Dare to Surrender (13 page)

He chuckled before striding over, completely confident in his nudity—and why wouldn’t he be? He was strong and well defined, while I was bound, my breasts thrusting upward for his viewing, my soft and slightly rounded stomach there for him to see.

Could this be any more mortifying?

I felt the dip of the bed as he joined me, the grip of his hands as he pulled my legs apart and stared down, a slow smile spreading across his face.

Just what did he see? I wondered.

Without warning, he slapped my pussy, the same way as he’d done back in New York, and I yelped. “Either you stop thinking and enjoy or I’m going to bind your legs as well. I’ll turn you over, tie you to the bed, and spank your ass until you can’t think of anyone or anything but me. And what I make you feel.”

My eyes opened wide—both at his words and the warmth gushing between my thighs.

“You like the idea,” he said, trailing a finger through my sex and the moisture there.

I moaned at the slick touch that wasn’t enough to satisfy the ache.

“What’s going on in that head of yours that you can’t be in the moment?”

I stared up at the ceiling, unable to face him. “It’s just … you’re you, and I’m the woman who couldn’t satisfy—”

“The asshole who has no place in this bedroom,” he said harshly. “Trust me, you wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want you. You’re beautiful. Perfect.” His admiring tone couldn’t be anything but real. He slid a hand over my stomach and left his palm there. “You’re round where you should be, soft where I need you to be. And I don’t want you worrying about it again.”

“Yes, sir,” I said jokingly. I’d have saluted if my hands were free.

His eyes merely darkened, and his lips came down hard on mine.

I sighed into his mouth and reveled in the possessive kiss, his tongue swirling around, owning every inch of the deep recesses of my mouth. He tasted dark and sexy, like Gabe, the man who’d spoiled me for any other man. He knew how to kiss, and as much as I could do it for hours with him, my body was protesting the lack of touch, arching up off the bed without my permission.

He gripped my hips, holding me down. He trailed his lips from one side of my mouth to the other, then slid them downward, easing over my jaw, where he paused to inhale, much as I’d done to him.

“God, you smell good.” He continued down until his gorgeous face was between my breasts, where he pressed a kiss against my sternum, his lips hovering over my skin. My body buzzed with anticipation. Finally, his big hands cupped one breast, raising it so he could lick at my nipple, teasing, suckling, his light touch at odds with the strong way he held my breast, his fingertips digging into my soft flesh. Such a contradiction, the bite of his fingers and light thrash of his tongue. The sensations were almost too much to bear, moisture pooling between my thighs, my clit pulsing with need.

Yeah, that took care of the thinking problem. All I could do was feel. He worked one breast thoroughly before moving to the other, his warm mouth and talented teeth and tongue arousing me to the point of insanity.

I thrashed on the bed, needing him to fill me, needing to come. “Please,” I moaned, pulling at my bindings, my hips rising in a plea of their own.

“Please what, kitten?”

My entire body trembled at the endearment. “Please make me come.”

He covered my pussy with his full hand. Warm heat suffused me at his possessive touch. “How? Tell me what you need.”

“You.” I arched my hips, and he slid one finger inside. “I need you.” In and out, he teased me, but it wasn’t quite enough. “More.”

“Like this?” He added a second finger to the first. Hooked his fingers forward, hitting my sweet spot.

“Oh yes.” He pumped in and out, but it still wasn’t enough. “No. More.” Tears filled my eyes, the begging so out of character for me it was hard to do. It hurt to ask for anything when I usually got so little from people in return.

He met my gaze, brushing my hair from my eyes. “Shh. I’m going to take care of you.” He slid down my body until I felt his harsh breath over my sex.

This time, he didn’t make me ask or beg, he simply drew me into his warm, delicious mouth. I closed my eyes and gave myself over to him, the hot glide of his tongue over my sensitive folds, the thorough way he ate at me like he’d never have enough. But most of all, the way he focused on that one spot that needed him most.

