Where She Belongs Page 6

  "So, Shanna, I heard from Ross that we are going to get some new equipment from you," Treena Morris said.

  "I'm working on it. I'm only here for ten more days. I don't know how much I can really get done."

  "You can't stay two weeks and then disappear. This place needs you in the office. Your father is a fine man, but he's going to have to quit sooner or later."

  "Gabe will take over, no problem. He could run the entire company with his eyes closed and one hand tied behind his back. I have a boyfriend, well, soon to be fiance, back in Toronto, and I have a really great job."

  "Shanna has already caught a few things that I overlooked." Gabe leaned onto the table. He hoped to egg Treena and the others on, keeping it in her mind that the company needed her, and everyone wanted her around. "The old place does really need you, Shanna." I need you. But he didn't say that out loud.

  Treena dropped that line in favor of her own curiosity. "Tell us about your boyfriend."

  "Trenton von Brooke. He's from old money, his grandfather or great-grandfather started the company we both work at it. It's a multinational corporation. And he is absolutely gorgeous." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. "Here, I have a picture of us on our vacation last year to Mexico."

  An image of Shanna in a bikini laying next to that asshole popped into Gabe's mind. "I'm going to get another drink," he said, rising from his chair.

  Shanna glanced at him. "Grab me another as well?"

  He squeezed the back of her neck and kissed the top of her head. He couldn’t stand not touching her any longer. "Sure thing, darling."

  "Thank you." Their eyes met again for a moment. She turned away when she remembered showing off her fancy boy to her former friends. He wondered if she was dazzled by his charm and name, or if she really did love the man.

  Gabe did know he didn't trust the kid. He was smug and self-centered. Something that rubbed Gabe the wrong way. He had a friend who was a cop turned investigator. He could check into Trenton von Brooke’s background.

  For now, he grabbed her a beer and returned to enjoy an evening watching her amongst friends, acting as if she hadn't a care in the world.

  * * *

  Shanna giggled uncontrollably as she stumbled sideways out of the bar onto the street. Gabe grabbed her around the waist and held her upright. She took a deep breath as she tried to stand on her own two feet. She had to use him for support, as she couldn't seem to stop laughing about Treena’s last joke.

  It really wasn't even that funny, but Shanna had had six beers. "Keep breathing, sweetheart," Gabe said in his rich voice. The baritone that used to send shivers down her spine. Of course, it no longer did that. And she no longer felt the urge to call him so she could hear his voice.

  Now calm, she got to her feet. "Gabe, you are my best friend." She waved her arms around on what she thought was the horizon. It kept shifting as she talked. "My best friend in the whole world."

  He caught her, as throwing her arms about upset her balance. "I should have cut you off long ago."

  "Oh what? You don't want me to have fun either? Trenton hates when I get drunk. He says it's uncouth." She felt angry with Trenton.

  "I never said you can't have fun. But if you puke on my person, then I'll be unhappy with you. It is uncouth, and funny as hell. None of those people in there, including me, have seen you drunk. Well, not adult drunk."

  "So are you going to lecture me?"

  "Hell no. I'm going to ask you if you'll come to my house and do another table dance for me."

  He looked funny as he said it, but she couldn't focus on his eyes for very long. They kept jumping all over the place. She closed her eyes. Doing a private table dance for Gabe sounded like fun, er, trouble.

  When she opened her eyes, the world shifted. She grabbed at the air. Gabe grabbed her and led her to a nearby bench. "We've walked a whole block, haven't we?"

  He shook his head. "Not quite yet."

  She giggled and leaned her head on his shoulder. "What song would you have me table dance to?"

  He sighed and pulled her closer. "Like a Virgin. Maybe Animal by Nine Inch Nails. A slow song with a good beat that makes you want to grind against me."

  "You're as drunk as I am."

  He shook his head. "I had half the number of beer you did and I paced myself."

  “I haven’t let loose like this in ages.” She stood and started walking.

  "Wrong way, sweetheart. Your house is this way." He jumped to his feet after her.

