She’d never been a creature to be ruled by her sex drive, but this was more than that. It was her entire being. Every part of her knew Gabe understood how she worked.
That was incredibly appealing.
What he offered was perfect sex. Sex that never ended in disappointment. That always came with her, well, coming.
How could that not put her brain on the fritz?
He knew what she liked and didn’t, he knew how to make her come so hard she sobbed out with the agonizing wonder of it. He knew how to kiss her to steal her breath, and how to touch her with the slightest brush of his fingers to make her see stars. She was a fine-tuned violin in his hands. A garage-sale fiddle in anyone else's.
Yeah, she’d been vulnerable with him, yeah, she’d been exposed, but she’d never felt more alive.
Whether it was the uniqueness of the bond she had with him, or her body’s memory of the sensory awareness and the countless adrenaline highs she’d had, Meg was more than ready to be courted by her ex-Dom and her would-be suitor.
The old-fashioned words made her smirk, but in a way, they were the truth. She had the feeling Gabe’s intentions were way more developed than she even realized.
The way he’d tried to make amends these past months. The way he hadn’t given up. Sending her flowers, trying to call her, getting Jesse to put notes on her desk...even when she’d threatened to fire her assistant, Gabe had somehow managed to convince him to keep on sticking the damned things on her computer.
He hadn’t given up, and a man who could maintain something like that for half a year, well, he wasn’t in it for the short haul, was he?
At least, that was her reasoning, and it also helped settle her mind about what she was about to do.
That he’d remembered her outfit on that first night they’d all met had resonated with her, deeply. She’d made a conscious decision to wear something similar, and so, she wore a short emerald dress with a deep V-neckline and strappy heels. She’d tucked a small kerchief in the V, not wanting to display all her wares—not yet at any rate, she thought wryly—but the gold fabric really offset the green, and matched her shoes and dangly earrings.
She'd made up her wide-set, green eyes with creamy, gold eyeshadow, contoured her face to sharpen the deep jut of her cheekbones, and glossed her lips to enhance their dusky rose hue. Curling her hair had taken ages, but the rich, sable brown looked great with the colors she'd chosen.
As Meg looked in the mirror, she knew she was at her best. Pride wasn’t the greatest characteristic in the world, but at the minute, it was kind of all she had.
Looking the way she did, she knew she could hold her head up high wherever they went. Gabe was one of those guys who woman gawked at. He wasn’t classically attractive, because that was more Terry’s forte. Terry had been tall, dark, and handsome, and she’d fallen for that hook, line, and sinker. But Gabe was different. In more ways than just his appearance.
Terry had sold real estate. That slick charm he used to sell houses had oozed into their daily life, and she felt no shame in admitting that his ways had been a little creepy. Sometimes, when they’d been in the midst of an argument, it had been like he was trying to sell her a bungalow or something.
Gabe, on the other hand, worked with his hands. He was a carpenter by trade, but he carved and created sculptures for his work. His deception had come as a great surprise, because he’d always been so down to earth, so blunt, and so honest. That she’d read him wrong had just been another nail in the coffin that contained her heart.
Everything about him always screeched salt of the Earth. From his golden-brown hair that held a quiff naturally thanks in part to a good cut, as well as being genetically blessed, to the bright, blue eyes that made the Caribbean Sea look wishy-washy. His skin was tanned from his work outdoors, and his strength was evident whatever he wore. The corded muscles rippled through his shirts and trousers, making any woman long to see beneath those coverings.
Wherever he was about to take her, she knew she’d get jealous gawks, and she knew her fellow sisters would be bitching about her, wondering why the hell he’d asked her out.
Women could be such cats at times.
Sighing at the thought, she put the final touches to her eyeliner, blotted her forehead, and dabbed at her gloss. She’d gone for a relatively natural look, but as was always the way, it took a hell of a lot of time to appear as though she wore no make-up at all.
