Bedding The Best Man (Bedding the Bachelors Book 7) (14 page)

She moved up toward him, and kissed him passionately. He couldn’t stop himself, had to wrap his arms around her, and pull her against him. The kiss was deep, and curious, languid and exploratory. Her tongue flickered into his mouth, tasting and teasing. She suckled gently on his tongue when he probed inside her lips.

She stood up unexpectedly, turned and looked over her shoulder at him through her mane of hair. Then she planted her hands on her and bent slowly down, like a pole dancer only without a pole. He moaned aloud. Her ass was pert, smooth and silky. He longed to sink his fingers into the curvaceous flesh.

With a flick of her hair, she stood again, this time cupping her own breasts. She was perfect in every way, from her soft arms and luscious breasts to the perfectly waxed line of hair that drew his eye downwards.

She straddled him again, sitting up proudly.

He cupped her breasts tenderly, gently stroking her hardened nipples until she gasped with pleasure. “You like that, baby?” he asked. He flattened his tongue and lapped at her right nipple. He circled it, and teased it, enjoying the fact that she seemed to like it so much. He closed his lips around the entire areola and suckled, hard.

“Oh Gabe, that feels so good. Please don’t stop.”

Her hips were rocking rhythmically against his pelvis and he could feel how slick she was against his cock. He wanted to touch her there, to taste her, but she wasn’t having any of it. She rose up and put her hand between her thighs and guided him inside her. She impaled herself upon his full length, biting at her lip as she felt every solid inch of him fill her up. She flung her head back and began to rise up and down, rocking slightly forward and back to get maximum stimulation on her swollen clit. She pounded down on him as his hips rose to meet her.

They fit so perfectly, matching stroke for stroke. She rode him like a cowgirl, hard and fast and he could see that she came more than once as she just kept on, gasping with every stroke. Her mewling cries with each little orgasm made him hotter, and harder. Eventually he could take no more, his cock pumping into her with abandon as he rubbed her clit to make sure she called out his name.

“Gabe!” she cried as she collapsed against him, spent.

He cradled her in his arms. They were both slick with sweat, and he pushed her damp hair out of her face. “So, that was your fantasy?” he said with a grin.

She smacked him on the chest.

“That was just one of them.”

“Damn, I look forward to finding out all about the rest of them,” he quipped as he caressed her perfect butt.

Chapter Thirteen

Gabe only left Brianne long enough to put out the fire he’d started for the steaks and clean up the food they’d abandoned. Then he’d returned to her, and they spent the rest of the night making love, and snoozing in each other’s arms. Brianne was glad that though Gabe clearly liked things a little hard and fast, he also seemed to get just as much out of being tender and loving. The sexual compatibility she thought she had shared with Eric was barely even a flickering candle flame in comparison to the fiery inferno that seemed to burn constantly between she and Gabe.

When they finally slept, her much-needed rest didn’t last long. The dawn chorus broke her slumber in a musical and gentle way, and without blinds or drapes to keep out the sun it began to seep through the canvas. She couldn’t complain, though.

Brianne stretched, and looked at the peaceful face of the man she now knew she loved, glad that he hadn’t woken yet. She got such pleasure from looking at him. He was so utterly perfect, even with the various scars on his face and body from fighting and sports.

His muscles were perfectly defined from all his hours in the gym, and there was a tiny patch of hair between his pecs that narrowed into a downy line, running over his washboard abs and down to his crotch. She found herself following it, wanting to take his cock in her mouth, so he woke up with her lips clamped around him. But every bit of her was aching with a delicious pain that made her reluctant to wake him just yet, even though she was sure there would be a lot of pleasure for her in doing so.

She decided she needed to use the bathroom, so she eased herself out of the blankets, trying hard not to disturb him. It wasn’t often that Gabe looked entirely at peace. There always seemed to be a bit of a war going on inside him. Brianne was never entirely sure who won the battle, not knowing who the combatants were. But seeing him so calm made her happy. She hoped he would find the way to be so even when awake one day.

She pulled on a large sweater of Gabe’s that came down almost to her knees and her flip flops, and made her way out of the yurt to the bathroom. She was still amazed at how similar it was to using any other toilet in the world. When she came out, she gazed around, and sat in one of the chairs, captivated by the landscape around her. She chuckled happily to herself as she tucked her knees up inside the sweater, so only her toes peeked out of the bottom.
So this why people enjoy camping
, she thought to herself, memories of her perfect night playing in her mind.

“Bri, everything okay?” Gabe called out, a hint of worry in his voice.

“I’m out here. I got caught up in watching the sunrise,” she called.

He came out of the tent, just in his jeans, the top button still undone. He looked so beautiful in the early morning light, his bare feet padding through the dew-covered grass to her side. He leaned down and kissed her. He looked relaxed, the usual frown lines between his eyes erased by their night of pleasure.

“Good morning,” he said, looking down at her with the sweetest smile. He tucked a stray curl behind her ear. He made Brianne think of a kid on Christmas morning who’s just gotten everything he wanted.

“Good morning to you. How did you sleep?”

“Like the dead,” he said, grinning. He ran a hand over his head, ruffling his hair, and she chuckled to herself. He was adorable like this, gentle and sweet. A far cry from the image he presented to the world.

It made her feel special but also more confident. She’d always believed she had special insight into who Gabe really was, and every second she was with him simply confirmed it.

That was why she wasn’t surprised when several minutes later, a small frown flitted over his perfect features. She’d been waiting for it, in fact. Knew it was only a matter of time before he started to worry about whether they’d done the right thing.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said. It seemed better to cut to the chase, get it out of the way. Now that the heat of passion had dissipated, it was perfectly natural for reality to settle in. And since they both loved Eric, that meant feeling guilty for what they’d done and fearing that they’d betrayed him.

