by Banks, Maya
“How the mighty Gabe has fallen,” she said softly. “In love with his best friend’s little sister. Wonder if she’ll break your heart.”
With that, she flounced out of his office, her hair bouncing off her shoulders. He hoped to hell it was the last time he saw the back of her.
He was about to go in search of Mia when she popped her head back through the door. He motioned her in and she carried the bags over to his desk.
She was silent as she took out the box containing his sandwich. She set up everything for him and then retreated to her own desk with her meal.
He watched her as she ate and read through several of the reports he’d given her to memorize for their trip. His own appetite had diminished. Lisa’s accusations swirled in his mind, and he couldn’t put them out of his head. He didn’t like what she’d implied, but he couldn’t immediately discount her observations. And that pissed him off all the more.
• • •
Gabe was brooding and silent the entire flight from New York to Paris. But then he’d been that way ever since Lisa had departed his office. Mia wasn’t certain exactly what had transpired between them, but Gabe had made it clear to his staff and to security that Lisa was never to be allowed in the building again.
He’d been curt and short as he and Mia had left for the airport, their bags already packed. They’d ridden in silence, and Mia had been only too happy to preserve that silence as they’d boarded.
As soon as she was able, she pulled out her iPod and earphones and leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes to listen to her music. It was a long flight, and she was exhausted from her weekend with Gabe. If she didn’t sleep now, she was in for a long day. They were landing in Paris at eight in the morning local time, which meant it would be fourteen hours before she’d be able to sleep.
She wasn’t certain why she was going. Gabe was meeting with prospective bidders, front-runners he expected would be the top three for the new hotel project. If all went according to plan, they’d break ground in the spring. Along with the bidders, Gabe was also meeting with local investors.
There was really no reason for her to be here. She certainly couldn’t add anything to the mix. The only thing she could come up with was that Gabe didn’t want to be without sex for that long.
Halfway through the flight, she drifted off, music still playing in her ears. The seats were heavenly, and being able to fully recline made it easy to give in to fatigue.
The next thing she knew, Gabe was shaking her awake and motioning for her to right her seat. She pulled the earphones from her ears and stared groggily over at him.
“We’re preparing to land,” he said.
Had he slept at all? He still wore that brooding, grim expression he’d had when they departed New York. This trip was going to suck if his mood didn’t improve.
They touched down and taxied to the gate. After an hour to get through customs and collect their luggage, they got into a car and headed for the hotel.
It was curious to Mia why they were staying in their biggest competitor’s hotel, but Gabe had explained that he liked to keep up with what his competition was doing, and the best way to do that was to stay at their facilities.
The suite was luxurious and took up half of the top floor. The panoramic view was absolutely breathtaking with the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe in sight from their huge picture window.
Mia flopped onto the sumptuous couch and sagged. Even though she’d slept half the flight, she was still feeling grubby. Traveling did that to her. She needed a hot shower and bed, in that order. But she wasn’t certain what Gabe’s plans were.
Gabe set up his laptop and typed steadily for half an hour before he finally looked up to where Mia was wilted all over the sofa.
“You’re free to rest if you want,” he said. “We don’t have anything planned until this afternoon. We’re having dinner, and afterward, we’re having drinks here in the suite with a few people. I’ve e-mailed you detailed outlines on each of the individuals so be sure to read up before we go out later.”
His tone was dismissive, and she figured he still hadn’t dug out whatever bug was up his ass, so she got up and left the living area of the suite. There was only one bedroom or she would have taken up residence in separate quarters, and there was only one bed. Oh well.
She hit the shower, and spent a full thirty minutes soaking under the heated spray. By the time she got out, the chill had left her bones and she was pink all over from the hot water.
She still had hours yet, and she’d already committed to memory every single detail Gabe had given her on the people they were meeting. Ironically, of the three who were expected to be the top bidders for the construction of the new Paris hotel, only one was French. Stéphane Bargeron was a wealthy French developer who was renowned in Europe. The other two, Charles Willis and Tyson “Tex” Cartwright, were American developers with European presences.
Charles was younger, handsome. Maybe Gabe’s age or a little older. He’d inherited the business from his father when the older Willis had passed away, and he was struggling to build his own reputation. He was hungry, and Gabe fully expected him to submit a very competitive bid. He needed this project. It would boost his standing and enable him to land other lucrative jobs.
Tyson Cartwright was a Texas billionaire in his forties, and he’d built his company the old-fashioned way. From the ground up. His story was impressive. Mia had read up extensively on him, and he’d been on his own working his ass off since he was in his teens. By his early twenties, he already owned a small construction company in East Texas and he’d only expanded from there. His was truly an American success story. Hard work. Resolve. Success.
Stéphane Bargeron she knew less about, simply because his was a family business that many Bargerons were involved with. He was the guy sent in to do the ass kissing while his father and brothers did most of the hard work. He was the polish and they were the brains.
All three would be back in Gabe’s suite for drinks after tonight’s dinner. She wasn’t sure in what capacity she was supposed to act, but looking at four really good-looking men couldn’t be that much of a hardship, right?
