Trigger Happy (Girls with Guns, #2) (3 page)

The only light inside the studio was coming from the sunlight outside. She had the lights shut off - apparently better to dance in, he thought. Because there she was in the middle of the dance floor swaying her hips from left to right. Her knees were slightly bent, her arms were straight up in the air and her butt was grinding in tempo with the music.

Being the man that he was, Gage had to admit, she still had a pretty awesome behind. It was small and tight. Watching it as she swayed from side to side, it would tempt any man, he reasoned.    

Not just him.

The singer was asking someone, telling them, to do what they wanted to her body and not to stop.

Hmm, Gage couldn't help but think of that night.

In his one-time experience with Amber, that's what he did to her. He did what he wanted.     She knew what she wanted also. She wanted to be tied up and blindfolded hoping the right man would choose her. She also wanted to be tied up while she watched him pleasure another woman. And so that is what he had done. When he finally untied her, because he couldn't take not having his hands all over her body a moment longer, he did what he wanted. He touched her and teased her, giving her orgasm after orgasm until she begged him to stop.

Oh, she made him orgasm too. He remembered that just as clearly. She was a hungry kitten then. Eating up everything he did to her, everything they threw at her. And she, like a child trying to please a parent, did everything she could to please Gage and their other female friend.

He wondered what she would be like now. Would she still be a sex-craved kitten? Taking and giving all she could? Or had she become more docile as she'd gotten older?

It irritated the hell out of him that he was even questioning her sexual antics. He came here for one purpose and it wasn't so he could relive that night that happened such a long time ago. Unfortunately that didn't stop him from watching her move her lithe body across the studio.

T
he song was coming to an end and Amber turned toward her setup to turn the volume down and got the shock of her life. There, inside the studio, stood Gage Alexander, CEO. After having the daylights shocked out of her, she was able to slightly compose herself. What was he doing here? He held himself together, just like she remembered him. Or maybe that was what she imagined him to be like. She had thought of him fairly often after their rendezvous. He stood silently, not at all uncomfortable being in a room decorated with butterflies and dragonflies.     His hands were folded in front of him, his legs spread slightly apart. He didn't say anything. How long had he been standing there, watching her? A tremor of excitement raced up her spine. Neither of them spoke, standing on opposite sides of the room. She turned the volume down and watched him. He looked manly, tough, just like she remembered him. He was dressed in a long-sleeved business type shirt with black slacks. She could see his muscular legs outlining his pants. Could she actually see his muscular legs or was that from her memory? Her mind was playing tricks on her. She couldn't actually be sure which was which.

Finally he spoke, "I came to talk."

No “Hi how are you, it's been a long time.” Nothing. He was all business. Her heart deflated.

"About what?" she asked.

"About the Silver Slippers Saloon."

Wow, he was a man of few words.

"Ah, so you do remember me?" Both times she had run into him, she knew he recognized her, but she wasn't going to let him get away that easily.

He looked annoyed, "Of course I do."

This small talk was starting to piss her off. Since he clearly wasn’t here for a date, he needed to get to the point. His attitude suggested he was already irritated with her. That instantly put her on edge. Wanting to push his buttons, she responded, "Wasn't sure how often you did that kind of thing...if you remembered who I was. I'm glad you remember. But what do you want?" Her blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail but wispy strands kept getting in her way. She blew a breath of air up her face, jostling the wispy hair away.

Gage didn't like her assumption that he met up with countless women and repeated his mistake over and over. Is that the kind of man she thought he was? Neither did he like how she pursed her lips together and blew a strand of hair away from her face. Her bottom lip jutted out making her features soft and youthful, carefree.

"First of all, I've done that-sort-of-thing one time. It was a mistake. I would never repeat it. Second of all, I came here to do damage control."

"Damage control about what?"

"That night. I don't want you speaking about it to anyone."

Oh boy, did he know how to push her buttons. As hunky as this virtual stranger was, he was pissing her off. A mistake? This whole eight years he thought of that single night with her a mistake? She just kept feeling better and better around him. Aside from that, what's this damage control shit? Ah, he was worried about his reputation being Gage Alexander, CEO of the credit union here. It stung a little that he assumed she blabbed to people about their escapade...err, sexcapade?

"Excuse me? Who do you think you are? Are you always so demanding?"

He watched her take a step toward him. He tracked her every move, watched the pulse in her neck beat like a hummingbird, watched as her hands clenched into fists. He hated how her royal blue tank top brought out the sky blue of her eyes. He didn't enjoy noticing little things about her like that. Especially how he had noticed her tank top wasn't very long and when she came toward him, it shimmied up, teasing him with glimpses of her abdomen just as it had done when she was sashaying around the dance floor.

"I'm always demanding. If I want something done, I have to be demanding. You should know."

Why did he have to bring up details about that night? It was one thing to remember what happened between them. It was a whole other thing to be standing alone with him in a room while he watched her like she was his prey, discussing it.

"You really don't know me at all. I don't appreciate you coming in here thinking I'm going to tell anyone about my sex life. Or that you think you have some right to tell me not to if I so choose."

"When it involves me, I have every right." She was so exasperating. Couldn't she just agree with him and he could be on his merry way? He had completely underestimated the difficulty of the situation. He had assumed she would agree. Case closed.

Now, he was seeing that was easier said than done.

~

S
he could feel the butterflies low in her stomach moving around, unsettled. She tilted her head to the side. For a split second, she caught the smoldering look in his eyes as he stared back and just as quickly it went away.

Was he attracted to her?

That didn't explain how he was treating her though. As if he wanted nothing to do with her.

Amber was really getting ticked off. Did he think because he was so good-looking he could waltz in here and tell her what to do? Or that because he ran a company as some high falutin' CEO she would just bow down to his demands? Oh no. That was not what she was going to do.

