A Billionaire's Redemption - By Cindy Dees Page 0,51
in Dallas.
She took inventory of her body, which felt unfamiliar to her. She’d had no idea it was capable of the excesses of pleasure to which Gabe had brought it last night. This morning she felt limp. A little achy here and there, but overall, glorious. No wonder women raved about him in the bedroom. Not that she planned to add to the gossip about him any time soon.
What the other women had failed to mention was how sweet and funny and considerate he could also be. Yes, he’d demanded everything she had to give to him and had not allowed her to hide any part of herself from him. But he’d never made her feel anything other than special and beautiful and sexy. He’d fundamentally changed how she viewed herself. Her body. Her sensuality. For the first time in her life, she felt like a woman.
He stirred, his arm tightening around her, pulling her closer against his side. His mouth moved lazily in her hair. “Morning,” he mumbled.
She turned into him, looping her arms around his neck. “Good morning, indeed,” she murmured back.
His eyes opened and a smile gleamed in them. “You’re even more beautiful the morning after. Women the planet over would kill to look like you with no makeup on, and their hair tousled around them like that.”
She smiled up at him with a new confidence she’d never had before. Not until Gabe Dawson had loved her. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”
His visage went surprisingly serious. “Actually, I’ve never said that to a woman before. And I meant it when I said it to you.”
Warmth unfolded low in her belly that had nothing to do with lust. “You really are a special man. Thank you so much for last night.”
A crack of laughter escaped him. “Honey, that’s my line. I’m the one who should be thanking you. Hell, I should be doing it on bended knee with dozens of roses in my arms.”
“I prefer gardenias. Roses are too sweet and overwhelming for me.”
“Duly noted.” He kissed the tip of her nose and rolled over onto his back, taking her with him by virtue of his arm around her shoulders. “What shall we do today?” he asked reflectively.
“Don’t you have an empire to run?”
He shrugged beneath her ear. “It’ll run itself for a few days.”
Since when did he blow off his company for a woman? The way she heard it, he took business calls in the middle of sex. Although, having experienced his total focus firsthand, she had to question the quality of the woman’s lovemaking who’d reported that salacious little tidbit about him. Nonetheless, he had a solid reputation as a workaholic.
She was definitely on board with the notion of spending the day in bed with him. She couldn’t get enough of him. And not just the sex. Just being skin-to-skin with him like this renewed her spirit. Healed her wounded soul. She felt like a woman again, cherished and whole. They lay there for several minutes of relaxed quiet, which was another thing she loved about him. He didn’t feel a compulsion to fill the silences with meaningless noise.
But then the ring of a telephone shattered the quiet. He reached out to pick up his cell phone and look at the incoming number. He swore quietly and put the phone to his ear. “Dawson, here.”
She snuggled against his side, relishing his heat and strength as his fingers twined lazily in her hair. All of a sudden, his entire body tensed.
“What?” he burst out. “When?” A pause. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
She sat up in alarm beside him. “What’s wrong?”
“The police got a video of my wife.”
His wife. He called Melinda his wife. Not his ex-wife. Willa rolled away from him and climbed out of his bed hastily, all but running for the living room and the scanty protection of her clothing. He’d called her his wife.
Chapter 11
Gabe leaped into jeans and a shirt and was relieved to see Willa dressed in her gown and waiting by the door when he came out of his bedroom.
“I’ll drop you off at your place on my way to the police station,” he told her.
She nodded, and followed obediently as he rushed out the front door. He opened her door impatiently, nearly slamming it on her skirt in his haste. The short ride to her house was silent.
He pulled up to the curb out front and she said only, “I hope Melinda’s all