Chapter 8
Gabby
“How is that lobster?”
Gabby looked up into the beautiful eyes of Logan Brower and almost forgot how to speak. She knew he’d asked her a question but her mind was having a bit of a glitch communicating with her mouth to produce responses.
She smiled and finally found the will to answer him. “It’s delicious. I’ve only had lobster a few times, not many places where I’m from to get this. I’m really enjoying it.”
Logan smiled. “Fantastic. I hope you save room for dessert. They make the most succulent Tiramisu here. It’s a bit different than you may have had before. Trust me, you will love it,” Logan said.
Gabby took another bite of her lobster and smiled as her taste buds started to sing. It really was miraculous. She usually didn’t like seafood that well, but this was something else entirely. The whole experience was something she’d only seen in movies.
After spending almost two hours getting ready for tonight and freaking out over every minor detail she finally finished moments before Logan arrived at her door. He picked her up in the biggest limousine she’d ever seen and they proceeded to go off on their little adventure. She wasn’t sure exactly what all Logan had in mind for the night but she had played through every possible scenario in her head.
When he’d caught her about to enter his office unaccompanied at lunch she almost had a heart attack. But then he made her feel comfortable and the two of them had a real conversation. It was a little dark and strange at first, but she soon began to see where he was coming from and she felt like she may have gotten a small glimpse into what made a man like Logan Brower tick. It was interesting.
And he knew so much about her. She wasn’t sure how, but she somehow felt like he could practically read her every thought as his questions probed her mind stacking one right after the other going deeper into her subconscious. It was almost like some twisted therapy session, but somehow, she enjoyed herself and felt that Logan was someone she had really connected to. That was the last thing in the world she expected to happen that day.
At least until Logan invited her out on a date.
She had to shake her head few times to make sure she’d heard him, but it was real. Mr. Billionaire had just asked her out on a date. The rest of the day she was in a mind fog as she mindlessly went about finishing the paperwork she was organizing. Her mind could think of nothing else but the date and what it might entail. Was this a serious date? Was Logan just wanting to find out more about her? Did he actually find her attractive? Or was it more casual than she had been led to believe?
A million questions zipped through her mind as she tried to come up with a reason why someone like him would even consider taking her out for the evening. It didn’t make sense, or at least not to her. But as the day wore on she became more excited by the second. Oh, what in the world was going to happen? She had a feeling that she was about to get in way over her head.
The restaurant he’d taken her to was called Del Posto. It was by far the most extravagant restaurant she’d ever been too. The second she stepped foot in the place it was obvious that she was in a world she’d previously only read about. Everything in the restaurant looked brand new and shiny. Even the main bar had a beautiful marble counter top. The waiting staff was all dressed in fine clothing and all of them were impeccably good at what they did.
“So, what kind of business did you want to start?” Logan asked her as the waiter took their plates away.
“Oh, I’m not sure exactly,” Gabby said. “I’ve just always known that I want to work on something that was my own.”
She realized she sounded a bit silly after the words escaped her.
“That’s great,” Logan said. “I actually know a few people that might be able to help. I’d be happy to set up some meetings for you.”
Gabby almost fell out of her chair. She quickly grabbed the sides of the table to keep from falling.
“You could really do that?” Gabby asked.
“Yeah,” Logan said with a smile. “Don’t be so surprised. We can get you started on some more classes and go from there.”
“I would love to do that, but I am not sure how cut out I am for school.”
“Ok, but I think you are selling yourself short.”
“What?”
“Well, I’ve learned that in this life you can’t wait to be ready for something, because you will never be ready. You can’t just pick the perfect time to do something that you want to do, not when you are following your heart. There will always be some reason not to do it, or some reason that the timing is not right. You just have to take the plunge.”
Gabby thought about what he was saying. He was right. There would always be an excuse. She needed to just get out of her own way sometimes. “
“Does anyone else know about your dream? Your family or friends?”
“No,” Gabby replied. “Having big dreams of being a professional business woman is not exactly something people talk about where I’m from. Everyone stays in the small town and never leaves. Having big dreams like that is considered stupid and people will actually laugh at you if you tell them such a thing.”
“Wow, that is pretty messed up,” Logan replied.
“So, how about you? Were you born rich or did you steal it?” Gabby joked.
Logan smiled at her. “I worked for every penny, I assure you. My family was never poor but we were far from rich. I had a stable childhood, but I always knew I wanted more.”
“I can understand that,” Gabby replied. “So, what do you do when you are not working? Or is there no such thing for you?”
“I do other things,” Logan said.
“Really? I always heard that all filthy rich guys did nothing but think about making more money all the time. Is it not like an obsession with you?” Gabby smiled at her teasing.
Logan was trying to be serious but she was breaking through his walls with her banter. He could not help smiling.
