She opened her eyes to find Gabe studying her closely.
Testing out a theory, she pictured a big steaming bowl of spinach in the basket in place of the strawberries.
“Like the strawberries, love?” He reached behind him and produced a bottle of champagne and one crystal flute.
Here we go. She did her best to look as innocent as possible. “Yes, thank you.”
His smile was slow. “Good.” He put his hand into the basket, the smile quickly transforming into something like horror. “What the…?” He pulled his fingers, now covered in warm spinach, out of the basket. “What the hell?”
Sarah giggled.
He pulled a napkin out of the basket, his expression filled with amused disgust. “Why did you turn my strawberries into spinach?”
Sarah zipped her lips and waited for him to open the “champagne”.
His eyes narrowed. He pulled out a corkscrew and began opening the bottle. He lifted the cork to his nose with a suspicious glare. “Ginger ale.” He sighed, his lips lifting into a rueful grin. “I suppose I shouldn’t even bother with the violin music. See what happens when I try to do this right?”
“Do what right?”
“Seduce you.”
“Ix-nay on the beach sex.” She shuddered. “Sand in very uncomfortable places, plus, hello!
Chafing much?”
His eyes turned gold. “How do you know that?”
Sarah smirked. “I’m sorry, Gabe. Were you a virgin when you came back to Halle?”
His cheeks flushed, the gold in his eyes dying down to sparkles. “Point taken, and we’ll never mention it again.” He lifted the bottle. “You told me that you wanted me to take you on dates, show you what you mean to me.”
Sarah nodded. “I did.”
“So what did I do wrong?”
“This, it just isn’t you.” She waved her hand at their surroundings. “It’s beautiful, and wonderful, but…” She sighed. “I want the real Gabe to show me what I mean to him.”
One dark brow rose, his lips curving in a wicked smile that had her nipples hard in seconds. “Be careful what you wish for, baby.”
She gasped as the ground shifted beneath her. Suddenly she was on her knees in the middle of a wide bed, her arms cuffed over her head. A chain connected to those cuffs rose to a wood beam high in the white ceiling. She still wore the red dress, but the straps were no longer on her shoulders. Instead, it pooled at her hips, exposing her bared breasts to Gabe’s intense gaze.
“Much better,” he purred, picking up a leather-lined paddle. “I believe I owe you how many?”
Sarah’s pussy quivered at the question. Oh fuck. I should have stuck to champagne. But she could no more resist answering than she could stop the arousal quivering through her body. But nothing says I can’t play too. Besides, she had told him no sex. She lowered her head before he could see the grin threatening to overtake her face. “Three, sir.”
“Good girl.”
She shivered as his palm caressed her cheek. “Trust me, love.”
Splat!
The expression on Gabe’s face was worth the slimy feel of the pasta. “Sarah.”
She bit her lip before responding. The cautious way he said her name told her he was fighting his own laughter. Thank God. She’d been afraid he would become angry. “Yes, sir?”
“Cooked spaghetti, Sarah? You had me whip you with wet noodles?”
She lost it, laughing so hard the chains rattled.
A hard hand grasped her chin. “Who’s playing games now?” He shook his head at her and chuckled. “You win, love.” The room disappeared and suddenly it was just the two of them on Gabe’s red sofa. He had his arm wrapped around her shoulders, his hand holding hers in his lap.
Their bare feet were up on his coffee table, the mug of coffee gone. “No more games.” He brushed his cheek against her hair and purred.
She sighed and leaned against him, breathing in his scent, scarcely daring to believe he was cuddling with her. All of their other dreams had been sensual buffets. This was nice. “What do you want to do tomorrow?”
He toyed with her fingers. “We don’t have anything wedding-related tomorrow. I’d like to walk around Disney, just the two of us.”
He sounded so wistful. How could she resist? “Epcot? Magic Kingdom?”
He smiled. From the vibe coming off him he already had an idea or two. “We’ll see.”
“I wanted to go shopping in the World Showcase.” Gabe grimaced and she laughed. “I’ll have to see if I can bribe you, then.”
Quiet.
“Notice I’m being very good and not mentioning what my favorite bribe is.”
Sarah buried her face in his shoulder. She knew exactly what his favorite bribe was, but she was sticking fast to her no-sex rule, at least for now. “I think you just did.”
“Damn. I’ll just have to come up with something else then.”
She lifted her head and smiled up at him, unable to hide the warmth she felt. It was just so right to be sitting there holding hands and making plans. The fact that little purring noises kept slipping from him while he nuzzled her hair had her damn near ready to break her rule. It was like he and his Puma were wallowing in her scent. “I’m sure you will.”
His eyes glittered with gold. “So am I.” He captured her lips in a quick, hard kiss. “Now I think it’s time we both rested before I’m tempted to try something again. I’ll pick you up for breakfast around eight thirty.”
“All right.” She stood and headed for the front door, knowing it was the right thing to do in order to leave their dream peacefully. He stood and followed, opening the door onto his front lawn. “Good night, Gabe.”
He pulled her close, leaning in for a good-night kiss that started sweet but ended with her bent to his will, his mouth devouring hers, tempting her to stay. The reluctance she felt when he pulled away from her spoke volumes. “Good night, love.”
He closed the door before she could find out if he really meant to call her that.
She turned and strolled down the walkway, fingering her lips and wondering if, just if, he really did.
If only she could trust the dream.
Chapter Seven
He watched her bounce down the stairs of the Coronado Springs resort, her hair swinging, her full lips smiling, and her face filled with the joy of a new day. Dark sunglasses hid her eyes from him, but the brown shorts and dark blue tank top did little to hide her curves.
Hopefully she now knew how much he loved her.
He’d put everything he was into that last dream kiss, bending her, dominating her, leaving her breathless and panting and leaning against him weakly. And then he’d shut the door and let her walk away, fighting his instincts and his Puma the entire fucking time until he’d slipped out of their dream and into real, dreamless sleep. The blue balls that followed had not been his idea of fun, but he refused to take care of the problem without Sarah. The anticipation would make finally taking her all the sweeter, and today he had every intention of doing just that.