Page 42 of Ours to Lose
“No, answer me.” His voice sharpened at the edges. “At least admit to throwing yourself at Jase so he’d make you his little pet.”
I leaned away, trapped in the sea of bodies. He opened his mouth?—
“There you are, babe,” Gabe said, emerging beside me, a wall of sex and muscle. He handed me my glass from earlier and dropped a kiss to my neck, his free hand settling on the small of my back. “I got your drink.”
A delicious thrill shot up my spine, made sweeter by watching the smirk fall from Christian’s face. Painting me as a pathetic man chaser was a little hard when I was here with who could easily be argued was the best-looking guy in the bar. The satisfaction was yummier than the sugar that rimmed my drink.
“Who’s this?” Gabe asked, turning his attention to Christian. Gabe towered over him by a good five inches, and it brought to mind the image of a shoe crushing a bug.
Christian puffed out his chest and extended his hand. “Christian Grady. I used to be Aubrey’s boss.”
“He means equal. We were both sous chefs,” I clarified for Gabe. And Christian, apparently. Not that “equals” was a concept he’d ever fully grasped.
I expected Gabe to do that intimidating handshake thing where he gripped Christian’s hand tight enough to crush it, but he didn’t bother. He didn’t move to shake Christian’s hand at all. He just stared at it like he had no idea why it was hovering there until Christian finally lowered it.
Gabe glanced at me. “Ready to eat?”
I beamed up at him. “Yup.”
“See you around, Kevin.”
“It’s Christian,” Christian said, but Gabe showed no sign of hearing him. He guided me by the waist, putting his body between Christian and me as we made our way back to our table, both protective and possessive at once.
I liked it way too much. His confidence as we walked. His hand resting on my lower back, solid and warm against my skin. The way he supported me, strong but not macho, like we were on the same team.
It made me feel bold. Like I could channel his confidence, turn around, and kiss him. And after that, I didn’t even know.
Except I did know. I knew exactly what I wanted to happen next.
I wanted to slide into our dimly lit booth and guide his hand under my skirt. To go somewhere more private and crawl onto his lap. To wrap my legs around his waist, grind over his hardness, and relish in the impressive bulge I felt briefly on New Year’s.
I wanted to have sex with him. Just to know what it was like.
To explore all my body’s sensations when I was around him and maybe experience a sliver of the kind of sex I’d missed out on with Patrick. To hear the filthy words Gabe might whisper in my ear as he bent me over my kitchen counter and drove my body to new heights of pleasure. To know what it was like to experience the kind of sex that came from being so turned on your brain stopped working.
To know what it was like for sex to feel good.
To not still feel like a virgin at twenty-eight even though a) I’d already had sex and b) virginity as a concept held as much basis in reality as Christian being my boss.
And Gabe had kissed me back.
I’d jumped him on New Year’s Eve, and he’d let me. He’d pressed me against the wall and pulled my body against his with his hands on my ass, urging me on. I’d told myself it hadn’t meant anything, but maybe it did.
Maybe it meant he’dlikedkissing me. That there was a chance he was attracted to me the way I was attracted to him. That he’d let me kiss him again.
Maybe he’d let me have sex with him too.
It’d be like the New Year’s kiss—him helping me with something that was no big deal to him. He probably had sex all the time. It wouldn’t have to mean anything.
If he didn’t get the money for the gym in time, he’d likely end up leaving again anyway, to whatever new adventure in boxing awaited him. We’d go back to texting, and I’d be better equipped to navigate the world of sex on my own.
And if he did get the money and ended up staying, we’d just be friends who’d slept together a few times. Nothing two mature adults couldn’t handle.
We reached our booth, where Gabe waited for me to sit before rounding to the other side. That mouthwatering scent of his hit the back of my nose as he slid close, and I decided.
Tonight, I would ask Gabe to have sex with me.
Chapter Eleven
