Rush

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 hisembrace. 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