Читать книгу The Executive's Vengeful Seduction / Rich Man's Revenge - Maxine Sullivan, Tessa Radley - Страница 12

Five

The next afternoon Gabrielle married Damien in a simple ceremony held in his apartment, and Damien signed over eleven percent of Kane Property and Finance Group shares to her.

The only “family” Damien wanted to invite were his two best friends and their wives, and his attorney. No one else knew. Everything had to be kept secret so that Keiran wouldn’t get wind of the marriage and do something underhanded to prevent it, if indeed there was anything he could do about it.

As for her parents, Damien suggested it was best not to tell them about the wedding until afterward. The excitement might not be good for her father, and her mother might let something slip to Keiran, especially since Damien had said later that Caroline had no idea about the shares.

Still, it had been hard for Gabrielle to visit her parents earlier that morning and act as if nothing momentous was about to happen. Thankfully, her father had been sleeping and her mother had asked Gabrielle to sit with him while she went home to shower and change. It had been a blessed relief not to have to put on a brave face. Nor was Gabrielle sure she wouldn’t have begged her mother to stop her from doing a crazy thing like getting married two days after returning home.

And it was a crazy thing to do, she kept thinking when Kia and Danielle arrived carrying a gorgeous white sheath of a dress with a miniveil, and a posy of glorious miniature yellow roses. Suitably horrified at the speed Damien had arranged everything, they gave him a scolding about rushing the bride off her feet, yet they all knew why.

Thank goodness she didn’t have to play the blushing bride in front of everyone, Gabrielle told herself while she was dressing, with Kia and Danielle sympathizing over her predicament in the background. Brant and Flynn’s attitude was that Damien was doing the right thing, which made all three women smile wryly at each other in a moment of bonding.

Of course, once the ceremony was over and she stood next to the ladies beside a table covered with scrumptious food, she was on autopilot as she sipped at her champagne. The men had gone out on the balcony on the pretext of admiring the panoramic ocean view, but were deep in discussion instead.

“You know something, Gabrielle,” Kia said. “Damien reminds me so much of Brant and Flynn. Handsome. Gorgeous. And wonderful husbands once you get past the wall of detachment that’s inherent in men like them.”

Sudden despair wrapped around Gabrielle’s heart. She was sure Damien would be just like her father. And she would turn out just like her mother.

“Good heavens, your hands are shaking,” Kia exclaimed in a sympathetic tone. She squeezed Gabrielle’s arm. “Honey, we understand. Danielle and I felt the same way about our guys when we first met them.”

Danielle nodded in agreement. “That’s right. And one day we’ll tell you all about it, but not now. It would take too long to explain why Flynn thought I was after his money,” she said with rueful smile. “But I do want to say one thing—trust that it will work out for the two of you.”

Gabrielle appreciated their kindness, but there was so much that they didn’t realize. For one thing these women didn’t know about her and Damien’s past affair. Nor about her miscarriage—the one Damien didn’t know about, either.

Just then she looked up and saw the three men coming back inside the apartment through the sliding glass doors. Damien looked magnificent in a dark suit and white shirt and was grinning at something one of the others had said. It was a striking smile that curled her toes and sent her heart thudding against her ribs.

And then he saw her staring at him and he paused briefly, before his mouth tilted in a sardonic grin. “I hope you ladies aren’t plying my new bride with alcohol,” he said, walking toward them.

Kia gave a light laugh. “Of course we are.”

“I have something much better.” He nodded at the waiter, who proceeded to hand out fresh glasses of champagne.

Despite his relaxed air, those piercing eyes studied her thoughtfully for a moment, giving nothing away. And then she saw a hint of satisfaction lurking at the back of them, and fear rippled through her. Fear, not of Damien himself, but of where all this was leading. He may not have planned to marry her when he’d brought her back from Sydney, but he certainly intended to profit from all this…in more ways than one.

He held up his glass. “A toast. To my new wife.”

From somewhere deep inside her, she managed to raise her own glass and smile right back at him. “And here’s to my old husband.”

That evening, alone with Damien on his luxury yacht, Gabrielle ignored the man beside her and purposely focused her gaze on Darwin Harbor. In the remaining light, she watched as other boats sailed past them over the deep, calm water, the sound of laughter and clinking glasses sometimes drifting through the air, early evening being all about relaxing and having fun.

