“Meat on her bones, hmm?” Emory looked stung. “So where does that leave me?”
Gabriel hadn’t meant to insult the girl. “In Alex’s bed, I’d warrant. You’re that tosser’s lover, not mine.”
Alex shot him a dirty look and reached for Emory. “You’re pretty as a pixie, love. You know that.”
“And Anne is a full-figured woman, which Gabriel claims he prefers.” Emory apparently wasn’t going to lose sleep over his personal preferences. “Which means…”
“Which means nothing.” Gabriel turned and walked away. “Take the chit home and shag her a few more times, Alex. Maybe if she’s tired, she’ll stop nosing into other people’s business.”
Alex chuckled. “Not bloody likely.”
* * *
Anne shut off the bedroom light and tried to sleep. Unfortunately, it just wouldn’t come. She had too many things on her mind. She’d had her first sexual experience at twenty-one, after being desperately afraid it would never happen. Even before that admittedly disappointing moment, Anne had never experienced the level of sexual frustration she was currently combating.
Her whole body was so tightly strung she thought it might implode. She had never been one to indulge in much self-stimulation, though it wasn’t from lack of curiosity on her part. Her real-life sexual experiences had never been all that great. She’d worried, with all the aplomb of a classic worrier, that the kind of enjoyment she’d receive from touching herself would somehow spoil what little release she gained from having sex for real.
She had always known her ex married her for the connections she brought and nothing more. They’d never even shared a bedroom. When Paul had deigned to make love to her, he’d done so in a hurried manner. He would make the room as dark as possible, use a condom that promised instant lubrication, and thrust into her pussy a maximum of twenty times before ejaculating and leaving her alone in her bedroom for the remainder of the night.
Anne sat up in bed, frustrated and achy, and not even fully understanding why. She’d been to the Phoenix before. She’d watched Alex finger-fuck Kitty and leave her hanging to teach her a lesson. Granted, it hadn’t been anything like the interlude she’d watched today. The emotion between Alex and the tiny woman with the curly dark hair was palpable. Watching the two of them make love on the counter had been one of the most stirring things Anne had ever seen. Still, it had been the most minor of teasers compared to the moment she realized Gabriel was so obviously interested in her arousal.
How could a man like that give one whit what a fat girl like Anne thought about sex? She drew her knees up until they were pinned against her pendulous breasts. He was every girl’s dream of a princely hero: larger than life, powerful, handsome, and sexy. He even came complete with a British accent and an entourage of lovely women falling all over him.
The truth dampened the flair of sexual awareness between her legs. Even if a woman like Anne could somehow snag the attention of a man like Gabriel, it would be a violation of the basic laws of nature for her to be able to hold him long. Other women would be constantly throwing themselves at him. Like the beautiful redhead he’d kissed at the door, they would come and he would answer. His dick wouldn’t let him do otherwise.
Like Paul.
Two years and she still couldn’t put the insecurity behind her. How did Jessa do it? Her first husband had been a serial cheater as well, yet she seemed to have forgotten all about it.
Anne rocked back and forth, her billowing cotton nightgown pulled tight around her body. The light baby-pink fabric was soft against her skin. She loved the functionality of the garment, but there was a tiny part of her that wished she could pull off some of the lingerie that Jessa had once described.
The truth was, there was a distinct difference between Jessa’s voluptuous figure and Anne’s. Women like Jessa could get away with wearing things that Anne’s plus-size body simply could not pull off. Things like sexy lingerie.
She glanced at the clock. The numbers on the display read 4:00. Sleep was just not going to happen. There was no way to get rid of the edgy, achy weirdness making her feel anxious one second and euphoric the next. It was nonsensical and probably hormonal. With her luck, she would call her doctor and he would tell her she was menopausal.
The thought sent Anne crashing back down to the depths of despair. That niggling worry was the thing that kept her going on first dates. It kept her hoping that there might be someone out there for her. Her deepest held fear was that she would reach the age of menopause without ever even discovering herself as a woman. She wanted to know the real Anne, or at least the one she hoped lurked somewhere underneath all those extra pounds.
Giving in to the restlessness, Anne flung her legs over the side of the bed and got up. Maybe a walk would take the edge off this sense of angst that seemed to have settled in her bones. If nothing else, it would burn off that baguette she’d eaten the night before.
CHAPTER FIVE
The sky was just starting to lighten from midnight to lavender when Anne gave the sleepy doorman a brisk nod and set off on her early morning jaunt. She was stunned to discover she was not the only person up and about at this ungodly hour. In fact, she suspected the anorexic-looking joggers zipping by were not suffering from any form of insomnia.
The air was cool and clear, promising a perfect fall day once the rest of the world finished waking up. Anne meandered without giving any thought to her direction. Her matching black velour yoga pant set felt comfy in the cool morning breeze. She zipped her hoodie halfway up and tucked her hands into her pockets. Passing the quaint shops on Main Street, she gazed with interest at the trinkets and crafts displayed in their windows.
