Page 28 of Billionaire CEO's Black Children

For that reason, he’d possibly taken too much effort in his absorption with Kiera. It almost seemed fortuitous that she’d ended up seated next to them, because she proved a great distraction from the temptation on his other side, in form of his beautiful assistant.

But when his words about her being jealous made her turn to him with such a sad look in her eyes, his chest tightened. Tears bridged the rim of her beautiful eyes and something gave an answering tug deep inside him. He hated to see her hurt, or despondent as she seemed in that moment. Just as he hated the prospect that he might be the one who made her feel that way.

“Gabrielle?”

Adam reached out his hand, but she edged away as if spurning his touch. The sudden movement seemed to unbalance her, and the next second she was stumbling backward into thin air.

Without thinking, Adam moved instantly forward and grabbed her in his arms before she could hit the ground. He felt a rush of alarm as he stared into her ashen face, before her eyes closed and her head fell to his chest, her body going limp in his embrace.

***

Gabrielle came awake and stared uncomprehendingly at the strange ceiling. The soft cocoon of the bed beneath her felt comfier and far bigger than hers had ever been. Wait – why wasn’t she in her own bed? And whose bedroom was this?

She shot upright and blinked her eyes several times, then stared around her in amazement. She could easily have been in a magazine showpiece master bedroom, opulent and vast in size and arrangement. The bed itself was a huge, spreading expanse in purple and white silk, with a mass of pillows against the studded headboard.

Stifling a scream, she jumped out of bed, a move she instantly regretted, since it set her head swimming. She sat quickly back down to rest against the support of the pillows for a moment. Well, if she’d been kidnapped, at least whoever it was had done it in style.

She thought of Adam and remembered going to the awards banquet with him. How had she got here and where was he anyway?

Slowly, her panic subsided but was soon replaced by something else, something cramping her stomach. She ran to the near door and almost didn’t make it on time. Thankfully it was the bathroom and she fell on her knees, doubling over the open toilet as she retched drily for several moments.

It took a few more minutes before she could straighten on her feet again. This stomach flu or whatever it was felt really nasty. She would have to do a checkup and find out what was wrong. Gabrielle unearthed a spare toothbrush still in its pack from a drawer and used it to brush her teeth.

She felt infinitely better after that, though she almost jumped when she saw herself in the mirror. Her makeup was smeared and her hair a mass of half-bound curls. She hastily scrubbed her face clean with the scentless soap she found and then just let her hair fall loose on her shoulders.

Finally, she inched out of the bathroom and eyed the bedroom door. She toyed with the option to escape by any means necessary. But there was no such luck, because the moment she neared the door it shot open. Gabrielle would have screamed, but she saw it was Adam, not some ax murderer.

Flooded with relief, she stared at him, and her thoughts gave way to another pattern entirely – dazed and utter lust. She’d never seen Adam in casual attire, and here he was in an army green sweatshirt and matching sweats, his feet in sneakers. She forgot everything for a moment except the fact that he had way more muscles than she’d ever imagined, and he looked sexier than sex itself.

Thinking of sex and Adam was a total no-no, so she shied from the thought and instead blurted, “Is this your house?”

“Yes. I brought you here after you collapsed,” he said, while setting down what seemed to be her high heels, which he’d just brought in. Gabrielle wanted to laugh at herself, thinking she’d been about to escape without any shoes on, which she hadn’t even noticed.

“You should have just dropped me off home,” she said, fidgeting on her bare feet. Something about being alone with Adam in a bedroom made her jumpy.

“I wanted to be sure you’re okay and didn’t need to be taken to a hospital. What happened, Gabrielle? Did you have too much to drink?”

At those words, her anger snapped. “I didn’t touch the stuff. I can’t stand to drink, not since that day we…”

His lips twisted at her outburst, which she failed to finish. He said drily, “Yes, obviously excess alcohol and good decisions don’t mix. I’m sure we can heave a sigh of relief that the only backlash from that night was nothing more serious than a very awkward work situation. I mean, the fact that you ended up working for me.”

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