Forty minutes later, Sam’s housekeeper stepped off the elevator. Lydia was a tiny woman in her fifties, with gray hair and keen gray eyes to match.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Hart. So what can I assist you with today?”
“Thank you for coming in on such short notice. I’m going to have a guest for a while.” He explained the circumstances and asked Lydia to set Gabby up in the guest room. “Some of her things have been ruined by ... well it’s a long story. Can you pull those aside so I can show them to her?”
“Certainly. I’ll take care of it right away sir.”
In no time, Lydia had Gabriella’s things unpacked and settled into the guest room. When she was finished, she showed Kolson where he could find all the destroyed clothing. Kolson was enraged at how Danny had shredded Gabby’s clothes.
Lydia’s next stop was the kitchen. She prepared a spinach lasagna with béchamel sauce. Kolson would only need to bake it when he and Gabby were ready for dinner. Once she tossed the salad, she went to find Kolson.
“Everything’s set, sir. All the items are put away and there’s dinner in the refrigerator for you. All you need to do is slide it in the oven for an hour at three fifty.”
“Thank you, Lydia. You’re a dream.”
“See you on Monday, sir.”
He walked her to the door and when he was returning to his office, Gabby exited his room.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to sleep so long.”
“You were tired.” He reached out and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “How do you feel?” He wanted to alleviate any awkwardness between them.
“Like I slept a year.” She laughed.
“I hope that’s a good thing. I’m glad you found the clothes I set out for you.”
“Yeah, thanks. That’s the most comfortable bed. It’s like heaven in there.”
“I’m glad you like it, Gabriella.” He smirked. She couldn’t tell if he was laughing at her or being sincere. “In fact, I’d like you to sleep in it with me. Tonight.”
“Tonight? But I need to get home.”
“No. It’s not safe for you there anymore. While you were sleeping, I had Sam go to your place and gather your clothes. There’s something I need to discuss with you. Come and sit down.”
Once they were seated, he explained what Sam discovered.
“You mean he broke in? How did he get past the doormen?”
“I don’t know, but it was a good thing you went running when you did.”
“Shit. What am I going to do?” She fidgeted with her shirt, twisting in her hands.
“You’re not going back there. I’m in the process of finding you another apartment. In the meantime, you’ll stay here. It’s safe. Secure. And I’m here. He won’t know to look for you here so you won’t have to worry about any safety issues where Danny’s concerned.”
“But what about my apartment lease?”
“Don’t worry about that. HTS not only deals in transportation. We’ve diversified into real estate and your building is one of our latest investments.”
She frowned and asked, “You’re my landlord?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes. I didn’t realize it, though, until after I took you home the night Danny left the note at the hospital.”
“I see.” Gabby clasped her hands together. The last thing she wanted was to be dependent on someone. That wouldn’t work at all. She felt like she was situated between a rock and a hard place.
“Gabriella, it’s all a huge coincidence.”
“Yes, it is. But about staying here. I don’t want to impose.”
“You won’t be.”
She bunched up her shirt and rubbed it between her fingers.
“Besides the obvious, what’s wrong?”
“I can’t. Stay here, that is.”
“Why not?”
“Because. I can’t be dependent on anyone. When my family …” She shook her head and tried to get rid of those awful memories.
“You haven’t figured it out yet, have you? You’ll always be an embarrassment to this family for what you put us through. You made us look like a bunch of freaks. To us you’ll always be that pain-in-the-ass kid. All that money we spent on you for your treatment and then those stupid lies you told. So go on to your fancy medical school and be one of those kooky shrinks. You’ll relate well to that. After all, you were happier in the nuthouse than you were with us. But don’t come back here begging for money. Besides, I doubt you have what it takes to make it on your own. I don’t even think you have what it takes to make it through med school.” Then he laughed at her.
She shuddered as her father’s words replayed in her head. Jumping to her feet, she ran to the bathroom, gasping for air. At least splashing cold water on her face gave her the illusion of feeling better.
“Gabby, are you okay?”
Shit! Hell no, I’m not okay! My life’s falling apart around me because of Danny. It always goes back to him. He fucking ruined my life! And it never ends!
“Um, yeah, I’ll be out in a minute.”
Breathe, Gabby. Slow, deep breaths. You know how to control this, so do it.
A minute passed, then two, and the calm slowly seeped back into her. When she opened the door, she waltzed right into the impenetrable wall of Kolson’s chest.
“Whoa, there.”
“Sorry. Didn’t know you’d be standing right here.”
His warm hands were on her shoulders and she wanted to rub her cheek on one of them.
“You okay?”
She gave a shaky laugh. “No. I’m better now.”
His warm hands left her shoulders but one sought out her hand and led her back to the sofa. He noted how pale her face was, but didn’t comment on it. Instead, he decided to humor her.
“So, are you gonna tell me your aversion to staying here with me? Is it my slovenly living habits, because I really do make the bed every day? Or is it because I won’t make coffee in the morning? I have one of those coffee things that you can set up the night before. Or maybe you don’t like the kind of pillows I have, because I can buy different ones. What is it, Gabriella? Tell me, and I can fix it.”
