Rush (6 page)

She couldn’t even wrap her brain around all that could entail.

She wasn’t an idiot when it came to sex. She wasn’t a virgin, and she’d had steady boyfriends. But they were decidedly vanilla relationships, and she was fine with that. It had never occurred to her to break out the kink.

It all just sounded very porny to her, and it was made sillier by
the fact that there was an actual contract where she signed away the rights to her own body.

The longer she sat here and read over it, the more worked up she got.

She skimmed through another paragraph extolling the importance of her knowing precisely what she was getting into and that by signing the contract she agreed not to misrepresent her relationship with Gabe to any outside source, including various media outlets.

Holy hell. Media? What was she going to do, get on
Good Morning America
and tell the world that she’d been Gabe Hamilton’s plaything?

When she got to the next paragraph, her eyes widened further.

A full physical report would be furnished to her by Gabe’s personal physician, and she would be expected to undergo a similar physical so that both parties would be ensured of a clean bill of health and to be free of diseases. And furthermore, she would be expected to take birth control, and condoms would only be provided in the event of interaction with another person who was not Gabe.

She plopped the contract down on her lap as her mouth fell open. What the hell did that mean? Was she expected to entertain anyone of his choosing?

Her head spun with the implications.

She’d certainly been right to question whether she was capable of taking on a man like Gabe. He was so far out of her league that it wasn’t even funny. She’d never even heard of half the stuff detailed in this agreement.

His comment came back to mind of when he’d said he’d be patient and guide her through his expectations. She wanted to laugh. Hell, she was going to need a full-on tour guide for this trip. Google was going to get a workout later, because she was going to have to look up most of the stuff detailed here.

Her hands trembled as she picked the contract up again and read the last page. This was insane. But more insane was the fact she hadn’t already torn it up and let Gabe know exactly what he could do with it.

Was she actually contemplating agreeing to it?

Her emotions were a mixture of
holy fuck
and
oh my God
. Part of her wanted to find out just how debauched Gabe was. Judging by this contract, he leaned pretty far away from anything resembling conventional.

She vaguely remembered the fallout of his divorce from Lisa, but that had been several years before, and she’d been young. She knew it hadn’t been pretty and that it had affected his relationships with women ever since, but had they had this kind of relationship? Had he been burned by it? Normal people wouldn’t go to these kinds of lengths to cover every nuance of a relationship.

Now she wondered about all the other women Gabe had been with. Not that she’d ever been introduced to any of them, but she’d heard Jace and Ash talk. If he had a contract ready at the drop of a hat, that told her it was likely one that he furnished to all his women.

That left a sour taste in her mouth. No, she didn’t expect that she’d be any different than anyone who came before her, but it was nice to think that she was special or at least original. Not lumped in with every other female he’d slept with.

But then she’d rather he be blunt with her and not mislead her. At least she knew precisely where she stood with him. And he had been clear that he wanted her to go in with her eyes wide open. Well hell, after reading this, her eyes were going to be permanently wide.

She checked her watch and realized she had time to get to the pastry shop if she started walking now. She folded the contract and shoved it back into her bag, and headed in the direction of La Patisserie.

She dug out her phone as she went, and not surprisingly, there were half a dozen messages from her best friend already. All wanting to know how it went with Gabe and threats that if she didn’t spill soon, Caroline was going to kill her.

What the heck was she supposed to say? Somehow, typing
Gabe wants me to be his personal plaything
didn’t sound right, even if it would probably make Caroline swoon.

And oh God, if Jace found out…

She sucked in her breath. Jace was a huge problem. He would lose his mind if he ever found out about any of this. Surely Gabe had considered that. Hadn’t he?

There was no way she could ever let her brother know about this. It would ruin his friendship with Gabe and would likely ruin their business as well. Not to mention he would never understand, and it would put a huge wedge between her and Jace.

She was contemplating it. She must be if she was factoring in all the potential obstacles, right? Had she lost her mind?

