Page 45 of Dare to Surrender (NY Dares 1)
It was a path I knew too well. “I was the same way,” I admitted to the other woman.
“Maybe you two saw that in each other. I don’t know. But I do know you’ve changed him. He’s more open and … vulnerable, not that he’d admit such a thing. But it’s good. And it’s thanks to you.” Lucy stood and pulled me into a warm hug. “I like you, Iz.”
Tears threatened. Other than Lisa, this was the first woman I’d felt a kinship with in years. “I like you too.”
I didn’t know what the future held for Gabe and me. It was too soon, things too fragile. But if I’d helped open him up and his sister noticed, that had to be a good thing.
Unfortunately, when I reached the room, Gabe was on a conference call with one of the managers at the New York hotel. He shot me a regretful look but did pull me into his lap while he spoke. He wrapped a solid arm around me and stroked my hair, all the while giving specific orders to the man at the other end.
I laid my head against his chest and thought about our time here. I now knew his favorite meals, what kind of fruit he liked—melons—and the kind he hated—pineapple. I’d learned he had had loving parents, which explained why I liked him and his siblings so very much. They’d done a great job. And I was sad they’d lost their mom and dad and wished I could have met them too.
And when Gabe ended the call, he immediately stripped off my pants, yanked his down, and soon I was easing myself onto him, taking him into my body the way he was already deep inside my heart.
Because I loved him, I thought, rocking myself against him, taking us both up and over quickly. I loved him, and I was sure this time.
Yes, it was fast.
Yes, it was furious.
And no, I didn’t care.
* * *
Isabelle: Home
The trip home was a lot less frightening with Gabe and Lucy by my side. Even the small plane didn’t sca
re me. I’d been gone for the long weekend, though it felt like much longer. Everything had shifted once again, only this time I felt much more in control.
Until we landed in New York.
No sooner had we exited the doors, following the driver who waited for us, than we were greeted by flashing cameras and people shouting questions.
“Mr. Dare! Is it true you’re opening another club, this one on Eden?”
“Gabriel, did you see the Master of the island?”
“Who’s the woman with you?” another one shouted.
I glanced up, taking in Gabe’s unhappy scowl. “No comment.”
I shivered, unused to being in the spotlight, and Gabe pulled me along, squeezing my hand tighter. He strode forward, but the vultures kept pace along with him.
“Who the hell alerted them?” he asked.
“It’s good press for the clubs,” Lucy said.
He didn’t break stride until the driver stopped at the limo and opened the door for us to climb in.
Gabe waited until we were enclosed inside before he turned to his sister. “What the hell, Luce? Since when do I want to be ambushed?” he asked in a dangerous tone.
She merely shrugged. “This is the opportunity of a lifetime, Gabe. The club on Eden will be unlike any we’ve built before. I knew reporters would kill to have any tidbit of information, so I leaked the news that we’d be landing after a business trip. Relax and let me do my job.”
He treated her to another scowl, then pulled me closer and stared out the window, his mood clearly soured. The car sped into Manhattan, and I stared out the window, wondering how things would change now that we were back in New York.
Since Lucy shared Gabe’s apartment when she was in town, I expected the car to drop me at my place first. Instead, the limo headed farther uptown.
I cleared my throat. “Gabe, my apartment is downtown.”