“I’ll have you know that I have a variety of other interests. But work is the most fun thing I do.”
Gabby shook her head. “I’ve always wondered what that was like, to have a job where you didn’t really work at. A job where you would do it without money because you love doing it but somehow you found someone to pay you for it. That’s like the American Dream, isn’t it?”
“I’ve always thought so,” Logan said. “Are you trying to tell me that filing reports is not your true passion in this life?”
Gabby laughed and leaned back in her seat. “Believe it or not, I do have other things I aspire to more.”
The waiter returned with the dessert. The second that Gabby bit into it she knew that she would never taste anything in her life as delicious. She was certain she’d just found a drug she wanted to get addicted to.
“Oh, wow!” Gabby said after devouring the rest of the piece. She realized she probably looked like a pig but she was in too much bliss to care. Never had a dessert made her feel as complete as that one just did. It was perfect.
“I told you,” Logan said with a smug smile on his face as he ate his own piece. “This place is the best.”
“You weren’t kidding,” Gabby said.
“Great. So, the check is on you, right?” Logan asked.
Gabby looked at him and smiled shaking her head.
After dinner Logan took Gabby somewhere she always dreamed about. Broadway. She had never been so excited in her life. As the lights went down in the theater she felt herself become lost with the actors on the stage.
“So, what did you think of your first Broadway Show?” Logan asked as they climbed back into the limousine.
Gabby sat there reliving all of the amazing performances she’d just seen from the front row of the Richard Rogers Theatre, a place she’d only heard about growing up and would occasionally get to ride past when her family visited the city on rare occasions. She’d always loved the theatre and had even had a few leads in school plays in high school, but she knew her real passion was singing. Her acting skills probably needed some work.
They’d seen “Wicked”. Gabby had heard about it in recent months that the current production of it was becoming very popular, but she never in a million years would have thought that she’d get the chance to see it, especially front row.
“Wow… just wow… that is about all I can say,” Gabby said.
Logan smiled as he popped the top of the champagne bottle careful to keep his thumb over it so that the cork did not become a projected missile. Gabby hated to see people who haphazardly popped the top like it was a bottle of aspirin and they were breaking the childproof seal.
He poured them both a couple of tall glasses and handed one to her. Gabby did not normally drink as much as she had tonight but it seemed that the more expensive stuff did not hit you as hard as the cheap crap she normally drank.
“I’m surprised growing up that close to the city that you never had the chance to see a show like this,” Logan said.
Gabby shrugged and sipped her champagne. “Well, my family really weren’t the type and for whatever reason I always had a million other things going on that I never got the chance. Plus, I never wanted to see a show like that alone. It’s always much more enjoyable with someone.”
Logan was looking into her eyes with his piercing gaze as he moved closer to her on the seat. He paused a moment looking from her eyes to her mouth and then back.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Logan said.
“So, what can you tell me about your family?” Gabby asked.
Logan stared off into space for a moment, tapped his fingers along the glass he was holding.
“Not much to tell,” he said. “We were pretty typical. My family was middle classed and both of my parents worked very hard. I didn’t grow up with any horrible tragedies or anything if that is what you are getting at,” Logan said with a smile that slowly turned to a more serious expression. That was the same look he got when he was really trying to avoid a question she noticed. The man was such a mystery; he just wouldn’t open up.
“You know, I’m a bit surprised that there isn’t a biography written about you. I mean from what I’ve heard you made your first million by twenty-five and your first billion by thirty. That is some rapid advancement.”
Logan looked at her with a naughty eye and that devilish smile he had when he wanted to turn on the charm. It worked. She got weak in the knees every time.
“Were you doing a little research on me?”
Gabby felt her cheeks getting hot with embarrassment. She had pushed too hard with the questioning. It wasn’t that she wanted to be nosey or that she really cared about his money, but she just wanted to learn something about him. He just did not seem to want to share anything with her, but she got the impression that he was that way with everybody.
“Maybe I did,” Gabby said. “Is that such a bad thing?”
“It could be, depending on what horrible secrets about me that you do find out,” Logan said. He was leaning in close now. She could smell the enticing scent of his cologne, musky yet clean smelling. It combined with his rugged looks and slight stubble on his otherwise clean cut face and masculine features to create an allure that was irresistible. Her body began to get warm.
“Well, I didn’t find out anything too embarrassing for you I hope,” Gabby teased playing along.
“To answer your question, I found a winning formula and I just worked like mad to duplicate it repeatedly. I’m from the school of believing if something isn’t broke then you shouldn’t be trying to fix it.”
“I also believe that,” Gabby said.
She barely got the words out of her mouth before his sweet lips were on hers, kissing and massaging her lips with his own.