She should
so
be running as fast as she could in the other direction, and yet…

She made it with ten minutes to spare and opened the door to La Patisserie. The bell jangled, a familiar sound as the door shut behind her, and she smiled a greeting at Greg and Louisa, the owners of the shop.

“Hello, Mia!” Louisa called out from behind the counter.

Mia offered a wave and quickly ducked into the back to get her apron and hat. It was a ridiculous French beret, and she always felt silly wearing it, but Greg and Louisa insisted on all the employees wearing them.

When she made her way back to the front, Louisa waved her over.

“I’ve got the counter today. Greg will be in the back baking. We have a huge order to fill by tonight, so can you man the tables?”

“Sure,” Mia said.

There were only five tables in the tiny café. It was mostly a takeout spot for coffee, croissants and delicious confections, but a few of their regulars liked to take their coffee and food inside on their lunch break. There were an additional four tables on the sidewalk, but they were self-serve and she didn’t have to wait those tables.

“Have you eaten?” Louisa asked.

Mia smiled. Louisa was always concerned that Mia didn’t eat enough or that she skipped meals, and as a result she was forever trying to force food on Mia.

“I ate this morning. I’ll grab a bite before I leave.”

“Okay, be sure and try Greg’s new sandwich. He’ll want your opinion. He’s testing it out on a few customers today to get feedback. He wants to add it to our menu.”

Mia nodded and then headed toward a table where a couple had just sat down.

For the next hour, Mia worked the lunch rush and was too busy to give the matter with Gabe her full attention. It definitely still occupied a huge part of her brain. She was less attentive than usual, and she messed up two orders, something she rarely did.

Louisa sent concerned looks her way, but Mia stayed busy, not wanting the older woman to worry, or worse, to ask her if anything was wrong.

At two, the lunch rush started winding down, and the shop started to empty of the steady stream of customers. Mia was just about to take a break, grab a drink and sit down for a minute, when she looked up and saw Gabe walk through the door.

She stumbled in midstride and nearly went sprawling on the floor. Gabe lunged forward and caught her before she could fall. His hands remained firmly wrapped around her arms even after she’d steadied herself. Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment, and she hastily glanced around to see if anyone had witnessed her clumsiness.

“Are you all right?” Gabe asked in a low voice.

“I’m fine,” she managed to get out. “What are you doing here?”

His mouth quirked into that half smile, and he regarded her with that lazy gaze. “I came to see you. Why else would I be here?”

“Because they have good coffee?”

He started toward the table in the far corner, his hand still curled around her elbow.

“Gabe, I have to work,” she whispered fiercely.

“You can take my order,” he said as he took his seat.

She huffed in exasperation. “You don’t eat here and you know it. I can’t ever imagine you eating in a place like this.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Are you calling me a snob?”

“I’m merely making an observation.”

He picked up the menu and studied it for a moment before lowering it again. “Coffee and a croissant.”

She shook her head and walked around the back of the counter to get the croissant and pour a cup of coffee. Thank God Louisa had gone in the back with Greg and hadn’t witnessed her falling all over herself. She had no desire to answer questions about who Gabe was.

She had to wait for her hands to stop shaking before she picked up the cup of coffee. She carried it and the saucer with the croissant to Gabe and placed them both in front of him. When she would have retreated, his hand shot out to grab hers.

“Take a moment and sit down, Mia. No one’s in the shop.”

“I can’t just sit down. I’m at work, Gabe.”

“Are you not allowed a break ever?”

She wasn’t about to tell him that she had been just about to do that very thing when he’d walked in. Hell, she wouldn’t put it past him to have waited until the shop emptied when he knew she wouldn’t be occupied to come in.

With a resigned sigh, she sat in the chair across from him and leveled a stare in his direction.

“Why are you here, Gabe? You said I had until Monday.”

“I wanted to see what my competition was,” he said bluntly.

He glanced around the shop and then back at her, a questioning look in his eyes.

