Rush (Breathless #1)(62)

She wanted to sag onto the desk and lie there for the next fifteen minutes while she recovered from teetering on the edge for so long. Instead of reprimanding her for not immediately following his order, Gabe slid his hands over her shoulders and then lifted her upward, pulling her into his arms.

She snuggled into his embrace, inhaling his spicy scent and his warmth. He kissed the top of her head and murmured, “I know I push too hard, but God help me, I can’t seem to do anything else.”

She smiled against him and hugged him, wrapping her arms around him to squeeze. He seemed surprised by the gesture. He went still but then he squeezed her tighter against him and buried his face in her hair.

“Don’t let me change you, Mia,” he whispered. “You’re perfect the way you are.”

But he had changed her. Irrevocably. She’d never be the same.

When he let her go, he turned away, almost as if he loathed the fact that he’d whispered what he had. She straightened her clothing and pretended not to see his discomfort. She went to her desk, grabbed her purse and then turned back to Gabe, a bright smile on her face.

“Shall we go?”

Gabe held out his arm and she went ahead of him, his hand pressed to her back as he let them out of his office. They said their good-byes to Eleanor who was preparing to leave as well and then they ran into Ash at the elevator.

Mia’s heart plummeted. Wasn’t he supposed to be at a dinner meeting with Jace? God, what if he’d tried to go into Gabe’s office? Had he been there and found it locked? Worse, could he have heard anything?

“Ash, I thought you were with Jace,” Gabe said easily.

Ash grinned and Mia marveled at how damn good-looking the man was.

“Forgot a folder with important info on the people we’re meeting for dinner. Jace is schmoozing and giving my excuses for being unavoidably detained.”

Mia snorted. “Jace schmoozing? That’s your forte, Ash. How on earth did you finagle being the one to retrieve the folder? He’s probably about to crawl out of his skin right now.”

Ash chucked her on the chin and then pulled her into a squeeze. “Missed you, kiddo. And yeah, I didn’t give Jace a choice. I cut and run before he could be snarly.”

She hugged Ash back, comforted by his obvious affection for her. Until today, it had been a good while since she’d been with Ash or Jace. She missed that. Missed their steady, reassuring comfort. “Missed you too. It’s been too long, Ash. I was beginning to think you didn’t love me anymore.”

They got onto the elevator and Ash gave her a look of mock horror. “Not love you? I’d slay dragons and lay them at your feet. I adore you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t overdo the charm. You wouldn’t want to use it all up because it’s totally wasted on me.”

He slung an arm over her shoulders, grinning the entire while. “It doesn’t hurt to dream.” He gave a dramatic sigh. “One day, you’ll be mine.”

“Yeah, right after Jace removes your balls,” Gabe said darkly.

Ash winced, which only made him even more damn sexy. It was a shame she wasn’t attracted to him because he would be so good in bed. Flirty. Fun. Full-on down-and-dirty sex. But if the rumors were true and he and Jace tended to have sex with the same woman, that would be incredibly awkward…

She shuddered at the thought. There were just some things she didn’t need to know about her brother for God’s sake. And picturing him naked with Ash may well have ruined any appreciation she had for Ash. Which was sad, because the man did fuel some sigh-worthy moments.

“See you later tonight, Gabe,” Ash said as he broke from the elevator. “Jace awaits and if I don’t get there soon, he’ll run off the investors before I have a chance to charm them.”

Gabe held up a hand in a wave and Mia called back a good-bye. Then Gabe ushered her into his car for the ride to his apartment.

“You’re seeing Ash tonight?” Mia asked when they settled in for the ride. “So are we not going out?”

Gabe’s lips tightened. “You’re going to dinner with me, as planned. I have to meet Jace and Ash around nine for drinks.”

“Oh,” she said, wondering what that was about. But it wasn’t as if it weren’t a normal occurrence. When all three were in town and not traveling in different directions, they spent a lot of time together.

And she supposed if that changed all of a sudden along with the timing of her coming to work for Gabe, it may set off some alarms with Jace especially.

“What should I wear?” she asked, changing the topic.

Gabe’s gaze fell on her, sweeping up and down until she may as well have been naked.

“One of your new dresses. The black one with the slit up the thigh.”

She lifted her eyebrows. “Going fancy tonight?”

He didn’t react. His expression was inscrutable. “I’m going to take you for a nice, quiet dinner and dancing. Good music, good food, beautiful woman. Not much more a man can ask for.”

She went warm with pleasure at his compliment. Her smile was quick and his lips quirked almost as if he couldn’t help but react to her pleasure.

Then his expression grew serious. “You’re not just a beautiful woman, Mia. I don’t want you to ever forget that. You’re more than that. Don’t ever let me take so much there’s nothing left.”