She started to drive with no destination in mind. But she knew that there was only one person she wanted to see. Gabe.
Pushing a button on her dashboard, she called him. He answered after only one ring. “Ellie, hey,” he said. As his smooth voice filled the interior of her car, she could picture his lazy smile as he said her name. She closed her eyes, savoring the sound of her name on his lips. Only a couple of weeks had passed since she’d met him, but already she was starting to feel as if she couldn’t live without him. She didn’t know if it was love, but at this time in her life, she needed him. His presence reassured her.
“Hey,” she responded, so filled with relief at hearing him say her name, she tried to keep her voice from cracking.
He must have heard the emotion that she’d tried to cover. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said, shaking her head, knowing he couldn’t see her. “I just want to see you. Are you busy?”
“Never too busy for you. Where do you want me?”
“Can you meet me at Di Terrestres?”
“Ellie, you don’t sound good. Where are you? Let me come to you.”
“Meet me at the club,” she insisted.
“Okay. I can be there in,” he paused and she pictured him consulting his expensive watch, “fifteen minutes. I’ve put you on the list, so you can just go on inside.”
“See you there.”
Ellie disconnected the call and drove straight to the downtown building that housed Di Terrestres. While a valet parked her car, she walked to the door. Gabe had been right; the doorman let her on inside. She saw Alana, speaking with some of the servers. When the other woman looked up, she waved and made her way over to her.
“Ellie, hello,” she said. “What brings you by?”
“I’m meeting Gabe here.”
“It’s only seven. Pretty early for him to come by.”
Ellie shrugged. “Yes, I needed to see him.”
Alana smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Ellie could hold her own, but next to Alana’s critical gaze, she felt like a small child. “Can I get you a drink?”
“Yeah, sure.” After her ill-fated dinner with her father, and now whatever was causing her chilly reception with Gabe’s closest friend, Ellie needed a little fortification. They took a seat at a nearby table and a server came by to take their order.
Alana was quiet for a moment, before she pursed her lips and then spoke. “So, you and Gabe...?”
“Yes?”
“You’re still married.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Yeah, we are. Unfortunately, an annulment in Nevada isn’t as cut-and-dried as one would think. We’re still technically married for at least the next two weeks. We have a hearing with a judge, and he’ll decide if an annulment is appropriate in our case.”
“Is that what you want? An annulment?” When Ellie didn’t respond, Alana went on with a good-natured smile. “Sorry, I don’t mean to pry.”
“I think you did mean to pry. Because why else would you ask such a personal question?”
Alana smiled. “You’re right. I am prying. It’s just that this is all so weird. Gabe. Married. I just don’t understand, and for once he won’t talk to me about it.”
“What are you asking? If I want to stay married to him?”
“Gabe is my closest friend. I want to know what’s in it for you? I need to know that you aren’t just screwing with him to get at his money, or to get back at your daddy for some reason. I need to know he won’t be caught in the cross fire if you have any nefarious plans.”
“Are you worried about him, or his career track?”
“Of course, I’m worried about him.”
Ellie sat back and looked at Alana, simultaneously surprised and impressed that Alana asked the question. “I’m not using him. I don’t know Gabe well, but I really like him.” She wouldn’t reveal to Alana that she was in love with Gabe. “We’re having fun together. But I assure you, it’s only temporary.”
Alana nodded, and inspected her cuticles. Ellie could see the woman was an impressive, intimidating figure. “That’s good. Because if you hurt him, I’ll hurt you.”
“You don’t have to worry about me,” Ellie said. “I won’t hurt him.”
“Good.”
Ellie talked a big game about wanting her father’s approval and forging a relationship with him. But Alana had made her realize something. Was being with Gabe her way of sticking it to dear old Daddy? Her heart broke in two when she realized that maybe Alana was right about her. Maybe she was going to hurt Gabe.
* * *
It wasn’t hard to find Ellie once he entered Di Terrestres. She was sitting at a table with Alana and it looked like the women were engaged in a serious conversation. He frowned, and wondered what Alana could be saying to Ellie. They hadn’t left on the best of terms at their last meeting, and he hadn’t spoken to her since. He’d seen men crumble under Alana’s examination, and he knew that Ellie was tough, but he hoped she was faring well.
He jogged over to them. “Ladies,” he said, more alerting them to his presence than greeting them. He could tell that the air between them was tense. “Everything okay?”
“Everything is fine,” Alana told him, her voice still cool to him.
He turned to Ellie for confirmation. She nodded. “It’s fine.” She stood and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, her lips parting for him immediately.
Her mouth was warm, wet, willing—full of promise. As his tongue lapped around hers, his arms encircled her waist, and he pulled her closer to him.
Oblivious to Alana, he kissed her without restraint; his hands cupped her ass and she pushed against him and his already hard dick.
“Let’s go downstairs,” she whispered to him.
He nodded and searched her face. Whatever had been bothering her when she called him had seemed to evaporate. But there was something dark and wild in her eyes.
