She tilted her chin, glaring up at him. “Then prove it.”
Without a word, without a murmur of sound he reached for her, his hand at the back of her head, long fingers tangled in her hair, completely tearing apart her carefully constructed ponytail. His other hand spanned the side of her waist, pinning her to the wall, holding her in place.
For him.
It all happened so fast, seemingly in the blink of an eye. One moment she was looking at him, the next he was in her face, his lips on hers, his tongue sweeping her mouth. He broke the kiss as quickly as he initiated it, his mouth at her ear. “Do you know how exquisite you are? Vibrating with your righteous anger, your eyes blazing, your pretty little body so stiff with fury?”
His words were designed to melt her and she refused to let them. “Stop,” she murmured. She rested her hands on his chest, smoothing them down the fine material of his suit jacket. It was as if she had no control over them. “Don’t try and charm me. I won’t fall for it.”
He ignored her protests, pressed his mouth against the side of her throat, his lips hot, his tongue wet as he licked her skin. “I’ve missed you,” he murmured. His fingers tightened in her hair, making her gasp. “You don’t know how much.”
“I—I don’t believe you.” She closed her eyes, as if she could shut him out. But he was everywhere, possessing her completely, and her body gave in to him even as her mind protested and her heart cried out.
Did he know how much power he held over her? How easily he owned her?
“You don’t believe this?” He pressed his body against hers, his thick erection rubbing against her belly. He was huge and hard, all for her, and she realized dizzily she held a certain amount of power over him as well. “You’re all I think about, all I want. What can I do to prove how much I need you? How fucking sorry I am that I messed this up?”
The sorrow in his voice filled her with an odd triumph. She wanted his regret, wanted his apologies. But was it enough? Was he sincere? That she doubted him hurt.
His hand moved upward, his fingers nimbly undoing a button on the front of her dress, and she jerked in his grip. “Rhett, no, we can’t do that here.”
She wanted it. She wanted him. But not here, not like this. All crazed, confused desire and tangled emotions. It was too messy, too…much.
“Why not?” Another button came undone. And then another. “I can’t wait. I need you. It’s been too long.”
“As if you haven’t found someone else to drown your sorrows in.” She winced the moment she said it, expressing all of her secret fears in that one single sentence. The thought of him carrying on, finding another woman, a handful of women in the two-plus weeks since they’d been together cut her like a knife.
He reared his head back, his expression incredulous. That beautifully handsome face, the earnestness in his gaze, filled her with wistful longing. Oh, she’d missed him so much. “I haven’t been with another woman since you, Gabriella.”
If she didn’t believe him, if she refused him, he…he couldn’t think about it. This was going to happen, they were going to happen. Rhett was bound and determined to make that wish a reality.
Gabriella could fight it all she wanted, but they belonged together. The realization had come to him early this morning, after a long night of constant tossing and turning accompanied by little sleep. He’d called Alex first thing and woke his ass up, getting an earful of grumpy complaining before Rhett asked the question that had been haunting him for days.
When did you realize you’d fallen in love with her?
That question made Alex pause for a full thirty seconds, if not longer. Fear had wrapped a stranglehold around Rhett’s throat, worried that his brother would offer a smartass remark or worse, laugh at him.
But he’d done neither, much to Rhett’s relief. Alex had finally offered the words that had echoed through Rhett since he’d last seen Gabriella.
I knew when my every thought, every single thing that consumed my life, always came back to her.
Alex had given him the confirmation he needed. Offering a murmured thanks, Rhett had hung up the phone, resolve rippling through him. He knew what he needed to do.
Make Gabriella his—permanently.
Considering he’d never done such a thing in his life, had never so much as pursued a woman for the sole purpose of a relationship, he figured he had a lot of learning to do. So like an idiot, he’d gone online and did a little research.
Colossally stupid and a complete waste of his time. The moment he caught sight of Gabriella striding into the conference room, gorgeously put together and with the most determined expression on her face, he’d been a goner. His brain had fried. He couldn’t get over all that steely determination, the woman who’d stood before them brimming with confidence as she handed out her own creations. Waiting for their opinions, which could’ve ended in disaster, she hadn’t a clue.
But she’d handled it all with style and grace. If he hadn’t known then he was a complete sucker for her, it surely would’ve hit him in that triumphant moment when they’d all known the third sample was a winner.
He still couldn’t get over her now, at this very moment. Pressed against the wall, her expression a mixture of desire and distrust, her lips puffed from his too-brief kiss, her eyes full of wariness. He couldn’t blame her. He hadn’t proved dick to her yet.
But he was determined to change that, if he could get his damn cock under control and not maul her where she stood.
Her hands were still resting on his chest, her fingers curling absently around the lapels of his jacket. He undid the final button on the front of her dress, unable to stop himself, needing a glimpse of her sweet, curvy body, if only for a moment. He caught sight of the black lace bra she wore and uttered a muffled curse.
She would drive him insane before the day was done. He knew this without a doubt.