Gabe wrapped an arm around her back and directed her across the hall. He slipped his keycard into a slot and a tiny light turned green. “I think I’m gonna have to go back on that promise, Melanie,” he said and opened the door.

Was he really going to tell her to get lost? Why had he even brought her here? She glared up at him. “Why? Do you think it’s funny to—”

He pushed her into the room and closed the door. Her heart rate kicked up as he gazed at her in the soft lamplight. There was no mistaking the heat in his appreciative stare. He was back to full throttle. Oh, thank God.

“I usually have better control.” He reached for the hem of her top and pulled it over her head. “But I can’t wait any longer. If it wasn’t for the security camera in the elevator, I would have done you right there.” He traced the lacy edge of the cup of her bra, his gaze riveted on her chest. “When you asked me to fuck you, I almost came down my leg, Mel. Fuck, I’m hard for you.”

And she’d thought he was either playing hard to get or not attracted to her. Her confidence surged. “Take off your pants, Gabe.” She flipped on an overhead light with the wall switch. “I want to get a good look at that tattoo.”

He grinned and stripped off his shirt. She could stare at him shirtless for an eon and never tire of the sight of his toned body. He was beautiful.

Two tattoos decorated his chest. The one on the right was an amazingly realistic image of a gray wolf. The one on his left pec was an equally realistic image of a cougar. Melanie’s gaze slowly made its way down firm pecs, over chiseled abs, to rest on one sexy ridge at his hip. Again the hint of his tattoo above the waistband of his low-slung jeans caught her attention. Again she couldn’t fathom what it was. She reached for his belt. He caught her hand.

“Maybe you should familiarize yourself with the ink on my back first. The one on my hip might be too much for you to handle.”

She chuckled. “Oh really?”

“There’s no way to show it to you and keep my cock in my pants.”

She snorted with amusement. “Oh no, I definitely wouldn’t want that.”

Gabe turned slowly and faced the wall. When the gorgeous phoenix tattooed over the entire surface of his back came into view, Melanie’s breath caught. Wow. The work was stunning. The skin it decorated, irresistible. Melanie approached him, splaying her hands over his enticing flesh. She didn’t know what she expected tattooed skin to feel like. To find that it was as warm and smooth as regular skin surprised her. Gabe’s muscles twitched beneath her palms; an excited rasp laced each rapid breath. The scent of his body beckoned her and she stepped close, inhaling deeply. Her tongue begged to sample his flesh, to determine if he tasted as good as he smelled.

“I love it,” she said. “The details in the feathers are amazing.” She took a closer look. “The eyes look so realistic. Why a phoenix?”

“It’s a symbol of my rebirth,” he told her. “From the man that everyone wanted me to be into the one I was meant to be.”

She pressed her lips to a shoulder blade decorated by an extended wing inked in red, orange, yellow, and black. “Nice choice,” she said. She drew her tongue over his skin.

“Thanks, I had it custom drawn.”

“Not the tattoo,” she said, “though it is beautiful. Nice choice on choosing the man you were meant to be.”

Melanie slid both hands around his body to stroke his chest. She couldn’t detect his ink by touch, but when her fingertip brushed the barbell piercing his nipple, a surge of liquid heat converged between her thighs. Engulfed by desire, Melanie pressed her lips to his spine and rubbed the bit of metal in a gentle circle with her thumb. She wondered what it would feel like to have her nipple pierced and Gabe’s lips tugging at it. Would she be able to feel that pull inside and out? Her breasts suddenly heavy and aching, she crushed them into his back and ran her hands down his lean, hard stomach.

“So you’re no longer lusting over the awkward band geek with braces?” he asked.

Unable to resist the temptation, she pushed her hand into his front pocket and shifted his cock in her palm. So long and hard and huge. Her pussy throbbed with longing. “I don’t know. Was that guy as well hung as you are?”

His breath caught and his abs tightened beneath her other exploring hand. She trailed kisses over his back while gently stroking his cock through the soft cotton of his pocket lining.

“Yeah, but he didn’t know how to use it.” He grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand out of his pocket before turning to face her. “Fortunately, I do.”