When she picked up her purse, he looked again to Alana who gave him a curious shrug. He wondered what was going on behind her unwavering eyes. But he could get to the bottom of it later. For now, he had Ellie, and he needed her. “We’ll talk later?” he asked her.
“Yeah, sure,” she said with another shrug. He took one last look at Alana, and wondered what was on her mind, but he couldn’t pay that any mind, as he watched Ellie head across the floor to the downstairs.
“We can get a private room upstairs,” he told her when they got to the landing of the staircase.
“Why would we do that?” she asked, pulling him downstairs.
Gabe frowned; something strange was happening with Ellie. But he’d be damned if he knew what. Then he remembered. “You met with your father today. Did something happen?”
“No. Nothing that matters or is any sort of surprise.”
He stopped. “Ellie, what are we doing here? What happened?”
She turned, and he could see the wildness in her eyes. “It doesn’t matter.”
“You’re acting so strangely.”
“I’m acting like me. This is the real me.” She leaned in close, and ran the point of her tongue across his lips. “Don’t you want to be with the real Ellie?”
He couldn’t argue with her. He wanted Ellie any which way he could have her. “What do you have in mind?”
“Nothing. I haven’t been thinking. But that’s what I want. Wild, uninhibited.”
“It’s always wild between us. No matter where we are.”
“Exactly.”
He watched as Ellie took in the room, searching for inspiration. In a place like Di Terrestres, she could have anything she craved, but when her eyes returned to Gabe, he saw that he was what she wanted.
The people in the room moved around them, as they looked in each other’s eyes. Gabe raised his hand and rested i
t on her shoulder, and then trailed his fingers back down her arm. Her skin was smooth and so soft, he could have spent the night caressing her. Gabe’s hands rested on her waist, and surprising her, he lifted her. Her legs wrapped around his waist, her ankles locking behind him.
Ellie giggled against his mouth before his lips took hers in a kiss.
“Where do you want me to fuck you?” he said, his voice hungry. For her. But it didn’t matter to her what they did, where they went, as long as Ellie was with him.
She pulled back from him, and twined her fingers through his hair. He saw the change in her demeanor. She’d softened. The change gave him whiplash. “I think I’ve changed my mind.” She frowned and looked around the room. “Why don’t you take me home instead? I want you in your bed.”
“I’d love to.” Gabe released her, unsure of what was happening to Ellie inside. But they could talk when they got home. “Are you sure you’re okay? You can tell me, you know.”
“I’m okay,” she insisted. “Let’s go.”
They walked upstairs together. When they reached the top, he saw Ian Smith standing across the room, watching them with a cocky smirk on his face that Gabe wanted to smack off.
“Just give me a minute,” he told her. “There’s someone I want to talk to.”
“Yeah, sure. Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine,” he assured her. Not sure if he believed it himself. “I’ll be right back.”
“Okay. Just don’t be long.”
He frowned as he walked toward Ian. Gabe knew he didn’t have a membership at Di Terrestres. In fact, Gabe was certain the man’s clients would also be downright scandalized to see him there.
“Gabe, how are you?”
His grin was slick. “Fantastic, and yourself?”
“Very good.” Done with the social contract that told him to be civil with his foe, Gabe got to the point. “Strange seeing you here.”
“Yeah, I came with a friend. Quite the place isn’t it?”
“It is.”
“Is that Ellie Carrington over there?” He pointed to where Ellie stood. “Burnham’s daughter.”
“Gabe, are you ready to go?” Ellie asked, coming over. It was apparent to Gabe that she hadn’t seen Ian over Gabe’s height, because her face blanched and her eyes widened when she saw the man.
But Ian saw her. “You’re here together?”
“Yeah, I’ve just been showing Ellie around Vegas.”
“And you bring her to a sex club? I wonder what Charles would have to say about that? Or what it would do to your chances of making partner.”
Gabe chuckled. “You son of a bitch. You wouldn’t dare.”
“Wouldn’t I?”
Gabe chuckled. “You go right ahead, if you think you aren’t talented enough to beat me in a fair fight? I knew it. You were always jealous of me.”
“Is that so? Well now you can be jealous when Charles makes me partner.”
“You’d better get the fuck out of here, Ian.”
“Or what?”
“Or you won’t make it to see partner.” Blocking Ellie from his view, Gabe stood tall and faced him. He wasn’t afraid of Ian, or what he would do to him. Gabe was a better lawyer, he brought in more money, people liked him. He wasn’t afraid for himself, but the man could cripple Ellie’s career before it even got started.
“Sounds like a threat, Foster.”
“It’s more than a threat. It’s a promise.”
The plainclothes security officers that Gabe recognized must have sensed the brewing trouble and converged on their small group without interrupting or becoming obvious to the rest of the patrons.
“Everything okay, Mr. Foster?” one asked.
“Yeah, it’s fine. I was just telling Mr. Smith where the exit is.”
“I’m leaving. But wouldn’t Charles be interested to know his darling daughter is here with his associate.”
“Get the fuck out of here.” Gabe shoved Ian’s shoulder. Security swarmed them, and covertly pulled Ian away.
“Ellie, I’ll be in touch,” he said.
