“Don’t!” Gabriel slammed his palm against the seat. “Don’t push me away like this.” His wild gaze beseeched me to answer him. “Why do you think I’d ever do that to you, Emma? Why do you think I’m such a piece of shit? I’m trying so hard to be what you want and just when I think I get there—you push me away. I don’t get it!”
I heard another brick slide out and break off when it hit the ground. My anger disappeared. Left with an acute pain in my heart, I whispered, “I don’t have a right to expect anything out of you.”
“You have all the right in the world, Emma. Do I have to spell it out for you? I want to be with you. I want to see you tonight, tomorrow, and the day after that. I want you to be mine, Emma. I. Want. You. And you know what? I know you want it too.”
I did. I wanted it so badly that I couldn’t even let myself pull back anymore.
“Whose dress did you order for Sunday?”
Understanding dawned and burgeoning relief edged away the volatility in his gaze. “That’s what it was?”
“Yes.”
“I should’ve known.” Gabriel grabbed both of my hands and squeezed. “Emma, that was for my mother. She’s having a party on Sunday and the dress is for her. Annette and her sisters are her personal beauty team. They came into the city on such short notice as a favor to me.”
My ears burned as I felt like the most horrible girl in the world. His mother! Not some ditzy socialite or overworked model or luscious party girl, but his mother.
Still, the tension between us wasn’t quite resolved.
“Why did you ignore me in the salon after I was finished?”
“I didn’t ignore you.” Gabriel lifted my hands and brushed a kiss across my knuckles. “I was so stunned by your beauty that I honestly didn’t know how to react.”
My insides turned to jelly. “Stunned by my beauty? Really, Gabriel? That sounds so…”
“So what?”
“So unlike you. It sounds pretty lame actually.”
“God, you’re so mean!”
We laughed together, relief running clear through.
“I was shy, Emma. I knew my mother would grill the girls about you and I didn’t want them to report that I dragged you to the floor and made love to you right then and there.”
“Okay, now it’s my turn to call you a liar.”
Gabriel’s feral expression silenced my doubts. “Do you want me to prove it now?” He released my hands and leaned closer. “Because I’d like nothing better than to show you how much I mean those words, Emma.”
His mouth hovered over mine, tempting and daring me to take him up on his offer. I already knew what he tasted like, what his tongue felt like thrusting in my mouth. It was so sweet…
“What about the fundraiser? I mean, aren’t they expecting you?” My lips brushed light as a feather across his.
Gabriel closed his eyes and exhaled. “They are as a matter of fact. Fuck me…”
Definitely! Just name the time and the place!
I licked the corner of his mouth and moaned loudly. I shouldn’t have said anything. I should’ve let him kiss me and maybe more. Gabriel’s breathing quickened as if he heard my thoughts. When he opened his eyes, I trembled from the raw hunger blazing from within his electric blue gaze.
“Promise you won’t run away from me tonight.”
“Why would I—”
Gabriel palmed my chin, fingers pressing lightly into my powdered cheeks. “Promise me, Emma. No running away. Not in thought or deed. Promise.”
“I promise.”
“If you try to leave, I’ll stop you. If you slip out, I’ll chase you. I’m not going to let you run away from me. Ever again.”
I should’ve been disturbed by his passion. I wasn’t. It thrilled me.
His hard body didn’t relax. I felt the restraint as his elegant hand traced across the side of my face. “I can be what you want me to be, Emma. Just know that everything I do tonight is for you. So trust me for a little bit. Just look at me like a normal man. Please.”
Gabriel’s plea humbled me. I reached out, needing to touch him. My fingers sunk into his wide shoulders. “All right.”
“Thank you,” he whispered as he pulled me to him in a bone-crushing hug. I hugged him back just as tightly. I didn’t want to leave the safety and security of his arms. I wanted to stay wrapped up in Gabriel forever.
Slow down. You’re falling too fast.
His scent intoxicated me. I desired him. Lust pulsed thick, seducing me into sliding my hand past his jacket and down his side.
Gabriel inhaled sharply. His lips kissed my ear before he whispered, “You’re so sweet, Emma, you know that?”
I shivered when he bit down on my earlobe.
The limo came to a stop, interrupting Gabriel from possibly doing bad things to me. He reluctantly let go of me. His fingers smoothed the fabric trailing from my shoulder. “I got something for you.”
“Really?” I smiled tremulously, dizzy and in such longing for him that I nearly begged for him to take me home instead. “You already got me so much.”
“Guilty.” Gabriel reached into his jacket and pulled out a slender clutch. “I know it’s small, but I’m sure you’ll want to bring some important things with you.”
I accepted it with a shy nod. I don’t know why, but this felt more intimate than anything he’d done so far tonight. “Thank you, Gabriel. I’ll put my ID in here and some lipstick.”
