Page 45 of Forbidden Sins

Fully seated on him, she stilled and moaned. “Jesus, Ellie. If you don’t move, I might die.”

Her laugh was throaty and full of passion. She lifted and lowered herself, and then repeated her motion, riding him.

Not using a condom was a risky move, but as Ellie moved over him, he watched the spot where they connected. Gabe realized that he would risk everything—his career, his friends, his future, his life—for this woman. His Ellie.

He gripped her hips and slid his thumb to her clit, and rubbed her with small, gentle circles until her breath quickened and her movements became more frenzied. And when she came, her internal muscles clamped and squeezed him. It was all he needed to follow her over the edge. He pumped his hips quicker until he was completely spent. She fell over on him, and he could feel her heart beat in time with his.

“Ellie,” he whispered against the side of her head. He knew what he wanted to say. He loved her. But the words wouldn’t form on his tongue. “Ellie,” he started again. But he couldn’t finish.

“I know,” she whispered, her lips against his chest. “I know.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

GABESATONthe bench behind the keys of his piano. Ellie was asleep upstairs. After making love to her, she’d dozed off immediately, leaving him wide-awake and unable to sleep. His fight with Alana was fresh in his mind, as was his realization that he loved the woman now asleep in his bed. When they’d asked him, he hadn’t responded to his friends, but he believed he was falling in love with her, as inconvenient as it was. They’d agreed to see each other, sleep together until the annulment went through. But the sex between them was so good, and the conversation even better.

He was tired of the secrecy. Part of him wanted to scream it from the tower at the top of the Stratosphere. He wanted to touch her in public, talk to her, hold her hand, drape his arms around her. But he couldn’t. Not until she was ready. He would wait if she needed him to.

With each passing day, he found himself growing closer to her. He wanted to know everything about her, and wanted her around him all the time. Gabe had never felt that way about a woman before. He was falling deep. Was it love? How could it be? He’d only known the woman for such a short time. He’d allowed her to get closer to him than anyone else, but love? He had no idea.

With his forefinger, he stroked the middle C4 key, and then pressed it down, the noise echoing throughout the hallway. He then hit the next key—D—and ran through a scale and back several times, his hands getting used to the movement and pattern on the keys. The instrument was still in tune, despite its misuse. He dived into a tune that he’d played over the years, his fingers moving wildly over the keys, the beat of the music matching that of his heart as he played.

He looked up, his fingers stopping and clenching into fists. His breath came in short pants from the exertion of playing, when he saw Ellie at the base of the stairs, completely naked, just as he’d left her in bed.

“Sorry if I woke you.”

She shook her head. “It’s okay.” She walked slowly toward him, and stood next to the piano. She reached for his scotch tumbler and took a sip. “You’re really good.”

“Thanks. I feel like I’m a bit rusty. It’s been a while since I played anything.”

“Why haven’t you played?” she asked, taking a seat next to him on the narrow bench. He wanted her again.

“I’m just too busy. Work takes up a lot of time. And I started seeing this woman who just demands orgasms whenever she wants.”

“I’ve been begging to hear you play. You’re amazing.” She gasped. “I’ve got an idea. You told me that Di Terrestres does stage shows, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You should play there.”

“Play what?”

She rolled her eyes. “The piano, you idiot.”

He shook his head. There was no way he would get on a stage and play for the people there. “No.”

“Come on. Why not? You’re really good.”

“I’ve never played for anyone before, and I’m not starting there.”

“What, you’ll walk around naked, have sex in front of these people, but you won’t play a song for them?”

“It’s different, Ellie.”

“How?”

“I don’t know...” he trailed off, as if trying to find the words. “Sex is just sex. But when I sit behind the piano, it’s more. You know? It’s intimate. It’s me, laying myself bare. It’s scary. What if I suck?”

Ellie laughed. “You try to play the tough guy, but I know that isn’t you. You’re sensitive, creative, talented. What if you do it and you’re incredible? You never know until you try.”