And that hesitation likely had a lot to do with her deluded fantasies regarding the man hauling her away by the arm. She had to get over this fixation with him and move on. She couldn’t spend her whole life with the ridiculous notion that he was going to one day notice her and decide he had to have her.

She greedily drank in the sight of him, like an addict getting their next high—like she’d gone far too long without that fix. He was a man whose presence filled any room he occupied. He wore his black hair cut short, styled with minimal product. Just enough to give it an expensive, sophisticated look.

He had the look of the sinful bad boy all the women went wild for. He had a total “don’t give a fuck” attitude, and what Gabe wanted, Gabe always got. His confidence and arrogance were two things that drew her to him—had always drawn her to him. She was helpless to fight her attraction to him. God knew she’d tried for years, but her obsession showed no signs of waning.

“Mia,” he said in a low voice. “I didn’t realize you were coming. Jace didn’t say anything.”

“He doesn’t know,” she said with a smile. “I decided to surprise him. Where is he, by the way?”

Brief discomfort entered Gabe’s eyes. “He was called away. I’m not sure if he’ll be back.”

Her smile slipped. “Oh.” She glanced down self-consciously. “I guess I wasted a perfectly good dress on the occasion.”

His gaze slid lazily over her, making her feel as though he stripped her with no effort. “It’s a nice dress.”

“I should probably go then. Not much point in my being here if Jace isn’t.”

“You can stay with me,” he said bluntly.

Her eyes widened. Gabe had never really gone out of his way to spend any time with her. In fact, it seemed like he tried to avoid her. It was enough to give her a complex. Oh, he was nice to her. He sent her gifts on special occasions. Checked in on her to make sure she had what she needed—not that Jace would have ever neglected to do the same. But he’d certainly never made it a point to spend more than a few moments in her presence.

“Would you like to dance?” he asked.

She stared at him in bewilderment, wondering where the real Gabe Hamilton was hiding. Gabe didn’t dance. Oh, he could dance, it was just that he rarely did.

The dance floor was filled with other couples, some older, some Gabe’s age. She didn’t see a single person her own age, but then most of the attendees were of that uberwealthy, ultrabeautiful class that most twenty-four-year-olds hadn’t yet entered.

“Uh, sure,” she said. Why not? She was here. She’d spent two hours getting ready. Why let a perfectly good dress and awesome shoes go to waste?

He put his hand to her back, and it was like being branded. She barely suppressed a shiver as he guided her toward the area reserved for dancing. Dancing with him was a bad idea in so many ways. How was she supposed to get over her infatuation if she kept putting herself in close proximity to him? But there was no way she was passing up an opportunity to be in his arms. Even if it was only for a few minutes. A few glorious, amazing minutes.

The sultry tones of a saxophone mixed with the tinkle of a piano and the low throb of a bass. The music invaded her veins as she slid into Gabe’s arms. It was heady and intoxicating, and it made her feel as though she were in the middle of a really vivid dream.

His hand slid over her back, coming to rest on the portion bared by the low-cut dress. The material skimmed just above her buttocks, a seductive tease she’d had to talk herself into wearing. Now she was really glad she had.

“It’s a good damn thing Jace isn’t here,” Gabe said.

She cocked her head and stared up at him in question. “Why do you say that?”

“Because he’d have a heart attack if he saw you in this dress. Not that there’s enough of it to call it a dress.”

She smiled, her dimple deepening in her cheek. “Since Jace isn’t here, he can’t very well say anything, now can he?”

“No, but I damn sure can,” he said bluntly.

Her smile turned down into a frown. “I don’t need two big brothers, Gabe. I assure you one’s enough.”

His gaze narrowed and his lips thinned. “I have no desire to be your goddamn big brother.”

She gave him a look of hurt. If spending any time with her was such a chore, then why had he approached her? Why hadn’t he done what he’d been doing all this time and just ignore her?

She stepped back, the warm buzz of being so close to him, of having his arms around her, his hands on her body, slowly dissipating. She shouldn’t have come. It had been stupid and lame. All she had to do was call Jace. Let him know her plans and he could have told her he wouldn’t be here. Then she wouldn’t be standing in the middle of the dance floor embarrassed by Gabe’s rejection.

His eyes narrowed as he took in her reaction and then he sighed, abruptly turned and nearly dragged her from the dance floor in the direction of the terrace. The doors were open, allowing the chilly night air inside, and he stepped out, pulling her protectively into the crook of his arm.

And so she was back in his arms. Enveloped in his heat. She could smell him, and damn he smelled so good.

He didn’t stop until he was well away from the door and into the shadows cast by the overhang. The lights of the city twinkled and dazzled the sky, and distant sounds of traffic disrupted the quiet.

For a long moment he simply stared at her, and she wondered what it was she’d done that offended him so much.

His scent taunted her. A touch of spice without being overpowering. The cologne he wore was a good match. It complemented his natural scent while giving that tantalizing hint of male, rugged, wood, outdoors and…sophistication.

“What the hell,” he muttered. It was a sound of resignation, as if he were giving in to some unknown force.

Before she could respond, he hauled her forward so that she landed against his hard chest. Her mouth flew open in surprise, and a small sigh escaped. Her lips were close to his. Tantalizingly close. She could feel his breath, see the muscle twitch at his temple. His jaw was tight and bulging as if he was holding himself back. And then he seemed to lose the battle.

His mouth crashed down over hers, hard, heated, demanding. And oh God, but she loved it. His tongue pushed inward, hot and sensual, gliding over hers as he licked playfully at the roof of her mouth and swirled around her tongue in a delicate dance. He didn’t simply kiss her. He devoured her. He possessed her with just a kiss. In that span of time, she was owned completely by Gabe Hamilton. Any other man she’d ever kissed faded into obscurity.

