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“How long do you have to stay here?” he murmured in her ear.

“The Harrises usually expect me to stay until the bitter end. How long are you here for this time?”

“Two days. Can you leave early?”

The orchestra had segued into another slow, romantic tune and their bodies moved in perfect harmony. He danced with an unexpected grace, the muscles in his thighs flexing as he moved. She could feel his heart beating where he enfolded her hand against his chest and the thick ridge of his cock pressed against her soft flesh through the fabric of their clothing.

His hand caressed the nape of her neck, sending shivers down her spine and he pressed his cock more tightly against her. “Rachel, I have to see you naked. I’m so hard for you right now I’m doing my best not to lose control here in a public place.”

“I can’t leave,” she protested weakly, although she wanted nothing more than to run out the door with him. “What would I tell my bosses?”

They continued to move in time to the music, his pelvis grinding against hers, the sleek muscles of his thighs flexing with each step. One hand drifted down to cup the cheeks of her ass, pressing the light fabric of her dress into the cleft.

“People can see us.” She tried to reach back and rearrange the dress but he grabbed her hand and pulled it against him, trapping it between their bodies.

“They’re all too busy being seen by other people.” He bent his head so his mouth was close to her ear. “I love your ass. Do you remember the first time I fucked you there, Rachel? How hot it made you feel? How you loved my cock filling your hole?

How hard you came?”

If he didn’t stop talking to her she would implode right there on the dance floor.

Already she could feel her cream soaking the crotch of her thong and pantyhose and sticking to the insides of her thighs. The moistened fabric rubbed against her skin as she moved in the steps of the dance. Rather than causing a feeling of irritation, it only aroused her more.

“Gabe, please,” she whispered.

“Please what?” His head moved and his lips pressed against her hair. “Please fuck you? Please suck your sweet little pussy? Stick my tongue way inside until it scrapes the little sweet spot that sends you into orbit? Please make you come in a hundred different ways? Jesus, Rachel, watching you come is awe-inspiring.”

The music shifted into something with a stronger beat and Gabe’s body shifted with it. He was a smooth dancer, much more accomplished than she would have expected.

He had a natural grace and rhythm that reminded her of a jungle cat. Maybe a panther, dark and sleek like him. Every shift of his hips, every dip and sway, increased the friction of his cock against her and the arousing feeling of the cloth between the cheeks of her buttocks.

“We need to get out of here,” he told her, tightening his grip on her. “Right now.”

As he said the words, he danced her through the open French doors, out to the terrace and behind a huge stone pillar. Backing her up against it, he cupped her face with both hands and took her mouth in a claiming kiss. One touch and she melted against him. She parted her lips easily for him, accepting his tongue as it swept inside, sucking at it, tangling her own with it. Oh, god, the taste of him. How desperately she’d missed it.

His mouth still fused to hers, his hands slipped down her arms and around to cup her breasts. Instantly her nipples hardened and more moisture dripped from her cunt.

He squeezed her breasts as he moved his thick shaft against her body, thumbs chafing her aching nipples. She gripped his muscular upper arms, rubbing herself against him like a cat, holding on for dear life.

Without warning his hands dropped to the hem of her skirt, pushing it up to her waist. His hand grabbed the waist of her pantyhose and thong and with a swift, strong move tore the garments from her body. With her underwear lying in a puddle at her feet, he lifted her so she had to wrap her legs around him to anchor herself. Pressing her against the cold marble of the pillar, he slipped one hand between her thighs and dipped his fingers into the moistness of her pussy.

“Oh, god,” she moaned, winding her arms tight around his neck, her vaginal muscles quivering at his first touch.

“Your sweet little cunt is wet and hot,” he murmured, his deep voice like a warm caress. “I love the way your muscles grip my fingers.”

He added a third finger to the other two, curling the tips to find her sweet spot, massaging it as she began to ride him. The sound of the music drifted out to them, surrounding them, their movements matching the rhythm like an erotic dance.

