It’s my turn to gasp. “So are you.”
“I want to watch you come.” His touch firms, and I move faster, my entire body tingling with my impending orgasm. “Reach for it, baby.”
Funny thing is I don’t have to reach for it. He makes it so easy. His assured touch, the way he talks to me, looks at me: all of it sends me straight over the edge and into orgasmic bliss.
“Yeah, that’s it,” he says as I start to tremble, a little whimper escaping me. “Come for me, Marina.”
I do. My entire body stills above his as my climax takes over. I moan his name, reaching out so I can grip his shoulders hard, and then he’s coming as well, whispering my name against my hair as I collapse on top of him, the both of us shaking in each other’s arms.
“Damn, woman,” he mutters seconds, maybe minutes later, his hands gripping my butt once more, holding me close. Like he never wants to let me go.
“I know,” I whisper, pressing my lips against his neck, tasting his delicious salty skin. “I feel the same way.”
God. It would be so easy to fall in love with this man.
In fact, I think I’m already close to being there.
Chapter Thirteen
* * *
Marina
A LOT CAN change in a few weeks; heck, even a month. I was single and lonely, working my butt off day in and day out with little reward beyond growing a relationship with my aunt, which I cherish, but still. I’d watched the business I love slowly start to fail and it was eating at my very soul. The disappointment from my family—my ever-traveling, too-busy father and overprotective mother—was growing harder and harder to bear.
I had no friends. Many of them had moved away. Or I had no time to spend with the few friends I had.
Life had kind of sucked. I latched onto the fact that Gage Emerson was trying to buy out my family and ruin our lives. I went to that stupid little event more in the hopes of talking to him rather than conducting business, which had been my original intent. Maybe sling an insult or three at him, too, and then walk out, satisfied that I’d let the guy trying to take away my family legacy know I was onto him.
Well. We got the insult-slinging part right, at least.
Everything is completely different now. I have a friend, one I spend a lot of time with. Ivy Emerson and I made good on that San Francisco shopping trip and went last week. She helped me try on a ton of clothes, things I would never have looked twice at. I ended up buying a few things, not wanting to go beyond my self-imposed budget. She helped with that.
She helps with a lot of things.
Archer and I finalized the deal and Aunt Gina’s desserts are in his hotel restaurants. Gina’s thrilled. Archer’s taken her completely under his wing. I’ll be lucky to keep her with me at the bakery, what with the way he coddles her. I think Archer wants to steal her away from me.
My dad is still traveling a lot for business. My mom is still overprotective. I can’t change them, I just have to learn how to live with them.
And then there’s Gage.
I still can’t quite define what’s happening between us, but we’re definitely . . . involved. I can’t get enough of him. It seems he can’t get enough of me either.
My entire life has changed for the better. A lot of it I owe to Gage. The very man who I believed was my enemy. He’s introduced me to my newest friend. He helped me put together a business deal with Archer, his best friend. And he’s made me . . .
Fall completely in love with him.
Just thinking about it makes me want to both jump for joy and throw up.
Especially now, what with the headache I have going on. I don’t know what caused it, but I had to leave the bakery to take a little break. I couldn’t deal.
“So you’re going out with him tonight. Again.”
Great. Talk about now being able to deal.
I turn to find my mother standing in my doorway, her arms crossed in front of her chest, her expression sour. She’s reluctantly gone along with me dating Gage. Only lately has she piped up and vocalized her opinions. I think she’s afraid I’m falling for him.
Too late.
“I am.” I mirror her position, feeling defensive. Since my dad has been out of town so much doing God knows what, she’s become even more of a meddler. I know I live at home, but I’m freaking twenty-three years old. I’m hardly here anyway. I spend quite a few nights at the little house Gage keeps here in St. Helena. I stay there sometimes even when he goes back to his place in San Francisco to conduct business. Hopefully, someday soon I’ll go with him.
But with my obligation to the bakery, I can hardly leave. Before Gage came into my life, I had no reason to leave.
Now I want to be wherever Gage is. Silly, but true.