The amazing scent of cinnamon rolls and other treats wafted on the air as she neared the bakery. Deciding that was not going to make her feel any better, Anne turned the corner and walked purposefully away from the temptation. The decisive action left her feeling self-satisfied.
Her calves were starting to tingle with the exercise when she realized she’d come upon the tiny park situated not far from the heart of downtown. The sky was just beginning to pale to peach. Streaks of orange appeared on the horizon.
A low, guttural sound drew her attention away from the promise of sunrise and back to the park. She took a few steps forward, wondering if she should retreat instead. It was possible that her curiosity would put her in the path of some kind of animal picking through a trash can.
Edging around a park bench and a tree thick with dense green leaves, Anne found herself looking at a secluded area tucked between two adjoining buildings. The grass was smooth and sparkling with dew. A narrow pea-gravel footpath provided a means of entry and exit without the use of the park’s main entrance.
A small piece of forgotten playground equipment stood to one side of the clearing. The simple metal framework played host to two empty swings and the muscular form of a man using the center bar for a series of pull-ups.
Anne tried to swallow and found her mouth too dry to accomplish this minor task. He was missing his black “uniform” from the night before, but even in a white tank top, athletic pants, and running shoes she knew it was Gabriel. His arms bunched, the muscles rippling and straining as they effortlessly lifted his body. He kept his lower half utterly still, legs tilted at an angle to the ground. The pants were snug, giving her a prime view of his hard ass. It was too bad she couldn’t see around the front to check out exactly what he was packing.
She made an attempt to clear her throat and merely succeeded in making a ridiculous little squeak.
The pull-up marathon stopped abruptly. Gabriel let go of the bar and landed lightly on the balls of his feet. He turned around, a forbidding expression on his face. She wasn’t certain if it was good or bad when he registered her presence, and his face visibly relaxed.
“Hello, Anne.”
Two words, one of them her name, and her pussy reacted on a visceral level her mind could not comprehend. She was instantly wet. He could not have
done more had he physically caressed her throbbing flesh.
“I couldn’t sleep.” The words tumbled out before she could consciously form them. Embarrassed, she hastily tried to explain. “I don’t normally go walking this early.”
A tiny smile played at the corner of his generous mouth. His beard looked deliciously scruffy, as if he’d just rolled out of bed seconds before he launched into his morning exercise routine. She wondered what he’d look like in bed, naked, asleep after having mouth-watering sex.
Her face burned with chagrin. “I’ll just leave you to your morning.”
“Why couldn’t you sleep?”
It occurred to Anne that all of her pretending to be calm and in control was pointless. This man seemed to have no trouble focusing past all of her attempts at diversion. “I suppose I was just restless.”
He bent down and picked up a plastic water bottle that had been propped against one of the swing set’s legs. “Does that happen often?”
“Obviously not.” She held out her hands to encompass her ample figure.
A frown turned his face from friendly to fierce. “If you walked five miles every morning at dawn, I could only hope you wouldn’t lose that.”
“Lose what?”
“Your figure.”
“My…figure.” She struggled to process the meaning behind his words. “There’s no man on earth who could possibly believe I shouldn’t be running more like ten miles a day while trying to melt off about sixty or seventy pounds.”
“Bloody wankers then, if you ask me. A bloke should appreciate a woman who looks like one.”
He drained the water in the bottle and tossed it into a can on the opposite corner of the swing set. Anne tried to decide if she should ask for a translation or not. If she understood at all, the gist of what he said seemed to indicate he liked women who looked like…her.
“The redhead from last night.” Anne took a few hesitant steps, closing the distance between them. “You seemed really into her.”
One elegant dark brow arched high. “That right?”
A few more steps, until his warm, masculine scent teased her senses. “Yes. She was the one with the creamy skin, the long legs, and the ass you could bounce a quarter off of.”
This time it was Gabriel who stepped closer. “Trust me, love. I like to put plenty inside a woman, none of it in quarters.”
A little thrill slid across her skin. Was he flirting with her? Her heart was like a battering ram against her rib cage. She wished she were more experienced at this sort of thing. What if she only thought he was flirting but he wasn’t? How embarrassing it would be! She wet her dry lips with the tip of her tongue, trying to decide how to proceed.
“Do that again,” he said.
“What?”
“Let me show you.”
Before Anne realized his intentions, Gabriel stepped in close. His presence overwhelmed her. Arms rife with power slid around her body. The gentleness in his embrace was shocking. Lowering his mouth to hers, he lightly traced her lips with the tip of his tongue.
“Oh wow.” She was struggling to breathe normally.
He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like bloody hell before taking her mouth in a kiss that sapped the strength from her legs. Anne collapsed against him, his strength easily holding her steady while he plundered her mouth.
He tasted gloriously wild and male, a hint of spice and something completely foreign she couldn’t name. His lips were hard and yet pliant as they molded against hers. Sensation flared to life all over her body.
Someone made a noise. It took Anne a moment to realize it was her. It seemed to inflame him, urge him on. His tongue swept inside her mouth, and she clung to the front of his cotton tank top as he bent her backward over his arm. He explored her teeth, whisking over her tongue and coaxing her to open wider to receive his kiss. He was hard and hot around her, and she realized there was a distinctive ridge pressed tightly against her belly growing harder and harder each second.
