Hunks, Hammers, and Happily Ever Afters (23 page)

The handful of soap burst forth the scent of vines and moss and as he coated her hair and body. He delighted in her cries of pleasure as he tongued and nibbled at her skin while his hands caressed and stroked her with soap. Each time the water cleaned an area, his mouth was on it. Her neck, between her breasts, the taut, erect nipples. Her fingers ran through his hair, spreading more of the soap, scrubbing and stroking as his fingers slipped between her legs to clean the delicate skin there. She was slick, and not just from soap.

“Oh, god!” Her voice was harsh, panicked. “Please, Gabe.”

He began to rub her hardened clit as she dug fingers into his shoulders like in his dream. But unlike the dream, her callouses were rough against his skin. He realized the sensation was seductive. Her fingers scratched and tickled along his spine and it made him crazy.

Sophie’s breasts were just like he’d imagined, full and heavy under his lips. Soon she was pressed back against the wall, her voice just a series of groans and cries as his thumb moved in and out of her while his other thumb rubbed her nub. She started to lose her balance so he sat her on the edge of the tub and kept moving his hands and mouth until she could take it no more. With a strangled cry, she went over the edge. His mouth was there instantly, tasting her, taking her higher. He knelt in the wide tub and pulled her down to lay on the tub bottom, her legs high in the air.

Water rained down on them as he eased himself inside her. She cried out again as his mouth found hers and he started to move in and out. He pulled back enough to whisper next to her ear, “I have wanted you for so very long.”

“I have too,” she replied. He wasn’t sure how that was possible, but he wasn’t going to argue. Soon they were moving in rhythm as she met each of his thrusts with upward motion. The slapping sound as their hips met was constant under the flow of the warm water and the pounding of it on his back urged him on even faster.

He was close, so close but trying to hang on to let this last as long as possible. But Sophie snaked a hand down between them and began to toy with the base of his cock, rubbing behind it in a circular motion that gave him a sensation so strong that he couldn’t hold off any more.

He kissed her fiercely and pulled out of her just as he orgasmed, rubbing his erection against her belly and breasts as he began to come. She moved her hand with him and coaxed more out, rubbing and pulling as he thrust furiously and struggled to catch his breath. When he was finally spent, he rolled off to the side of her as the water poured over them both, cleaning their fluids down the drain. “That was delightful, Sophie.”

“You were . . .
amazing
,” she said, after a few moments, moving slightly so the water wasn’t hitting her right in the face. “I had no idea the bathtubs were this big!”

Gabe chuckled in pleasure. “Mr. Will liked not only baths for one, but for two. That was the first renovation on the list when he bought the Starlight.” He reached up with one foot and tapped down on the lever on the spigot to turn off the shower. The rush of warm water began to fill the tub. His hip was blocking the drain so they could float together. He put an arm around Sophie and pulled her against his chest. She twisted slightly so she could wrap her knee around his thigh.

“While that’s not something I want to think about my grandfather doing, I’m very glad he invested in the tubs.” She leaned over and began to lick water off his chest and it felt . . . oh, very nice.

“You should be careful. It has been some time since I have been with a woman as sexy as you. I might just have to carry you to the bed and have you again.”

She twitched her eyebrows and gave a sly smile. “Why wait?” She pulled her arm from behind his head and put her palms on the edges of the tub. He watched with growing arousal as ropes of muscles in her arm lifted her bodily over him. She sat down, straddling his hips and began to slowly rub her crotch against his. The movements caused the water to slosh in waves against his balls, which made his pulse begin to race again. Pulling her forward, he began to suckle at her breasts again as he began to harden under her. She raised up slightly onto her knees and then settled down again, his now solid erection deep inside her.

She rode him slowly and he let her, closing his eyes to let the sensations wash over him. Different images of her flashed through his mind—the happy, innocent smiling woman in the photo, the serious professional who arrived in a limo, the dressed up date, the casual Sophie ready for a beach party and the workman, easily handling tools that not even every man could wield. He opened his eyes to see the sexual Sophie, her lips parted, eyes closed, as she took her pleasure from him. So many different women in such a short time. She could easily steal his heart if he wasn’t very careful.

