Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 100060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
No, I’m intimidated by the flutter of protectiveness in my ribcage that happens when I see Gabe standing outside, waiting for me, hands tucked into the pockets of his triple XL tux. He nods at guests who walk past him through the glass doors, almost bashful. A shy giant who steals personal possessions and is ready to throw down for the chance to taste me first. He’s more than meets the eye. A lot more.
If only I could stick around long enough to find out.
I’m thanking the Uber driver and climbing out to meet Gabe before I’m aware of my actions, the cold air kissing every inch of my bare skin. He sees me coming and his lips part slightly, a white puff of breath momentarily obscuring his face. Not so much that I can’t see his relief, though.
“Elise. You look…unreal.” He approaches me like a football player waiting on-field for the kickoff, focused and already taking off his jacket. “I wasn’t sure you would come.”
“Why?” I raise my chin with way too much attitude to counteract the unfamiliar sensations he’s stirring inside of me. “Because you stole my ID? Again? Except you took it out of my wallet this time?”
His ears darken. “I wanted to send you flowers so bad,” he says gruffly, draping the warm material around my shoulders. “Why do you never have a goddamn coat?”
My lips tingle when he scolds me in that worried tone of voice. “I didn’t have one that matched this dress,” I manage.
“That dress…” His chest rises and shudders back down. “I hate dancing, but someone’s got to dance with you looking like that.”
“You will.” I allow him to take my right hand. Hold my breath as he brings it to his mouth and kisses the pulse at the small of my wrist. “That’s why I’m here, right?”
He makes a scrape of a sound. “Right.”
We intertwine our fingers like we’ve done it hundreds of times before and there’s an answering clench in my stomach. It’s different than the comforting tingles I get for Banks. Or the agitating hunger Tobias inspires in me. My reaction to Gabe is protectiveness wrapped in lust, but I can tell he also wants to guard me. I’m his defender when I hold his hand, while also very well aware he would do the same in a heartbeat. That certainty is etched deep, even after such a short period of time.
“Are your brother and Candace already inside?” I ask quietly.
He swallows, something like dread playing in his gaze. “Everyone I know is inside.”
I push up on my toes and kiss the underside of his bearded jaw. “Good.”
Without stopping to address the question in his eyes, I nod at the doorman and pull Gabe through the entrance. We’re guided by tall, flickering candle pillars to an elevator and brought up, past a dozen floors of hotel rooms and conference centers, to the very top of the Conrad. Music starts to pound in the rhythm of a heartbeat before the doors even open—but when they do, I’m struck by a rare, uncharacteristic fear that I’m out of my league.
It's like something out of a movie. It’s how the other half parties.
The ballroom glows like the inside of a dark amethyst.
Floor-to-ceiling windows look out over the downtown Manhattan skyline.
Two women hang suspended from the ceiling, twirling slowly in long, white silk, graceful and breathtaking and no one even pays them any attention—and they’re just one component of the opulent background. Guests mingle in their finery, sparkling crystal champagne flutes pass by on trays. The air is the perfect temperature, sensually scented. The room is lit just enough to see the faces of the people around us, but dark enough to give a sense of…permission.
“I had no idea the union rolled like this,” I murmur to Gabe.
“They do during election years,” he replies, gesturing to a man mingling on the other side of the room. After the crowd parts slightly, I see it’s the actual mayor of New York City. “My father was a 401 member, too, back in the day. He used to say the unions elect the mayor, not the people. This is how they court us.”
“Or in this case, make amends.” I tip my head toward Jameson Crouch who is clear on the opposite side of the room as the mayor. “Doesn’t look like it’s going too well.”
“The night is young,” Gabe says, following my line of sight. “It’s going to take more than one drink to get those two on better terms.”
My fingers itch to take out my phone and tap out a few notes for my story, but I don’t. That’s not why I’m here. Tonight is about Gabe.
Primarily, at least.
There’s a warm buzz on the side of my neck and I follow Gabe’s attention toward the bar where, sure enough, Tobias and Banks are standing. At opposite ends. I watch long enough to witness a woman approach Tobias and I’m surprised when he gives her a curt shake of his head without looking, sending her away. For Banks’s part, he sets his drink down slowly when he sees me and tugs roughly on the collar of his starched white shirt.