Page 42 of Hot in the City
After dinner, he held her hand and quietly kept her company while he read a business magazine, and she did her best not to have an emotional meltdown about the future.
She opened her romance novel and read a couple of chapters, but somehow couldn’t keep the story straight in her head. Did the hero really love the heroine? Yes, of course. But would they always be happy? Who could really say? Outside the confines of a book, life happened. Things beyond the heroine’s control. Problems, obstacles, all the rigmarole of work and busy schedules, could mean the happy couple drifted apart.
Sinead squeezed Gabriel’s hand and wished with all her might, that their love would be eternal. A wish sent out to the universe, awaiting an answer.
Chapter Three
Kalimna Resort
Whitsunday Islands, Australia
The view from the balcony was incredible – shimmering grey blue sea, palm trees and some kind of silvery eucalyptus bordering a white sand beach, creating a private paradise. Hers and Gabriel’s paradise. It wasn’t quite sunset here, but clouds would probably block out the colours in the sky tonight.
Sinead leaned over the wooden railing, leaning into the wind. There was a lot of wind. Too much, really. But she was determined to enjoy herself. The almost gale force blasts whipped her hair back from her face and her skin was being sandblasted. But it was all good. Grand!
They had a gorgeous suite and they could just hibernate until the weather cleared. She sucked in a cleansing breath and nearly choked on the dust in the air. Still, she didn’t want to go inside. Not yet. Not until she worked out what she was going to say.
There had to be an easy way to break life-changing news to her husband, but for the life of her, Sinead couldn’t come up with anything. She tapped her fingers against the railing.
Why was she so worried?
She let out a deep breath. She knew why, if she was honest with herself. Gabriel had a track record of going off on his own and refusing to communicate when his road in life became rocky. When his mother died, Sinead had been beside herself. Gabriel had retreated from her like a turtle pulling his head into his shell.
She’d talk to him. Lay her cards on the table, straight up, no messing around. Well, maybe a little messing around. Would it be so bad if she took her husband to bed before getting down to serious talk?
A click from behind her had her turning, hair whipping around her face.
“Irish, get in here. You’ll fly away in that wind.” Gabriel spoke to her from the open sliding doors of the balcony. He hadn’t ventured outside.
She caught his eye. Oh, he looked tired. Dark smudges had appeared under his eyes, shadowed in the half light. “Okay, show me the room.” She reached for his hand and he pulled her close. She stepped forward, aligning their bodies.
“Mmm.” She breathed him in, leaning her head on his shoulder. His scent had always drawn her in, making her want to press ever closer. He had that woodsy, but fresh scent that she adored, like raindrops on cedar.
“Tell me what you want to do,” he whispered in her ear. His hand settled on her hip. There was a promise of pleasure in his voice, in the way he held her tight.
Sinead wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down until his lips almost met hers. She almost blurted it out. Almost. But the news could wait.
“Kiss me,” she said on an exhale.
Gabriel was powerless to resist her.
He reached for her face, winding one hand through her hair, meeting her mouth with his own. God, the softness of her, his wife, his love. She was everything to him.
He sank into the kiss, pulling her tighter to his body. She let out a little groan, the kind of noise that drove him wild. He tasted her, breathed her in, the wild jasmine scent of her hair surrounding him. Before he knew it, he’d picked her up so she wrapped her legs around his waist. He broke the kiss for a second to slam the balcony door closed.
He grinned against her neck and whispered, “That’s better. Can’t let the weather delay us. I’m ready for take-off.” That said, he leaned back a little and unzipped the back of her dress, so it sagged down her shoulders. “Take it off.”
Sinead pressed her lips together then snorted with laughter anyway. “Aye, Captain.”
He stifled a grin as he placed her back on her feet. She smoothed her dress down over her shoulders until it dropped to her waist. Damn, she was stunning. Her black lace bra revealed just enough of her lush breasts to make him want to lick her all over. That was a sound plan.
Sinead shimmied out of the soft dress, and it fell to the floor with a whisper, then she stepped out of it in her little heels. Reaching for her again, he smoothed his hand up one of her thighs until it landed on her nicely rounded butt, covered by a scrap of lace and satin. Grabbing for her like a starving man reaching for food at a buffet.
“Sinead, I need you.”
She nodded, looking down his body in that way of hers. Sizing him up. It never failed to get him hotter. “You look like you’ve achieved lift-off.” She palmed him through his jeans.
Damn it, he was so ready, he was about to lose control already. An unholy noise rose from his throat, and all she did was giggle.