A moan escaped him as she began to speed up. He began to thrust up into her each time she lowered herself onto him and she began to gasp. She leaned forward and grasped his shoulders, changing the angle. Gabe put his hands on her hips and began to thrust in earnest, the sensation inside of him stronger than last time, as though the previous orgasm hadn’t sated him, but had increased his need. She lay passive above him now, letting him control the speed. “I love the feeling of your body around me.”

“Take me, Gabe. I want you so bad.”

The water was halfway up his chest now, lapping at the edge of the tub, so he moved his body slightly to let the drain start to pull some of the water away. But the sensation of the moving water as it began to swirl down turned his brain to putty. He buried his face in her hair and began to nip at her neck, his need wanting more from her. She responded by digging in her nails and nipping at his neck in return. The combination of sensations sent them both over the edge together.

The water was nearly gone by the time they caught their breath and the throbbing in his cock subsided. Surely he was spent this time.

But as they were toweling off, just the sight of her muscled round behind made him crazy yet again. He grabbed her hips and began to thrust, pushing her up against the wall until they’d come yet a third time in less than an hour. It was insane, impossible, and yet he couldn’t seem to get enough of her.

She fell asleep in his arms, barely the middle of the afternoon, her arm pale and perfect against his dark chest, her hair impossibly blonde and silken. The roof could wait. He couldn’t think of anywhere he would rather be than in her arms.

CHAPTER FOUR

Sophie stood up from the desk chair, stretching her back. Her legs and hips protested sharply. It felt like she’d spent the last week tripling up on spin class, but who needed cycling when Gabe was around? The week had flown by in a flurry of sexual innuendo, aching need and sexual gymnastics. Every time she saw him, she turned to butter. Whenever he stripped off his shirt under the blazing sun, she couldn’t take her eyes off the sculpted muscles, the perfect jawline, the thick curled hair, dripping with sweat.
Oh my—

But the sultry nights with him were even better. When he took her, he
claimed
her, cupping her chin with rough hands and kissing her so deep that she couldn’t breath. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on the man, just sinewy strength. Yet he could be so gentle, like he couldn’t believe he was touching her.

And while she couldn’t understand why he felt the same about her, he swore he did. He called her intoxicating, vivacious, beautiful, and the hunger in his eyes when they made love couldn’t be denied.

She was infatuated, pure and simple. That was the only reason she could think of why it had taken her so long to sit down in the office and go over the books. Gabe had gone to the lumber yard to get one more bucket of roof cement. There was only a small corner left, but it really needed to get done.

There was a knock on the office door and she automatically called out. “Come in.”

Marie poked her head in. “Am I interrupting?”

She shook her head and waved her forward toward the chair next to the desk. “Not at all. I needed a break anyway. Would you like some coffee? It’s a fresh pot.”

“Yes, please,” the older woman nodded. She set down a pink and turquoise striped beach bag on the floor next to her.

Sophie had grown to really like Grandpa’s girlfriend. It made her happy that he’d had such fun at the end of his life. The fact that Marie had made him happy right up to the end made it somehow worth knowing. “Just a little sugar, please. My stomach doesn’t like cream anymore.”

Passing her a cup, she sat back down. “What can I do for you?”

After a sip of coffee, Marie put the cup on the desk. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you alone for a few days now. But it’s been hard to catch you alone. You and Gabriel have been a little . . .
preoccupied.
.” She smiled knowingly and let out a small laugh.

Blushing was pointless. The whole complex knew about them by now. “Well, I haven’t exactly been playing hard to get. But he’s out for probably an hour. What did you want to say?”

Marie tapped her fingernails on the polished wood and then reached into the beach bag, extracting an old-fashioned ledger book. She put it on top of the papers on the desk.

Sophie had seen similar ones in Grandpa’s office. While he used computers, he seemed to think best when writing on the pale green paper with red and blue pens. “You need to look at this, dear,” Marie said. “It’s the books that Will kept on the Starlight.”

