A Question of Love: Sequel to A Question of Trust Read online

  They chatted a little about their food, a little about Tina’s sodden underwear, and a lot about the everyday events that had taken place since the last time they’d talked on the phone, which was less than twenty-four hours ago. Gabe had taken to calling her last thing at night, every night. She relished the calls, looked forward to discussing her day with him and savored his daily updates.

  As they waited for their coffees to arrive, Gabe clicked the switch to on once again, and she sank back in her chair with a breathless sigh. Damn, it felt good—tiny streaks of pleasure flying through her nerves. She was happy. As happy as she’d been four years ago with Gabe and Connor. Maybe even happier, she admitted as desire trickled through her.

  “What are you thinking?” Gabe interrupted her reverie.

  She answered without hesitation. “How right tonight feels. How good it is to be with you.”

  The buzzing stopped. He leaned forward, his gaze intense. “I’m thinking the same thing.”

  Her body was on fire, the gentle stimulation of the toy and the enticing company of the giant opposite her arousing her to new heights. She almost hoped he didn’t turn the butterfly on again. She wasn’t sure she could resist temptation much longer. The continual teasing had driven her past common sense. She wanted to make love to Gabe. Now. Before she came without him.

  Her breasts tightened, the nipples pulling into hard beads. “It’s time to leave,” she said. “Let’s ditch the coffee. I have a sudden urge to be alone with you.” To share her happiness and end this perfect evening with a perfect climax. Together. Just the two of them. “What do you—”

  “Shit.” He cut her off with the sharp oath. “Connor!”

  “Um, huh?” Nope, Connor had not featured in her musings at all. In fact he hadn’t featured in her thoughts for a very long time.

  Gabe stood, all signs of his contentment evaporating.

  “Connor,” he said again and this time followed the name up with, “Maddie.”

  It was only when a couple approached the table that Tina realized he was greeting them.

  Oh, dear God.

  Her hand began to shake. Blood drained from her face. Connor was here. Connor. The other half of Gabe and Connor.

  She struggled to catch her breath as she looked up at the face of the man she’d loved so dearly. The man she’d loved as much as Gabe. He was still every bit as beautiful as he had been back then. His blond hair brushed over his neck and collar, while his chiseled features were offset by his unshaven beard and moustache. Lord, oh Lord, he looked good enough to eat.

  Connor clapped Gabe on the back then turned his attention to her as Gabe gave Maddie a hug.

  “T.” Connor looked at her with his usual dazzling smile. “Nice to see you.” He walked round the table, leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

  The instant his lips touched her skin Tina jumped. She gawked at Gabe, horrified, as the soft, insistent buzz started up again.

  Gabe stared back at her, expressionless.

  The silent interchange lasted no more than a few seconds, but it left Tina both unsettled and horny. She blinked and turned back to Connor. “Hey, C,” she said and wished her voice sounded at least halfway normal.

  “How are you doing, beautiful?” Connor asked, the use of the endearment as casual as the use of her nickname.

  She nodded foolishly, hyperaware of the soft hum of the butterfly. “I’m good. You?” Good? She was stunned stupid. Gabe was here, Connor was here—with his girlfriend—and there was a butterfly vibrator flapping against her clit.

  “I’m good too. Better than good.” He held out his hand, and the other woman took it in hers. She was a voluptuous beauty. “T, this is Maddie. Maddie, this is Tina.”

  Maddie’s smile was warm. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  Tina’s eyes widened. “You have?”

  Maddie nodded. “Gabe speaks about you often.” Then she added with a twinkle in her eye. “Only positive things.”

  Tina looked in his direction and was met with the same disconcerting blank stare as before. She eyed him in despair, begging him in silence to switch the damn toy off.

  It buzzed on.

  “I’ve heard good things about you too.” She turned back to Maddie. “I believe you’re the one who tamed Connor.” Oh, God, this was hell. It was bad enough seeing Connor again. But did she have to meet his lover at the same time? And did Gabe have to play with her pussy while everything else was going on around her?

