Billionaire Bad Boys of Romance 1(125)

Beth seated her four-foot-tall teddy in the seat next to her as Gabriel slid in beside her. Once they were secured, the ride jerked upward with a squeal. If Beth hadn't grown up around old cranky rides she may have been concerned about the maintenance of this particular one.

As they began to move for the next set of people to hop on he answered her. "Well, I had almost completed the program when my parents died. Their private plane crashed, killing them and the pilot. So I didn't feel I had a choice. I couldn't bear the thought of some stranger running the company that my grandfather founded and my father loved. So I stepped in and had to settle for owning restaurants rather than being in them cooking."

"Well, do you even like running the company?"

He gave her a wry grin. "I'm good at it."

"That didn't really answer my question... Just because you're good at something doesn't mean you have to like it. I was pretty good at my job at the coffee shop and I hated every second of it."

"Good point. But I had an obligation to fulfill."

Beth nodded. She understood his reasoning, but it still felt so unfair for him to be doing something he hated.

"And don't get me wrong it's not all bad, I certainly can't complain from the financial perspective and I am the boss so that certainly has its benefits. It's just not what I'd hoped for myself," he shrugged. "Money isn't everything."

"But it helps," Beth countered.

Any further conversation was put on hold as the ride finally filled and it began to move at a steady, quick pace. The car they sat in rocked back and forth, allowing for a bird's-eye view of the entire park, thousands of coloured lights twinkling below them. "Isn't it beautiful?" Beth asked with a warm smile on her face.

"It is," Gabriel confirmed.

Beth glanced over at Gabriel, her eyes catching his, and realized that it wasn't the park below that he was referring to. She ran a shaky hand through her hair. She was beginning to become familiar with the look he was giving her. His look was dark, heated and sexy, making her stomach do flip flops and her pussy ache.

"Gabriel..." The Ferris wheel came to a full stop just as their car topped the ride. Their car rocked with the sudden stopping and Beth immediately focused her attention on their surroundings and the people in the other cars muttering their displeasure from the stop. They could see everything, the fairgrounds and well into the city of Portland. It was a breathtaking view. She glanced over at Gabriel, who was grinning. "You paid him to stop the wheel didn't you?"

"Guilty."

She sat back in her seat and snuggled closer to Gabriel, "How long do we have?"

"Five minutes was as long as he would stall it."

"Hmmm. Well, I guess that rules out sex on a Ferris wheel," she teased, turning partway in her seat so she could look up at him. His whole demeanour was relaxed and carefree. She liked it. At that moment she was able to forget that he was her boss and she was his employee, and that he was severely out of her league - a thought that kept creeping into her mind.

"Well, Miss Wilmington, that is a very appealing idea. Perhaps I should have offered him more money." He cupped her chin in his hand and lowered his mouth to hers.

Beth smiled as his lips touched hers. As usual, the simple touch of his lips set her body aflame. With a sigh, she parted her lips to him needing to feel more as she slid her hand around his neck, urging him to take more. He obliged, his tongue sweeping past her parted lips to caress hers. She ached to reposition herself over him, straddling his lap, but the bar kept her seated and their contact restricted.

"My God, what you do to me Beth," he murmured, pulling his lips from hers slightly as he touched her cheek.

What she did to him? Then he must have had no idea her body's reaction to him. Beth couldn't speak. She could only stare up at him. She felt the same way. Why of all men did she have to find herself falling for Gabriel?

When she was growing up she had a tendency to bring home, as her mother would call them, the riffraff of the community. Men who were destined to be incarcerated for some crime or who had a promising career as a grocery store clerk. Her mother would tell her that it was just as easy to love a rich man as it was a poor one. She never believed it, but here she was with the most amazing man she'd ever met and she was falling.

Before she had a chance to respond, his lips claimed hers once more, harder and with more urgency than before. She fisted the front of his black t-shirt, as the throbbing between her legs increased. "I want you Gabe," she whispered against his lips.

He growled low and deep, slipping a hand to the back of her head and fisting her hair. She yelped, more in surprise than from the slight pain as he gave her hair a jerk, exposing her neck to him. His lips touched her neck, his tongue flicking at the sensitive flesh. She closed her eyes and moaned softly as pleasure rushed through her.