She knew what she needed to know, so she wasn’t going to drag out her laptop and rehash it all.
Not when a perfectly good nap awaited.
chapter twenty-nine
Gabe watched as Mia charmed the group of men over dinner. She smiled, chatted and conversed with ease, and she had every single one of them under her spell.
The question was, did she have him under it as well?
Lisa’s question echoed over and over in his mind.
Are you in love with her?
He couldn’t quite explain the anger or the helplessness he felt over such a question. He’d brooded the entire day, in turns angry and frustrated over his inability to put distance between himself and Mia.
It infuriated him that he hadn’t been able to immediately refute Lisa’s angry question.
He’d thought to end their agreement right then and there, walk away, terminate her employment with him. But he hadn’t been able to, and that made him only feel more helpless. He needed her. God help him, he needed her.
His gaze drifted over the potential bidders—men who would be coming to his suite later. They obviously lusted after Mia—what red-blooded, heterosexual man wouldn’t? It made Gabe want to grit his teeth, but he choked the urge away and instead embraced the opportunity for what it was.
A chance to prove to himself that his obsession with Mia wasn’t unbreakable. That he didn’t love her. Didn’t need her.
Such a thing was provided for in their contract, though he’d never thought to actually hand her over to another man before now. The very idea sent rage and fierce jealousy surging through his mind. It did so now. But she’d expressed curiosity over the idea. He knew she wasn’t adamantly opposed. And it was certainly something he’d done in the past.
He could do this.
He would
do this.
He only hoped to hell he survived it and it didn’t destroy him—or her—in the process.
• • •
Gabe’s mood had shifted from brooding and pissed off to…She wasn’t sure what his mood was exactly. It worried her because now he stared at her, when before he hadn’t looked much at her at all. And that stare was something new, as if he were looking at her in a whole different light. Like his expectations had taken a dramatic shift, only she had no idea what those expectations were.
Where before she’d embraced the silence between them, not wanting to delve into the reason behind his moodiness, now it made her distinctly uncomfortable. She wanted something from him. Some kind of reassurance, though why, she wasn’t certain.
They rode back to the hotel, the tension welling until she nearly choked with it. She wanted to ask him, wanted to question him, but there was something in his steady gaze that made her fear what she would learn.
As soon as they were inside the suite, Gabe closed the door and focused that glittering gaze on her. He bristled with dominance where before he’d always demonstrated patience and tenderness with her.
“Strip.”
She blinked at his tone. It wasn’t angry. It was more…determined. Unease drifted over her and she hesitated, which only made his eyes narrow.
“I thought…” She swallowed hard. “I thought they were coming up for drinks.” Had the plans changed?
He nodded. “They are.”
Oh God.
“Don’t make me tell you again, Mia,” he said in a soft, dangerous voice.
Her hands shaking, she reached down and lifted the hem of her dress and pulled it over her head, letting it fall to the floor beside her. She kicked out of her heels, sending them skittering across the wood floor.
There were a thousand things she wanted to say, a thousand questions burning in her mind, but he looked so…forbidding…that she clamped her lips shut and removed her bra and panties.
“Go and kneel on the rug in the middle of the room,” he said.
As she walked slowly to the rug, he began to pick up her clothing and her shoes and then he disappeared into the bedroom, leaving her to follow his command. She sank to her knees, feeling the plush thickness of the lambskin rug against her knees.
When she heard his footsteps, she looked up, and she let out a gasp when she saw the rope in his hands. It wasn’t traditional rope, the braided kind you’d find in a hardware store, but rather it was satin covered, a deep mauve. It looked sexy and soft, and yet there was no mistaking it was meant to restrain her.
He coiled it around his hands, letting the ends hang down as he stalked in her direction. He bent where she knelt and wordlessly pulled her hands behind her back. She closed her eyes, her heart thundering in her chest as he began to wind the rope around her wrists, tying them tightly together. To her further surprise, he looped the ends around her ankles, effectively ensuring she couldn’t move, couldn’t stand, couldn’t do anything more than kneel there and take whatever it was he intended to do.
And that idea excited her. It bewildered her, this desire, this curiosity and edgy need that invaded her. She was by turns nervous as hell, but also tantalized by the forbidden. Other men touching her, doing God only knew what under Gabe’s direction. Surely that was what he intended? It wasn’t as if they hadn’t discussed it.
As he finished, there was a knock on the suite door, and she jumped, her pulse accelerating so rapidly that she became light-headed.
“Gabe,” she whispered, uncertainty bleeding into that one simple plea.
He tugged at the last knot and as he rose, he threaded his hand into her hair, stroking downward in a comforting gesture.
That little touch heartened her in a way nothing else could. Relief settled in as he walked toward the door.
She’d known from the beginning of his desires, his proclivities. He’d outlined them in stark detail. And she’d signed her name to a contract agreeing that she was his to do with as he wished.
Maybe she hadn’t really thought he would. Maybe a secret part of her hoped he would.
Whatever the case, she was kneeling, tied hand and foot, naked, and other men were about to see her.
