Page 61 of For Always
Tyler kissed her awake the next morning.
It was the first thing he wanted to do when he opened his eyes. He’d thought about what she’d said all night. Knowing that only distance and the fact that he needed to protect her kept him from finding Austin Sterner and beating the shit out of him. Gabriella had called him an ass. The man was so much less than that. Tyler had told Gabriella last night that they were not murderers, but the truth was, if Austin were near him right now Tyler could easily kill him and not blink an eye.
Instead, he held her close to him, loving the sound of her sigh as she opened her mouth to his kiss. His hands moved up and down her body, her arms, her thighs, her breasts, noting that her skin was softer to the touch and more appealing than he’d ever experienced. She moved her hands over his body too. Down his torso and over his chest. He loved the feel of her fingers moving over his chest. When those fingers went lower to brush over his erection, Tyler groaned. She pushed his boxer briefs down and he lifted the hem of her nightshirt.
“Are you sure?” he asked when she was naked and he was too. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I’m fine,” she told him and smiled. “Really. This time, I’m fine.”
She was fine, from the tip of her pert little nose to the toenails that had a color change and were now pumpkin orange. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen and Tyler was sure that he’d fallen madly in love with her.
But he didn’t think Gabriella was ready to hear that. So, after slipping on a condom, he eased into her slowly. He wrapped her legs around his waist and for the first time in his life made sweet love to a woman.
An hour later Gabriella was still in the bedroom. Tyler had already gone downstairs to get started with his day, but he’d advised her to take it easy. After he’d given her the best and strongest orgasm she’d ever had.
She’d showered and slipped into a simple floral print sundress and flat sandals. She’d just finished talking to Adriana on the phone, telling her sister everything she should have told her before, when there was a light knock on the bedroom door.
“Hi,” she said when she opened the door to see Monica standing there.
“Good morning,” Monica replied and stepped into the room. “Are you feeling better?”
“I am,” Gabriella answered. And since Monica was already in the room, she closed the door. “How are you this morning?”
“I’m well. It’s a little different waking up on an actual ranch, than in a Manhattan apartment,” Monica said.
Monica Lakefield was one of three Lakefield sisters. Their father, Paul Lakefield had founded the Lakefield Galleries in New York. Two years ago, Monica spearheaded the expansion of her father’s dream to share great art with the world by opening the Atlanta Lakefield Gallery. She was a lovely woman with a light complexion and ebony hair, which this morning was styled in a messy bun that still managed to look chic and professional. She wore a dress as well—a vibrant pink halter maxi dress and natural-colored sandals with heels that only added to her normal five foot nine stature. She was the oldest of her sisters, Karena and Deena. The more dominant and fiercely protective one. And, for the last five years she’d been engaged to Alex.
That made her family.
“I want to thank you and Alex for coming all the way down here to check on me, even though it wasn’t necessary,” Gabriella said when Monica seemed to be preoccupied.
Rather, she was doing what Monica always did first, assessing her surroundings. Monica was a thinker who said whatever was on her mind, when it came to her mind. That could be a good and/or bad thing. Gabriella had seen both.
When Monica finally stopped looking around the room, she took a seat in the recliner across from the bed.
“Come sit, and talk to me for a second,” she said and nodded toward the bed.
Gabriella had been planning to head downstairs and get a cup of coffee before she started making calls to her crew to see about rescheduling the work that wasn’t done yesterday. But, she could sit and talk…for a second.
She sat on the side of the bed closest to the recliner and waited because Monica clearly had something she wanted to say.
“First of all, don’t thank family for doing what family does best—loving and caring for their own,” she began. “When Renny called Alex to tell him what Cole reported about your car, we immediately drove down to Greenwich. Cole wanted to question you, to see how you were connected to Austin Sterner, but you weren’t there. That drove Alex nuts not knowing where you were. When he told your parents what had happened they said you were out of town on business, somewhere in Texas. He had to call Adriana to find out the specifics. We were worried.”
Gabriella sighed heavily. “I can understand that. But it’s not like I didn’t tell anybody where I was going. I just didn’t tell everybody.”
“I get that,” Monica said with a slow smile. “Believe me, girl, I get it. You’ve found your niche and you’re working it. I respect that wholeheartedly, and to tell the truth, I knew you would get there in your own time.”
“Thanks for saying that,” Gabriella said. It really had meant a lot to hear that somebody in her family had believed in her all along.
“Alex is still a little sore at you about leaving and not telling him, but the relief of knowing you’re safe outweighs that.”
“I can’t believe what Austin did.”
“I can,” Monica told her.
“What? Why?” Gabriella had told Tyler all that had happened between her and Austin last night. And just a few minutes ago she’d relayed the same story to Adriana, who was angry and hurt that Gabriella had gone through all of that on her own. But she hadn’t yet figured out how to tell Alex, her parents or her other brothers. None of them would take it as relatively calmly as Adriana had.
“Because I know his type.” Monica sat back in the recliner, looking as if she were about to tell Gabriella a bed time story. There was no way Gabriella could have expected what would come next.
