And yet—
Dropping his chin, Gabriel clenched the rail and let out a quiet groan.
After speaking about Anthony, he could practically hear his best mate demanding he do something to help his little sister, and do it now. No matter how much he might want to, he couldn’t and wouldn’t ignore it. Anthony had been too good a friend. God knew why he’d befriended him, the geek, but Gabriel would never forget it.
But throwing money at Nina didn’t seem right. He’d never taken charity; Anthony wouldn’t have wanted hand-outs either. If Nina was hoping for a signed blank cheque—sorry, not happening.
Keeping her on here was out of the question too. Turning this place around depended on sticking to the narrow but profitable road. Not even Anthony’s memory could influence him to jeopardise that success.
There was only one solution. For Anthony’s sake—for the sake of what he and Nina had shared last night—he would help find her more suitable employment. Somewhere she could shine, find herself again. And if she gave him any cheek about it…
His mind made up, he angled back. “I have contacts in the industry.”
She dragged her gaze from her untouched plate. “What industry?”
“Publishing. I’ll set up an interview or two in Sydney.”
Her eyes widened and she pushed to her feet. Her mouth worked soundlessly before she breathed out, “You’d do that for me?”
She could be near her sister and nephew, earn decent money. Keep her home. All she had to do was take a job which would be created after he pulled a few strings and stay the hell out of his life. His head—his pride—had been messed with enough.
But she was sighing and shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I can’t let you do that.”
His temper spiked. “Why the hell not?”
“I can’t accept a job I haven’t won on my own merit.”
Well, she’d done it before, to get her job here. And sleeping with a rich stranger to get a leg up apparently wasn’t taboo either.
He leaned back against the rail and slid his hands into his trouser pockets. “Off nepotism? That’s very noble.”
“Not noble. I’ve learned my lesson. Next time I move on, it’ll be to something I’ve earned.”
His eyes narrowed on hers. She was playing him again, and, damn, she was good at it.
“Let me put it this way,” he said. “You need a job, a job that you know, and I insist on helping you make that happen.”
Her lips pressed together. “No.”
He withdrew his hands from his pockets. “Not even if it’ll get you back home to your family? I thought you wanted to rediscover yourself—you can’t do that here.”
“You’re right. I can’t. Not completely. But I have to believe that my reputation and credentials will get me the right job at the right time. I don’t know that I’d ever be able to gain the respect of the staff here. I won’t make that mistake twice. I won’t jump the queue and take on something I don’t deserve.”
He stopped less than an arm’s length away, and instantly the space between them crackled with heat. Despite their disagreeable past, and the battlefield they occupied now, the grooves in his mind slotted back into blistering memories of last night and the undeniable force that clawed at him whenever she was near.
He set his jaw. Got a grip. Slapped that mental wall back up.
“Nina, you can’t continue to work here.”
Her slim nostrils flared before she slowly nodded. “I understand. I do.” She glanced over their cold meals. “If it’s all the same with you, I won’t stay for dessert.”
She turned, and even as his throat and chest burned he noticed her limp as she walked through into the main room.
And don’t bother with the lame act to get sympathy either, he wanted to call after her. He wasn’t that much of a sucker.
But when the limp seemed to get worse, the further she walked, Gabriel scrubbed his jaw.
Working all afternoon and half the night, she must have been on her feet the whole time. From Mr Dorset’s account, Nina would know she didn’t have another card up her sleeve; she couldn’t call in sick or beg off early. Had the doctor even checked her out? Gabriel would bet not.
He dragged his hand down his face, tried to come up with another way. Then, cursing under his breath, he strode off to catch her up. This woman would drive him nuts.
“For God’s sake, Nina, come back and sit down.”
The way she was going she’d only cause herself more harm.
When she kept walking Anthony’s shadow breathed down Gabriel’s neck, and the voice in his head—over his shoulder—grew louder.
Stop her. Make her listen. She’s hurt. She’s my sister and she needs your help!
