Page 24 of Desired By you (Always & Forever #3)

Chapter Eighteen

Brad

“It’s just not adding up.” Harry huffs in frustration and tosses the papers on the desk.

He’s right, it’s not. Over the last year, thousands and thousands of dollars have gone missing.

Not enough to flag anything on a day to day basis, but when our accountant said our accounts didn’t balance, we took it upon ourselves to investigate, convinced he was wrong. He wasn’t.

“Do you think it could be a staff member?” Jack suggests, taking another look at the stack of files on my desk.

“I don’t know. We can rule Kate and Harley out,” Harry states, and Jack and I nod in agreement.

“I’ll ask Kate to keep an eye on her next shift, and I’ll look at the cashier logs to see if anyone has used their key cards at odd hours.”

“Good plan,” Harry confirms. “I’m sorry I’m leaving you with this shit show.”

“Yeah, me too. We’ll be in Florida and then back for a few days and then on to our honeymoon,” Jack adds.

“Yeah, don’t worry. You both go get your dick wet and I’ll man the fort,” I tease. Harry glares at me, and I realize what I’ve said.

“Who are you fucking?” Jack directs his question at Harry. “Is this the mystery girl you told us about at the wedding?”

“Err, yeah, she might come and visit me in London,” he says nervously, scratching the back of his head.

I don’t know how long they think they can keep this up without getting caught, and that idea makes my mind divert back to Gabriella and what happened between us the other night.

The way she opened up to me, both physically and emotionally, has only intensified my desire for her.

If she wasn’t already running through my head daily, now I know she’s the girl behind the mask and I’ve watched her come undone, I fear I am well and truly fucked.

I doubled my workout efforts this morning in a bid to quieten my mind, and it did nothing.

“Well, when I get back, I want a name,” Jack says, standing and tapping his knuckles against the desk. “Got it?” He points at Harry. “We don’t do secrets.”

Harry salutes playfully. “Sir, yes, sir.”

“What time are we meeting at the restaurant?” I ask, trying to steer the conversation away from Harry and his secret girl.

Jack loads the coffee machine on the bar at the back of the office and the sound of it brewing along with the rich scent floats through the air.

“I booked it for eight o’clock. Anne and Carl are coming to collect the girls around four, so I’ll head out soon so I can see them before they go.”

I look at my watch: 3.23 pm.

“You get going. Harry and I will finish up here. I’ll call Kate and brief her,” I say.

Jack walks over, placing two steaming mugs of black coffee on my desk.

“You sure?” he asks, eyeing me. “Oscar called. He may have some new units ready to view out in LA in the next few weeks. One of us needs to go out there and check them out. He needs calling—”

I cut him off. “Yes, yes, I got it. I’ll handle it. Get outta here. Go see your girls.” A small smile forms on his face at the mention of his step-daughters, and he looks like the happiest man to walk the earth.

“Thanks. See you later. Don’t be late,” he says, pointing at Harry.

Harry waves him off dismissively, not looking at Jack as he types something on his phone. “I won’t.”

I wait for the door to close before asking, “So, Ali’s going to London with you?”

He looks up from his phone, grinning, showing his perfectly straight white teeth. “She sure is.”

“How did you convince her to do that?” I ask, picking up my mug of coffee.

“I fuck like a god, and she knew she couldn’t go too long without my cock.” I almost choke.

I shake my head. “I don’t know what she sees in you some days,” I tease.

“Like I said. I fuck like a god.” He grins and winks, and I roll my eyes.

“Are you planning on spending the night with Ali tonight?”

His brows furrow. “Erm, I guess so. Why? If this is you asking to join us, I’m gonna have to say no. I love you, but that would be fucking weird and besides, I’d have to break your hand if you touched her.”

“Oh, fuck off. I don’t wanna join, and I’d never touch Ali. I just wanna know if I need to cover your ass later with Gabriella so she doesn’t suspect anything. I’ll give her a ride home or something.”

“Uh, yeah, probably. Good thinking.” A thrill runs through me that I will be able to get Gabriella alone tonight and maybe move on to our next lesson. I pick up my phone and send a text to her.

Brad

Hey, I need to see you before dinner. What time will you be home?

The message shows as read instantly, and the three dots appear.

Gabriella

Why? Everything okay? I’m home now.

Brad

I have a gift for you. Are you alone?

Gabriella

A gift? What kind of gift? Yes, Ali won’t be back till after six.

Brad

Good, I’m on my way.

Less than an hour later, I’m outside Gabriella’s door clutching a pink gift bag. She opens the door, and steals my breath, wearing a red dress that hugs every curve and makes her tanned skin glow.

