A Dominant Man (27 page)

I hope he doesn’t think I’m nuts.

“You think you do?”

“I love him.”

“Th…that’s great, kid. But it’s a little soon, don’t you think?”

“
It’s way too soon. However, I can’t change what I feel.” I sigh. “He knows about Nicholas.”

“You told him? Wow, you’ve never told a guy before. That must have been a fun conversation.”

“Yeah, fun like a gun to the head. I’m relieved I did...Do you know what Olivia is to Damian?”

“
Olivia is his eldest sister. That’s why he bought the magazine, she made him buy it so she could have free reign. Why?”

“I wondered if I was the only one who knew o
r if it was common knowledge. How do you know about him?”

“Internet and people talk around the office.”

I can only imagine the gossip around the office, what everyone will say on Wednesday once I officially start my position.

“Yeah, they do.”

“Why is he controlling?”

I wonder that, too.

“He has issues with it. I don’t know why yet, but I have a feeling he went through some pretty fucked-up shit. Earlier he told me I couldn’t wear my workout top.”

“Like Nic
holas.”

“Yeah, but Damian isn’t that kind of controlling. He didn’t want me to wear a sp
orts bra without a shirt. He said the girls were too big and they were popping out. I mean we were going to be in his private gym with his personal trainer. I wasn’t going to do naked jumping jacks in front of him. I was clothed. Needless to say, I was pissed.”

“Your girls are a bit too
ample to wear only a sports bra, unless you two were alone. I wouldn’t want those tig ole bitty’s bouncing around in front other people.”

“You agree with him?”

“Yeah, I do. When we were together, you would wear bikinis around the pool or at the beach, and it made me incredibly uncomfortable because guys would ogle them. The only reason I never said anything was because of your situation with the scumbag. I didn’t want you to think me the same way, but I didn’t like it. Sorry, kid. I’m taking his side on this one.”

“Thanks, I needed to hear that.”

“Anytime. I have to run, but I’ll see you tomorrow, and we can do the lunch thing.”

“Actually, I won’t be in until were at the new office. I’m going to Seattle with Hunt on a business trip.”

“Oh, really? Perks of dating the boss?”

“Yes and no. I’ve been promoted, and he didn’t want me to deal with
Olivia anymore, so I got the next few days off.”

“
That’s amazing, kid. You earned it. We’ll celebrate when you get back. As far as the love thing…be careful ok?”

“I will. I love you. Tata for now.”

“Love you. Bye.”

I lie there thinking
pensively about my feelings, how I was in too deep to pretend I had any handle on it.

“Who were you talking to?”

Hunt startles me from my absorbed thoughts. I glance at him standing at the end of the bed.

“
Chase. I wanted to let him know I was fine and about the trip.”

Damn
, he’s sexy glistening with sweat.

“I’m sure he loved that.”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

“The boy is mad about
you, Gabrielle.”

“You’re mad for thinking that. We’re friends.”

“Sure, that’s how you see him.” He turns and struts into the closet.

I call out after him, “I’m sorry about earlier. I know I can be stubborn, but saying what I can wear is one of the things
he
did. Chase said you were right, I’m a little too top heavy to wear such a small article of clothing.”

He struts back out of the closet naked and sweaty. Every muscle seems to be more defined, golden skin stretched taut over his well-built physique.

“Did he now? Is that why you had this change in opinion and apologized?” He isn’t being cute but mordant. “You realize I’m right when he says I am.”

“No, I said I was sorry because I am. I wanted to make amends for how I acted. I realized
I
was wrong, when he told me why he didn’t like when I wore bikinis to the beach. Not that he voiced it when we were together.”

“I try not to control everything you do.”

I get off the bed and walk to him.

“I know you do.” I rub his shoulders and lean in to kiss his glimmering
chest.

“Do you trust I would never take advantage of
or hurt you? And I’m not referring to the bedroom. I mean your heart. I couldn’t handle it if you thought of me like…
him
.”

I love this man. I know he wouldn’t harm me purposely and love doesn’t work without trust.