  Maddie looked at Connor. Connor looked at Maddie. They smiled at each other. “I do my best,” Maddie said.

  “We’ve just ordered coffee,” Gabe said. The muscles in his jaw seemed tense, as if they were locked in place. “Why not join us?”

  What? Was the man out of his mind? Hard as she tried she could not think of a more uncomfortable situation. Already the tension was unbearable.

  “What do you think?” Connor asked Maddie.

  “Sure,” she agreed.

  Wonderful. Maybe we can discuss the merits of group sex. Or perhaps Maddie and I can debate which of the two men had a bigger dick, Gabe or Connor. If anyone was in a position to argue the point, it was Maddie.

  Tina cringed in her seat and then wished she hadn’t. The movement forced her clit closer to the vibe, causing all sorts of reactions in her pussy.

  She tossed a beseeching look at Gabe and almost did a double take. He stared back at her with eyes as bleak as a cloudy winter night.

  “What is it?” she mouthed.

  And that quickly his expression was blank again, the emptiness in his face as solid as a brick wall between them. He made no attempt to answer her.

  She blinked, stunned by the silent interchange.

  Tina forced herself to make polite conversation with Maddie and Connor, although all she really wanted to do was haul Gabe into a quiet corner and find out what the hell was wrong with him.

  “Did you get the invitation to my exhibition?” she asked Connor.

  “I did.” He nodded.

  “We’re looking forward to it,” Maddie said.

  She’d felt obliged to invite them. It was only fair, seeing as Connor featured in a few of the sketches she, Valerie and Gabe had chosen to display. “You’re coming?” she asked, surprised, and then regretted the choice of word as the butterfly fluttered on. If she wasn’t mistaken, the vibrations were a little stronger than before. She scowled at Gabe. Last thing on earth she needed was to have a blinding orgasm at the table.

  “Of course we are.” Connor smiled. “We wouldn’t miss it.”

  “That’s nice to hear.” God, her voice sounded all squeaky. She took a sip of coffee and cleared her throat. “You might see a familiar face or two in some of the sketches,” she warned.

  “Mine?” Connor asked with a grin.

  “And Gabe’s,” Tina supplied, determined to ignore the tantalizing hum beneath the tablecloth.

  “Cool. Maybe I can buy one of the sketches of me for Maddie.”

  Yep. Sure. That’s exactly what Maddie would want on her wall. A drawing of her lover—sketched by his ex-lover. The woman was destined to love it.

  Not.

  Tina wracked her brain for something to say after that, but damn it, conversation was almost impossible. Sweet pulses of pleasure were shooting through her, Gabe sat opposite her, staring, his expression switching from bleak to empty—until he looked at Connor or Maddie. Then he was all smiles and good conversation.

  Connor sat beside her as if nothing was wrong. As if her world wasn’t turned upside down and inside out by the whole disconcerting scenario. And his girlfriend sat discussing where she might hang the sketch.

  Argh.

  “I’ve heard you’re moving back to Sydney,” she said to Connor as she thanked God she’d remembered how to make small talk.

  “Moved,” he clarified. “Yesterday.”

  “Well, welcome home.” She tried to smile, but it felt forced and unnatural. “Have you found a p
lace to live?”

  Oh, sweet Lord, the persistent vibrations were making her even wetter.

  “He has. He’s staying with me,” Maddie said, and Connor reached across the table to clasp her hand in his.

  Tina’s heart lurched. Connor was in love, no question about it. He was as smitten with Maddie as she was with him.

  Gabe said nothing.

  Before Gabe’s silence and the awkwardness of the situation overwhelmed her, she drained her coffee and stood. “I’m off to the ladies’ room.” She excused herself and beat a hasty retreat to the back of the restaurant.

  If she’d expected Gabe to turn off the butterfly as she walked away, she was disappointed. The toy whirred away as she waited for the occupied bathroom to open. It seemed to last an eternity, but finally the room was free, and Tina rushed in. She was about to close the door when someone forced it open again. Gabe crowded into the small room behind her and locked them in.

