CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“I know this is short notice,” Nora said when she dropped Sunshine off for her sleepover with Anna. “I really appreciate it.”
They’d had to sneak Sunshine up the stairs since Anna’s building didn’t allow pets, and by the time they’d made it up, for some reason they were both giggling like a pair of sugar-surfing tweens. Sunshine was puffing happily, bumping first one of them, then the other.
“No problem,” Anna said. “I wasn’t doing anything exciting tonight anyway.” She laughed. High and loud.
Nora eyed her. “See you at work tomorrow. And, Anna?”
“Mm-hmm?” She was chewing her thumb nail.
“Thanks. You know, for being so cool about me rushing off. And then the dog-sitting.”
“Pfft.” Anna waved away her thanks and pushed Nora toward the door. “It’s nothing. That’s what family’s for. I’ve got your back!” Yeah, both hands planted between her shoulder blades, giving her a big shove. “Off you go. Have fun!”
Nora set her shoulders. Yes. Fun.
She was going to have it.
She tried the Tower of Doom penthouse first, and the security guard told her Gabe had moved out to the warehouse. She sighed with relief. Tonight was going to be tough enough without trying to pull it off in the soul-sucking environs of his marble lair.
The guard had called Gabe while she was driving over, because Nora didn’t even have to knock. He was waiting for her in the open doorway, and he made an odd noise when he saw her black dress. More likely the heels she’d teamed it with.
“Hi,” he said.
“Good evening.” Ugh. Why did I say that?
A tiny smile flickered over his lips, but died as he studied her in silence.
“May I come in?” she asked, feeling a dip of nerves. This wasn’t the friendly welcome she’d hoped for. It wasn’t the cool dismissal she’d dreaded, either. She wasn’t sure what it was.
He stepped aside.
“If you’re busy, I can come back another time…”
Shaking his head, Gabe strode to the kitchen where a laptop was set up with a bottle of beer sitting next to it. He put the breakfast bar between them.
Nora hopped up onto a stool. “Are you busy?”
“I’m always busy. You should know that about me by now.”
“I do know that. I meant, are you too busy for me?”
“No. Never. You should also know that.” He ran his gaze over her, hot and slow.
Encouraging.
“Get you a beer?” he asked.
“Do you have any wine open?”
“No.”
“Then I’d like some wine.” It would take him a while to uncork the bottle, get the glass. Hopefully long enough for what she had in mind.
“I don’t have any wine at all, open or closed.”
Thwarted. “Uh…how about a glass of water? Can you make sure to run the faucet for a bit? I prefer it cold and fresh, not the stuff that’s been sitting in the pipes.”
“I’ve got bottled water.”
“I’d rather have it from the faucet. Plastic bottles, and all that. Hear bad things.”
Gabe sent her an unreadable look but moved to the cabinet and took down a glass, turning his back to her to run the water.
Nora slid off the stool and undid the three buttons that had been holding her dress together. She wrenched it over her head and threw it to the floor.
“What brings you here?” he was saying as she hopped back onto the stool. He filled the glass, turned to her, and froze.
She sat there in her underwear and her heels.
For a long, agonizing moment, he didn’t speak.
Keep calm, Nora told herself.
He reached over and handed her the water. She jumped when their fingers brushed. “Thanks.” She put the glass to her lips and drank, very aware of him watching her. She drained the glass and put it down.
“How was it?” Gabe asked. “Fresh enough? Cold enough?” His eyes locked halfway down her chest. “Too cold?”
“Perfect temperature.”
“Anything else you want?”
Nora tapped her chin, pretending to think about it. “Now you mention it, I am hungry. Do you have anything to eat?”
“I’ll check the fridge.”
This time when he turned back, she’d taken her bra off and tossed it over her shoulder.
His breathing was heavy and his eyes were dark. “I have bagels,” he said. “Want a bagel?”
“Yum.” Bagel. How can I sexy-eat a bagel? Only one option sprang to mind, and she didn’t think it would be all that sexy. How…? Lightbulb. “Got any Nutella?”
Gabe closed his eyes briefly and said, voice rough, “Yeah. I have Nutella.”