“Without a doubt…I’m yours completely,” I reply, staring him in the eye to drive the point home.

He drags me into him, his rough, masculine hands clasp at my back, holding and crushing me to his solid chest. His musky scent causes the hairs on my neck to rise, making me exceedingly aware of him and his desire.

“I want you entirely. N
ot only your body and heart, but your mind and soul.”

“You have me.
I am yours wholly. Now put those delectable lips on mine.”

He bri
ngs them down on me with a body-melting hunger that never seems to be satisfied. He can’t get enough of me, his favorite dessert. Hunt’s mouth smashes against mine as if he’s trying to fuse us into one person with two hearts. When we break, our chests heave and rub as we gasp for air, his arousal pressed firmly against my tummy.

“I want to take a bath. Join me,” he says in a low
, sensual voice.

He lifts me up, and m
y hands cling to his thick, toned biceps. My legs dangle and sway with every step he takes toward the bathroom. He walks us to the large sunken bathtub around the back of the shower and turns on the water.

I’m stil
l dressed in my workout clothes as he steps down into the sunken tub and sits us in the ice-cold water. I let out a high-pitched squeal, and he chortles, amused.

Finally, the water starts to warm, and I relax into his grip. He plants a hand on the back of my head and brings me in for a frenzied kiss, brimming with a yearning that literally takes my breath away. He hooks his master
ful hands under my tank and bra and in one swift movement, they’re lying on the white tile floor.

“
The water must’ve been quite chilly,” he comments, gazing darkly at me, the warm water surrounding us comfortably. I glance at my erect nipples and smile at him.

“They just want to say hello.”

Hunt stands us up and comes down on them in a flash. He licks and nips while his hands yank off my sopping wet pants. They stick to my sensitive skin; the release from their grip is incredibly erotic, as the cool air hits my warm, wet flesh.

“Hello, ladies,” he greets them while his lips graze my aching breast on his way to the other. I giggle and whimper when they finally find their mark.

“Damian, I lo…” I want to tell him I love him, he’s the only man who could ever make me feel this desirable, loved, and safe. He lifts his head and waits for me to continue.

“You what, Gabrielle?” He knows what I yearn to say. He’s beaming at me. He wants it, too.

“Nothing.”

His chest slowly expands and contracts as he lets out a sigh, releasing me. “I’m going to wash you.”

I’m surprised by how easily he lets it go, lets me go. Hunt takes the fresh scented body wash off the shelf and lathers it up in his hands.

“Turn around,” he commands. He may not be pushing the subject, but he is pissed.

I face away from him and his expert hands massage the soap into my neck and shoulders, working down to my lower back. He glides them around to the front where he makes his way back up to my tender breasts, slithering over them with slippery fingers. Hunt’s touch relaxes and arouses me.

My crease tingles, begging to be played with, pounded mercilessly, but he doesn’t head there. Instead, he takes his time. He keeps working up, over my collarbone and down my arms, clutching his hands firmly about them. I’m panting, frantic for him to be inside me, taking me as hard and fast as he can.

Suddenly, his amazing hands are gone. I hear a disturbance in the water as he washes off his hands and the sound of liquid soap being squeezed out. His hands return to my blazing flesh, just above the waterline at the knee, working painfully slow up my thighs, one at a time, stopping just shy of my throbbing sex. I can’t take it anymore.

“Damian, touch me, please.”

His voice is low when he replies, “I am.”

“Damian, please.” 

His fingers slide between my trembling thighs and against the lips, only dipping enough to gently cleanse. He finishes me off by massaging the rear and gives it a watery, soapy smack.

“Rinse off.”

I do as ordered and dip myself into the water, watching him tower over me. He washes himself down quickly until he arrives to that marvelous cock. The ninth wonder of the world, his gorgeous mug being the eighth. He strokes the length of the shaft and head, then moves back to the base while cupping and caressing his sac.

Hunt’s eyes are smoldering, his tongue running between straight white teeth, smiling devilishly at me. He’s taunting me. He isn’t going to give me his body until I give him my heart and tell him what he desperately wants to know. Two can play that game.