  "My house is so far away. You live super close, and I bet you have a spare bed."

  "I do, sort of. I have a really uncomfortable futon in my office slash guest bedroom. Let's go to your house, you'll be more comfortable."

  "I'll sleep on your bed, you sleep on the sofa."

  "Like hell." He grabbed her. Even if they were going to his house, she was still going the wrong direction. "If you want to stay over, we'll share a bed." It wouldn't be the first time she'd slept at his house. More than once he’d housed a drunken teenage Shanna. He always phoned her parents, reminded them that she was a good girl, and she was a normal teen. She didn’t drive while drunk, or ride with anyone while drunk. Until his wife forbade her from staying at the house. Then he drove Shanna home when she showed up on his doorstep.

  "Fine, I'll sleep in your stupid bed. Wonder if I should call my parents or Trenton. Are you as drunk as I am?" She furrowed her brows. She was pretty sure she’d asked that already.

  She laced his fingers with his and swung their arms like a giant pendulum.

  “Your hands are perfect,” she said.

  “Are they?” His voice made her shiver.

  “Not so calloused that they are rough. But not so soft that you’re a pansy who never does any physical labor.”

  “What kind of hands does Trenton have?”

  “Soft, spoiled hands. He’s a spoiled pansy. When we moved, his father hired people to hang our pictures. I enjoy having a housekeeper, though.”

  “You’re fun when you let your guard down. Why do you seem so serious all the time?"

  "Trenton says if I'm to be with him, he has to maintain a certain appearance, and that means falling down drunk is out of the question. As for my general seriousness, I'm a rare breed, a woman in business. I have to be focused and work twice as hard as everyone else."

  He stopped and pulled her into his arms. She swallowed hard as she looked up at him. She waited for him to ask why she let herself go tonight. Why did she go to a bar with her employees? Questions she had been asking herself. She had no answers for them. Nor any reason for letting him hold her so close again. She felt no compulsion to pull away.

  "I missed watching you have fun and smile. It did my heart good to see you out tonight."

  She dropped her gaze to his lips. What if he kissed her right now? What would she do? The two kisses she'd shared with him had been the most exciting in her life.

  She pushed away from him, her body flooding with guilt. She was engaged. She should not, could not kiss Gabriel Brande. "I should go home. I'll call a cab when we get to your place."

  "There are no cabs here." His voice was flat and he looked disappointed. "Stay tonight. I promise to be a gentleman."

  She still found herself looking into his eyes, so dark they seemed black. "Okay. I will stay the night." He took her hand again and they kept walking.

  “It’s not you I don’t trust,” she said a couple of blocks later.

  “What is it then?”

  “I don’t trust myself with you.” She'd had too much to drink, she was missing Trenton, and Gabe was handsome and available. That was it. She had nine more days, now that this one was over, to get the new equipment installed, redo the budget and projections for the year. “I have a short time break here, then my real life is waiting for me.”

  He didn’t say any€thing. He didn’t grunt or look at her. He kept walking. It made him completely insane with worry and angry.

  Gabe stoppe
d her when he got to a small bungalow, and used the key to unlock the door. Pushing open the front door, he pulled her inside. Not turning on the lights until they reached the bedroom, he pulled a blanket out of the closet and tossed it on the bed

  "You don't have to share a blanket with me this way." He sounded angry with her.

  She sighed and sat on the bed. "I thought we were past this, but maybe we're not. I'm marrying Trenton in a year. When I return to my life, he's going to propose. We've discussed it already."

  Gabe pulled a shirt and shorts from his dresser and tossed them next to her as well. "I'd hate for you to wrinkle your fancy dress."

  Shanna sighed and took the clothing to the bathroom. She washed her face with the soap there. It felt tight after, and she wished for her ninety-dollar moisturizer and face wash. Once she'd seriously started dating Trenton, his mother took her to the spa. On the consultant's advice, and to please Mrs. von Brooke, she'd bought the obscenely expensive products. She did have to admit, her face felt different having used them.