“Great.”
“Want me to toast your bagel?”
“Lovely.”
Nora sat there in her panties and heels, running a fingertip through the condensation on the water glass, while he sliced the bagel and slid it into the toaster. All of this he did with his burning gaze fixed on her. She was amazed he didn’t cut himself.
“Anything else you want?” he said.
She’d had a nasty moment when she thought this wasn’t working as she’d planned on the drive up from Beacon Falls, talking it over with Sunshine in the car. The harsh breaths told her she was on the right track.
“Nope.”
He stared at her.
“Bagel popped up,” she said.
He reached behind him for the bagel, spread it with Nutella, and handed it over. This time when their fingers brushed, she didn’t jump.
Gabe leaned his ass against the counter and crossed his ankles, bracing his arms wide as he watched her eat. At first glance he seemed relaxed, but the tremors running through his shoulders and arms gave him away.
He pointed to his cheek. “Little bit right there.”
Nora curled her tongue out and licked. “Got it?”
“Yep.”
“You know what would be good after this?” she said.
“What, honey?”
“A coffee.”
She didn’t want coffee—the tension was so high, if she added caffeine to the mix, she’d scream—but she needed him to turn his back one last time.
He made the coffee, and when he set it on the counter, she’d slipped off the stool, leaving her panties on the seat.
Gabe tensed, then laid one hand on the bar, levered himself up, and slid over it the way action heroes slide over the hoods of cars.
Should have taken the heels off, Nora thought, and she could have at least pretended to run. All she managed was a startled backward step before he was on her, driving his hands into her hair and his tongue into her mouth.
“Nora,” he groaned. That was all. Her name, like it said everything.
The way he said it? It did.
He kissed her, hard and wet, until they had to break apart for oxygen. Reaching out a long arm, he snagged the Nutella jar. “Hold this.”
She blinked at it, then she was upside down over his shoulder and they were heading for the bedroom.
“Wait!” Nora clutched his ass with her free hand.
He hesitated, and she pressed into her hand to lift her upper body a few inches and say, “You forgot the spoon.”
Gabe laughed and continued on to the bedroom.
~ ~ ~
Nora finally got to try out his new shower, and it was everything she’d dreamed it would be. Better, even, since Gabe was in there with her, and he was very solicitous about demonstrating how to redirect the various nozzles to spray right where you needed a good hot pulse of water.
“Why did you run away?” he asked her hours later when they were lying in his huge bed. He sprawled shamelessly on his back, naked, of course. Nora was tucked under the sheet, but was lying on her front so she could trace the dark lines of his tattoos with a forefinger.
“It wasn’t running away,” she deflected. “It was a visit. If it was running away, I wouldn’t be here, would I?”
“Yeah, you would. Things might look a little different, but you’d still be here in my bed.”
She shook her head at him.
“I’d have tracked you down,” he explained, “and brought you back. You’d be right here, and pretty much in the position you’re in now. Except you’d be tied down.” He smacked her ass. “And your legs would be wider apart.”
“Wow,” Nora said. “Romantic.”
He grinned.
“And by romantic, I mean creepy.”
“I’m a billionaire. We’re allowed to do creepy shit and call it romantic. It’s one of the perks.” He shrugged. “Still hot, though, right?”
What, the thought of him hunting her, catching her, and tying her down while he had his wicked way with her? Nora knew she was blushing. She hoped he wouldn’t notice. She doubted that he would. She’d been blushing for three hours straight, since he’d thrown her on the mattress and opened up the jar of Nutella.
“You should probably stop smacking my ass all the time,” she said, trying to sound as if she meant it.
“Why? I like the way it wobbles. I think I should do it more.”
Nora rolled onto her back, trying to decide if she was shocked or not. Nope, she thought.
“Spanking later,” Gabe said. “I want to know why you ran away.”
“I already told you, it was a visit. I had some things to sort out.”
He crawled over her and sat back on his heels, a knee planted either side of her hips. Hooking a finger in the top of the sheet, he began to drag it down. “Did you see Vince? Was he one of the things you were sorting out?” His expression was neutral, eyes shadowed by his lashes as he focused on her sheet-covered breasts.
