Sweetness (19 page)

That’s a weird feeling, I think to myself. Must be
my nerves, or the cabin pressure or something.
“Yes, I’m fine. Take of and landings make me
uneasy that’s all. Once we are in the air I will breathe
again,” I manage to get the words out before holding my
breath again. He snorts at my response and looks ahead.
Once we are leveled off in the air, and the seatbelt light
turns off, I take a deep breath and exhale slowly.
“Better,” Gabe asks, grinning. I hate showing any
signs of weakness to him but this is one anxiety I can’t
control. I look down at the hand he is still holding and he
immediately releases it.
Not knowing what to do with my hand, I respond,
“Yes, Mr. Hernandez. Thank you.”
Out of my peripheral vision I notice him still
watching me, trying to get my attention. He lowers his
head slightly trying desperately to make eye contact.
When I finally oblige he appears to be concerned, or
confused. Hell even I don’t know what to make of me.
Why am I so jittery? I mean, I see him every day.
This should be a piece of cake. True, I try desperately to
never be alone with him. Stephanie is usually our go
between. He only speaks to me when she is not available
and even then he is all business.
“Emma, are you sure you’re ok.”
“Yes, sir. I’m okay.”
I grab my IPod from my purse and scroll through
my playlists. My ear buds are tangled so I fumble with
them trying to unknot the mess. It doesn’t help matters
that the man next to me is making me frazzled. When he
is sitting next to me being nice like he is, I never know
how to take him. I don’t think he likes me around one
minute, but then he does a 180 and shows me a
completely different side to him. The head games are
really getting to me.
“Emma.” I jump when he speaks making me drop
the jumbled mess in my hands into my lap. He grins
again. He looks like he is enjoying the fact that I am so on
edge. “Emma…you have to relax. Can I get you a drink
or something?”
“No, sir. I’m fine. Thank you.” I am trying to be on
my best behavior here but I am not known for my poker
face.
These damn wires won’t untangle quick enough. I
let out a sigh and place my hands in my lap and look at
the back of the seat in front of me frustrated. Gabe puts
his right ankle on his left knee and leans in to me slightly.
“Emma, do I intimidate you?” He asks in a stern
tone. I look at him then back to the wires in my hand.
Gabe reaches over and takes them from my hands in an
attempt to do what I obviously couldn’t.
Does he intimidate me? That is a loaded question.
Of course he intimidates me. He is sexy, powerful, and
his commanding voice could make me wet enough to
replenish the Sahara Dessert if the need ever arose.
“Yes, Mr. Hernandez.”
I look down at my lap again and fidget with my
IPod twirling in between my fingers. I don’t want to
admit my uneasiness around him and give him that
power over me, but I don’t want to lie either. He should
know that he makes me uncomfortable.
“I see. Well, intimidating you is not something I
strive for.” He hands me back the disentangled wire and
looks me square in the face. “We are going to be working
together for a long time. You have proven that you are
up for the challenge that this job brings and I appreciate
that. You have done everything asked of you and your
work ethic hasn’t gone unnoticed. Although intimidation
isn’t something I aim for, it usually comes with the
territory when maintaining a proper business
relationship with my employees. We will be spending
quite a bit of time traveling together and well…we do
live in the same building, so I think that it would be
alright if you called me Gabe outside of HMA. Would
that ease your mind a bit?”
“Mr. Hernandez, that’s really not necessary. You
made very clear of what you expect of me, from the
beginning. I think so far things have gone so well because
we both know our place. Mine is your intern. I am
thankful that you think I am doing a good job. I
appreciate you telling me so, but I think I should still
refer to you as, Mr. Hernandez.”
My confidence is short lived when I see his
expression turn cold before he faces forward. He shifts
his weight away from me uncrossing and readjusting his
leg. He looks down the narrow isle of the plane as rubs
his bottom lip with his thumb and forefinger. I can’t blur
our relationship now. Dominic is my boyfriend, at least I
think he is, and the fact that I have erotic dreams about
Gabe is guilt enough. Our relationship has to stay
professional. Getting too familiar will make it all the
more difficult to not make an ass out of myself. The
fantasy I have of taking his shirt off with my teeth is not a
good thought to have when you are trying to conduct
business.
“Fine.” He appears to be chewing something over
in his head and I can’t help but stare at him, waiting for
