“Which one do you like better?”

“I don’t know. I was twelve, Gabe. The whole thing seemed very dramatic to me, even though we sat on folding chairs in my aunt’s backyard. This is obviously much more sophisticated.”

He smiled, but there was still something off about his face. “I mean do you prefer a smaller wedding? Or do you like all of this?” He motioned around the opulent reception.

“I don’t…I don’t know,” I said, because I didn’t. I’d never been a girl who’d dreamed of her wedding day. I’d dreamed of curing cancer and eliminating greenhouse gases. The only white garment I’d ever pictured myself wearing was a lab coat.

“Never mind.” He shook his head as if he could read my thoughts. “Would you like to dance?”

I looked at the couples beginning to swirl on the dance floor. “Um…” I could barely walk in my dress.

“I’ll lead,” Gabe said, sensing my discomfort.

I finished my champagne, bracing myself for the worst. “Please don’t let me trip.”

He held out his hand to me. “Never.”

Gabe held me close as we danced, so close that I didn’t even have to pretend I knew how. My nerves melted away as I swayed against his chest, happy and content, oblivious to the crowd around us. He put his cheek against mine, not saying a word, just holding me in time to the music. At the end of the song, he kissed me deeply, right out on the middle of the dance floor.

Heat surged through me. I clung to him, oblivious to the dancers around us. I wanted more.

I always wanted more.

He kissed me again, gentler this time. Then he placed his forehead against mine. “I love you.” His voice was husky.

I smiled at him, but he didn’t smile back. “You know I love you too. But what’s the matter? I feel like you’re not telling me something.”

“It’s nothing.” He reached over and stroked my cheek.

For the rest of the night, Gabe kept his hands firmly on me. We danced, we ate, we drank with his brothers, laughing and telling stories. He didn’t let go of me once.

By the time the reception wrapped up, I wanted his hands everywhere. His touch burned my skin, and my body ached for him.

“My brothers want us to change and go to their suite for more drinks,” Gabe said in the elevator ride back to our floor.

I smiled, trying to mask my disappointment. “Of course.”

Gabe turned suddenly, pinning me against the wall of the elevator. He grinned wickedly. “I told them I had some important business to attend to first.” He crushed his lips against mine, and I arched my back so I could mold my body to his. I could feel his erection pressing against me, hot and hard.

He broke free and looked at me, his brown eyes sparkling. “As long as that’s okay with you, that is.”

I grabbed him by the tuxedo lapels and greedily pulled him closer. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Later, after we’d made love twice, Gabe sat propped up in bed, stroking my hair. He had that same thoughtful look on his face, as though something were eating at him.

“Are you upset about your mother getting married?”

He shook his head as if to clear it. “Not at all. Why do you ask?”

I ran my fingers along his jawline. “You just seem like something’s on your mind.”

He kept stroking my hair. “You are, as usual, correct.”

I grinned, trying to lighten his mood. “That’s because I’m brilliant.”

“You are brilliant. Among other things.”

“That doesn’t sound good—what sort of other things?”

Tags: Leigh James Silicon Valley Billionaires Billionaire Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net