36. Kingston
36
KINGSTON
I lean into Gabe, hands on his solid chest. The world disappears as my lips meet his. Urgency pumps through me, fierce and hot and overwhelming. Like I might die if I don’t kiss him. If I don’t learn what it feels like to have his arms around me.
There’s a moment of quiet shock. He doesn’t move, but from the light of his cell phone, I see his lashes lower. Ohmygod. This is happening .
I don’t let up.
I don’t back down.
Closing my eyes, I sink into the sensations. My lips feel clumsy and awkward because I’m still trembling and not in a good way. Yet.
His hands grip my shoulders, holding me in place, and I could weep from that support. At how easily and readily he understood what was happening to me. I don’t know what I expected from the cocky geek, but it wasn’t soft-spoken reassurance.
His lips move across mine, testing, learning, and then he tips his head and groans. It’s an amazing sound, deep, needy, masculine. There’s a growl of determination and also a hint of disbelief.
He’s not alone.
I just told him we can’t do this. That Katherine is it for me. But I’m sick of wandering around his apartment and then her apartment, feeling like a caged lion.
Happy, sure. Well fed. I get let out every day to romp and exercise, but then up I go again. Wanting something I can’t have. Freedom to explore my deepest, darkest desires.
Gabe nips my lower lips, and the sharp bite of pain brings me back to our kiss. I flex my fingers into his chest, then smooth them up over his shoulders. Holding on for dear life because he knows how to kiss. How to make me lose my head and my inhibitions.
A little lick across the seam of my lips, and I’m opening for him. Teasing back with my tongue into the hot recess of his mouth. Need floods through my veins, and my cock stirs. Almost as if he felt it, he jerks me closer, his hands sliding low on my hips.
I surge against him, loving the way his tall, lean body fits against mine. The way he holds me steady as he devours my mouth. He’s wanted this too. It’s almost shameful how hot my skin is and just how badly I’d like to strip us both bare.
Our brief time with Katherine between us wasn’t enough. It wasn’t ever going to be enough, was it? Not with chemistry crackling like this between us.
We separate slowly. He lifts his head, and I gasp for air. My chest heaves as I suck oxygen into my lungs.
I swear it could be pitch black, and I’d be able to see the fire blazing in those amazing blue eyes.
There’s not a hint of surprise on his ridiculously handsome face, and I appreciate that he doesn’t throw my words back at me. But I can’t help feeling like there’s an elephant squeezed into this elevator with us.
My heart thumps against my ribs. Once. Twice. I wait for the panic to return. The uneasy sensation I’ve lived with for so long doesn’t rear its head. How could it compete with all the hormones raging inside me?
“I came back for Katherine. Full stop. But,” I say, “I don’t regret that kiss.”
Not the least little bit.
“Me either.”
We stare at each other in the eerie silver-blue light, his hands on my hips, mine on his shoulders. I trace a thumb down the pulse bouncing in his neck. He swallows. I feel the tension in him, understand it so well because it’s mirrored in me.
He doesn’t say it, but I can almost read his mind.
I want to do that again.
So do it.
Energy crackles between us, alive with unspoken words. I might have come back for Katherine, but I found something so much more. In the shroud of darkness, where my deep-seated fear lives, I’m met with my darkest desires.
Gabriel is just as tenacious as I am. Determined and adventurous, living life to the fullest. And right now, want is etched on his face. Somewhere in the last five minutes, we’ve ticked past supportive friends and into new territory.
‘I want to fuck you’ territory.
Desire stretches between us like a rubber band. Tighter and tighter. And then, when it’s obvious I’m not saying no anymore, the band snaps.
Gabe slants his lips across mine. I open for him immediately, groaning because it feels so fucking good to be wanted like this. Unbridled and untamed. Like he’s not going to stop until he’s learned every last inch of me.
His hips press harder to mine, and I revel in the hard length of him. As if there was any doubt about how badly he wants this. Wants me. I press right back and slide my hand down, wrapping around his throat. His gasp is music to my ears, and I smile into the kiss, then thrust my tongue into his mouth.
