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ChapterSix
GABRIEL
Fuck.
How had I let that slip out? It had been extremely difficult to keep myself from calling Avery little pet names over the last few months. But my plan was working better than I’d hoped, so I’d been very careful.
My only excuse was that I was strung a little light after spending an hour and a half trying to reach Avery, my worry mounting every time her phone went to voicemail or my texts went unread. When she finally arrived, it had taken a lot of effort not to kiss her senseless and then yell at her for scaring the shit out of me.
I was particularly annoyed when she relegated herself to nothing but my assistant. Not only because I was more than ready to quit this game, but this weekend away in the Keys wasn’t just for business. I’d been deliberately vague on my calendar and had avoided answering her when she asked about it. The truth was, we only had one meeting right after we arrived, a pitch to a potential new client, then a lunch scheduled for the next day—which I intended to cancel if things went my way. The purpose of this trip was to take the next step in our future, and if I’d been wrong about where I stood with Avery, it was more likely to be an utter disaster.
However, she’d lit up when I called her my friend, and her beautiful green eyes shone with happiness, but with a hint of longing that reinstated my confidence in my plan. She didn’t know it yet, but she was ready for me to push her forward. My determination to make her mine this weekend cracked my control and I slipped up, almost admitting that she was so much more than my friend and then accidentally calling her “baby.” The soft expression it had put on her face made it hard as fuck not to kiss her. Luckily, it was time to board, and I shoved the temptation to the back of my mind.
When she took her seat on the plane and I dropped down next to her, my already stiff cock swelled painfully. Her pink skin and tousled hair were just how I imagined she’d look after I made her come.
Patience, man.I laid my head back against the seat and exhaled slowly.Don’t blow it now.
I used to hate flying, but the first time I flew with Avery, I was suddenly grateful to be cooped up together, where she couldn’t run away from the intimacy it created. This time, we were in even closer proximity because we didn’t have the freedom to roam the cabin. In order to “strand” us for the weekend, I’d let the company jet to a friend, and we were flying commercial. The flight was only an hour, but I would revel in every second of feeling the heat of her body next to me and being surrounded by her scent.
“Will we have a chance to check-in and freshen up before the dinner meeting,” Avery asked after the flight attendants had finished their spiel and we were speeding down the runway.
“Probably not.” I’d orchestrated this so that we wouldn’t be checking into our room—singular—until after our business was completed.
“Ugh,” she muttered, patting her hair. “I’m a mess.”
I wanted to argue that she looked utterly fuckable, but instead, I said, “You look beautiful.”
She blushed and ducked her head, then bent over to retrieve her iPad from her bag. Before she could pull up her reading app, I asked, “Have you ever been to The Keys?”
“No. Any traveling I did since I left for college was usually back to Tennessee to see my family.”
I smiled and settled back into my seat, though my eyes remained on her. “I’ll have to show you around. Make sure you get the full experience.”
Avery’s brow rose. “Will we have time for that?”
“Yes,” I replied simply.Assuming we make it out of the bedroom.
“Then I’d love that. Thank you.”
For the rest of the ride, we talked about our destination and some things we could do. Before we knew it, we were exiting the plane and walking toward the parking garage.
As we passed the kiosks for cars, Avery’s forehead creased, and she glanced up at me. “Don’t we need to pick up a rental?”
I gestured to a red Tesla convertible parked in a designated charging space. “I’m here quite a bit, so I lease a car and the lot where it’s stored. When I’m not here, it has a service that makes sure it’s where I need to pick it up when I arrive.” What I didn’t tell her was that I was down here often because I owned a beachfront house.
“I didn’t even know something like that existed,” Avery murmured.
“Money can’t buy you love, but it can buy you a whole lot of other shit,” I teased as I tossed our bags in the trunk and walked to the passenger side to open her door.
She chuckled as she slid into the car, and I shut the door, then loped around to the hood to take my place in the driver’s seat.
The hotel was only a ten-minute drive from the airport, and when we arrived, a bellman and valet were already at Avery’s door before I’d even put the car in park. The young valet had boy-next-door looks and though I knew it was irrational, I glared at him when he took Avery’s hand to help her from the car but he was too busy staring at her face to notice.
I spoke in a hard tone when I approached them. “We won’t be needing it until tomorrow.”
His eyes jumped to mine, and he took a step back when he clocked the scowl on my face. “Yes, sir. I’ll take good care of it.”
I didn’t bother to respond, just handed him a tip, then put my hand on the small of Avery’s back and guided her inside. The bellhop gave us a ticket and took our bags to the storeroom until we checked in and they had a room to deliver them to.