Gabby’s mind tried to process what was happening. A part of her told her this was all too fast and it was like being sucked into some kind of a vacuum whirlwind that she’d always heard about but had thought until now was some kind of a fun exaggeration. But this was the real deal. This beautiful, enigmatic, strong man was seducing her, as he had no doubt seduced countless dozens of women before her and probably would after her. Every single fiber of her being, her instincts, and her heart and soul were telling her that this was not right. It was too fast with a man she did not know that much about who had an obvious temper problem and a lot of eccentricities that didn’t add up.
But he was so perfect. He had shown her he could be sweet, thoughtful, interesting, intellectually stimulating, and there was a depth to him that other people would probably never really get the chance to know or understand. He was the most unique man she’d ever known and now he was kissing her with passion that was unexpected but so needed. She wasn’t sure she’d ever been kissed like this. She’d only kissed a few men before this and they’d been boys in high school who had no idea what they were doing. But Logan’s lips were an instrument that he used to convey and elicit lust, passion, and connection from her that she didn’t know she was capable of feeling.
They arrived back at his penthouse apartment that he kept in the city which was only a few blocks from his main office building about twenty minutes later. The kiss was still lingering in the air between them, or at least it was for her. Logan did not seem affected one way or the other by the fact that it had happened. He was cool as a cucumber as he always was.
He put on some music as she glanced around the opulent space. The penthouse was bigger than most people’s houses and everything was done in a fancy yet refined style that she found appealing. It was masculine but it also contained just the right dashes of color to give it life and beauty. Logan must have hired a great interior designer. She doubted he’d come up with these designs by himself, unless he had even more talents that she had yet to discover.
“Fancy a drink?”
“Oh, no. I think I’ve had enough,” Gabby said.
Logan smiled as he walked to his bar in the corner of the living room and poured himself a whiskey on the rocks.
That was when Gabby noticed the piano on the other side of the room. It was a grand piano, white and pristine looking as if it had just been brought from the store and had never been touched. She wondered if it was just part of the design and décor.
“Do you play?” Gabby asked.
“Oh, yes I do,” Logan said.
“Then I insist you play me something.”
Logan smiled and moved towards the piano. He sat his drink on a coaster on the edge and began to pick out a melody. Gabby recognized it as “Everything I do, I do it for you” by Bryan Adams. It seemed a fitting and romantic song to be playing right then, if only a bit cheesy.
Gabby sat down on the stool beside him as he played, watching his hands moving effortlessly over the keys. She was impressed he was that good.
Then he began to sing the first verse. His voice was impeccable. It was a mix of low baritone and throaty rasp that just gave the whole thing the perfect romantic tone. Her heart began to flutter a bit and the butterflies swirled around in her stomach, something she had not felt since she was a teenager going on her first date to the big dance. This was amazing.
She wanted to tell him how great he was but she was speechless. Instead she just sat there listening to him singing into the chorus, playing the piano with the perfect mix of feel as he interjected with the vocal melody and played with the timing and the phrasing.
He finished the song and looked up at her.
Gabby felt tears of joy trying to come through, but she held them back. It was not the right time for her to show how emotional this had made her. The combination of the music which was her greatest passion, and the fact that Logan was this talented, plus the precise song he was singing as if he were really singing his heart out to her about the way he felt—it was all too much starting to overwhelm her.
“Well, I hope I surpassed expectations on this one,” Logan said.
Before Gabby could answer he leaned forward and kissed her softly. This time she pushed back hard, letting her desires take over, controlling her actions and driving her towards the completion of her total lust and want.
She barely remembered him carrying her to the bedroom, her face had been glued to his with the strength of a healthy, long kiss, but once there it was nonstop passion all the way. He’d apparently swept her off the stool never once breaking the kiss and carried her like she was a feather into the bedroom where he laid her gently on the bed.
His hand was moving up her leg, slowly inch by inch his index finger guiding the way towards her source of lust. As they reached her his thick fingers effortlessly twitched and her underwear were sliding down her leg and being kicked on to the floor. Now she was bare; nothing separating her inner core from him but the fabric that hung down over her.
He was inside her quickly, his fingers doing the work with intense purpose and diligent persistence. He was taking his time obviously fighting the urge to go fast. It was all for her benefit. This made her want him even more. Now the thoughtful hesitation was starting to tease her and she encouraged him by moving her hips up and down to facilitate the motion she needed. He smiled as he felt her grinding on his fingers, continuing the tease which gave him great delight.
“OH!” Gabby groaned as she felt herself getting more worked up. She was so wet now and growing so tightly that she wasn’t sure how much longer before she would tip over the edge.
Logan wasted no time in pulling her dress off her body and unhooking her bra. Her chest was now swinging free and he buried his face in her breasts, licking and probing, gliding his other hand over her and touching her just the way she wanted to be touched as if he inherently knew what she needed. How was he so in tune with her?
