Boss Likes Curves: A Curvy Girl's Billionaire Read online

  “I need to go.” Her words seriously lacked conviction. “Lunch?”

  “Yes.”

  Reluctantly pulling back, she pressed the elevator button and tried to remember how to not look like a scatterbrained schoolgirl leaving her first crush. The elevator arrived entirely too soon, and when she stepped inside the car, she turned to see Gideon standing there. His hands were shoved in his pockets, and that darkly intense look followed her every move.

  He glanced down at his hands, which surprised her. With purposeful moves, he took his hands out of his pockets and wrapped them around her waist, pulling her closer.

  “I think you’d better put your hands back,” she whispered, even as his mouth brushed the side of her throat.

  “Nope. I’ve kept my hands in my pockets for too long around you.” He buried his face in the crook of her neck and breathed deeply. Sabrina shuddered and was suddenly perfectly happy with his touch. Who cared about pockets when his hand could be pulling her closer?

  “Oh?” she asked, tilting her head slightly.

  “I shove them in my pockets to stop myself from reaching out for you.”

  Oh. Sabrina stilled and turned to look at him. She’d thought it’d been his natural stance. Whenever she’d seen him, he always had his hands in his pants pockets; she’d never given it a second thought.

  Kissing him softly, stretching her body against his, she forgot about the elevator. With Gideon’s mouth was on hers, little else mattered.

  “If we keep this up,” she managed when she pulled back. Then she sighed, ran her fingers through his hair, and kissed him again. “We’ll scandalize the whole office.”

  “Good.” Gideon grinned wickedly down at her. Her stomach clenched in anticipation. “They could use a little scandalizing.”

  His look, that concentrated passion in his gaze, followed her every move. Sabrina struggled to take in a deep enough breath, to make her limbs work—or maybe to stop her legs from walking right back out of that elevator and back into his arms.

  She licked her lips, arousal once again clenching hot and low in her belly as he followed the move.

  “An early lunch,” Gideon said in a harsh voice. “A very early lunch.”

  Sabrina nodded as the elevator doors closed.

  Once she stepped onto the street outside his building, she caught her breath. The cool early morning air moved easily through her lungs, and she moved with a liquid grace she couldn’t ever remember feeling. Nothing to be done about the smile, and Sabrina didn’t bother to try.

  She hailed a cab and headed for her own apartment. The sooner she changed and packed another bag for tonight, the sooner she could get into the office and see Gideon again.

  Her apartment felt large and empty when she finally arrived. Sabrina frowned, but it didn’t diminish her joy one damn bit. Sure, she’d like to have had one of her friends there to gush about her amazing weekend, but the empty apartment meant she could savor her weekend with Gideon and hold it close to her for a little longer.

  Quickly showering and changing, she hurried to pack her bag. Though they’d planned for one night, Sabrina added an extra night’s clothes just in case. She didn’t really want to leave his place—okay, okay, his arms or his bed—so soon again if she didn’t have to.

  She was running late and she hated that. Cynthia would question her; Sabrina arrived at the office by eight, but at least Gideon knew the reason for her tardiness.

  Her cell rang just as she was double-checking her overnight bag.

  “Cynthia? What’s wrong?” Sabrina asked, tucking her cell between her chin and shoulder.

  “Sorry to bother you,” the other woman said. “There’s an issue with the liquor licenses in Macau. I didn’t quite understand it,” she admitted. “All I understood was ‘problem’ and ‘liquor license.’”

  Sabrina sighed and cursed. “Call our lawyers here in New York and talk to Barry. Tell them to straighten it out with the Chinese. And if he has a problem, tell him to contact Mr. Wen.”

  Toothbrush! How could she have forgotten her toothbrush? Gideon had had a spare, so she supposed she could manage without. Sabrina stopped her rummaging and grabbed the phone as it slipped from her shoulder.

  Did a toothbrush count as having her own things at his place? He’d bought a robe for her, so she technically had a robe and toothbrush there. She looked down at her bag, only absently wondering how she planned to get the fact of it by Cynthia. No. This wasn’t moving in. It was far from it. Far, far from it.

