by Emme Rollins, Julia Kent, Anna Antonia, Helena Newbury, Aubrey Rose
I was as vulnerable as ever to him and I had nowhere to run.
“Emma, this is a most pleasant and welcome surprise.”
I couldn’t exactly say the same so I murmured something vague but polite. Gabriel saw right through it. He stepped closer and murmured, “Still don’t like me much, do you?”
My mouth dropped open. His assistant’s dark brow raised a notch before he turned to look up at the mirrored ceiling. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment. I lowered my voice and answered, “I don’t dislike you.”
“But you did.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“It sure didn’t feel that way from where I stood.”
Was that a dig for how things ended between us? It probably was. Flustered, I haltingly apologized. “I’m sorry I made you feel that, Gabriel. Really. I always liked you…even when I said…well, you know.”
I was telling the truth, but I couldn’t blame him if he didn’t believe me. I never disliked Gabriel but leaving his bed, turning down his offer to be his only girl, and never speaking to him again sure as hell didn’t support my claim.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” I could see in his eyes he knew what I was talking about.
“There’s no way in hell I’d ever be your girlfriend, Gabriel. I know who you really are. I’m not mad enough to ever put myself through that kind of misery. I’m worth more than just being a notch in your belt. A lot more.”
The strident voice of my seventeen year old self faded from memory, leaving me alone with the twenty-five year old man I had once said those vicious words to. Sadness washed over me as I once again wondered if I had made a mistake in turning Gabriel away.
“I’m glad to finally hear it.” His lazy-lidded gaze sparkled with mirth, nearly disguising a flash of stark sadness.
Guilt prickled me. That and regret.
Gabriel Gordon the billionaire was invincible and impervious to mortal weakness. Gabriel the young man I’d watched for so long wasn’t. I knew better than believing the outside was any real indication of a person’s insides.
Tenderness evaporated when I heard him ask smugly, “So for how long did you pine over me, Emma?”
“W-What?” I sputtered, apparently still unable to coherently speak. “Pine over you? Did you really just use the word ‘pine’?”
“Was it just senior year or all four of them? I bet it was all four of them, wasn’t it?” Gabriel leaned closer. “I mean, you spent so much time staring at me. It had to be about more than just my good looks.”
I crossed my arms and re-crossed them, feeling like an awkward teenager again. “That’s pretty arrogant of you.”
“Sure it is. I’m always arrogant. Now answer the question.”
“I don’t have to answer that, Gabriel. And you really shouldn’t be asking.”
“Oh yes. There it is!” He leaned closer and murmured, “That’s what I’ve been missing.”
Confused, I frowned deeply. “What are you talking about?” My sour tone should’ve put him off. Instead, it made his expression crease with delight.
“That attitude, Emma, and the little wrinkle that forms right here. I see it hasn’t gotten any bigger so it must only come out when you’re talking to me.” His fingertip tapped the bridge of my nose lightly.
Gabriel’s brief touch warmed me. My body instantly recognized the sensation, blooming with joy at feeling him again. Apparently it hadn’t forgotten that long ago night either.
“It’s not nice of you to point out my wrinkles, Gabriel.”
“But it’s my wrinkle, Emma. I’m very proud of its existence.”
I choked on a laugh and tried to disguise it as a cough. He saw right through me. Again.
“So tell me, Emma…” He drew out my name in a way I hadn’t heard in so many years.
“Yes?” The elevator steadily rose higher. I was sure I should’ve reached my floor by now. Glad I hadn’t, I let myself enjoy the moment of being with the man that had always fascinated me so.
Gabriel took a step closer. He towered over me, making me utterly aware of his body. Even though I had grown a few inches so had he. I was back to being a blade of grass struggling to grow in the enormity of Gabriel’s shadow. Or a moth battering against the window, wanting so badly to come inside and become one with his light.
Gabriel’s lips curled into another amazing smile. He reached out and ran the back of one finger against my cheek. I closed my eyes, finding it harder to breathe. I’d gone so quickly from petty resentment to this liquid sensation. I wanted to lean closer to him, to rest my head on his chest and hear his heartbeat.
“How many years was it?”
I looked at him in confusion. It was difficult to think while his finger continued its slow slide up and down across my warm cheek. “How many years was what?”
“How many years did you like me, Emma?” His gaze darkened as he stared at my mouth. “How many years did you like me like I liked you?”
There were too many ‘likes’ in that sentence. A girl should have some secrets, but standing there, so close to his exquisite face and seeing myself reflected in his crystal blue eyes, I decided this was one I didn’t have to keep anymore.
“Longer than even I realized. Long after graduation.”
Gabriel nodded slowly, seemingly still fixated on the shape of my mouth. “I wish I had figured it out back then.”
A small hum appeared in my throat. I swayed towards him. His hand left my face, moving down until his fingers curled around my wrist.
“Did you almost want to die of regret?” Gabriel asked abruptly, in a harsh near-whisper.
My eyes widened. Shocked by his question, I looked over his shoulder, seeing the still silent assistant now standing there with back discreetly turned to us.
“Don’t look at him! Stay right here with me.”