him to say something else. “What?” He snaps and turns
his head slightly to me after a few moments of me just
gawking at him.
I can’t help it. I don’t know what it is about him
but I find myself often just staring at him. He is certainly
a very handsome man. Tan skin, dark unruly hair, clean
shaven, dimples on both sides of his cheeks when he
smiles. As seldom as that is. His profile is just as
stunning. He looks like he just walked out of a GQ
Magazine.
Great! Now I am picturing him wearing nothing
but a pair of Calvin Kline’s and Aviators.
“Nothing, sir. Is there anything you would like to
discuss before we land? Anything I can do for you?”
Gabe puts his thumb and forefinger now on his
forehead and rubs it to relieve tension it seems. I don’t
know why he is mad at me. I thought my response to
him was very professional and professional is exactly
what he asked me to be. After the scene in front of the
building a few weeks ago, and some very interesting
dreams about him running toward me hot and sweaty, I
don’t think getting to comfortable with my boss is a good
idea.
“No. The bus should be arriving first thing in the
morning and we have a few press interviews scheduled
in our suite on Wednesday. That should give them a
whole day to rest up. After that they will have rehearsal
on Thursday and the first show on Friday. We can talk
about the rest of the itinerary back at the hotel.” Oh
yippy! I have a whole day before work sets in
to…wait…did he just say our suite.
“Our suite, sir? As in yours and mine?” Gabe
looks at me entertained when my eyes widen in panic. I
can’t share a room with him.
“Relax, Miss Hill. Yes we will be sharing a suite
but there are 2 bedrooms. I would never expect you to
share a single room with me.” I swallow hard.
“Y..yes..of course, sir.”
His fingers are back on his lip and I see him trying
to stifle a smile. I turn my attention to the window and
watch the white fluffy clouds below us. I put my ear
buds in to enjoy some music until I am almost lulled to
sleep. I feel Gabe shifting next to me. I open my eyes to
see his bright brown eyes staring back.
“Hi.” He gives me a huge grin as he leans in
closer. “Are you aware you talk in your sleep.”
Bloody hell. What did I say?
I sit up straighter and my eyes widen. “No sir, no
one has every told me that before. What was I saying?”
“I couldn’t quite make it out, but something about
running and being hot.” I think he put the scenario
together in his head. Jeez, this is embarrassing.
Think on your feet Hill.
“Humm, not sure what I was dreaming about, but
I do like to run.” The tips of my ears heat up. From the
look on his face he is not buying it. He knows what I was
dreaming about and luckily he is enough of a gentleman
not to call me out on it.
As I stand up and excuse myself to go to the
bathroom the plane shifts a bit causing me to fall
backwards into Gabe’s lap. Why universe? Why do you
hate me so much?
“Whoa,” I screech, catching the attention of the
people around me.
His hands fall to my hips and I feel a jolt of
adrenalin course through me. My heart begins to race.
My breathing shallows. I turn my head slightly. I feel his
warm breath on my neck and the sweet smell of
masculine man fills my nose.
Oh God he feels so good holding on to me.
Get off his lap Emma, my subconscious once again
rears her ugly head. I stand abruptly and straighten my
clothes. I look back down at him, not knowing what I
could possibly say to make this better.
“I…I...um, sorry,” I stutter like an idiot before
walking away towards the bathroom. When I open the
door I steal a glance to gage his reaction. I see him adjust
himself in his seat and when looks up to catch me
watching, he looks away embarrassed. He was clearly
affected by the moment.
I step into the bathroom, put my hands flat on the
cold metal sink top and exhale with a giggle. Nothing
about this is funny but if I don’t laugh I’ll probably cry.
After a few minutes I clean up and look myself over in
the mirror. I don’t want to stay in here too long but I
don’t want to rush out in a hurry either. I have butterflies
in my stomach and from the looks on my watch about a
little over an hour left of our flight. I take one last deep
breath and out I go.
I immediately notice Gabe is not in his seat, which
brings me a little relief as I scurry to my seat. After about
five minutes I see him emerge from the bathroom. I am
hoping that he was just as embarrassed to come out as I
was and not joining the mile high club all on his own.
Great, now I am blushing again. I try biting my
bottom lip to stifle a smile but the closer he gets the less
effective it is. He says nothing as he returns. He reaches
down to retrieve his IPad and puts in his own ear buds to
listen to music.
I roll my eyes and look out the window for the duration
of our flight. What a clusterfuck my life is.

