Page 41 of Billionaire and the Barista

GABRIELLA

Dinner with Nathan was wonderful. It was nice just to be with him, listening to him talk. I didn’t care what he talked about. I had missed him so deeply, but with Robbie, I never really had the chance to mourn Nathan’s loss. And now he was back.

I had the time to sit and not have to think about how soon before the next customer walked in the door, or how soon the timer would go off for the cupcakes in the oven. I could focus on him, the way his smile made me giddy, how good he looked.

I knew six years really wasn’t that long, but it could be. After all, at that time I had a baby who was now growing into a kid and would be going to school soon. It felt like a long time. While I felt like those years had aged me, they had been good to Nathan. Real good. He looked fit, and I had admired his ass in those designer jeans he had shown up in that first time a few weeks ago. Nathan in a suit was a thing of beauty.

After pulverizing that cupcake, I dove into my cheesecake with relish. It was smooth and creamy, and so sensual. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. My desire for Nathan— that I thought I had been ignoring successfully— blended in with my appreciation of the cheesecake, and I knew I wasn’t hungry for dessert, but I was hungry for the man who sat across from me.

I put my fork down, no longer hungry for dessert.

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

I made eye contact with him and held it as long as I dared to. I had never been brazen, or direct when it came to wanting him. I hadn’t needed to. He was always right there with me, wanting me as much as I had wanted him. I didn’t want to be a convenient hook-up. I wanted him back.

“Do you want to get out of here?” he asked.

“God, yes,” I couldn’t answer him fast enough.

I was ready to bolt from the restaurant, but I had to wait while he finalized the bill.

“Go,” was all he said.

He handed the valet the ticket for his car, and then he pulled me to him.

I hadn’t kissed Nathan in so long. I thought I had memorized how his lips felt against mine, but I had been wrong. His kiss was so much better than what I had remembered. I clutched at his shoulders, afraid to let go, afraid that when this ended, it wouldn’t be real.

The valet pulled up with a small double beep of the horn, pulling our attention away from each other. I laughed as I ran through the rain to get into the car. It was one of those old, sleek sports cars that looked like it was from a spy movie. Inside was vintage luxury.

“Oh, I like your Jaguar.”

The engine gave a throaty roar, and Nathan took to the streets. He didn’t drive the way I remembered. Of course, that had been on the back of a racing motorcycle. Now Nathan drove with careful restraint. There was power in the car, and power in the way he controlled everything. No more reckless abandon in the name of speed.

“Am I taking you to your home, or to mine?” he asked. His voice was as powerfully restrained as his driving. It was as if he wanted to let go, but he couldn’t, not yet.

“Yours.”

The smile that crossed his face twisted my nerves deep inside. We made it to his building, and he handed the keys off to another valet. His hand on my wrist was assertive, in control. When he pressed me against the wall in the elevator, I didn’t complain. Wouldn’t have, because his mouth was on mine again, his hands running down my sides, touching me.

I don’t think we stopped kissing as we exited the elevator and made it into his apartment. I was too focused on his mouth, and the feel of my fingers in his hair to pay attention. We were in his bedroom before I realized it, and he was tearing at his clothes.

He pulled away and looked at me. His hands cupped my face. “I have missed you so much. If you don’t want this, I can wait. It will be fucking hard, but I can wait.”

“I’ve missed you, too. I want this Nathan, I want you.”

And with that, he was lifting the skirt of my dress and kneading handfuls of my ass. We fell to the bed, he held himself above me on an elbow.

“You are more beautiful than I remembered, and I thought I had every detail of your face committed to memory.”

I skimmed my hands over the skin of his chest. He was firm and warm, and I needed more skin on skin. I pushed the shirt from his shoulders, and he twisted, pulling it free the rest of the way. He stood and at the same time unfastened his belt and kicked off his shoes. His pants went next. He climbed back next to me in only his boxer briefs.

His lips were on mine again, and he kissed down my neck and onto my chest. His hands cupped my breasts, and it all felt so good.

“Mm…” I stopped myself before I said, ‘mommy didn’t wear her sexy undies tonight,’ and started laughing. I had gotten into the habit of narrating everything I did in the third person for Robbie, that it almost slipped out.

“What’s so funny?”

I reached for him. “I’m happy, you make me happy.”

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