The Heartbreaker Series: Books 1-3 (5 page)

I hurry to get his beer. I hand it to him and turn to head back to get dressed, but he stops me by placing one of his hands on my arm. I look up at him. He brushes my hair out of my face and leans in. His lips brush softly against mine.

“Thanks, baby,” he whispers. It takes a second to register what just happened and then I turn and hightail it back to my bedroom. I stick my hand down my panties and sure enough I’m wet.
God, what is wrong with me?

I grab my little black dress out of the closet and lay it on the bed. I slip out of my robe and moisturize my body before I slip the dress on. The dress is a little shorter than mid-thigh. It shows off my curves, and the back drapes down, exposing a great deal of my back. I opt for no bra, but the dress has built-in cups so my breasts can still look perky. I smooth it down and admit I feel completely sexy. I grab my black, patent leather slingbacks and slide my feet into them.

I top off the ensemble with a simple, silver chain around my neck with my nickname, Jazzy, hanging from it. I add some silver bangles and then put in my diamond stud earrings. I quickly spritz myself in my favorite perfume.

I take a deep breath and make my way out into the living room.

Chapter Four

Jasmine

When I step into living room, I find Gabe looking at the pictures on top of my entertainment center and bookshelf. I walk up next to him and see the picture he has in his hands. It’s my favorite photo of Jordan, my mom, and me.

“You look like your mom,” he says, his voice all deep and rumbly.

“I do. My brother and I were three in that picture. My mom loves the zoo. We go every year and have for as long as I can remember.” He turns and looks me up and down. I feel goose bumps break out all over my skin. He grabs my hand and drags me toward the door.

“Wait, I need my clutch.” He grabs it for me and again rushes me out the door. In a matter of seconds, we’re down the steps and walking toward his car. “What’s your hurry?”

We stop at the passenger door. He grips my chin and forces me to look him in the eye. “You look so fucking beautiful. I knew if I didn’t get you out of there, I was going to end up fucking you before dinner.”

He chuckles at my gasp. I’ve never had a man talk to me the way he does. He’s so honest with me about what he wants that it’s unnerving.

He helps me inside his car and then shuts the door for me. I buckle up as I watch him move around the car and get into the driver’s side. I’m immediately assailed by the scent of him. My mouth starts to water and I feel a tingling sensation in my nether regions.
You’re such a whore.
No man has warranted this sort of reaction from me. Why him? Why am I, all of a sudden, acting like some sixteen-year-old boy whose hormones are going crazy?

We make the trip through downtown St. Louis in relative silence. He rests his hand on my upper thigh and rubs his calloused thumb back and forth against my skin. His touch is soothing and it causes me to melt into the seat.

Before long, we’re pulling up into the parking lot of Furio’s Italian Cuisine. A man in a suit stands by the hostess station and smiles as we approach. Gabe gives him his name. With a hand on the small of my back, we follow the host as we’re led to a little half booth. Gabe holds my hand as I slide in with him following me. He’s sitting so close to me, our legs are touching.

Once we’re settled in the booth, the host places menus in front of us. He tells us the name of our waiter and leaves. Gabe grabs my hand and brings it to his lips. “So, how long have you been modeling?”

“Since a few months after I turned eighteen. My brother met Roger, the photographer, and then he introduced me and everything just sort of happened. Jordan used to do some modeling as well, but he likes being behind the camera better. I used a lot of that money to pay for school. I didn’t want the student loans or the worry of how I was going to pay them back. It also afforded me the ability to focus solely on my schoolwork.” I wonder if Jill told him how old I am. “You do know that I’m twenty-two, right? I wasn’t sure if Jill told you that, but if that’s going to be an issue—”

He covers my lips with his fingers.

“Jasmine, I know how old you are. Does it bother you that I’m thirty-eight?” He moves his fingers away from my lips.

Does it bother me that he’s thirty-eight? Not really. It bothers me more that he has this intensity that sucks me in. I shake my head and he gives me that slow, sexy smile. Before we can talk more, our waiter shows up and we order drinks and an appetizer. As soon as the man walks away, Gabe grabs my hand again.

We make small talk until our drinks and appetizers come. In the meantime, we order our meals as well. He tells me about the life he had in California and when he was a tight end for the football team in Chicago.