  Sabrina swallowed and missed what Cynthia had said.

  “What was that about the final numbers?” she asked. “And are the interior decorators being monitored by our staff?”

  Sabrina grabbed a pen and piece of paper and scribbled the numbers Cynthia quoted to her. “I’ll fax that from home,” she said later, after she’d had the other woman double-check the information and make a couple more notes on the decorators.

  “Call Barry, don’t e-mail him. He’s terrible at returning e-mails.”

  “Don’t worry,” Cynthia agreed. “I’ll make sure I speak directly with him.”

  Sabrina nodded and went to the small office she’d cornered off in their apartment. “I’ll be in within the hour,” she promised.

  As she waited for the fax to go through, Sabrina dialed Eliza. Her happy, sexy afterglow hadn’t diminished and she realized, as she waited for Eliza to pick up, that she wasn’t as agitated over the Macau problems as she might’ve been. So that’s what a fun, relaxing weekend full of sex and laughter did for her.

  Sabrina looked forward to many more of them.

  “Morning, sunshine,” Eliza said into the phone. “What’s up?”

  “A few things,” Sabrina hedged. She didn’t know how much she wanted to reveal to Eliza now that she had her friend on the phone. “We haven’t talked since you left for the Hamptons.”

  “We texted.” Eliza laughed. “So why call in the middle of the morning? Everything okay?”

  “Yes,” Sabrina said. No help for the smile on her face or clearly in her voice. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

  “You sure? You sound—” Eliza stopped. “You had sex!”

  The sentence wasn’t as quiet as Sabrina might’ve liked, but then again, she didn’t really care at the moment, either.

  “Please, please, please,” Eliza said in a slightly more moderate tone, “tell me it was Gideon!”

  “No,” Sabrina said, but again had absolutely no luck keeping the smile from her tone. “I’d never sleep with my boss. It was one of the…businessmen from China. He left for Beijing this morning.”

  It was clear Eliza didn’t find that as exciting as sleeping with Gideon. “Oh. All right. Hope you had fun. But how much fun can you—never mind.”

  “It was Gideon,” Sabrina confessed. “And it was pretty much every day since Monday.”

  “Ha!” Eliza shouted. Sabrina pulled the phone away from her ear. “I knew it! Thank God,” she added. “If Gideon had found out you had a fling with some business associate, he’d have disintegrated where he stood.” She paused. “So?”

  Sabrina cleared her throat and laughed. Oh, it felt good to laugh. To share this news, to feel this way, so open and alive. And she did feel alive—not just happy and sexy, but alive.

  “It’s been great,” Sabrina admitted.

  “I’m going to have to get ready for another wedding,” Eliza said.

  She frowned. A wedding? After a weekend of sex? Admittedly fantastic sex, with a man she cared deeply for, more than cared for, but…a wedding?

  “Not so fast,” she said, her joy diminishing a little. “This is new and shiny. But not wedding.” Sabrina cleared her throat and changed the subject. She wanted to hold onto what she had with Gideon a little longer before even thinking about the future. “What about you? How’s that TV special going?”

  She could all but hear the shrug in Eliza’s voice. “Hating every dress I put on. I’m going to a party out here in skinny girl
-ville.”

  “Did you bring the white one?” Sabrina asked, zipping up her bag and setting it by the door. “You look great in that.”

  “I’m wearing it now. And I look like a swan who ate another swan,” Eliza grumbled. “And Office Jerk-boy is going to be there.”

  Office Jerk-boy? Sabrina struggled to remember who that was. Oh, the married guy. Right. “Show him up by going on Craig’s arm,” she said with a glance at her watch.

  She hadn’t realized how late it was. Gideon would be waiting for her and their early lunch, if his meeting went well. She was already much later than she’d planned.

  “I am going with Craig,” Eliza said slowly. Then in a faster, dismissive tone, “But you know him, he’ll vanish the moment he sees the first hot babe with big boobs.”

  “Maybe he’ll surprise you,” Sabrina said.

