Chapter 16
Chandler
I looked at Gabriella sitting across from me, feeling the smile across my lips and knowing she had put it there, even after I had talked about some of the darkest parts of my life.
She had really listened. She didn’t pry for more.
Instead, she simply absorbed what I said and instead of making me a sympathy case, she built me up.
It was a softer side of her I had never seen. Or deserved.
For a second, I felt a flicker of guilt for taking a job that was so rightfully hers. Anyone with eyes could see it, which was probably why most of the employees here resented me. Either that, or because I was an asshole. I could admit that. It was just how I had always been. Had always run things.
But here, in front of me, was the rightful person for the job, and for some reason I had gotten it instead of her.
She knew every employee and little details about them that weren’t in their files.
She had taken the time to get to know them, whether they’d been here ten years or five minutes.
I was amazed at her memory and care. I could see why she was so insistent on me easing up on everyone.
It was clear that this company meant a hell of a lot to her. It was her family’s legacy. It was supposed to be hers.
I could see the look of hurt in her eyes when she told me how her father had passed up on her.
I knew it went deeper than the CEO position.
There were some deep-rooted issues the whole thing had caused between a father and his daughter, and I couldn’t help but feel like I had caused some of it. Though it was completely unintentional.
“You know I didn’t mean to take it from you,” I said softly, looking around the office that would have been hers.
Should be hers. That wasn’t an easy thing for me to admit, even to myself.
It was just proof that Gabriella had a way of getting to me.
Of making me softer. I wasn’t sure if I liked it or hated it.
“I know,” she said, looking down at the glass of bourbon in her hands.
The liquor had been a good idea. It had been the little bit of liquid courage we needed to put aside our differences, though they had been the things keeping us apart the past few weeks.
At my suggestion, we had stayed away from each other as much as we could.
Texts, emails, and calls were really the only way we had communicated, and it had not been easy.
I hated to admit it, but I missed her. Missed the shit-talking. The tension. The passionate despise we held for each other. It was laughable how bad of a foot we had gotten off to since meeting at the coffee shop.
I looked at her now, captivated by her beauty.
In the warm glow of my desk lamp, her skin seemed to smolder against the cream dress she wore.
Her golden brown hair fell over one shoulder in waves, framing her heart-shaped face.
Her rosy lips wrapped around the rim of the glass tumbler in her hand, and I watched the length of her neck contract as she swallowed the amber liquid.
These were all things I had tried to ignore since we had sex at the gala.
All the things that had me recklessly pulling up her dress and finding my way inside her.
All those things, and her fiery spirit that took no shit.
“What?” she asked, looking at me from under her dark lashes.
“Nothing.” I shrugged, not sure how to put anything I was thinking into words.
“Come on. We’ve both opened up tonight. Why stop now?” She nudged gently.
“You’re just…different from I thought.”
She squinted her eyes, as if unsure if that was a compliment or not. “Different,” she said slowly, as if learning a new word.
“In a good way,” I said quickly.
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. She scooched closer and reached for the bottle of bourbon at my side. Just being that close to her, it felt like I couldn’t breathe. Her hazel eyes locked with mine as her hand wrapped around the neck of the bottle, and it was as if everything paused.
I leaned in, my nerves dancing in my stomach as I wondered if I would be met with her lips on mine or a slap to the face.
This felt so different from the impulsive desperation the night of the gala, but my nerves turned to liquid as she closed her eyes and tilted her chin up.
I cupped her face with my hand and brought my lips to hers.
She released her hand from the bourbon and brought it to my neck, where her fingers gently wrapped around me.
I felt her melt into me as I ran my tongue across her lips, eager to taste her again, and she was just as sweet as I remembered.
Our tongues massaged against each other slowly, our breath beginning to sync together.
My hands eased down the soft skin of her bare shoulders and moved to the back of her dress.
My fingers found the zipper and I ran it down slowly.
She pulled away from our kiss and looked up at me, her eyes searching mine.
I wondered what she would hope to find in them.
Afraid she would stop what was happening between us.
She must have found what she was looking for because she reached up and slid the straps of her dress off her shoulders, until the fabric fell to her waist. I sucked in a breath at the white lace bra that cupped her full breasts.
It was the same one I caught a glimpse of through her coffee-soaked blouse weeks ago.
I leaned in and placed a kiss against the top of each mound of perfect flesh.