He sucks on it, and my cock jumps, wishing and hoping for something it can’t have right now. I grind against him, but there’s no relief to be had. It only makes me want more. And when his hands slide down over my ass and squeeze, I know he’s just taunting me.
Two can play that game.
I tighten my grip on his throat and push him back against the wall. He grunts on impact, and I immediately take over the kiss. It’s a dance. Sometimes you lead, and sometimes you follow.
Right now, he needs to know just how badly I want him. How I wish we were in his apartment so I could strip him bare. I caught enough glimpses of his body this afternoon to make me drool. Trying on clothes and being fitted for a suit has never been so tantalizing. Plus, I know what he’s packing beneath those dark jeans. What I don’t know yet is what it’s like without Katherine in the middle.
He doesn’t shy away from my possession, doesn’t resist my hold. In fact, he pulls me closer, a leg wrapping behind mine.
His scent goes to my head. Crisp rain, evergreen forest with a touch of something subtly sweet and slightly musky.
God, I want to lick him. Bite him. Taste him.
He nips my lower lip. I squeeze his throat, growling with pleasure. He releases me, pulling back a fraction.
“You like it rough, don’t you?” he whispers. “I felt it that night.”
I freeze, not even breathing. He doesn’t seem shocked or disgusted.
But then, why would he? He loves trying new things. Told me so himself. A man as open and as adventurous as Gabriel Rothburn probably couldn’t care less about a kinky partner.
My breath comes out in a whoosh.
“Sit before you fall down.”
I let him guide me to the floor. My pulse thunders in my ears, and I suck in a needy gulp of air. With my shoulders pressed against the metal wall panel, I glance over at him. There’s just enough light from where his phone rests on the floor next to one of the bags. He glances my way, curious and calm.
“It’s okay if you do,” he assures me in that quiet tone that smooths out my ruffled feathers.
“I know, it’s just...” I can’t finish the sentence.
I swallow back all the fear and hesitation that I’ve carried since my early twenties. Knowing I’m just built different. Not conventional or vanilla, exactly. And yet, for her, I’m trying to be because it’s what’s ‘normal.’
“Talk to me,” he urges, utterly sincere.
I’m so tempted.
“What is it? You want to tie her up?”
“What?”
“Your kink. Something is holding you back. I just wondered what it was.”
I blow out a sigh as I gather my courage. I’ve had his tongue in my mouth. This shouldn’t be such a big deal.
He watches me with steady blue eyes and the slightest smirk. How can one be so smart and so good-looking? It’s just not fair.
And why does he make me want to spill all my secrets?
“Looks like we’ve found something to thwart your panic attacks,” he says, changing the subject effortlessly.
My shoulders drop a fraction. It’s odd how I couldn’t care less about being judged in any other arena of my life, but when it comes to this, my lips are sealed.
What the hell is wrong with me? Katherine’s my best friend. We’ve traveled together, stayed up all night watching old movies. I’ve helped her study for exams, and she had my back when I struck out on my own, away from family expectations and business.
But what I want from her—secretly, deeply want—is not conventional. There’s no way my fantasies are Park Avenue Princess-approved.
Gabe grins at me, somehow cocky and sweet at the same time. It’s fucking adorable and makes my spirits lift further.
“I’ve never actually made out in an elevator before,” he says.
“Me either.” And now I’m trembling for a whole new reason. Bittersweet relief travels down my spine, spreading to my fingers and toes. For the moment, my anxiety has faded, replaced with desire. “Who knew that could be the solution to severe claustrophobia.”
He smiles, gaze raking the length of me. I shouldn’t like it so much, and I definitely shouldn’t encourage it. At least not until we’ve talked to Katherine.
Thinking about my best friend cools my ardor, and I sag.
“I doubt it’s actually the cure,” he murmurs, sounding so smart and sure of himself. “But it’s one hell of a distraction.”
My discomfort bleeds back in from the edges. Starting in my mind with a thousand what-if statements. Questions. Memories. Fear. And soon, my body follows suit. Chest tight, breathing labored, skin prickling like I’m being stabbed with needles. I start to go numb.
