by Cali MacKay
“Do you want to come, babe?” He slowly worked his finger in and out of her ass, and then, with his free hand, brushed the head of his cock against her swollen clit.
“Yes…please, Gabe. I can’t…I can’t…” Her head hung low as beads of sweat broke out over her skin. She did her best to hold on and not come—when he sank his cock deep inside her with a single hard thrust, and her orgasm ripped free, rolling through her like lightning, her cries rising over her gasping breaths.
“Fuck, Hadley…you’re so gorgeous when you come undone for me.” With his finger still slowly working her ass, he ran his other hand along her spine, eliciting a shiver from her, as the remaining energy of her orgasm worked its way through her.
He pulled slowly out of her, so just the head of his cock remained inside her, and then thrust hard again, the balm working its magic so she was already building towards another orgasm. And then he was pulling his finger out of her ass—only to replace it with something colder, well-lubed, and if she had to guess, larger, once he’d inserted it fully.
“Easy, sweetheart…just relax for me.” She did as he asked, and the slick plug slipped easily into place. “There’s my girl. You all right?”
She nodded as another shiver ran down her spine, leaving her skin pebbled with goose bumps, as she was once more overwhelmed by myriad sensations. “Gabe…”
“Nearly there, sweetheart.” When he leaned forward, his thrusts pushed his cock and the plug deeper, filling her so completely and leaving her on the verge of coming once more. With both his cock buried deep and the plug in her ass, she’d never felt so full, so tight, her breath catching as her heart raced. He nuzzled her and trailed kisses over her skin before tying a silk blindfold over her eyes.
The blindfold’s effect on her was immediate, and she at once felt slightly disoriented and yet more aware of everything else she was feeling—not just physically, but emotionally. Because what Gabe was doing to her went far beyond the physical act, requiring complete trust. He was teaching her to trust again after being betrayed—getting her to trust again when she hadn’t been able to in a long time. He wasn’t just fulfilling her sexual needs, but was also healing her emotional wounds so she could start that new life she’d been wanting.
Still draped across her back, Gabe started to move inside her, his thrusts slow and precise, intense and determined, grinding his hips against hers as he fucked her, his girth and the plug competing for space. With his lips at her ear, he whispered sweet words of encouragement and words so naughty, that it amped up her desire even more, as his hand cradled her neck against him, his fingers tightening only enough to remind her of their presence.
It was all so intense: the feeling of being so completely full, the weight of his body, the coiled strength in his movements. His pace started to pick up, and it was more than she could take, her orgasm racing through her like a shot of electricity that had built up to its release, his name escaping her lips as her eyes fluttered closed, her senses on overload, her emotions overwhelming her.
“Gabe…I’m so in love with you.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Babe…” With Hadley’s words echoing through his head and wrapping around his heart, Gabe pulled his cock free of her warm, tight body, her absence immediately felt, though he was far from through with her. “I want to look at you when you tell me that you love me.”
He lay down on his back and then took her hand and shifted her to him, so she could straddle him, her blindfold still in place. With one hand on her hips, he guided her down onto his hard length, her body so tight around him, especially with the plug vying for space. How he’d not come a dozen times already was beyond him—and yet this is how he wanted to come, being able to watch her as she rode him, every expression visible.
With her hands on his chest, she started to move, her hips shifting and rocking up and down his length as she bit her bottom lip, the red silk still blinding her, her skin pale in contrast. “Tell me again, babe…tell me…”
Her pace quickened, and though it took her a moment more, she said the words he needed to hear. “I’m in love with you, Gabe.”
He was building towards a mind-blowing orgasm, and he could tell that she, too, wasn’t far off again, despite having just come. Sitting up, he wrapped his arm around her waist, knowing the position would add to the friction against her clit. But there was one more thing. He reached down and cupped her ass, finding the small button on the plug. The vibrations were immediate, as was her gasp. He was so fucking close. “How’s that feel, sweetheart?”
