Dare to Surrender (14 page)

I headed into the kitchen area to find him on the phone. Wearing a pair of gym shorts, he barked orders at the unlucky person on the other end and paced back and forth as he spoke.

He turned, caught sight of me, and his gaze warmed. “Just take care of it,” he said, disconnecting the call.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

He nodded. “Just business.”

I walked over to the coffeepot, which had obviously been delivered earlier, and poured myself a cup of hot coffee, added milk and one artificial sweetener packet before turning toward him. “Speaking of business, I’d like to find Lucy and see the site where Elite will be.”

“I thought we could spend the day seeing the island. Work will be there when we’re finished.”

I raised an eyebrow, knowing I had to put my foot down now or this was never going to work between us. “Or I can see Elite this morning and free myself up for you the rest of the afternoon.” I drew a long sip of the coffee, needing the caffeine to begin flowing through my veins, especially if I was going to go up against Gabe’s determination.

I saw the argument going on within him before his shoulders relaxed and he obviously gave in. “I’ll call Lucy and have her take you down.”

I blinked. No way had I thought it would be that easy. “Really?”

I placed my now-half-empty cup down on the counter and strode over to him, winding my arms around his neck. “That wasn’t so difficult, was it?” I pressed against his warm body, rubbing my cheek against his.

A low rumble escaped from his chest. “You’re making it harder,” he muttered.

I laughed. He’d given me what I wanted. From the thick erection poking at my stomach, he needed something too. I could afford to be generous. And since he’d denied me the ability to really play with him last night, I wanted to now.

I slipped my hand into the waistband of his shorts and grasped his cock.

“You’re playing a dangerous game,” he warned me. “If you want to get going, you’d better do it before I change my mind.”

“I didn’t say it had to be this second,” I murmured, pulling his shorts down at the same time I went to my knees.

I glanced up at him. His eyes were dark, his jaw tight. “You need to relax,” I said, gliding my hand up and down his long, thick length, trying not to be too overwhelmed by the size.

Lance, thank God, hadn’t liked oral sex—in either direction—and to be honest, neither had I. Gabe had completely altered my perception of the act, and I wanted to give this to him. I needed to.

His hand came to rest on the top of my head at the same time I leaned forward and licked at the round head, already leaking. He groaned, and his touch turned into a firm grip on the back of my head. I moaned at his commanding touch at the same time I encased as much of him as I could inside my mouth.

I can’t say I knew what I was doing, especially not in this position. The few times with Lance had been early in our relationship, and he’d been lying on the bed. Instinct had guided me to my knees with Gabe, and instinct had me licking and sucking him now.

“You’re so damned good with that mouth, baby,” he said, the praise in his tone only making me want to keep going, to please him more.

I pulled him in deeper, inhaling his rich, musky scent as I slid my tongue up and down the length, grazing him lightly with my teeth.

He groaned and thrust forward, the head of his cock hitting the back of my throat. My eyes watered, but I wanted to give him as much pleasure as he’d given me.

“Relax, kitten. You can take me if you do.”

His words and the certainty in his voice both inspired me and eased my sudden panic, and I did as he said, surprised when, with his next thrust forward, I was able to relax and swallow around him.

His big body shuddered, and his hand tightened in my hair. A steady pumping of his hips followed, and I managed to lick, suck, and take him deep each time.

Above me, he swore, shook, and I knew he was close. Without warning, he pulled out, reached down, and lifted me into his arms. “What’s wrong?”

“Not coming anywhere but inside you,” he muttered, backing me into the wall. He lifted my short robe and slammed into me on a rough groan, filling me completely.

I closed my eyes at the sheer rightness of the moment, but he tugged at my hair. “Look at me.”

No sooner had I opened my eyes than he pulled out and thrust back in, picking up a fast and furious rhythm that had me bucking between Gabe and the wall. Pressure built quickly, no doubt from the sheer intensity of how much he wanted me. It was intoxicating, knowing I made him so out of control and that I responded in exactly the same way.

I felt him, so big and hot inside me, pounding hard on my clit and hitting that spot inside me with every thrust home. I was so close, light-headed, everything whirling around me, as my world narrowed to just this. Me and Gabe and the perfection we created.

He twisted his hips, and I barely recognized the sound that came from my throat. “Oh God. More, harder.” I dug my nails into his back, pulling him into me, grinding myself against him as I spun out of control, pleasure overtaking every inch of me, every pore. “Gabe!”

“Fuck, Iz, need you,” he groaned, his sweat-slickened body gliding up against mine. “Need you.”

I pulled at his hair as I climaxed again—or was it still—and felt the hot spurt of him as he came inside me, finally stilling. His body held me in place, my breath coming in long gasps, his breath hot against my neck. Eventually he lifted me into his arms, slowly eased me to the floor, waiting until my legs were steady enough to hold me.

I excused myself and went to the bedroom to fix myself up. When I returned, he’d pulled his shorts back on and led me outside to the deck that overlooked the beach. A gorgeous stretch of sand extended to the clear blue water beyond. In front of me, breakfast had been laid out for us. Fruit and croissants and, blessedly, more coffee.

He pulled me onto his lap, wrapping me in his arms. Even though it was hot outside, the ocean beyond provided a breeze, and I didn’t mind being cuddled against him. In fact, I loved it.

I leaned against Gabe’s chest and relaxed, breathing in the salty air. “It’s gorgeous here.”

“I’m glad you came.”

He sounded like the admission hadn’t come easily. “Me too.” And I was. If we could find a compromise that let me feel independent, maybe we had a chance.

My stomach chose that moment to growl unattractively. I squirmed to move away, but he held fast. He picked up a piece of fruit and held it for me. “Open.”

I blinked. “Gabe, I can feed myself.”