“Maybe,” he said. “But can we pretend you don’t? At least until after breakfast?”

She hesitated, then nodded. He wanted time to think on it. Or more time to enjoy their time together before things turned ugly. Either way, she felt the same way.

With a heavy sigh, Gabe turned away. Brianne watched, captivated by the sight of his body in motion, while he made coffee and got breakfast started. Muscles played beneath his bare skin as he bent and twisted. He was in magnificent shape. She blushed, remembering what he’d done to her just hours earlier. If that was what all his boxing and working out did, she’d buy him his own gym.

At the smell of bacon hitting a hot pan, her stomach rumbled audibly.

He grinned. “Sorry. I’m starved, too, given we skipped dinner. Not to mention we got a little carried away last night and worked up an appetite.”

They’d gotten “carried away”?

His choice of words filled her with dread.

She’d been fine with his request to avoid talking about his worries, but now she was getting the distinct feeling that he was already shutting down on her.

“You don’t have to be sorry. I’m just as responsible for last night as you are,” she murmured. She shivered, pulling her legs closer to her chest. It had gotten colder.

“You were left at the altar a couple of weeks ago, Brianne,” he muttered, and she immediately straightened.

“So what? That has nothing to do with last night.”

His head whipped up and his gaze lasered into hers. “I beg to differ. Because if you hadn’t been left at the altar, you’d be Eric’s wife right now, and I guarantee you last night would never have happened.”

“I know that,” she snapped. “You don’t have to point it out. Or do you? Are you blaming me for last night? Are you implying that even if I’d married Eric, I would have seduced you? Because—because of the dreams I told you about?” Suddenly, she felt her lips tremble.

Oh God. She’d expected Gabe to have some regrets, but she’d never thought he’d think that of her. That he’d—

“Stop it, Brianne,” he said, his harsh voice interrupting her thought. “I don’t think that.”

“Then what are you thinking?”

He swallowed hard, turned away for a moment, then turned back to her with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand.

“You could have espresso makers for your event,” he murmured. “I’m sure a lot of your guests aren’t used to drinking plain coffee anymore. I couldn’t get my hands on one in time.”

“Yeah, sure, fine.” Who cared about coffee? Who cared about the damn contest? All she cared about was the man in front of her. The man who was obviously beginning to push her away.

“And there should be something sort of fancy for breakfasts, wouldn’t you say? Or do you think it would be more of a brunch situation?” he asked.

“Brunch,” she answered, automatically. She wasn’t thinking about his words, only about the way her heart was aching.

“What do you think—omelet station? Waffle station? Crepes, maybe?”

“I don’t know,” Bri said, searching desperately for a way to get through to him while their conversation masked what was really happening. “Um, maybe omelets and crepes? Waffles may be considered too high in carbs for many of these people. Especially the women.”

“Of course.” Gabe pulled up a table, placing it in front of Brianne, and set a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her. “Scrambled, like you like them.”

“And bacon nearly burned. You remember how I hate floppy bacon.”

“Floppy bacon might as well be ham,” he said, quoting something she’d declared years before. How was it he could remember so much of what she said? Like he carried a tape recorder around with him.

He sat down to his own food, eating carefully. Avoiding her gaze. Brianne’s heart broke, but she desperately tried to hide it. For several minutes, she pushed her food around, then gave up.

“What’s happening, Gabe?” she asked, searching his face.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I understand you’re freaked. I know it’s an adjustment, the two of us. After what happened last night. But I didn’t expect this feeling of distance between us. We’re not strangers, you and me. This wasn’t a one-night stand, not like before.”

“Wasn’t it?” he said, sighing and pushing his empty plate away.

Her eyes widened. “Not to me. Was it to you? Please, talk to me. I want us to be open with each other, you know? No secrets.”

“You mean like the secrets we both kept from Eric.”

He might as well have hit her. “Why are you talking about him right now?” Of course she understood why. But what she’d meant to ask was why they weren’t talking about
them
first. Wasn’t that the most important thing? How they felt about each other? What they wanted from each other? Only then could they talk about Eric and what needed to happen next.

Gabe laughed bitterly. “Are you kidding? Eric’s right here, standing between us. Or he might as well be.” He got up, pushing his chair aside, before busying himself with cleanup. Soon, she realized he wasn’t just cleaning up, but
packing up
.

“Gabe?” she said. “Stop it! You can’t pretend last night didn’t happen.”

“I’m not pretending that. It’s just…for six years, I’d convinced myself that you and Eric were perfect for each other. That you and I were just friends. That you didn’t feel the way I did. That I wasn’t good enough for you. Some of that’s changed, but not all of it.”

Brianne’s eyes filled with tears. She could clearly see the tension in Gabe’s shoulders as he worked. No one had ever scoured a pan more thoroughly than he was. He poured water over the fire, eradicating the flames, then shoveled ash over top.

He stared at the extinguished fire. “I’m used to stepping aside, Brianne. It’s what feels right to me.”

“But it’s not right. Not anymore.” She dared to reach out and place a tentative hand on his back, which he shrugged off.

Like her touch burned.

She yanked her hand back, hurt by his reaction.

Regret flickered across his expression before he neutralized it.

“Eric’s gone. He left me, Gabe.”

“He’s going to be back. You know that.”

“Well, yeah. His family. His job. His life is here, after all. But that doesn’t mean we’ll be back together.”

“You’re wrong. I know Eric. I didn’t know about the dreams, and I can see why he flipped out, but he’s going to fight for you. He’s going to be back to claim what’s his.”