And that hesitation likely had a lot to do with her deluded fantasies regarding the man hauling her away by the arm. She had to get over this fixation with him and move on. She couldn’t spend her whole life with the ridiculous notion that he was going to one day notice her and decide he had to have her.She greedily drank in the sight of him, like an addict getting their next high—like she’d gone far too long without that fix. He was a man whose presence filled any room he occupied. He wore his black hair cut short, styled with minimal product. Just enough to give it an expensive, sophisticated look.He had the look of the sinful bad boy all the women went wild for. He had a total “don’t give a fuck” attitude, and what Gabe wanted, Gabe always got. His confidence and arrogance were two things that drew her to him—had always drawn her to him. She was helpless to fight her attraction to him. God knew she’d tried for years, but her obsession showed no signs of waning.“Mia,” he said in a
There was nothing like being made a complete fool of by a woman he’d trusted implicitly to ensure he didn’t travel that path again.It wasn’t as if he’d sworn off women—he liked them too much. Loved the feel of a submissive woman under his hands and tutelage. But his approach had changed. The way he dealt with them had changed. He hadn’t had a choice.But Mia…He couldn’t pretend she wasn’t different from any other woman he’d had. She was. She wasn’t just another female face that he might view with affection, but keep his distance from any messy entanglements. The women he chose to be with knew the score. They knew what was expected of them and what they could expect in return.Mia was Jace’s baby sister. Beyond that, she’d been a girl he’d watched grow up. Hell, he’d attended her high school graduation. He’d scowled at her prom date when the little prick had come to pick her up. He’d enjoyed watching the jerk’s balls shrivel up when he, Jace and Ash had told him in no uncertain terms
“Have I ever failed?” Ash asked mockingly.Gabe waved his hand, making a dismissive motion. No, Ash hadn’t ever failed. Gabe had no worries on that issue. The three of them made a solid team. Their strengths and weaknesses complemented one another very well.HCM wasn’t just a business. It was a corporation forged in friendship and fierce loyalty. The very things Gabe was about to test, all because he was obsessed with Jace’s little sister. Jesus, but if that wasn’t fucked up.Thankfully, Jace rose, his hand sliding from the woman’s leg. He reached to pull her up from Ash’s lap, and she settled comfortably between him and Ash as they moved toward Gabe’s office door.Jace paused and then turned, a frown on his face. “I’ll try to call Mia on my way out but can you check with her while I’m gone? Make sure everything’s okay and she doesn’t need anything? I hate that I missed her last night.”Gabe gave a short nod, controlling his features carefully. “I’ll take care of it.”“Thanks, man. We
“So you want me to work for you and you want…me. Physically, I mean.”“Oh yes,” he murmured. “Definitely.”“And this relationship you propose. What exactly do you mean by nontraditional?”He hesitated for the briefest moment. “I’ll own you,” he said bluntly. “Body, soul. You’ll belong to me.”Whoa. That sounded so…heavy. She couldn’t even wrap her brain around it. Her mouth went dry and she tried to lick her lips but stopped when she remembered his reaction when she’d done it moments earlier.“I’ll guide you through this,” he said in a more gentle tone. “I’m not going to throw you to the wolves. I’ll be patient as you learn your way through the kind of relationship I expect.”“I don’t even know what to say right now,” she blurted out.His hand slid over her jaw and to her cheek. They were on eye level, their mouths just a few breaths apart.“I think this is where you tell me where I stand with you,” Gabe prompted. “Do you want me as badly as I want you?”Oh God, was this really happen
She dug out her phone as she went, and not surprisingly, there were half a dozen messages from her best friend already. All wanting to know how it went with Gabe and threats that if she didn’t spill soon, Caroline was going to kill her.What the heck was she supposed to say? Somehow, typing Gabe wants me to be his personal plaything didn’t sound right, even if it would probably make Caroline swoon.And oh God, if Jace found out…She sucked in her breath. Jace was a huge problem. He would lose his mind if he ever found out about any of this. Surely Gabe had considered that. Hadn’t he?There was no way she could ever let her brother know about this. It would ruin his friendship with Gabe and would likely ruin their business as well. Not to mention he would never understand, and it would put a huge wedge between her and Jace.She was contemplating it. She must be if she was factoring in all the potential obstacles, right? Had she lost her mind?She should so be running as fast as she cou
“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