“This is how a woman should feel.” He slid his hand through the opening of her zipper, cupping her breast. “Full and perfectly ripe.”
His words made something deep inside her body clench tight. She wanted him to kiss her again. She didn’t care if they were in the middle of a public park. She was ready to strip naked and beg him to make love to her then and there.
He thumbed her nipple through the fabric of her bra and T-shirt. “You like that, don’t you?”
She must, because her nipple had beaded into a hard little point that was trying to stab its way to freedom. Her eyelids fluttered shut when he lowered his head, but it wasn’t her mouth he was going for this time.
He nuzzled her breast, lipping her hardened nipple through the double layer of fabric. Anne couldn’t help it. She grabbed his head with her hands and pulled him closer. It felt amazing, like heaven, and she didn’t want it to stop.
“I want to touch you, Anne.” His husky voice sent tremors throughout her body. “I want to know if you’re wet for me.”
Standing right there in the park, she nodded her head yes without a second thought.
He shifted his stance a little, bracing her weight against one arm and using the other to slide down her abdomen. She watched, unable to rip her gaze away when his fingers pushed beneath her elastic waistband.
“Blimey, love, your pussy is perfect.” His tone was low, fervent, his erotic words making her toes curl with arousal. “Full, swollen, and ready for my touch.”
His intense gaze held her in thrall while his hand rested on her mons. He threaded his fingers ever so gently through her pubic hair, as if petting her. When he moved lower, she made an involuntary sound of surprise. Just a little sigh, but she could tell that he loved it.
He delved into her slit, sliding through the juices that had been building since she’d seen him doing his pull-ups. No, before that, since the moment she’d seen him step out onto the curb. She knew now that her body had been waiting for this moment since she’d first spotted him.
“So slick and hot you are, love. So good for me.” He brushed a featherlight kiss over the tip of her nose. “I’m going to make it good for you too.”
He curled his fingertip around her clit. Anne had no idea what he did, but it sent sparks flying through her body. She clenched her hands around his forearms, holding on tight as he fingered her wet pussy.
Around the nub he went, then down just a little to tease her achy opening, and then back up to resume the sweet torment. Her hips tilted up to give him better access. Without words her body begged him for the release she craved more than life.
It built like hot coals fanned into full flame. The tightness settled in her spine. It was tension in her ass that culminated at the precise point where her distended clit met his magic fingers. The crescendo exploded like a firecracker, and waves of undulating pleasure swept Anne like a sweet, sweet storm.
She gasped for air, breathing heavily and trying to regain control of her own body. Through it all, Gabriel stared down into her face as though he were absorbing every expression, every nuance of her experience.
Just when she thought she would never climb such a cliff of intensity again, he tugged his hand free of her yoga pants. Lifting it to his mouth, he held her gaze and sucked his fingers clean of her juices.
Anne couldn’t help it. She moaned like a wanton thing.
“All woman and more perfect than anything I’ve ever tasted,” he told her.
Who was this woman who let a near stranger bring her to orgasm with his fingers while standing in plain view in a public place? This wasn’t Anne Roquefort-Paul, divorcee, who spent her mornings desperately trolling dating web sites for possible relationship material.
“You should come back to the bar tonight,” Gabriel said.
His words were so casual, delivered in a tone of voice that left her wondering if he’d been completely unaffected by what they’d just shared.
He helped settle her more firmly on her ow
n two feet. “What do you say?”
“I’m not sure.” She needed more time to process what was happening. “What about your redheaded friend?”
His broad shoulders lifted as he sighed. She got the impression he was trying not to act impatient. “If you know she’s just a friend, why do you care if she comes around?”
“Because she’s beautiful and I’m not, and I don’t have any interest in being the ugly duckling who loiters around the pond, waiting for the moment I finally turn into a swan.”
The grin that spread across his features was that of a bad boy used to getting his way. “That’s good, because I don’t typically have a desire to fuck birds.”
Heat bloomed in her belly. His statement was clever, amusing, but also seemed to imply he had a desire to fuck her. She didn’t even know how to process that notion. Did she want to fuck him?
Um, yes! I should just say I’ll meet him. What do I have to lose?
She’d opened her mouth to agree when she remembered the date she’d scheduled for this evening—the one that was supposed to provide her with an escort to her father’s retirement party. She couldn’t blow that one off. It was her last chance to avoid attending the event alone.
“Anne.” Gabriel traced her lower lip with the pad of his index finger. “I need to go. I’d like to see you tonight if you can fit it into your schedule.”
Without any sort of warning, he kissed her. His lips caressed hers, his tongue sliding along the seam of her mouth until he gained entrance. He pushed inside, the motions mimicking the primal ebb and flow of sex.
Her body came alive beneath his touch. She loved the strength of him, the sheer presence that infused her with longing. He made her feel desirable, beautiful in a way she’d never experienced. She wanted to have sex with this man. Even if it didn’t last, she wanted to know what it felt like to be with someone like him.
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