“Is this really what you want, Mia? Where you want to be?”

She glanced over her shoulder, making sure Greg and Louisa were still nowhere in sight. Then she glanced back at Gabe, her knees shaking under the table.

“There’s a lot in that…contract.” She could barely get the word out. She lowered her gaze because she couldn’t meet his stare any longer. “A lot to consider.”

When she chanced a peek at him, there was a look of absolute satisfaction in his eyes.

“So you’ve already read over it then.”

“I skimmed it,” she lied, trying to sound casual and at least a little sophisticated. As if she entertained such offers all the time. “I intend to go over it more thoroughly tonight.”

“Good. I want you to be certain.”

He reached across the table and slid his fingers over her wrist. Her pulse leapt and reacted to the simple touch, and chill bumps raced up her arm.

“Quit your job, Mia,” he said in a quiet voice that didn’t carry beyond the table. “You know this isn’t where you need to be. I can give you far greater opportunities.”

“For you or for me?” she challenged.

He smiled again and it was so damn seductive that she nearly melted on the spot.

“It will be a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

“I can’t just leave them shorthanded. It wouldn’t be right, Gabe.”

“I’ll ensure they get a temporary employee until they fill your position. There are plenty of people who need jobs, Mia. The Millers don’t
want
to let you go. They aren’t looking because they’re perfectly happy for you to stay on for as long as they can keep you.”

Mia hesitated and then nervously pushed back her hair with one hand. “I’ll consider it.”

Gabe smiled again, his eyes glowing with warmth. Before she could react, he pulled her forward, tilting her chin up with his finger. His mouth melted over hers, hot and breathless. She didn’t move, didn’t pull away. She went soft against him, leaning further into his embrace as he deepened the kiss.

His tongue brushed over hers, teasing lightly before retreating. He licked over her bottom lip and then tugged gently, sucking it between his teeth.

“Think about it, Mia,” he whispered. “I’ll be waiting for your decision.”

And then he pulled away and walked out of the shop to his waiting car.

Mia stood staring at the street long after he’d pulled away. Her lips tingled from his kiss and she put her fingers over her mouth. She could still smell him, still felt the imprint of his body against hers.

She was startled from her stupor when the bell above the door jangled and a customer walked in. Louisa came from the back and rang the customer up while Mia removed Gabe’s half-full coffee cup and the uneaten croissant from his table.

It was nearly time for her to leave for the day. She only worked a few hours, usually during the lunch rush, and sometimes on Saturday and Sunday mornings if they really needed her.

She walked slowly to the back to remove her apron and the beret, her mind in turmoil. Greg was baking and Louisa
hustled back to rejoin him. Mia stood in the doorway for a long moment before Greg looked up and saw her.

“Is something wrong, Mia?” he asked.

She took a deep breath and slowly expelled it. “There’s something I need to tell you and Louisa.”

chapter five

“Holy shit, you quit?” Caroline asked.

Mia slowly nodded and then turned her attention back to the near-boiling water on the stove. She salted it and then added the spaghetti.

“Come on, you have to tell me more. What prompted this decision? I was beginning to think you were going to make a career as a pastry chef or something.”

“You sound like Gabe,” Mia muttered.

Caroline’s eyes narrowed. “Is he why you quit? Spill, girlfriend. You’re still holding out on me about today’s meeting, and it’s driving me crazy!”

Mia hesitated and then clamped her lips shut. She couldn’t tell Caroline about the contract. Or anything with regard to her meeting with Gabe. If she was going to agree to this—and apparently she was giving it serious consideration—she didn’t want the details of her private life—with Gabe—to be known. Even by her best friend.

But she had to tell her something. So she went with the lesser of the two evils.

“He offered me a job,” Mia said.

Caroline’s eyes widened. “Wait. He kissed you. He threatened
to fuck you on the terrace. All because he wants you to work for him?”

Yeah, it sounded pretty lame to Mia too, but she wasn’t saying a word about that damn contract.