She was smiling by now and he figured he had her.
“Do you hang up your bathroom towel?”
“Never.”
“Well, then no way can I stay here.”
“You didn’t let me finish.”
“Finish?”
“Yes, Gabriella, finish. I was about to say, I never hang up my bathroom towel, but I’ll do anything for you, including that.”
All joking aside, his eyes pinned hers. The air disappeared and it wasn’t because of a panic attack this time. No, this time she wanted to kiss him. She wanted to put her mouth on his and suck his lower lip and sink her teeth into it. It was because he stole the air from the room and she didn’t give a damn. And it was because he made her forget that she even needed air in the first place.
Without stopping to think, she leaned toward him and put her hands on the planes of his face. Her thumbs outlined his features. Eyebrows first, then the slant of his nose, next the slight hollows created by his cheekbones. Then they joined tips on his chin and her lips brushed across his, but soon she sought her target. Greedily, she took his lower lip, the one that made her heart beat faster and her breath come quicker, the one she watched as he spoke when his tongue would dart out and moisten it every so often, and sucked it into her mouth. She played with it until he moaned into her and her core dampened. Her teeth scraped and bit on it and Kolson groaned, louder this time.
Forcing his mouth away from hers, he said, “You can’t do that to me, my beautiful kea, and expect there to be no repercussions. I can’t hide the fact that I want you. Have wanted you. But I also make no promises, either. This time there’ll be no stopping.”
Gabby forced her doubts to the back burner. Her front burner was at a hundred thousand BTUs and she didn’t care for any conscience-prodding intrusions. She wanted Kolson too. He was
a constant source of distraction. She needed him, her body cried out for him, and she’d lost the will to fight it any longer.
“I only ask for one promise and that’s honesty. Can you give me that?” she asked.
“Yeah. I can. But if you decide to take this leap with me, I must warn you that I have certain compulsions, if you will.”
“Compulsions?”
“Needs, compulsions, call them what you want. But you asked for honesty and I’m giving it to you.”
“I see. So what do these needs entail?”
“Right now, I’d like to blindfold you, bind your wrists in silk, paddle your sweet ass, and fuck you until your legs are so weak you couldn’t possibly walk, even if your life depended on it.”
Kolson dragged his index finger from her chin to the hollow at the base of her neck. Her sex contracted so powerfully she knew if he touched it, she would come. Because of her past, she’d always been frightened of bondage, but the way those heated words spilled from his mouth, she knew she’d be willing to try it with him.
When his breath fluttered over her ear, her body twitched in response. “You’re not going to let your conscience get in the way of our pleasure, are you?”
“It’s not my conscience, it’s my past.”
“Oh, kea, don’t confuse me with him. I would never hurt you or do anything you didn’t approve of or want me to do.”
He lifted her hand and took the tip of her index finger into his mouth, biting it, and then plunged it deep, sucking hard. As he sucked, his tongue swirled the tip until she moaned. “This is what I want your mouth to do to me.” All of a sudden, her mind went blank, except for what he was doing to her finger. And his actions had a direct path to her sex.
He pulled her finger out and moved his mouth back to her neck. His tongue traced a scorching trail from her ear to her pulse point, where he circled it around and around, until she moaned out his name. Her hands clenched fistfuls of his shirt to hold herself steady because she was dizzy with need. Gabby’s body was aflame, responding to every touch, every taste. His clean and slightly spicy scent flooded her senses as she inhaled the intoxicating fragrance. She opened her eyes to see him staring at her, and warmth flowed into her from his hooded gaze. His rich voice sent shivers racing down her spine when he asked, “So, what’s it going to be?”
Her nostrils flared as she drank in his scent and she knew she couldn’t refuse him. She stood on her toes and ran her tongue across his lips and then kissed him, sucking on his tongue in an attempt to give him her answer.
Pushing her away, he said, “Sometime in the very near future, those lips of yours are going to be wrapped around something other than my tongue because your time is running out on whether you have a choice here.” Then his mouth crushed hers as he pulled her against him, letting her feel his erection. She matched his kiss with everything she had. When they stopped, he said, “If you fuck as passionately as you kiss, we’re in for a wild ride.”
“I guess you’re just going to have to find out, aren’t you?”
“Is that a challenge? Because I can assure you, I’m up for it.”
“Not a challenge at all, but a definite yes to your needs.”
Chapter Sixteen
Kolson held out his hand and Gabby placed hers in it. Then he took her back into his bedroom. When they crossed the threshold, he pounced. Her back crashed into the wall, forcing the wind out of her. The O her lips had formed was now occupied by his tongue. He kissed her savagely, leaving no part of her mouth untouched. She reeled from the intensity. His hands ripped the T-shirt he had given her right down the middle, so it hung from both shoulders, leaving her breasts on display. He dove for her nipples and showed them no compassion as he sucked until they were hard enough to cut glass and had turned a dusky rose.