Not for them, of course. She didn’t want to be here. It was under duress and Damien knew it. So she wasn’t feeling particularly friendly toward him right now.

Okay, so he’d looked handsome and virile as he’d motored the vessel out himself, then dropped anchor, the cream polo shirt enhancing his well-built body as he’d moved, the black trousers molding perfectly to his long legs.

She’d always loved looking at his profile, and he looked even more attractive this evening with the water reflecting on his face. There was something very potent about the picture he made, and she felt a tremor inside knowing she was now married to him.

Her husband.

All at once he turned his head toward her. His moss-green eyes stared across the table and into her own with a burning intensity. “You were a beautiful bride.”

She realized she was gripping her wineglass so tight she might break it. She forced her fingers to relax. “Thank you.”

“You won my friends over well and truly,” he added.

She grimaced. They both knew Brant and Flynn approved because they thought she was doing the right thing for the business. “I’m sure Kia and Danielle feel a certain…empathy for me.”

His slight smile noted her comment. “The girls might be able to relate, but you can’t discount the fact they are very happily married.”

She met his gaze levelly. “They’re in love, Damien. We’re not.”

He didn’t miss a beat. “You’re right. Here’s to not being in love,” he drawled, lifting his glass of white wine.

Five years ago she would have been devastated by his words, but she knew she was beyond that now.

She raised her glass and clinked it against his. “That’s a toast I can relate to.”

“And to us,” he added.

She pulled the glass back. “There’s no such thing as ‘us,’ Damien. There’s you. And there’s me. Two separate entities.”

“Not after tonight.”

The pit of her stomach began to churn. “I could scream, you know.”

“So could I.”

The comment was so unexpected that her lips twitched.

“Is that a smile I see?” he teased, sounding as if he was truly amused. It was a glimpse of how it could have been if only…

She remembered what their marriage was about. “No,” she said, not looking at him, instead looking everywhere but at him. “I have nothing to smile about.”

A moment passed by. “You’re my wife now,” he said with quiet emphasis. “Accept it.”

She lifted her chin as she looked at him. “I guess I should be honored to be Mrs. Damien Trent?” she said sarcastically, even as she suppressed a tingle at her new name.

“Naturally.”

She made a choking sound. “Your arrogance astounds me,” she said, and caught a look of surprise on his face that in turn surprised her. He really had no idea his words had come across as arrogant. He really did believe she should be honored to marry him.

As if!

No way would she be grateful to a man who forced her into… She winced inwardly. He hadn’t forced her into anything. Yes, he’d married her for his own purposes. And yes, he’d married her for her father’s sake—but for an honorable reason.

She hadn’t quite thought about it in this light before, but by marrying her today he was showing what kind of man he was—an honorable one. He must have had a good upbringing.

Suddenly she realized, Damien hadn’t mentioned his parents today, not once. And she’d been too preoccupied and busy to ask the question.

Now she had the time. “Why didn’t you invite your parents to the wedding, Damien?”

He tensed. “It would be a bit hard. They’re dead,” he said in a clipped tone that didn’t ask for sympathy and would accept none.

A wave of compassion swept over her. And as strange as it seemed, she felt a little sad that she’d never get to meet the parents of this man. Five years ago they’d been on a round-the-world cruise, though she suspected he wouldn’t have introduced her, anyway. About the only other thing she knew about him was that he didn’t have any brothers or sisters, and even getting that out of him had been like asking for state secrets.

“What happened?” she asked sympathetically.

The line of his mouth flattened. “My father picked up some sort of bug during their cruise. It killed him before he could get proper medical attention.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh my God. That’s dreadful. Your poor mother. Did she—”

“She died two years ago.”

She listened in dismay. “I’m so sorry, Damien.”

“Thanks,” he said, looking out to sea, making her think he had hidden depths she was only now beginning to notice.

“So you’re all alone in the world?” she said, trying to find what made this man tick.

He looked at her with eyes turned hooded and dark, a sure sign she’d touched a nerve. “If you want to think of it that way, yes.” Then as if he’d had enough talking, he rose up from his chair like some god ready to sacrifice a virgin. If she’d had time she would have laughed at the thought, but her heart was jumping inside her chest as he came around the table toward her.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

He stopped in front of her, took the glass out of her hand, and pulled her to her feet, his hands circling her waist. “What do you think I’m doing?”

“No, Damien.”

Something lazily seductive seeped into his eyes. “Yes, Gabrielle.”