“Humor me,” he said in a gruff voice. “I called Lucy, and she’s going to be here soon, at which point, she’ll keep you occupied for who knows how long.” He dangled the juicy-looking melon from his fingers.

I smiled and ate the cantaloupe, making sure to nip at his fingers as I did. “Watch yourself or you’ll end up skipping breakfast,” he said on a growl.

I grinned. “Promises, promises.”

He shook his head and held up another piece. The meal continued in comfortable silence, odd considering a man was feeding me and I’d had more sex in the last twelve hours than in my entire life.

“Tell me about your family,” Gabe said, taking me completely off guard.

“What? Why?” I never spoke about them. I didn’t see the point, and if nothing else, it was embarrassing to explain how unwanted I’d always been.

“What exactly do you think I want from you, Isabelle? If it was just sex, I could get that anywhere,” he said, a touch of hurt sounding beneath the gruff words.

I glanced down. “I don’t know.”

He blew out an obviously frustrated breath. “I want to know you better. So talk to me. You had no one to turn to when you left Daltry. I want to know why.”

I pulled up the walls that had kept me protected for most of my life and spoke in a detached voice. I liked to pretend my past belonged to someone else. It didn’t hurt as much that way. “I was a mistake. My parents didn’t want me, so I don’t have a relationship with them. What time is Lucy coming to get me?” I asked, attempting to pull off his lap.

He wasn’t letting me go. “I’m sorry. That’s an awful thing to know.”

“Yes, it is. But at least I know what to expect from people. I mean them,” I amended, not wanting him to realize how deep some hurts ran.

He stroked my hair, probably in an effort to get me to relax against him again, but he’d destroyed the moment.

“I’m assuming that when Daltry turned on the charm, you believed you’d found the one thing you were missing. Someone who cared. Who loved you.”

A painful lump rose in my throat. “I don’t want to talk about this.”

“I do,” he said in that compelling voice. “Because I also have a feeling this is exactly why you don’t believe I have your best interests at heart. Because nobody before me ever has.”

Real tears threatened, then fell, splashing on his golden chest. “Damn you,” I muttered. “Do you want to talk, Gabe? Do you want to tell me who
she
was?” I looked up, wanting to see his expression.

“She who?” His voice sounded cold, and I shivered.

What a joke, I thought. Exactly as I’d thought, he pushed me to open up but was unwilling to do the same. “You know who. The last stray you took in.”

I remembered his brother’s words in the police station. They’d stayed with me and helped me find the courage to leave. I didn’t want to be anyone’s pet project. Someone he could keep and feed and feel sorry for.

“She has nothing to do with us.”

“Oh, but my past, my parents, do?” I pushed hard against his chest, and this time he let me go. I started for the sliding door to the penthouse.

“Isabelle, come back here.” His tone said he expected me to obey.

“I told you I do what
I
want. And if you can’t share in return, it doesn’t matter what you want from this relationship,” I informed him. “It’s over.” I stormed inside only to see the elevator doors open and Lucy step out.

“Good morning,” I muttered and headed directly for the master bedroom. I took a fast shower, then dressed in a bathing suit and cover up, with a pair of flip-flops that looked as expensive as they were.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, I thought. I shouldn’t have spent the money. I knew it had belonged to Gabe. I shouldn’t even have come here.

Without looking at the terrace, where I heard Lucy and Gabe’s raised voices, I hit the elevator button. If the man couldn’t open up about himself, how did I expect to have a relationship with him, never mind maintain my independence? What I wanted from Gabe was … what?

The doors opened. I stepped into the open elevator and turned in time to meet Gabe’s shuttered gaze before the closing doors cut off contact. I headed for the privacy of the beach. I wanted to be alone. Later, I would have to find someone who could direct me to Joely and a way to get off this island.

But as I walked through the hotel, the question in my head remained. What did I want from him? Unfortunately, I knew. I wanted what I’d been pushing down and away since I’d realized Lance was a selfish prick who would never love me. I wanted a family. A man who loved me unconditionally, and kids we loved, who were wanted the way I never had been. And even if I’d never expressed it or even allowed myself to formulate the thought before, I’d wanted it with Gabe.

Chapter Fourteen

Gabe: Protect and Defend

“Y
ou idiot!” Lucy yelled at him. “Only you could drive away a woman on an island called Eden!”

Gabe pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. “Stay out of it, Lucy.”

She laughed. “As if. If I leave it to you, you’ll screw up a sure thing. What’s happened? What did you do to her?”

Well, he’d started by digging into her painful childhood and forcing her to open up, and he’d ended by shutting her out when she’d asked him to do the same.

“Okay, I’ll guess. You told her you’d been married?”

“I wouldn’t tell her anything,” he muttered.

Lucy clapped slowly, applauding his idiocy. “I get it. She asked, you shut down.”

If he didn’t explain, she’d just keep talking, and he already had a splitting headache. “I pressed about her past and forced answers—”

“And then you wouldn’t give up anything in return. Oh, good job, big brother.” She picked up a piece of cantaloupe and popped it into her mouth.

All Gabe could think about was Isabelle sitting on his lap, curled into him as if she belonged, allowing him to take care of her. Yes, he had this caretaker streak, but it wasn’t about strays. It was more about making sure the people he loved got what they needed, just like he’d done for Lucy and Decklan when their parents had … died. His thoughts careened to a stop, backing up to one word.
Love
.

Did he love Isabelle?

Want, desire, an all-consuming need to protect and defend. He hadn’t touched a woman since she’d come into his life. Really come into his life that night at the police station. In the three months alone, he’d turned Naomi away when she’d tried for a second chance, something he wouldn’t be informing Isabelle of.

He hadn’t used a condom, and she hadn’t mentioned birth control either. In his mind, it hadn’t mattered. He didn’t plan on letting her go.