I take a sip of my vodka tonic. “I can’t believe it. One bad hit and your football career was over? I’m so sorry.”

“It was honestly one of the most painful things that has ever happened to me. It took three surgeries and I still wound up with a partial knee replacement. For a long time, I couldn’t walk without crutches. I only got to play pro ball for a couple of years, but I got a lot of field time, so I’m not going to complain.”

I can’t imagine what that would be like. You get to live your dream, but an injury takes it all away. It just doesn’t seem fair. I wrap both of my hands around his and squeeze it. “But you’re okay now?” Did the hit have any lasting effects?

His eyes soften and suck me into the weird vortex that the brown pools begin to turn into. “Yeah, I’m okay. Sometimes, when it rains, my knee gets stiff, but that’s why I exercise and keep up my strength. That seems to help.”

Our food arrives and again conversation is light as we both dig in to our dishes. I don’t indulge, but I also don’t deny myself the foods I love. I cut into my chicken piccata and as soon as the lemony flavor hits my tongue, I can’t help but moan. I open my eyes to find Gabe watching me.

“Sorry,” I mutter and look down at my plate. How embarrassing. We finish eating in a comfortable silence. I’m just happy to make it through my meal without any more orgasmic moaning.

Gabe orders crème brûlée and a glass of port for each of us. He drapes his arm behind me on the booth. He angles his body so he’s looking directly at me. “Tell me more about your mom.”

His request catches me off guard. I thought, for sure, he was going to spend the whole evening trying to get into my panties, but instead he’s been sweet, attentive, and easy to talk to. He isn’t supposed to be a nice guy. He’s not supposed to make it hard to resist him.

“Well, hmm…where to start? Well, my mom got sick right after my brother and I were born. It was brain damage caused by encephalitis. My grandma told me that they thought she wasn’t going to make it. She was in a coma for the first month of our lives. When she woke up, they knew right away that she wasn’t the same. I guess right after she woke up, my father decided he couldn’t handle us, so he split.

“The first year was the hardest on my poor grandparents. Mom had to learn to do a lot of things again and they were dealing with two babies. I used to wonder why they never gave us up for adoption, but they toughed it out. She was always more like our big sister than our mom. We were ten when we learned the reason we were a special family.”

The waiter brings our dessert. Gabe scoops up some of the delicious custard and holds it out to me. I close my lips around the spoon and savor the creamy deliciousness. When I swallow, I open my eyes to find him watching me.

He grabs my chin and tips my lips up to his. His kiss is gentle. It’s teasing at first, but quickly turns heated. I grip his thigh and I feel the muscles tense beneath my hands. I don’t know how long we go at it. It doesn’t even bother me, but we’re interrupted when our waiter comes to see if we’re enjoying our dessert. I know my face is red because it feels like it’s on fire. I try to hide behind Gabe’s larger body while he tells the waiter our dessert is fine.

When the waiter walks away, we both laugh. He looks even more beautiful when he laughs. I don’t even think when I lean forward and kiss him gently on the underside of his chin. I realize what I’ve done and pull back. He licks his lower lip and I squeeze my thighs together. Normally, that action would make me roll my eyes because it usually reminds me of a sleazy guy, but not this time. Now I want to shove the table out of the way and climb on top of him.

I pick up the spoon, scoop up some of our dessert, and hold the spoon up to him. He holds my gaze as he leans forward and wraps his lips around the spoon until the custard is gone. Back and forth, we feed each other until all the crème brûlée is gone.

He lets me out of the booth so I can use the bathroom. On shaky legs, I make my way down the hall, enter the ladies room, and quickly relieve myself.

I wash my hands and look myself over in the mirror. I lean against the counter and sigh. We’ll be leaving the restaurant soon and I have no idea what I’m doing or what he’s going to want. Part of me wants to go home and hide, but the other part wants whatever he’s willing to give.

“Live a little,” I whisper to myself. I take a deep breath and leave the bathroom. When I turn the corner, I see Gabe standing next to our table.

“Let’s go,” he says.

He wraps his arm around my waist and I do the same as we make our way toward the exit. It’s not hard to believe that every woman in the place is staring at him with lustful eyes. He definitely stands out. Even in heels, I feel small next to him. It’s drizzling when we step outside. He drags me back inside.

