Chapter Nineteen
“Everything go okay last night?” Rachel asked as Gabe got back into his car.
He was thankful she hadn’t followed through on her threat to make him eat sushi and had instead agreed to Chinese takeout, which he’d grabbed after picking her up. She said she was tired from the day and didn’t feel like getting dressed up anyway. Gabe could relate. Last night hadn’t been the most relaxing.
“Yeah,” he answered. “It’s all good now.” Gabe neglected to tell her that “it” was some piece of shit basketball player who thought Gabe’s club was an appropriate place to grope one of the cocktail waitresses. He suspected that it was the same guy who had caused the one bartender to quit, but he had no way of knowing for sure. Gabe had told him in no uncertain terms that he was never to come back to the establishment and if he spoke of the situation or the club to anyone else, he’d regret it.
Short of suing the twenty-something, there wasn’t much Gabe could do if the guy didn’t make good on his promise. It wasn’t like Gabe was running some sort of nineteen twenties Scottish mafia where he would cut this guy’s cheeks if he talked. Still, Gabe figured a vague threat might be enough to make the guy wonder what Gabe and his guys were capable of. “What about you? You get everything done you needed to do?”
Gabe looked to Rachel, who was staring out the window at the rain as he drove the few blocks back to his place.
“I did. Just work stuff. I was out a lot of the day.”
“Oh yeah? Anything interesting?” He figured it had to do with the article she was writing on him, and he wondered what she’d been up to. When she didn’t respond right away, he joked, “You were spying on me, weren’t you?”
Rachel seemed to startle at his words and then assured him she’d never do that.
“Sure, sure,” he teased. “Thought maybe you were peeping in my windows from the roof across the street or something.”
When she turned toward him, resting her head on her hand as she propped her elbow on the car door, he noticed the small smile playing on her lips. “If I were going to peep in your windows, I’d get a better vantage point than that,” she said.
“Oh yeah? Like where? It sounds like you’ve given this some thought.”
Rachel shrugged. “Like your bedroom.”
Gabe raised an eyebrow. “You’re welcome in my bedroom anytime,” he said, placing a hand on her thigh after turning into his parking garage.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yup. The door’s always open.” He felt her relax with his touch, the muscles in her leg loosening. When he parked the car, he looked over at her, taking in the way her deep green eyes seemed to sparkle in the dim light of the parking garage. He could feel the pull between them, like there was a force drawing them to one another that they couldn’t fight even if they tried. Not that he’d want to. Every moment with Rachel made him wonder how he’d gone so many years without her.
“How do you feel about cold Chinese food?” she asked before leaning in the rest of the way to kiss him softly. Her mouth opened for him instantly, her lips soft and wet.
Gabe felt himself harden instantly, and he adjusted his jeans to accommodate the bulge that now filled them. He didn’t know if he’d even be able to wait until they got inside the building to start undressing her, much less inside his apartment. The way her body responded to even the softest touch had him wanting to climb over the console and take her right there in his car.
Truthfully, there was nothing to stop him. His parking space was relatively private, near the corner of the garage with a concrete pillar obscuring them from view. He realized rather quickly that if she was game, he certainly was. Sliding a hand under Rachel’s shirt, it wasn’t long before Gabe had her almost completely naked from the waist up. And though he’d waited for a signal that she didn’t want to do this here, she hadn’t given him one.
Instead, her hips lifted off the seat, giving him easier access to the button on her jeans, which were so tight he wasn’t sure he could remove them in the confined space. “I’ve never had this problem,” he said, yanking her pants down as gently as he could. “But I can’t get these off.”
The comment caused Rachel to laugh out loud. Then she wiggled beneath his hand as she helped him slide them down. Before she could take them off completely, she kicked off her boots. “You have too many clothes on,” she said, already lifting his shirt to pull over his head.
Once the article of clothing was off, Rachel’s fingers were on Gabe’s abs as they traced along the lines between them. His muscles flexed at the cool touch of her skin against his, and he could already feel how ready he was. He wanted to grab himself, dull the ache that was throbbing inside his pants, but Rachel’s hand got there first.
As soon as she made contact with his cock, rubbing him through his jeans, he knew he wouldn’t last as long as he wanted to. It was hard and fast and fucking frantic, like she couldn’t get enough of him. “Jesus,” he said, and he could hear how harsh and unsteady his voice sounded. With a sudden gasp, Gabe found himself putting his hand on hers to stop her movement. “No more.”