I obeyed immediately, gaze refocusing back on his. My mind was in too much of a jumble to make sense of my uncommon reaction.
“Did you ever regret saying no to me? I need to know, Emma.”
I dangled on the question, feeling like I shouldn’t answer just because he demanded it of me. It was instinctual. I didn’t want to be controlled by anyone, no matter how alluring the command. Still, Gabriel never truly fit in the parameters I set for myself and the outside world.
He never had and that’s why I knew Gabriel for the walking danger he was. He threatened me by being like the sun, for tempting me to love him for simply existing and staying forever out of my reach.
So did I regret saying no? Of course I did. But then again, maybe I was crazy because I still couldn’t face the possibility of yes.
“I did but—”
“No, I don’t want to hear the rest.” Gabriel closed his eyes. A shudder went through him. His entire body relaxed, unwinding from tension I didn’t see he carried until it was gone. “I finally know what I needed to know.”
Moments passed with suspended anticipation before I asked softly, “Which is?”
Gabriel speared me again with his brilliant gaze. “It wasn’t just me.”
The breath left my body. My fingertips itched to trace the sharp lines of his cheekbones. “No, it wasn’t just you.”
“I scared you then, didn’t I?”
Then? Gabriel scared me now. He was everything shimmering beyond the veil of my reality. The comparisons between his world and mine always left me feeling disoriented, like a visitor in a perfectly maintained castle. Something exquisite meant to be experienced and lusted after—but only for a short period.
Look but don’t touch.
“Yes.” The word slipped out before I could capture it. “You still do.”
“I’m sorry for that, Emma. I really am.”
The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Visiting hours were over. I twisted my wrist. Gabriel let go. Smoothing my hands down my skirt, I managed a brief shaky smile. “I better get going.”
“Why? We just started our talk.”
“I’ve
reached my floor.”
“Really? That quickly?”
“Yes.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Floor twenty-nine. Med-Tech. You just moved in.”
I made an affirmative sound, suddenly wishing I really didn’t have to leave. I loved the way he’d just looked at me, sweetly as if I was a precious sight. How did Gabriel still have the power to do this to me? Where was my wall, the one I frantically built and rebuilt when he’d decided to woo me seven years before? Was I so susceptible to his charms like everyone else?
Do I really have to ask that question when I already know the answer?
I had to put distance between us.
“It was good seeing you, Gabriel, but I have to go.” I made to step around him when he stepped in the same direction, neatly blocking me. “What are you doing?”
Gabriel ignored my question. Amusement danced in his gaze. “Do you like working there?”
“Yes.”
“How well?”
“A lot.”
“Any chance of you leaving?”
“Why?” My stomach clenched. Had I totally misread the situation? Maybe Gabriel didn’t fancy tripping over me, much like I hadn’t fancied it for the past month.
“I could always use a brilliant mind like yours at Gordon Industries.”
I let out an incredulous laugh, relieved that he wasn’t politely asking me to find another place to work far from him and his high-tech building. “You’re kidding!”
Gabriel’s smile died. He shook his head. “No. I’m not. What do you do at Med-Tech?”
“I’m a junior analyst.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. What division?”
“Sales and Marketing.”
He nodded his head. “You should come work for me. How much time would you need to give your notice?”
“Are you…Gabriel…you’re…are you out of your mind?”
“Perfectly sane.”
“I am not coming to work for you. I like where I’m at now.”
“Okay. I’ll double your current salary.”
“No! It’s not about money.”
“If it’s not money then what would it take to get you to come to me?”
“Nothing!”
“Don’t say such things to a man like me, Emma,” he warned with a lazy grin. “I’ll see it as a challenge I can’t resist.”
I tried to step around Gabriel again. He blocked me once more.
“Gabriel! Let me pass!”
“Not yet.”
“But I’m due back from lunch.” I hated the whining quality of my tone. I tried again. “I have to go.”
Gabriel approached me. I took one small step back before hitting the wall. His arms caged me. Leaning forward, he mused, “What happens if I keep you with me? Let’s say I don’t let you off this elevator and instead take you to my floor. Then I keep you in my office for the rest of the afternoon. What do you think will happen to you then?”
Given the intimate cadence of his tone, I wish I could say I didn’t imagine lots of exposed flesh, but I can’t. Memories of our one night together rose up to possess me once more. Gabriel may have only been a boy back then, but he’d still given me the best pleasure of my life. What would it be like now?
Dizzyingly intense. We’d make love for hours, stopping only to catch our breath before beginning again. Gabriel could take me on his desk, floor, and wall and it still wouldn’t be enough for me.
Lust sank deep. I wanted to tangle my fingers in the hair curling sweetly at his nape. I wanted to rise up on tip-toe and feather my lips across his, teasing and tempting him to take what I feared to give.
Gabriel whispered my name, yanking me away from my seductive, self-destructive side. Flushed with suppressed passion, I shook my head. Once again I could barely remember what he had asked. “I don’t know.”
“Here’s a scenario—they’ll fire you.”
“Why would you even want that?” Gabriel’s unrepentant grin sent a shiver through me.
“So you’ll be free to work for me.”
“Well, they wouldn’t fire me and even if they did, I still wouldn’t work for you.”
