by Lily White
“Guess who I ran into the other day?”
Lips pulling into a thin line, dad relaxes back into his seat. “Who?”
“Brinley.”
There’s the slightest jump in the muscle above his eye, but other than that, no obvious reaction.
“You remember her, right? She used to come over here before I left for college.”
If my father wasn’t such a good actor, he’d be sweating bullets right now. “I remember. I didn’t know she was in town.”
“Yeah, I didn’t either. Who were her parents again? We didn’t have a lot of time to talk, but after thinking about it, I couldn’t quite place exactly how our families know each other.”
He doesn’t answer. Instead his jaw tightens, his eyes narrowing just enough that I would be shitting my pants if I were younger. That’s the look he gets just before he tears my world down as punishment.
Pushing to his feet, my dad places his palms on the desk and leans toward me. “You need to return to your house, Ivy. I won’t tell you again.”
Interesting...
My father wants me to squirm, and maybe a month ago, I would have. But now? There’s no way I’ll sit back and behave for any man. Not even my dad.
I rise to my feet and slam my palms on the opposite side of the desk and mimic his posture. “Why?”
His eyes narrow more, but then slip down to my hand where a large diamond stares up at him. That dark gaze snaps back to my face, anger thinning the line of his lips.
“What’s going on with you? First you tell me the article claiming you’re engaged is fake. Then I read you broke up. And now you have one hell of a rock on your hand.”
My lips quirk at the corners. “It turns out I really like Gabriel Dane.”
His expression changes to match mine. “Like doesn’t equal marriage. There’s another word for that. I find it interesting you failed to use it.”
Love.
That’s what he wants me to say.
Sadly, he didn’t give much of a shit about that when I was nine.
“Sorry, Dad. I didn’t think it was that big a deal to you considering you practically signed me over to him when I was a child. What happened to marrying me off? What changed your mind?”
He flinches at that and stands to his full height. Unfortunately, when I stand to mine, he’s still towering over me. If not for the desk between us, I’d be craning my neck to look up at him.
“I’ll assume Gabriel’s father told you that.”
“Is it true?”
He shoves away from the desk and crosses the room to pull a painting away from the wall, a secret safe hidden behind it.
My eyes stay locked to the keypad as he types in the code, the numbers dedicated to memory when he pulls the door open and fishes around inside.
Turning back to me, he answers, “Yes, it’s true. But when I discovered the depth of criminal behavior in that family, I retracted the offer. I won’t have my daughter caught up in it.”
He steps toward me, his long-legged stride eating the distance between us. Slapping a black credit card down on the desk near my hand, he locks his eyes to mine.
“You may not marry Gabriel Dane. And after returning that ring to him, you’ll have no further contact. You will return to your house and I’ll assign you a new driver. This card will help you with whatever you need until such time as I can get you new ones. I’m not arguing with you about this.”
“Tell me why.”
“I don’t owe you an explanation,” he barks, red staining his cheeks from anger. “If anything, you owe me for all the times I pulled your ass out of the fire because of Gabriel. Have you lost your mind?”
Wincing at the snap to his voice, I stand my ground. This is all part of the act, though, the tears leaking from my eyes as fake as my quivering lip.
“But I love him.”
He slides the card closer to my hand. “I want you to do as I say immediately. That family is not our friends. They said as much when they burned down the pavilion after it was built.”
Surprise rolls through me. He thinks Gabriel did it? Or Gabriel’s family, at least.
“How did you get here?”
The tears leak down my cheeks, but he couldn’t give a damn about it. If I weren’t playing it off, his lack of concern would hurt.
“I drove Gabriel’s car.”
“Take it back to him, and then call me. I’ll have a new driver assigned to you that will pick you up.”
Which reminds me...
“Why was Scott here?”
He blinks at that. “To pick up his things.”
“What things?”
Dad steps away from me, leaving the card by my hand. “It doesn’t matter. He won’t be your driver if that’s what you think.”
Dropping his weight back onto his seat, my father dismisses me. “Be sure to call when you’ve given Gabriel the ring and car.” His eyes cut my direction. “It doesn’t surprise me that, once again, I need to help clean up the mess you’ve made.”
“What mess it that, exactly?”
He looks away from me, his stare locked to his computer as he clicks on an email. “Just do as I said as soon as possible.”
I know this is the end of the discussion. Had this not been an act, I would have picked up the card and tossed it in his face. Would have demanded answers. But Gabriel warned me against that.
We need my dad thinking he still has the power to control me.
“Yes, sir,” I whisper as I slip the card from the desk and turn to leave the room. He doesn’t call out to stop me before I shut the door.
Tears dry by the time I reach the foyer, I smile at Harrison on my way out.
“What mood is he in now, Miss Callahan?”
“Bright red, Harrison. I’d avoid him for the next few hours.”
“Thank you for the warning,” he chuckles as he opens the door for me. “Please drive carefully, Miss Callahan.
Nodding my head in his direction, I cross the porch and run down the stairs. I feel like an utter failure for not dragging information out of my dad, but that was never the plan. Gabriel knew it was possible he wouldn’t give it to me.
All I have to accomplish now is sound an alarm in my dad’s head, one that might have him making calls and moving players.
