The Rebound Pact (18 page)

Frowning, he
caught her staring out of the corner of her eye. Two could play that game. Holden pulled his shirt from his pants and slowly unbuttoned it. He watched as she mixed the coleslaw, enticed by the way she massaged the veggies in ultra-sensual movements. With quick movements, he pulled off his shirt and tossed it on top of hers. Facing her fully, he flexed his chest muscles, which drew a sassy smile and her full attention.

Slowly she licked the sauce from her fingers, which made him drool
with the need to do the same. Holden grabbed her hand, sucking a delicious finger into his mouth.

Gabrielle
pressed up against him, her lacy covered breasts brushing his bare skin.

“Mmm… Good sauce. Good finger.”

Yanking away, she laughed, turning to the sink to rinse off her hands. Holden didn’t like not having her attention on him, so he came up behind her again and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Can we cook like this every time?”
There were only a couple more cooking sessions left, but maybe she’d be willing to make it more…permanent. His own line of thinking scared him.

“Maybe.”

He sighed, then kissed the top of her head, breathing in the scent of her flowery shampoo. The move was intimate. More than what he’d do with a woman who was only promised to him as a rebound.

When they were at her house, standing in her dad’s driveway, he’d said they were friends
first, business associates second, lovers third. Lovers implied more than just a rebound. It was more permanent. There wasn’t a time limit, whereas before they’d set a boundary.

H
olden liked the sound of being her lover.

“We’ll never eat if you don’t let me finish.”

Finish? Gabrielle couldn’t be almost done. He let her go, watched her open up another container with two “crab” cakes. Moving fast, he took out two glasses and set them on the counter, but when he lifted the bottle of wine to pour she hooked her thumbs in her sweatpants and slowly slipped them over her hips and past her thighs, kicking them away when they reached her ankles.

“Hoh, ho!”
Holden laughed, taking in the sight of her sheer light pink panties. There might as well have been no fabric there. The racing stripe of her hair and the crease of her sex were plainly visible. Mouth watering, he put the bottle down.

Ga
brielle reached up to grab another pan from the rack and he dropped to his knees.

“What are you doing?” she asked with a laugh.

“Taking a taste of the appetizer.” Holden pressed his mouth to her sex, licking her through the thin fabric. He could feel her lips, her clit, taste her essence on his tongue, making him groan. “Delicious.”

He heard the sound of the pan as she slapped it down on the counter. At the same time she cried out, threaded her hands through his hair and rocked her pelvis against his mouth.
God, he loved the way she reacted to him. So genuine, so open. Gabrielle moaned and hissed her pleasure as he slipped his finger along the seam of her panties and moved them aside so he could flick his tongue directly over her flesh.

Within a minute or less of him stroking his tongue in quick licks she shuddered, crying out. H
olden continued his movements until her orgasm subsided and she sagged against the counter.

“I think you win that race.”

“Which one was that?”

“Who could distract
who.”

Chuckling, he
stood up, drawing her in for a hot kiss. His cock was rock hard and he had about thirty seconds to gain control before he bent her over.

But she pulled away, put the pan on the stove and lit the burner. Another dollop of oil and she scooped the crab cakes on to sizzle.

Holden’s eyes were riveted on her ass. He liked these sheer panties even better than the thongs. The crack of her ass was readily visible. He reached out and stroked a cheek. So smooth, warm…

H
olden unbuttoned his pants.

“I have to have you.
Now.”

“I thought you’d never ask.”
Gabrielle yanked down her panties, turned around and bent over the island counter. “Please, Holden. Now.”

Had she read his mind?

He pulled out a condom from his jeans, shredded the wrapper, covered himself and then grabbed her hips. Gripping his cock, he stroked it up and down her slick folds, over her clit. Gabrielle moaned, pushed her ass back towards him. Desire made it so he could take it no longer. He plunged deep, arching up. Head thrown back, she exposed the column of her throat as she moaned.

Holden
bent low and kissed her neck as he pulled out slowly and then plunged back in deep. He stroked over her glorious breasts, her belly, pressing his fingers against her clit. Gabrielle’s hands came down over his, moving with him as he stroked her fire once more.

As if he could ever enter this kitchen and not think of her, now he really wouldn’t be able to. Flashes of their hot, erotic sex would stay with him forever.

He drove deeper still, increasing his speed. She rolled her hips with each of his thrusts.

“Yes, yes, yes!”
Gabrielle shouted.

The sound of their slapping flesh as he pounded into her and she rocked back echoed in the large kitchen.
Pleasure and coming were the only things on his mind, the rest blank. Holden arched up into her at top speed, his fingers rolling her clit, but, damn, he could wait not longer. Thrusting hard, he felt her clench around his cock as she came undone.

H
e shouted out, “Gabrielle!” and with a few final thrusts, let himself explode.

Gabrielle
leaned her elbows against the counter, her body trembling beneath his. They stayed like that for a while, letting their hearts and breaths return to normal.

“That was fantastic,” he said, kissing her shoulder.

He stood up straight and whipped around, taking in the burning smell. The “crab” cakes were completely black and smoking.

“Shit,”
Gabrielle said, hopping around him. She grabbed the pan off the stove and tossed it into the sink, while he turned off the burner.

He frowned, feeling guilty about their ruined dinner. If he hadn’t been so bent on burying himself inside her
, their dinner wouldn’t be burned. “I’m sorry,” he said, hands on his hips as he glared at the burned pan.

