Rock Hard

“I’m not giving up.”

Lying on his stomach beside her, Gabriel reached out to twine his fingers with her own. “Neither am I. I already booked the fucking wedding venue.”

She started to giggle, but it was slightly hysterical. Fighting back the tears, she kissed his knuckles. “I love you.”

Steel-gray eyes held her own. “You’re my heart.”

Holding the words to her own battered heart, she allowed her eyes to close.

She woke to find that they’d been so exhausted that neither one of them had moved, their hands entwined under the sunlight.

The sunlight!

Blinking, she stared at the clock on the nightstand. It was nine a.m. on a Saturday morning, and she was in bed with the man she loved. She turned very quietly and saw he was still asleep, his skin dark gold under the sunshine pouring through the skylight and his hair gleaming blue-black. When his lashes lifted lazily a half hour later, she said, “Never argue with my husband?”

A sleepy smile. “I was hoping you’d negotiate that out. You know I like fighting with you.” Tugging her into him, he reached into the bedside drawer on his side and, after taking out the ring, slid it onto her finger. “The black lace underwear clause is nonnegotiable, though I will permit red lace underwear on special occasions.”

Curling her fingers into her hand, the ring warm against her skin—as if it had absorbed his heat, she lay on her back with him leaning over her. “That’s a pity,” she said. “I’ll have to throw out that pretty blush-pink G-string set I bought.”

His eyes gleamed. “Like I said, Ms. Baird, there’s room for negotiation.”

“Leave it,” she ordered, bad-tempered from lack of sleep. “I’m dealing.”

He massaged the back of her thigh. “You’re all tense.”

“I’ll get untense. Leave it.”

More massaging, and then he began to do that to her nape too. Gentle and firm, the rhythm eventually lulled her exhausted mind into slumber.

The next time she woke it was because she’d ended up under Gabriel and he had her pinned down with his leg and thigh

“You don’t need to constantly keep making money. Even if I decide to demand a diamond bracelet every month, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t make a dent in your zillions.”

Lips tugging up slightly at the corners, he gripped her hips. “You can have a diamond bracelet every month, but you have to wear them all at once, naked in bed—no wait, I have a better idea. You have to take dictation while wearing only diamonds.”

“Gabriel.”

He ran his thumbs across her hip bones. “I’m not sure I know how to stop.”

“So,” she said, “we’ll work on it.”

The echo of his own words had him smiling.

“Sit with me.”

Going down beside her, his arm along the back of the seat, Gabriel stretched out his legs. “I have to admit, this was a good idea.” He felt no urge to go for his phone, the peace of the cool quiet seeping into his bones.

Charlotte put her hand on his thigh as she turned to face him. “Of course it was a good idea,” she said, face solemn. “You needed to take a breath.”

He frowned. “I like working, Charlotte.”

“I know.” Charlotte folded a leg up on the bench. “But you don’t give yourself any time to just enjoy life. You’re always going ten thousand miles an hour.”

Coming to on top of Charlotte, his body pinning hers down and his happy cock snug inside her, Gabriel finally started to think. Shit. “Charlotte?”

“What?” She bit him on the shoulder. Hard.

It made him grin. “You’re okay.”

Glaring at him, she tightened her legs around his hips. “I’m still mad at you.”

Rocking into her, his cock in fine form today, he squeezed one swollen little breast again. “You’ll wear some bruises.” Faint, but very clearly from his hand gripping her breast. Then there were all the reddened patches on her skin where he’d marked her up with his stubble, the dark pink stripes his teeth had left on her other breast, not to mention the kiss-swollen plumpness of her lips.

She looked thoroughly used, thoroughly his.

“Can you feel your back?” was the sassy response, hazel eyes sparking.

“Some hellcat clawed the life out of me.” He kissed that same hellcat, got his tongue bitten for his trouble. “And she bites too.”

Charlotte scraped her nails up his back again, over the ridges she’d already created.

He hissed out a breath and thrust hard into her a couple of times. When she shuddered, he kissed her throat before reaching down to fondle one of her ass cheeks. “That was fucking incredible sex.” Hard and rough and primal.

“You didn’t touch my nape.”

“So? We’ll work on that.” He kissed her sulky mouth. “As long as I can throw you on the bed like a caveman and pummel you to orgasm with my love-club, I’m good.”

Her shoulders shook, a little snort escaping her as she said, “I am not laughing.”

“And I’m not about to give you a love bite on your pretty breast.” Which he then promptly did.

She demanded a kiss after, tussling with him as she threatened him with a love bite where he couldn’t hide it, then arched her back in shivering pleasure as he began to move in and out of her once more.

