Triplets Make Five

I gazed down into her eyes while our lips mingled in cosmic unity. Her eyes reflected the blue sky and the ruffled foliage overhead. My blood boiled. I opened my mouth, and her lips parted at the same moment. My tongue darted inside.

God, she tasted so incredibly sweet! I could go on kissing her and kissing her and never stop. I could undress her right now in front of all these people.

I had to get out of here. I had to have her.

6

Gabriela

The elevator door opened, and I stepped out into the biggest suite I’d ever seen. The ceiling towered so high I couldn’t see the top. Enormous windows gave a sweeping view of the whole city spread out at my feet, and more windows let light stream down from overhead. Potted palm trees rustled in the corners.

I held my breath. “What is this place?”

Gray took my hand one more time. I could face anything with him holding my hand. “This is my penthouse. Come on in.”

He led me down the marble steps to the huge living area. I couldn’t call it a room. It must cover the whole top floor of this skyscraper in the middle of Manhattan. He stopped me at a sparkling wet bar set against one wall. He took out a bottle and popped the cork. He poured fizzing champagne into two flutes and handed one to me. “Here’s to you. You were incredible today. Thank you so much for doing this.”

I couldn’t stop smiling at him. “I should be thanking you. I really needed this job.”

He tossed his champagne down in one gulp. I took a sip. “Don’t worry about it. Let me show you around. As you can see, this

is the living room. There’s a kitchen on the other side of this wall, but you’ll probably never go there.”

“Why not? I’ve got to eat.”

“I have my own chef. He’s very good at Italian food. I’m certain you won’t be disappointed.”

I beamed at him. “Thank you. That’s very kind.”

He pressed my hand. “I want you to be comfortable here. If there’s anything at all you want, you let me know.”

I took another look around. “I’m sure I won’t want anything here.”

He tugged me forward. He snatched a remote control off the wall and pressed a button. “This is the garden. Feel free to go out there whenever you feel like it.”

What I thought was a solid wall slid back to reveal a towering indoor garden full of flowering trees, water features, and a coy pond. Gray already walked away, down a flagstone path, between the shrubs to a wooden trellis. “Back here is the hot tub. It’s always turned on, and it’s self-cleaning so you can use it anytime, day or night.”

“Wow,” I gasped.

“That’s nothing. Follow me.”

He escorted me back inside. We trekked across the living room to a private alcove. High bookshelves surrounded a few comfy wing-backed chairs. “This is my study. I don’t expect you to read all these books.”

I laughed. “It does look like a great place to curl up on a winter’s night.”

He shot me a big smile. “That’s what I like to do, too. Maybe we could do it together sometime.”

He touched a button on the wall, and a hidden door slid back. I gaped at what I saw. A giant bedroom spread to the far wall where more massive windows separated the room from the open sky. A big four-poster bed dominated the center of the room and flowing taffeta curtains all in white draped to the floor. White bows festooned the whole room, and sprays of roses wafted their scent in every direction.

A wall of cut glass divided the bathroom suite from the rest of the chamber. An open wet-floor shower stood in one corner next to a full-sized jacuzzi bubbling and steaming near the windows. Gray ducked behind the wall and pulled back a wooden panel next to the tall shelf of fresh towels. “The sauna is in here. Just turn it on at the switch on the wall.”

I stared all around in me in disbelief. “You said I would have your room. This doesn’t look like a guy’s room at all.”

His dimples twinkled when he smiled. “I had the place done up for you. I wanted it to be perfect for your first night—for our first night as.... you know, man and wife.”

My eyes shot to his face. He did all this for me. He went to God knows how much trouble and expense—for me. For a fraction of a second, I drilled him with my eyes. I could never get tired of looking at him. He cast a spell over me I couldn’t resist.

“So, is this all you do?”