Authors: Asrai Devin
"You
can't stay two weeks and then disappear. This place needs you in the
office. Your father is a fine man, but he's going to have to quit
sooner or later."
"Gabe
will take over, no problem. He could run the entire company with his
eyes closed and one hand tied behind his back. I have a boyfriend,
well, soon to be fiance, back in Toronto, and I have a really great
job."
"Shanna
has already caught a few things that I overlooked." Gabe leaned
onto the table. He hoped to egg Treena and the others on, keeping it
in her mind that the company needed her, and everyone wanted her
around. "The old place does really need you, Shanna."
I
need you.
But he didn't say that out loud.
Treena
dropped that line in favor of her own curiosity. "Tell us about
your boyfriend."
"Trenton
von Brooke. He's from old money, his grandfather or great-grandfather
started the company we both work at it. It's a multinational
corporation. And he is absolutely gorgeous." She reached into
her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. "Here, I have a
picture of us on our vacation last year to Mexico."
An
image of Shanna in a bikini laying next to that asshole popped into
Gabe's mind. "I'm going to get another drink," he said,
rising from his chair.
Shanna
glanced at him. "Grab me another as well?"
He
squeezed the back of her neck and kissed the top of her head. He
couldn’t stand not touching her any longer. "Sure thing,
darling."
"Thank
you." Their eyes met again for a moment. She turned away when
she remembered showing off her fancy boy to her former friends. He
wondered if she was dazzled by his charm and name, or if she really
did love the man.
Gabe
did know he didn't trust the kid. He was smug and self-centered.
Something that rubbed Gabe the wrong way. He had a friend who was a
cop turned investigator. He could check into Trenton von Brooke’s
background.
For
now, he grabbed her a beer and returned to enjoy an evening watching
her amongst friends, acting as if she hadn't a care in the world.
*
* *
Shanna
giggled uncontrollably as she stumbled sideways out of the bar onto
the street. Gabe grabbed her around the waist and held her upright.
She took a deep breath as she tried to stand on her own two feet. She
had to use him for support, as she couldn't seem to stop laughing
about Treena’s last joke.
It
really wasn't even that funny, but Shanna had had six beers. "Keep
breathing, sweetheart," Gabe said in his rich voice. The
baritone that used to send shivers down her spine. Of course, it no
longer did that. And she no longer felt the urge to call him so she
could hear his voice.
Now
calm, she got to her feet. "Gabe, you are my best friend."
She waved her arms around on what she thought was the horizon. It
kept shifting as she talked. "My best friend in the whole
world."
He
caught her, as throwing her arms about upset her balance. "I
should have cut you off long ago."
"Oh
what? You don't want me to have fun either? Trenton hates when I get
drunk. He says it's uncouth." She felt angry with Trenton.
"I
never said you can't have fun. But if you puke on my person, then
I'll be unhappy with you. It is uncouth, and funny as hell. None of
those people in there, including me, have seen you drunk. Well, not
adult drunk."
"So
are you going to lecture me?"
"Hell
no. I'm going to ask you if you'll come to my house and do another
table dance for me."
He
looked funny as he said it, but she couldn't focus on his eyes for
very long. They kept jumping all over the place. She closed her eyes.
Doing a private table dance for Gabe sounded like fun, er, trouble.
When
she opened her eyes, the world shifted. She grabbed at the air. Gabe
grabbed her and led her to a nearby bench. "We've walked a whole
block, haven't we?"
He
shook his head. "Not quite yet."
She
giggled and leaned her head on his shoulder. "What song would
you have me table dance to?"
He
sighed and pulled her closer. "Like a Virgin. Maybe Animal by
Nine Inch Nails. A slow song with a good beat that makes you want to
grind against me."
"You're
as drunk as I am."
He
shook his head. "I had half the number of beer you did and I
paced myself."
“
I
haven’t let loose like this in ages.” She stood and
started walking.
"Wrong
way, sweetheart. Your house is this way." He jumped to his feet
after her.
"My
house is so far away. You live super close, and I bet you have a
spare bed."
"I
do, sort of. I have a really uncomfortable futon in my office slash
guest bedroom. Let's go to your house, you'll be more comfortable."
"I'll
sleep on your bed, you sleep on the sofa."
"Like
hell." He grabbed her. Even if they were going to his house, she
was still going the wrong direction. "If you want to stay over,
we'll share a bed." It wouldn't be the first time she'd slept at
his house. More than once he’d housed a drunken teenage Shanna.
He always phoned her parents, reminded them that she was a good girl,
and she was a normal teen. She didn’t drive while drunk, or
ride with anyone while drunk. Until his wife forbade her from staying
at the house. Then he drove Shanna home when she showed up on his
doorstep.
"Fine,
I'll sleep in your stupid bed. Wonder if I should call my parents or
Trenton. Are you as drunk as I am?" She furrowed her brows. She
was pretty sure she’d asked that already.
She
laced his fingers with his and swung their arms like a giant
pendulum.
“
Your
hands are perfect,” she said.
“
Are
they?” His voice made her shiver.
“
Not
so calloused that they are rough. But not so soft that you’re a
pansy who never does any physical labor.”
“
What
kind of hands does Trenton have?”