When we arrive
at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in
Miami, I can see that we are right on the beach, in the
middle of all the action. The hotel is the perfect
combination of Asian-American influence. The lobby is
open and warm with hues of beiges and reds with warm
wood accents. The high ceiling is woven with dark wood
panels that give the whole atmosphere a feeling of
opulence. I am awed by the space and glad as hell that
this paradise by the water will be where I am staying for
the next few days.

Gabe keeps a close eye on me, smiling as I take in
the surroundings like a kid on the first day of school. I
mean, I am no stranger to good taste, but this is amazing.
Even as we approach the front desk and I can’t seem to
stop twirling around, needing to take in every detail.
Gabe hands the woman at the front desk his black AMEX
card and checks us in. The brunette takes one good look
at Gabe with come-fuck-me eyes. He doesn’t seem to take
notice. He simply nods at her politely before she checks
his reservation.

“Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Hernandez. Here are the
room keys to your suite. Your luggage is already waiting
in your room.” The brunette never looks at me but
continues to flirt with Gabe as he removes the plastic
cards from the counter.

Mr. & Mrs. Hernandez? Wait…she is flirting with
him even know she thinks he is my husband. That’s
rude, not to mention unprofessional. I don’t know
weather to be offended that she is flirting with my
pretend husband or annoyed that she thinks he is my
husband.

“Thank you,” Gabe smiles and nods politely at the
assumed husband thief behind the counter. “After you
Mrs. Hernandez.” He says with a smothered smile. I
gawk at him, confused.

I narrow my eyes at his obvious enjoyment of
everything that causes me to feel uncomfortable. “Why
exactly am I Mrs. Hernandez?”

Gabe lets out a small laugh, “What’s the matter
Emma? You don’t like being my wife.” He asks
mockingly as I glower at him with my mouth open.
“Relax I didn’t make the reservation that way. They
probably just assumed you are my wife. Would you like
me to go down right now and correct her?” He raises his
brow in question.

I loosen up and shake my head in the negative. “I
guess not. I was just surprised that’s all.”
Without another word said we head off to our
home for the next few days. The suite is modern but
comfortable with a beautiful ocean view. The living room
area is modern with a large TV hanging on the wall. I
have thoughts of snuggling up with Dominic watching a
movie but I then remember I am not in the suite alone.
Gabe hovering around us will be uncomfortable. For all
of us.
“You can have the master, I will take the guest
suite,” Gabe states while bending over and picking up
his suitcase. “I am sure you will need more room since-“
He looks up at me, mid-sentence and his jaw tenses, “you
will be having a guest for at least some of your time
here.”
I don’t know how to respond. “Uh…I…I don’t
know. I haven’t really thought about it. I can stay with
him if it makes you uncomfortable.” I lie. Of course I’ve
thought about it. Banging Dominic on every free service
of this hotel room is all I have thought about since he
second he left New York.
I look around embarrassed to be discussing my
sex life with my boss. I don’t know why he is mad with
me. He knows I am seeing Dominic and he has to know
by now that we have sex. Not that it is any of his
business.
“I don’t think you want to do that. The band gets
double rooms and very little privacy.” Well all righty
then. Master suite it is. I scrunch my nose and look a little
disgusted.
“Well then, it’s decided. If you will excuse me, I
will be in my room unpacking.”
I open the door to my room and begin to unpack.
After a long, uncomfortable flight I just want to take a
nice long bath and unwind. Before I do, I should check
with Gabe to see what our plans are for the evening.
When I reach Gabe’s room the door is open. I knock on
the doorframe and call his name, he doesn’t respond. I
move further into the room and see him emerge from the
bathroom bear chested, with his pants hanging off his
hips, and naked feet. My eyes take full inventory of his
flawless body. I admire his tan skin, broad shoulders,
tight abs that narrow at his waist, and ripped arms, that
are usually hidden under Armani. I visually trace his
body all the way down to where his ‘Loin of Apollo’ is
creeping into his pants. Jesus, this man is flawless. Gabe
clears his throat, causing my eyes to dart up to his. We
stare, each studying the other as the air in the room
thickens with sexual tension.
Speak, Hill.
“Um…uh…I was wondering if you need me this
evening.” I blush. I can never say anything to him that
doesn’t imply sex. Damn it. I see a small smile creep up
on his lips.
“What I mean is, do we have any…what is on the
agenda for tonight regarding work, sir?” His lips pull
into a full blown smirk as I stumble over my words. I
take a deep breath in and let it out slowly trying to regain
my composure while taking a few steps back, standing in
the doorway. Me in his bedroom while he looks at me
like that is unnerving. Or dangerous, I haven’t decided.
His eyes are grow darker and more seductive.
“Nothing. You are free for the evening, Emma. To do
anything you want.” He breaks eye contact and shakes
his head as if he just had a thought. After removing his
watch and placing it on the nightstand he moves about
his room completely ignoring the fact that I am standing
in the doorway, watching like a dope.
“Is there something else you needed?” He steps
towards me and places his forearm on the side of the
doorframe standing mere inches in front of me. My
breathing hitches and I notice his pupils are almost
completely dilated. His scent engulfs my nostrils in an
almost intoxicating way.
“No, sir.” My eyes draw down to his lips before I
catch myself and take a slight step back to put as much
space between us as possible.
“Well than Miss Hill. If you will excuse me I am
going to take a shower.”
Never breaking eye contact I notice him slowly
shift his weight back to close the door. I release the
breath that was locked away in my lungs and turn back
to my room. What kind of an idiot am I? How do I
always manage to make a fool of myself around him?
Feeling guilty for even looking at him, I pull out
my phone to text Dominic before I go in the bath. I know
he is on the bus and I hate talking to him with all those
people around so texting is my best way to tackle this.