She gently pushed me back, her fingers trailing the collar of my shirt until they reached the buttons.
She undid each one until all she had left to do was peel the shirt from my body.
Her eyes darkened slightly as they met my bare skin, my shirt tossed to the side.
She ran her hands up my abdomen to my chest, where she circled her fingers there softly, making my cock twitch in my pants that I desperately wanted off.
As if reading my mind, she moved her hands to my hips and pulled me up to kneel in front of her.
I held my breath as she undid the waistband and zipper, pulling my pants and briefs to the floor.
Her eyes fell to my cock, hardening even more with each second.
She got to her knees and shimmied the dress the rest of the way off.
She was a fucking thing of beauty before me in her white lace bra and matching thong.
Before I could touch her, she wrapped her hand around my cock and began stroking it slowly.
I let out a quiet groan that made her smile in a way I hadn’t seen before.
It was enough to make me lose it right then and there.
As she continued to stroke my cock, she placed her other hand on my chest, gently pushing me backward.
I uncurled my legs and lay down against the plush rug of my office floor, keeping my eyes on her.
Watching as she took control, and just how much she enjoyed it.
She climbed over me, her hand still around my cock, and hovered her face just above me.
I braced myself for the pleasure I knew was about to take over my body.
Her lips pressed against the tip of my cock, parting as she lowered her mouth over me.
I quivered under her as her tongue met the underside of my shaft, rolling up slowly.
She opened her mouth wider, taking me in even more.
My hands shot to her hair, gripping it gently as I felt my body lose control.
She began moving her head up and down, her hands gripping my hips tightly.
“Fuck,” I whispered throatily, my fingers getting further tangled in her hair.
I felt her take me in as far as she could go, the slight gag in her throat making my cock convulse. She slowly slid her mouth off me and looked at me just as her tongue swirled around the tip, tasting me.
I sat up quickly, grabbing her hips and pulling her on top of me.
She let out a gasp as I placed her on top of my throbbing cock.
I ground her against me, the soft lace of her thong the only thing keeping me from fucking her tight paradise.
She bit her lip as she found her own rhythm, moving her hips forward and back in a slow, sensuous dance.
She did this until I couldn’t take it anymore.
I lifted her hips and curled my fingers around her thong, pulling it to the side.
I sucked in a breath at how beautiful it was, glistening with her wet anticipation.
I adjusted my hips, directing my tip toward her opening.
She lowered herself onto me and I let out a breath as I stretched her open.
Every tight inch I filled made my balls tighten. It was too good.
My hands moved up her abdomen until they met her breasts.
I kneaded them, cupping their fullness in my hands.
With my entire cock deep inside her, she began moving her hips as she had done before, but this was so much better now that I could feel her all around me.
She held herself up with her hands on my chest as she began to move faster.
She threw her head back, her hair tickling the tops of my thighs and giving me better access to her breasts.
She let out a breathy moan as she said my name.
I almost exploded right then. She clenched tightly around me and I could feel her on the brink of losing control.
I lifted my hips slightly, hitting her just so.
She screamed out and whipped her head back up to look me in the eye.
I watched as her eyes rolled to the back of her head as her back hitched, unable to move as her orgasm tore through her.
I rode it out a little while longer, gripping her hips and pushing up into her until I released every drop I had into her with a breathless grunt.
She collapsed onto me, my cock still inside her as we tried to catch our breath.
After a few minutes, we lay in silence. I stroked her hair gently as she pressed her lips against my shoulder in small kisses.
The sex had been just as good as the gala, but it was different this time; I could feel it in the afterglow as we lay there together.
“What now?” she whispered as she propped herself up on her elbow and looked at me, her gaze soft. Worried.
I leaned up and kissed her before nipping at her bottom lip. She gave me a playful shove and I fell back to the rug, looking up at her.
“I know I want to do that again,” I said, my eyes skimming her body that lay damp with sweat against me.
She giggled softly. “Me too.”
“But just sex. I don’t want to complicate things.”
She looked thoughtful for a moment, and I wondered if I had said the wrong thing.
“Agreed,” she said. “But we can’t get caught.”
I was surprised and turned on by her eagerness to continue whatever this thing was between us.
“My father would go ballistic if he found out,” she added warily.
I smiled up at her. “That makes it all the more exciting then, doesn’t it?”
She smirked down at me before bringing her mouth to mine and exploring it with her tongue hungrily.