Rescue Me

by Faye Avalon

  * * *

  Maddie walked with Gabe around the empty shell of what was once an elegant and beautiful hotel, and she told herself the gesture didn’t mean anything. Yet it didn’t stop her fingering the black-framed designer sunglasses that Gabe had insisted buying for her before they left Antibes, nor did it stop the memory of the tender way he had slipped them over her eyes when they’d left the shop.

  It was a sweet and thoughtful thing for him to do, and Maddie still couldn’t quite ignore the warm glow around her heart. Which was pretty stupid considering that Gabe had dismissed the whole thing by assuring her he simply didn’t want her to get a headache from squinting against the strong sun.

  She would do well not to read anything more into it.

  So as Gabe spoke with the agent about things like square footage and return on investment opportunities, Maddie wandered over to the huge floor-to-ceiling windows of what was once a lovely ballroom. Beyond the glass, the gardens had largely been left to overgrow, but beautiful palms of varying heights intersected with citrus trees and Mexican orange blossom. She could imagine lounge chairs dotted about the space, with white-shirted waiters bringing guests cooling cocktails as they basked in the Mediterranean sunshine.

  “Maddie...”

  She turned to find Gabe holding out his hand, beckoning her to follow them.

  “What caught your attention back there?” he asked as they followed the agent through the ballroom and out to the foyer.

  “The garden. It has some great landscaping. It’ll need a skilled gardening team to bring it back to its former glory, but it would make a lovely space for guests to relax.” A thought occurred to her. “You do plan to keep it as a hotel?”

  He placed his hand at the small of her back, ushering her toward where the agent waited at the elevator. “Not sure I’m even interested yet, but the location would make a good venue for a conference centre.”

  “That’s a shame. This place has lovely original features with real vintage charm. It makes me think of old movie stars coming here to relax after filming some classic. My grandmother used to have magazines with photos of actors enjoying the South of France.”

  “Yeah, well. Working around some of those old features wouldn’t be an economical option. Better to gut the place and start again.”

  Maddie was already mourning the loss of the charm of the place when they walked out onto the rooftop terrace and saw the bones of what was once a large swimming pool.

  Life-size statues, chipped and covered in moss plus other debris, adorned the terrace. It reminded her of the Brighton Mallory on the south coast of England. The hotel was one of her favourites, especially the basement area with its steam room, sauna and small swimming pool. At each of the two entrances to the basement, large marble statues guarded the way, and guests would fill out little cards with their drink orders and hang them on the outstretched fingers of the statues for the waiters to collect.

  Again, while Gabe spoke with the agent, Maddie walked around the empty, cracked pool of this once elegant old hotel. If it were hers, she would have the pool renovated, the statues restored, and add tons of pretty planters with brightly coloured and fragrantly scented shrubs and flowers into the mix.

  After they’d toured each of the thirty-two bedrooms, more public areas and the outside space, they said their goodbyes to the agent and got back to the car. Maddie was ready to drink a gallon of water and devour a plate of just about anything.

  Over the past weeks her appetite had been largely nonexistent. Wedding nerves had obviously taken hold, not to mention the reason for that wedding. Now, not least because of her overly active sex life, she seemed constantly ravenous for food—and, okay, for sex.

  She glanced across at Gabe as he spun the wheel and drove out of the hotel’s parking area. It was hard not to think about physical pleasure as she watched the muscles of his forearms clench, those strong and capable hands manipulating the wheel with such ease and assurance, in the same way he could manipulate every inch of her body.

  Her breasts felt tender against the cotton of her bra, and as her panties grew wet, she clenched her legs together. Instinctively, she glanced down to Gabe’s lap and at the bulge in his trousers.

  He turned, caught her, grinned as he glanced back at the road. “Now who’s got a one-track mind?”

  She didn’t even try to hide her smile. “I was thinking about lunch,” she lied. “About what I fancied to eat.”