  He was already under the covers with the light off. She tossed his extra blanket to the floor, determined to prove she didn’t fear him. His body heat radiated under the covers and it drew her like magnet. Luckily, she pulled her self-control out and shoved it between them.

  "Goodnight Gabriel. I missed you." She stared at the ceiling as it turned. "Your house spins."

  "That's the alcohol. If you go to sleep, you won't feel it."

  She tossed and turned a bit trying to get comfortable.

  "Are you going to get to sleep at all?"

  "Sorry. I'm having trouble sleeping without a goodnight kiss." Her eyes widened and she was thankful she was facing away from him. What had possessed her to say that? She wasn't four, she only needed a soft bed to fall asleep in and this certainly qualified.

  "And what do you want me to do about that?"

  She rolled over and shimmied her body closer. For years after, she would blame her words being very drunk, but she was more sober than she'd admit. She made sure her body wasn't quite touching his. "Kiss me goodnight."

  Her heart sped up as she gave in and spoke her desires aloud. His male presence made her crazy. She'd wanted it since she saw him walk into the bar. She wanted him.

  "What?"

  She wanted him. "I don't know if I can say it again. Please." If she threw away her morals, she could have him.

  "There's only so much a man can take, Shanna. Go to sleep."

  She pressed her forehead to his. "Kiss me goodnight." Someone needed to stop her mouth from moving. Tape would be good.

  He rolled her to her back and let his body lie half on her, pressing her into the mattress. "I don't get you. I don't know what's going on, but I can't resist you." He kissed her as if he was starving for affection. She matched his intensity, allowing her mind to shut off and forget her responsibilities. He was a man, she was a woman, and their bodies were meant to fit together. Their tongues clashed somewhere in the middle.

  He pulled back first. "I can't anymore without touching you. I'm going to sleep now. If you come across the center of the bed to my side, I can't be responsible for what happens. I mean it, I can't resist you."

  Her voice squeaked. "Okay." She scurried to her side of the bed and pulled the blanket tight around her. She wished she could cry at her stupidity. She was a horrible person. She had to stop playing with Gabe’s feelings and she had to stop this unfaithfulness to Trenton.

  Chapter 5

  Gabe woke to a body pressed against his. He rarely spent a night with a woman anymore, so who the hell was lying next to him with a hand over his thigh? The hand slid up and there was a sigh and the entire body beside him rolled away.

  His mind searched for memories of the night before. The bar, the usual crowd. That was all normal, then he saw blond hair and blue eyes. Shanna.

  He had morning wood, which was pretty standard. But seeing the outline of her lithe body did not help the situation soften at all. He longed to lean over and wake her with a kiss and slip into her waiting body.

  His cock surged with that thought. He slid out of bed before she woke, retreating to his bathroom and turned on the shower. He climbed under the warm stream and wrapped his hand around his erection and imagined that he was back in his bed, doing all the things he'd fantasized all these years. Shanna laying in his bed, looking up at him with glittering eyes as he stroked her. Little mewls slipping from her throat while he found heaven joined with her body.

  He'd imagined it more times than he'd ever admit. His body shuddered with release. At least the edge would be off, but he didn't know how long he could stand her teasing. He'd have to work carefully to make her realize why she wanted him. How much time had he wasted already?

  He sighed and started washing his hair. After he cleaned up, he'd go downstairs and make coffee and breakfast. Then they could go to work together.

  As he turned off the water, she banged on the door. "Gabe I need in there. Right now."

  He laughed and grabbed his towel. "I'm still behind the curtain. Come in."

  There was nothing for a moment, then the door opened. He rubbed his hair into the towel then wrapped it around his waist. The toilet flushed then she retreated without a word, only the soft click of the door.

  He pulled the curtain back and exited the bathroom. She was holding her cell phone and pacing the floor. "We're late for work," she said looking up. "Or we will be in about twenty minutes."

  "You're the boss. I think you can be late sometimes."

