Freeing Him: A Hart Brothers Novel, Book 2 (32 page)

“Um, yeah. Okay.” He leaves, scratching the top of his nearly bald head. I wonder if it was me that made him lose his hair.

When he’s gone, I call Gabriella.

“Hey,” she answers.

“I did it.”

“You mean Jack?”

“Yep. And you should’ve seen his face. It was really something.”

“I’m proud of you. Now don’t stay there until midnight.”

“I won’t. I have something I need to attend to at home.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Uh-huh. And she’s pretty demanding sometimes.”

“I have a feeling she’s going to be very hungry tonight too.”

“Good, because I’m bringing her dinner. And it’s going to be a huge one. So tell her to be ready.”

Her bubbling laughter is contagious and fills my heart with joy as I end the call.

***

It’s not quite five when I step off the elevator. Lydia is gathering her things to leave for the day. I told her I was getting in a little early because I want the place to ourselves tonight. She says good-bye on her way out.

I’m guessing Gabriella is in my office. I should amend that—our office. We’ve added another desk and computer.

Gabriella’s favorite wine is chilling in the refrigerator, so I pour two glasses and carry them down the hall.

When I get to the doorway, I observe her for a few moments. She’s engrossed in something on her computer and doesn’t notice me. Her brow is creased and I want to kiss those lines away, but I don’t. I stand there with a goofy grin on my face instead. Her hand moves to her neck and it makes me think she’s been sitting there for hours.

She stretches her arms in the air and that’s when I catch her attention.

“How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to drink you in. Here.” I hand her a glass.

“Thanks.”

I take a seat at my desk, next to hers, and roll my chair over so it faces her.

“How was your day?” I ask.

“Good, but much better now.” She leans in to give me a kiss. Then she sets her wine glass down on her desk and climbs on my lap. “I like this seat much better.”

“You do? Now why’s that?”

“Oh, let’s see. It’s much comfier, because it hugs me back, unlike that one over there.”

I laugh as my hands caress her. “Good. But isn’t it hard to get work done in this one?”

“Depends on what kind of work you’re talking about. I think there’s a certain type of work that can be accomplished quite nicely right here.”

“Hmm. Care to demonstrate?”

She unknots my tie and slowly unbuttons my shirt. Her hands slip under the starched cotton and when her nails score my skin, I groan. She undoes me. Always.

“Shall I continue?” she asks.

“By all means.”

When her tongue flicks my pierced nipple, my stone-hard dick wants to bust right through my pants, but it can’t because she’s on my lap.

“Fuuuck, kea. You’re killing me.”

She unbuckles my belt. Next, she slowly unzips my pants as she squirms off my lap. She kneels between my thighs and tugs my pants down, taking my boxers with them as she goes. My dick springs free and she sighs.
She sighs
and that sound makes me even harder. This woman brings me to my knees, but seeing
her
on
her
knees, in front of me, is something else.

But when I feel her warm, soft, wet lips wrap around my cock, I want to scream from the pleasure. Her hand tightens about the base and then her tongue works its magic. She knows exactly how I like it, knows how much pressure to exert and where, how to flick my piercing, front and back. I even love the way she uses her teeth. Then her hand grabs my sac and she squeezes, not too hard, not too soft, and she extends a finger to that one place and presses. I almost come.

“Gabriella.” Her name rushes out in one long, breathy moan. “Stop. Now. I don’t want to come in your mouth. I want to come inside of you.”

Her half-hooded eyes look up at me, and fuck it all, I’m a goner.

“Fuuuuuck. Oh, fuuuuck.” I climax as she sucks me off.

Her lips, slick and slightly puffy, are too delicious to ignore. I pull her back up to my lap and run my thumb across her lower lip. She grabs my hand and takes my thumb into her mouth and sucks on it, then licks it. My mouth crashes to her lips, devouring them, and kissing every bit of her.

“Never seen anything sexier than you. I’m sorry. I tried to save it.”

“Like you won’t be ready again? The man with hardly any refractory period? Besides, you did promise me dinner and you said it would be large.”

I bust out laughing. “Take your clothes off. It hardly seems fair that I’m half-naked and you’re not.”

“For a change.”

She strips and then I say, “Will you hand me my pants?”

“Uh, yeah. Going somewhere?”

“Not in the near future.” I dig in my pocket and find my prize.

“Good, because you owe me a little something.”

“Indeed I do, and I intend to pay up. But there’s a little something first.” I shove my computer out of the way and pick her up, setting her down on my desk. Then I spread her legs apart and drop to my knees. She thinks she knows what’s coming next, but she’s only partially right.

I look at her face, flushed with anticipation and desire and I begin, swiping my tongue up the inside of one of her thighs. I can’t possibly neglect the other, so I do the same to it. Then I move in for the kill. But before I do, I tell her to watch. As soon as my tongue touches her favorite spot, she sighs. That sound always sets me off, makes me hum, makes my dick hard as rock. But today, I’m taking my sweet time and I don’t care if it kills me. I tease and play with her and she begs.

“Please, Kolson.”

“Please, what?”

“I need it.”

“What do you need?”

“I need to come.”

“Do you need it bad?”

“Yes!”

My mouth goes back to work, sucking and teasing, and my fingers slide into her, but when I feel she’s close, so close, I stop.

“Kolson.” She’s panting with need.

“Do you want more?”

“Yes!” she shouts.

“How badly do you want it?”

“Very!”

My fingers toy with her, circling, sliding in and out, teasing.

“Bad enough to marry me?”

“Yes.”

“On Christmas Day?”