  “What are you doing?” she asked him, knowing she shouldn’t be surprised by anything he did anymore.

  Gabe didn’t answer. His eyes were dark, his face closed.

  God, he looked so miserable. “Are you okay? What’s the matter?” What had happened to the smiling, laughing, charming Gabe? Where had he gone?

  He ignored her questions, “Are you still turned on?” he asked in a gruff voice.

  “You know I am,” she gasped. She was close to breaking point, and having Gabe so near in such a confined space was not helping matters.

  He stepped forward. “Do you want me to help you?”

  She swayed towards him, craving his touch. “I want you to turn the darn thing off,” she murmured. “Especially with Connor and his girlfriend sitting right there.”

  “Does it make you hot?” His voiced dropped, so low it almost sounded menacing. “Seeing Connor again?”

  Tina’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

  “Are you wet for him, T?”

  She stared at him. She was wet. And hot—and, damn it, Gabe knew it.

  “Gabe,” she said on a moan. “Please…”

  “Please what?” His mouth twisted in a grimace. “Please turn it off? Or please help you?”

  “We’re in a toilet, in a restaurant,” Tina pointed out, almost at the end of her tether. “Please, just turn it off.”

  Gabe hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “You’re not being honest with me or with yourself.” His tone was hard, unforgiving, and it made her stomach clench with doubt and insecurity. This was not the Gabe she knew.

  She almost forgot that thought a second later when his hand made its way under the hem of her dress and crept up the inside of her thigh.

  Tina groaned and dropped her head against his chest, inhaling his familiar scent, relishing it. Oh, God, his fingers were by her pussy, pushing her panties aside and resting on the butterfly, pressing it against her. “Touch me,” she croaked, barely able to breathe. “Please, touch me.”

  “You mean like this?” He dipped a finger lower and ran it over her slit.

  She bucked against him. God, that felt good. Her body leapt to attention, just like it always did when she came into contact with Gabe.

  “Fuck,” he swore. “You’re dripping.”

  Tina shivered. Gabe seemed…pissed off. She clutched the collar of his shirt with both hands and looked up at him. “Gabe, w-what’s the matter?”

  A muscle ticked in his jaw, yet he said nothing, choosing instead to slide his finger deep inside her pussy.

  “Oh, my God,” she breathed as powerful sensations radiated through her limbs.

  He added another finger, pumping them in and out.

  “Aaahhhh.” Tina couldn’t speak. Couldn’t think. She clutched his shirt tighter, pulling his head down so she could kiss him, needing to feel his tongue in her mouth, his lips against hers. Needing the intimacy and the reassurance Gabe could give her.

  He turned his face away from her, added another finger and continued to fuck her. Hurt and rejection mingled with a cutting relief. The whole evening she’d been on edge, horny, desperate for an orgasm. Now it was minutes away, seconds. But damn it, she didn’t want to come like this. Not with Gabe’s rebuff stinging her heart.

  “Gabe, please,” she begged, looking for both reassurance and relief.

  He twisted his fingers and pushed in again. “How does this feel?”

  “Good.” Because it did. So good she almost lost it. “And terrible.” As much as she needed her orgasm, she didn’t want it like this. Not when Gabe seemed so angry.

  He turned to her and whispered in her ear. “Can anyone else make you this hot?”

  Chills ran down her spine. “No one has ever made me feel this way.” Like she could explode and cry at the same time.

  “So, it’s just me?” He slipped his other hand beneath her skirt and rolled his fingers between her ass cheeks.

  “God, yes,” she cried, not sure whether she was responding to his touch or his question.

  “I’m the only one who makes you feel so good?” He stroked in and out of her pussy.

  She squeezed her muscles around him. “Y…yes.”

  “Say it.” Still with the stroking, still with his hand on her ass.

  “Say…what?”

  “Say I’m the only one.” He pumped a little faster.

  She teetered on the edge of her orgasm. “Y-you’re the only one.” Without a doubt.

  “Then come for me, Tina.” His voice echoed with grim satisfaction. “And call out my name as you do.”