  “Whatever.” But then Eliza brightened. “I’m so happy for you, Sabrina. Gideon is a great guy, and I’d observed for a long time now he’s completely into you.”

  Sabrina heard shouting in the background then Eliza came back. “I gotta run. Have fun with Mr. Boss Man.”

  Oh, she planned to have fun with Gideon. “Don’t give Craig a hard time,” she admonished and ended the call.

  The buzzer sounded. She pressed it and waited. Gideon’s hello surprised her; she hadn’t expected him to come here himself. She quickly buzzed him up. Sabrina opened the door and waited for him. She didn’t dance from foot to foot, but wanted to. She did try to control her excitement and nerves and bliss. Yes, bliss. That was a good word.

  The elevators dinged and Gideon stepped out, looking as happy to see her as she was to see him.

  “Why are you here?” she asked, though she certainly wasn’t upset about this change in plans. “I thought we were meeting at the office.”

  He gave her that half-smile and closed the door behind him. “You weren’t there and I needed to find you.”

  His mouth was warm on hers, his hands pressing against her back to bring her closer to him. “I think I’m addicted,” he whispered against her mouth.

  “I don’t mind,” she admitted. Not the wittiest line she’d ever spoken, but then his tongue was doing delicious things to her neck and he walked her backward.

  Gideon tugged her jacket off her shoulders and tossed it over a chair. Her blouse was quickly unbuttoned and followed suit. Sabrina tugged his tie free and slipped it over her neck, letting the ends brush her breasts. She pushed his jacket to the floor and undid enough of his shirt to taste down his chest.

  He lifted her then and carried her the remaining steps to her bedroom. Gideon set her down and she hurried to unbutton her skirt, tossing it aside along with her stockings and panties. Before she could unhook her bra, Gideon was back, barefoot, bare-chested, and with that hot, hungry look in his dark gaze.

  His mouth crashed back on hers, and his hands cupped her breasts. Sabrina arched into him, her hands on his waistband, desperate now to feel him. She shoved his pants down, her fingers running over his hip and thighs until he pulled back with a growl.

  “Sabrina.”

  She ached for him, her nipples hard and aching for his touch, her breath short and body on fire. The edges of his tie teased her nipples, the silk adding its own erotic touch. Sabrina tangled her hands in his hair and kissed him, hard, desperate, hungry. Her fingers pressed into his sides and she turned them, pushing him onto the bed.

  She cursed and rummaged in his pockets for a condom then straddled him. The feel of his skin against hers made her gasp and grind her hips against his hardness, even as that simple feel eased something within her.

  She slipped the condom over him and in one sure move sank onto his cock.

  “Too long,” she moaned, her hands braced on his chest. “You’ve been gone too long.”

  Gideon’s hands tightened on her hips. “Yes.”

  He thrust into her fast; each movement made her breath hitch and that tightness coil through her. His fingers found her center and before she had a chance to catch her breath, Sabrina shouted his name, fire and light crashing over her.

  Gideon continued to move beneath her, hard erratic thrusts. His fingers dug into her hips and he reared up, capturing her mouth, teeth scraping along her neck. He pounded into her even as her orgasm continued to burst along her skin. Sabrina shuddered and held him close, closer, never close enough.

  His teeth sank into her shoulder, her name a groan along her skin as he came, face buried against her neck, body shuddering his release.

  Sabrina closed her eyes, as Gideon rolled them over, breathing heavily, her name a whispered prayer on his lips as he brushed them over her shoulder, her neck, her cheek. She held him close, content to simply stay there.

  Eventually, Gideon made to move, but she tightened around him and decided being wrapped around Gideon was the best place to be. His lips brushed over her still-pounding pulse. She couldn’t hear what he said, but the gentle rhythm of the words, like a soft caress, made her heart burst with happiness.

  Chapter Twelve

  Gideon was still in the shower as Sabrina reapplied her makeup and found an outfit that wasn’t currently a wrinkled mess on her floor. She never had made it into work, and had called Cynthia to say she’d work from home today. A small white lie, as she did make sure things were on track with Macau.