  He glanced down at her lap. “Me, too.”

  Her smile widened, and she turned to look out the passenger side as she bit her bottom lip. Thank goodness for the open-topped car—at least she had enough air to breathe as her lungs tightened and everything inside her ached. She half wished that Gabe might pull them to the side of the secluded road so they could just do it right there.

  Minutes later, as if he’d read her thoughts, he turned off down a side road and headed toward the sea. At the end of the cliff road was a wild, shrubby, secluded pull-in overlooking a small bay.

  Maddie turned to him as he killed the engine and took off his sunglasses. “I don’t see any restaurants around here.”

  He shifted in his seat, pushed a button so that the seat shot back, then reached for her and drew her half across his lap. Pushing up her skirt, he slipped his hand between her legs. “There’s no restaurant that can offer me what I crave right now.” His fingers pressed on the thin strip covering her slit. “And if I’m not mistaken, you’re about ready to serve up my favourite dish.”

  He levered her over until she straddled him. Maddie took off her own sunglasses and placed her hands on his shoulders, shimmying a little and making him groan. “Do you want it served any special way, sir? Any particular dressings?”

  He pushed her skirt up farther and grabbed at the crotch of her panties, groaning when his fingers touched her slick folds.

  “I want you naked,” he ordered in a stern tone. “I want you stripped bare. Your legs wide so I can lap you up.”

  As his finger slid inside her, she threw her head back, her fingers digging into his shoulders and her breasts thrust forward searching for his mouth.

  He took the invite, covering her breast through the tee and sucking hard, making Maddie wish she hadn’t worn a bra. Not that it mattered, because Gabe wasn’t the type of man to bother with barriers. He battered them down, drove through them. And the particular barrier to her breast he dealt with by shoving up her T-shirt with his free hand and pulling it over her head.

  She placed her hands back on his shoulders, and he reached into her bra, brought out her breast and used his mouth to devour it. He sucked, drawing her sensitive nipple into his mouth and swirling it around until she was on the verge of begging for heaven knew what. He licked, his tongue as hot and relentless as the overhead sun. He bit, the pressure light enough to elicit a needy moan from deep inside her.

  Maddie reached down, pulling his shirt from his trousers in a frantic need to get to his flesh. He released his hands, helping her divest him of his shirt. She tossed it on the passenger seat alongside where Gabe had tossed hers.

  From somewhere came the sound of car horns blasting, and Maddie shot back. She searched around, for the first time really aware that they were in a place that another car could just as easily discover.

  “Gabe... We shouldn’t be doing this here. It’s a public place and anyone could come.”

  He held her hips steady, his fingers digging in. “That’s the general idea.”

  She swatted him on the shoulder. “I mean it. We could be arrested for public indecency.”

  “Live a little,” he advised, still with that sexy tilt of his mouth that promised all manner of lewd and debauched activity. “Besides, the authorities are a little more relaxed in these parts.”

  Was that true? She had her doubts, but since he was unfastening her bra and her breasts felt full and heavy and alread
y craving his mouth again, she pushed her misgivings aside. She wanted him too damn much to worry about being discovered. Anyway, they would hear if another car came down the slip road, wouldn’t they?

  Once she was divested of her bra, Gabe moved to her skirt. He drew down the zipper, hoisted it over her head, and added it to the pile of discarded clothing on the passenger seat.

  Straddling him in just scant panties, Maddie enjoyed the warm breeze that slithered over her skin and the early-afternoon sun that shimmered down on them. She rocked forward, enjoying even more the feel of Gabe’s hair-roughened chest against her tender breasts and his erection pressing against her.

  Bringing her hand between them, she found his zipper. Slowly, her eyes on his, she unhooked the clasp and slid the metal down. He was commando, and she smiled. “I like that you came prepared,” she said, reaching into his pants and gripping his hard length.

  His stomach muscles jerked. “Saves time.”

