on the water if you want.”
“Sure.” I hop up. “That sounds like fun. Let me just get changed.”
“Sounds good.” He flashes me a smile and then closes my door.
I put on a bikini with a coverup over the top before throwing my hair into a bun on the top of my head and grabbing my sunglasses. By the time that I walk out of my bedroom, Conner is also just coming out of his, and my breath suddenly gets caught in my throat. He also put on a pair of swim trunks, except he forgot one important thing.
A t-shirt.
As my eyes focus on his stomach, my heart suddenly kicks into gear, and as it races in my chest, I suddenly get very dizzy. Dear lord, it’s just not right for any man to look so good. His chest is firm, and tightly toned. Every muscle in his stomach is on full display, and as he moves towards me, his arms flex, which of course, causes my attention to shift there also.
He just simply smirks.
“Do you like what you see?” He winks at me, and I instantly drop my eyes.
“Get over yourself, Andrews. And, for the love of God, put a shirt on.”
“I’m going to pass on the shirt, babes. I kinda like when you look at me like I’m on the dinner menu.”
“Hopefully you’re on a shark’s dinner menu. Keep acting so full of yourself, and I just might throw you overboard.”
I get another smirk in return.
“You wouldn’t do that. If I went overboard, you’d be stuck here with my mother until you figured out a way to get out of here. I promise you, you don’t want that to happen.”
“Valid point, Andrews. I suppose that I won’t throw you overboard. At least, not today.”
“Good.” He winks at me, reaching down and grabbing my hand, and leading me out of the guest house.
I try to ignore the way that having my hand in his feels, because honestly, I wasn’t prepared to actually like holding his hand. But there is really something to be said for the small touch of having your hand in a man’s. I mean, sure. Sex is one way to connect but walking around and holding hands feels pretty damn intimate to me. And, I can’t say that I love how at ease I feel as he leads me along the pathway from the guest house down to the ocean.
I breathe in deep, letting the smell of the salt water calm me down.
“I love that smell,” I murmur as Conner glances down at me with a smile.
“It is pretty great, isn’t it? I used to love coming here as a kid. It’s been so long since I’ve been here, that I almost forgot how much I love the smell of the ocean.”
“How long has it been since you’ve been here?”
He tilts his head as we approach the dock.
“Damn. I’m not sure, to be honest. At least ten years.”
“Ten years?” I stare at him in awe. “If my parents had a place like this, I’d want to be here every summer!”
“If your parents were like mine, would you want to spend your summers with them?”
He stares at me, and I’m instantly filled with sadness for him.
Of course, I wouldn’t want to be here if my parents were like his. But, I can’t even imagine my parents acting the way that his do. Or at least, how his mother does. My parents may not have money like his do, but that never mattered to me at all. I had a solid foundation and two parents who hugged me, and loved me, and never made me feel alone. I grew up in a nice home, and I had nice things, and never really felt like I went without. I certainly didn’t live in a mansion, but I would take our three-bedroom ranch over his parents’ estate any day.
I had a home, and Conner just had a house.
“Either way, this is really beautiful, and I’m very excited to go out on the ocean with you.”
He grins and tugs me along the deck. There are several boats tied to the dock, and we settle for a white and blue speedboat. He hops onto the boat first, before turning around and placing his hands around my waist, lifting me into the boat. Electricity shoots through me at his touch, and even once both of my feet are firmly planted inside, he continues to keep his grip on me, as he stares down at me and my eyes lock with his. It’s just because he’s beautiful, I tell myself. That’s the only reason that I can’t look away.
The bare skin of his chest rubbing along my skin doesn’t help things either.
“You are very special, Gabriella,” he finally tells me as his grip on my hips tightens ever so slightly. “I really hope that you realize that.”
I try to think of something smart to say back to him. Something to break this moment that I’ve found myself in with him, but I just can’t.
“I think that you’re pretty special yourself, hot shot. You can be really arrogant most of the time, but compared to your mother, you’re pretty normal.”
He smiles.
“I’m going to take that twisted jumble of words as a compliment. So, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I blink, finally mustering up enough courage to take a step back, away from him and his grasp on me.
He stares at me for just a beat and then shakes his head. He moves quickly to the front of the boat and begins to rummage underneath the seat. In the next instant, he produces a life jacket. He turns back around to me and thrusts it my way.
“Oh, no thanks.” I shake my head. “I’m not wearing that.”
“Like hell you’re not.” His eyebrows skyrocket. “You’re putting on the lifejacket or else we’re not moving.”
I can’t even fight my eyeroll.
“Well, then it looks like we’re not going out on the water today, because I am not wearing that jacket!”
He crosses his arms and glares at me, so in my own true fashion, I match his stare, and we begin our standoff.
“Look, I can do this all day, Gabriella. This isn’t some little lake that we’re about to go out on. This is the ocean. The Atlantic Ocean, and I’m not pulling away from this dock until this life jacket is firmly clipped on your body.”
“And, Conner, like I already told you, I am not wearing that freaking life jacket, so if that means we don’t go boating, then so be it.”