She sighed, allowing herself to completely melt into his embrace. She became boneless, seeking more. More. More of him. His heat, his touch, that sinful mouth. It was everything she could have possibly dreamed and more. Her fantasies, her imagination…they had nothing on the real thing.

His teeth grazed over her lips and nipped at the fullness. It had just enough sting to tell her who was in charge. And then he gentled his movements, following it up with a sensual lap of his tongue, and then soft kisses over the bow of her mouth.

“God help me but I’ve wanted to do that for the longest time,” he said in a raspy voice.

She was stunned. Her legs wobbled and shook, and she prayed she wouldn’t go down, a victim of the heels she’d worn. Nothing could have prepared her for what had just happened. Gabe Hamilton had kissed her. Not just kissed her, but he’d dragged her onto the terrace and ravaged her.

Her lips still tingled from his sensual assault. She was wrecked. Utterly wrecked. It was like having a total buzz, the highest of highs. She hadn’t had that much to drink so she knew damn well she wasn’t reacting to the alcohol. It was him. Pure and simple. He was lethal to her senses.

“Stop looking at me like that or it’s going to get you into some serious trouble,” he growled.

If it were the delicious kind she suspected, she wouldn’t mind getting into trouble with him at all.

“How am I looking at you?” she asked huskily.

“Like you want me to peel that flimsy excuse for a dress from your body and fuck you right here on the terrace.”

She swallowed. Hard. It was probably better not to say anything at all. She wasn’t at all sure what had just happened here. Her senses were reeling, and she couldn’t quite come to terms with the fact that Gabe Hamilton had just kissed her and then talked about fucking her on the terrace of his hotel.

He moved in close again, until his heat swallowed and consumed her. Her pulse beat erratically at her neck, and her breathing was ragged and tight.

“Come see me tomorrow, Mia. At my office. Ten sharp.”

“W-why?” she stammered out.

His expression was hard, and his eyes glittered with a fierce light she couldn’t interpret.

“Because I said so.”

Her eyes widened, and then he reached out to take her hand, pulling her back toward the entrance to the ballroom. He never paused, and kept walking until they reached the lobby. She struggled to keep up with his determined stride as her heels tapped across the polished marble floor.

Her mind was a flurry of upheaval. “Gabe, where are we going?”

He walked outside and motioned to his doorman, who rushed over the moment he saw Gabe standing there. A few seconds later, a sleek, black car pulled to the front and Gabe ushered her inside.

He stood, bent over so that he could see inside the back of the car as his hand grasped the door.

“You’re going home and getting out of that fucking dress,” he said. “Then tomorrow you’re going to come into my office at ten.” He started to close the door but then leaned over to stare at her once more. “And Mia? You better damn well be there.”

Chapter two

“So let me get this straight. You bailed on going to the club with me and the girls so you could go to some stuffy grand opening of your brother’s hotel, and while you were there, Gabe Hamilton dragged you onto the terrace, kissed you and then sent you home with explicit instructions to be in his office at ten this morning.”

Mia slouched on the couch across from her roommate and best friend, Caroline, and rubbed her eyes in an effort to get rid of the fog hanging over her. She hadn’t slept at all the night before. How could she? Gabe had tilted her entire universe and now ten o’clock was bearing down on her and she had no idea what she was supposed to do.

“Pretty much, yeah,” Mia replied.

Caroline made an exaggerated face and then fanned herself with one hand. “And here I thought you couldn’t possibly have as good a time as we did. But I sure as hell wasn’t kissed by a gorgeous billionaire.”

“But why?” Mia asked, frustration making her voice edgy. It was a question she’d asked herself repeatedly during her sleepless vigil. Why had he kissed her? Why did he want to see her now when he’d seemed to spend so much time avoiding her?

It hadn’t been a request, but then Gabe Hamilton never asked for anything. He gave orders and he expected results. And she didn’t know what it said about her that she found that particular trait delicious. It made her all warm and shivery inside.

Caroline rolled her eyes. “He wants you, chica. And why wouldn’t he? You’re young and hot, and I bet you’ve starred in his fantasies a time or two over the years.”

Mia wrinkled her nose. “You make it sound so icky.”

“Oh for God’s sake. It’s not like you haven’t lusted over him since you were a teenager. And it’s not like he ever acted on those urges. You’re twenty-four now, not sixteen. Big difference.”

“I just wish I knew what he wanted,” Mia said, worry evident in her tone.

“If you have to wonder that after he threatened to fuck you on the terrace then there’s no hope for you,” Caroline said in exasperation.

She made a show of checking her watch and then leveled a pointed stare in Mia’s direction.

“Girlfriend, you’ve got less than an hour to get ready before you have to leave. I suggest you get off the couch and go make yourself look fabulous.”

“I don’t even know what I’m going to wear,” Mia muttered.

Caroline smiled. “I do. Come on. You’ve got a man to dazzle.”

Dazzle? Mia wanted to laugh. If anyone was dazzled, it was her. She was so befuddled by the events of the night before that she was going to be a walking disaster if and when she actually made it into Gabe’s office.

• • •

Gabe fingered the contract he’d taken out and stared at the front page, silent as he contemplated the exact path he wanted to take with Mia. It was new for him to spend any time pondering how he handled his approach. He only did things one way. Straightforward. He treated his personal relationships as he did his business. There was no room for emotion, even in a relationship. He’d got caught with his pants down once—completely blindsided if he was going to be brutally honest with himself—and he’d sworn it would never happen again.