“The lipstick is already in there. Minnette sent it along.”
“That’s very thoughtful of her and you.”
Gabriel raised his one well-formed brow and preened. “I try.”
I had enough time to transfer my essentials from my purse into the silver satin clutch before the door opened. An attendant in a scarlet vest stood by, waiting for us to exit.
“Shall we, my dear?”
“Can I just leave my stuff here?”
“Of course.”
“It won’t get stolen?”
“No one steals from me, Emma.” Gabriel’s gaze glittered with dark amusement. A dangerous demon looked at me for a moment before the smiling angel returned.
I’d swear it was my imagination if I hadn’t made the demon’s acquaintance seven years before.
“I’m ready to go, Sir.”
Gabriel’s slow smile did delightful things to my body. “I’m glad I ran into you today, Emma. Fate is wonderful, isn’t she?”
I ducked my head, feeling incredibly shy all of a sudden. He laughed and slid out, all long-legged grace, before holding out his hand for me. I took it and squeezed.
I’d forgotten how wonderful it was to be with you.
Gabriel tucked my arm through his. He kept his pace slow to match my mincing steps. “Are there going to be cameras?”
“Perhaps a few.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t worry, Emma. Just smile at me as if you can’t live without me and you’ll take a perfect picture.”
“Ha! You wish.”
“I do.”
A rush of conversation hit my ears as soon as we entered the atrium. It was a soaring affair, the kind covered in marble and glass. Lovely, sterile, and packed with people strolling about with vacant smiles.
Check-in was a breeze. We were greeted with effusive cries of “It’s so nice to see you here tonight, Mr. Gordon!”
Gabriel clasped several pairs of hands as he went down the line. His smile never dimmed. He was gregarious and beautiful in slow motion. I wondered how sore his jaw was bound to be after tonight’s pleasantries. Mine already ached. Maybe I didn’t smile enough.
“A picture, Mr. Gordon.”
He maneuvered us into place. Gabriel’s arm looped around my waist. The large camera staring at us made it felt like Picture Day in school—which I never liked. My lips curled into a stretched smile.
Gabriel called out “A moment please.” He leaned down and whispered, “That will never do, my dear.”
“What?”
“I know that fake smile and I refuse to have it in our first official picture.”
“I can’t help how I smile, Gabriel. Take it or leave it.”
“I’m sure I can change that.” He signaled to the photographer. “We’re ready.” To me he said, “Look forward, Emma, and say ‘cheese’.”
I turned my head back to the photographer. Staring at the camera lens, my body tensed as the imaginary countdown began. Just as the shot went off, Gabriel tickled my side. I burst out into laughter.
“Done! Thank you, Mr. Gordon.”
I spun around in his hold. “That was a dirty trick, Gabriel!”
“And an effective one,” he added, smug over getting his way. “I’m going to get a copy and put it on my desk. Every time I think of you in your cubicle-cage, I’ll be able to look up and see your smile.”
“You’re a bad man,” I accused heatedly but with a playful smile.
“Yes, I am, but I try to be sweeter just for you. How’s it working so far?”
I slid him a look from beneath my thick, artificial lashes. “Pretty well I guess.”
“Good enough for me.” Gabriel threaded our fingers together. “Don’t let go, Emma, or you’re liable to get stepped on.”
I had no argument with that. Gabriel stopped several times, cheerfully introducing me without prompting. I got the feeling he was showing me off, but instantly felt absurd for thinking it.
You show off a poodle, not a human being.
Showed what I knew.
“Hello, Cason. This is my charming friend Emma.”
Handshake. Handshake. Obligatory comment of how beautiful I looked. Gaze flying above my head to communicate silently with my date. As if Gabriel was responsible for my acquired beauty. Well, I guess tonight he was.
“Murray, how are you? Good to hear. This gorgeous girl is Emma.”
Handshake. Handshake. More secret communication.
“Drayton! Great, thank you. Rick has us down for an 11:00 am tee-time next Wednesday. This lovely little lady is Emma.”
Apparently I was a series of pet names to identify myself as a pretty adornment on his arm. Gabriel seemed oblivious until he wasn’t.
“You probably feel like a doll, don’t you?” he asked while keeping an eye on approaching newcomers.
“More like a poodle.”
“Hmm, we can’t have that, can we?”
Another introduction appeared, keeping me from saying anything caustic in return. I might bitch to Gabriel, but it would only be in front of him. Never anyone else. I pasted on my grin and prepared to be introduced as another string of words that all ended with me being pretty.
“Markus! Good, good. Me? I’m fantastic! I’m lucky enough to be the date of the incredibly clever, ridiculously talented, phenomenal Emma Adams.”
This time my smile was genuine.
After running the gamut, we finally had some time for ourselves. Gabriel created a pocket of space for us by a column. He sheltered me from the crowd by placing his body between me and it.