"Gage. Or do you prefer Mr. Alexander?" she asked.

He looked at her questioningly, "Gage is fine."

"Gage, I think you need to leave. Let me get the door for you."

She brushed passed him and he instinctively grabbed her arm. Her scent filled his nose, his senses. She looked up into his eyes, daring him. His body wanted to do something entirely different than his brain.

He let her go.

"This isn't over Amber."

"Yes, it is. Goodbye."

Amber couldn't believe the nerve of him! She was so mad she could spit! And she rarely got mad. She was as about as carefree and calm as a person could get. It made her furious that he thought he could tell her what to do. Had he come in here and just asked her nicely if they could keep their secret between them, she would have assured him that she would never talk about her romantic relations with anyone. Well...that didn’t include her best friends. Although, they would never tell anyone anything she told them in confidence. But aside from that, blabbing about who she was sleeping with or who she had slept with, really wasn't her thing.

And here she was actually swooning over his dark and dangerous attitude.

And he was being a jerk.

Was he always like that? When she had met him at the Saloon he had been demanding and in control but he had also been gentle, sweet, and attentive to her wants and needs. He definitely put her needs ahead of his own. What a contradiction that was to the man she was witnessing now. Today he had been a completely different man.

Either these years changed him or he was a gentle lover with a perplexing personality. As frustrating as he had been to her though, he still took her breath away. He was the only man she had ever met that she had to look up to because of his height. He was still bulky in his arms and legs. His hair was trimmed shorter than she remembered and now he had been blessed with nuances of grey sprinkled throughout his dark hair.

It made him sexier. More mature. His dark skin came from whatever ethnicity he was -Italian or Spanish. She wasn't sure which. Either way, it made him sexier.

His eyes were the color of chrome, brought out by his dark hair. He was the epitome of the strong and silent type. At least in these few minutes she had had him alone. He was clearly unhappy with her. Unhappy with the choice he made that night, long ago.

"Does this feel good? Exactly what you want?" Whispering so close to her ear she could feel his warm breath on her earlobe.

"Yes. You are doing it right. I've been waiting for this for an eternity." 

He knelt behind her, so close his body heat made her feel as if she were on fire. He was an extraordinarily big man so it was easy for her to fit into his body. She was kneeling also, leaning back on her feet with her legs spread apart. Her back into his chest.

His calloused hands worked her middle. Teasing her with light strokes. Every so often his rough hands made their way up her sides, skimming her tummy up to the undersides of her breasts. He was such a gentle lover. For a man being so large in size, he was surprisingly gentle with her. She had been very nervous at first but he had done his best to comfort her and soothe her, making sure everything he did was what she wanted.

Both of his hands cupped her breasts as his mouth kissed the back of her neck. He spread kisses along her neck, up to her hairline, behind her ear. Her body was screaming for more. She had never been had this way. He was skilled in ways she had never experienced before. He knew what she needed the moment before she consciously thought of wanting it. He kneaded her breasts, taking the small buds into his fingertips. Tugging on them while biting into her neck. She arched back into his body needing to be closer, wanting to be a part of him. His hands quickly found her center again. This time he plunged his fingers inside, giving her what she needed. He kept a steady pace with his fingers, going deep inside her and grinding his palm into her clit.

"I'm going to make you come, aren't I, young lady?"

Her eyes were half closed as she registered the movement at the edge of the bed. Venus the Goddess was coming back to join them. The woman reached out for Amber’s breast and it was all Amber could do but to close her eyes as wave after wave of pure bliss shook her core. Her head falling back to lie on the man's shoulder.

"You are so sexy. So sexual," he whispered. "I've never met anyone like you."

How could that be the same man that had walked into the dance studio, making demands from her? Whatever had changed in his life, one thing was clear: he didn't want anything to do with Amber now.

G
age was frustrated. He was frustrated with work. He was frustrated with, uh, he didn't even want to think her name. Amber. Amber Prescott. That young lady that seemed timid so long ago, though he had quickly found she was anything but. Now she appeared to be a stunning and sassy woman. He refused to think about her. Refused to dwell on his past mistakes. He had a business to run for fuck's sake!

With assets in the $500 million range, he managed roughly one hundred and thirty employees. CFFCU had three branches; the main one located in Windsor, another one in Loveland and the last, newest branch, was located in Fort Collins. The main branch was where he and all of his Executive Team were located. This included his Chief Financial Officer, Chief Lending Officer, the Chief of Operations and of course, the Director of the IT department. He trusted each one of his management members implicitly. They were all well-trained in this business and he was confident any one of them could handle things, should he be unavailable.

His Chief Lending Officer, Lisa Knight, managed all the aspects of lending. Any loans: auto, personal, business, and mortgages were handled through the lending department.

The Chief Operations Officer, Nate Thompson, handled all of the member services. This included new members who wanted to open an account and current members wanting different types of accounts. He was also in charge of any community involvement the credit union sponsored. He worked closely with the marketing manager, Harmony Lowe. She was responsible for brand development, market positioning, and sales and service initiatives.

Gage's CFO was Echo Day. Echo managed his accounting department. She was in charge of all of the obvious accounting needs throughout the company: Asset Liability Management, general accounting, payroll and accounts payable.

Last but not least was his IT Director, Brian Kemp. Brian and his few team members handled the credit union's entire computer system. In addition to that, this included any IT-related purchasing and budgeting, up-to-date mobile banking needs, as well as any security and software updates. Basically, if IT did his or her job right and was happy, everyone was happy. When they had problems, everyone had problems.

Each team member was responsible for various employees that worked within their department. Gage was lucky; most of his employees got along pretty well. Some too well - he knew of a few inter-office romances that were always on the on-again, off-again program.