I hear the soft steps of his feet coming toward the door and my body feels every cliché of butterflies, tingles, and heart-throbbing.
He has to know it’s me on the other side of the door, but when he opens it and looks at me, I notice a slight look of relief. He’s wearing his black slacks still, but his white shirt is unbuttoned and hanging off his shoulders.
“What are you doing?” he finally asks as we both stare at each other.
I swallow. I’m doing this. Just do it.
“Will you do something for me?”
“Anything.” His response is immediate.
“Help me with another number on my list.”
He looks down at me, one side of his mouth tilts up in an easy grin. His eyes soften as she shifts his feet. “Okay,” he agrees.
“You don’t even know what it is yet.”
“I don’t need to. I’d help you do a hundred items from your list if you asked me.”
Talk about a sucker-punch right to the heart.
Why does he have to be so perfect at times?
“Okay,” I say softly, hesitation evident in my voice.
“So…what is it?”
I blink up at him. “Have a one-night stand.”
His eyes fixate on mine, his lips in a firm line as his hard stare burns into me. Finally, he takes a step back and brushes a hand through his hair, looking down at the ground and then back up to me.
“Do you know how hard I’ve been trying to not have sex with you this week? Do you know how many times I’ve wanted to do more than shut your smart mouth up with my lips and kiss them until they bruised? I’ve imagined it every day since I’ve met you.” He inhales a sharp breath. “Jesus, Kate.”
Fuck, he’s angry.
I look down, unable to handle the way he’s looking at me right now and completely humiliated that I just asked him to have sex with me.
“I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. Honestly, I’m probably still drunk.” I quickly turn to retreat, but he grabs my arm and pulls me back to him, his mouth so close to mine, we’re nearly touching.
“I want you, Kate. I do. Trust me. But one night would never be enough for me. You deserve much more than a one-night stand.” His words, so powerful, hit me like an emotional backhanded slap to the face.
“One night is all I can give…” I say softly, lowering my eyes. “I could find any drunk guy at a bar to sleep with, but it wouldn’t be you. I feel safe with you.”
He tilts my chin up, making my eyes meet his again. They’re intense and captivating, and everything I shouldn’t want. “I could die happy hearing that.” He smiles with that devious look in his eyes and my body melts into a puddle all over again.
“I could die happy knowing that I met someone like you, Gabe Cooper. Even if all I know about you is you climb trees like a champ, can dance like your feet are on fire and are an expert at using all the hot water. It’s enough.”
He slips his hand from my jaw to my cheek and pulls my lips to his.
Soft lips collide with mine. But it feels like so much more than that. He kisses like it’s the last day of his life and the only way to breathe again is from feeling his lips against mine, knowing he’s pouring every ounce of passion to me.
“If I can only have you for one night, then I’ll take it. I’ll make sure it’s the best one-night stand you ever have.” His words vibrate against my lips, forcing giggles out of me at his devoted response.
“It’ll be the only one I have,” I promise. “Anything after would just be a disappointment.” I inhale as he nips my lower lip. “And life is too short for disappointments.”
His mouth covers mine again, but this time he reaches around me and pulls me up against him, wrapping my legs around his waist. He walks us into his room and presses my back against the door as he closes it.
Gently, he lowers me to my feet, but doesn’t let me go. He kisses down my jaw, neck, and chest. His hands explore on his way down, palming my breasts, as he pulls my tank top down and wraps his lips around my nipple. I moan at the way he’s paying extra attention to my sensitive buds, figuring out what makes my body hum.
He kneels down in front of me, feathering kisses down my torso as he pushes my top up. I look down and watch him, his fingers pressing aggressively into my skin as his mouth lowers to my panties.
The moon shines through the window, reflecting off his skin and giving me just enough of a view to know he’s not planning to stop anytime soon.
“I’ve been dying to know what you taste like, Kate. It’s all I’ve been able to think about every morning while you were in that shower, the same shower I was using, thinking of all the ways I could make you scream in there if I had my way.”
My palms are pressed against the door, holding my body up as best as I can. With every word he says and every indent his lips make into my flesh, I want to sink lower and lower to the floor, knowing that this is the only moment we’ll ever have together. The last moment I’ll ever spend with him or any other guy while I’m on this earth. The last moment I’ll know I can now die happy.
He slowly pulls my panties down, softly kissing the skin underneath as he lowers one side at a time. I shiver at the way his fingers press into the flesh, marking me as his, even if just for tonight. His lips are warm, leaving a trail down my body as my arousal continues to grow with every breath I feel him exhale.
His tongue slides up my slit over and over, building up the arousal as I try to steady myself against the wall. I can barely take it anymore. I fist my hands in his hair, letting him know exactly what I need.
And with a heavy moan, he delivers. My arousal releases as I scream his name and beg for more.
I watch, dazed, as he stands up and shrugs his shirt down his shoulders until it pools to the floor. He brings my gaze back up to him when he grabs my wrist and covers his arousal with the palm of my hand. “I’ve been hard all week, just thinking about you. The more I resisted the urge to throw you in my bed, the harder I got.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I say with a knowing grin. “Guess I should take care of that for you.”