And then Gabe’s there, slinging a leg across my lap, cupping my cheeks in his hands, pulling my attention to him like the world’s strongest magnet.
“You’re okay, King.”
A little of the dread melts away.
“Do I need to kiss you again?” The corner of his mouth hitches up.
“Don’t tease me with a good time.”
His weight on my legs is solid, grounding me. I suck in a deep breath and slide my palms up his thighs. He stays there, hands holding my face, gaze locked with mine. I can barely reconcile him with the person who Katherine used to get so steamed over. His compassion pulls me out of my tailspin.
“I like teasing you,” he admits, so soft it’s almost like it’s a confession.
Then he ducks his head, coming closer, hot breath feathering across my cheeks.
“You’re trying to kill me.”
“Why on Earth would I do that?”
“Less competition.”
“We’re not competing, King. We’re partners.”
Partners.
That sounds incredible.
I have an amazing family, to be sure. But there’s something so special about rallying a crew of like-minded people. Friends. Found family.
The way he’s staring down at me right now, hope alive in his eyes, expectation bracketing that sensual mouth, he feels the same way. This is a man who understands what it’s like to leave one’s family and build his own.
For years, decades, really, that’s been Alex.
And now he’s letting Katherine and me inside.
He’s making space for us in his life. In his apartment.
I’m beyond touched. Overwhelmed really.
What the hell are they pumping into this elevator? My emotions are all over the place.
He smiles when I nod. “Partners.”
I coast a hand up his stomach and hook in around his neck, pulling him down for that kiss he promised. Stretching up, I seal my lips with his, fears forgotten. As his tongue once again plays along the seam of my mouth, I groan and welcome him inside.
I’m instantly hard again, cock surging, screaming for relief. A touch. Anything.
But as gone as I am, I don’t forget where we are. And while I’m pretty sure the cameras are down, I’m not willing to bet his reputation on it.
So I deepen the kiss and vow to keep it in my pants for now.
When he lifts his head, breathing heavily, the truth tumbles from my lips.
“I was young when my nanny and I got stuck in an elevator. It’s been bad ever since. My parents moved to a different building, one where the elevator had a window. That made it better, but not great.”
He sits back, hands sliding down my chest. “And that’s how you manage on the sailboat.”
I nod. “Windows. And lots of fresh air.”
“You know the great thing about being an adult? You can do things you couldn’t as a kid. You’re not stuck, King.”
I glance up at him, past him, to the ceiling panels. All the anxiety melts away, and the familiar tingle of curiosity pulses through me. He’s right. There are all kinds of things I can do now that I couldn’t do back then.
“Help me up.”
For a moment, just a split second, he looks disappointed. Then his lips curl up the slightest bit, and he pushes to his feet, reaching for my hands.
“Give me a boost.”
“What?” His jaw falls.
I lace my fingers together and squat, showing him what I want him to do. “Like this.”
“Why?”
I point at the ceiling. “I want to see what’s up there.”
“Oh, good grief.” But he indulges me. I place my foot in his hands and reach for the metal panels as he lifts. My fingers glide along the edges, feeling for a latch.
“You know, if you wanted to put your dick in my face, you could have just asked,” he says dryly.
I glance down and find his cheek pressed against my thigh. Pleasure spikes through me, and a laugh bursts from my lips. Damn, that feels good.
Focus King.
I wiggle the panel off, thankful that it’s decorative and clipped into place. I’m sure that keeps the weight down, but it doesn’t exactly give me the warm fuzzies about how well this tin can is built. The sound of water grows louder, like it’s running over rocks, but I don’t feel any moisture.
The backup light flicks on, blinding me. I turn my head and shield my eyes. “What the hell?”
I drop down from the ceiling, and Gabe steadies me as I blink away the blue dots blurring my vision.
Behind him, the call button lights up, and a man’s voice fills the air.
“You guys stand by. We’re bringing you down to level three, okay?”
“Great,” Gabe says, finding his voice quicker than me. “Thanks.”
We have an instant to rejoice before the elevator starts to descend.