“Gabe…” His name was nothing more than a gasp as she rode him hard, her hips thrusting and rocking against him, the intensity of their evening reaching its zenith.
He couldn’t have imagined ever meeting anyone like Hadley, nor could he have imagined falling for anyone at all. And yet he had. He’d fallen fast and hard, and he now knew there was no turning back from what they had.
“Fuck, Gabe…I’m coming.” She quivered in his arms and cried out as he joined her, the intensity of his release jetting into her, triggering her earth-shattering orgasm.
“I love you, Hadley…with all that I am, I fucking love you.”
***
“Stay in bed, babe. It’s the weekend and it’s barely past eight in the morning.” Not to mention Gabe wanted to fuck Hadley until noon—and never mind that they’d fucked into the wee hours of the morning. He tightened his hold on her when she tried to slip away to answer her ringing cell. “You’re mine, lover.”
“Lover, huh? I think I like that—though I still need to get that since no one usually calls me this early unless it’s work or an emergency.” She stole a kiss and slipped away from him as her cellphone continued ringing, leaving him to watch her naked body traipse across his room. “Crap…it’s my sister.”
“Don’t do it, Hadley. Not after the stunt she pulled.” Hadley was too sweet for her own good, and he was relieved to see her dismiss the call, even if she took the phone with her and put it on his nightstand. Lifting the covers up, he pulled her back into bed, and nestled her close—when her phone rang again. “Let it go to voicemail, and if you’re really worried, you can always listen to her message. If it’s important, she’ll say so.”
He wanted to fucking murder Abby and Matt for upsetting Hadley, and if this was just another one of her sister’s melodramas, he and Abby were going to have words. He refused to let Abby manipulate and guilt Hadley into feeling bad about a situation that had nothing to do with her.
When the phone rang yet again and Hadley cursed, Gabe knew it was hopeless. She answered her cell, and though she was curt with her sister, it was clear there was something more going on—and it involved Matt. By the time she hung up, Hadley was looking torn.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Just because they were now a couple—and he’d be damned if they weren’t a couple after confessing their love—he knew it didn’t necessarily mean she’d want to share everything.
“It’s Matt. He’s in the hospital after getting beat up.” Her voice broke and then her tears came.
“Babe…” He gathered her up in his arms and held her to him as she wept for a man she had once loved. “Will he be okay? What happened?”
“They managed to stabilize him, so he should recover, though the next twenty-four hours are critical. Abby said he went on a bender after I left and wouldn’t return his calls. He got into a fight with a group of guys at some bar.” She swiped at her tears. “I know he’s an ass, but he wasn’t always like this.”
“Of course not, love.” Especially since he didn’t see Hadley as the sort to fall for someone so irresponsible and thoughtless. “I can come with you if you’d like to go see him.”
“I know I should go to the hospital, but I don’t know if I can bear it. And…I know it’s selfish to say, but I feel like I’m never going to escape my past—escape what he did to me—if I keep letting him pull me back into another mess of his. It’s always something with him,
with my sister, and I’m tired of them trying to drag me into their problems. This divorce was supposed to be a new start—a new life.” She pulled away, and though she looked a bit more calm and in control of her emotions, she was still clearly upset. “Matt and Abby can blame me if they want, but I know it’s not my fault. Am I a horrible person for not going to see him?”
“Fuck no, babe.” Gabe didn’t have to meet up with his brothers until later in the day, and yet…he still didn’t want to leave her when she was upset. Quinn would have his hide if he canceled on him—not to mention it’d be another chance to grill Morgan over that email—but maybe she could come with him. “Listen…I’m supposed to hook up with my brothers later, but….”
“Go. I don’t want you worrying about me. Besides, I’ve got work to do. Speaking of which, I still need you to have a look at that suspect, and if I can get you a decent image, maybe you can have your brothers take a peek too.”
