“The problem is finding the right guy,” Caroline said wistfully.Mia cringed, regretful of her careless words. No, Caroline didn’t have any problems in the guy department as far as attracting them. But the last man she’d attracted had been bad news.She held up her wineglass in an effort to smooth over her faux pas and said, “I’ll drink to that.”• • •Gabe’s office phone rang, but he let it ring and continued typing the memo he was working on. It was after hours. No one should be calling his office.The room went silent, and then just a few seconds later, his cell phone rang. A quick glance at the incoming contact and he briefly contemplated letting it go to voice mail. With a sigh, he picked up his phone to hit Receive. He couldn’t ignore his mother even if he already knew why she was calling.“Hello,” he said.“Gabe. There you are. I thought you might still be at the office. You work such long hours these days. Aren’t you ever going to take a vacation?”He had to admit the idea had
“I wonder what you’re imagining I’ll do to you,” he murmured.“There were words like bondage and pain,” she pointed out. “It’s a reasonable fear.”“Yes, it is,” he conceded. “But there is no mention of a safe word because for me, it’s as simple as you saying no.”Her brow furrowed. “The contract was pretty clear that I don’t have that ability. That if I sign, I give up any right to tell you no.”He sighed. “I’m not some monster bent on abusing you, Mia. You’re right in that I don’t like the word no very much. But my hope is that you won’t be using it often. I’d rather reserve that word for rare occasions when you are truly frightened or uncomfortable. I don’t want it popping out of your mouth just because you’re uncertain and the idea strikes you wrong before you even give it a chance. But if you truly find yourself in a situation that you do not want to be in, no is sufficient for me to stop. I may not like it, but I won’t ignore that word. Ever. You have my word on that. We’ll discu
While everyone around her had moved with the times and used alternatives to taking a pill every single day, Mia hadn’t had much luck with some methods, and she feared others. And so she faithfully took her pill.By the time she was finished with the doctor’s visit, she was weary and emotionally drained from the stress of the day. Oddly enough, Gabe hadn’t ordered her in to work the next day. Instead he’d instructed her to take the day off and rest, almost as if he’d known how fried she’d be after the eventful day.Grateful to have at least one day to ponder the arrangement she’d agreed to, she rode home in the car Gabe had assigned to her. The driver had been given instructions to pick her up for work the day after next. The driver left her his card with instructions that if she needed transportation at any time, she was to call him. And he hadn’t spoken a word to her since the somewhat curt introduction and his shoving his card at her.Already it felt as though Gabe was taking over h
“I couldn’t agree more.”She dug into her meal, watching Gabe from underneath her eyelashes. There were a million questions buzzing around in her head, but she didn’t want to inundate him. As he had said, they had plenty of time to learn one another. Most people waited a little further into that learning curve before jumping into a sexual relationship, but she supposed Gabe was well used to doing things his own way, and damn convention. Besides, it wasn’t as though they were complete strangers. Gabe had been a fixture—albeit a distant one—in her life for years.The silence stretched between them. She could feel his gaze on her, knew he watched her much as she watched him. Almost like two wary opponents studying one another before engaging in battle. Only Gabe didn’t look as uncertain and awkward as she felt. He looked confident. Like a predator closing in on his prey.Butterflies took wing in her belly, and lower, until she squeezed her thighs together in an effort to assuage the ache
Her hands went flat against the mattress just above her head as he leaned down, his palms flush against her, holding her down, holding her in place so she couldn’t move. Couldn’t resist.It sent a thrill deep into her belly and fluttered outward until it was almost as if a drug had invaded her body. She was high on him. His power and control over her. His dominance.This was what she craved. Him on top of her, deep inside her, him having absolute power. She couldn’t even draw a breath. She was light-headed from exhilaration and anticipation.He withdrew and thrust forward again, jolting her body with the force of his reentry.His gaze seared into hers, so intense that she shivered. His voice was guttural and so damn sexy as he rasped out his next words.“Hell no, I’m not stopping. Not when I’ve waited this long to have you.”This long to have you. God, but that nearly made her come on the spot. The idea that this man, a guy so far out of her league, had spent any time lusting over her
“You’re already a disrespectful little baggage. And no, don’t call me sir. It makes me sound like your father and I already have enough reservations over our age differences to not want to draw even more attention to that parallel.”She lifted herself up, her hair falling over his chest as she stared down at him. Jesus, but she was beautiful. All that gorgeous hair spilling over him. Suddenly he was beyond the playful-banter stage, and he was seized all over again by the need to roll her underneath him and fuck her for another four hours.“Does my age bother you so much? If it does then why would you want…this. I mean us.”He sighed, resigning to control himself at least a few minutes longer. His dick was screaming at him, but Mia was in the mood to talk and he’d accommodate her for now.“It bothered me in the past. It doesn’t bother me as much now. But there are fourteen years between us. You’re much younger. A whole world away from where I am in my life.”She frowned a bit and a pen
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he said in a rough voice. “In my bed, on your knees, hands tied behind your back so you have no choice but to take whatever I give you.”She was ready to scream in frustration. She was so on the edge and he still hadn’t done more than remain just inside her pussy, the head nestled right at her opening. She tried to push back against him, tried to force him deeper inside her.Her mouth fell open against the sheets when he administered a sharp smack to her ass. Then he chuckled. He laughed!“So impatient,” he said, amusement in his voice. “We do this my way, Mia. You forget so easily. I want inside you as badly as you want me there, but I’m enjoying every second of having you tied up and in my bed. As soon as I get my dick inside you, I’m not going to last long so I’m going to savor every second.”She closed her eyes and groaned.He chuckled again and then pushed forward another inch, opening her wider to his advance. She sighed, tense, waiting, anticipati
“Come on, baby,” he said in a husky voice. “I’m going to take you to bed so you get a few hours of sleep.”********Mia opened her eyes to see Gabe leaning over her, his hand gently shaking her shoulder.“Hey, time to get up and head to work,” he said.She rubbed her eyes in an attempt to remove the fog. “What time is it?”“It’s six. If you want to shower and get dressed, we’ll grab breakfast on the way into the office.”As she became more aware, she saw that Gabe was already dressed for work. She hadn’t even noticed when he’d gotten out of bed. She could smell the crisp, clean essence of his soap and the tantalizing aroma of his cologne. He was wearing slacks and a button-up shirt with a tie, although the tie was still loose around his neck and the top button was unfastened.He looked…untouchable. Cool and composed. A direct contrast to the man who’d taken her repeatedly the night before.She pushed herself upward and then maneuvered to the edge of the bed. “I won’t take long.”“Take