were loose, relaxed.”
She swallowed hard as his fingers kneaded the tight muscles of her right calf. Dear Lord, that felt good.
“Then,” he continued, “when I was sure you were in the zone, I’d move over there, slowly, making sure you knew my full intentions. You’d give me that fight-or-flight look of yours. I’d wait until you bit your lip in that way you do when you want to be kissed, because you would want to be kissed. That would be my cue to give you one, and I would, but only a teasing, fleeting pressure. Just enough to generate heat. When you’d gotten into it, I might want to taste that bottom lip myself.”
She closed her eyes as he dug more firmly into her calf. “You with me?” he murmured.
“Yes.” Her voice was low, thready, nothing like her.
“ Bene. Next, I’d put my mouth to that sensitive spot at the base of your neck, where your pulse is, because I know that works for you. Another one of those erogenous zones... and, in this hypothetical scenario, it’d be racing and you’d have that trickle of sweat dripping down into the cleft between your breasts, just like you do now. Which would prove irresistible to me, since I’m a big fan of that part of the female anatomy. I’d relieve you of your bikini top shortly after that.”
“Gabe—” She licked dry lips. “I think that’s enough.”
“Don’t you want to know how it ends?”
“No,” she croaked.
“Just a little more.” His eyes gleamed with humor and something, darker, primal. “So then I’d be aching to get my hands on you and I would put my hands on you. I’d take those beautiful breasts of yours into my palms like I did in my office, but this time I’d use my mouth on you and you’d arch into me and moan.” He lifted his broad shoulders. “At this point you’d be begging for me to touch you in other places and we’d pretty much have to make a call as to whether we go all hot and steamy and you let me—”
“Enough,” she broke in shakily. “I get the picture.”
“You sure? I was just getting to the good part.”
She waved her hand at him. “Who are you, anyway? Where did conservative Gabe go?”
He shook his head. “Never conservative in the bedroom, Lex.”
God. She pulled in an unsteady breath. “When, exactly, were you planning on stopping, just out of curiosity? ”
His gaze burned into hers. “I wasn’t.”
Heat slammed into her, hard and fast. She had the shocking feeling if she’d let him continue he could have made her do things...experience things completely out of her control. Just by talking to her...
She sank her fingers into the concrete ledge, poised to run for her life. Gabe’s hand came down on hers. Her heart careened into the wall of her chest as she stared at him.
“Stay. I think I’ve had enough.”
What? He levered himself out of the tub and flashed her one of those blinding smiles. “I’m going to go make sure no one’s using that name.”
She stared after him, pulse pounding, stomach in knots. Had he really just done that? Had she really just let him do that? She winced as another cramp hit her left arch and reached down to massage it.
Gabe was right about one thing. This had to end, one way or another. The scary thing was—her wild-child alter ego seemed to be making an extended appearance.
* * *
A loud thump woke Gabe.
He jackknifed into a sitting position and glanced at the clock. 2:00 a.m. What in Cristo’s name had that been?
A string of curses filled the air. Alex?
Heart in his mouth, he ran to the door, whipped it open and headed for the stairs, terrified she’d fallen down them. A glance down the winding staircase found her sitting at the bottom, holding her right arm cradled in her left. Merda.
“Stai bene?”
He ran down and knelt in front of her. Her face was white, her slim body trembling. His heart thumped hard in his chest. “Stai bene?” he asked again. She stared vacantly back at him. He was speaking in Italian. “Alex,”
She swallowed hard as his fingers kneaded the tight muscles of her right calf. Dear Lord, that felt good.
“Then,” he continued, “when I was sure you were in the zone, I’d move over there, slowly, making sure you knew my full intentions. You’d give me that fight-or-flight look of yours. I’d wait until you bit your lip in that way you do when you want to be kissed, because you would want to be kissed. That would be my cue to give you one, and I would, but only a teasing, fleeting pressure. Just enough to generate heat. When you’d gotten into it, I might want to taste that bottom lip myself.”
She closed her eyes as he dug more firmly into her calf. “You with me?” he murmured.
“Yes.” Her voice was low, thready, nothing like her.
“ Bene. Next, I’d put my mouth to that sensitive spot at the base of your neck, where your pulse is, because I know that works for you. Another one of those erogenous zones... and, in this hypothetical scenario, it’d be racing and you’d have that trickle of sweat dripping down into the cleft between your breasts, just like you do now. Which would prove irresistible to me, since I’m a big fan of that part of the female anatomy. I’d relieve you of your bikini top shortly after that.”
“Gabe—” She licked dry lips. “I think that’s enough.”
“Don’t you want to know how it ends?”
“No,” she croaked.
“Just a little more.” His eyes gleamed with humor and something, darker, primal. “So then I’d be aching to get my hands on you and I would put my hands on you. I’d take those beautiful breasts of yours into my palms like I did in my office, but this time I’d use my mouth on you and you’d arch into me and moan.” He lifted his broad shoulders. “At this point you’d be begging for me to touch you in other places and we’d pretty much have to make a call as to whether we go all hot and steamy and you let me—”
“Enough,” she broke in shakily. “I get the picture.”
“You sure? I was just getting to the good part.”
She waved her hand at him. “Who are you, anyway? Where did conservative Gabe go?”
He shook his head. “Never conservative in the bedroom, Lex.”
God. She pulled in an unsteady breath. “When, exactly, were you planning on stopping, just out of curiosity? ”
His gaze burned into hers. “I wasn’t.”
Heat slammed into her, hard and fast. She had the shocking feeling if she’d let him continue he could have made her do things...experience things completely out of her control. Just by talking to her...
She sank her fingers into the concrete ledge, poised to run for her life. Gabe’s hand came down on hers. Her heart careened into the wall of her chest as she stared at him.
“Stay. I think I’ve had enough.”
What? He levered himself out of the tub and flashed her one of those blinding smiles. “I’m going to go make sure no one’s using that name.”
She stared after him, pulse pounding, stomach in knots. Had he really just done that? Had she really just let him do that? She winced as another cramp hit her left arch and reached down to massage it.
Gabe was right about one thing. This had to end, one way or another. The scary thing was—her wild-child alter ego seemed to be making an extended appearance.
* * *
A loud thump woke Gabe.
He jackknifed into a sitting position and glanced at the clock. 2:00 a.m. What in Cristo’s name had that been?
A string of curses filled the air. Alex?
Heart in his mouth, he ran to the door, whipped it open and headed for the stairs, terrified she’d fallen down them. A glance down the winding staircase found her sitting at the bottom, holding her right arm cradled in her left. Merda.
“Stai bene?”
He ran down and knelt in front of her. Her face was white, her slim body trembling. His heart thumped hard in his chest. “Stai bene?” he asked again. She stared vacantly back at him. He was speaking in Italian. “Alex,”
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