Rush (25 page)

“Shall we go?”

Gabe held out his arm and she went ahead of him, his hand pressed to her back as he let them out of his office. They said their good-byes to Eleanor who was preparing to leave as well and then they ran into Ash at the elevator.

Mia’s heart plummeted. Wasn’t he supposed to be at a dinner meeting with Jace? God, what if he’d tried to go into Gabe’s office? Had he been there and found it locked? Worse, could he have heard anything?

“Ash, I thought you were with Jace,” Gabe said easily.

Ash grinned and Mia marveled at how damn good-looking the man was.

“Forgot a folder with important info on the people we’re meeting for dinner. Jace is schmoozing and giving my excuses for being unavoidably detained.”

Mia snorted. “Jace schmoozing? That’s your forte, Ash. How on earth did you finagle being the one to retrieve the folder? He’s probably about to crawl out of his skin right now.”

Ash chucked her on the chin and then pulled her into a squeeze. “Missed you, kiddo. And yeah, I didn’t give Jace a choice. I cut and run before he could be snarly.”

She hugged Ash back, comforted by his obvious affection for her. Until today, it had been a good while since she’d been with Ash or Jace. She missed that. Missed their steady, reassuring
comfort. “Missed you too. It’s been too long, Ash. I was beginning to think you didn’t love me anymore.”

They got onto the elevator and Ash gave her a look of mock horror. “Not love you? I’d slay dragons and lay them at your feet. I adore you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t overdo the charm. You wouldn’t want to use it all up because it’s totally wasted on me.”

He slung an arm over her shoulders, grinning the entire while. “It doesn’t hurt to dream.” He gave a dramatic sigh. “One day, you’ll be mine.”

“Yeah, right after Jace removes your balls,” Gabe said darkly.

Ash winced, which only made him even more damn sexy. It was a shame she wasn’t attracted to him because he would be so good in bed. Flirty. Fun. Full-on down-and-dirty sex. But if the rumors were true and he and Jace tended to have sex with the same woman, that would be incredibly awkward…

She shuddered at the thought. There were just some things she didn’t need to know about her brother for God’s sake. And picturing him naked with Ash may well have ruined any appreciation she had for Ash. Which was sad, because the man did fuel some sigh-worthy moments.

“See you later tonight, Gabe,” Ash said as he broke from the elevator. “Jace awaits and if I don’t get there soon, he’ll run off the investors before I have a chance to charm them.”

Gabe held up a hand in a wave and Mia called back a good-bye. Then Gabe ushered her into his car for the ride to his apartment.

“You’re seeing Ash tonight?” Mia asked when they settled in for the ride. “So are we not going out?”

Gabe’s lips tightened. “You’re going to dinner with me, as planned. I have to meet Jace and Ash around nine for drinks.”

“Oh,” she said, wondering what that was about. But it wasn’t as if it weren’t a normal occurrence. When all three were in town
and not traveling in different directions, they spent a lot of time together.

And she supposed if that changed all of a sudden along with the timing of her coming to work for Gabe, it may set off some alarms with Jace especially.

“What should I wear?” she asked, changing the topic.

Gabe’s gaze fell on her, sweeping up and down until she may as well have been naked.

“One of your new dresses. The black one with the slit up the thigh.”

She lifted her eyebrows. “Going fancy tonight?”

He didn’t react. His expression was inscrutable. “I’m going to take you for a nice, quiet dinner and dancing. Good music, good food, beautiful woman. Not much more a man can ask for.”

She went warm with pleasure at his compliment. Her smile was quick and his lips quirked almost as if he couldn’t help but react to her pleasure.

Then his expression grew serious. “You’re not just a beautiful woman, Mia. I don’t want you to ever forget that. You’re more than that. Don’t ever let me take so much there’s nothing left.”

His cryptic warnings were growing in frequency. She wasn’t sure what to make of them. Was he warning her or himself? Gabe was an enigma. She never really was certain what he was thinking unless they were having sex. That was a no-brainer. She knew exactly what his thoughts were then.

When they arrived at his apartment, they went up and Mia disappeared into the bathroom to ready herself. If they were going fancier, she wanted to wow Gabe. She wanted to appear sophisticated. Like she belonged at his side.