Hands gripped my hips hard, his tongue lashed at my clit, coaxing more of a response from me than I’d believed myself capable of. I shook, I saw stars, I felt myself climbing up, up, reaching for something far bigger than me, something not even a handheld toy could achieve, never mind another man. And then I was there, the climax shaking me to my core.

I cried out, incoherent words, low guttural moans as he kept me coming beneath his mouth and stayed with me until the large quake became smaller tremors and I lay beneath him, my body spent.

Except his wasn’t, and as soon as I felt the nudge of his hard cock against me, I opened my eyes, wanting to see him as he finally took me.

“There’s nothing between us,” his said in a gruff voice.

“There’s been nobody since … you know, and considering everything before, I’ve also been checked.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw at the mention of Lance. “And there’s been nobody since you walked into my apartment. I’m clean.”

Tears pricked my eyes, and suddenly he was there, thrusting inside, taking away all thought and concern. There was only Gabe, big and hard, easing his way inside me.

“You’re tight,” he said, his voice shaking along with his muscular arms as he held back. “But you feel so damned perfect.”

The burn as he pushed deeper spoke of Gabe, our connection. I welcomed it, knowing how much I wanted to give to this man. The thought scared me. It came with the fleeting reminder of how much was still unsaid between us. But then he began a steady pumping, in and out, until he’d lodged in deep.

I felt him. “Gabriel,” I moaned, unable to keep the feelings inside.

“Oh, Iz.” His self-control fled, and he fucked me. There were no other words as he took me hard and fast, easing out, slamming in deep. All the while holding my gaze, not letting me look away as he possessed my body, his arms braced, enabling him to thrust in and out, bringing us both higher and higher. I’d never been on such a precipice before, and I needed to touch him. I tugged at the bindings on my arms, groaning when I couldn’t release myself. He reached out a hand, did something, and then I was free to roam my hands over his broad shoulders, the muscles flexing as he drove in and out of me, taking what he wanted and giving me everything in return.

I shook, felt the beginnings of an orgasm I wasn’t sure I could handle. Not with those intense blue eyes boring into me, making me vulnerable and even needier. Before I could think, he changed position just a touch, and he hit that spot. The one his fingers easily found when he wanted me to soar.

“Oohh,” I let out a long, embarrassing wail.

It merely spurred him on. He hooked an arm around my back, pulled me to a sitting position, and then I was facing him. Looking into his eyes as he ground himself into me and came hard.

My name on his lips triggered my release and brought me along with him.

Chapter Thirteen

Isabelle: Being Me

T
he afterglow took a long time to fade. I think I slept or at least catnapped. That was okay, since I woke up wrapped in warmth, and I was in no rush to break away from the strong arms holding me tight. He slept beside me, his big body lax, obviously finding the same ease with me as I did with him. But he gave me more. I felt so protected when I was with Gabe, so right. I could wake up like this every morning, I thought, and cut off my musings. I had no right to think beyond the here and now. Time, I needed it to make sure I didn’t jump without thinking, like I tended to do when it came to men. To the idea of security.

“Isabelle?” a female voice called out from the living room.

I jumped at the intrusion.

“Isabelle? It’s me, Lucy! I thought I could welcome you to the island, have a drink, and we could talk about—” Lucy halted in the doorway, shutting up as she took in the sight of me. In bed with her brother.

“Oh my God.” I crawled lower into the bed.

“Go away, Lucy.”

“I thought I’d welcome her, Gabe. I didn’t think you’d jump her the minute she arrived.”

I cringed. Gabe merely glanced down, making sure he was covered.

“Actually, she jumped me.” He grinned, and I sank lower, managing to elbow him in the side for his sarcasm.

“Fine. I’m going. Since it’s near dinnertime, why don’t we just meet tomorrow. Isabelle, you can text me when you’re ready to work on the club.”

The club. The reason I thought I’d been summoned here. The reminder brought the real world crashing back.