When the doorbell rang, she looked at her dewy skin, the hope shining brightly from her emerald eyes, and the flush of barely-contained excitement on her cheeks, and shook her head at her foolishness.
Sam had told her not to get ahead of herself, but her body was already in charge.
Grimacing at the thought, she headed for the door and opened it a minute after the bell had buzzed. When she took him in, she wanted to groan. Wearing navy slacks, a white tee-shirt covered by a mauve sweater, and dark dress shoes, his clothes were nice and of good quality, but hardly stunning, and yet, those goddamn ovaries of hers twitched in adoration.
God, the man was hot.
Through the fine weave of his sweater, his biceps bulged, and his stomach, the corrugated lines of his abs, were all visible. The strength in his thighs was apparent, and if he turned around, she knew his ass would be cupped to perfection.
The weird thing was, he didn’t try to look so goddamn good. That was part of his appeal. The sweater wasn’t too tight to reveal all those delicious muscles, it just hung on him naturally. His pants weren’t in the horrible drainpipe style, the ones that showed everything off, even the bits no woman wanted to see...
Christ, was it any wonder her body was going haywire?
While she’d been gawking at him, he’d been studying her, and she flushed when he blew out a very long, very deep breath. “My God,” he murmured, “Meg, you’re so beautiful.”
She bowed her head. “Thank you, Gabe.”
When he reached for her chin, chucking it slightly so that she had no choice but to look him square in the eye, he whispered, “I mean it. You are a Goddess.”
“Now I know you’re being silly,” she chided, pulling her chin away from his faint hold.
She made to move forward and as she pulled the door behind her, it pushed her into his space. He didn’t back off as was polite, instead, he stood there, as solid as a rock. When her front collided with his, her eyes closed of their own volition. Once again, she was surrounded by his scent, and it was all the more powerful with her eyelids clenched down.
It seemed incredible she hadn’t realized the two brothers had pulled a switch, when now, with his scent playing havoc with her olfactory senses, she could sense how completely different it was to Terry’s. It was clean and pure, all man and fresh musk. None of the perfumed aftershaves Terry swore by. Just the natural essence of soap and male.
“How did I mistake you for Terry?” she whispered, her eyes fluttering open. “How did I? You smell different. You feel different.”
“You didn’t expect for it to be anyone other than him.”
His matter-of-fact tone told her he’d resented the fact she hadn’t been able to tell them apart, which was kind of crazy, but hell, hurt feelings were hurt feelings. The notion amused her rather than cause her chagrin, surprisingly, and she lifted a hand and rested it on his chest.
“Well, I’m expecting you tonight, Gabe. It’s all on you.”
He blew out another breath. “I know. I hope I don’t screw this up.”
“Is it so important to you?”
When he nodded, something unclenched deep in her soul. “Yeah, it is.”
Swallowing at his husky tone, she murmured, “I’m glad it is.”
“I...” He hesitated, shook his head then made to step away.
“What were you going to say?” she asked, grabbing hold of his fingers and tugging him to a halt. Even though it was close to impossible, she managed to ignore the jolt of electricity that snapped through her as their hands collided,
intent on hearing his answer.
Gabe found the jolt harder to ignore. His gaze was trained on their joined hands as he murmured, “I have no right to ask this, not after the way I hurt you...but...Meg, please don’t fool with me. Please don’t hurt me for the sake of hurting me.”
Stunned, she jerked back a little. “You think I have the power to do that?”
The notion, in all honesty, had never occurred to her. Even when he’d said she could make him submit to her by way of a weird punishment, she’d ignored it. He was far too much of a Dom and she was far too much of a sub for that scenario to ever work, and she knew he’d used it to shock her into complying.
But this? Openly admitting to his own vulnerability?
There was nothing he could have done that would have made her relax and feel more at ease. It was either purposefully stated to do just that, or he really meant it. And somehow, she felt certain it was the latter.
“I promise, I’m here with good intentions,” she told him, and crazy though it was, she meant it.