Rachel tightened her grip around Gabe’s neck, holding fast to her anchor in the storm overtaking her. She pushed her hips forward, hitching herself against the fingers manipulating her hungry cunt. Muscles flexed and spasmed, heat uncurled like a tightly wound ribbon, surging through her. It seemed like only seconds before her climax seized her, shaking her body. She held on for dear life as the muscles of her vagina quivered and pulsed and she poured into his hand.

When it was over she was limp, covered with a fine sheen of perspiration and shocked to remember they were out in public. Had she actually done this on the terrace of the graceful old building? With dozens of people a stone’s throw away? Had anyone seen her?

What was she turning into?

Gabe took a step back, still holding her, so she could slide her legs down his thighs and plant her feet on the flagstones. She was hot and cold and sure a million eyes were watching them.

“I can’t believe I just did that,” she whispered.

He kissed her forehead. “I can’t believe I was able to wait until we got outside to fuck you with my fingers.” He stooped and casually picked up the remnants of her lingerie, inhaling its scent before stuffing it into his pocket. “Wouldn’t want the cleanup crew to find it,” he grinned.

“Gabe!” she protested. “I’m a supposed to be on duty here. I’m the hostess. If anyone saw me…”

“Don’t worry.” One corner of his mouth kicked up in a grin. “I made sure we were well hidden. But I think you need to make your goodbyes. Surely there’s someone you can hand over the reins to. Right? Or I’m liable to strip you naked right here in front of everyone.”

She didn’t know if he was teasing or not. As alpha as he was, he might just make good on his threat. Or was it a promise?

“A-all right. Just give me a minute.”

She smoothed her hand over her hair, tucking the honeyed strands that had come loose back into place, wishing she had her purse so she could at least replenish her lipstick. Oh, well, they’d just have to accept her the way she was. Checking her dress one last time, she headed toward the entrance to the ballroom. At the French doors she caught the attention of her assistant, Nina Chan, who was lurking in a corner keeping an eye on the crowd.

Nina had worked for her for more than a year. She was efficient and dedicated, even if at times just a little too earnest for Rachel’s comfort zone. She’d also seen her eyeing Lincoln Harris and had to bite her tongue to warn the woman not to play with snakes.

But she was very good at what she did and Rachel felt comfortable leaving her to finish out the evening on her own. She caught Nina’s eye and beckoned to her. The woman hurried over to where Rachel was standing just inside the open doors.

“Are you all right?” There was concern in Nina’s voice. “You look a little…oh, distraught, I guess.”

Rachel hoped that was all. “No, no, I’m fine. I just have to leave. Can you get my purse and take over for me?”

Nina cocked her head. “You
aren’t
okay. You never book out on something. What’s the matter? Are you sick? Should I call a doctor? Should I—”

“Nina, stop.” Rachel bit back her impatience and lowered her voice. “Nothing is wrong. I’m not sick. I’m fine. I just have to leave. Can you handle this or not? Hopefully people will start leaving soon, anyway.”

Nina studied her for a moment, then nodded. “Sure, I can take care of things. I guess whatever it is must be important. What about the Harrises?”

Rachel spotted them at a table deep in conversation with two other couples.

“They’re busy. I don’t want to disturb them. Tell them I got an unexpected phone call and had to leave. And I’m not sick,” she emphasized. “Just get my purse for me without attracting attention, okay?”

“But your cell phone is in your purse,” Nina pointed out. “So how did you get a call?”

“Damn it.” Rachel took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Just stop asking questions and do this, will you? I’ll owe you big-time.”

She fidgeted outside on the patio until Nina returned and handed the purse to her.

“I’ll take care of everything but I’m definitely asking for payback.”

Rachel stepped back onto the patio, wondering where Gabe was when his hand snaked out from behind another pillar and pulled her toward him.

“This way,” he told her, leading her across the lawn. “I parked on a side street.

Didn’t want to have to deal with valet parking.”

She hurried in her bare feet to keep up with Gabe’s long strides, carrying her high heeled shoes in one hand. When they reached the car he was heading for, she stared in amazement.

“A Mercedes? What happened to your truck?”

Whenever he came to see her he always drove a massive black pickup.

“I didn’t think it would blend in with the gathering,” he answered.

“Is this yours too?”

He shook his head as he opened the passenger door for her. “Borrowed it from…the company.”

