Rush (Breathless #1)(5)

Her mind was a flurry of upheaval. “Gabe, where are we going?”

He walked outside and motioned to his doorman, who rushed over the moment he saw Gabe standing there. A few seconds later, a sleek, black car pulled to the front and Gabe ushered her inside.

He stood, bent over so that he could see inside the back of the car as his hand grasped the door.

“You’re going home and getting out of that f**king dress,” he said. “Then tomorrow you’re going to come into my office at ten.” He started to close the door but then leaned over to stare at her once more. “And Mia? You better damn well be there.”

Chapter two

“So let me get this straight. You bailed on going to the club with me and the girls so you could go to some stuffy grand opening of your brother’s hotel, and while you were there, Gabe Hamilton dragged you onto the terrace, kissed you and then sent you home with explicit instructions to be in his office at ten this morning.”

Mia slouched on the couch across from her roommate and best friend, Caroline, and rubbed her eyes in an effort to get rid of the fog hanging over her. She hadn’t slept at all the night before. How could she? Gabe had tilted her entire universe and now ten o’clock was bearing down on her and she had no idea what she was supposed to do.

“Pretty much, yeah,” Mia replied.

Caroline made an exaggerated face and then fanned herself with one hand. “And here I thought you couldn’t possibly have as good a time as we did. But I sure as hell wasn’t kissed by a gorgeous billionaire.”

“But why?” Mia asked, frustration making her voice edgy. It was a question she’d asked herself repeatedly during her sleepless vigil. Why had he kissed her? Why did he want to see her now when he’d seemed to spend so much time avoiding her?

It hadn’t been a request, but then Gabe Hamilton never asked for anything. He gave orders and he expected results. And she didn’t know what it said about her that she found that particular trait delicious. It made her all warm and shivery inside.

Caroline rolled her eyes. “He wants you, chica. And why wouldn’t he? You’re young and hot, and I bet you’ve starred in his fantasies a time or two over the years.”

Mia wrinkled her nose. “You make it sound so icky.”

“Oh for God’s sake. It’s not like you haven’t lusted over him since you were a teenager. And it’s not like he ever acted on those urges. You’re twenty-four now, not sixteen. Big difference.”

“I just wish I knew what he wanted,” Mia said, worry evident in her tone.

“If you have to wonder that after he threatened to f**k you on the terrace then there’s no hope for you,” Caroline said in exasperation.

She made a show of checking her watch and then leveled a pointed stare in Mia’s direction.

“Girlfriend, you’ve got less than an hour to get ready before you have to leave. I suggest you get off the couch and go make yourself look fabulous.”

“I don’t even know what I’m going to wear,” Mia muttered.

Caroline smiled. “I do. Come on. You’ve got a man to dazzle.”

Dazzle? Mia wanted to laugh. If anyone was dazzled, it was her. She was so befuddled by the events of the night before that she was going to be a walking disaster if and when she actually made it into Gabe’s office.

• • •

Gabe fingered the contract he’d taken out and stared at the front page, silent as he contemplated the exact path he wanted to take with Mia. It was new for him to spend any time pondering how he handled his approach. He only did things one way. Straightforward. He treated his personal relationships as he did his business. There was no room for emotion, even in a relationship. He’d got caught with his pants down once—completely blindsided if he was going to be brutally honest with himself—and he’d sworn it would never happen again.

There was nothing like being made a complete fool of by a woman he’d trusted implicitly to ensure he didn’t travel that path again.

It wasn’t as if he’d sworn off women—he liked them too much. Loved the feel of a submissive woman under his hands and tutelage. But his approach had changed. The way he dealt with them had changed. He hadn’t had a choice.

But Mia…

He couldn’t pretend she wasn’t different from any other woman he’d had. She was. She wasn’t just another female face that he might view with affection, but keep his distance from any messy entanglements. The women he chose to be with knew the score. They knew what was expected of them and what they could expect in return.

Mia was Jace’s baby sister. Beyond that, she’d been a girl he’d watched grow up. Hell, he’d attended her high school graduation. He’d scowled at her prom date when the little prick had come to pick her up. He’d enjoyed watching the jerk’s balls shrivel up when he, Jace and Ash had told him in no uncertain terms what would happen if he disrespected Mia in any way.

He’d seen her when she’d visited Jace at holidays and when she was out of school. He’d even gone to her college graduation.

That had been a hell unto itself, because Mia had blossomed into a stunning young woman. She no longer had the look of a much younger, innocent girl. He didn’t even want to think of how many lovers she’d had. It would just piss him off. He wasn’t concerned with them anyway, because they were in her past and that’s where they were going to stay.