  “We’re being very bad,” she said, nipping at his lower lip and enjoying the taste of hot, aroused male. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

  “You’ve never had sex in a car?” His voice was deep and gravelled.

  Maddie continued to bite along his lip, loving the way his chest moved against her breasts as his breath deepened. “Never.”

  “If it’s a first for you, I’d better make it memorable.”

  His fingers came around her wrist, and he removed her hand from inside his trousers. Before she could protest, he caught the sides of her panties and pulled. The movement shoved Maddie forward and she grabbed his shoulders. He yanked again and again, each time making Maddie’s breath leave her lungs on a shocked whoosh.

  “Gabe... What...”

  With another yank the panties ripped, and seconds later her shattered panties were hooked over Gabe’s finger. “You won’t be needing these any time soon.”

  Another light toss and they joined the pile beside him.

  Now Maddie was completely naked, and though she would never admit it, there was something supremely decadent about straddling a man in his car in the open air and in a public place. She supposed it was the whole we-might-get-caught thing, but she felt bold and powerful and deliciously naughty.

  She shimmied against him. “Now all we have to do is get your pants down.”

  “Not yet.” He eased her back a few inches. “Stand up.”

  “What?”

  “Stand up and come close.”

  With her hands anchored on his shoulders, she did as he said. His eyes were so dark, almost black, and heavy-lidded, but the intention in them made her pelvic muscles clench.

  She closed her eyes at the first touch of his tongue to her heat. Hell, this was the most erotic thing she had ever done in her life. She couldn’t think of much of anything but how amazing it felt to have Gabe touch her this way, making her feel so incredibly alive as she stood naked in the sun while his hot mouth devoured her pussy.

  He pushed in harder, deeper, moving his tongue in exactly the right way, with exactly the right pressure. All the while he gripped her hips, tilting her forward to meet his mouth. She couldn’t catch her breath, and soon she flew over the precipice.

  “Hell.” She grabbed for air, opening her eyes and relaxing the death grip on Gabe’s shoulders. “You do that so incredibly well.”

  “It’s a man’s duty to learn how to go down on a woman. How to make her come over and over.”

  She still fought to smooth her jagged breathing. “You learned that lesson well. Really well.” She took a moment or two to compose herself, to let her pulse slow. Then she met his heavy gaze. “I want to return the favour.”

  Without waiting for him to respond, she pushed at his thighs and spread his legs wider so that she could crouch down between them. Despite that the car was roomy, it was still a tight fit, but Maddie was determined to do it.

  She hooked her fingers around his waistband and when he raised his hips she pulled the trousers down to his knees. As his erection sprang free, Maddie placed her hands around the base. She linked her fingers, sliding her hands lightly up and down his length. Touching her thumb to the tip, she spread moisture across the top, which brought deep groans from Gabe.

  She met his gaze and, following her instincts, drew her tongue across her lower lip. Gabe’s stomach muscles clenched; his erection jerked. Spurred on by the hungry look in his eyes, she lowered her head.

  His salty taste mingled with the sea air, the balmy breeze, and Maddie lapped at him like the waves lapped at the shore below them. She brushed her tongue across his tip before taking him slowly, steadily, into her mouth.

  He matched her rhythm, hiking up his hips and pressing forward as she took him in, easing back a tad as she brought her mouth back to his tip.

  Encouraged by his urgent groans and the way his chest expanded as he sucked in air, Maddie worked faster. His muttered expletives echoed through the quiet space around them and filled Maddie with a sense of power. Feeling his hands either side of her head, Maddie thought he’d pull her away like he had in the bathroom, but his fingers pushed through her hair and dug into her scalp.

  When his grip tightened, she knew he was close and worked him faster, harder. “Fuck... Maddie... You need to...”

  Not this time, she thought. He wasn’t pushing her away this time. What she wanted was Gabe at her mercy, the way he always seemed to have her at his. She wanted him powerless, stripped of his ability to control. She wanted him defenceless. Just for once.

