Reckless Devotion (Book One) Read online

  “Mia.”

  I tilt my head. “Don’t you have any manners?”

  His eyes narrow briefly. “Of course I do.” He reaches over to me and pulls the mug from my hands then sets it on the coffee table. Just as I start to say something smart, Gabriel pushes me onto my back and climbs on top of me. His mouth is on mine in a matter of seconds, and all I can think is, yessss.

  I try to tug at his sweater, but he pushes my hands away, gripping both wrists in his hand and holding them above my head, effectively pinning me to the sofa.

  “Don’t move your hands unless I say so,” he murmurs against my lips. “And don’t fight me. Just trust.”

  I try to process what he just said to me, but soon find my thoughts clouded by the sensation of his tongue exploring my mouth. As his hand moves down to my chest, I don’t stop him. I couldn’t anyway. He yanks my tank down with one hand, exposing my bare breasts, then his lips follow, first on my neck, then my collarbone, then, oh fuck, his mouth closes over my nipple, sucking and nibbling with his teeth. As he moves to the other one, I squirm beneath him, and he grips my chin, suddenly gazing into my eyes.

  “Don’t fight me.”

  “I’m—”

  Shaking his head, he puts a finger over my lips. “No talking until I say. Can you do that?”

  “Dammit, Gabriel.”

  “Shh,” he whispers. “Please, Mia. Don’t resist me.”

  I’m struck by his sudden plea. Still, the logical, feminist, fuck this guy, part of me is screaming to tell him no, but the woman so turned on right now she can’t remember her own name is in charge. I nod without saying a word. Gabriel smiles as he moves down my body, French kissing my nipples.

  “Tu es une belle femme,” he murmurs. I know enough to know he just called me beautiful. More words tumble from his lips as he drags them down my body.

  My chest is tight with anticipation as his hand crawls between my legs. Roughly, he pulls the material of my shorts to the side, plunging two fingers inside of me. I blink rapidly, then exhale slowly, when his mouth meets mine again. As we kiss, he finger-fucks me so hard, it’s difficult not to cry out. Gabriel hovers above me, pulling my bottom lip through his teeth before releasing it.

  “You’re doing such a good job, Mia. I’m so proud of you. I knew you could do it.”

  I say nothing, just holding his gaze with my own, but knowing my orgasm is coming soon. “Do you know what to do next?” I shake my head. “Yes, you do. You learned last night.”

  I search my memory, and then it comes to me. “May I come, please?”

  Gabriel grins. “Such a good girl. You may. You’ve earned it.”

  As if on command, the wave of warmth spreads through my lower body, as I shudder beneath him.

  “Fuck, Mia, do you know how amazing you look right now?”

  I gaze up at him, still recovering from what just happened, both physically and mentally. Gone is the hard, dominant mask, replaced by awe, and even softness. He releases my wrists, kisses each then tenderly brushes the hair from my face, with his fingers still buried deep within me.

  “Do you want to make me really happy right now?” he asks. “If you do what I ask, it’s something I’ll never forget.”

  A little bit of apprehension washes over me, but I’m more curious than afraid, so I nod. His eyes search mine as he slowly pulls his fingers out of me, causing me to gasp.

  “Clean up the mess you made, Mia.” He presents his fingers to me, and I understand what he wants. Fortunately for both of us, this doesn’t freak me out at all, so I open my mouth and extend my tongue. Gabriel smiles, inserting his index and middle finger in my mouth. I suck softly, the way I want to suck his dick right now, keeping my eyes locked on his.

  “Good job,” he says, before kissing me again. He holds me close, his strong hands gripping my ass. After a moment, he sits back, pulling me by the wrist until I’m upright again. I follow his eyes to my chest, where my tits are exposed, as he reaches out, gently pinching my nipple, sending a chill down my spine. “Beautiful.” I watch him stand, moving in front of me, where I can see the bulge pulling against his jeans. “Do you want this?”

  Bending my neck back, I gaze up at him, and nod. Gabriel smiles, brushing his thumb over my chin.