“Damien, I’m not ready—”

“I’m five years ready.”

She blinked. “Are you saying…you’ve been celibate for five years?”

He snorted. “I’m a man, not a saint.”

Of course. How silly of her. “Then what did—”

“Shhhhhh.” He lowered his head and kissed her. She inhaled sharply and his tongue swept into her mouth, sweeping aside her objections like he did with everything else.

The sheer passion behind it…the possessiveness in it…took her breath away. She melted into him with a low moan, a part of her dismayed at how easily she weakened, another part gloriously alive, reveling in the feel of his lips against hers.

And with each passing moment those firm, manly lips hardened with increasing hunger, growing more urgent and demanding. She returned his kiss, her heartbeat throbbing in her ears, his scent hugging her lungs until all she knew was him.

He lifted his mouth and sent her a heated look, and a private message passed between them. He, too, remembered how it had been. A delicious shudder swept over her. She could almost taste the saltiness of his skin and feel the heat of his body as they lay entwined in bed together.

“It’s time, Gabrielle.”

“Time?” she asked breathlessly, delaying the inevitable, though she wasn’t sure why now.

“For our bodies to do the talking.”

Before she could say anything…or do anything except admit to herself she had a need for him…he put her hand in his and drew her along behind him, down the stairs to the cabin below.

She allowed him to lead her, all at once feeling this was meant to be. She could no more stop this from happening than stop the tide from turning. She didn’t want to stop it now. Deep down she’d known that all along.

And then they were beside the bed and Damien stood looking at her, the lights from the deck filtering in through the windows, giving their world a pearly glow.

A sense of intimacy swirled around them as his fingers feathered up her arm, igniting little sparks where they touched her skin…up over the curve of her shoulder…along her collarbone…under her hair at her nape, admiring the blond strands cascading over his fingers.

“My blond beauty,” he murmured, and brought her mouth to his once more, this time capturing it in a slow and sensuous possession.

She dissolved against him, loving the way his sinewy body embraced hers, his needing her as much as she needed him. And she was lost. As lost as any woman had a right to be when in the arms of a man she’d once loved.

Moments crept by before he eased away from mouth. “It’s been a long time for us,” he said, placing his lips against the column of her throat.

Ahh! She tingled at his touch, every pore in her body recognizing him, acknowledging him. It was five years since he’d made love to her like this. In her dreams it had sometimes seemed like yesterday. In her nightmares it had been forever.

“Say it, Gabrielle. Say you missed this, too.”

She stretched her neck back allowing him access to the base of her throat. “Yes,” she whispered. “I missed this.”

His grunt of approval made her head spin as his hands slipped around to her back and slowly lowered the zip of her dress. The material fell to her waist and she stood in her lacy black bra, her nipples swelling in anticipation, her pulse rioting with need. She wanted to feel his mouth against her breasts.

“Mine,” he said, his voice rough with need, arching her up for his indulgence, his eyes darkening as he took what was so willingly offered.

“Yes,” she murmured, then gasped at the touch of his lips closing around a nipple.

He sucked hard, the lace emphasizing the abrasive action of his tongue, and she clutched at his shoulders as he moved to the other breast and repeated the rhythm, creating wonderful little bursts of ecstasy within the very core of her.

Then he undid her bra and it fell to the floor. Her breasts spilled into his hands and she moaned aloud with sheer pleasure when he began to fondle them. Oh my, did he know what he was doing to her?

Then those hands…those superb male hands…slipped over her rib cage, his firm fingers kneading her skin. Her dress began to slip downward, over her hips, her stomach… and all at once she was conscious of what he would find, and she stiffened, preparing herself for the moment he felt her scar. It didn’t take long.

His fingers stopped on the flat skin of her stomach. “What the hell!” He put her away from him, twisting her toward the light shining in through the window to get a better look.

A flush seared her cheeks. “I’m sorry, I—”

“What happened?” he demanded, holding her hips firm, a muscle jerking in his cheek, an angry look exploding in his eyes. Angry and…pained.

She tried to pull away but he wouldn’t let her. “A car accident. I know it looks horrible but—”

“No,” he growled. “It doesn’t.” And he fell on one knee to place his lips against the two-inch jagged scar radiating downward from her belly button.