Gabrielle
laughed. She laughed so hard she doubled over. “Holden, seriously, it’s okay. You should see yourself right now, glaring at burned “crab” cakes, completely naked. You look so hilarious.”

He looked down at his spent cock, condom hanging on by a thread and he too started to laugh.

“Oh, and one more thing,” she said with a wicked wink. “Technically I win.”

“Huh?”

“Dinner’s ready and I still don’t have a glass of wine.” She sent him a shit-eating grin and pointed to the plates of food covered in foil on the counter.

“I still think it’s a tie. Part of your dinner is in the sink.”

She shrugged. “And my wine was never poured. Even half a point versus zero points—I still win.”

“I want a rematch,” he called over his shoulder as he headed to the bathroom to clean himself up.

When he returned she’d set up their dinner and glasses on the placemats in front of the stools pushed up to the counter. She perched completely naked, her legs crossed.

“Welcome back.
Naked dinner?”

He chuckled.
“Absolutely. Whoever finishes first wins.”

She laughed. “I’ll let you have that one.
Maybe.”

For the next half an hour, they teased each other with eating sexy, licking fingers, touching, trying to stall the other from eating. Between laughs and kissing, Holden couldn’t stop staring at the remarkable woman next to him.

This was what he wanted out of life. Laughter, sex, fun, and all of it with a woman who captivated him the way Gabrielle did.

“Thanks,
Gabrielle.”

“For what
?” she said, still partially laughing at his latest antics while she sipped at her wine.

“For making me dinner.
For believing in me.”

Her face turned serious and she set down her glass, grasping her hand in his. “
Thank you for believing in me, too.”

Chapter Thirteen

I
ncredible warmth surrounded Gabrielle. She smiled without opening her eyes and snuggled deeper into the plush down blankets and silky sheets. She’d slept like a baby after coming home from her hot, sweaty rebound session with Holden.

She rolled onto her back and stretched her arms, wiggled her toes.
Light filtered in hazily through the blinds. She leaned up on her elbow and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was already 8:42.

Gabrielle
blanched and bolted upright. She never slept in this late. It was a welcome reprieve but at the same time, she was totally late for work. Not a good example to set for the other employees—or for showing Holden she was serious about the restaurant.

Throwing back the blankets, she
rushed through her morning schedule. When she entered the kitchen, she saw a travel mug next to the coffee maker, a bottle of agave nectar to sweeten her java and a banana. Had the signs of her father all over it. She poured a liberal amount of nectar into her coffee and grabbed the banana, then raced out to her car.

Gabrielle couldn’t wait for t
onight.

She was already looking forward to it
and
assuming another tryst would happen. She frowned. They’d not made plans for tonight. Once again she was trying to lead them in a different direction. Maybe she’d put off coming back to Holden’s place until tomorrow night. She was starting to think they needed some distance. Assuming she was invited back was not cool…

S
he tossed her purse in the car, careful not to spill her coffee and climbed into the car. Pulling on her seatbelt a tapping at her window made her jolt.

Len stood on the other side.

Oh, no. She was not going to deal with him. Clenching her jaw, she took a deep cleansing breath. Why did he have to drive all the way out here? Why did he have to make that kind of effort on her behalf? No. It wasn’t for her. It was for him. She threw the gear into reverse, but he slapped his hands on the window.

“
Gabs, wait. I want to talk.”

Gabrielle shook her head, refusing to put the window down. “There’s nothing to talk about,” she shouted through the glass. “We’re done. I want nothing to do with you.”

“But I still love you. I’m sorry. Pushing you away was the worst decision I ever made.”

She laughed bitterly. “And yet, it was still a decision you made and one I accepted.
Whole heartedly.” Gawd, that felt good to say to his face and not over the phone. Looking at Len, the same sandy hair, thick with moose so it never went out of place, made her realize something—she was not in love with him anymore. Maybe she never was. He wasn’t her future and it wasn’t something she needed to be upset about. Simply a fact. A fact she could live with. “Goodbye, Len. And don’t come back.”

She backed out of the drive, trying not
to laugh with triumph at the bewildered look on Len’s face.

When she pulled up to the winery
a short time later, most of the employee cars were already there, and she was excited to see that the builders had already started working on the foundation for the bistro. This was where she belonged.

Holden
—gorgeous, rock-solid, and charming—stood with Darren and Hank. They pointed, watching as the workers mixed cement and started to pour. They worked fast. Must have been here before dawn. The ground hadn’t been staked out and excavated yesterday, and now it had footings in place.

Belle Ami Bistro was becoming a reality.

Gabrielle smiled and climbed from her car, walking over toward the men.

“This looks amazing,” she said.
Her hands still shook a little from her encounter with Len. She crossed her arms, hoping to hide the tremble.

Holden glanced at her, a spark in his eyes. He grinned slowly and winked, then turned back to the site. “Yeah, it does
. These guys are doing a phenomenal job. Feels good to finally break ground. I’ve been waiting to do this for a long time.”

He didn’t even realize how much better he made her feel…

“By the end of the week we’ll start putting up frames,” Darren said.

Gabrielle
shook her head, still amazed at the speed with which they worked. “Incredible. I can’t wait to see it.”

“Speaking of seeing, I was hoping we could go over the design of the interior today,” Holden said. “I hired a designer and she dropped off a few sketches this morning.”

Was everyone working early? She wanted to roll her eyes, exasperated with herself. She felt completely late to the party. Another reason she shouldn’t be staying late at Holden’s place.