Getting the code to his safe is also an added benefit. If there are any records that he doesn’t want people to see, they would be in there.
The drive to Gabriel’s office doesn’t take long. Thankfully traffic is light, and I’m pulling into the underground garage within a half hour. Rather than calling to let him know I’m here, I use the code he gave me for the private elevator in the hopes of surprising him.
I should have known it would be impossible. He’s waiting for me outside the doors as soon as I reach his floor.
“Tracking me again?”
He grins, the curl to his mouth full of mischievous charm. “You make it so easy. Although, I’d love to have a special collar made for you with a tracking chip. Maybe a bell also so people will know when you’re sneaking around and up to no good.”
Gabriel offers me his hand to help me step off the elevator. When he tugs me to him and his mouth covers mine, I momentarily lose the ability to breathe.
Pure heat rolls off his mouth and tongue, his teeth catching my bottom lip in a tease.
“Did he tell you anything?” Gabe asks when he pulls away.
Taking a second for my heart rate to return to normal, I shake my head. “No. He just handed me a new credit card and demanded I return home.”
Planting another soft kiss on my mouth, his green eyes are liquid heat. “Too late for that. Now that I have you, I’m not letting go.”
“Good luck telling him that.”
“That’s the plan, love.”
Gabriel winks and then pulls me along with him deeper into the office. The first door we pass is Tanner’s, and I peek in to see him sitting at his desk barking orders at somebody on the phone.
Tanner drops the phone on his desk, stands up and marches toward me. His eyes meet mine just before he slams the door in my face.
Laughing at that, I turn to Gabe. “I’ve never felt so unwelcome.”
He smiles. “Allow me to fix that for you.”
Leading me around a corner, Gabriel’s hand squeezes mine when applause breaks out, the office staff all standing in front of us with their eyes on me. They move out of the way as we approach, my cheeks heating with embarrassment.
“What the hell is this?”
“Thanks for what you did to Tanner.”
Laughter bubbles over my lips just as an arrogant voice booms from the direction of Tanner’s office.
“That better not be what I think it is! Back to work!”
Everybody claps a little softer as we hear his door slam shut.
Walking me past an office with glass walls, Gabriel lifts my hand and spins me around like a dance, then tugs me backwards into his office before closing the door.
“Which one was Lacey?”
My knees go weak as he sweeps my hair aside and kisses my neck.
“She’s on vacation, which is why Tanner is so pissed. It’s part of her new benefits package.”
His teeth nip at my shoulder, and if not for his arm around my waist, I would have melted to the floor.
“Benefits package, huh?”
He nods and leads me back to his desk. Without letting me go, he taps a button on his desk, and the windows become opaque.
“Yeah, in fact, I’ve been thinking about a new addition I’ll need added to mine.”
Gabriel’s voice has a rough edge that whispers between my inner thighs. He leads me to stand facing him, my ass up against his desk, his fingers gripping my hips to lift me up to sit on the surface.
“What are you doing?”
“Renegotiating my employment contract,” he says as he sits down in his chair and grips my thighs to spread my legs, his hands sliding up my skirt so he can slip his thumbs beneath the sides of my panties.
I glance over my shoulder at the door. “Someone could walk in.”
“They won’t.” He tugs my panties down so fast that I lift my ass without thinking.
Green eyes capture mine, an arrogant smirk tilting his lips as he slides them down my legs and over my heels.
Slipping the panties in his pocket, he directs my feet to the armrests and scoots his chair closer while grabbing my hips to tug me to the edge of the desk.
Hand splayed over my abdomen, he directs me to lie back, my eyes clenching shut as soon as he leans forward to breathe between my legs.
“Oh, god...”
He chuckles. “There you go praying again.”
My back arches when the tip of his tongue slides up my slit, his lips closing over my clit to suck hard.
Fingers curling over the side of the desk to hold on, I lose my mind when his teeth nip at the sensitive spot, his tongue sliding down to dive inside me with such a slow rhythm that it’s driving me mad.
The entire time, Gabriel keeps control of my hips, the tips of his fingers punishing the soft flesh every time I try to buck against his face for more.
Playfully slapping the side of my ass, he demands, “Stay still. This is for my benefit, not yours.”
Removing my hand from the side of his desk, he places it on his hair. “Pull as hard as you need to.”
I smile at that, but then do exactly as he says when his mouth dives between my legs again, my lips parting on an audible moan while Gabriel practically fucks me with his tongue.
Biting my lip to keep from being loud, I lose the ability when he slips two fingers inside me, his lips trapping my clit again as he thrusts inside me to drag the tips of his fingers over the inner wall.
“Fuck, you taste good,” he breathes out, his mouth and hand owning me, an orgasm already coming on from how he works the two in tandem.
When it hits, my eyes clench shut, my body arching while his hot tongue laps at the skin, his fingers thrusting faster to keep the waves of pleasure crashing over and over again.
My breath is caught in my lungs, stars bursting behind my eyes as the orgasm reaches a peak before finally letting go.
“Fucking exquisite,” he growls as he shoves up from his chair, grabs me behind the neck and lifts me up to crash his mouth against mine.