Gabriel put some steel in his voice. “Nina.”
“I’m going.”
“Going where?”
She angled back. “I’m looking forward to finding out.”
She was so stubborn. So annoying, and so…amazingly attractive. As her eyes glistened into his, his heartbeat boomed in his ears and he knew to his soul what had to be done.
The pull—this fierce physical attraction—was too strong to ignore. No matter how many times she walked away, he would have to bring her back because what he’d tried to block from his mind all the long day would happen. He knew it as well as he knew his own name. They would make love again and she’d better prepare herself.
The way he was feeling, last night had only been practice.
CHAPTER NINE
GABRIEL strode over and drew her body hard against his. As his mouth came crashing down upon hers, Nina braced herself not to weaken.
In a way, she’d expected this. This man’s middle name might be “irresistible,” but after that discussion she would rather jump from a plane without a parachute than confirm the terrible, wonderful heat his kiss stirred deep inside her.
He wanted her gone. No problem.
She was going.
Go…ing…
After several breathtaking, ultra-persuasive moments, the kiss softly broke and Gabriel’s hot-lidded gaze brushed over her face. His fingertips traced hair from her brow and he murmured, “Are you listening now?”
She swallowed, but held her chin high. “No.”
He kissed her again, and those defences crumbled more. Her head told her to pull back, to slap his face; who did he think he was, assaulting her like this? Her body, on the other hand, whispered to her heart to press in more.
His kisses only got better.
When his lips left hers a second time, her breathing was tellingly deep. A practised hand skimmed her side before he took a lingering kiss from her temple, her cheek. To stop herself from snaking her arms around his neck, she fisted his shirt in her hands.
Feeling giddy, she groaned, “What do you want from me?”
He cupped her chin. “You have to ask?”
She closed her eyes and prayed. She had to clear her foggy brain. Had to keep smart. Keep strong.
“You’re Gabe Turner,” she reminded herself. “You sacked me.” Her eyes opened. “If you think I’ll sleep with you again, you’ve got rocks in your head.”
He scooped her up into his arms and began to walk.
She managed to straighten to a board as her stomach pitched. “I’ll scream.”
His mouth hooked into the sexiest of smiles. “Promise?”
As he carried her into his bedroom, Nina told herself she should struggle and demand he set her down. She had to put this rabid sexual thirst away. Lock the door and throw away the double-edged key. Because, while this might seem a natural extension of their previous smouldering night together, tomorrow she would pay the price.
She’d already lost her job. She didn’t want to lose her self-respect too.
But by the time he stopped in the middle of the shadowy bedroom, and she gazed up into those haunting ice-blue eyes, her arguments had wound down to nought. Rather than warnings she heard only a sweet chorus, urging her to go forward. It was as if history were already written. The deed was already done. Right or wrong, she would go through with this. The reason was simple.
There’d never be another Gabriel. One more time with him would be more than a lifetime with anyone else.
As if he read her thoughts, the lines either side of his eyes crinkled with a soft smile. He crossed the room and set her carefully down beside the bed. Then he flicked down the quilt and stood back, running an eye over her dress, as if approving of the design but also analysing the most effective way to remove it.
Stepping close again, he gripped the hem and the dress slid like butter up over her hips, her waist, her head, finally her arms. While she trembled inside from crown to toe, his hot gaze consumed her. She felt every stroke of his appraisal as it sizzled over her strapless bra, lower, to her abdomen then across her red silk briefs.
His gaze jumped and held hers again while he peeled the shirt off his back and dropped it to the timber floor. With the broad expanse of his chest rising and falling, he pulled her up against his hard heat and, after murmuring that he’d wanted her all day, claimed her mouth with his again.
She’d expected his kiss to ignite her as it had last night, to take over her senses and leave her deliciously weak and desperately wanting. She’d expected the same fireworks to leap up, lighting her blood until flames devoured any lingering whim to resist.