I waited for Lucy to disappear before sitting up in bed. “This really was a setup. Invite me here to work on the club as a pretext to getting me into bed. I told Lucy I didn’t have the experience, but she assured me I could handle it. I knew you’d had a hand in it, but I didn’t think…” I shook my head. “Never mind. I’ll see if Joely can bring me back to Miami first thing in the morning.”

His hand gripped mine. “Did I set you up to come here to meet me? Yes. Because you wouldn’t have come otherwise.”

I shook my head, biting down on my lower lip. “I needed the time apart,” I said. “It was the only way to get through each day and build myself into a worthy woman. Instead of respecting that, you set up a way to get me a job.”

“You’re wrong about one thing. You were always a worthy woman. Worthy of a lot more than the hand you were dealt. Success is all about who you know and what you make of the opportunity.”

“You and Lucy are drinking the same Kool-Aid.”

He cupped the back of my head in his hand, subtly controlling my ability to move. My body responded as if we hadn’t just made love … had sex. An insistent throb began low in my belly. I didn’t recognize the woman whose sexual need was so strong, who wanted … so much.

“The fact is, I gave you as much time as I could take. Patience is not my strong suit in general. When it comes to you? It’s nonexistent,” he said, his voice a guttural rumble.

“You let me go so easily. I thought you’d forgotten me.” I blinked up at him. “And before you say it, I know. It’s a contradiction to think that way considering I’m the one who walked out on you.”

His perpetually stormy eyes darkened further. “I gave you what you wanted—what you needed—for as long as I could. I always will. But make no mistake. You were never alone.”

Whatever he meant by that, I wasn’t sure I needed specifics. I’d always sensed that if something went wrong, Gabe would be there. He wouldn’t have let me fall. He’d provided an inherent safety net I hadn’t known about, and that was the key. I. Hadn’t. Known. I’d been on my own.

But the truth of this trip settled over me, dulling the good feelings. “So the job? I can’t imagine Lucy really needs me. She’s put together every club you already own.” So why had I come here?

He shook his head. “Lucy’s in charge of the décor in the clubs. She looked at the portfolio of the things you’ve done with Lisa, and along with my recommendation, she wanted to give you a chance.”

I blinked. “The opportunity is real?” I asked warily.

“As real as you want it to be.”

“In other words, if I want to come back home with you and play house, you’d prefer it.”

“Not prefer. I want whatever makes you happy.”

Lance had said the same thing, and yet slowly, subtly, he’d taken away everything I’d ever loved.

I realized he’d pulled me into his arms, and I was wrapped in him, just the way he liked things. I felt so safe, so wanted. How, when he’d manipulated the situation to get me here? My heart and my sense of self-worth warred with each other.

“I want you happy, but make no mistake. I want you with me. And this time? You aren’t going to disappear.”

I shook my head. “You’re playing me, and I don’t like it. So don’t ask me to make any promises about the future.”

He exhaled hard, and a few uncomfortable moments passed. “Then make a promise for now. Stay with me on Eden.”

I didn’t know how long he meant or what he intended for us while we were here. I did know that despite the circumstances, I wanted to decorate that club as much as I wanted this time with him. Standing on my own two feet had felt great—but I felt even better here in Gabe’s arms.

I didn’t trust that he’d allow me the freedom I needed to be me in the real world. And that scared me as much as leaving him did.

Still, I managed a nod. I wasn’t going anywhere. For the moment.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

“I worked up an appetite,” I said, somewhat cheekily. After all, my body still hummed with aftershocks of pleasure, and I was deliciously sore.

He groaned and pulled me into a long kiss. We didn’t eat or think about food for a long, long while.

*     *     *

Isabelle: Elite

I woke up the next morning to find Gabe already gone from the bed. I washed up and pulled a robe over my naked body. The man didn’t like to sleep with clothes, and he’d been insatiable throughout the night. He blamed our long time apart, and I couldn’t deny everything he made me feel either. Hot, achy, and wanted and needed.