Gabe opened the door and ushered the three gentlemen they’d had dinner with inside. Their gazes fell on her immediately, and what struck her most was that there was no surprise. No shock. There was only lust and appreciation reflected in their eyes.
Had they known? Had Gabe told them what to expect? Had he told them that she was tonight’s entertainment?
Gabe didn’t immediately direct any attention to her. She sat there quietly while he conversed with the men and poured drinks. It was only after a few moments that they entered the living area, drinks in hand.
Business was being discussed. Gabe went over his ideas for the new hotel and explained the backing that HCM already had and what further backing they were looking for. It was all very businesslike and polite. Except for the fact that she was trussed like a turkey and didn’t have a stitch of clothing on.
She watched the men, all handsome, virile. She saw the way their gazes skated sideways to her, even in the midst of their business conversation. They definitely knew she was there, and anticipation was a living, breathing thing in the room. The air was thick with it.
And then Gabe moved in her direction, his hands going to the fly of his trousers. He unzipped them and let the lapels hang down as he ran his hands through her hair, framing her head before caressing her cheeks. He ran a finger over the seam of her lips and then pressed inside, wetting it on her tongue.
The other men watched intently, their gazes fixed on Mia as they waited, lust clearly marked on their faces.
Gabe pulled out his cock and then palmed her forehead, tilting her head back so she was at an appropriate angle.
“Open,” he commanded.
She was flush with nervousness but excitement also danced in her veins. She was aroused by the fact that he was going to fuck her mouth right here in front of these strangers. She was experiencing so many conflicting emotions that it was hard to know exactly what she thought or felt about the situation.
But she trusted Gabe, and that was enough to make her relax and give herself into his hands and his care.
Her lips parted, and he slid inside her mouth, probing deeply as the tip of his cock brushed the back of her throat. Her cheeks hollowed and then plumped outward as he withdrew and then plunged inside again.
He was surprisingly gentle given his intense mood. She’d expected him to be rougher, more demanding. But he framed her face with his hands, brushing his thumbs over her cheeks as he pushed in with long, slow strokes.
“Beautiful,” he murmured.
“Yes, she is,” one of the men said from behind Gabe.
His voice startled her, pulling her out of the moment. She’d been able to forget their presence because she was consumed by Gabe. Only Gabe. Now she was very aware that they were there—watching. Lusting after her. All wanting to be Gabe as she pleasured him.
“Focus only on me,” he whispered as he thrust again, filling her mouth with his rigid length.
It was an easy command to obey. She closed her eyes and lost herself in Gabe’s dominance.
He began to move faster and with more force. He thrust and then held himself deeply, locked against the back of her throat. Then he released her and smoothed his hands over her face while he waited for her to catch her breath.
“She’s fucking hot,” Tyson breathed.
“I want some of that,” Charles said, his voice strained with lust and envy.
Gabe’s hands tightened on her face. He thrust again and then began pushing hard and fast. He erupted against her throat, onto her tongue, spilling onto her lips as he withdrew and thrust forward again.
“Merde,” the Frenchman muttered.
The wet sucking sounds rose in the room, erotic and almost harsh against the silence.
“Swallow it,” Gabe order
ed. “Lick me clean, Mia.”
He continued to rock against her, giving her time to obey his dictate. She licked and swallowed, until finally he withdrew, his cock shining with moisture from her mouth.
He reached down and fumbled with the knots at her wrists, loosening the silken rope from around her hands and ankles. Her arms and legs screamed their protest when he pulled her to her feet. He stood there holding her a long moment, allowing her to regain her strength. Then he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the long coffee table in front of the couches.
He laid her down, spreading her legs, and then he raised her arms above her head and slipped the rope around each wrist before binding them to the legs of the coffee table underneath her head.
When he stood again, his gaze was directed at the man nearest to Mia.
“You can touch her. You can pleasure her. Do not hurt her in any way. Do not frighten her. This is all about her. You keep your dick in your pants and do not penetrate her in any way. We clear?”
“Hell yeah,” Charles said as he rose.
chapter thirty
Gabe backed away from where Mia lay tied to the coffee table. She was an irresistibly erotic sight, her long dark hair tousled and tumbled over the edge, her eyes wide, lips puffy from his possession.
Charles Willis circled her like a waiting vulture, his eyes feasting greedily on Mia’s naked body. Gabe’s stomach clenched when Charles’s fingers trailed over her belly and up to her breasts. Charles circled one taut peak, teasing it to rigidity.
Stéphane and Tyson closed in but stood just back to give Charles his turn. They waited, like predators stalking prey, for their opportunity to touch her.
This was wrong. So very wrong. His gut screamed at him. His mind protested. She was his. No one should be touching her but him, and yet he’d set this up. As what, a test? Something to prove to himself?
He brooded as Charles continued his exploration of Mia’s beautiful body. A body that belonged to Gabe. He was a possessive man—he knew this—and yet he’d never had a problem allowing another man to pleasure a woman under his care. He was…indifferent to it. Not so with Mia.