  And she’d called Laura in Vermont for an update on the Christmas project there. Of course that had been done out of guilt for lying to Cynthia and getting absolutely no work done, but she appreciated the status update.

  Tonight was Chef Horatio Price’s book party, and she was looking forward to it. Sabrina had never been to Horatio’s, but his restaurant was catering the event and she’d heard excellent things about the chef. She had to admit, she’d enjoyed their dates. Enjoyed knowing Gideon on a level she’d never imagined she’d get to know him. But she’d also loved their private weekend together.

  Then again, she thought as she held up one of the dresses Audrey had picked out for her, it’d be nice to go out with Gideon when she knew it was a real date. To be able to touch him in public. Well, maybe touching him was a bad idea. Touching led to sex, and she’d rather the privacy of one of their places for that.

  Sabrina shuddered; she could easily envision the headlines about Gideon of Gideon Hotels and his VP of Development. No, she’d rather not have those pictures splashed over every website and social media outlet.

  Gideon emerged, wearing only a towel slung low over his hips and that half-grin. Her fingers tightened on the hanger she held up, and Sabrina swallowed. Hard.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” she said, pleased her voice sounded just about even.

  “What way?” he asked, stalking toward her. His gaze never left hers and his eyes darkened.

  “That way,” she whispered, voice hoarse.

  His hands slid over the satin of her gown, across her shoulders, to pluck the hanger from her fingers. “We don’t have to go tonight,” he said, and that low voice made her stomach flip.

  Her agreement was on the tip of her tongue, but she really wanted to try the food at Horatio’s. Swallowing, she shook her head and stepped back. “We don’t have to stay long,” she told him, and wondered where the hell her resolve had disappeared to.

  She’d spent years not letting on just how much she wanted him and suddenly, after barely seven days of being together, she was insatiable.

  Sabrina took another step back and reached for the nude dress. She snatched it and the matching nude platforms with crystals. She backed away from him and dressed, leaving her long red hair to curl over her shoulders and down her back. She studied the effect for a moment and decided she really liked the contrast of her red curls against the nude dress.

  Sabrina grabbed her lip gloss and left the bedroom. If she stayed a moment longer, they really wouldn’t be going to the book party.

  And she planned to enjoy the book party. Well, she planned to enjoy Chef Horatio’s food, and then she’
d enjoy Gideon. Oh, did she plan to enjoy Gideon. Or was devour Gideon?

  Gideon dressed quickly, and with another wicked grin they left. Vince drove them to the restaurant in the late afternoon sun, the spring day warming nicely. As she stepped from the car, Gideon’s hands in hers, Sabrina didn’t care that in a few weeks summer in New York would be sweltering; she let the breeze dance through her hair and over her skin. It was a beautiful afternoon, and she raised her face to the sky for a moment.

  “You look stunning,” Gideon said, slips dipping just below her ear.

  Sabrina shivered and tightened her hand on his. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

  Horatio’s, located inside one of Gideon’s hotels, was packed. The instant they arrived, people vied for Gideon’s attention, but while he nodded and waved, he kept her hand firmly in his.

  “Mr. Marquez,” a man said, suddenly appearing by their side. “Mr. Horatio would love a picture with you.”

  “Sure,” Gideon said then looked down at her. “Come with me.”

  “You go ahead.” Sabrina nodded. She smiled up at him and squeezed his hand. “I’ll check out the buffet.”

  The presentation looked scrumptious, and she was starving. They’d missed lunch in favor of enjoying each other. Taking a plate, she scooped up a couple items and wandered down in search of a glass of wine.

  “Oh, who’s the hottie joining Horatio?” one of the women at the bar asked.

  There were four of them standing there, their wine glasses held high, gold and diamonds sparkling along their fingers and wrists. Sabrina didn’t have to turn to know they meant Gideon.

  She hid her smile behind a bite of quiche and accepted the white wine from the bartender. That hottie was hers.

  “That’s Gideon Marquez—you know, the owner of Gideon Hotels,” another of the women said.

  “Is he taken?” the first woman asked.