I sink back against the wall and rub my girls down. I pour water over and gently knead them while rolling hard nipples between fervent fingers. I gaze up at him, lips parted as I seductively run my hands down my body, below the waterline. I grasp my inner thighs and work towards the part of me that craves his dark touch.

I’m about to reach it when he stops touching himself, eyes fixed on me. I close mine and p
ucker my lips, thinking I won, thinking he’s given into me. I hear the drain as water is sucked down, and I’m left hanging.

“Stop,” he commands, dripping wet outside the tub.

“Why? Don’t you like it?”

“I didn’t tell you to.”

“I didn’t know I couldn’t touch my own body without your permission,” I snap, arms crossed under my breasts.

“Now
you do,” he retorts, walking out, leaving me high but certainly
not
dry. Pun intended.

Heels over Head

M
y bruised ego deflates faster than the depleting water in the tub. I get out swiftly, stomping off behind him into the bedroom, where his luggage lies open on the bed next to mine. He doesn’t look at me as he childishly walks back and forth from the closet to the bed, throwing clothes carelessly into the bag. I stand there wet and naked, staring at him with a stern face until he finally pauses for a moment at the bed. He peers at me with hurt imprinted on his beautiful face.

“Why won’t you say it?”

“It’s too soon, and I haven’t exactly heard you say it.”

“Do you, Gabrielle?”

I sigh. “Yes. Do you?”

“Yes, forever.”

“Then why do we need to say it? Isn’t knowing enough? Why do we have to spell it out?”

“I want it. I want to hear it come from your lips. My parents, sisters, slaves all have told me how much they love me, but I never believed it,
I never needed it…until you. I need your love, Gabrielle.”

“Haven’t I given it to you? Haven’t I shown you what you mean to me?”

“I know time is your excuse, but what’s the real reason you won’t say it?”

“I don’t know what you…”

“Tell me, Gabrielle,” he snarls.

“The last man I said it too abused me. I couldn’t even say it to
Chase when we were together. It’s the reason my relationship with Walker didn’t work out.”

He’s in front of me in a few animalistic strides, snatching me up into
his tight embrace. I gawk down, too ashamed by my past and emotional scars.

“Look at me.” I
hesitantly glance up at him from under my black lashes. “I’m not him. I won’t take advantage of your love.”

I realize I
am
letting my past determine the present and future. If I’m lucky it’ll include Damian, but I’m just not ready.

“I can’t. I’m sorry.”

He clasps my chin and tilts my head back to look up into those hypnotic earthy green eyes, and I’m overcome with raw emotion.

“Don’t apologize, angel. I understand how hard it can be to express what you feel. You’ll say it when you’re ready.”
He’s supportive, but I can hear the disappointment in his voice.

“That’s what baffles me. You’ve had a pr
etty messed up past, from what you’ve told me. How…”

“How can I be ready to say it?”

“Yes.”

“I’m overwhe
lmed by you and my feelings. I do not desire to emotionally ambush you or drive you away. I want you to trust me. I can’t earn your confidence if I push you beyond the emotional boundaries you’ve developed to protect yourself from further scarring.”

“Thank you for being understanding.”

“Please, don’t thank me for doing what’s expected of me. I want to take care of you emotionally, mentally, physically. I want to fulfill every need you possess. I want to protect you. I want to heal you.”

I hold him closer and kiss his wide shoulder. “I want the
exact same thing for you…Do you think this is too much? I feel like I’m wearing out my welcome or we need to pace ourselves.”

He drags his face away to gaze into my eyes.

“Yes, it is, and I want more. I would keep you by my side every moment if I had my way. I don’t want to slow down. I want you to let us be happy, let things happen as they will. Are you tiring of me?”

“No, I’ll never tire of you. I want you with me all the time. I’m nervous to spend a night with
out you next to me. I’m starting to need you.”

“
I want you to need me. I want to make it god damn impossible for you to live without. Besides, who said you would spend a night without me?”

