by Lynne Graham
He had never been jealous in his life before. He didn’t do jealousy. Why would he? Women came and they went and, whatever the pasts were, whoever they had been out with or spoke to, well, he had never cared. Nor had he ever doubted that once they were in his bed they were utterly faithful.
He was jealous now and he didn’t like the sensation.
‘Of course I didn’t give Marc my telephone number,’ Alice muttered, half-resenting that she had been called to task like a kid, half-thrilled because, whatever he said or didn’t say, he was jealous. It made her feel better about fancying him. At least she knew that he wasn’t as casual about it as he had pretended.
Not that it mattered, one way or another.
‘And there are no hot dates lined up. He was just a nice man who didn’t mind talking to me in pigeon French.’
Gabriel thought that there was a lot more the guy wouldn’t have minded doing, given half a chance, but no numbers had been exchanged, no hot dates lined up. She seemed blissfully unaware that looking the way she did and laughing the way she had would be considered flirting in any language, pigeon or not.
‘You asked me if I was jealous,’ Gabriel murmured, keeping his distance but looking at her with dark intensity. ‘I was jealous.’
The atmosphere between them shifted and changed into something so charged that it was almost tangible. Alice drew her breath in sharply and then exhaled it in a shudder. Wild horses wouldn’t drag this out of her, but she had been keeping an eye on him throughout the evening, waiting to see if he looked at any of the glamorous women there or any of the pretty young waitresses. He had garnered enough attention, although if he had noticed any of it he hadn’t shown it.
‘Why?’ She strove to remember the boundary lines between them and to summon up the will power she had shown earlier when she had told him that that one kiss had been a mistake, never to be repeated.
‘Because I want you.’ His body language was a heady turn-on; he was leaning indolently against the car door while he continued to watch her with still, lazy eyes.
‘We can’t do anything,’ she said huskily. ‘It would be a terrible mistake. I’m just not that type of girl.’
‘The type who sleeps with a man if she wants to? And don’t try telling me that you don’t want to.’
‘We shouldn’t be having this conversation.’
‘And your vocabulary shouldn’t be littered with so many shoulds and shouldn’ts...’
‘You’re accustomed to women dropping at your feet.’
‘And yet I haven’t noticed you dropping at mine.’
The limo pulled up outside the hotel. He hadn’t even noticed the journey. Every nerve and fibre in his body had honed in on the woman sitting as far as she could away from him.
He leaned forward to have a word with the driver and then they were walking up to the hotel entrance, several feet between them. He had his hands in his pockets and she was clutching her pink pearl throw and little handbag for dear life.
He was jealous...a first.
He was in pursuit...also a first.
And he would have her...but she would come to him.
CHAPTER SIX
ALICE COULD HEAR the beating of her own heart as they headed for their respective bedrooms. It was still relatively busy in the foyer, but once they left that behind the silence between them was deafening.
In fact, she wondered whether she had imagined the bizarre conversation they had just had. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him, but it didn’t matter, because in the quiet of the lift his image was reflected back at her whether she liked it or not.
She, standing by the door, arms wrapped round her body... He, leaning against the mirrored wall, hands in his pockets, dark, lean face sending shivers up and down her spine.
The doors pinged open and she leapt out. Her feet were aching from wearing high shoes and on the spur of the moment she stooped and took them off so that the long dress pooled on the ground.
‘Undressing already?’ Gabriel murmured in a sinfully seductive voice.
‘My feet are killing me. I’m not used to wearing heels.’
‘Well, give them a good night’s rest and I shall see you in the morning.’ He inclined his head politely, spun round on his heels and started walking towards his bedroom which was a little further up from hers.
And tomorrow, Alice thought feverishly, all this would be forgotten. That kiss in the back of the limo...the way he had looked at her...their conversation after the party: it would all be forgotten in the cold, clear light of day because that was just how things were.
She was the perfect secretary and if, by some weird twist of fate, he made her feel young and alive and filled with possibilities then that was something she would have to set to one side.
Maybe even to learn from it.
If a man whose value system left her cold managed to rouse her the way he did, then it was time for her to do something about getting her toes wet in the dating game instead of gathering cobwebs on the hard shoulder.
Shoes in hand, she watched as he fished into his jacket pocket for the key to his door. He wasn’t even looking at her. He was going to shut that door behind him and...
She would never know.
‘Wait!’
Gabriel turned slowly and smiled. Had he known that she would stop him? For once, he had been faced with an unpredictable outcome and he really wasn’t sure what he would have done if she had struck off to her own room, shoes in hand, to get a good night’s sleep and rest her feet.
He wasn’t sure whether a few cold showers would dampen his raging libido.
‘Yes?’
Alice sprinted towards him. It was funny but she hadn’t realised how old she was in her behaviour, in her whole outlook on life, until he had come along and shaken her up so that everything had gone topsy-turvy and then resettled, but in different positions.
She was twenty-five years old—when was the last time she had had an adventure?
She stood in front of him and looked up. ‘Okay.’
‘Okay...?’