She trapped the sheet by clamping her arms at her sides, and his gaze flicked up. “Yes, I saw Vince.”
His mouth tightened.
Nora smiled. She couldn’t help it. The thought of Gabe being jealous of Vince…? She started to giggle, and shrieked when he bunched the sheet in a fist and yanked it away.
Before he could speak, she reached up to cup his face. “I saw Vince. And Melissa.” She brushed her fingertips over his beautiful cheekbones, traced his lips. He let out a shuddering breath. “And if I’d been a few weeks later, I might have seen their babies.”
Gabe digested this. “He knocked her up when he was still with you, didn’t he?”
“Yep. They’re due in six weeks.”
“He is a monumental fucking idiot.”
“Yeah. Have to agree with you there. I’d be happy never to see him again. But I will, because I kind of like Melissa, and I’m almost sure we’re friends now. I’m going back for the christening.”
He pulled away to say indignantly, “You are not.”
“I’m considering it.”
“In that case, I’m coming with you.”
“It won’t be for a few months.”
His eyebrows twitched. “Okay.”
“You think we’ll still be…together…a few months from now?” Nora kept her voice casual.
His face darkened. “Yes. You don’t?”
“I wasn’t sure.” She sat up.
“Be sure.”
“Melissa is actually the one to thank for tonight,” Nora said. “She gave me the idea to seduce you.”
“In that case, I think I kind of like Melissa, too. She seems smart. Apart from marrying Vince. I shall buy her babies disgustingly expensive christening presents when we go to the christening. Together. And if I’m in a good mood, I won’t punch her husband too hard. No promises.”
“She told me that when she met Vince, her whole world came alive. It’s why I can’t be mad at her. I know how she feels. I—” go for what you want, damn it, “—felt the same when I met you.”
“It’s the tattoos, isn’t it?”
“The tattoos don’t hurt.” Nora smiled. “She told me I should seduce you a couple of times, and then ask you to marry me.”
Gabe went still.
What are you saying? “I won’t, though,” she said.
His green eyes hit hers, deep and unfathomable. He was shaking his head slowly.
“It would be stupid, wouldn’t it?” It would. She’d thought Melissa was crazy when she said it. Except… “Except, you know what? I think I’ve changed my mind.”
He’d been stroking her with languorous tickling sweeps from shoulder to hip, and at her abrupt tone, he stopped.
“I’ve been down this road before, Gabe. Not asking for what I want straight out. I can’t stand the idea of walking in on you one day and having you introduce me to your wife or fiancée, because I hadn’t made it damn clear what my expectations were.” What the hell. She was going to do it. Jumping the gun, but…
“Stop.” Gabe knocked her flat and dropped on top. “Don’t ruin this, Nora. Do not ask me to marry you.”
Ruin it? Nora’s eyes stung with a sudden rush of tears, and she tried to look away. She should have known that he wouldn’t let her. He angled her face back and stared down.
“Maybe I want to,” she burst out. “What’s the worst you can say? No? I’m going to do it. Yes. I’m going to be that woman. Who sleeps with a guy twice, and then proposes to him. Why not?”
He stroked a finger along her jawline and down her throat. “Don’t.”
“You know what? Get out of my way. I’m going to do this spectacularly. I’m going down on one knee.”
“I prefer you on both knees.”
Oh, she knew. “Move. Let me up.”
He covered her mouth. “Nora. Stop.”
She licked his palm.
Snatching his hand away, he leaned down and licked her mouth. When she couldn’t help herself from laughing, he slid his tongue inside and kissed her fiercely until she didn’t know which way was up or down. Didn’t care, either.
Nora panted, catching her breath. “You can’t stop me,” she said.
For some reason, Gabe looked smug. He was holding her wrists together over her head, his weight balanced on his forearms. “I can stop you.” He flexed his spine, rolling his hips between her thighs in a fluid thrust. “I could gag you.”
She wrinkled her nose at him.
“Not today?” he said. “Save it for later. After the spanking.”
“I’d discuss a blindfold, but a gag?” She shook her head.
“Noted.”