“Hey,” she says a little breathlessly, as if she ran to answer.

“Hey. You look…”

“It’s too much, isn’t it? I’m not wearing it. Ali left it out for me, but I decided against it.”

“Hot, Gabriella, you look insane. Red is your color.” Her cheeks flush the same shade as her dress, and she nervously tucks her long, wavy hair behind her ear.

“Come in.” She gestures, and I step inside.

“I’m just trying to get ready for tonight. What’s this gift you have for me?” She walks down the corridor and I follow like a dog on a leash, fixated on her round ass cheeks as the material moves with every step she takes.

She spins to face me. “Brad, did you hear me?”

I look up and swallow, my mouth suddenly dry, and I’m in need of something to quench this sudden thirst I have.

Her, I need her.

“No,” I say, barely getting my word out.

“I asked if you could help me out of this dress. I think the zipper is stuck.”

“Absolutely.” I place the gift bag on her bed and gather her hair in my hands, moving it to one side.

My fingers tug at the zipper, and it glides down effortlessly, exposing her back.

I can’t help but stroke the backs of my knuckles against her bare skin.

Goosebumps scatter as my fingers drift down to the bottom of her spine.

Without thinking, I place my hands on her hips, press a kiss to her bare shoulder, and her head falls slightly to the side, exposing her neck even more to me.

I press another kiss to her neck, and a small moan of appreciation falls from her lips.

I want to continue. Push her down on her bed, tear this dress from her body, and devour her, but we need to take this slow.

So, I do the sensible thing and stop. “All done.” Her body sags at the loss of the contact, and she turns to face me.

“Thanks,” she says quietly. “I’ll go in there and get changed.” She gestures to her closet. “Don’t go in there on my account. I’ve seen what’s under the dress, baby girl.” I wink, needing to bring some playfulness back between us.

She presses her lips together and her cheeks pinken once again.

She turns her back to me and lets the dress fall to the ground.

Pink lace panties cover her peachy ass and the sight has my balls tightening.

She grabs a pink t-shirt and gray sweatpants off her bed and slips them on before she turns to face me.

She takes a hair tie from her wrist and gathers her hair into a ponytail as she looks at the gift bag I’ve placed on the bed.

I’m mesmerized just watching her doing everyday things.

“Is that my gift?”

I nod. “Yeah. Open it.”

She picks up the gift bag, and I take a seat in the chair at her desk, in her window.

She pulls out the matching pink tissue paper and sticks her hand inside the bag. “You know, it’s not my birthday for another few months, right? Why are you…” Her words stop when she pulls the small white box free and sees the picture on the front. “Is this a…”

“Vibrator, yes,” I declare.

“W-What’s it for?”

“Well, most people use them to get off.”

She looks at me deadpan, and I can’t help but chuckle.

“I know that, but why have you got me one, and why is it this weird shape? It looks like a shrimp.”

I throw my head back and a deep belly laugh leaves my body, the kind that makes your body tingle and your face ache. She laughs along with me, and watching Gabriella’s face light up when she laughs is one of the most beautiful sights.

“I can assure you, it’s not a shrimp. This…” I say, standing and taking the box from her hand. “Is a special kind of vibrator. Remember how you said you wanted to have sex outside?”

Her eyes widen. “I told you that?”

“Yes. Among other things.”

Lowering my voice, I move, closing any space between us. “As much as I’d love to fuck you out in the open, I think we need to work up to that and get you more comfortable first.”

“W-work up to that?” she stutters, and I smirk. “Yeah.”

“Okay, so how does this help with that?” she asks, tapping the box.

“You’re going to wear it at dinner.”

Her mouth falls open and I press my lips together to stifle a laugh. She looks so animated. “You want me to wear that to dinner?”

“Yes.”

“At dinner with our friends?”

“Yes,” I reiterate.

“You don’t have to, if this is too much too soon.” I don’t want to pressure her, but I sense there is something inside Gabriella that is begging to come out, and I’m here to guide it out of her.

“No, no, I want to, but why?” she asks, narrowing her eyes.

“Just trust me, it’ll be worth it,” I say, dragging my thumb over her bottom lip. I want to kiss her, but I realize from our last two encounters I am getting entirely too comfortable with kissing her so freely and I need to set some boundaries here. Touching her is one thing, kissing is another.

“So, baby girl, you up for it?” I ask, giving her a challenging stare.

She stares at the box in her hand and chews at her bottom lip. I think she will refuse, but to my surprise she stands a little taller, matching my stare she confidentially says, “Yes, bring it on.”