“I feel the same way.” He grasped the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head, then dropped it to the floor.
I undid the top button of his jeans and tugged them down. They scraped past his muscled thighs and drifted to the floor around his ankles.
Gabe stepped out of them and stripped my jeans off in one fluid motion. He looked at my red panties and groaned. The same color as the toes he’d just been admiring. He was hard already. Straining. Swelling.
I stared at him and tugged at my lower lip. I wanted him inside me. My mouth, my pussy. Just inside me, hot and hard and everything I’d yearned for since it had all turned sour. I shoved the pain and fear out of my mind and moved back from him, pressing my heated palms against his chest.
Gabe’s expression flickered with confusion. He reached down and tore his shirt over his head, exposing the perfect abs. God, he was absolutely delectable.
I turned and walked to the counter, then bent and slid my panties over my ass and let them fall to my ankles, giving him the full view of my round ass. “What are you waiting for?”
“Oh my god,” he grunted, “I’m going to worship your body.” He rushed up behind me, grabbed my ass in both hands and got on his knees. He flipped me around and spread open my engorged folds. Then his head was between my legs. Where I wanted him. Where I’d been dying for him since he’d walked through the door. Gabe plundered me with his tongue as he traced a path to my swollen clit. He hesitated for seconds. Then, that magic tongue flicked out and gave one butterfly touch to the sensitive nub.
Pleasure screamed through my nerves and I jerked into his tongue. “Inside me,” I managed. “Now.”
“Not until I’m done,” he countered. He splayed me open with his fingers, licking them and sucking my clit all the way into his perfect mouth. He groaned and the vibration alone almost made me break apart. “You’re as delicious as the cupcake I’m going to eat later,” he said, between mouthfuls of my flesh. He stopped only long enough to crawl his fingers up over my stomach to land on my erect nipples. They felt so huge and straining. God, if only he’d pinch them …
“You have the most fantastic breasts I’ve ever seen, Allegra. I wonder if you’d like it if I did this.” He pinched and then soothed over it with softer strokes. It was like he knew exactly what I wanted before I could even articulate it.
I jerked at the taste of rough pleasure and his tongue flicked over my clit again. I bucked my hips over and over, finding a rhythm in sync with his tongue. The flicks of pleasure became a stream. I drew in a shuddering breath and grasped the counter, tingles slipping down my belly.
“You’re going to come for me,” he growled. “Come right now, Allegra.”
At his whispered command, my pussy clenched tight through a blinding wave of sweet release, a bliss of pleasure that made everything wrong between us suddenly feel right.
“Oh, Gabe.”
He stood and cupped my face in his hands, holding me steady for a searing kiss. Like possession. Like love.
“Gabe, please.”
His fingers skimmed down my fevered skin and slid inside me. I shuddered and threw my head back, gripping the counter for stability. My rubbery legs felt like buckling.
“Fuck, you are dripping wet, Allegra. You want me as bad as I want you.”
“Ahh.” Words. They were impossible. Useless.
He impaled me in one fluid stroke, stretching me wide in a mix of perfect pleasure and a little pain. A throaty gasp was all I could manage, awash on the sea of those sensations that only he could give me.
Gabe grabbed my hips and dug his fingers into my flesh. He plunged into me, again and again, rolling his hips and working his thick shaft inside me. Oh God, I was going to come again. I tightened around him and moved in time with him. Faster. Harder.
“You’re going to make me come like that,” he panted between thrusts.
“I want you to come. I want you to come so deep inside me there’s a question of where you end and where I begin,” I whispered back.
He grasped a handful of my hair and pulled it lightly, then ran his hand down to grab the back of my neck. “I want you to come again, Allegra. And again. And again.” He could barely speak. He had to be close, and I wanted him to orgasm more than I wanted another one of my own.
“You come for me first,” I demanded, then rolled my hips and my eyes at exactly the same moment. This sensation. God, oh god, it was better than anything I’d ever experienced before. Better than the last time.
Better than cupcakes.
I ground into him, his cock hitting me in the perfect spot.