Though she paused for a moment to unzip his pants, springing his erection free in the process, she went right back to touching him. But this time it was with her mouth. He willed himself to think of anything else but Rachel’s mouth on his cock, but the effort was in vain. As her lips wrapped around him, warmth spread through his body, and soon enough he was thrusting into her mouth wildly. His hands tangled with her hair as it fell over his lap, and he thought how easily he could come from watching her. “Christ, Rach. This is so fucking good.”
He thought he felt her smile, but she went right back to sucking him. And as her wet lips slipped slowly over him, his hips began to buck frantically. “Rachel, I’m going to… God, you have to…” He couldn’t even get out the last word of warning before he was coming. And though he’d tried to pull away, Rachel’s lips stayed tightly locked around him, licking every drop of his release as it shot into her mouth.
“That was incredible,” he said once she pulled away from him and he was able to get his brain working again. He didn’t miss the way she licked her lips as she looked into his eyes. It was one of the sexiest things he’d ever seen. “Now I think it’s your turn.”
***
A few moments later, Rachel was lying on the black leather of Gabe’s back seat, the lower half of her body in the air as Gabe’s face nestled between her legs. His movements were slow and calculated as he licked and sucked on all her sensitive areas. She couldn’t even remember the last time someone had done this to her. Somehow, it was so much more intimate than sex, more vulnerable. But with Gabe, Rachel found herself able to open up to him, expose parts of herself inside and out that she’d never felt comfortable sharing with anyone before.
Rachel’s legs draped over Gabe’s shoulders, but she could already feel them growing weak. Making him come had turned her on almost as much as what he was currently doing, and she knew she wouldn’t last long, especially now that he was picking up the pace. The sounds that escaped from her were barely recognizable, even to her. She was a mess of gasps and moans, sharp inhalations and shuddering sighs as she struggled to hold off the release she knew was close. She didn’t even care that she could hear how wet she was with every stroke of Gabe’s tongue. The fact that he seemed to be enjoying himself only turned her on more. She was needy and frantic and on the edge of an orgasm she knew would be one of the most amazing she’d had in recent memory.
But she didn’t want to give in to it because letting go would mean an end to… this. And this, as far as she was concerned, was as close to heaven as someone on Earth could get. Gabe let go of one of her thighs to put a hand on her breast. Her skin lit up at his touch, and when his fingers focused their attention on her nipple, she lost it completely. Waves of pleasure shot through her as her body tried to clench around Gabe’s tongue. It was so warm, so smooth, in such contrast to how his cock felt when he was inside her. But it was no less pleasurable. This, right here, was perfect.
Slowly, Gabe lowered her back down, kissing all the way up her torso until his lips reached her neck. They laid there together for a few minutes, cocooned in a perfect bubble of sated bliss. But like all good things, it eventually had to come to an end.
They put their clothes back on in satisfied silence, every so often exchanging glances that spoke more than words could’ve. Once inside Gabe’s apartment, they heated their food and settled down on the couch to watch a movie. “I totally forgot to ask you,” Gabe said after swallowing a bite of his orange chicken. “There’s a party after the first night of the draft that I’m going to. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to go alone.” He raised an eyebrow at her curiously.
Rachel couldn’t resist. “Who are you thinking of asking?”
For a second, Gabe looked confused, but then his expression relaxed into a smile. “You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”
Rachel let out the laugh she’d been holding in. “Yeah,” she said. “I’m surprised you fell for it. I’d be happy to go.”
“Good. It’s a date then.”
“It’s a date,” she confirmed. “Now tell me about the party.” As much as she wanted to go with Gabe because he was her boyfriend, the reporter in her couldn’t ignore the fact that the event had fallen into her lap. Since her conversation with Jamie, Rachel had been wondering where she might be able to see someone handing out cards for the club.
Gabe told her the party was being held at the football stadium in one of the spaces that was used for weddings and other fancy events. It was obviously invite only, and would have newly-drafted players as well as established professional athletes. If there were ever an event where Rachel had a chance of finding out who was running the club, this was it.
“Sounds great,” Rachel said. “I’m looking forward to it.”