  "I'm never late for work. I'm never late for anything."

  He believed that. He wasn't sure what to say so he started looking for his clothes for the day. Briefs, socks, casual shirt and jeans. Friday was always a casual day.

  "I don't even have clean clothes here or my car. My mother is probably wondering where I am." She sounded panicked.

  He crossed to her and grabbed her shoulders. "Take a breath and calm down. You've done nothing wrong. You had some drinks last night and had a good time." She'd kissed him for the second time in as many days, but he didn't think pointing that out would help. "And you crashed at a friend's house. If your mother was worried, she'd call your cell phone."

  "Right." She met his eyes and he could see her face relax. "Stayed with a friend after a night out." Her jaw tensed again. she was thinking about their kiss. He knew pushing her physical limits any further would set him back. He let go of her.

  "Go downstairs and make some coffee. I am in desperate need. We'll have a quick breakfast then I'll run you to your parent's house for clothes and we'll head to work."

  "You can take me to my car."

  "Afraid someone will know you slept with me?" He couldn't resist teasing her a little.

  "No. I'd rather have my car," she snapped.

  He shook his head. Serious, guarded Shanna was back in full force. "Go make coffee and we'll figure out the rest after that." She seemed frozen in place. "I will change in front of you, Shanna."

  That spurred her into action and she left, clomping down the stairs. He dressed quickly not wanting to squander anytime he had with her now. Downstairs, sipping coffee, she looked calmer. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat across from her at the table.

  "You could have told me you had another bathroom." She lifted her brows at him.

  He couldn't help smiling. "I could have, but I didn't know if you'd make it in time."

  She shook her head, but smiled back.

  His heart lurched as he imagined sharing coffee at this table every morning. Even better, lazy weekends together, where he would bring her breakfast in bed, then make love to her afterward. His entire body reacted to that idea, and he realized his masturbation session in the shower hadn't done much.

  "Toast?" he asked.

  "Sure. That sounds good. I usually eat light for breakfast."

  He got up and filled the toaster. "I guess it's a good idea if I take you to your car first. You'll want to go to the hospital in the afte
rnoon."

  "I don't know if I told you, they said they might release Dad today."

  "That's good news. I guess they don't want to do the pacemaker."

  "Not yet anyway. It's still a possibility. We should really consider the possibility that you will be running things for a while."

  He didn't want to consider that she wouldn't stay. He couldn't let it happen. He opened the fridge to get the margarine and jam. "Strawberry okay?"

  "Whatever. I'm serious Gabe. I don't know how I can relax in Toronto if I know he's working."

  He wanted to tell her to stay. Or ask. Hell, in nine days he might start begging. The toast popped and he turned to tend to it. A few minutes later he settled across from the table, watching her bite into a piece of toast and wondered if he'd survive if she left him again.

  * * *

  Shanna absently picked up her cell phone that beeped from the desk beside her, “Hello?”

  “Shanna,” Trenton’s voice sounded a million miles away. She missed the warmth of his skin. Their relationship seemed slightly surreal to her now. Her days were filled with Gabe’s presence and her nights were filled with echoes of her feelings for him.

  “Trenton,” she nearly shouted. “I’ve been wanting to call you all day, but I didn’t want to disturb you at work.”

  “The presentation went so well, they’ve given me a ton of more stuff, and I miss sitting in the condo, bouncing ideas off each other, having you right there to give me feedback. I didn’t know how much I enjoy your company until you were gone. Are you coming back soon?”

  She sighed. “I wish. I miss you, too. Gabe is a total pain.” Okay, it wasn’t only when she was drunk that her mouth decided to run away from her. She needed to shut the fuck up for the next eight and a half days.

  “What’s he done?”

  Well, I was moments from ripping his clothes off and wrapping her legs around him. “It’s not really him, it’s everyone. Seems like everyone thinks I should stay here. Everyone says the same thing, the company needs you.” She sighed. She was a horrible girlfriend. She should break up with him right now. And then what?