“Yes.”

I smile as my mouth finds her again and I bring her to a screaming climax as her hands nearly tear my hair out. When her senses and breath return, she looks at me and bites her lower lip.

“What?” I ask.

“You’re a devil.”

“Not exactly. I’m a man in love.”

“That was the most unconventional proposal ever.”

“Probably. But you’ll remember it until the day you die.” I kiss her, stealing her breath again.

When we both need air, she asks, “Christmas, huh?”

“Yeah. I don’t want to wait any longer. I’ve waited long enough.”

“I have too.”

Sliding my thumb across her cheek, I say, “Gabriella Martinelli, you make my heart pound; you make it beat with a kind of life that it never had before. You’ve changed the way I think about everything … my past, my present, and my future. I once told you that you short-circuited me, rearranged me inside and made me whole again. And I was right. But you do so much more than that. You freed me from the ghosts that haunted me, the monster that tried to destroy me, and you’ve strengthened me. And I love you for that. But that’s not the only reason I love you. You proposed to me once, and I asked you to marry me too, but the timing was off. It’s not off now.

“So this is the real deal, kea. Will you marry me and become my partner in everything? Will you become Gabriella Hart?”

“I will.”

Opening my palm, I hand her a ring. Her face softens as she picks it up and slips it on her finger. It’s a three-carat round diamond sitting in a wide platinum band. I would’ve gotten her the biggest, fanciest ring in the world, but that’s not Gabriella’s style. She would’ve balked at something like that. I worried about the size of this one, but seeing her smile, I know I’ve hit it right.

“It couldn’t be more perfect. I love it, Kolson.” She kisses me. “So Christmas, huh? Where?”

“Here. In the penthouse. I have a friend of a friend who is a judge.”

“But on Christmas Day?”

“Well, the day after Christmas. So we wouldn’t interfere with anyone’s family plans.”

“Just us?”

I laugh. “I thought we could have my mom, Kestrel, Case, Ryder, and Sky.”

“That’s exactly what I want.”

“And then you and I are going away somewhere. To an island where it’s warm and we can relax without any interference.”

“Really?”

“Oh, more than really,” I say. “I have big plans for us, kea. Big, big plans.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Gabriella

The day after Christmas is crisp, clear, and perfect. I wake up in Kolson’s arms, burrow into his neck like I always do, a smile on my face. Today I will become Gabriella Hart.

Then I frown. Kestrel and Sylvia stayed with us last night, and neither seems to be doing well. They need to get out of the mansion. It harbors too many memories. Sylvia refuses to leave, and Kestrel feels obligated to stay with her. Today, I’m going to give it one last shot on getting Sylvia away from there. What she really needs is to go to a place to recover. Almost like a rehab facility. There are places like that, but I’m not sure if I can persuade her to go. If I can, then Kestrel would feel free to move on.

“What are you thinking about that has you so preoccupied?”

“Your mom.”

“Hmm. You worried?”

“Yes. She’s depressed, among other things, and she needs to get away from that damn mansion. I’m afraid since Langston was so controlling, she’s unable to make decisions without him. She needs intense therapy. There are several places that deal with issues like hers, but it’s a matter of getting her to consent. And then there’s Kestrel.”

Kolson rolls over on top of me. He knows when I need one hundred percent of him.

“You always think of everyone else. This is your wedding day, kea.”

“Yep, it is, and we’re good, but they’re not. I’m giving it one more shot.”

“This is why I love you.”

“Is that all?”

“No. I love you because you have a beautiful singing voice.”

I giggle. He can’t be farther from the truth. “Shall I sing for you at our wedding?”

“I think that would be a marvelous idea.”

Then he pushes himself against me and I can tell he’s not really thinking about my beautiful singing voice at all.

***

The two of us decide to let the other choose what we’ll wear to our wedding. When Kolson hands me his selection, I’m not at all surprised. It’s a red silk dress that shows off quite a bit of cleavage. He grins and says it’s the holidays and he thinks the color is most appropriate. He’s always told me he loves me in red, so I should’ve guessed this would be the one. What shocks me the most is the ruby necklace he presents to me after I’m dressed. He asks me to close my eyes and when I do, he fastens it around my neck. When he turns me around to face the mirror, the teardrop gem, nestled close to my heart, looks perfect in contrast to my skin.

“It’s exactly right, kea. Just as I’d imagined.” He kisses me as I blink to stop my tears.

“This is unexpected.”

“I hope to do a lot of ‘unexpecteds’ for you in the years ahead.”

Smiling, I brush a piece of lint off his slate-colored suit that I chose. He’s also wearing a French blue shirt with a ruby red tie. (We both laughed when we first saw each other’s choices.) The corners of his mouth turn up as he stares at me.

“You look perfect, Kolson. I love this color on you. It looks great with your eyes.”

“I’ll have to remember that. But if you keep looking at me like this, we won’t make it to our wedding on time.”

Late that afternoon, as the sun dips below the horizon, we stand in front of the windows that overlook the view of Manhattan. It’s an intimate wedding, his mother, brother, Case, Sky, Ryder, and Sam present as the judge pronounces us husband and wife. Lydia is there as well, and she’s cooked up a storm. Delicious food and ample champagne awaits us after the ceremony.

As I look at my new husband, I’m so proud of him, for so many things, but mostly for becoming the man he is today. Not very many people could’ve weathered the turbulent storm that he did, for the length of time he did, and end up being the man he is.

“What?” he asks.

“Did I tell you that your mom and Kestrel agreed to stay here until we get back from our honeymoon?”