He quickly removed his own clothing as she helped pulling off the final article of clothing, his boxer shorts. It was then that she saw him in all his glory. He was magnificent. Even in the dim light of the bedroom she could see his length and his girth.
And a second later it was inside of her, spreading and pushing her own body out of the way as she tried to wrap around it. He was almost too fast; she was not used to anyone this large and she’d only actually made love with one other man in her life.
Logan sensed her hesitation even in his furious lust driven conquest and pulled back slightly allowing her to get used to his impressive size. He kissed her gently then and stroked her hair lovingly letting her know that everything was ok and no matter what he was going to take care of her, all with that one simple gesture.
When she smiled, he resumed pushing into her slowly at first and gaining momentum and speed as her body opened up just a little more.
His girth was so thick; she was pressed to the max and she loved every second of it. She found her body moving independently of her mind as she bucked her hips to drive him farther inside of her. All thoughts of anything else in the world were done. Any problem or worry were all gone right then. She was just allowing herself to live in the moment and to be with Logan right then.
Logan Brower… she was making love with Logan Brower. Her mind spun around at the thought. How many women would love to be taking her place right then, she thought? It was too much to consider right then. She just had to relax and let it happen, let the pleasure take hold. She knew that this bed had probably been shared by countless women and she knew that this was probably just going to be another notch on his bed post, but what if she was wrong? What if there was something more between them? Was that too impossible to believe?
Yes, she told herself. She knew that a guy like Logan Brower wasn’t exactly the settling down type of guy.
Logan was driving deeply into her now, even deeper than she thought she could allow hitting the source of her wetness and pressing for her body to respond faster and faster. She wrapped her legs around his waist tighter and hugged him to her as he thrusted furiously in and out of her sweetness.
It was coming. There was no warning, no real buildup. Just suddenly she knew she was going over the edge.
“Oh!” Gabby yelled as her climax came a split second after Logan’s. It hit her body like a thousand tiny electric shocks rolling through her in a colossal wave of ecstasy. Afterwards Logan held her for several minutes, just stroking her hair. It was perfect.
Gabby reached over to look at her phone and saw the time.
“I have to go,” Gabby said softly. She didn’t want to go anywhere; she just wanted to stay right there in his warm bed with Logan beside her. But she knew she had to leave.
“Why?”
“My father,” Gabby said.
“Ok, I understand.”
Logan drove her home himself in his band new Lamborghini. Gabby didn’t even know he kept a car in the city. He’d told her about his classic car trophy room that he had in his palatial country estate.
They didn’t talk much on the way back to her father’s house. But it wasn’t an uncomfortable or awkward silence that sometimes followed sex. It was just two people enjoying quiet time and reliving the events of the evening. Gabby was floating like a feather when she stepped out of the car, her knees still weak and she was not feeling particularly sure footed.
Logan walked her to the door and kissed her softly.
“So, I’ll see you tomorrow?” Logan asked.
Gabby smiled. “Yeah, I’ll see you then. Thanks for tonight. Dinner, the show—it was all amazing.”
“Well, I hope the dinner wasn’t the best part,” Logan teased before stepping back into his car and driving away.
Gabby watched his lights disappear with a smile on her face.
***
She’d just stepped out of the shower when her phone started ringing. Who in the hell was calling her so late? She put her bathrobe on and grabbed her phone.
It was Adam.
She knew that she should have ignored it but for whatever reason she decided to answer the phone.
“Adam? Do you know it’s after midnight? What’s wrong?”
“I miss you,” Adam said. “You have to give me another chance. I’m going crazy without you Gabby.”
Gabby groaned. This was the last thing she needed right now. She had to be at work in the morning and she needed some good rest or she would not function well.
“Adam, you sound drunk. Just go to bed and sleep it off; you will feel better tomorrow,” Gabby said. She wasn’t sure when Adam started drinking but his words were slurred and he was more emotional than she’d ever seen him. He was obviously hammered.
“No, that is not what is going on. I need you, Gabby. Just have a cup of coffee with me sometime. We just need to talk, that’s all. I just want to see your face.”
“Adam, no. That’s not going to change anything. I told you, it’s going to take time. That is all that will help. You will get over us.”
“No! I want you Gabby! Please. I am going to be with you. There is no denying how much you love me. Why are you doing this?”
Adam was shouting into the phone now.
“I’m hanging up. Adam, do not call me or contact me again. It is over.”
Gabby hung up the phone and set her ringer to silent. She put on her night gown and lay down to bed. She felt bad about having to treat Adam that way. The guy was just in pain, which she also felt bad about, but he would have to learn to get over it. The two of them were history and no amount of pleading on Adam’s part was going to change anything.
She drifted off to sleep and slept more soundly than she had in ages.