“
Soft,
spoiled hands. He’s a spoiled pansy. When we moved, his father
hired people to hang our pictures. I enjoy having a housekeeper,
though.”
“
You’re
fun when you let your guard down. Why do you seem so serious all the
time?"
"Trenton
says if I'm to be with him, he has to maintain a certain appearance,
and that means falling down drunk is out of the question. As for my
general seriousness, I'm a rare breed, a woman in business. I have to
be focused and work twice as hard as everyone else."
He
stopped and pulled her into his arms. She swallowed hard as she
looked up at him. She waited for him to ask why she let herself go
tonight. Why did she go to a bar with her employees? Questions she
had been asking herself. She had no answers for them. Nor any reason
for letting him hold her so close again. She felt no compulsion to
pull away.
"I
missed watching you have fun and smile. It did my heart good to see
you out tonight."
She
dropped her gaze to his lips. What if he kissed her right now? What
would she do? The two kisses she'd shared with him had been the most
exciting in her life.
She
pushed away from him, her body flooding with guilt. She was engaged.
She should not, could not kiss Gabriel Brande. "I should go
home. I'll call a cab when we get to your place."
"There
are no cabs here." His voice was flat and he looked
disappointed. "Stay tonight. I promise to be a gentleman."
She
still found herself looking into his eyes, so dark they seemed black.
"Okay. I will stay the night." He took her hand again and
they kept walking.
“
It’s
not you I don’t trust,” she said a couple of blocks
later.
“
What
is it then?”
“
I
don’t trust myself with you.” She'd had too much to
drink, she was missing Trenton, and Gabe was handsome and available.
That was it. She had nine more days, now that this one was over, to
get the new equipment installed, redo the budget and projections for
the year. “I have a short time break here, then my real life is
waiting for me.”
He
didn’t say any€thing. He didn’t grunt or look at
her. He kept walking. It made him completely insane with worry and
angry.
Gabe
stopped her when he got to a small bungalow, and used the key to
unlock the door. Pushing open the front door, he pulled her inside.
Not turning on the lights until they reached the bedroom, he pulled a
blanket out of the closet and tossed it on the bed
"You
don't have to share a blanket with me this way." He sounded
angry with her.
She
sighed and sat on the bed. "I thought we were past this, but
maybe we're not. I'm marrying Trenton in a year. When I return to my
life, he's going to propose. We've discussed it already."
Gabe
pulled a shirt and shorts from his dresser and tossed them next to
her as well. "I'd hate for you to wrinkle your fancy dress."
Shanna
sighed and took the clothing to the bathroom. She washed her face
with the soap there. It felt tight after, and she wished for her
ninety-dollar moisturizer and face wash. Once she'd seriously started
dating Trenton, his mother took her to the spa. On the consultant's
advice, and to please Mrs. von Brooke, she'd bought the obscenely
expensive products. She did have to admit, her face felt different
having used them.
He
was already under the covers with the light off. She tossed his extra
blanket to the floor, determined to prove she didn’t fear him.
His body heat radiated under the covers and it drew her like magnet.
Luckily, she pulled her self-control out and shoved it between them.
"Goodnight
Gabriel. I missed you." She stared at the ceiling as it turned.
"Your house spins."
"That's
the alcohol. If you go to sleep, you won't feel it."
She
tossed and turned a bit trying to get comfortable.
"Are
you going to get to sleep at all?"
"Sorry.
I'm having trouble sleeping without a goodnight kiss." Her eyes
widened and she was thankful she was facing away from him. What had
possessed her to say that? She wasn't four, she only needed a soft
bed to fall asleep in and this certainly qualified.
"And
what do you want me to do about that?"
She
rolled over and shimmied her body closer. For years after, she would
blame her words being very drunk, but she was more sober than she'd
admit. She made sure her body wasn't quite touching his. "Kiss
me goodnight."
Her
heart sped up as she gave in and spoke her desires aloud. His male
presence made her crazy. She'd wanted it since she saw him walk into
the bar. She wanted him.
"What?"
She
wanted him. "I don't know if I can say it again. Please."
If she threw away her morals, she could have him.
"There's
only so much a man can take, Shanna. Go to sleep."
She
pressed her forehead to his. "Kiss me goodnight." Someone
needed to stop her mouth from moving. Tape would be good.
He
rolled her to her back and let his body lie half on her, pressing her
into the mattress. "I don't get you. I don't know what's going
on, but I can't resist you." He kissed her as if he was starving
for affection. She matched his intensity, allowing her mind to shut
off and forget her responsibilities. He was a man, she was a woman,
and their bodies were meant to fit together. Their tongues clashed
somewhere in the middle.
He
pulled back first. "I can't anymore without touching you. I'm
going to sleep now. If you come across the center of the bed to my
side, I can't be responsible for what happens. I mean it, I can't
resist you."
Her
voice squeaked. "Okay." She scurried to her side of the bed
and pulled the blanket tight around her. She wished she could cry at
her stupidity. She was a horrible person. She had to stop playing
with Gabe’s feelings and she had to stop this unfaithfulness to
Trenton.
Chapter 5
Gabe
woke to a body pressed against his. He rarely spent a night with a
woman anymore, so who the hell was lying next to him with a hand over
his thigh? The hand slid up and there was a sigh and the entire body
beside him rolled away.