He nudged his hips into hers, his cock shoving against her passion-damp entrance. She whimpered, her throat arching. He kissed it, suckling hard enough to leave a mark before tugging on her nipple and rolling the plump nubbin between his thumb and forefinger. Then he gave in to the beast inside him and moved down to bite at her breast while he firmly collared her throat with one hand.

She wrapped her legs around him, opening herself up to his possession. “Gabriel.”

“Yeah?” Stroking his free hand along the back of her thigh, he shifted his voracious mouth to her other breast, sucking hard on her nipple before using his teeth again. He scraped up her soft flesh to her moan, fingers digging into her thigh.

Sucking in gulps of air, Charlotte finally said, “Please.”

“Please what?” he demanded, rocking himself against her so that the very tip of his cock pushed into her before he pulled back out. It was torture, her grip scalding and possessive and so, so good.

Her nails dug into his shoulders, her hips lifting toward him. “You know.”

“Say it.” Kissing his way up her chest and to her throat, he squeezed the hand around that slender column just enough to get her attention. “Say it.”

She moaned. “Fuck me, Gabriel.”

It was all he needed to hear. Gripping her under her knee, he shoved her leg up and wide before he thrust into her in a single aggressive push. She gave an erotic little scream, then hauled his head down to hers for a kiss as wet and as raw as the sex. He rode her hard, made her come with rough caresses of her clit while he pumped in and out of her, and then, while her body was limp and sweaty, he pushed up both her thighs, spread her even wider, and drove himself to the hottest fucking orgasm of his life.

Fuck.

Gabriel’s cock went as hard as rock between one heartbeat and the next. Charlotte hadn’t been wearing anything under that robe, and now she was standing all sweet and curvy and flushed with temper in front of him, her hair tumbled around her face. He didn’t even think about it, just strode to her and picked her up, then threw her on the bed.

She gasped, her eyes flashing at him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Coming over her after tearing off his sweatpants, he braced himself on his forearms. “Finishing our argument.” He tore off her glasses and threw them in the vague direction of the nightstand.

“Hah! I’m—”

He swallowed her words with his mouth, one of his hands gripping her breast. She shoved at his shoulders. Lifting his head, he said, “What? You want me.” She always wanted him, and that was the hottest thing on the planet.

“I am really, really, really mad at you!”

“Good, we’ll have angry sex.” He kissed her again, thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth and squeezing her breast harder than he’d ever done before.

Shoving her hands into his hair, she pulled.

“If you want to finish it, you can come with me. Otherwise, go stare at your laptop!” She slammed the bedroom door—or tried to. He’d blocked it with his hand. “Go away. I’m about to change.”

“I’ve seen you naked, Ms. Baird, and I intend to keep on doing it.” Folding his arms, he filled the doorway, a big, brooding male who didn’t think she’d take the dare.

Infuriated with him, she shrugged her robe to the floor.

He staggered; she kicked him between the legs. Then she gave him a second hard whack just as the elevator doors opened behind her.

The next thing she heard was a roar of sound, and then Richard was flying back to slam into the wall, his nose crooked and gushing blood. Gabriel’s second punch took him to the floor, the knife in Richard’s hand dropping soundlessly to the carpet.

The third punch cracked bones in Richard’s face.

The fourth punch smashed out several of Richard’s teeth and turned off his lights.

It all happened so fast that she barely had time to blink before Gabriel was turning to her.

“Did he touch you?” It was a ferociously quiet question.

“No.” Deeply conscious that he was on a razor-thin edge, but not the least afraid he’d turn his anger on her, she went into his arms. “I whacked him with my handbag—it came in useful, see?”

He didn’t laugh, just crushed her against his chest. Breath harsh and pulse thumping, he held her for long minutes, his muscles vibrating against hers. She held him back, knowing her presence was all that was keeping him from beating Richard to a pulp. Not about to let Gabriel go to jail for a psychopath like Richard, she stroked his back until he got himself under enough control to say, “Call Detective Lee. I’ll keep an eye on the trash.”

Tipping up her chin after backing her up against the car in the dark parking lot behind the restaurant, he kissed her, his hand at her throat. It made her shiver, wrap her own arms around him, her mouth opening under his and her fingers tight in his hair.

Biting her lower lip, tugging, Gabriel smiled. “I’m thinking diamonds and skin.”

Feeling scandalous, she whispered, “I’m pretty sure you could convince me to get naked in the backseat.”

Another wet kiss, his hand tugging up her dress to slide up her thigh before he stepped back and opened the passenger door so she could get in.