Breaking Hollywood (Wardrobe #2)

He might not care about me, but I do have feelings for him, and I’m not putting myself through that.

I shove my cell in my pocket and look over at Gucci. She’s running around, jumping in and out of the bushes, looking happy.

Well, at least one of us is happy.

I let out a long, sad sigh and stare up at the sky, trying not to think about what’s going on up in Gabe’s apartment right at this moment. Or what he might be doing with the blonde. If he’s touching her like he touched me last night.

Instead, I force myself to think about what I’m going to do tomorrow when I’m once again homeless and jobless.

Gabe

I’m an asshole.

A complete and utter fucking asshole.

I’ve hurt Speedy. The one person who didn’t deserve to be hurt by me. The one person I didn’t want to hurt, but I went and did it anyway. And I did it fucking spectacularly.

I saw the hurt in her eyes, and I put it there. It almost brought me to my knees.

I could barely look at her this morning, knowing I was going to hurt her.

And I know she thinks I’ve been fooling around with that blonde tonight, but I haven’t.

I couldn’t even if I wanted to. And I don’t.

I just want Speedy.

She’s been on my mind all day. I can’t think of anything but her. How she tasted. How she looked in my bed. How she felt against me.

Knowing all these things makes me want her so much more.

I had to get out of the apartment today. I couldn’t be around her. So, I lied and said I had meetings.

I didn’t.

I called up some drinking buddies, and I was out all day.

But I knew I had to come home at some point, but being here, alone with her, just wasn’t an option. I knew what would happen the second I saw her.

I wouldn’t be able to stop myself.

So, I invited everyone back here. And I acted like the fucking bastard that I am.

But, now, she’s gone, and I don’t know where she is.

I’m worried. It’s late. I don’t want her and Gucci out alone.

I tried calling her, and it went to voice mail. I texted her, asking her to come back home, but she’s ignored it.

Guess this is a taste of my own medicine for ignoring her text earlier and making her worry.

I cleared the apartment of everyone right after she left.

I want to go look for her, but I’m stuck because of my goddamn foot. I can’t fucking drive.

And her car keys are still here on the coffee table, and so are mine, so she’s out there, walking around.

I’m going to call the driver back and have him drive me around until I find her.

I’ve just pressed call on his number when I hear the elevator ping its arrival.

I hang up the phone and move toward the elevator.

She comes in with Gucci in her arms. Her eyes look red, like she’s been crying.

You did that, asshole.

“Where have you been?” My words come out sharper than intended.

She puts Gucci down and walks past me without a word.

“Ava, I asked, where the fuck have you been?”

She whirls around, her eyes narrowed. “What business is it of yours?”

“You live in my place. That makes it my business.”

She laughs. “Fuck off, Gabriel. I was going to go in the morning, but screw this shit. I’m going now.”

An emotion I don’t recognize grips my chest.

“Don’t be fucking stupid.”

“You’re stupid! And a gigantic asshole! And I’m out of here.” She moves quickly through the apartment.

I’m not as fast as she is because of this damn boot, but I catch up to her in the hallway. I grab hold of her wrist, and she whirls around on me. Her eyes are wide and fired up, her cheeks flushed.

She’s never looked hotter than she does in this moment.

“What are you doing?”

I don’t answer. I push her up against the wall and kiss her. Hard.

She doesn’t resist me either. She opens up for me straightaway, kissing me back just as forcefully as I’m kissing her.

It’s hungry and wet and deep and easily the hottest fucking kiss I’ve ever had.

She’s sexy as hell. I can’t get enough of her.

Then, without warning, her hands that were caressing my chest a second ago are now pushing me away.

She stares at me, breathing heavily, her lips swollen from our bruising kiss. “You don’t just get to kiss me and hold me all night and then treat me like garbage the next day and bring other women home and do God knows what with them and then kiss me when they’re gone, Gabriel! It doesn’t work that way!”

“You’re right. And I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I acted like a complete asshole this morning and tonight.” I take her face in my hands, unable to not touch her. “But, I swear to you, the only woman I’ve touched today is you. The only woman I’ve touched in weeks is you.”

Her anger seems to calm a bit with my admission, but she’s still pissed off, and she has a right to be.

“Why were you an asshole today?” Her tone is filled with annoyance, but there’s a vulnerability there, too, that makes my chest ache.

I sigh, lowering my eyes for a moment before looking back at her. “I just…I have a rule. I never sleep with people I work with or who work for me. And I’d never broken that rule until last night.”

“Oh.”

“It’s not an excuse, but it threw me for a loop that a rule I’d worked to follow for a long time, I broke so easily with you. It made me realize just how deeply you were under my skin. I didn’t feel in control. And, when I don’t feel in control, I’m an asshole.”

Warmth fills her eyes. “You’re forgiven.” Her words are soft, but they lift the weight I was carrying around all day off my shoulders.

“So…you broke your rule for me.” She bites her lower lip.

“Clearly, I have no self-control when it comes to you, as I just broke my rule again.” I press my thumb against her mouth, pulling her lip free from her teeth.

A light flickers in her eyes. “No, you didn’t. I don’t work for you. I quit, remember?”

Yes, she fucking did.

A smile spreads across my face. “I guess that changes things.”

“I guess it—”

My mouth is back on hers before she’s even finished that sentence.

This kiss is different from our first and second. It’s less hurried. Maybe it’s because we both know that, this time, this kiss will end up with me inside her.

Guess the third time is a charm.

She tugs at my shirt and starts unbuttoning it.

I stop kissing her to grab the back of my shirt, and I pull it over my head and toss it to the floor. Then, I take hold of her hoodie and remove it. Then, her tank top is next, leaving her in just her bra.

Black and lacy.

Thank the fucking Lord in heaven.

I cup her tits, my thumbs grazing over her nipples.

She whimpers, her hips seeking me out.

I push my good leg between her thighs as I bring my head down, pressing one hand on the wall for support, and I suck her nipple through her bra.

“Gabe.”

The sound of her moaning my name is the best fucking sound I’ve ever heard. She’s grinding her pussy against my leg. I can feel the heat of it through our clothes.

I need her horizontal and naked.

If I didn’t have this fucking thing on my leg, I’d be on my knees right now, tasting her pussy.

My hands go to her ass, and I pick her up.

“What are you doing? Put me down. You’ll hurt your leg.”

“Hush. I’ve carried bags that weighed more than you.”

“But you didn’t have a broken foot then.”

“Speedy?”

“Yeah.”

“Be quiet, and let me do my thing.”

“Your thing?”

“Yeah. I’m the guy. And I can carry my girl to my bed and fuck her, broken foot or not.”

She bites down on a smile and then leans in close to my lips. “Okay, Gabe, do your thing.”

Then, she kisses me, her lips moving down my jaw and my neck, as I walk us into my bedroom.