He’d rest a hell of a lot easier once they had this asshole caught and behind bars, especially since Hadley was inadvertently at risk just by being with him and on the investigation. “Let’s head to the station then and get that snapshot of this asshole. I want to see the face of the man who’s been threatening my family.”
They left with plenty of time to swing by the station and make it to Quinn’s. Though Portmore was a fairly quiet town, the station still seemed well staffed for the weekend. Even her partner, Detective Murphy, was there, his face lighting up the moment he saw Hadley—only to have his gaze turn suspicious when he saw that Gabe was with her. “Mr. Ryker—not that it’s a surprise to see you with Ms. Moore.”
Before Gabe had a chance to say anything, Hadley put an end to what would have been a pissing match had she let them get started. The way Murphy gave Hadley the once-over when she wasn’t looking, with his gaze lingering on her curves, it was clear Murphy had the hots for Hadley, and Gabe sure as hell wasn’t happy about it. “I’d like to show Mr. Ryker the tape of our suspect, and also get a snapshot of the suspect to show to his brothers, on the off chance they recognize him.”
Mr. Fucking Ryker indeed. Gabe hated that they had to keep their relationship a secret, when he wanted the world to know that she was his—just as he was hers. And he especially wanted all the men to stop fucking undressing her with their eyes.
It was all he could do to not throttle Murphy then and there. And not being able to touch her, or rest his hand on the small of her back, to not be able to pull her close and kiss her, to not be able to openly stake his claim, was pissing him off. Like some inalienable right had been taken away from him.
Fucking hell, what was his world coming to?
“The cleaned-up snapshots just came in.” Murphy pulled a file off his desk and started flipping through the papers, finally finding the one he needed. “I had our tech department enhance the image of the suspect in the vehicle. As for the man on foot, there wasn’t really much to enhance, though we determined that he’s approximately six three and two hundred pounds, based on his build.”
Hadley took the image from him, and after a quick glance handed it to Gabe—who swore. “No… He can’t be responsible for the fire—and certainly not for running me and my brother off the road. It’s got to be the other guy then.”
“Who is he, Gabe?” Worry and concern had her brow furrowed.
“That’s Jake—Emma’s sous chef.” Emma was not going to be happy about this—and fuck, Quinn was about to propose to her. She’d be furious if they implicated Jake, when he wasn’t just her sous chef but her best friend. “I’m sure he’ll have a good reason for being at the restaurant. Maybe he’d forgotten something and went back to get it.”
“I’ll still have to speak with him.” She gave him an apologetic look that made him want to pull her close.
“Yeah, of course. I know you’re just doing your job. But…I don’t suppose you’d wait to speak with Jake until I’ve had a chance to contact Quinn? Emma’s going to be really upset and I want to give Quinn a heads-up.” Emma was loyal to her friends, and one thing was certain—she was not going to be happy that Jake was coming under scrutiny.
“Sure, we can put off questioning him for a few hours, if you’d like to give your brother a heads-up, and in the meantime, we can try finding more information on this other suspect.” She glanced at Murphy, who clearly wasn’t happy that Gabe was getting special treatment. Not that Gabe gave a fuck about Murphy. “And it’s not as though we’d be arresting Jake—just asking him if he’d been at the restaurant that night. At the time, he’d said he’d had no alibi, but…if he was indeed there, we’ll have to find out why he lied about it.”
Gabe wanted to groan. He’d met Jake and really liked the man. To think he could somehow be involved in the attacks… No, he couldn’t see it. And yet, that was right around the time Emma was getting serious about Quinn, and Jake was still pining for her. “Yeah. Of course. If anything, questioning Jake might eliminate him as a suspect.”
Hadley turned to Murphy as she got ready to go. “Do you mind if I get a copy of this photo? I’d like to have it on me, so I can question Jake.”