‘You know what I’m talking about. I...I’m attracted to you and I really don’t understand why. You’re not my type at all.’
‘Promising start. That way, you won’t start getting ideas.’
‘What sort of ideas? Oh, forget I asked. Georgia-type ideas about having you around for longer than five seconds and getting attached and projecting into a non-existent future.’ She laughed edgily. ‘I work for you, remember? I’m not that stupid.’
‘What’s brought about the change of mind? I thought after we kissed that I was under instructions to forget about it immediately and pretend it had never happened.’ He pushed open the bedroom door and stepped inside, switching on the light at the same time, then immediately dimming it to a mellow glow.
The bed had been turned back, not that there had been any need, and her pulses picked up their tempo as she looked at it—king-sized and beckoning her like a dangerous dare.
‘Well?’ he prompted, walking towards the sofa and flopping down on it, legs apart, arms resting loosely along the back.
‘I...I suppose this is a one-off for me, and I know it’s not a good idea, but...’
‘Life is always full of buts,’ Gabriel agreed. ‘That’s what makes it so challenging.’ Except, truthfully, it contained relatively few buts for him, especially where a woman was involved. He had never had to try, so he hadn’t. His emotional life had never contained any areas of hesitations and certainly no buts.
Silence settled between them and then he said softly, ‘Take off your clothes.’
‘What?’
‘Let me see you naked, in front of me.’
‘I...I can’t.’
‘Why not?’ Something suddenly struck him: her
innocence. The way she blushed, the hint of unbearable youth lurking underneath the professional exterior. ‘You’re not a virgin, are you?’
‘Would it make a difference if I was?’
‘Yes.’ He sat forward, alert. ‘It would.’
‘Why?’ She edged towards him and dropped the shoes on the floor. It would have felt strange to have plonked herself next to him on the sofa so she sat on one of the chairs.
Talking was giving her time to doubt her decision. If she had fallen passionately into bed with him, she wouldn’t have had time to think, but maybe this was a good thing. Maybe they both needed to talk, because this was not an ordinary situation, and a lot could change for the worse in its aftermath.
‘Are you getting cold feet?’ He shot her a crooked smile, reading her mind as though her thoughts had been written on her forehead, and that smile sealed her decision.
‘No. Tell me why it would matter if I was a virgin.’
‘You know me.’ And she did, strangely. They worked so closely together and, although their working relationship was still new, he had the feeling that she got him. ‘I’m not looking for...anything. It’s what I tell every single woman I have ever dated and it’s what I’m telling you now. Sex is a pleasurable pastime, but it’s not love and it’s not commitment, and it’s not...going anywhere... If you’re not experienced enough to take that on board...’ He shrugged but his dark eyes were glued to her face. ‘My...past experiences have not programmed me for any kind of commitment.’
‘I’m not a virgin,’ Alice told him abruptly. ‘And talking about this makes it feel like an arrangement.’
‘And that’s a bad thing because...?’
‘Because...’ She faltered, thinking of the right way to say what she wanted to say, and he stepped into the breach without hesitation.
‘Because you’re looking for romance?’
‘No! This is crazy. I’m going to go now. I should never have—’
Gabriel reached forward and circled her wrist with his hand and Alice shivered. Talking was a mood killer, whether it made sense or not. But that touch, the heat of his skin against hers, reminded her why she had stopped him in his tracks before he could enter his bedroom.
‘Come closer and I’ll show you why this might be crazy but why you shouldn’t walk away.’
Mesmerised, Alice leaned towards him and half-closed her eyes. His cool lips against hers sent an explosion through her. She slid trembling fingers through his hair and caressed his neck. She could hardly believe what she was doing.
Was this really her? She wasn’t a risk taker. Her life had been too unsteady for her to nurture the sort of devil-may-care attitude that encouraged spontaneous, careless behaviour. She was cautious, careful...
Yet she knew that she was about to take the biggest risk of her life in doing this and she didn’t want to stop.
She kissed him slowly, drowning in the sensuality of his tongue melding with hers. As she kissed him, eyes closed, she blindly traced the contours of his beautiful face with her fingers. The wrap had slid off her shoulders and his hands were moving along her collarbone.
He drew back and she looked at him, still dazed from sensations she had never felt before.
‘Undress for me, Alice...and don’t tell me that you can’t. Turn around. I’ll unzip you.’
‘I’ve never done a striptease before.’
‘I’ll show you how, in that case.’ He stood up and began undressing. Very slowly, watching her as she watched him, her mouth half-open, fascination oozing from every pore.
Did it get better than this? Gabriel couldn’t remember the last time he had been this turned on. She had the star-struck expression of a kid in a candy shop and it went to his head faster than a dose of adrenaline.
When his shirt was off, he began unzipping his trousers, and he grinned when she half-looked away, then looked back, then looked away again and finally returned her riveted gaze to his semi-clad body.
He was down to his boxers—dark-striped, silk boxers. Alice thought she might pass out. He had the highly toned body of an athlete: broad shoulders and a muscular torso that tapered down to a washboard-flat stomach and lean hips. Even in the most unforgiving of lights, he would still be beautiful.