“Fine.” He smirks. “We don’t have to go boating. My mother usually sits out on the patio after lunch, so we could always forgo boating and go and hang out with her.”
“Give me the damn life jacket.” I glare at him and snatch it out of his hands.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Conner announces, which is ridiculous since there is no one else around, “did you see what just happened? I won. I, Conner Andrews, just defeated the beautiful Gabriella Martin. She actually followed an order. It is a damn miracle.”
“You’re creeping me out, hot shot. You’re talking to the wind.”
“The wind is my friend.” He grins wide. “And the wind just witnessed my win.”
“Win this.” I flash him my middle finger, but he hardly notices. He’s too busy gloating over me putting on the stupid life jacket.
Have I mentioned that he’s a bossy, annoying asshole?
Conner maneuvered our boat around the water for several hours, pointing out some landmarks that were close to shore, but mostly, we just sped around the ocean. The salt in the air and the sun on my face have done wonders for my mood, and suddenly, today’s lunch and Conner’s awful mother are hardly a passing thought in my mind.
I lean back in my seat and watch as Conner stands over the bow of the now stopped boat and throws the anchor overboard. It’s impossible not to notice how his arms ripple with the movement, and it’s also hard to ignore the w
ay that my body reacts to the sight of him.
Dammit all. Even though Conner is incredibly annoying, I have to admit, he’s sort of growing on me.
“Alright, babes.” He winks at me. “How about if I fold down these chairs and we relax for a while?”
He motions to the chair that I’m sitting in, and I shrug.
“Sounds great to me. Or, I can just lay a towel on the bow.”
“Nah.” He reaches down to me and grabs my hand, pulling me to a standing position. “I’m going to let you take your life jacket off to lay out, and I’m not comfortable with you laying out the bow without your jacket on.”
“Conner.” I roll my eyes. “I am an excellent swimmer. Have I ever mentioned to you that I was on the swim team in high school?”
“I don’t care.” He shakes his head. “This is the ocean, baby. There are all kinds of things in this water that can kill you. I’m not willing to take any chances with you.”
Why do those words cause butterflies to erupt in my belly? This is Conner. My annoying, asshole boss, who I can hardly stand. Yet, as my eyes flick up towards his, I suddenly feel dizzy. I swallow hard as his hands move to the zipper of my life jacket. As he unzips it, his fingers ever so slightly brush across my skin, sending tingles all the way to my toes. I suck in air, causing his attention to shift away from the life jacket. He pauses for just a moment, his fingertips resting against my shoulders, as he stares hard into my eyes. I bite my lip hard, trying to keep myself together, even though my body is about to kick into overdrive. Every inch of me is suddenly hyper aware of the way that it feels to have his hands touching my skin, and it takes every ounce of courage to keep myself from crying out.
“Fuck,” he mutters, taking a ragged breath and pulling my life jacket off of me and tossing it to the side. “You’re so fucking beautiful, baby.”
Baby.
I know that we’re just playing rolls here. The hand holding, the endearing name calling. We’re just putting on a show for his family and pretending to be something that we’re not. But as the word rolls off of his lips, I can’t fight the way that it makes me feel. As if he reads my mind, his eyes darken, and suddenly, his hands move. One moves to the back of my neck, his fist tangling in my hair, as the other to the small of my back, pulling me tightly towards him.
He growls and mutters something underneath his breath that I can’t quite make out right before his mouth mashes down onto mine. He tastes like salt and sin, and I can’t even stop myself from opening wide for him. In the next moment, my hands are moving wildly along his skin, tracing his muscles as my fingers dig into his flesh.
I’m crying out for him, and moving my hips towards him, desperate to feel his touch all over my body.
“You’re so fucking sexy,” he growls into my mouth before pulling my head back and trailing his lips along my neck.
“So fucking perfect,” he mutters again, grabbing me underneath my bottom and lifting me onto the bow of the boat.
His hands move to my breasts as his lips continue to move along my skin. He groans as he squeezes them and then tugs at the strings that hold my top together, letting it fall to the ground. His mouth moves along my breasts as his tongue circles my nipples. The feeling of his mouth and his tongue are enough to do me in, but add the slight breeze of the salty air whipping against my tender flesh and I can’t even control myself. My legs wrap tightly around his waist, and my head falls back as I dig my nails into his back and cry out for him.
“Oh, fuck,” he mutters as he sucks my nipple even harder. “Yes. Lose yourself, baby. Let go.”
I already am, which is pretty damn surprising, considering that he has yet to touch me there. Although, I don’t have to wait long. As I’m spinning in space, I feel his finger glide along my folds as he spreads me wide. I shamelessly begin to rock my hips against his hand while holding his head against my chest. He moves his mouth between my breasts, sucking me so hard that I’m certain he is going to leave marks behind.
I couldn’t fucking care less.
All that I know is that I need him to continue to touch me, because nothing in the world has ever felt so damn good.
“Gabs,” he moans against my skin as I begin to chant his name while he fucks me with his finger.