“Thank you. If things don’t work out, then I’ll understand, but, even though I know you’re not a cruel woman, I just needed to ask that of you.”
“Well, you have my answer.”
He nodded, then smiled. “Now then, I have a lovely place to take my even lovelier date tonight. Are you ready?”
She grinned. “Am I dressed appropriately?”
“Hell, yeah,” he told her, taking the key from her fingers to lock her front door before handing it back to her. Charmed at the chivalrous gesture, she let him tuck her hand into the crook of his arm and lead her to his car.
“I didn’t know you had this,” she mused as he opened the door, helped her take a seat then rounded the vehicle to climb in behind the wheel.
“The truck’s for work,” he told her easily as he set off. “This is for play.”
“You must be doing well with your carvings.”
The darkness quilted them softly, shielding them from the outside world as he maneuvered the various passes which took them from her subdivision and back into town.
As they traveled, he told her more about his work. “Yeah, things are going well. Ever since I got the new website up and running, the orders have been flying in.”
“That’s great. I’m so pleased for you.”
He grinned at her, the wide smile showed in the greenish light coming from the dash. “Not as pleased as I am. I hated working on the construction sites, and I hated the hours.” His grin turned into a groan. “I’m the worst morning person in the world.”
“I know, I’m not much better. I always get Jesse to open up the store front for me, and I’m usually always late getting in there.”
“But, let me guess, you stay open later and lock up an hour or so after you should?”
Meg laughed. “Yeah, you have me pegged. I prefer it when it’s quieter anyway. And actually, you’d be surprised how many people pop in when the rest of the stores have started to close.”
“I guess they’re mostly tourists though, right?”
“Yeah, on after-dinner evening strolls, I think. Still, I do it often enough to realize it’s worth my while.”
He looked over at her and said, “You know, it’s the first time you’ve ever really talked to me about your business. I didn’t even know you had a store until Terry told me.” She froze at his mentioning his brother, but he just shrugged when he saw her reaction. “He’s my brother. He’s also a douche, but I can’t get away from the fact he’s a relative. Better I bring him up than let him be the elephant in the corner.”
Despite herself, she grinned. “He wouldn’t appreciate your calling him an elephant.”
He snorted. “That’s because he’s a vain, egocentric ass.”
“You got that damn right. I’d high-five you if I could.”
“You can high-five me later. But, back to the topic at hand, how come you never talked about your business when we caught up at Ma’s house?”
Meg thought back to those deadly awkward, and thankfully rare occasions, when Terry had wanted to go visit his parents, then grimaced. “I was just focused on getting through the dinner, Gabe.”
“Getting through it?” He raised a brow. “Ma and Dad aren’t all that bad, are they?”
“No, but Terry could be a prick with company. Especially if I mentioned the store.” Meg wrinkled her nose. “It sounds stupid now, but he was really uncomfortable with the fact I earned more than he did. If I’d have talked about that with any of you, he’d have just been an even bigger jerk.”
Gabe said nothing; the silence was awkward enough to make her fidget, and then he blurted out, “What the hell did you see in him?”
She fidgeted some more. “I don’t know. He was handsome and had a good job. He brushed his teeth twice a day and his feet didn’t smell like cheese.”
“Jesus, is that the checklist? Hell, well, we should get on fine, because I’d say I’m relatively handsome, I also have a good job, I sometimes brush my teeth three times a day if I eat garlic, and even though I wear boots a lot, my feet do not smell like cheese.”
“That’s good to know.” She sniggered at how ridiculous he sounded, and at how she sounded even more ridiculous with the weird traits that had made Terry a good boyfriend on paper. “Yeah, I know I’m weird,” she admitted. “It was stupid, but we just stayed together and things got better with the introduction of Friday nights.”
“Yeah, my life got better then, too.”
Unsure of how to take that, whether she ought to react with umbrage or not, she chose to say, “I was stupid to waste so much time on Terry.”