She curled her hair and then arranged it in an elegant upsweep, allowing a few curls to fall loosely at her nape and down the sides of her neck. She applied light makeup, going with
mascara and a pale lip gloss that made her lips shine but not appear overly dramatic. There was something to be said for less is more. The art of wearing makeup was to appear as though you were wearing none at all.

Her dress was wow worthy. She still couldn’t believe how she looked in it. With the tall heels, she had enough height to carry off the long dress with the daring slit. Her legs appeared long and shapely with the aid of the shoes.

Even though Gabe had bitched about the backless dress she’d worn to the grand opening, he’d chosen this dress that only had two strings crisscrossing the back. The rest was bare and it dipped daringly low to hover just above her ass. The small of her back was enticing, just inviting a man’s hand to rest there.

She wore no bra and the bodice was form fitting enough she had no worries there, although the neckline dipped, as did the back of the dress, to hint at the upper swells of her breasts.

Evidently Gabe was in an interesting mood. He was usually quite snarly about anyone—especially other men—seeing her in anything remotely revealing. But tonight she looked and felt like a sexy beast. She liked the confidence it gave her.

When she exited the bathroom, Gabe was sitting on the edge of his bed waiting for her. His eyes flared with instant appreciation, causing her to do a twirl. She turned around, hands up, and then faced him again.

“Will I do?”

“Fuck yeah,” he growled.

As he stood, her gaze drifted appreciatively over him as well. The expensive three-piece suit made her mouth water. On another man, it would be boring. Staid almost. But on Gabe? It was divine. Black slacks. Black coat. White shirt with the top button unfastened. He looked expensive casual, like he didn’t give a fuck what anyone thought, and that just made him even sexier.

“I take it where we’re going a tie is optional?” she teased.

One half of his mouth turned up. “They bend the rules for me.”

And who wouldn’t? Who could possibly say
no
to Gabe Hamilton? Apart from the fact that he had more money than God, he had a natural charisma that drew women and men alike. They responded to him. Some feared him, others hated him, but everyone respected him.

“Would you like something to drink before we go?” Gabe asked.

She slowly shook her head. The longer they remained in his apartment, the more likely they were never to make it out to dinner. And she was looking forward to an actual date with him. So far there had been sex and work and not much else.

He held out his hand to her and she slipped her fingers through his. He tugged her toward the elevator and they rode down to get into his car.

On the way over, she battled over whether to bring the thing with Lisa up. She was dying of curiosity but she didn’t want to open a big can of worms either.

She glanced sideways at him and he caught her gaze, lifting his eyebrows in question.

“What?” he asked.

She hesitated and then figured she may as well take the plunge. He wouldn’t leave her alone until she spilled what was on her mind anyway.

“Uhm, Lisa…”

Before she could continue, Gabe’s face became like ice and he held up his hand, halting her in midsentence.

“I refuse to ruin a perfectly good evening by discussing my ex-wife,” he bit out.

Well. And that was that. And really, she wasn’t going to complain. She didn’t want to ruin their evening either. Even if she
was
dying of curiosity over what Gabe thought about the whole thing. And maybe a little frightened…

At the restaurant, they were taken to one of the back tables in a private alcove. It was perfect. The interior was dimly lit but candles burned at each of the tables, and an array of Christmas lights was strung through decorative shrubs, lending a festive, holiday feel. It made her long for Christmas.

She loved the holidays in the city. Jace had always taken her down to Rockefeller Center for the lighting of the Christmas tree. It was one of her favorite memories of him and her together.

“What are you thinking of?” Gabe asked.

She blinked and focused her attention on him. He was watching her, a curious expression on his face.

“You looked very happy. Whatever occupied your thoughts must have been good.”

She smiled. “I was thinking of Christmas.”

“Christmas?”

He looked baffled.

“Jace always took me down for the lighting of the tree. It’s one of my favorite memories with him. I love all the lights and the hustle and bustle of Christmas in the city. Love window-shopping and looking at all the displays. It’s the very best time of the year.”

