The image in her mind had her arching against him. She’d take him anywhere he wanted.
“But the bed is too far away,” he stated. “And my need for you is too great.”
She thrust her fingers through his hair and held him as he yanked the top of her bustier down and covered her flesh with his mouth. She cried out, but then he started ridding her of the rest of her clothes and Chelsea could only hang on.
Once she was bare—except for her boots—Gabe took a half step back and raked his heavy-lidded gaze over her.
“Take off your clothes,” she demanded.
His grin kicked up, wrinkling the corners of his eyes and making him seem all the more menacing. “You take them off.”
In her next breath, she was making frantic work of his buttons and when she was down to the last two, she just jerked the shirt open. Gabe’s laugh had his abs clenching, as if he was showing off just how spectacular his build truly was.
Chelsea’s hands shook as she removed his pants. He toed off his boots and finally stood before her wearing nothing but desire.
He reached into his pants’ pocket, pulled out protection and slipped it on. Chelsea’s blood pumped faster, her nerves dancing with anticipation, and when he finally turned those gray eyes back to her, she didn’t hesitate to reach for him.
Gabe lifted her off the floor. She toed off her boots and let them clunk to the floor before locking her ankles behind his back.
Gabe closed his mouth over hers at the same time he plunged into her. Then he stood still, right there in the middle of the room. Their bodies were joined, but he didn’t move, and the erotic sensation was driving her absolutely out of her mind.
“I have no control with you,” he murmured against the side of her neck. “I need you, Chels.”
He spun around, sending them tumbling to the sofa. He cradled her face as his weight settled her deeper against the cushions.
Chelsea opened to him as he covered her mouth with his. He trailed one of his hands down her side and held tight to her hip, his fingertips gripping her skin.
This wasn’t enough. She wanted more, needed more. Beyond the sex—though it was the best she’d ever had—she needed Gabe for everything.
He muttered something in her ear she didn’t understand at the same time he tipped his hips just right to send her over the edge. She tightened around him, arched her back and dug her heels into his backside.
When Gabe’s body shuddered against hers, he whispered something else, something she still didn’t quite catch. She clung to him, though, taking his release as hers ebbed. He held his weight just off her, but she wanted all of him.
Chelsea circled his shoulders with her arms and pulled him closer as his body ceased trembling. His head rested in the crook of her neck. Darkness had fallen across the apartment. Only the glow of a small desk lamp across the room gave any light. She wanted this moment to carry on; she didn’t want words or movement to break the spell of their time together.
Closing her eyes, Chelsea willed time to stop. If she held on tighter maybe he’d stay.
Fortunately, though, she wasn’t a clinging woman. She’d never begged for a man and she wasn’t going to start now. If there was ever a time or a man, though, Gabe was definitely worthy of her begging.
When he started to move, she trailed her fingertips up through his hair.
“What did you whisper in my ear earlier?”
Gabe froze, cringed actually. “I don’t recall.”
He was lying. It had been mere moments ago and he’d said it twice.
“Don’t move,” she murmured. “Let’s just lie like this for another minute.”
His hand softened on her hip as his hips shifted. “If I stay here too long, I’m going to want you again and the rest of my protection is in the bedroom.”
Chelsea smiled up at him. “Then maybe we should make our way there.”
Thirteen
The wedding was only four days away now. Chelsea couldn’t believe the time had almost come for her best friend to say “I do.” She’d be lying if she didn’t admit, just to herself, that she was jealous. Chelsea hadn’t thought she wanted romance and forever, but getting swept away in this real-life, fairy-tale ending had her wishes shifting.
Suddenly Hunt & Co. wasn’t her only focus. If Gabe knew how much real estate he took up in her mind, her heart, he’d likely run fast and far. She had to keep this to herself. She knew deep in her soul that there was no future for them, not together, anyway. He’d made it abundantly clear from the start that he couldn’t trust his heart that way again.