Page 63 of Embracing Love

Chapter 26

He knew exactly what to do, and how she wanted him to do it, and being with him had more than made up for her years of going without.

She almost shrank back with embarrassment at the noises that had come out of her mouth. At the sounds that might have emanated from Gabriel’s room.

No matter how hard she’d tried to contain her cries of ecstasy, she was sure some tell-tale sounds had seeped out into the hallway. She’d come easily and quickly and had fallen apart in his arms when he’d carried her, wasted and spent back to his bed.

“Now we do it my way,” he told her, his voice raspy, his face flushed. She’d been tired, over exhausted, beautifully spent, sated and content. In a state of pure ecstasy.

And he was going to take her there all over again.

He flung off his shirt and her mouth fell open, drinking in his hard, taut, muscled body. And then he’d made love to her slowly, so slowly, she could only admire his reserve as he kept his gaze locked on hers, taking her to another level of intimacy, as he came apart inside her.

Afterward, they’d lain together in each other’s arms, and he’d kissed her face and her lips before fitting into one another, her face on his chest, lying quietly, while the smell of sex permeated the room.

He’d had protection, which made her wonder if he was always ready for an encounter or whether he’d come especially prepared for this. For her.

She had too, in a way, with the dress she’d chosen, and the silk underwear that had quickly come undone with a flick of his fingers.

“We could have done this yesterday,” she sighed, lamenting on this their last night together.

“We can make up for lost time,” he replied lazily, running his fingers through her hair. Her heart jolted. She didn’t know where this might end up, had no idea how things would move forward from this point on.

But if she could only have this, it would be enough, for now. She lifted her head and gazed up at him, thinking how odd it was to be lying naked here in his arms.

For a long time he’d been the arrogant Gabriel Valois, head of marketing, always smartly dressed in a suit, so formal and business-like. Of course there had been a couple of times in meetings when she wondered what lay beneath the clothes…and now she knew. Now she had felt, had enjoyed, had been taken to the brink of nirvana by him and had lost herself in his touch, his caresses, his kisses.

And she wasn’t done with it by any means. The addiction had only just begun.

“I’ve been thinking of you for a long time, Tanya.” He said, his eyes riveted on her face.

“How long?” She needed to know, to compare.

“Ever since that time I kept you waiting, when Vanessa marched in ahead of you.”

“Then?” she said softly, remembering the time well.

He closed his eyes and tilted his chin, a silent confirmation. “What was it about that time?” She wanted specifics.

He scooted down a little, putting an arm around her naked back while his fingers traced a line over her lips. “You were calm. And she was so angry and confrontational.” His brows knit together. “I’d just found out that the mother of my son was moving to Australia, taking our son with her. It was a difficult time. Vanessa was being difficult. Russell wanted things done a certain way. My son was going away. You grounded me.”

Tanya looked up, surprised. “I did?”

“You did.”

She reached out and drew a circle on his chest. “I remember that day well.”

“You were still calm, when I’d been so rude. And still I made you wait, I dealt with Vanessa and made you wait even longer. But you were still as gracious as ever.”

“I was gracious for a reason.”

“You were?” he asked, surprised. She kissed his skin again in answer. Perhaps now was the time to tell him why she’d been so sweet and so ‘calm’ that day. “That day, I was as mad as hell at you.”

His eyes grew wide in interest.

“Michael had taken me to task because he’d heard that I walked out of our first meeting. I needed this assignment, my role in Paris was important, as I’ve already told you. Michael ‘somehow’ heard from Russell Trent…from you perhaps…” she looked him directly in the eye, “that I’d walked out of our meeting. I hadn’t told him. So by my deduction it could only have come from you. He instructed me that this campaign had to work.” She stopped to observe Gabriel ’s reaction as the news sunk in. “You could have kicked me out that day and I would have smiled back at you and taken it.”

She moved her head off his chest as Gabriel lifted himself up onto his forearms. He held her face in the palm of his hand, stroking it delicately, as though her skin was made from delicate petals. “I didn’t know, and I am so sorry.” He looked embarrassed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

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