“Allegra,” he murmured, then I could feel him pulsing inside me. I shut my eyes and rode through another orgasm, half-shrieking my pleasure. Gabe stopped moving a moment later, then swept the hair from my shoulder gently and planted a kiss there. He pulled out ever so slowly.
I whimpered a little. I already wanted him again. Maybe I’d never get enough of him.
Chapter 31
Gabe
I stood in the kitchen beside Allegra, with a towel wrapped around my waist. Her hair was still wet from the shower, and lightly tousled. She was gorgeous. Everything that I’d always wanted but never known. Bright and shiny like Technicolor.
I’m not the kind of weak dipshit who falls right out of the gate. Probably because Faith’s antics had made me a little gun shy. Not ready to trust until more time had passed. I’d just assumed that the dull thrum of our relationship and then subsequent friendship was something like love. I’d had a few women since college, but nothing that even came close to comparing to Allegra.
I ran my fingers down her back and rested them above her glorious ass cheeks. “They look delicious,” I said, picking up a spoon and dipping it into the frosting she’d picked out. Apparently, she didn’t care for the double entendre.
“Watch it,” she replied, then whacked me on the butt with a dishtowel. Her full red lips were parted slightly, and she pressed them together each time she tipped a cupcake out of the tray.
She brushed off her hands on her apron and smiled. God. I could lose myself in that smile. “Now, for the frosting.”
I took the spoon and dabbed a little on her nose, then leaned forward and sucked it off. “Hmmm, tastes delicious.”
Allegra froze, blinking rapidly. Bit by bit her shoulders slowly relaxed. “Not as delicious as you,” she said, then blushed furiously. This from the woman who’d said she wanted me to blow my load inside her not much earlier.
I brushed the hair back from her ear and nibbled. Every bit of her was as scrumptious as any concoction in the cases downstairs.
My phone buzzed and I slid it out of my pocket, then exhaled at the interruption. I wasn’t officially on call, but if there was a fire big enough, the chief would ask for all hands on deck. I glanced at the screen and the breath left my body. What did that son of a bitch want now?
“I’ll be right back,” I said as I walked toward the hallway for privacy. “I’ve got to take this.”
She gave me a quizzical look, then shrugged and returned to icing the cupcakes. I walked through to her bedroom and shut the door behind me.
I stared at the screen for a moment longer as if doing so would cause the nausea bubbling in my gut to go away. Cause him to go away.
I swiped my thumb across the screen, tapped the re-dial button and pressed the phone to my ear. A deep, authoritative voice answered on the second ring.
“Dad.”
“Gabriel. Where are you?” My father’s voice was an acquired taste. Made from a recipe of Bourbon, Cubans and red meat.
“I’m kind of tied up at the moment. What’s up?”
“Yes. You can explain to me why you’ve upset Faith. I talked to George at lunch and he’s concerned. Very concerned.”
Shit. So she ran straight to enlist Daddy’s help just as I’d suspected. This conversation wouldn’t end well. I squared my shoulders and prepared for the worst.
“I didn’t go out of my w
ay to upset Faith.”
“Then what’s this I hear about a paternity test?” my dad snapped and shifted the phone in a series of pops and scrapes. I could imagine him dragging his finger through his full head of salt and pepper hair and spinning in his office chair. High on the twenty-second floor surrounded by mirrored and plated glass. Lording over his minions.
“It’s normal. The lab I called said its standard protocol in a situation like this.”
“And what situation is that?” he demanded. I heard the pop of an aluminum can. His doctor had told the elder Moreno to lay off the Diet Coke. Dr. Flagg had been told to go fuck himself.
“Come on, Dad, you know how Faith is. We weren’t a couple when it … happened. It was only the one time.”
“I’ve warned you about this,” he replied, following that up with a swig. And then another until I heard the can crumple into a ball inside his meaty fist. “I’ve warned you many times. Countless times. Pull your head out of your ass, Gabe.”
“You’re not telling your adult son what to do again, are you?” I taunted, knowing exactly how to yank his chain. And relishing it. “I’m pretty sure we’ve been down that road before. I’ve warned you many times. Countless times. Pull your head out of your ass, Dad.”