  He curved his fingers and pumped into her a little faster. At the same time he stroked her anus. The combined fuel of the butterfly and his actions tipped her over the edge. She came hard, breaking on his hand.

  She cried out his name, searching again for his mouth, but it wasn’t there. Her release stretched out longer than she would have liked, the result of an evening spent on the verge of orgasm.

  “Say it again,” Gabe whispered as she convulsed. “Say my name.”

  “Gabe.” Speech was close to impossible. “Gabe,” she breathed as the last few spasms wracked their way through her groin. She collapsed against his solid body, using his strength to hold herself up.

  The butterfly whirred to a stop, and Gabe removed his hands. His breath was an uneven rasp in her ear, and his erection pressed into her belly.

  For just a moment he took her weight, letting her rest against him. His breath blew threw her hair. And then he stepped away.

  Tina stumbled.

  He steadied her but came no closer. She grabbed onto the basin and leaned over it, her breath coming a million miles an hour.

  With a light tap, he placed the remote control on the countertop. Then he paused, motionless, before sighing deeply.

  “Tina…” There was so much uncertainty in his voice she turned to look at him.

  He shook his head, frowned, and then as though he couldn’t help himself, pressed the gentlest of kisses to her neck. Just one kiss. One beautiful kiss that whipped her breath from her body and was over way too soon.

  Long before she gained even the slightest semblance of control, the lock clicked, the door swung open behind her, letting in a draft of air, and then it was closed.

  Tina found herself alone in the small bathroom, shaking. That last, exquisite sensation of his lips on her neck had seemed frighteningly like a kiss goodbye.

  Chapter Eight

  “He won’t be here?” She looked at Valerie in despair.

  “I’m sorry.” Valerie shrugged, looking helpless. “No.”

  Everyone who mattered in Tina’s life would be attending tonight’s opening. Her family, her friends, her colleagues. Her boss was coming with his wife and three adult daughters. Her hairdresser told her she was bringing her new boyfriend along. Even Connor and Maddie would be there.

  The only person who had chosen not to grace her with his presence was the one she wanted beside her most of all. The one who had made this all possible. The one who had
promised to hold her hand through the scary bits of the evening.

  “Yet he came to the gallery this morning for a private viewing?” she asked again, desperate for some understanding, some insight into Gabe’s absconding from her life. Why would he need a private viewing anyway? He’d helped her select every sketch displayed. He knew each of them almost as well as she did.

  Valerie nodded. “At eight-thirty sharp. And trust me, my dear, I don’t get out of bed for just anyone so early on a Sunday morning.”

  “Did he say why he couldn’t make it?” Oh, God, she was beginning to sound pathetic. But she hadn’t heard from him in over a week, and she was getting desperate.

  “No.” Valerie raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps you might ask him yourself?” Then she frowned, looking thoughtful. “But I will say this. Gabriel is a large man. A mountain. And yet…” Her voice trailed off.

  “And yet what?” Tina prompted, almost afraid to hear the rest of Valerie’s sentiments.

  “And yet this morning he seemed…small. As if he’d lost inches off his height overnight.”

  Tina slumped back in her chair. She could identify all too well. She herself felt all of three feet high. As if holding her head up and her shoulders back was too difficult. Damn it all, it was Gabe’s fault. How dare he walk away from her again? What was he thinking? He’d spent an entire evening seducing her, getting her excited, and then he’d had the audacity to act disappointed when he’d discovered she was aroused. Disappointed enough to leave her.

  She gritted her teeth. She’d spent the last week puzzling over Gabe’s behavior, Gabe’s absence, and now she was getting pissed off. Of course she’d been turned on. She’d had a freaking vibrator clamped over her clit for three hours. What the hell else had he expected? He’d been working the goddamned remote control—

  “Tina, are you okay?” Valerie peered at her. “You look as if you’re about to burst a blood vessel.”

  She took a deep, calming breath. Just as well Gabe wasn’t going to show his ugly mug at her exhibition tonight. Attacking him with a knife in public would not make for good publicity.