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My heart hammered and I straightened my spine before knocking on the door to the suite. Gabe opened the door and smiled, giving a glimpse of his beautiful straight white teeth. He was dressed more casually than usual in a dark sweater and jeans. It looked simple enough, but if I knew Gabe, that one outfit cost more than my entire wardrobe. At the sight of him, the words fell out of my head. His sleeves were pulled up to his elbows and I couldn’t stop myself from studying the tattoo on his arm. I’d never noticed it before. He had simple black font snaking up his right wrist.
Find what you love and let it kill you.
He followed my gaze and pulled his sleeve down.
“It’s a quote from Charles Bukowski. All things will kill you, both slowly and quickly, but it’s much better to be killed by a lover.” He raised an eyebrow. “We’re all going to die in the end, so it may as well be something good.”
Sadness lingered around his eyes. Gabe Rivers was something unreal. A billionaire. A celebrity in a magazine. A fantasy. It was easy to get carried away with that circus. Easy to forget that he was a human being. That somebody so rich and pretty could have any problems. That they could be messed up and get hurt like the rest of us. But I’d seen a different side of him. I’d seen him breaking in his dad’s office.
I stepped inside his opulent suite and my breath caught. The suite was arranged in a circular configuration. I wandered to the window. The city skyline shone in the black night in an endless, glittering panorama. “Wow, what a view.”
Gabe stood next to me. His spicy cologne filled my senses. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
I didn’t have the energy to fight my desire for him tonight. I edged away instead, creating a distance so I could breathe.
“You live here, then? In a hotel?”
He nodded.
“Wouldn’t you prefer a house?”
“Why? Everything I need is here.”
“Isn’t it a bit … lonely?”
He flashed a smile, but his green eyes became as flat and unreadable as stone. “I don’t get lonely, Forster. I have everything I could ever want.”
I wandered around the suite, taking in the opulent furniture. A huge four-poster bed occupied the furthest room. There was even a gym in one of the adjoining rooms. He tipped his head to a golden velvet chaise lounge by the floor-to-ceiling window. I perched on the seat, feeling suddenly strange and awkward. What the hell was I doing here? I wanted him, but it was a terrible idea. We’d have one night together and then he’d kick me out the door. I couldn’t do casual sex. This was going to break my heart. I was already too attached to him. But if one night was all I could have, then I didn’t want to let it slip through my fingers.
He sat next to me, and a sudden rush of nerves made my heart pound. I jumped up from the chaise. “Shall we have a cup of tea?”
“A cup of tea?”
“Yes. Wouldn’t that be nice? Maybe we should chat first …”
He hesitated, measuring me for a moment, then eased into a smile. “Sure. I’ll make some tea.”
He moved to the kitchen area and put the kettle on. I took my first proper full breath since I'd entered the suite. It was too hard to think straight when he was so close. I leaned with a hip against the sprawling marble island.
“Do you know how to make tea? Don’t you have people to do that for you?”
He chuckled darkly. “Of course I can make tea. I can cook and I can make tea.”
“I never imagine you doing normal stuff.”
“I do normal stuff. I’m a normal guy.” He raised a wry eyebrow. “I just happen to be incredibly rich and good looking.”
I couldn’t help my laugh. “But not modest.”
A bemused smile touched his lips. “No. Not modest.”
He made us tea and passed me a mug. It was easy with him. How could it be this easy with someone like him? This is how he’d been at the strip club. Relaxed and down-to-earth. Funny and charming. How could the media have got this man so wrong?
“How is it?” he said, watching me carefully.
“It’s a cup of tea, Gabe. You did well.”
He beamed and leaned against the counter. “Thanks. I thought so, too.”