She shuddered helplessly. Of all the things she expected, it wasn’t that he would touch her with such sensitivity. In a strange way it made her proud of him. Proud to be his woman, if only in a physical way.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“No need,” he muttered, and placed his lips against her scar one more time. Then his hands left her hips and cupped her bottom, pulling her forward and pressing his face against the very intimate part of her.

Her heart stopped for a long moment as he held her like that, as if discovering her scent again and reveling in it. She grasped his shoulders before her legs buckled beneath her.

He took a deep breath and moved back to slowly peel her panties down her legs. Leaning on him, she stepped out of them, but he stayed where he was, just looking at her.

Suddenly she felt self-conscious. Damien had been her only lover. And it had been five years since he’d seen her naked body like this. She went to cover herself, but he made a sound low in his throat and pushed her hands away, then began kissing his way upward, his lips like silk along her thighs, over the blond curls hiding her femininity, skimming up over the sensitized skin of her breasts before anointing each nipple again, then moving up further and settling on her mouth.

His tongue danced with hers as he pulled her against him, his hardened body straining the material of his pants, sending a flash of heat through her. She was ready for him. More than ready.

“I want to feel you against me,” he rasped, and stepped back, stripping the clothes from his body so fast he made her head spin. She wanted to say “take your time, let me look,” but a more-eager part of her had a need low in her stomach at the sight of his obvious arousal.

He sank down on the bed behind him, drawing her close, positioning her so she stood between his legs. His mouth began to tease her nipples and she closed her eyes, welcoming his touch, winding her fingers through his hair, holding his head tight between her hands.

Just when she thought she could no longer stand, when a cry of pleasure was about to burst from her lips, he lay back on the bed and slowly stretched her out alongside him, so they were facing each other.

She moaned, and buried her face against his throat, savoring the touch of every inch of masculine skin lining hers. Dear heaven, she only had to guide him inside her and they would be one.

For several long seconds they lay there, as if he too, were soaking up the feel of skin against skin, the rocking of the boat giving a lulling sensation to their lovemaking.

Then he leaned up on his elbow and slowly began to trace a fingertip over the top of her breasts, his finger scorching everywhere he touched, down her cleavage pressed tight by the angle of her body.

“Look,” he ordered thickly, his gaze descending between them. Her limbs quivered as she looked down to where their bodies touched. All the way down.

Man against woman.

“A perfect fit,” he said, his eyes now locked on hers.

She swallowed tremulously. “Yes,” she said, growing warm and welcoming, a wantonness forming in her lower limbs.

All at once he rose up over her toward the bedside table and took a condom out of the top drawer. “Here,” he said, handing it to her, a pulse beating in his neck.

The breath stalled in her throat. “Oh but—”

“You want me to wear it, don’t you?” he challenged in a raw mutter.

She moistened her lips. She couldn’t think. Yes. No. “Um…yes.”

“Then put it on me,” he rasped with his usual arrogance, only she couldn’t seem to respond in kind. Perhaps because she could see her effect on him. He couldn’t hide how he was feeling right now; it was an empowering thought.

She tried to open the small foil package but her fingers shook and she dropped it. Giving her a look that said he was pleased she wasn’t an expert in this, he took it and ripped it open with his teeth, then held it out to her.

But she didn’t take it just yet. Swallowing hard, she looked down at him and felt a sizzle run through her. She had wanted to touch him before, and now she would.

She reached out and slid her hand around his erection, hearing a groan rise up from his throat, making the breath hitch in her throat. His skin felt warm under her palms. Warm and vital and so very Damien.

Without warning he muttered, “No more,” then put his hand over hers and released her fingers from around him. In the blink of an eye, he rolled the condom on himself, moved her back against the bed, then nudged her thighs until she opened herself to him.

Only, he didn’t enter her just then. He waited, looking down at her with darkened eyes, the cords in his neck straining as he held his body above her…waiting…

“Come into me, Damien,” she said, sliding her palm over his chest.

And that was enough. On a groan, he pushed himself into her wet warmth.

Slowly.

Exquisitely.

Filling her with a sense of completeness.

Even five years ago their lovemaking hadn’t been as rich as this. It was much richer now in intensity, in depth, in experience.

And then he kissed her deeply as he moved erotically in and out. She loved the way he explored her inner womanhood with a thoroughness and pleasure that stamped her as his own, leaving no part of her untouched.