  “Say it.”

  Swallowing hard, I open my mouth to speak. “I want it.”

  He takes my hand and presses it on his dick, and I release a tiny moan. “I want to give it to you.” He bends down and kisses my forehead. “Soon.” He steps back, leaving me bewildered as he straightens his sweater. “Enjoy the rest of your day. I’ll call you later to talk about next steps.”

  “Next steps? What?”

  “Don’t you want to see me again?”

  “Um…”

  “Of course you do. Wait for me to call, and we’ll discuss when I can make that happen.”

  “Now, wait just a minute—”

  “No, Mia, you wait. You just got a taste of what life with me will be like. Don’t tell me you don’t want more, because I won’t believe you.”

  I don’t even know what to say. He’s right. And I’m completely turned on by this dominance. What the fuck is wrong with me?

  “So you’ll wait for me to call. You’ll wait for me to decide when I’ll see you again. Until then, you’ll do exactly what I say, because you want me to be happy. Isn’t that right, Mia?”

  I can’t decide if I’m pissed off or excited.

  “Isn’t that right, Mia?” he repeats, with a much stronger tone.

  “What do I get for making you happy?”

  Gabriel smiles, melting away any fight I had left. “You get me.”

  I watch him leave from my stunned position on the sofa. I have no idea how to react. Standing slowly, I tug my tank top back into place and walk into the kitchen for a coffee refill, then return to the living room, where I sit in disbelief over what just took place. I don’t get it. He obviously wants me, but he holds out. There has to be a reason that makes sense. Maybe he’s just a control freak. Clearly, he’s dominant, but why he wants to play with me is confusing. I’m not submissive. I rub my forehead as the whole scene replays in my head. I’m not submissive normally, but somehow he draws it out of me. I don’t like it, but I kind of do.

  Vixen jumps up on my lap, brushing her furry head against my chin. Even the cat fell for him. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before, and for the first time in my life, I have no idea what to do.

  THE NEXT MORNING, I walk into work and when I get to my desk, Sara is already standing there with a huge grin on her face.

  “What’s gotten into you?”

  She grabs my arms. “Can we have lunch today? I have so much to tell you about the weekend.”

  “We have lunch together every day, Sara.” I put my handbag in my drawer. “Why would today be different?”

  She leans against the desk. “I don’t know. Maybe you have plans now.” I look up at her and roll my eyes as I sit. “Do you?”

  “Just with you.”

  Her brow crinkles. “Did he visit you yesterday?”

  I sigh, turning on my computer. “Sara, we’ve been over this. I’m not talking about anything that happens between me and Gabriel.”

  “Okay, but… can I just ask one thing?”

  “You can ask. Doesn’t mean I’ll answer.”

  “Did he kiss you?”

  Grinning, I shake my head. “Yes, Sara, he did. Happy now?” She grabs my hand, and bounces on her toes like an excited child. “Settle down.”

  “I’m just excited. I love him and I love you, so it makes me happy if you guys hit it off.”

  Oh, we hit it off all right. “It makes me really uncomfortable talking about it.” I squeeze her hand and smile. “I know I tell you everything, and it’s hard not to, but this is one subject that just has to stay off limits. Can you understand that?”

  She nods as her smiles fades. “Yeah. It would probably freak me out if you told me more, just like it did in
tenth grade.”

  “Tenth grade?”

  “Yeah. This girl Monique, she and I were friends, but I realized later she just wanted to get close to Gabriel. We had a sleep over one night, and I woke up at two in the morning to pee, and she was gone. I went down the hall trying to find her, and they were going at it on the couch in the family room.”

  “You saw them?”

  “Yep.” She nods. “I watched for a couple of minutes because, well, I hadn’t seen anything like that yet.”

  “Ah.”

  She leans closer. “But then,” she whispers. “He went down on her, and I almost died. I couldn’t believe my brother was eating out my friend. It took me awhile before I could look at him without visualizing that.”

  “I bet. Did he know you saw them?”

