Page 7 of One Night with Cinderella

With a polite nod, Gabe took a sip of his drink and set the bottle on the roof at his feet, trying to ignore he was so aware of her. Her scent. Her beauty. Even the gentle night winds shifting her hair back from her face. Distance was best. Over the last week he had fought to do just that to help his sudden awareness of her ebb. Ever since the veil to their desire had been removed, it had been hard to ignore.

She turned to leave but moments later a yelp escaped her as her feet got twisted in the long length of her robe and sent her body careening toward him as she tripped.

Reacting swiftly, he reached to wrap his arm around her waist and brace her body up against his to prevent her fall. He let the hand holding his flute drop to his side. Their faces were just precious inches apart. When her eyes dropped to his mouth, he released a small gasp. His eyes scanned her face before locking with hers.

He knew just fractions of a second had passed, but right then, with her in his arms and their eyes locked, it felt like an eternity. He wondered what it felt like for her. Was her heart pounding? Her pulse sprinting? Was she aroused? Did she feel that pull of desire?

He did.

With a tiny lick of her lips that was nearly his undoing, Monica raised her chin and kissed him. It was soft and sweet. And an invitation.

“Monica?” he asked, heady with desire but his voice deep and soft as he sought clarity.

“Kiss me,” she whispered against his lips, hunger in her voice.

“Shit,” Gabe swore before he gave in to the temptation of her and dipped his head to press his mouth down upon hers.

And it was just a second more before her lips and her body softened against him as she opened her mouth and welcomed him with a heated gasp that seemed to echo around them. The first touch of his tongue to hers sent a jolt through his body, and he clenched her closer to him as her hands snaked up his arms and then his shoulders before clutching the lapels of his tux in her fists. He assumed she was holding on while giving in to a passion that was irresistible.

Monica was lost in it all. Blissfully.

The taste and feel of his mouth were everything she ever imagined.

Ever dreamed.

Ever longed for.

She was lost in a heady mix of surprise and excitement as she raised slightly trembling hands to stroke the back of his head. A moan from deep within her escaped. His grunt quickly followed. Somewhere in the heat of it all, she heard the flute crash against the roof as he released his hold on the drink to drag his hand up the back of her thighs.

He tasted her lips before pressing heated kisses down to her throat where she felt him deeply inhale her scent before suckling that little dip above her clavicle. She gasped and cried out as she flung her head back giving him more of her neck to taste. She clung to him, lifting and bending her leg to the side of his solid body and being rewarded by his hand gripping her buttocks through the cotton, feeling the heat of his touch.

“Gabe,” she whispered into the air, saying his first name aloud for the first time ever.

And what a time to do so.

When she’d noticed him standing there, looking so sharp and handsome in his black tuxedo with a bottle of champagne in his hand, he’d seemed to have stepped straight off the pages of a high-fashion magazine or some cologne ad. With his shirt open at the neck and his tie undone, she’d felt pushed over the edge of reason, no matter how well she’d covered it. Just tempting. Strong, dark and sexy. Devastatingly so.

Her heart had pounded with both surprise and a desire that took her breath away.

And now he was kissing her. And touching her. And pressing her body against his.

Am I dreaming?

Her mouth sought his and he accepted her boldness when she offered him her tongue. With a grunt of pleasure, he sucked the tip into his mouth. Deeply. And then did it again. And again. She trembled. Her pulse raced and she ached deep inside her womanhood.

Don’t wake me up.

Monica pressed her hands to the sides of his face, enjoying the feel of his shadow against her palms as she gently played with his earlobes and the soft skin just behind them. She felt the slight tremble of his body and knew she had happened upon his hot spot. Maybe one of many.

Against her thigh she felt the length of his hardness.

Breaking their kiss, she leaned back just a bit to look at him as she panted.

Their eyes locked and something happened between them. A current. A spark. A vibe. She felt it and shivered.

This was desire, and in it, they were equal.

“Monica?” he whispered into the small break between them.

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