I start to kneel down in front of him, but he grabs me before I can and pulls me back up. “This may only be for one night, but it’s going to be nothing like a one-night stand. I’m making love to you, Kate. I’m not fucking you like a nameless girl at the bar. You understand?”
I swallow and blink up at him.
“Kate?”
“Yes,” I say. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want it rough, though.” The moment the words spill out of my mouth, he captures my mouth again and begins taking the rest of our clothes off. Soon, they’re a trail on the floor as we make our way to his bed, where he keeps his promise of making it the best I’ve ever had.
Track 14: Can’t Let Go
Gabe
I lied to Kate last night. I lied to her and to myself and now I’ll pay the price for it, because the truth is, I wasn’t okay with just one night with her.
And I hate that I have to leave today. Taking a week off work was already a stretch, but going back to my normal life after this is going to be worse than that time I broke my foot in three places.
At least that came with painkillers.
Waking up with Kate in my arms is one of the best feelings. It brings me back to all those nights I held Sophia until she fell asleep.
Toward the end as Sophia got sicker, she’d feel so cold and weak, my body heat was the only thing that’d help warm her up. I hated having to leave her at the end of the day, even knowing she’d be taken care of, but all the strength in the world couldn’t fix how I felt the day she took her last breath.
And in these past ten months, I’ve shut every possible emotional avenue down, except anger. Anger fed the numbness, which fed the need to work 24/7 and push everyone out.
Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. The darkness took over, and I lost any form of light in my life. I knew Trace understood my pain, but I wanted to
be strong for him and be here during his wedding. I’d be a shitty friend if I put my sadness over his happiness. So I took the week off work and dragged my ass here.
And then I met Kate, making it the best decision of my life to come here. For the first time in months, I feel something. She’s breathed light back into my soul, and I don’t know how I’m going to let her go.
I slip my arm out from under her and softly kiss the top of her head. I want to spend as much time with her as I can, so I don’t think twice about getting up before eight in the morning to make her breakfast and prolonging my drive back home as long as I can.
As I’m scrambling the eggs, I hear footsteps upstairs and soon after, the sounds of the shower being turned on. I leave the eggs scrambled in the bowl and head back upstairs.
As soon as I enter the bathroom, I hear her humming and singing to herself. Her clothes are piled on the floor and soon mine are joined next to hers.
I pull the curtain back and before I can step inside, she shrieks, turns and squirts a bottle of body wash in my face.
“Oh, shit,” I curse, taking a step back.
“Oh my God!” She grabs ahold of my arm and pulls me in. “You scared the shit out of me. Here, rinse your face off.” She pushes me toward the stream of water and once the soap rinses off, I hear her giggling behind me.
“You think this is funny?”
“A little.”
I turn around and see the wide, giddy smile on her face. “You did that on purpose.”
“I did not!” she defends, laughing at my forced glare.
“That was you getting even with me, wasn’t it?”
She laughs, her top lip curling up in a seductive grin. “Well if I was, you would’ve deserved it.”
“Is that so?” I challenge, pressing her body against the wall of the shower. “Guess that means I get a rebuttal.”
“I’d like to see you try,” she challenges right back.
Before she can stop me, I grab her hands in both of mine and wrap my fingers around her wrist. I kneel down in between her legs and slide my tongue up her slit. She shakes her hips, trying to distract me, but it won’t work.
I pin her hands to the wall on each side of her as I continue tasting her. She moans and curses at me to let her touch me, but I silence her whines as I twirl my tongue around her clit. Now she’s nearly screaming, grinding her body against my mouth, and begging for more.
I don’t let her go until I taste her release on my tongue. I don’t want my time with her to end. Just the thought of it makes me want to call into work and stay the extra week with her.
I stand up and cover her mouth with mine, letting her taste the both of us.
“So fucking sweet, Kate,” I growl against her lips. “I don’t want to leave.”
Her eyes close as she takes in a deep breath. “You have to,” she whispers. “You have a life to get back to.”
“A life without feeling like this isn’t a life worth living,” I admit. “I can’t explain my feelings for you, Kate. They came without any warning. I’ve closed the doors to feeling anything for anyone a long time ago, but with you—you somehow opened them back up, and I don’t want to go back to what it was like before you.”
The words spew out of me before I can stop myself, but I needed to say them. I know it’s not what she wanted, but I can’t leave without telling her how I feel first.
“I’m sorry, Gabe…” She licks her lips and looks back up at me, the water turning cooler, but neither of us attempting to move out of the stream. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that I met you this week. Meeting you, fighting with you, being near you, has changed everything for me, but I set the rules for a reason. My life is complicated. I can’t promise you a future. I can hardly promise you a tomorrow.”
I shake my head, trying to understand her words. “What does that mean, Kate? I understand having a past. I understand feeling the pain and heartbreak, but I’m here. You’re here. Why can’t we at least try?”