  “I admitted it the next morning after Monique went home. He was so sorry and ashamed. He said he’d fallen asleep watching a movie, and the next thing he knew, she had him out of his pants and was sucking him off.” I nod, listening. “Is this weird that I’m telling you this?”

  “No. Why would it be?”

  “Well, I’m talking about a time he had sex with someone else.”

  I laugh. “Sara, I’m not exactly a virgin over here.”

  “I know, but I bet Gabriel would freak out if I told him a story about you.”

  “Which we’ll never find out because you won’t.”

  “Of course I won’t.”

  “Did you stay friends with her?”

  “No. After Gabriel told her that it was a one-time event, she dumped me.”

  “Slut.”

  “Yep.”

  “Well, I gotta get busy. My monthly report is due at ten, and I’m only half done.”

  “K. See you at lunch.”

  “Yep.” She starts to walk away, but I stop her. “Hey?”

  “Yeah?”

  “What’s with meatball and gingerbread?”

  Sara laughs, dragging her fingers through her wavy red hair. “When I was about ten, we were fighting over something stupid, and I was walking away and called him an Italian meatball. It was the best insult I could come up with at the time. So he yelled back at me that at least he wasn’t a gingerbread cookie. So I said at least cookies are sweet, and then he said at least people wanted him all year long and not just at Christmas.” She smiles at the memory. “That made us both start laughing and we made up but from that point on, we were meatball and gingerbread.”

  “That’s actually ridiculously cute.”

  “Yeah. I’m really glad he’s here now. I missed him a ton.”

  I nod. “See you at noon.”

  “Okay.”

  She wanders off, and I start my day, pulling up my report. A few minutes pass when the phone on my desk rings.

  “This is Mia.”

  “Hi, Mia, this is Frank at the front desk. You have a delivery.”

  “Uh, okay. I’ll be down later to get it.”

  “You need to get it now.”

  “Oh. All right. Be down in a few.” Hanging up, I wonder what could possibly be waiting for me. Flowers? No way, Gabriel’s not the type. He would never do something that cliché. I walk down the stairs, my eyes trained on the lobby. All I see is Frank.

  “Hey, Frank.”

  “Hi, Mia. Here you go.” He hands me a bag and a cup of orange juice. “Special delivery from that new bakery that just opened a couple of weeks ago down the street.”

  “Who delivered it?”

  “Someone from the bakery.”

  “Oh.” I smile. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  I peek in the bag to see an everything bagel and a small tub of cream cheese. Shaking my head, I can’t fight the smile pulling at my lips as I walk back upstairs. When I reach my desk, my cell phone already has a red notification light indicating I have a text. I read it and grin.

  The most important meal of the day. Not as exciting as yesterday’s breakfast, but then, what would your coworkers say.

  I respond. How thoughtful of you. It’s almost like you’re nice or something.

  I am nice, Mia. Very nice.

  Hmm, don’t know if nice is the word I would use to describe you.

  What word would you use?

  Putting the phone down, I let that thought sit with me for a few minutes, until my phone buzzes again.

  Don’t ignore me, Mia.

  Settle down, chief. I was thinking.

  Don’t call me chief.

  What should I call you then? Master?

  I add three laughing emoticons for effect.

  You won’t be able to call me anything with your mouth full.

  Well now. I guess he just told me. Another text comes through.

  Eat your breakfast. Expect me later.

  Did I say I was available?

  You will be. Any time I want you.

  I can feel the anger rise in me. He’s so arrogant, so bossy. So. Fucking. Hot.

  I’m busy tonight.

  Yes, you will be as soon as I get there. Now stop fucking around. I don’t like it.

  I read over the text, infuriated.

  I don’t know who you think you’re fucking with, but—

  My text is cut off by his incoming call. I’m tempted not to answer it, but I have a feeling that would cause me more trouble than it’s worth.

  “What, Gabriel?”

  “Is that how you talk to me?”

  “You’re not my father.”

  “No, I’m definitely not your father. Your father would never do to you the things I’m going to.”

  “I don’t have time for this. I have work to do.”