“Alone? Don’t you think I should be with you? Or is Mr. Ryker now acting as your partner?” Murphy wasn’t happy. “Excuse us, Mr. Ryker. I’d like to speak to my partner in private.”
Gabe glared at Murphy before he had the chance to catch himself. But then Hadley gave him a pleading look. “I’ll be waiting outside.”
Gabe did wait, but it sure as hell wasn’t patiently. More than once he’d nearly gone back up the steps to the police station, since the conversation had passed his definition of brief ages ago. By the time Hadley finally walked out of the police station, he was no longer just annoyed but worried, especially when he laid eyes on her. She was upset and pissed off—and he was going to fucking kill the bastard responsible.
He grabbed her arm when she walked past him, heading towards his car. “What happened, Hadley—and don’t tell me it’s nothing.”
“I’m not discussing this here. Please, Gabe. Just don’t.” Her eyes slipped shut for a long moment, yet to truly look him in the eyes, and it was fucking pissing him off.
“Babe. Look at me.” She did and he was hit with the full force of her glare. “I’m not the enemy here and I’m not looking for a fight. But if that ass is giving you shit just because he wants to fuck you, and he knows you’re mine, then he and I are going to have words.”
“I can fight my own battles, Gabe, and the last thing I need is an ex-husband in the hospital and a boyfriend in jail for assaulting a police officer. Now could you please unlock the car? I’m not discussing any of this on the sidewalk outside the station where he can watch our every move.” Her gaze shifted towards the station, and he suddenly had no doubt Murphy was there watching them. “I can’t lose my job, Gabe. You may have money to burn, but I’ve got bills to pay and can’t afford to ruin my career.”
“Get in the car, then—though this conversation is far from over.” The moment they were belted in, he drove the car down a few blocks so they’d be out of sight and pulled over. “What did he say to upset you? Because if he’s harassing you, then I need to know, Hadley. He can’t get away with that shit.”
“He can and he will, because I can’t let it get out that we’re sleeping together.” She let out a sigh, and grabbed his hand. “Not while you’re a client and this is an active investigation. It’s completely unprofessional of me, and anything he said to me, he had every right to say.”
“Come work for me then.” Fuck, he was starting to sound like Quinn when it came to Emma. Anything to make things right between them. “I’ll fucking quadruple your salary.”
She shook her head no, though she did give him a small smile, easing some of the tension that had settled around his heart. “You’re too sweet, Gabe—and far too generous—but I can’t accept that sort of offer. It’s not just about the money, but my career. Relationships—hell, even marriages—don’t always last, and though I swea
r, I do love you, there aren’t any guarantees, and I can’t let my livelihood be dependent on this relationship.”
By the gods, she was an infuriating woman. He cupped her face in both his hands and kissed her, again and again, knowing it’d never be enough. With his forehead pressed to hers, he tried to slow his breathing and his racing pulse. “I swear, Hadley, your job, your career, all of it would be safe, no matter what happened between us.”
“I know you mean well, but I can’t have my career be based on the fact that we’re sleeping together.” She let out a weary sigh and pressed her lips to his in a lingering kiss. “I’ve worked too hard to have my success not be based on my efforts.”
“You’re being stubborn, babe—but I’ll let it go for now, since this nonsense of being apart will all be over once you solve the case.” And not a moment too soon. “But I swear, if that ass upsets you again, he and I are going to discuss the matter, and by discuss the matter, I mean his face is going to meet my fucking fist.”
She burst out laughing. “I swear, I’ve never met anyone quite like you, Gabe.”
“Yeah, well, remember that the next time you’re thinking of kicking me out of your bed.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Don’t worry about me. Go hang out with your brothers. I’ve got to question Jake, and I’d like to see if there’s any footage of the other guy. I’ll meet up with you when you’re done. Just call me, yeah?” Hadley didn’t like the idea that Jake could be involved in the attacks, but she had to look into every lead, and hopefully she’d be able to find a different image of the other man so they’d have more to go on.