She bows her head in silence and when her body begins to shiver, I turn the water off and pull her out of the shower with me. Tears are streaming down her cheeks, and I hate that I’ve pushed her to this point, but I want her to feel comfortable opening up to me.
I wrap a towel around her and walk us back to my room. I pull back the covers and motion for her to get in. I lay next to her, holding her, and letting the silence between us grow longer and longer.
“Kate…” I whisper.
“Yes?”
“Will you open up to me? Please?” I tilt her chin up toward me, needing to see her face. “You can tell me anything.”
She swallows, her eyes fixed on mine, but the words I want to hear never escape her mouth. “I’m sorry.” She shakes her head and purses her lips. “I can’t.”
I exhale out of frustration and hold her tighter. I don’t want to let her go…ever.
After we warm up, we get dressed and head down for breakfast. We keep the conversation light. Neither of us wanting to ruin the last moments we have together. Counting down to the last few hours I still have left, I suggest taking a walk together.
“Umm…” she hesitates, twirling her hair in between her fingers.
I raise a brow at her. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to hold you hostage in my trunk or anything.”
She chuckles. “Well, that makes me feel a lot better.”
“It should. There’s no way you’d fit in my trunk…in one piece anyway.” I wink, making her giggle once more. “Your eyes light up every time you laugh, did you know that?” I tuck a strand of hair back around her ear. “I love it.”
She smiles and looks down, almost as if she’s trying to hide the blush that’s crept up her neck. “Now go put some shoes on.” I bring my arms around her and playfully smack her ass.
Kate
As I tie the laces to my old running shoes, a shooting pain jolts up my leg, and I grip the end of the mattress tightly until it stops. The pain has been pretty manageable up until this point, but with the way Gabe’s been stretching and devouring my body, it’s been agitating my leg more than usual. But without making him suspicious, I can’t tell him I don’t want to go. He’ll ask me why, and I’ll have to make up some excuse, which probably won’t be very believable and he’ll know I’m lying.
And it’s his last day here, so I only have to get through the next few hours before I can crawl into a ball of self-loathing.
That sounds pathetic, I know. But letting Gabe leave is going to be harder than I’m allowing myself to think about right now. If I don’t think about it, I can pretend it’s not a big deal and not completely lose it.
“Ready?” He pops his head in my room with an eager smile.
I finish tying the last shoe and stand up. “Yup.” I let him grab my hand and lead us downstairs and out the door.
It’s a chilly fall day, even for Hingham, but it feels amazing. I’ve been having hot flashes and night chills off and on for the last couple of weeks. But for the past week, I’ve had a nice distraction from thinking about the pain and side effects.
We start walking toward the lake, the wind blowing up the leaves and causing waves to crash against the docks.
“It’s so beautiful out here.”
“It is. So different from Boston, even though it’s not that far away.”
“I’ve been in New York for so long now that I almost forgot what life outside of the city smelled like.”
We walk hand in hand along the water and under the trees, as the leaves crunch under our feet. It’s the perfect cliché of a gorgeous fall day.
Twenty minutes into our walk, my leg is in almost unbearable pain. I have to stop walking and rest a moment, but I don’t want him to question it.
“Sorry,” I apologize as I squeeze my thigh. “I think I pulled a muscle last night.”
“We can head back if you want?” His voice and facial expressions are filled with concern, which worries me even more. If something as normal as cramps h
ave him this worried, I most definitely can’t tell him the truth.
“Yeah,” I say as he takes my hand and pulls me back up. “Nothing Tylenol and a warm bath can’t help,” I reassure, putting a small smile back on his face.
When we return back to the house, I see I have a voicemail from Natalee. Hearing her voice makes me smile, especially the part at the end where she says, “I hope you two are having fun…together…alone…if you know what I mean!” She then giggles and I hear Trace in the background saying, “The entire airport knows what you mean!”
I laugh as I save her message in my phone. They stayed at a local bed and breakfast last night and then were heading to the airport. They must’ve been on their layover, so I text out a response back.
“Everything all right?” Gabe asks from behind me, handing me two white pills.
I take them and thank him with an easy smile. “Yes, just Nat enjoying the first class wine a bit too much.”
“So how much do you want to bet she comes back pregnant?”
“Not that we’d be able to tell that early, but I’d guess within the first six months. Definitely.”
“Six months, hmm? Care to make a wager?”
We sit on the couch and face each other. “A wager?”
“I say they have a honeymoon baby,” he says matter-of-factly.
I eye him curiously, wondering where this all came from. “What do you know that I don’t know?”
“Nothing.” He smiles. “Now are you in or not?”
“No way. I don’t trust you not to cheat.”
“Chicken.” The corners of his lips perk up, giving me that easy smile of his. “Why don’t you go take a hot bath, and I’ll be in my bed, warming it up for when you’re done?”
I smile and nod in return.
He leads me upstairs and to my room, reminding me to come in by him once I’ve finished. I undress and start running the water when my heart begins to race, thumping hard in my chest at how too real this is all feeling.
Alphas & Millionaires Starter Set Page 61