Sophie motioned to the desk. “I’ve been looking over the books. Everything appears fine.”

She tapped a painted fingernail on the red leather cover. “In
those
books, probably. But these are the actual figures.” Sophie couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows and the silver-haired woman let out a frustrated breath. “Your grandfather was a wonderful man. He was. I loved him with all my heart. When he thought about business, he would be a cold, logical man because that’s what’s needed. A pragmatist. But when he was here—” She paused and then smiled. “He
loved
the Starlight, Sophie. It was more than just a motel to him. Gabe is absolutely right about that. But his brain turned off when he got here and he turned into an idealist who believed Gabe when he said that everyone needs everything for the price they can afford.” She tapped a finger on the book. “You and I know that business doesn’t work that way. Look this over, but not here. And
please
don’t show it to Gabriel until you’ve thought about what to say. He’ll be hard to win over and see things the way Will
should have
insisted on.” She took a final sip of coffee and then stood up. “I’m going to wander down to the beach, dear. When you’re done looking, you can either keep this or give it back to me. It depends on what you decide.”

She cracked open the book after Marie left. It appeared to be a monthly expense summary. Wondering what was different from what she’d been looking at, she made copies of the balance sheets that Gabe had been preparing and took them back to her room to look at.

An hour later, she was glad she’d thrown the security bar across the lock because Gabe tried to come in to her room with the master key, startling her so badly that she nearly slid all the papers into the trash can in reaction. “Sophie? Is everything okay?” He asked it through the narrow slit that the security bar allowed. “Why is the door locked?” It was a valid question, because she’d given him carte blanche to come in when he pleased several days before.

The lie came out so easily that it made her stomach tense up and heat come to her face. “I just have a really bad headache. Too much paperwork. Could I beg off tonight? I’m not very hungry.”

“Oh. Of course. If you’re ill, I understand.” His voice sounded disappointed and sad, and she had to tighten her fingers into the chair arms to stop herself from going to the door and opening it up and giving him a big hug. But he would have no idea why and she didn’t know how to tell him the reason.

She forced a smile onto her face so he could hear it. “I’m sure it’s just eyestrain from looking over all the books. I’ll be fine in the morning. I took some aspirin.”

His voice cheered just a little. “You are probably right. Try to get some sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.” He closed the door gently and she let out a sigh, part relief and part fear.

She had no doubt they would talk in the morning. If she could figure out what to say.

Thank heavens for Marie Cormier. Without the ledger, she would have never known the Starlight was flat broke. Actually, not just broke, but in the hole. Every month for the past three years, the income hadn’t covered the expenses.  And every month, Grandpa had fixed the books so they appeared to balance. But the ledger told the true story and she couldn’t help but believe it because the ledger actually had receipts attached, where the books Gabe had were only notations written by Grandpa. She compared expense by expense and watched the money flow into the red. A bill for janitorial supplies in Grandpa’s ledger would read two hundred forty-nine dollars and fifty cents, but in Gabe’s book, it was one hundred eighteen. Same product, same date, same invoice number.  Every month, Gabe got his salary, even if there was no money. Every month, the pool was cleaned, the housekeepers were paid, the lights stayed on.

But why? Why lie to Gabe . . . make him think he would continue to have a home after Grandpa died?

Marie had called it. Because he
loved
the Starlight. It was the only reason that made sense. He couldn’t bear to force people out, or raise rents, or break Gabe’s heart by telling him the place was a money pit. So he took it from his pocket to cover the extra. As long as Grandpa owned the place, who really cared? It was like a pet project, a hobby. He didn’t care if he lost money. It was something he loved to do. It was his vacation home, so what did it matter if it was a lost cause?

For as long as he owned it.

“But he
doesn’t
own it anymore, damn it!” The words were a whisper, a condemnation to a ghost. “Crap.”
Teach him the things he couldn’t learn from me.
The words from her Grandpa’s letter, which had made her smile, now made her angry. “You couldn’t bear to hurt him, so you’re making
me
? Damn you, Grandpa!”