The Rebound Pact (13 page)

“I won’t have you working like that at the bistro. You’ll have days off and
we’ll only be open for dinner, except for Sunday brunch.” He stroked her shoulder in tingling circles. “What the hell were you doing working so much?”

“We were open for brunch through dinner
seven days a week. I was the head chef, had to prepare all the meals, do the ordering. The pastry chef quit, and my boss was taking her sweet time hiring someone else, so in order to get all the bread and desserts baked, it was an early morning for me every day for the last month or so. My sous and prep chefs were a god send though, or else I might have dropped from exhaustion.”

“Damn.
Bad enough that you worked seven days a week, but the hours… Wow. That is ridiculous.” He shook his head, his fingers swirling over her collarbone, sending quakes of desire careening through her with his simple little touches.

“Now, you see why I say leaving was for the best?”
She pressed her hand to his thigh.

“Yeah, I do.”

She smiled, and stroked over his hard abdomen and chest. He sucked in his breath at her touch.

“W
ant to taste my—”

He cut her off.
“I thought you’d never ask.” He pressed his lips to hers, kissing her with a demanding, carnal need.

Slowly he lowered her back to the couch and kissed his way to her breasts. He yanked up her t-shirt and pulled aside her lacy white bra to lick and tease her nipple
s. Gabrielle arched her back, wanting more of what he had to give. He stroked over the planes of her body as if memorizing each and every curve. Soft moans escaped her. This was what she needed to feel—pleasure, ecstasy, to forget the pain of the world and just enjoy herself for a moment in the arms of this man.

He fumbl
ed with the button of her jeans and her zipper, then yanked them down her thighs, leaning back on his heels. She wanted his mouth back on hers. Her nipples were hard, aching and the soft evening wind blew against their surface, wet from his kisses.

He slipped off her flats,
then slowly pulled off her pants one leg at a time.

“Another pair of hot panties…” he said, trailing his fingers over the sheer white lace. “
Where should we toss these?”

Gabrielle
laughed. “If I leave all my panties here I won’t have any left.”

“Fine by me.”
He laughed and peeled away the revealing thong and threw them behind him.

She was already wet, her clit tingling and ready for him to make her come.

“Now for cake.” He spread her thighs wide, skimming his pointer finger over her clit and down to her slit. He slipped inside slowly, and hissed a breath.

She moaned softly, lifting her hips.

“God, Gabrielle, you’re already so wet for me.” He tossed one of the cushions on the ground and hooked her thighs over his shoulders as he kneeled on the cushion. “I’ve been waiting for my dessert all night.”

She clenched her teeth, her breaths coming in short, eager pants as he kissed the inside of her thighs, his hands softly stroking her thighs, her belly. Then he blew a hot breath over her sex, his thumbs gently peeling back her folds, exposing her clit.

“Oh, yes, there it is,” he whispered. His tongue slipped out, flicking over the sensitive flesh, then snaking around and around, up and down, until she gasped, writhing in pleasure. He lapped her up like melted ice cream, paying attention to not only her clit, but her lips, and tunneling his tongue inside her. He tongue fucked her for several thrusts, then licked back up to her clit, sucking it gently.

Every nerve in her body sang with pleasure, reaching out for more. Reaching out for the finish, for the earth-shattering orgasm his attention promised.

She raked her hands through his hair, pulling him closer, pushing him away and pulling him back again. Her legs quivered uncontrollably and she sought to still them by clenching his head between her thighs.

He quickened his pace, adding his fingers, thrusting them deep inside her as he sucked her clit.
And then there it was. She shrieked, bucking upward as her body tore apart in a deluge of ecstasy. She rode the high waves as if she’d never come down.

As her orgasm subsided, he slowly pull
ed away, kissing her inner thigh as he went. “My turn.”

He stood up, shucked his clothes faster than she’d ever seen it done. He wrenched a condom from his pocket, but she shook her head.

“You’re right, it’s your turn. Sit down.”

Holden’s eyes widened as she stood, and nudged him to take her spot
on the couch. She took the condom and tossed it on the table, then knelt on the cushions, taking his straining shaft in her hand. He was thick, hard and drop of moisture glistened on the tip.

“I like dessert
, too,” she whispered.

She dipped down, swirling her tongue around the tip, before plunging her mouth down his length. Holden
sucked in a breath through his teeth, his hands threading through her hair. She bobbed up and down, sucking his cock, and using her hand to stroke in the opposite direction of her mouth, creating a friction that had him panting. With her other hand she stroked up his chest, lightly scratching.

He pumped his hips up in time with her movements, but abruptly he stopped, pulling her off his cock.
He crashed his mouth down on hers, a hot, completely stimulating kiss. She wanted to swallow him whole.

“I want to finish inside you.” His voice was low, husky with need.

Gabrielle nodded, picked up the condom from the table and unwrapped it. She slid it over the head of his cock and rolled it down his length.

“Ride me.” His eyes were heavily-lidded, as he devoured her in one glance.

“With pleasure.” She straddled his lap, gripped his erection and slowly guided him inside her. Her head fell back as she took him all the way inside.

“Oh, yes,” he said, his hands resting on her hips
, then stroking upward to massage her breasts.

Slowly he pumped upward and she
undulated her hips with each thrust, rubbing her clit against his pelvis. Frissons of pleasure fired from within her core outward. Holden leaned forward, kissing her breasts, sucking her nipples, and then to her mouth. They moved slowly, letting each thrust be felt inch by inch.