As his heated gaze roamed her chest, her smart remark died on her tongue. His hand moved to her back to unfasten her bra with practiced ease. He removed the bit of pink lace and underwire and dropped it on the floor. “Beautiful,” he murmured. His fingertips brushed over her taut nipples, and her back arched involuntarily. Gabe’s hands slid down her belly and unfastened her belt. The button of her fly popped free. He tugged her zipper down, inch by inch.

Slowly.

Slowly.

Too fucking slowly.

She was on fire.

Melanie reached for his belt. She unfastened it and opened his fly. Before he could stop her, she jerked his pants down his thighs to reveal the tattoo on his hip. She squatted in front of him for a closer inspection—a lion?—but found the gorgeous hard cock in front of her far more interesting than any artistic design. Veins bulged beneath the darkened skin of his dick. The tip curved upward pleasingly. Its swollen head glistened with a hint of pre-cum. Melanie’s tongue darted out to sample a taste of him and Gabe groaned in torment. Smiling at his response, Melanie pressed her palm against his hip and used her other hand to direct his cock into her mouth. She rubbed her tongue against the thick ridge on the underside. Sucking hard, she pulled back until her lips bumped over the crown of its head, before surging forward to take him deep within her mouth.

Gabe drew a sharp breath through his teeth. “Melanie . . . Wait.”

She tilted her head back to look up at him. He stroked her hair from her face with one hand.

“Don’t get me anymore worked up than I already am; I have surprises for you.” He glanced over his shoulder into the suite. “In my luggage.”

She tugged her head back, releasing him from the tight suction of her mouth. “What kind of surprises?”

“I’ll show you. Just . . . if you keep doing that, I’m gonna come and then I’ll probably fall asleep afterward.”

She stared up at him in disbelief. “I’ve never known a guy to turn down oral sex before.”

“At least let me reciprocate.”

He wrapped both arms around her, pressing her bare breasts firmly into his chest. The piercing in his nipple rubbed against her areola, and she thought she’d explode with lust. That forbidden piece of jewelry made her feel so naughty. So reckless. He made her feel that way. She loved all the unconventional things about him. She was starting to see why Nikki was so attracted to bad boys.

Belly-to-belly, Gabe walked her backward into the large open living area of the suite. When she turned her head to take in the lushly decorated room, he paused. She looked up at him in question and he caught her mouth in a deep kiss. Melanie wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him in return, making no protest when he pushed her jeans down over her hips. He grabbed her ass in both large hands and pressed her more securely against him, his thick cock prodding her in the belly.

He started moving her backward again. This time he didn’t stop until her legs came in contact with the bed. He eased her down onto the mattress, still kissing her. When he had her where he wanted her, he lifted his weight onto his hands, tugged his mouth free of her eager lips, and stared down at her.

“Your pants are in my way,” he murmured.

She tried to struggle out of them—they were in her way as well—but their bellies were plastered together and he had her jeans trapped against the edge of the bed with his lower body.

“Don’t rush,” he said. “I want to look at you first.”

He shifted away and climbed to his feet, leaving her alone and disoriented with her legs dangling off the bed. He grabbed her jeans and pulled them off in one tug. He left her panties and her high-heeled sandals in place. She squirmed toward the middle of the bed, using her elbows and heels to propel herself across the mattress. He seized one ankle just above the strap of her shoe, and she stopped.

“Show me how you like it,” he said.

“What?”

“I couldn’t tell if you like it gentle or rough, so show me.”

“How am I supposed to show you?”

“Touch your breasts.”

“Gabe, I’d like anythi—”

The look he gave her threatened to melt her panties right off her body. “Show me, Mel.”

She flopped onto her back and grabbed her breasts in both hands. Wasn’t the entire purpose of having a partner to get her off so she didn’t have to do it herself? She plucked at her nipples until they were sufficiently hard and then dropped her hands.

“Satisfied?”

He chuckled. “Not even. Take off your panties.”

“Gabe . . . ”

“Take them off.”

She huffed and reached for her panties, jerking them off over her butt.

“Not like that.” He leaned across the bed and covered her hands with his to slow her motions into a leisurely, deliberate tease. “Look at me while you slip them off,” he said. “So I can’t decide if I want to stare into your eyes or catch my first glimpse of your swollen pussy. Is it wet?”