“We can’t spend every night together. It isn’t healthy.”

“I told you I would never let you wake up alone. I intend on keeping my word.”

Damn, this guy is intense.

“I wouldn’t want to make a liar of you.”

I lean in for a kiss, and I’m rewarded with a passionate, worshipping lip-lock. His hands splay on my back, pressing me into his statuesque body. When we split, our breathing is harsh and my yearning for him is taking over. I want to express my love physically.

“Take me to bed.”

He groans. “I can’t. I should finish packing and take care of some business, but once I’m done, I’m all yours.”

“Whe
re have I heard that before? Oh right, earlier when you told me you only had a few calls to make. Can you at least promise no more guests? Is anyone else expected?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“Yeah, well, we weren’t aware of the first visitor. I hope Olivia doesn’t decide to show up.”

“I promise no more guests.” He pecks me on the forehead and returns to packing.

It’s only nine forty but feels well after midnight. I walk into the bathroom and grab a towel from the wall rack, wrapping it about me as I head back to Hunt. I sit on the bed cross-legged with an elbow on my knee, chin resting on my palm as I watch him get his bags together.

“You’re very competent. How do you know how to cook or pack a bag? Most guys can’t do those things.”

“I’m not most men, and you’re not most women,” he calls out on his way back to the closet. When he reemerges, he’s in loose, black sweats and a matching V-neck tee.

“That doesn’t answer the question, but thank you.”

“I taught myself,” he breathes out.

“Why?”

He shifts his weight and rubs the back of his neck.

“Because I had to.”

He doesn’t want to go into it.

“Can you clean and do laundry, too?” I ask with a smirk.

“Actually, yes, I can,” he replies, mirroring my grin.

“You may be the perfect man. I sure can pick ‘em.”

He chuckles through sealed, curved lips.

“Does that please you?”

“You please me. That’s a bonus. Though, watching you clean up house
would
be a huge turn on.”

“Would it?” He cocks a brow.

“Oh yes. You shirtless, wearing your worn-out jeans, doing the laundry or the dishes.” I fan my face with my hand. “It’s making me hot just thinking about it.”

He finishes packing, zips up his suitcase, and places both our bags next to the door. I get up on my knee
s as he strolls back to the bed and strip myself of the towel, dropping it on the floor.

“Are you sure you have to work?” I ask with a sinister grin upon bold lips, running determined fingers along the tops of my swollen breasts. He comes to an abrupt halt and stares, mesmerized.

“I wish I didn’t, but I need to get tit…” I giggle at his blunder because I know I’m winning. “…it done before the trip. Trust me. I’ll be quick. I don’t like it any more than you.”

I give him the pouty lips and big puppy eyes, fingers still caressing and rubbing.

“Fuck it.”

He pounces and slams me on the mattress, his weight pressing me into it. His hands clasp mine above my head as he crushes his supple lips to mine. The surprise attack has adrenaline coursing through my veins, leaving everything prickly and awakened. He grasps both of my wrists in one hand and reaches to the portable touchscreen on the table next to us.

Loud bass bumps around the room, a steady, driving beat made for hard pounding. In fact, the subject of the song is about fucking like animals to be precise. The male voice sings to his consuming lover. I think it’s obvious why he chose this song. The band is Nine Inch Nails, which is a perfect way to describe Damian’s lengthy thrusts.

He trails his lips down my neck,
nipping his teeth at the soft flesh then easing the sting with soothing strokes of the tongue. He releases my hands and I slap them onto his shirted back, scratching sharply over the toned flesh while his demanding fingers clasp to my thighs, desperately clinging to me.

His tongue makes it descent to the girls, licking circles around the raised
, pink gumdrop nipples with his dark focus on my face. He leads his tongue down my body, causing my back to bow at the warm, moist caress of this exquisite man’s touch, sliding ever closer to my longing apex.

“I want you, Damian, now. Fuck me, please.”

