A Billionaire's Redemption(25)

Slipping under the skimpy lace thong, his fingers played upon her raging desire like a concert piano, and then she fully understood his order not to move her hands. She writhed beneath his touch, trapped by

her promise, helpless to stop the need ripping through her and possessing no will to stop it, anyway.

He lifted her hips briefly to push her satin skirt up and out of the way, baring her entire lower body to him. Self-conscious, she squirmed, but he merely pushed her thighs apart and leaned forward to kiss her more intimately than anyone ever had before. His mouth was warm and wet and drove her completely out of her mind. Whatever embarrassment she’d felt was incinerated by the heat he generated deep within her desperately clenching body.

Let it go for me,” he muttered against her throbbing flesh. His tongue swirled across her, and she lurched in shock as her entire body clenched and then exploded with an electric tingle that shot from her core to every extremity on a violent spasm of pleasure. What in the world was that? Holy cow. Was that what all the fuss was about? How—in her admittedly not that frequent sexual encounters over the years—had she missed that?

Wow,” she gasped. “Do that again!”

Gabe laughed against her inner thigh. “My pleasure, ma’am.” His mouth closed on her again, and in mere seconds, her swollen flesh was tightening, the explosion building deep within her, growing, growing, until she cried out her release on a shudder of ecstasy that swept through her like chain lightning. She fell back against the leather, panting.

Still with me?” Gabe asked against her belly.

Coming back down to earth slowly,” she replied, more than a little dazed.

Mmm. That’s how I like my women.”

Boneless and stunned?”

Stunned?” he questioned.

I’ve never, umm, well, just wow,” she mumbled, abruptly embarrassed at how green she really was at this sex stuff.

Never done that or never reacted like that?” he asked, lifting up on one elbow beside her to look down at her.

Her face exploded into fiery heat that could only be the mother of all blushes. “Neither,” she confessed.

That was your first orgasm?” he exclaimed.

She squeezed her eyes shut in mortification. If possible, her face heated up a few more degrees Kelvin.

And then his mouth was on her forehead, kissing her face all over as his fingertips caressed her body lightly through the satin gown. “Wanna do it again?” he murmured against the corner of her mouth.

Yes!” she blurted.

He laughed richly. “You women have all the luck. You get to have as many of those as you want until you fall unconscious of exhaustion.”

She couldn’t help but reply, “That sounds absolutely amazing.”

He laughed again. “Sex till complete exhaustion it is.”

He pushed up off the sofa and reached down for her hands, still plastered to the arm of his sofa. He lifted her to her feet, and she was shocked at how wobbly her legs were. His hands took bunches of satin at her hips and raised the gown up over her head, blatantly skimming his palms over her curves as he went.

He stepped back for a moment to stare at her standing there in just the thong. With a smile, he moved close once more to hook a finger under the lingerie and whisk it down her body, as well.

Better,” he murmured. “The firelight looks even sexier than that dress on your skin.”

And with those words, he banished any shame or self-consciousness she might have been feeling. He was still wearing his tuxedo trousers, with a satin stripe down their sides, emphasizing the length and power of his thighs. She reached for his waistband and he grinned down at her as she hooked both pants and briefs and stripped them off him.

He was more than ready for her and she, too, stepped back to take a long look at him. The firelight made him look like a savage, strong and wild and untamed. And yet, he was beautiful, too. Someone ought to carve a statue of him and put it in a museum.

You okay?” he murmured.

She gazed up into his eyes. “I’m fine. I keep telling you I feel perfectly safe with you.”

Maybe you shouldn’t,” he muttered half under his breath.

Why not?”

He looked over his shoulder into the fire before admitting, “Because of some of the things I want to do to you, Miss Merris.”

Show me?”

His gaze snapped back to hers, blazing more brightly than the fire. “Are you sure?”

You promised to make me go unconscious of exhaustion,” she reminded him.

Who knew a gaze so dark could burn so bright? It seared into her, promising exhaustion and more. He stepped forward, swept her into his arms, and burned the night down around her.

* * *

Willa woke to a weight across her middle. Even in sleep, Gabe had a possessive arm thrown across her, claiming her as his. She took in the morning light in his bedroom, which was as rustic and comfortable as the rest of the bungalow. Funny how this place was as much a part of Gabe as his high-tech condo in Dallas.

She took inventory of her body, which felt unfamiliar to her. She’d had no idea it was capable of the excesses of pleasure to which Gabe had brought it last night. This morning she felt limp. A little achy here and there, but overall, glorious. No wonder women raved about him in the bedroom. Not that she planned to add to the gossip about him any time soon.

What the other women had failed to mention was how sweet and funny and considerate he could also be. Yes, he’d demanded everything she had to give to him and had not allowed her to hide any part of herself from him. But he’d never made her feel anything other than special and beautiful and sexy. He’d fundamentally changed how she viewed herself. Her body. Her sensuality. For the first time in her life, she felt like a woman.

He stirred, his arm tightening around her, pulling her closer against his side. His mouth moved lazily in her hair. “Morning,” he mumbled.

She turned into him, looping her arms around his neck. “Good morning, indeed,” she murmured back.

His eyes opened and a smile gleamed in them. “You’re even more beautiful the morning after. Women the planet over would kill to look like you with no makeup on, and their hair tousled around them like that.”

She smiled up at him with a new confidence she’d never had before. Not until Gabe Dawson had loved her. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

His visage went surprisingly serious. “Actually, I’ve never said that to a woman before. And I meant it when I said it to you.”

Warmth unfolded low in her belly that had nothing to do with lust. “You really are a special man. Thank you so much for last night.”

A crack of laughter escaped him. “Honey, that’s my line. I’m the one who should be thanking you. Hell, I should be doing it on bended knee with dozens of roses in my arms.”

I prefer gardenias. Roses are too sweet and overwhelming for me.”

Duly noted.” He kissed the tip of her nose and rolled over onto his back, taking her with him by virtue of his arm around her shoulders. “What shall we do today?” he asked reflectively.

Don’t you have an empire to run?”

He shrugged beneath her ear. “It’ll run itself for a few days.”

Since when did he blow off his company for a woman? The way she heard it, he took business calls in the middle of sex. Although, having experienced his total focus firsthand, she had to question the quality of the woman’s lovemaking who’d reported that salacious little tidbit about him. Nonetheless, he had a solid reputation as a workaholic.

She was definitely on board with the notion of spending the day in bed with him. She couldn’t get enough of him. And not just the sex. Just being skin-to-skin with him like this renewed her spirit. Healed her wounded soul. She felt like a woman again, cherished and whole. They lay there for several minutes of relaxed quiet, which was another thing she loved about him. He didn’t feel a compulsion to fill the silences with meaningless noise.

But then the ring of a telephone shattered the quiet. He reached out to pick up his cell phone and look at the incoming number. He swore quietly and put the phone to his ear. “Dawson, here.”

She snuggled against his side, relishing his heat and strength as his fingers twined lazily in her hair. All of a sudden, his entire body tensed.

What?” he burst out. “When?” A pause. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

She sat up in alarm beside him. “What’s wrong?”

The police got a video of my wife.”

His wife. He called Melinda his wife. Not his ex-wife. Willa rolled away from him and climbed out of his bed hastily, all but running for the living room and the scanty protection of her clothing. He’d called her his wife.





Chapter 11

Gabe leaped into jeans and a shirt and was relieved to see Willa dressed in her gown and waiting by the door when he came out of his bedroom.

I’ll drop you off at your place on my way to the police station,” he told her.