Gabriel stepped back and crossed his arms. He looked at me so long that I had to fight the urge to fidget. “Challenge it is.”
I looked around and noticed Gabriel’s assistant. I was embarrassed to realize I’d forgotten all about him in the last minute. “Is your boss always like this?” I asked him in exasperation, expecting to receive a discreet eye-roll.
Instead, the older man removed his attention from the ceiling, looked me straight in the eye, and emphatically answered “Never.”
Oh. Awkward didn’t even cover it.
Gabriel called over his shoulder “Rick, go on without me. I’ll be up after seeing Ms. Adams to her floor.”
“Sure thing, Gabriel.”
“I don’t need you to see me—”
“Hush, Emma.” He erased the distance between us until his shoes touched mine. Keeping his muscular body firmly in the way between me and the still-open door, he stated, “We’re in negotiations.”
“No, we’re not.”
“Rick?”
Rick paused just inside the elevator. “Yes?”
“I still have my plus one for tonight, correct?”
“Of course.”
“It’s just been filled.”
“I see. I’ll call ahead and have her put on the list.”
“Have who put on the list?” I asked Gabriel, already knowing the answer but unable to believe the audacity.
“Why you, silly.”
“You’ve got to be joking!” Things were moving too quickly. I couldn’t keep my bearings straight.
Gabriel shook his head gravely. “I never joke when it comes to you, Emma.”
My gaze once again darted over his broad shoulder to catch Rick’s attention. Unfortunately, he’d already exited the elevator, holding his hand up when a couple tried to get on. “I’m sorry but this one isn’t going down.”
“We’re going up.”
“Ah, so am I. We’ll just catch a ride on this one over here.”
The doors closed, leaving me alone with Gabriel. He turned away from me and inserted a key into the panel. The elevator remained on my floor. Gabriel looked up at the ceiling and made a motion across his neck with his hand. He then sauntered back to my spot in the corner and smiled.
“Now where were we?”
“Who were you signaling?”
“Security.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want Security gawking at us.” The expression on my face made him laugh long and hard. “Don’t worry, Emma. I’m not going to molest you in the elevator. Yet.”
Oh my God!
I was left tongue-tied, much like I was in school when Gabriel would say something outrageous. “Why did you have your assistant leave?” I managed to ask in a terse whisper.
“Because I wanted to talk to you in private,” he mimicked.
Now he wanted to talk to me in private? “About?”
“About you.” Gabriel studied my mouth, fixating on it like he had the night of our first kiss. “Only about you.”
I blinked quickly, feeling overwhelmed by his presence and my delicious memories. “Gabriel?”
“Yes, Emma?”
God, how I always loved the way he said my name! Warmth drizzled over me. “Where are you going with this?”
“As far as I can go. And then further than that.”
I have to admit my heart skipped more than a few beats. Still, I had to ask. “Why? You didn’t even know I was here until a few minutes ago.”
“Yes, a terrible shame that. You should’ve come up to see me on your first day instead of hiding.”
I wanted to squawk that I hadn’t been hiding but we’d both know it for a lie.
“I would never have done that, Gabriel.”
“I know.” He reached out and played with ends of my hair.
“Do
you do this with every girl from your past you come across?”
“No.”
“Then why me?”
“I’ve spent enough time living with regret over you, Emma. I don’t fancy spending any more time with it.” Bringing a heavy lock up to his nose, Gabriel inhaled deeply. “Your hair smells wonderful.”
I didn’t know what to say. Ten minutes ago all I could think of was the data import scheduled for three. Now Gabriel stood before me and neatly decimated my understanding of the world and apparently also liked my shampoo.
“Gabriel…I…what the hell!”
“Well, that’s a promising start,” he teased. Gabriel flicked his chin with my hair before releasing it. “Now onto the negotiations.”
“You’re serious?”
“Absolutely.” He leaned against the wall across from me and put his hands in his pockets. His casual position was at complete odds with the steel running through his words. “I’m going to see you everyday. You can either work for me to facilitate that or you can eat at least once a day with me. Your choice.”
“Everyday?” I had no intention of leaving my job to satisfy his whims, nor did I eat lunch out everyday, so why was I even indulging him?
Because you like it. Because you want him to chase you again. Because you’ve always missed him since saying goodbye.
“Unless I have an appointment. In that case, you’ll join me for dinner.”
“And if I have plans?”
“Work or personal?”
“Either.”
“Work is unavoidable until you’re under my employ. Personal will have to be cancelled unless there is a very good reason not to. Any other questions?”
His bossiness ruffled my feathers, probably as intended. “That’s pretty damned arrogant of you, Gabriel.”
“We already established that personal trait, Emma.”
“Yes, but you still take it as a compliment when it’s not.”
He preened, polishing his nails on his lapel. “So what’s your answer?”
I sighed. “Okay, one lunch and maybe one dinner.”
Gabriel shook his head. “Unacceptable. I want all your lunches and dinners.”
My hands found their way to my hips. Damnable pride reared up to cause me more problems. “My significant other would have a problem with that, Gabriel.” I didn’t know why I said it, especially considering I’d never really had a significant other, but now it was too late to backtrack.