Nerves gripped her.
What would he think of her? Was she opening herself up to humiliation? He might have waxed lyrical about finding her attractive, but it wouldn’t do to forget that he went for small, voluptuous women with big breasts.
He didn’t take off the boxers. Instead, he sat back down on the sofa and said with a wicked grin, ‘Have I set an acceptable benchmark?’
Alice unzipped her dress herself. It was a long zip and it slid smoothly apart. She took a deep breath and then un-looped first one shoulder, then the other.
Another deep breath then it was off, sliding to the ground, the cool air hitting her bare breasts. He had looked at her with gleaming self-confidence when he had removed his clothes. She had her eyes shut until she heard him warmly, unsteadily tell her to open them.
The gentleness in his voice was like the waving of a magic wand and in that instant she shed her nerves as smoothly and as easily as she had shed her beautiful Cinderella dress.
She walked towards him wearing only her lacy pink panties and breathed in sharply as his hands settled on her hips and he sat up so that he could trail delicate kisses over her flat stomach.
She might not be a curvy Marilyn Monroe but she really turned him on. She could feel it in the way his hands shook ever so slightly and the way his breathing was just a little uncontrolled. Just for a brief window in time, her big, powerful boss was not the man who ruled the world but someone very human, someone driven by responses he couldn’t tame, and she had done that. Her self-confidence soared.
‘You’re beautiful,’ she heard him breathe.
She gripped his sinewy shoulders as he hooked his fingers into the waistband of her panties and tugged them down. She was completely naked and she didn’t want to run for cover.
Two fumbling encounters with Alan before being ditched for a sexier model had left Alice with a punishing lack of self-confidence. If someone had told her that she would be able to do this—to stand in front of one of the sexiest men she could ever hope to meet and not feel embarrassed at her body—she would have laughed in disbelief. But that was exactly what she was doing now.
He parted her thighs with his hand and she curled her fingers into his hair and gasped as he traced the folds of her womanhood with his tongue. When he slipped it into her moistness, her legs almost gave way. The pleasure was unbearable.
This was refined torture as he teased her, bringing her to dizzy heights before allowing her to subside. She was wet, throbbing, aching from wanting more.
He lifted her onto the bed and then laid her down and looked at her.
Her body was slim and graceful. Her breasts were just the right size. Her hair was like spun silk. He stepped out of his boxers. He was so hard for her that it was going to be a challenge to stop himself from doing the unthinkable; he knew that if she just touched him there he would release his seed like a teenager with no control.
Alice could scarcely breathe. She was overwhelmed with excitement. It coursed through her veins like a drug, washing away everything in its rampaging path. She had to squirm and resist touching herself to try to staunch the throbbing.
He settled on the bed and straddled her. She reached to touch him and he stayed her hand.
‘No way.’ Gabriel barely recognised the shakiness in his voice. ‘If you do... I’m too turned on...’
‘That’s nice.’
‘It’s better than nice,’ he growled in response. He lowered himself over her and she sighed and wriggled when he began teasing her breasts with his tongue.
‘Hands above your head,’ he comm
anded. Her nipples were big, pink discs and he tasted them delicately before taking one into his mouth and suckling on it, not letting up, enjoying her whimpers of delight and the way she moved, unable to keep still.
If she felt like a kid in a candy shop, then that was how he felt as well. The novelty of it was incredible, invigorating, exceptional.
When he could no longer bear the foreplay, he fumbled for his wallet, which he had dropped on the bedside table, and removed a condom.
Through the haze of her desire, Alice recognised a guy who took no chances. When he said that he did not involve himself in relationships for the long haul, he wasn’t kidding.
She propped herself up on her elbows and watched as he put it on, fast and expertly. He was so big that she marvelled that he had not had any unfortunate accidents in the past from splitting one of them.
Their eyes met for the briefest of moments and he grinned.
‘No risks, right?’ she asked lightly and he nodded.
‘Never.’
He nudged into her and then pushed harder so that she felt every bit of his girth rubbing inside her, sending waves of sensations shooting through her body. She clung. It was all she could do. Her short nails dug into his back as he moved harder and harder. Her legs wrapped round him and their bodies fused into one.
Her orgasm was deep, long and mind-blowing. Alice felt as if she was flying, soaring upwards, splintering into a thousand exquisite pieces. Her body arched as wave upon wave of unbearable pleasure coursed through her. One final thrust and he came as well, rearing up and groaning. Shudders of release ripped through his big body.
Unbelievable.
‘Did the earth move for you?’ he asked roughly, half-joking, half-serious, because it had damn well moved for him.
They had rolled onto their sides and were facing one another. It seemed perfectly natural. She had to lower her eyes because she felt so...tender towards him. That perfect moment of coming together was one of the few times when his guard was completely down, she suspected, and she supposed that it was the same for her. Now it was time for them to retreat to the people they were and tenderness didn’t play any part in that.