“You know there are consequences to your actions, Gabriel. To your impertinence.” He was using his quiet and deadly tone. Meant to strike fear into the hearts of his business rivals.
“Yeah, I’m aware of that.”
My father hung up and the dial tone greeted me. I scrubbed my face with my hand and slid the phone back in my pocket. My dad wouldn’t win any father-of-the-year awards anytime soon. Ruthless in business. Ruthless in his life. With his family. Admired but feared at the same time. Donovan Moreno had risen from the ashes of a New York barrio to own one of the premier financial management firms in Minnesota. He’d driven himself to the bone, and I’d been in high school before he’d ever attended even one of my football games. All he cared about was his legacy. And money.
The low rumble of a muffled conversation came from the kitchen. I frowned and stood up. Who the hell could that be?
I marched to the bedroom door and opened it, then walked into the tiny kitchen. My fists clenched automatically when I recognized the douche bag standing in the middle of Allegra’s kitchen.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’d like to ask you the same fucking question.”
Allegra practically stamped her foot. “Enough, you two. This apartment can’t withstand the fallout of a pissing match. I can’t afford to replace any broken furniture right now.” Allegra brandished the frosting covered spoon at her ex-boyfriend. “Matthew, you’re not invited and definitely not welcome. Leave before I slap you with this utensil.”
“You’d better learn to lock your doors, then, Ally,” Matthew replied with a smirk.
“Is that a threat?” I asked. Taunting. Wanting nothing more than to entice this dipshit into a physical altercation so Allegra wouldn’t blame herself when I killed him. “Because if it is, I will cut your balls off. With a dull butter knife.”
“You’re such a cocky son-of-a-bitch,” Matthew turned on me and puffed out his puny chest. “You’ve fucked with the wrong guy.”
“I don’t want you here,” Allegra barked and advanced a step on Matthew. “Get out or I’ll call the —”
“What, you’ll call the cops? I am the cops, sweetheart.” Matthew smiled again. “And I’ve got friends in high places. I can’t believe you’re this stupid. Spreading your fat thighs for this douche. You don’t even know —”
“I’ve had enough,” I said as I strode forward. No way was I letting Matthew say anything about my checkered past. I didn’t even know what he knew. Allegra didn’t know all of it and I needed to keep it that way. Until I could explain the truth. Explain everything.
Matthew choked a laugh and clapped his hands together. “Did she ever tell you why we broke up?”
“Matthew, enough!” Allegra shrieked.
I glanced in her direction. Why was she so worried about Matthew’s words? Hell, I could see why they broke up. Any woman who could handle his bullshit for more than a couple of weeks had mental issues. Allegra had nothing to be ashamed of.
“We broke off our engagement because her oven doesn’t work right. And not this one.” Matthew laughed as he kicked her apartment oven with his booted toe. “Yeah, she’s barren. Sterile. Worthless as a woman.” After he shot the foul words out of his mouth, he just stood there grinning.
“Stop,” Allegra cried, and her voice broke. One lonely tear escaped her eyelid and ran in a tiny rivulet down her cheek. I’d never wanted to punch another man in the face more than in this moment. He’d just made her cry. “Just stop it.”
Matthew wouldn’t quit while he was ahead. “Yeah, that’s right, you rich bastard,” he poked again like he might do to a sleeping bear. “I fucked your precious little girlfriend for months. With my ring on her finger. Probably better than you. But no way would I ever allow some infertile skank become my wife. So I cheated a couple times, then I kicked her to the curb, just to teach her a lesson.” He turned his smug smile on Allegra. “You shouldn’t overreach.”
Allegra’s skin turned alabaster. “You cheated?” She shook her head and her mouth dropped open, more tears falling to join their lonely counterpart. “You cheated on me because of that? And then you left me.”
“That’s right, and now you’re with this fuck head. It’s so ironic,” he took a breath and pointed at me. I felt a growl of rage bubble up. One I wouldn’t be able to contain for more than a few more seconds. This scene was playing out like a tragedy. “You knocked up Faith Callahan, socialite extraordinaire and now you’re slumming with a woman who can’t give you what Faith already has.” Matthew guffawed again, though his forehead was slick with sweat. "The only thing that could make this better would be Alanis Morissette standing here singing it."