Next went her shorts. She was naked from the waist down as he drew her leg over his shoulder. He moved like lightning, and Gabby felt like she had been struck by it when his mouth attached itself to her sex. At first she tensed, but he gave her no time to think. His tongue probed her with one long, delicious swipe. Then another and another, and she cried out as scorching heat invaded her veins. His fingers separated her glistening folds as his tongue delved into her moist pink flesh, circling and stroking that tiny bud. He tunneled into her, tasting her, giving her what she needed, what she now begged for.
This time when her hands tunneled through his hair, she didn’t play nice. She gripped it so hard, Kolson was absolutely positive there would be strands between her fingers when she finally let loose. He didn’t give a damn. He was going to make her come like she never had before. And he was going to make sure it would be something she would never forget.
His tongue flicked over her clit, relentless in its motion. Puckering his lips over her little nub, he sucked and licked as he inserted two fingers. Rotating his hand, he hooked them so they could put pressure right where she needed it most.
Gabby was sure Kolson could read her mind, or at least knew every secret of her body. His mouth caressed and licked her as if he’d known her for years. She clenched her jaws together to stifle her screams as ecstasy exploded within her. It began in the arches of her feet and traveled up her legs, into her core, and then throughout the rest of her body. Her heart beat erratically as she cried out his name and then groaned as her hands pulled his face into her, so he softened his motions.
When he felt the last of her spasms pass, he spread a series of kisses across her belly and stood, removed the torn shirt, and dragged her limp body to the bed. He laid her in the middle and after he got rid of his clothes, he joined her.
He sought her mouth and she kissed him with a fervor that surprised him.
“Taste yourself, Gabriella. So delectable.”
She detected the salty tang and moaned into his mouth. He rolled her on her side and said, “I want to look at you. Your skin is flushed with desire and you’re so beautiful.” They faced each other and she glanced away. “No, don’t be shy. You’re an extremely lovely woman.” He reached for her chin and turned her to face him.
“That was, um, damn amazing.” She let out a nervous laugh.
“No one’s ever done that to you?”
“Not exactly.”
She wouldn’t look him in the eye so he lifted her chin to rectify that. “Not exactly?”
“Not to that level.”
“Ah. Then I’m a lucky man, indeed.” His comment confused her until he added, “Because you are spectacular and I’m glad no one has ever had the privilege of seeing, hearing, and feeling what I just did.”
Gabby’s cheeks flamed with heat. She wasn’t used to men staring at her naked body and being so open with her.
“How many sexual partners have you had?”
Not only was that an unexpected question, but the audacity of it shocked her.
“What?”
In a gruff voice, he said, “Answer me.”
“Two. Only one by choice.” Her voice shook as she answered.
“So I take it you’re clean?”
“Of course.” The look she gave him was withering. “And you? How many partners have you had?”
“Not including you, I think it may be eighteen, or twenty repeats, give or take.”
“Repeats?”
“Yes. Those don’t include the one-nighters.”
She gasped and moved to get up. But he would have none of that. He pushed her back down.
“Why do you judge me? I’m only being honest.”
“But twenty? Give or take? Not including the one-nighters? What the hell are you? A fuck machine?”
He chuckled. “No, I don’t think so, but I’ll let you be the judge of that. The last time I checked, I was a man.” To emphasize his comment, his eyes slid down to his dick and then back up, and he smirked. Then his face became serious again. “But I don’t keep an exact count of my sexual partners. I am clean. I get tested after every partner. And I’m honest about my sexual history with every woman I sleep with.
Just as I am being with you.”
As much as she’d like to find fault with his actions, she couldn’t deny the brutal honesty behind his words.
“I want to take you, Gabriella. But I won’t do it without your permission. Tell me it’s okay to move forward and I will.”
“Do I have anything to worry about?”
“You have everything to worry about. Once I fuck you, you’ll never be the same again. And that’s a promise.”
“Seriously? You seem awfully sure of yourself, hotshot.”
“You have no idea. But you will soon enough.” His hand slid into the thick waves of her hair. Then he wrapped them around his fingers and tugged, pulling her head back so he could have access to her neck. “I find I’m having a hard time staying away from your beautiful skin. You taste so sweet.” His lips began to tease her, sending currents of liquid heat along her veins. It wasn’t long before Gabby’s hand was wrapped around his cock and she was guiding it toward her.
“Gabriella, aren’t you forgetting something?”
“What?”
“A condom? That is, unless you have a desire for unprotected sex?”
“I’m on the pill because I have issues with my period—not that you needed to know that, but if you’re positive you’re clean and I know I am, what’s the point? I’m protected against pregnancy.”
“You’re sure about this? Because I don’t want you to have any misgivings.”
“I’m sure.”
She took a hold of his cock and it was then she noticed his piercing. How could she have missed that during his little shower show? She touched it lightly with her index finger, tracing the balls on either side of the thick head. When she did, he hissed. “Does this hurt?” she asked curiously.
“Quite the contrary.”
“How does it feel?”
“I’ll let you tell me. Afterward.”
“I’ve never seen one of these.”
“I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”
“I’m afraid, Kolson.” Her eyes met his and he saw the fear in them.
“Ah, my kea, don’t be. It won’t hurt you. It’s there for your pleasure too.”
Freeing Her (A Hart Brothers Novel Book 1) Page 13