“Baby,” he moans again as I cry out for him and tighten my legs around his waist.
I want him inside of me. In fact, I’m begging for him. Moaning his name and pleading with him to fuck me. He ignores my pleas ,though, and before I can even realize what’s happening, my bottom is pulled off of me, and I feel his tongue gliding along my very tender flesh.
“So fucking sweet,” he murmurs as he begins to suck on my clit, causing my hips to jerk and a scream to leave me.
“My god, baby. You’re so fucking good.”
I could say the same thing about him.
I almost can’t take anymore. My body continues to build and then release, but Conner seems to be in no rush to get inside of my body. He just continues to lick and suck on me, drinking down each and every release that he causes as my body just becomes limp against the bow of the boat.
I can’t even sit upright anymore. I’m laying down against the cool fiberglass, gripping my thighs so tightly that I’m certain that I’m drawing blood as he continues to growl and lick me like I am the best damn thing that he’s ever tasted.
I’m going to be honest here. I’m no saint, and I’ve certainly been with my fair share of men in the past. Not that I would ever consider myself a slut, but, I’ve been with a few different men. Never once in my entire twenty nine years on this planet have I had a man cause this type of reaction in my body, where I’m literally having an orgasm every thirty seconds, until the point where I feel like I could pass out.
Conner has brought me over the edge more times in the last thirty minutes than I think I have ever experienced. As in, tallying up every orgasm that I’ve ever had. Yet, he seems in no hurry to stop, and even though he is wreaking havoc on my body, I’m in no position to ask him to.
He finally rises slowly and lifts me into his arms. I’m limp against him and panting his name as he lowers me back onto the boat, onto one of the seats that has now been spread out into a lounge chair.
The leather is soft against my skin. He lays me down onto it, and then, lays his body right on top of mine, bracing his weight with his elbows. Without any warning, I feel his thick head pressing against my heat, and I can’t even manage to open my eyes as he drops his hips, filling me with his thick and throbbing erection.
“You’re so tight, baby,” he groans, pulling himself nearly out of me, causing me to cry out for him. He quickly drops his hips and fills me again.
“So fucking wet for me. I fucking love that. You’re so fucking wet.”
I can’t even respond. My words are all lost, and all that I can do is moan his name and rock my hips against him with abandon.
He moves inside of me as though he has been trained to fuck, with every movement causing me to build to a point that I didn’t even think was possible.
“I’m not going to last very long, baby, so I need you to come,” he orders as my hips jerk wildly.
“Come for me, Gabriella. Come right now,” he barks as he slams himself into me, burying his thick length balls deep inside of me.
I cry out for him, screaming his name into the wind as my body ignites, and I lose myself all around him.
He jerks once more, and then groans loudly, as he falls against me, and he fills me in a way that I’ve never felt before.
We’re both left laying there, panting like crazy, as he fills me with exactly what I needed him for.
14
Conner
Gabriella finally stirs, and I pull her closer to my body. After what went down on the boat, I drove us back to shore, and carried her back to my bedroom. She barely opened her eyes during any of it, and for the last hour and a half, she’s been snuggled up next to me, in my bed, sound asleep.
Right where she belongs
.
I can’t even believe that thought crosses my mind. It sure as hell shouldn’t, but yet, I can’t deny the way that holding her feels. It’s not like I plan on doing anything about the way that I’m feeling, because I know for damn sure that having any kinds of feelings towards her, aside from lust, is a bad idea. Gabriella wants a baby. Maybe even a family someday, and those are both things that aren’t even on my radar.
I mean, look at how fucked up my parents are, and how fucked up in the head they made my siblings and me. There’s no way that I would ever sign up for that, because I don’t want to run the risk of treating my kids the same way that I was treated growing up.
I am meant to be alone. My only future plan is to have a hot woman in my bed every now and then and build my financial empire.
That’s it. It’s pretty damn simple. So, having any kinds of feelings for this woman would only complicate matters more.
I release her slightly, forcing myself to push away, as her eyes flutter open. They focus on me, and then, she blushes.
“Conner. Hey.”
“Hey yourself, beautiful. How did you sleep?”
“Like a rock.”
She pulls the covers over her chest and then sits up in the bed and rubs her eyes.
“How long did I sleep for?”
I glance at the clock.
“About an hour and a half. You didn’t even flinch when I carried you off of the boat. I was worried that I killed you.”
“Death by multiple orgasms would definitely be the way to go.” She blushes fiercely as the words leave her mouth.
“I’m willing to bring you close to death whenever you would like.” I wink at her, and she groans.
“Too far, Casanova. You just made it creepy.”
“I aim to please.”
She rolls her eyes, but she does manage to smile at me, before pulling of the covers and making her way towards the bathroom. She still has her bathing suit on, which she had haphazardly put back on her body after we did our thing on the boat. But as I watch her, I can’t help but to remember the way that body looked with no clothes on, or the way that she moaned my name, as she begged me to fuck her.
Getting the Goods Page 9