That was it. I charged forward and just when I had a handful of his cotton shirt, he turned and started running. The shirt gave way, and I was left standing in the middle of Allegra’s kitchen holding a large scrap of white and blue plaid from The Gap.
“I can explain,” she whispered as her knees gave out and she fell into a heap on the floor. I sank down next to her and enveloped her in my warmth.
“You don’t have anything to explain,” I soothed against her ear, raining kisses down on her flushed face. “That isn’t something you should have to disclose to someone you haven’t known that long.”
“Really?” Her eyes met mine. Questioning. Searching.
What kind of an asshole was I that she had to look up at me in that expectant way as if I’d leave her over something so stupid? What kind of asshole was Matthew? I couldn’t even imagine the fallout from Allegra’s time with him. One thing was certain. He’d pay.
And I was the perfect man for the job.
Chapter 32
Ally
I walked across the street and clutched my coat to my chest to ward off the frigid air. A mother with two children met my gaze and smiled. The little boy, around two, batted his eyelashes and flirted. Staring into my eyes and then looking away. I loved kids so much, but the wound of the previous night was still so raw, I just wanted to get away from the sweet toddler.
I’d spent another Christmas alone since Kelly and Pat had traveled to Madison to be with her extended family. As a kid, I’d loved the season, because it was the only time my mother could peel herself away from her latest fuck to spend time with me. Until she hit the eggnog. She’d hang mistletoe and bring out a gift, specially wrapped by Macy’s in vibrant gold foil with a red velvet bow. Those precious Christmas gifts were the only things I ever received from her. I still had the Sega Game Gear she’d splurged on in 1991.
I’d always unwrap it as I sat under the tree, inhaling the lush, evergreen scent. I still loved a live tree more than anything, even if I couldn’t afford one or drag it up to my tiny apartment. Let a
lone have a place to put it up and decorate it. The unwrapping of my solitary gift was always the best part.
I cleared my throat and kicked at a snow drift. My mom called from prison on Christmas Day. Collect. I’d denied the call, unwilling to accept the charges.
“Are you going to stand out there all day?” Kelly called from the doorway of her coffee shop. “I’ve got a hazelnut cappuccino with your name on it.” She paused and giggled once. “No seriously, Allygator’s written in Sharpie on the cup and it’s getting cold.”
“I’m coming,” I answered with a wave as I trudged through the snow and slid through the door.
“Who peed in your porridge?” Kelly asked, then beckoned me to join her behind the counter.
“Ew, gross reference,” I replied. “I’ll tell you about it in your office, if you’ve got a minute.”
“For you? Anytime.” Kelly waved to her husband, Pat, and he nodded and winked at her.
They were such a perfect couple, it actually hurt. Maybe not perfect but perfect for each other and that’s all any self-loving woman could hope for. I’d fantasized that I might get my happy ending too. Turned out I was delusional.
Kelly pushed into the office and waited for me to enter, then shut the door behind me and shoved the cappuccino into my hand. “All right, spill it. What’s going on? I’ve kind of been expecting you.” She demanded with a laugh.
“Gabe,” I said, by way of explanation. “Actually, it’s more Matthew this time.”
“I thought that might be the case after that last showdown at the OK Corral, also known as my place of business. You were the one who didn’t want to get involved and now you’ve got them both eating out of the palm of your hand. Of course, one is a peacock and the other’s a vulture,” Kelly said, nudging me with a wink. She’d never liked Matthew. Now, I started to wonder if anyone liked Matthew. God, I’d been such an idiot in my past choice of men.
“I’m fed up with both of them. Okay, that’s a lie. I’m only semi fed up with Gabe and his boyfriend bi-polar disorder. I want him like crazy, even though I shouldn’t.” I scratched my forehead at the base of my hairline, then slipped out of my coat and dumped it over the back of one of the chairs. I deliberately left out the part about the crazy good sex in my kitchen. “Am I crazy to be so upset?”
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