In one smooth, powerful action he removes his pants and buries himself inside me, rolling and pumping his hips along to the rough beat. He reaches up, seizing my hair and roughly tips my face up to his. He crashes his mouth onto mine, devouring it, while his other hand desperately clasps to my thigh. Damian’s rock-hard body keeps me pinned as he relentlessly screws my quaking body into the mattress.

“
Gabrielle,
” he growls out, rising and clutching both hands to my hips. He lifts the lower half of my body off the bed while he drills into me ruthlessly, slamming my arcing body onto him, over and over, taking me to divine ecstasy. I clasp my hands and legs to his thrusting hips, bringing him deeper, using my calves to press into his firm ass. He’s unyielding, pumping his perfect cock into me as I balance on the razors edge about to fall off into the beautiful abyss.

“Now, Elle, come with me
,” he purrs between clenched teeth. I tighten and convulse around him, the possessive waves flowing over me as I spasm, his name pouring from my lips, filling the air.

He slinks
his long, masterful fingers along my quivering, arched torso and hauls me up into him, holding me there, quietly coming inside my tensing core. My head lies heavily on his wide shoulder as I gasp for air my arms limp at my sides, while he rocks me. My bones are jelly, and my brain is mush.

“That was amazing, Ian.” I breathe out, and he laughs.
“I like Elle. No one’s called me that before.”

“I can use it
then?” he asks, turning off the music.

“Please
. I love when you call me Gabrielle, but sometimes it sounds too formal. Elle feels more relaxed.”

“Good. I prefer it over Ellie.”

“I like Ellie. I would enjoy hearing you call it out in bed.”

“I think that can be arranged. I would appreciate if you didn’t call me Ian. Not a bad name, I prefer you didn’t.”

“You have a lot of preferences, Mr. Picky. What about Hunt?”

“That I like.” He hugs me tighter, letting out an aggravated sigh. “Unfortunately, I do have issues that must be dealt with. You can go to sleep if you want, and I’ll come to bed in a bit.”

He lays me down and kisses me before carefully exiting my sore V, leaving me feeling a little empty and totally spent. He walks into the bathroom and comes out with a wet cloth, which he uses to carefully clean me off. He folds the comforter over me, and I let my tired body go lifeless and drift away.

I
’m startled out of my slumber by Hunt’s distant yelling. I check the time, and it reads twelve thirty. I leap out of bed, snatching my lavender robe up at the end and throw it on. I follow his loud voice to his study and pause when I hear my name.

“Gabrielle is none of your concern. Leave her alone.” He pauses to listen to the mystery caller.

“There is no we. There never was, and there never will be. You’re my sister, and you must realize that.” He lets out a long sigh as he listens to the child fucker.

“I
don’t
want you…I love her…That’s it, end of discussion. We will continue as siblings, nothing more.” He slams his fist or palm on the desk, letting out a deafening boom.

“Don’t you ever speak of her again, and tell Dante to stay the fuck away from her, or I’ll fucking beat the breath right out of him!”

He smashes the phone down with violent force, and I poke my head out, watching him rub his face and neck with both hands. When he finally sees me, his eyes widen like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar before supper.

“I didn’t mean to get loud. How much did you hear?”

I move into his office and sit in the chair in front of his desk, knees tucked into my chest.

“I heard you tell her I was none of her concern, etc.”

“I’m sorry. Forget everything.”

He leans back into his chair and watches me with tired eyes.

“Why are you worried about your brother and me?”

“Don’t trust him around you. I told you this.”

“I know, but why? I want a better understanding of the situation. That way I know whom I’m dealing with.”

He runs his fingers through
his hair.

“He wants what’s mine,
and I’m uncertain of what lengths he’ll go to get it.”

“Why the hell did you call him your best friend if you feel this strongly about him?”

“Like everything in my life, it’s complicated.”

“What did she say about me?”

He shuts his eyes. “Please, Gabrielle, not now. I’m not in the mood for twenty questions.”

I shoot up and shove my hands on my hips. “It’s my right to know what the cradle robber has to say about me. Isn’t it?”