“Yeah, you were. You should have been with me,” Gabe told her bluntly. “And I don’t care if that’s forward. I asked you why you never talked about your business even though I half-knew the answer. I’m not like that, Meg. I hope you know that. I’ll celebrate your successes not pull them down.”
“Well, you can’t be any worse than Terry, but that one reason alone doesn’t mean you’re perfect for me,” she retorted, but a part of her was teasing. It was oddly reassuring hearing a man state that he wanted to be with her. There was no coyness, no feigning anything. He’d stated something point blank, and who was she to question that?
Sam would probably say he sounded like a stalker in the making, and maybe she’d have been freaked if she hadn’t known him for so long.
Gabe, regardless of the Friday night thing, was a decent man. She’d seen that, and had, in the depths of the night, after an argument with Terry, or an episode where he’d been a complete dickwad, wondered why he couldn’t be more like Gabe. Who was calmer, more relaxed, less highly-strung, and all-round, a decent guy.
It was strange how that recollection came to her now when she was sitting in his car, heading out to wherever he was taking her.
“Hey, where’d you disappear to?”
She blinked. “Sorry, I zoned a little. Was thinking about something.”
“Something good? Or something bad?” he asked cautiously.
“Neither.”
He blew out a breath. “I’m glad. I know I’m coming on strong with all this, Meg, but you have to understand, I’ve wanted you a long time. I’ve been waiting for you even longer.”
“What if I’m not as great as you think I am?”
“I don’t think you’re perfect,” he chided. “I’m not saying that. I don’t have you built up in my head as some kind of angel, something that all females of the human race should aspire to... I just, I know you’re right for me. That’s all.”
She pursed her lips. “Well, that’s what tonight is about, isn’t it? Seeing how right we are for each other. So, on that note, what are we doing?”
Ten minutes later, when they pulled up outside the local planetarium, she was still slightly astounded that this was his idea of first date material.
Not that that was a bad thing, not at all. Their being here meant one thing and one thing only: Gabe had listened to her, had
remembered that she was in love with astronomy.
She doubted Terry, even after six years together, knew that.
It was odd holding hands with him, but she said nothing as he helped her out the car. As a pair, they headed for the front entrance of the building. It was small, but she’d been here before on a special fundraising occasion.
Tonight, there was a super moon, and it was scheduled to be a blood moon, too. Overhead, the sky was cloudless, so it looked set to be a fantastic opportunity to appreciate the night sky, and she wasn’t wrong.
Meg managed to look through the telescope set up for donors for at least ten minutes. Though the planetarium was busy, Gabe gave her his turn and she spent that time just absorbing the crystal-clear clarity of the stars overhead and wondering how it was Gabe knew she would love to do this.
By the time her turn was over and she’d gawked at Orion’s Belt and the countless pock-marks on the moon’s brilliant surface, she was giddy.
When he saw her wide Cheshire cat smile, he grinned back. “Good choice for our first time out together?”
“Perfect choice,” she replied, and, in a move that stunned even her, stepped close to him to press her lips to his.
He froze for a handful of seconds then settled into the kiss, but he let her take control, let her set the pace. She waited for him to take charge as he’d always done, but when he didn’t, she enjoyed supping from his mouth, flicking her tongue against his lips before sliding deep to tangle hers with his.
It was slow, gentle even. Far more tender and deep than was wise, but it felt so right. Like going home.
The thought stunned her enough to edge away from him. She didn’t jerk backward, but she nipped at his bottom lip, swiped her tongue over it delicately, and then pressed her forehead to his. He leaned forward, keeping their mouths connected, their breaths mingling as they stood there, far too close for such a public event, but Meg really didn’t care.
It was good, better than good to be with this man. His scent, his feel, the sound of his breathing, his taste. All of it. They added to her comfort, because they were things she instinctively recognized and had embraced a long time ago.
Secrets & Lies: A Domestic Discipline Novella Page 5