She moaned and inched toward the peak of desire. Unable to hold out against such an onslaught, she shut her eyes giddily. And she told herself to wait. That she wanted it to last forever. But her body wasn’t about to stop from rejoicing in their mating.

She escalated higher and higher, with nothing to hold on to except this man within her. “Damien, please… Damien, I need you…Damien…”

“Gabi,” he rasped, and she felt him pulsing into her, her own femininity cupping him tight in her climax, welcoming his sheathed essence.

A long moment later she was left with one thought and one thought only. The last time they’d made love he’d called her Gabi. And he’d been inside her back then, too.

* * *

The next morning Damien kept his eyes closed as he enjoyed the slight rocking of the boat and inhaled the scent of Gabrielle in the tropical air. It woke his body, arousing him with the pleasure of the night.

Many pleasures of the night.

He rolled on his side and reached for her, but his hand found a cool cotton sheet instead of a warm body. His eyes opened. She was probably in the bathroom. Or making coffee in the galley.

He listened for any sound of her. All was quiet. He sniffed the air and waited. Any minute now the aromatic smell of coffee would tantalize his nostrils. When nothing happened, he eased into a sitting position and looked around the cabin. Unless she’d jumped overboard, she’d still have to be on the yacht.

His heart started to thump. Or perhaps she’d taken the dingy. If she had, he’d kill her, he decided, throwing back the sheet, his gut knotting as he pulled on his trousers. He didn’t bother about a shirt as he took the stairs two at a time.

When he found her on the top deck, it took a moment to steady his heartbeat. Then he strode toward her and hauled her into his arms.

“Damien, what the—”

He dropped a fierce kiss on her lips. It was supposed to be an angry kiss for being foolish enough to leave him. Only, after a moment or two, with her palms flattened on his bare chest, he found he was more hungry for her than angry, more searching than punishing. He wanted her to know how waking up this morning without her had felt. It had been the same feeling he’d experienced five years ago.

He broke off the kiss and muttered, “There’s no escape.”

She looked confused. “I wasn’t trying to escape.”

Okay, he’d panicked. He wouldn’t do it again. “Tell me about the car accident.”

Her face closed up and she stepped out of his arms and went to sit down on a seat. “Why? Am I imperfect now, Damien?”

“No.” She was too damn perfect to look at. That was the problem. He winced inwardly. No, he didn’t quite mean that. Gabrielle wasn’t just about her looks.

She leaned back and stared up at him, gorgeous in white pants and a lime-green top. “What do you want to know?”

“How it happened. When did it happen. Everything.”

Her lips, still slightly swollen from his kiss, curved in a wry smile. “You don’t ask for much, do you?”

He didn’t find it remotely funny. “I’m telling, not asking.”

Her eyes clouded over. “Yes, that’s more your style.”

“Gabrielle, you’re procrastinating.” His eyes narrowed. “What are you hiding?”

She looked startled. “Nothing,” she said, much too fast for his liking. She moistened her delicious mouth. “Er…it happened a few months after I went to Sydney. I was a passenger in a car with one of Eileen’s daughters, Lara. This drunken idiot came out of nowhere and his car hit the front passenger side and some metal buckled and cut me.”

“Sweet Jesus!” The thought of it made him taste bile.

All at once she was looking at him as if realizing his shock. “Damien, I’m fine,” she said gently.

Her tone didn’t soothe him. He felt savage. Like he wanted to commit murder. “What happened to this idiot? He’d better be in jail.”

“I don’t know. I was in hospital for a few days, then I was too busy getting back on my feet.”

“If I’d known…” he growled, a burning sensation in his throat. “If Russell had known…”

An uneasy look entered her eyes. “Thankfully neither of you did.” As quickly, she drew herself up, a certain coolness taking over. “And thankfully neither of you had a say in my life after that.” She paused for effect. “I just wish you didn’t have a say now.”

The muscles at the back of his neck tensed. “You’re married to me, Gabrielle. From here on in, whatever happens, I want to know about it.”

Her eyes flashed with cynicism. “It didn’t take long for you to start trying to control me.”

He stared hard at her. She’d taken that the wrong way. He was concerned for her, not controlling. He wanted to make sure she’d didn’t get hurt again. God, he hated thinking about her trapped in a car. About her lying in hospital.

His jaw clenched. But if she preferred to think the worst of his motives, then let her. He wasn’t explaining himself to anyone.

He made a move toward the stairs. “Get your things together. We’re going back to shore.”