I can taste myself on his tongue, my hands moving to cup his face because he’s been giving every part of himself to me since our last fight at his house.
It’s all I’ve ever wanted from him.
All I’ve needed.
But there’s still a small voice inside me that whispers one last secret I haven’t told him.
Gabriel
I’m not sure what’s come over me in the last twenty-four hours, but I can’t be near this woman without wanting to tear all her clothes off.
Hands still gripping her hips, I slant my mouth against hers, my tongue driving past her lips with the same punishing rhythm it did her pussy.
It’s insane, this sudden need, but I’m giving into it because I’m sick and tired of fighting what I want.
Ivy’s hands are soft against my cheeks, her palms sliding up as her fingers dive into my hair. She tugs at it, and a growl rattles up my chest, my fingers squeezing down on her hips harder.
Pulling away from the kiss, she blinks her eyes open. “Shouldn’t we be planning what to do when we both go to my father’s house?”
“Later,” I say, demanding her mouth again, but she flattens a palm against my chest and pulls her head back.
“I don’t recall adding this to the benefits package.”
Another growl, my hand releasing her hip to wrap in her hair. “Don’t fucking deny me, woman.”
I drag her mouth to mine, but she clamps her teeth on my lip, her blue eyes flicking up to tease me.
Grinning, I speak against her mouth. “Behave.”
She laughs and opens her mouth, my tongue sliding against hers as Ivy’s hands dive between us to untuck my shirt.
My damn phone buzzes beside us.
“Gabe,” Tanner barks through the intercom. “We have a problem. I need to call Lacey.”
Annoyance rolls through me. “She’s on vacation,” I snap. “You can’t call her.
Ivy pulls my belt loose and unbuttons my pants, her hand sliding down to grip my cock.
Fuck...
“I need to call her, Gabe. One call won’t screw up her bullshit vacation.”
When Ivy’s thumb sweeps over the head of my cock, my head falls back, my voice strangled.
“You can’t call her, and I have to go.”
“But-“
“Damn it, Tanner. Can’t I fuck once without you interrupting me? I’ll be down there later.”
“Again?”
I hit the button to end the call and drag Ivy to the edge of the desk. She pulls my cock free and guides it to her cunt, my hips thrusting forward as our mouths crash together.
Dragging my mouth to her ear, I breathe out, “We have to make this quick. He’ll call her just to piss me off.”
Ivy wraps her legs around my waist and her arms over my shoulders, our bodies coming together like we were made for each other.
My palm slams down on the surface of the desk while my other hand holds her hip in place. The desk shakes beneath her ass, but I don’t slow down. The fucking thing can fall apart beneath us, and I wouldn’t care because my thirst for this woman can never be satiated.
Lifting my hand, I fist the long length of her blond hair and pull her head back to expose her neck, my mouth running the line of it, licking and kissing, my teeth locking down on the sensitive spots as I fight the urge to mark her.
And fuck, I fit inside her so perfectly, her pussy molding my cock, the muscles of her cunt gripping me as another orgasm roars through her.
Swallowing the moans that crawl up her throat, I lose the ability
to fight a release when Ivy wraps my tie over her hand, yanking me closer, demanding more as our tongues slide together, and her body grips mine.
Pulling out, I come in my hand and thank fuck for the attached bathroom in my office.
After kissing Ivy one more time, my voice is rough against her ear. “We’ll make up for the rush later.”
She laughs, the sound soft and sultry, and it’s a struggle to let her go, but I manage and head in the bathroom to clean up, my hair a disheveled mess when I look in the mirror.
Ivy steps in behind me, her eyes meeting mine in the mirror as she straightens her dress. “Can I have my panties back?
Her lips are red and kiss swollen, her blue eyes hooded and satisfied.
“No. I think I’ll hold onto them. I wasn’t joking about making up for the rush.”
“Jerk,” she says with a grin, her gaze studying my reflection. “Remember when I told you that the casual look is good on you?”
Glancing at her over my shoulder, I arch a brow in question.
“I wasn’t wrong to say it. But this look fits you better. Men look good in suits, Gabe, but you take it to the next level.”
My lips curl into an arrogant smirk, and I wink at her. “Why do you think I wear them all the time?”
Leaning a shoulder against the doorframe, Ivy silently watches me tuck in my shirt and button my pants. Her voice is quiet when she speaks again.
“I need to tell you something.”
Concerned by her tone, I turn as I’m buckling my belt and step over to her to brace an arm on the doorframe above her head.
“Something wrong?”
My fingers tangle softly with the ends of her hair as Ivy opens her mouth to answer, but my fucking phone buzzes again, Tanner’s loud voice blasting over the intercom.
“Put your dick away, asshole and get down here. I’m calling Lacey.”
I’m going to actually kill him one of these days. Tanner may be my best friend, but he’s also the biggest pain in the ass known to man.
Pain shoots down my jaw with how hard I clench my teeth. “I need to go deal with that.”
“Go. This can wait.”
I trap her chin with my hand and tilt her face up higher. “Are you sure?”
Ivy nods and steps out of the way for me to move past, her hands crossing over her abdomen as she turns to watch me leave the office.