“The company,” she repeated. “What—”

“Later.” He snapped her seat belt into place, closed the door and jogged around to climb into the driver’s seat. The motor purred to life and they pulled away from the curb.

“Gabe,” she began again.

“Later,” he repeated. “It’s taking all my control not to pull over to the side and fuck you right here in the car. If I don’t get my cock inside you soon I might explode. So.

We’ll talk later.”

The sexual tension in the car as they drove to her house was so thick she could reach out and touch it. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, drinking in the sight of him, storing up the images before he disappeared again.

Where did he go? What did he do? And how could she be so addicted to a man she saw so seldom? But deep down she had to admit that two days with Gabriel Peralta was better than two months with any other man.

She couldn’t help noticing that he checked both the rear and side view mirrors frequently and that he took a roundabout path to her side of town.

“Are we avoiding someone?” she asked finally.

“Just making sure,” he answered.

“Of what?”

But that was all he said and she knew better than to push him.

In the hallway of her house Gabe barely slammed the door before he turned and pressed her against it. His mouth possessed hers as his hands busied themselves pulling at her clothes, nearly tearing them as he stripped her until she stood nude before him, shivering with need and desire.

He took one step back to let his gaze rake over her before removing the gun he always wore from its place at the small of his back and setting it on the hall table. After all this time she no longer wondered about it and had stopped asking him why he wore it. It was simply a part of him, like everything else she didn’t understand. The soft light from the lamp on the hall table reflected the blackness of his irises and the sharp angles of his face. He touched her almost reverently, mapping her breasts, the softness of her abdomen, the juncture of her thighs, her pubic curls and down into her slit.

He was out of his own clothing in seconds, dropping it on the floor with hers, stopping only to fish a condom from his pocket and roll it onto his erect and swollen cock. Placing his hands beneath the cheeks of her ass, he lifted her to the right angle and with a quick roll of his hips thrust into her deep and hard.

Rachel gasped at the penetration, the muscles of her cunt stretching to accommodate his size. Tonight he seemed even bigger than usual, swollen and heavy with need. She grabbed his shoulders for support, holding on for dear life as he pounded into her, her blood racing, heart beating wildly. She didn’t think she could climax so quickly again but it seemed the previous one had just aroused her even more.

The orgasm rolled up like an unstoppable wave, rushing through her until every fiber of her was ready to explode. When Gabe shouted her name and thrust hard one final time, her own body pitched over the edge, the muscles of her vagina clasping him and spasming as he pulsed inside her again and again.

She leaned against him, limp and spent. The rasping of their breaths was a counterpoint to the slamming of their hearts. Finally Gabe tightened his arms around her and, still joined with her, carried her into the bathroom.

“Shower,” he said, his voice raw, carefully sliding out of her body to dispose of the condom. He leaned into the enclosure to turn on the water.

“Shower,” she agreed.

Rachel was lying stretched out on the cool cotton sheets of her bed. Both she and Gabe were fresh from the shower and smelling of the vanilla-scented shower gel she used. Gabe was kneeling between her outspread thighs, hands pressing her hips into the mattress. He moved his mouth over the insides of her thighs with light butterfly kisses while his big hands stroked over her cunt.

“So beautiful,” his whispered. “So gorgeous. I dream about your pussy all the time, Rachel. How it looks. How it tastes. How it feels when it grips my cock like a hot, wet fist.”

A tiny thrilled raced through her body. He actually
thought
about her when they were apart. How many times she’d wondered about that. If she could ever get her brain working again, maybe tonight she would have the courage to insist he talk to her, tell her who he really was. Explain why they had such a strange relationship.

“I can’t ever seem to get your taste out of my mind.” He leaned forward and licked the length of her slit, then tickled her thighs again with his tongue. “Delicious. Totally delicious. Better than the finest wine.”

He moved his head and without warning began to flick her clit with the tip of his tongue. Heat shot through her, spreading outward from that single, sensitive spot. She moaned and tried to lift her hips to him but he held her firmly in place. His hands shifted until his thumbs were touching the lips of her pussy, pulling them apart, his breath like a soft wind across her wet flesh.