“You’ll stay the fuck away from her.”
Ellie grabbed Gabe’s hand. “Oh my God. He’s going to tell everyone that we were together.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Gabe assured her. “I’ll deal with it.”
He turned back to Ellie, giving her his full attention. But she looked distracted, worried. “You okay?”
“Can you just take me home?”
“Yours?” he asked.
“No. Yours.”
Home. More and more, he liked the idea of it being their home. Their annulment hadn’t yet been finalized, and even though he knew the day was quickly approaching, part of him didn’t want it to come. Their arrangement would end and they would just go back to being colleagues. He’d be her mentor, and that would be it. They’d given themselves this grace period to have sex—it was supposed to be purely physical, but now that it was nearing the end, Gabe wasn’t looking forward to it. He didn’t know if he could go back to life before Ellie.
* * *
Gabe unlocked the door to his house, and moved aside so Ellie could enter ahead of him. They walked in, and Ellie dropped her purse on the mostly decorative table by the door—just as was becoming her habit. The simple act smacked of domesticity, as the more he looked around he could see signs of her. Her things had begun to clutter his space. He’d never had a woman stay at his home. It warmed him, but also scared him a little.
He’d never imagined himself getting married, but whether it was traditional or not, Ellie was his wife. At least for now.
“Are you worried about Ian?” she asked, uttering his name for the first time since leaving the club.
“No,” Gabe lied. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Ian now held a power over Gabe. Gave him leverage. “I don’t want to talk about him now.”
Ellie turned on her heel to face him. “What do you want to do?”
Gabe all but growled, and went to her, shucking his suit jacket and his shoes, phone, glasses on the way, caring not how or where they landed, or about the crunch that followed his phone hitting the tile floor, the glass and plastic splintering into pieces.
“I think you’re going to need another phone,” she told him with a laugh.
“I don’t care about that right now.” Gabe cupped her face and drew her to him in yet another blistering kiss. But this one was without the ferocity that had come with each of the previous kisses. There was no hurry, no urgency this time. He took his time kissing her, until he stooped and picked her up, and brought her up the stairs to his bedroom.
Still carrying her, Gabe knelt on the mattress, and laid her in the center of the king-size bed.
He went back to kissing her. This time, his lips traveled over her jaw, down her neck and over her shoulder. He pushed the strap of her dress aside, and kissed her.
“Gabe, I want you now. Quicker.”
“I don’t think so,” he told her, his lips grinning against her skin. “I’ve got you here, and tonight I’m finally going to take my time with you.”
“I don’t know if I can take it any longer,” she told him.
Gabe put his hand on her knee and pushed up her thigh. “I haven’t even started yet.” His hand tangled in the material of her dress, and he groaned. “But first I have to get rid of this dress.” He grasped her waist and surprised her by raising her up. He reached behind her, lowered the zipper and then peeled her dress down her body.
“God, you’re beautiful.” She looked in his eyes, and believed every word. “All I could think about tonight was taking this dress off you, revealing your amazing body, all this smooth skin, inch by inch.”
He laid her back flat and settled between her thighs. He loosened the cuffs on his shirt, removed his watch, and she watche
d, riveted, as he unbuttoned his shirt and threw it on the floor. He covered her again—chest to chest, bare skin against bare skin. God, Gabe was amazing. She could feel his hard dick against her stomach as he kissed her again. He trailed down her body, stopping to play with her nipples, each kiss, tug, lick sending zings of pleasure throughout her body.
He licked his way down her midsection, taking a moment to dip into her belly button, before going farther south. His mouth landed on her, and he licked up her seam, before plunging his tongue into her. His lips and tongue played at her clit—bringing her higher and higher, until she came, pushing herself shamelessly into his face.
“Gabe, now. Please!”
He moved away from her and reached into his bedside table, pulling out a condom. He shucked his pants. He rolled the latex over himself and then settled over her. He entered her in one solid, fluid thrust. He buried his face in her hair, and she heard his rough exhale. He pulled back his hips and thrust inside of her again. He kept a steady pace. His rhythm brought her to climax once again. Her hips rose to meet his thrusts, and she came a second time, just as she felt Gabe stiffen above her, before his body loosened and he came.
Once their breaths returned to normal, he rolled away from her and pulled her over on top of him. Ellie felt so right, fitting perfectly against his body.
She hummed as he trailed his fingers up and down her back, and lightly placed kisses on his chest. “What do you want to do now?” she asked him.
“How do you feel about a soak in my tub?”
She sighed against him. “Sounds wonderful.”
“Come on,” he said, picking her up and slinging her over his shoulder, and walking with her into his master bath. She giggled as he quickly turned into his bathroom, depositing her on her feet on the ceramic floor.
While he turned on the hot water, Ellie busied herself looking around in the cabinet beside the mirror. “Hey, nosy,” he called to her.
“I’m your wife, aren’t I? Shouldn’t I be allowed to look in your medicine cabinet? Unless I’m going to find something weird.”
“Nothing too weird,” he assured her, as she picked through his skin care products.
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