Rush (Breathless #1)(3)

Mia knew that Ash never spent any time with them. He spent most of his time with Jace and Gabe, but in particular Jace. Jace had made it clear to Mia that Ash’s family were, in his words, ass**les, and she’d left it at that, not that she’d ever have occasion to meet them. They pretended that HCM didn’t exist.

She wanted to turn and flee when two men approached her, smiling like they were about to score for the night. But she hadn’t found Jace yet, and she wasn’t going to leave so quickly when she’d spent a ridiculous amount of time getting ready. Just in case she happened to see Gabe, which was pathetic enough, but there it was.

She smiled and braced herself, determined not to embarrass her brother by acting like a twit on his big night.

And then, to her complete surprise, Gabe appeared, wading through the crowd, a scowl marring his face. He stepped in front of the two approaching men and took her arm, effectively herding her away before the men got to her.

“Hello to you too, Gabe,” she said shakily.

There was something about the man that just made her stupid. She couldn’t talk, couldn’t think, couldn’t form a single coherent thought. He probably thought it a miracle that she actually completed her degree and graduated with honors. Even if he and Jace thought it was a perfectly useless degree. Jace had wanted her to pursue a business degree. He wanted to bring her into the “family” business. But she wasn’t sure yet what she wanted to do. Which was another source of exasperation to Jace.

That made her feel guilty. Because she had the luxury of taking time to make decisions. Jace had always provided generously for her. An apartment, whatever she needed, even though after graduating she’d made the effort not to rely on him for support.

The people she’d graduated with had already moved into jobs. They were making careers. She was still working in a pastry shop part-time and dragging her feet as to what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.

And that hesitation likely had a lot to do with her deluded fantasies regarding the man hauling her away by the arm. She had to get over this fixation with him and move on. She couldn’t spend her whole life with the ridiculous notion that he was going to one day notice her and decide he had to have her.

She greedily drank in the sight of him, like an addict getting their next high—like she’d gone far too long without that fix. He was a man whose presence filled any room he occupied. He wore his black hair cut short, styled with minimal product. Just enough to give it an expensive, sophisticated look.

He had the look of the sinful bad boy all the women went wild for. He had a total “don’t give a f**k” attitude, and what Gabe wanted, Gabe always got. His confidence and arrogance were two things that drew her to him—had always drawn her to him. She was helpless to fight her attraction to him. God knew she’d tried for years, but her obsession showed no signs of waning.

“Mia,” he said in a low voice. “I didn’t realize you were coming. Jace didn’t say anything.”

“He doesn’t know,” she said with a smile. “I decided to surprise him. Where is he, by the way?”

Brief discomfort entered Gabe’s eyes. “He was called away. I’m not sure if he’ll be back.”

Her smile slipped. “Oh.” She glanced down self-consciously. “I guess I wasted a perfectly good dress on the occasion.”

His gaze slid lazily over her, making her feel as though he stripped her with no effort. “It’s a nice dress.”

“I should probably go then. Not much point in my being here if Jace isn’t.”

“You can stay with me,” he said bluntly.

Her eyes widened. Gabe had never really gone out of his way to spend any time with her. In fact, it seemed like he tried to avoid her. It was enough to give her a complex. Oh, he was nice to her. He sent her gifts on special occasions. Checked in on her to make sure she had what she needed—not that Jace would have ever neglected to do the same. But he’d certainly never made it a point to spend more than a few moments in her presence.

“Would you like to dance?” he asked.

She stared at him in bewilderment, wondering where the real Gabe Hamilton was hiding. Gabe didn’t dance. Oh, he could dance, it was just that he rarely did.

The dance floor was filled with other couples, some older, some Gabe’s age. She didn’t see a single person her own age, but then most of the attendees were of that uberwealthy, ultrabeautiful class that most twenty-four-year-olds hadn’t yet entered.

“Uh, sure,” she said. Why not? She was here. She’d spent two hours getting ready. Why let a perfectly good dress and awesome shoes go to waste?

He put his hand to her back, and it was like being branded. She barely suppressed a shiver as he guided her toward the area reserved for dancing. Dancing with him was a bad idea in so many ways. How was she supposed to get over her infatuation if she kept putting herself in close proximity to him? But there was no way she was passing up an opportunity to be in his arms. Even if it was only for a few minutes. A few glorious, amazing minutes.

The sultry tones of a saxophone mixed with the tinkle of a piano and the low throb of a bass. The music invaded her veins as she slid into Gabe’s arms. It was heady and intoxicating, and it made her feel as though she were in the middle of a really vivid dream.

His hand slid over her back, coming to rest on the portion bared by the low-cut dress. The material skimmed just above her bu**ocks, a seductive tease she’d had to talk herself into wearing. Now she was really glad she had.