“I’m so close, but I don’t want to stop,” he said against her lips.

“Me, too.” Her thighs shook, and she had to concentrate on rocking back and forth to keep herself from riding him hard.

But as slow as they tried to go, passion soon took hold and they both lost control. Holden thrust upward, faster and faster and she rolled her hips back and forth, bounced up and down, then back and forth again.

“Oh, God, Gabrielle…” he groaned.

She couldn’t speak except to gasp again and again.
And then to scream as she came.

“Yeah, baby!”
Holden ground out, pistoning upward with quick, short strokes. His fingers dug into her hips as he shuddered. “Fuck, yeah…”

She collapsed against him, allowing herself to bask in the afterglow of sex this time instead of rushing off toward home.
They lay there staring at the stars for several moments, taking in the brilliance that had been their love making once more.

“How about some real cake?” he said beneath her.

Gabrielle sat up, her craving for something sweet intense. She smiled against his neck and kissed him. “Naked cake?”

He laughed. “Is there any other way?”

She rolled off of him and grabbed the two plates. They sat beneath the stars, naked as sin and ate their cake and drank their wine. And laughed.

Not like rebound sex laughs
. No, this was like two people who were close.

Which of course set
Gabrielle on edge. But she pushed away her feelings of anxiety, refusing to feel anything other than pleasure with Holden.

Chapte
r
Nine

H
olden trekked from barrel to barrel in the fermentation room, checking dates, levels and tasting various barrels to make sure they were aging properly and bringing forth each wine’s own special characters.

And he checked his watch every five minutes.

Gabrielle would be here soon.

Today they were going to go over the equipment.
Together. Just the two of them.

And after last night, he wasn’t sure it was safe to be in a room alone with her. Every time he thought about her,
he saw her rise and fall above him, head thrown back, breasts bouncing as she rode him. He couldn’t get the sweet scent of her off of him. It was ingrained in his memory. Hell, even walking down the road to the winery from his house, when he’d passed a bunch of honeysuckle he found himself turning in circles to find her.

It was a problem, a big problem.

After what Lacy did to him, he swore he wasn’t going to date again for a long time. The number she’d pulled on him was harsh. He’d needed the comfort of an old friend’s arms, and the comfort of knowing what they did was just for rebound. But that comfort was growing into something different—unease, because he felt more for her than friendship. And he wasn’t sure if he was ready for that. Or if she even felt he same way.

Holden stare
d at the barrel in front of him.

Max’s warning rang out loud in clear in his mind. The man was right normally, but things were different
in this case, with Gabrielle. He liked to think that maybe
he
was different now. No longer a player.

Except Lacy extolled
the many ways in which he was not the marrying kind. Gabrielle deserved a man she could count on. Not because he cared anymore about what Lacy thought, but because of what her words represented to his relationship with Gabrielle.

The click of heels pulled him from his thoughts. He turned around to find
Gabrielle standing behind him, a cheerful smile on her face. She was dressed in a sleek pair of white slacks, a teal-colored sleeveless button down blouse that hugged her figure, and unbuttoned enough that he caught a flash of cleavage with each move. The silver necklace she wore had a wine glass charm that settled between her breasts. He took a deep breath, looking her up and down. He smiled when he spied her toenails—painted a shade of tomato—peeking from beneath her pants in matching teal peep-toe heels.

“Morning,” she said.

“Morning.”

She cocked her head to the right. “What are you doing?”

He glanced down at the barrel. “Checking dates.”

“Why?”

“We have a few barrels that will be ready for bottling soon, so I was checking to see which ones.”

She stepped forward and glanced down.
“Doesn’t look like this is one of them.”

“Huh?” He glanced down. He’d been so absorbed in his thoughts he’d pulled down one of the specialty
vintages. The date clearly was marked for the following month. He chuckled, then worked the barrel back into its spot amongst the others.

“Were you about to open that?” Her eyebrows were raised as she studied him, looking more than a little concerned.

“No, I…” He trailed off, raked his hand through his hair and then swiped his hand over his face. “I was just counting down the days. I’m really excited for the new series.”

“Me too.
Belinda was telling me about it the other day. It sounds like it will be a hit, and after I taste it, I’m going to come up with a specialty dish for both the red and the white.”

“That’s awesome.” He nodded.
Man, she was really something. “Yeah, I like that idea.”

“
What’s wrong?” She touched his arm, his flesh burning where her hand landed.

He glanced into her eyes, swallowing hard. “
Gabrielle, I—” What the fuck was he supposed to say? He was starting to get angry with himself. He was acting like a major puss. He couldn’t handle casual sex? Was that it? “Just something Max said.”

She laughed. “Did he warn you not to touch me?”

Holden rolled his eyes. “Among other things.”

“He said the same thing to me. He’s so paranoid.” She stepped closer, her breast touching his arm. “Guess he doesn’t realize that we’re way beyond just touching,” she whispered.
“He’d have a conniption if he found out we were screwing like bunnies.”

His cock jumped, straining against the line of his zipper. Amazing how she could do that to him.

Gabrielle made it sound so simple. She also made it clear she didn’t harbor stronger feelings from him. She was in it for the rebound. He had to get control of himself, or else he’d be storming away from her like he did all those years ago. Making a big deal out of nothing. Embarrassing himself.

He plastered an arrogant smile on his lips and pulled her into his arms. He tamped down his emotions, just letting his body feel hers as she slid against him. “I guess what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”