He looked thoughtful for a moment and then shrugged. “Lisa and I always spent it in the Hamptons, and then when she and I divorced, I just worked through the holidays.”

She gaped at him. “Worked? You work during Christmas? Gabe, that’s terrible. You sound like Scrooge!”

“Pointless holiday.”

She rolled her eyes. “I wish I would have known. I would have made you spend it with Jace and me. No one should be alone at Christmas. I assumed you’d spend it with your parents.”

She broke off, biting her lip in consternation for bringing up a sore subject.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I wasn’t thinking.”

He gave her a rueful smile. “It’s okay. Apparently my father
has decided he’s fucked up and now he wants my mother back. Lord only knows how that’s going to go down.”

Her eyes widened. “He said that?”

“Oh yeah,” Gabe said with a weary sigh. “Over lunch when he came to the office. The day after his date was trying her best to get into my pants.”

Mia scowled and Gabe laughed.

“So what’s your mother going to do?” Mia asked.

“Hell if I know. If I had to guess, he hasn’t yet gone to grovel or I would have heard about it by now.”

“I don’t know that I could forgive him sleeping with all those women,” Mia said unhappily. “That had to hurt your mother terribly.”

“He says he wasn’t unfaithful.”

Mia gave him an
oh please
look.

He waved his hand. “I have no idea what he considers being unfaithful and I’m not sure it even matters if he didn’t sleep with them. The entire world thinks he did. My mother thinks he did. It’s not humiliation she’s going to get over soon.”

“This must be so difficult for you,” she said in a soft voice. What a sucky day all around. First his dad dropping the bomb, and then his ex-wife showing up just hours later.

He looked uncomfortable with her sympathy and glanced away, his eyes lightening with relief when the waiter approached with their entrees.

The seafood smelled divine as she sniffed appreciatively. The waiter set her grilled shrimp in front of her and Gabe’s blackened mahimahi in front of him.

“
Ohhh,
yours looks awesome,” she said.

He smiled and forked a bite, holding it over the table to her. She closed her mouth over it, holding it for just a moment as their gazes caught and held.

It was surprisingly intimate, his feeding her just that one bite.
He was staring at her mouth as he lowered his fork back to his plate.

She cut a piece of her shrimp and then offered him a sample as he’d done for her. He hesitated a moment but then allowed her to slide the bite into his mouth.

A little unsettled by how deeply affected she was by the exchange, she lowered her gaze to her plate and focused on eating her meal.

“Good?” Gabe asked several long minutes later.

She glanced up and smiled. “Delicious. I’m nearly stuffed!”

He lifted his napkin from his lap and dabbed at his mouth before tossing it down on the table. As soon as she lowered her fork and pushed back her plate, he rose and extended his hand to her.

“Let’s dance,” he murmured.

Feeling as fluttery as a teenager on her first date, Mia allowed him to pull her to her feet and lead her through the maze of tables to the area reserved for dancing.

He turned her toward him and tucked her tightly against him. There wasn’t an inch between them, and his hand splayed wide on her bare back, settling possessively just above where the material rested.

She let out a contented sigh and closed her eyes as Gabe rested his cheek to her temple. They were barely moving. Softly swaying to the strains of the music, wrapped up in one another. She could stay this way forever. She could fool herself into thinking that Gabe was truly hers. That their relationship transcended just sex.

It wouldn’t hurt to pretend for a little while. It may hurt later, but right now she was determined to live the fantasy.

His hand didn’t remain still just above her behind. He stroked and rubbed, caressing as they danced, his body molded tightly to hers. She turned her nose toward his neck, inhaling his scent. She
was so tempted to nibble at his ear and at the column of his neck. She loved the taste of him and she hadn’t had many opportunities to indulge because Gabe was always solidly in control when they had sex. Oh what she wouldn’t do for one night to explore him at will.

One song bled into another and they remained locked together, neither willing to break the intimacy that surrounded them, concealing them in the small space the two occupied.

She closed her eyes dreamily, swaying along with the music as Gabe held her tightly, his hand roaming her body. They were practically making love on the floor. Not sex. Not this torrid, all-consuming obsession that gripped them every time the clothes came off.