“Marry me, Gabe.”
He tilted his head to one side and stared down, gaze sliding over her face as if he was memorizing it.
“That’s okay,” she said. “Take a moment. You can think about it. Take a few moments. Months, even. You don’t have to answer now, and you should know I don’t mean tomorrow, I—”
He smiled, drawing her hands down from where he’d held them immobilized. He released her right hand, and held the left in front of her face. “Beat you to it,” he said.
Nora gaped at the ring he’d slipped on her finger when she wasn’t looking. Holy shit. “That thing is enormous.”
“Yes. But how do you like the ring?”
She shoved him.
“You need the words, baby?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Nora Bowman.” He bent and murmured against her lips, “You are marrying me.”
She gave him a light kiss. “You’re supposed to ask someone to marry you, not inform them.”
“You are mine,” he said. “Now and forever more. You belong to me—”
“Uh—”
“—and I belong to you. It’s done.”
“Not unless there’s a priest in the room I haven’t noticed.”
“Look in the corner.”
She looked. Gabe laughed, rolling her on top.
She straddled him and he smiled up at her, hands drifting lazily up and down her sides.
“Marry me, Nora. I love you.”
She kissed him and when she went to pull away, he wrapped a hand over the back of her neck and held her mouth to his so that she felt him everywhere as he spoke. His voice, rumbling into her chest, the heat of his breath in her mouth, the silk of his lips brushing against hers. “Give me the words, baby.”
“Yes.” She sat up and they stared at each other.
He raised a single brow. “I’m waiting.”
“That was the word. Yes.”
“I said words. Plural.” He lifted his hips in a little bump, looking annoyed. “Tell me you love me.”
“Hmm.”
“Tell me you love me, Nora.”
She gave an experimental wiggle.
“Tell me, or I’ll make you.”
She grinned at him. “Give it your best shot.”
Gabe lowered his lids and gazed at her through half-closed eyes. She expected him to do something so fast she was left breathless, but instead he did an ab curl with slow and impressive control until they were chest to chest.
His smile was dark as he wrapped one arm around her waist and a hand tangled with deliberation into her hair. He used the grip to tug her head back, and mouthed at her throat. Then he sucked hard enough to make her yelp. He did it again, turning them slowly.
The mattress was firm against Nora’s back. Gabe’s heat disappeared, and he flipped her. She ended up with a face full of pillow.
Uh-oh.
He stretched out over her, giving her most of his weight.
“Are you going to tell me?” he asked politely.
Nora’s breath came fast. He raised himself a millimeter to give her room, but no more. She shook her head.
He shifted against her, getting comfortable, and her eyes crossed at the erotic slide of his muscles against her back, his hardness against her thighs.
“Tell me.” He slipped a hand between her stomach and the mattress. It headed south.
Nora smiled into the pillow.
“No?” he continued in a conversational tone, wedging a heavy thigh between hers and widening her legs. His hand pressed, lifting her stomach away from the mattress and tilting her up toward him. She held her breath.
“Gabe,” she said when he didn’t move.
“What, baby?”
She squirmed against him.
“Nope. Sorry. Can’t hear you.”
She growled.
Laughing, he let her drop back to the mattress. His hand moved lower…and stopped.
“Gabe!”
“Tell me.” His lips were hot on the back of her neck, between her shoulders. She arched up into him. “Tell me. I need to hear you say it.”
His voice was harsh, but not with passion or his usual bossiness. It was raw. He wasn’t playing anymore. He meant it, from his soul.
“I love you,” she said, curling an arm up and back at an awkward angle in an attempt to touch him. “I love you, Gabe.”
He flipped her again and then he was inside her. Nora wrapped her arms and her legs around him tight.
“I love you,” she said as he began to move, slow and intense.
His eyes were fixed on hers. “Again,” he demanded.
“I love you.”
Each time she said it Gabe shuddered and his movements became more forceful, more deliberate. She panted.
“Don’t stop,” he growled in her ear, driving her higher and higher.
Nora managed to get it out before she lost her mind. A vow. “I won’t if you won’t.”
His teeth flashed in a fierce grin. “Deal.”