“Stay here while I get the car.”

I watch him, well, maybe just his ass, as he runs down the steps to the parking lot. A minute later, he pulls up at the bottom of the steps. I hurry outside and down the steps. Gabe, being the gentleman he seems to be, meets me at the passenger door and quickly guides me in. He shuts the door as soon as I’m safely inside. I wipe my sweaty palms on the skirt of my dress as I watch him walk around the front and climb in next to me.

He stops at the edge of the parking lot and looks at me. “My place or yours?”

I bite my lip and whisper, “Yours.”

“I’m glad you said that.” His voice seems deeper. I don’t get much time to think about it before he’s pulling out of the lot and heading toward the expressway.

The tension is thick and the silence is unnerving. I’m staring out the passenger side window when I feel his hand on my thigh. He slips his hand under the skirt of my dress and rubs my sensitive skin. He inches closer to my pussy and I feel myself get wetter. My legs, of their own free will, open enough to give him more room.

Gabe reaches my panties and slips his fingers underneath. My chest rises and falls faster when he finds my clit and begins rubbing it. My hips move rhythmically as my orgasm begins to build. I stare blindly ahead of me as I feel one of his thick fingers enter me. I wrap my hand around his wrist and hold it there as I begin to come and come hard. My cries fill the inside of his car as he slowly brings me back down. Too soon, his fingers are gone and I watch, mesmerized, as he brings his wet fingers up to his mouth. He licks and sucks my arousal off and my insides clench.

I should feel embarrassed about what just happened, but I don’t. Instead, I’m so turned on I can barely see straight.

Minutes later, we reach his home and butterflies start flitting around in my stomach. I’m not some naïve virgin, but I have a feeling that he’s going to do things to my body that I’ve never dreamed of. I’m scared, yet excited. I just have to remind myself this is just sex. It can’t be anything more. I can’t let him into my heart. He’d crush it and never look back. Do I know that for sure? No, but I just can’t risk it.

He pulls into the garage and comes around to my side to help me out.

With an arm around my waist, he leads me into his home and through the dark into his family room. We sit down on the sectional. I’m nervous all of a sudden. I start to fidget under his intimidating stare.

I don’t have to wonder if he knows I’m nervous because he strokes my cheek and whispers, “You have nothing to be nervous about. Whatever you want is what will happen. I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

That eases my nerves, but only a little. He smiles as I sink into the sectional and excuses himself so he can get us a drink.

As soon as he’s out of the room, I take a deep breath and try to let go of my nerves. I hear ice falling into a glass and know that he’ll be returning any minute. Sure enough, just seconds later, he sits down next to me and hands me my glass. “It’s a vodka tonic.”

I thank him and take a sip, letting the bubbles from the tonic water tickle my tongue. He sips from a tumbler full of an amber liquid. I can’t help but watch his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he takes a drink.

The alcohol calms my nerves and I start to relax. He takes my drink from me and sets it down on the coffee table. When he turns back to me, the look on his face can only be described as one thing…hungry.

He extends his hand and signals to me in a come hither motion with his index finger. I don’t think. I just slide over until I’m flush against him. His natural musk invades my senses and I feel that familiar throb starting up again between my legs.

Before I can react, he picks me up and sets me on his lap until I’m straddling him. I can feel his hardened dick as my weight rests in his lap. Jeez, he’s big. I’m not sure if he’ll fit because I’ve never been with someone of his size before. I don’t say anything as he slides his hands under my dress and slowly pulls it up and off.

I forget that I don’t have a bra on until I watch his eyes drift up to my breasts. I swear he growls before he sucks one tip into his mouth. Embarrassment forgotten, I throw my head back and moan as Gabe switches to the other nipple.

He grabs my hips and grinds up against me. Even with my panties on and his pants between us, I can feel his throbbing cock. He lets go of my nipple with a pop and begins to kiss his way up my neck until he reaches my lips.

The man kisses me like I’ve always dreamed of being kissed. His tongue mimics the act of sex as my hands slide into his hair. I grip his hair and tug on it a little. He growls into my mouth. His hand slides into my hair and he grips a handful of it at the base. I know it’s coming, but when he tugs it hard, I cry out.