  “And I don’t?”

  “You started it.”

  “No, Mia, you did. Go in the bathroom. Right now.”

  I pull my head back. “What?”

  “Do it.”

  “Or what?” I whisper, as my eyes glance around at my coworkers.

  “Or I’ll come up there. Trust me, you don’t want that.”

  “You’re threatening me?”

  “Yes. I’ll come up there and lay you out right on your desk. You’ll be fired, I’ll be arrested, and then what? What will that solve?”

  “You wouldn’t. Sara would see you.”

  “An unfortunate side effect, but believe me, I would do it. You don’t want to test me on this.”

  His voice is so ominous I decide quickly this would not be the time to call his bluff. I actually believe he would do it.

  “Ask nicely.”

  He’s silent for a minute and I so want to know what he’s thinking. After a deep exhale, he says, “Mia, go in the bathroom. Please.”

  Smiling, I answer. “Fine, Gabriel.” I stand, walking down the hall to the ladies’ room, checking under the stalls before I enter one. “I’m here.”

  “Stick your hands in your panties and rub. Get yourself off.”

  “At work? Jesus, Gabriel.”

  “Do it.”

  My leg starts to shake with excitement as I consider his request. I don’t know why, but I think I’m gonna do it. It’s like I’m possessed or something. Taking a deep breath, I slide my hand inside my dress pants, and into my panties, noticing right away how wet I am already. How does he do this to me?

  “You know the drill, Mia. When you’re ready, ask permission like a good girl.” I rub, listening in shock as he conducts business, talking to coworkers around him. Every so often, he says ‘good girl’, or ‘that’s my girl’, as I breathe heavily into the phone, turned on and furious all at the same time. The door to the bathroom opens, and I gasp when I hear someone enter. “Keep going,” he says. “You must be getting close now. You must be dying for some dick. My dick. Right, Mia?”

  I stay silent, trying to conceal what I’m doing. When the toilet flushes, Gabriel laughs.

  “Shut up,” I whisper.

  “Don’t ever say that to me again. Got it?”

  “You don’t own me.”

  “No? I beg
to differ.”

  Fuck! I’m angry, but so incredibly turned on right now, I can barely stand it. The woman finally leaves, and I whisper my request, even though I have no idea why.

  “May I come, Gabriel?” He’s silent for a moment. “Please?”

  “No, you may not. Remove your hand right now.”

  “What?”

  “Do it.”

  “Why?” I moan.

  “Because you were bad talking back to me like you did. This is your punishment. Now, remove your hand, and go wash your hands. You don’t even deserve a taste.”

  “God, I hate you.”

  “No you don’t, Mia. I’ll give you to the count of three to stop. One… two…”

  Clenching my jaw, I consider telling him to fuck off and hang up, but for some reason, I can’t. Just before he says three, I remove my hand. “I stopped.”

  “Thank you. Doesn’t it feel better when you listen to me?”

  “No. Now what am I supposed to do? Walk around like a bitch in heat all day with soaking wet panties?”

  “Yep.”

  “I don’t understand you, Gabriel.”

  “You will, Mia. In good time, you will. Now, go back and finish your breakfast. You’ll hear from me soon.”

  “Are you coming over tonight?” As soon as the words are out, I hate myself for asking.

  “Is that what you want?”

  Now’s your chance. Tell him no. Tell him you never want to see him again. Tell him to go fuck himself. “Yes.” Dammit.

  “I’ll decide later. Bye, Mia.”

  He hangs up before I can say another word. After washing my hands, I stomp back to my desk, staring at the waiting bagel. As I sit down, I pull it apart and start eating it. Somehow that demanding asshole will know I didn’t eat it. As I finish, I wash it down with the orange juice and smile. That demanding asshole is exciting as fuck.

  A FEW HOURS later, I grab my handbag and walk down to the lobby to meet Sara for lunch. She comes bouncing down the stairs, more bubbly than usual, even for her.

  “Well, well, well,” I start. “I’d say I’m looking at the face of a woman who got laid this weekend.”