  “Shit...”

  His guttural cry ripped through the air, and Maddie knew he was at the point of no return. She kept up the pressure, loving the way he felt, the way he sounded, the way he tasted.

  The tension left his body, and he slumped back in his seat. She withdrew from him and looked up. His eyes were closed, his head tipped back against the headrest, while his chest heaved with the effort to breathe.

  Slowly, he opened his eyes, and his one-sided grin was lazy. “Thanks seems woefully inadequate.” He stroked the hands she’d placed on his thighs. “You okay?”

  “Of course.” She wanted to say something pithy and playful, but nothing came easily. Seconds later, Gabe coaxed her to straddle him again and he kissed her, over and over, until she shivered.

  He reached over and picked up her bra and T-shirt. “Ready for lunch?”

  “Reckon so.” She bit her lip when he handed her the shredded panties. “I think they’re beyond repair.”

  “I’ll buy you a new pair.” He winked. “Eventually.”

  Maddie narrowed her eyes. “I’m just hoping my skirt will cover the essentials.”

  “I’ll make sure to walk behind you,” Gabe quipped, watching as she slid on the bra. “Just to be sure.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  DURING THE DRIVE back to Monte Carlo, Gabe tried not to reflect on the vague sense of unease that had descended on him as the afternoon wore on. He felt off-centre. Like something had shifted and he had no freaking idea what it was. Okay, that wasn’t entirely true. It had to do with Maddie and the way she had given him head. Which was crazy. He wasn’t a stranger to oral sex—the giving or receiving—and it didn’t usually shake him up like this. More often than not it left him whistling a happy tune. Right now, he didn’t feel like whistling.

  He’d kept the conversation light, focussed it on the state of the two hotels they’d viewed that day. Maddie didn’t seem to notice his mood, for which he was grateful. The last thing he needed was deep and meaningful conversation, or to have her question him about the shift in his disposition.

  Back at his apartment, Maddie declared she was taking a shower, which meant Gabe could do what he always did when life tossed him a curve ball. He threw himself into work. Pouring himself a whisky, he took himself into his home office and closed the door. A healthy swig did little to settle his system, nor did
it aid the release of his troublesome thoughts.

  Maddie filled his head.

  It was damned inconvenient.

  Since the alcohol wasn’t doing its job, he went to his desk and opened his laptop. A trail of emails from his PA, managerial staff and various property agents assaulted him, but the two from his lawyer caught his attention.

  Following contact from his investigator that morning, Gabe had put in a call to Doug Trent asking him to follow up on a couple of points. He hoped it was good news.

  He placed the whisky down next to his laptop and clicked the first of Doug’s messages. Hands braced on the edge of his desk, he leaned in to read. The message confirmed exactly what he’d expected: Kingston had refused to sell Gabe the controlling shares in Mallory Hotels.

  He clicked the second message. Kingston was demanding that Maddie return to London immediately or be faced with a breach of contract clause.

  Gabe straightened and rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Yeah. Nice try, asshole.”

  He reached for his whisky and downed the remaining liquid, wincing as the alcohol hit the spot. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his cell. He pressed speed dial, and seconds later Doug picked up.

  “You got my messages?”

  “Yeah.” Gabe drew in a breath. He and Doug went way back. There were few men he trusted more. “You gave him the ultimatum?”

  “Wouldn’t budge. The prick still thinks he’s riding high. He’s spreading the word that Maddie had a little bout of wedding nerves, that she’s been under a lot of stress and needed some time away before returning to London to rearrange their wedding. He’s playing the part of the understanding and supportive partner and making it sound as if everything’s still rosy.”

  “Fucker.”

  “Got that right.”

  Gabe knew Doug too well to miss the hesitation that hovered in the air. “What else?”

  Doug sucked in a breath. “Has Maddie been in contact with Kingston while she’s been with you?”