Getting the Goods Read online

  Why that would make her blush, I have no idea. I simply told her that she looked beautiful, yet she’s acting as though I told her that I wanted to take her to bed.

  “I thought that your sister was pulling my leg when she told me that you were coming home for your parents’ party. I’m so glad that she was right. It’s really so good to see you, I just can’t wait to catch up.”

  “Right,” I nod, feeling uncomfortable as she steps even closer to me and flutters her eyelashes up at me.

  “Sarah, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Gabriella.” I take a step away from her and reach down to where Gabriella still sits underneath the tree. I wrap my hand around hers and pull her to her feet before tucking her underneath my arm.

  “Girlfriend?” Sarah’s eyes widen. “Oh, well how peculiar. Your mother didn’t mention anything about a girlfriend.”

  Shocking.

  Gabriella snorts, which causes Sarah’s attention to shift towards her. She looks her up and down, before blinking, and then, completely ignoring her ,and turning her attention back to me.

  “Well, Conner, we will simply have to put some time together, just the two of us, to, you know., catch up.”

  She reaches forward and trails her hand along my arm, before squeezing. Gabriella watches the exchange with wide eyes, before turning her attention to me and glaring at me.

  I jerk my arm back and shake my head.

  “As much as I would love to catch up, I have every intention of enjoying my vacation with my girlfriend. It is nice to see you, though, Sarah.”

  Sarah’s eyes widen, and she gives me a puzzled look, before glaring at Gabriella. I smile at her and nod before excusing myself and pulling Gabriella into my side. I sink back down against the tree and pull her body back against mine.

  Gabriella waits until Sarah is out of sight, before turning towards me.

  “What in the fuck was that all about?”

  “That’s Sarah.” I shrug, as she sits up straight and glares at me.

  “Yeah, I picked up on that. Why is Sarah such a raging bitch?”

  “Huh?”

  She rolls her beautiful eyes at me before frowning.

  “She was totally trying to hit on you. Wanting some alone time, just the two of you? She was trying to hit on my boyfriend, and you didn’t exactly shut her down.”

  “Wait, what? She wasn’t…”

  “Oh, she totally was. You know what, Conner, if you just brought me here to make an ass out of me, you can fuck off.”

  She hops to her feet and storms off, before I can even wrap my head around anything that she just said.

  How in the hell did I make an ass out of her? I’m totally lost.

  This right here, is why I am not a relationship kind of guy.

  I can’t even keep my pretend girlfriend happy.

  “Are you ready to talk to me yet?” I sink down next to Gabriella who is seated at the dock, sipping a glass of red wine.

  “What if I said that I wasn’t?”

  “I’d tell you that I don’t understand why. I’m sorry for whatever that I did to make you angry, but I have to admit. I have no idea what I did wrong.”

  She weighs my words, before finally shrugging.

  “I accept your apology. I suppose that I overreacted a bit.”

  “A bit?” My eyes widen, “You called me a few names and then stormed away as though you had just caught me in bed with another woman.”

  “I know, I know.” She sighs, before taking another sip of her wine. “Like I said, I overreacted. I have no reason to be upset with Sarah for flirting with you and hitting on you. I have no claims at all to you, and you don’t owe me anything. I just got caught up in the moment, that’s all. It brought some stuff back that I don’t really like to think about.”

  “It reminded you of someone who hurt you?” I scoot my chair closer to hers and watch as she simply nods once.

  “Yes.”

  The thought of anyone hurting her ignites something inside of me that I’ve never felt before. Red hot rage courses through my veins, as my protective instinct kicks into overdrive.

  “Tell me who hurt you.” My voice sounds murderous as my words leave my mouth, but she just shrugs nonchalantly.

  “He’s not even worth mentioning, honestly. It was some guy who I thought that I was in love with in college. He ended up cheating on me with my roommate. All of the signs were there, but I was too naïve to pick up on any of them, but when I walked in on them in bed together, it all became perfectly clear.”

  “What a dick,” I huff, and she just smiles.

  “Yeah, pretty much. Luckily, that part of him wasn’t all that impressive.”

  “Well, he fucked up. I’m sure that he instantly regretted losing you.”

  She wrinkles up her nose before sighing.

  “I’m not so sure about that. They actually ended up getting married and starting a family. From the Facebook photos that I’ve stumbled upon, they seem pretty damn happy, and their kids are adorable.”

  “Well, look at you, you little Facebook stalker.”

  “I know, I know. I shouldn’t do it, but even though he wasn’t the one for me, what he did to me still hurt, and it’s caused me to have major trust issues.”

  I know all about trust issues. Hell, my family is the entire reason that I don’t trust a single soul, aside from my Carter.

  I reach for her and run my fingers along her face.

  “Gabs, I want you to know that I would never do anything to hurt you. I promise you that, baby.”

  “Conner,” she closes her eyes, before turning her face away from my touch. I stare at her questioningly as she shakes her head.

  “Please, don’t be so sweet to me. It’s making this hard, which is completely irrational for me to say. But it’s easier to keep feelings out of this when you’re an arrogant prick. The sweet side of you is hard to resist.”

  “Isn’t that the plan?” I have to force the words out past the lump that’s now formed in my throat, simply from her words and the way that she looks at me.

  Jesus, I’m crazy about this woman. Absolutely nuts over her, and I want nothing more than to see her smile.

  The sadness in her eyes just about wrecks me, especially knowing that I’m the reason that it’s there.

  I just don’t know what to do about it. I know that I’m crazy about her, and I know that she is a very special woman. It’s just that feelings like this, this desperate need to make her happy and to see her smile, the constant need to see her face and kiss her lips, it’s so out of my norm, and I’ve never quite felt this way before. I’m not sure if it’s the animal knowledge that I’m trying to plant my seed inside of her, of if it’s something else entirely. I just can’t seem to wrap my mind around it.

  “There’s going to be more people showing up throughout the day, although we’ve met the most of them. Do you want to take a break from all of this, and go home? We can do what we do best for the rest of the afternoon.”

  She jumps to her feet.

  “Yes. The next twenty-four hours are crucial, anyways. I’m ovulating today, so I need everything that you can give me.”

  I wrap her into my arms, before pressing my mouth hard against hers. “I have a lot to give you, baby. You don’t even need to worry about that. I’ve got you.”

  What I want to say is, that I also have this shell of a heart that seems to only beat for her lately. My heart doesn’t really know how to love, but dammit all, it wants to. It wants to be hers, and only hers.

  Except Gabriella deserves a hell of a lot better than me, and better than I could ever give her.

  So, she’s going to just have to settle for the things that I know that I can do right for her, and that’s going to be in the form of nonstop orgasms for the rest of the afternoon.

  18

  Gabriella

  “Ok, ok. We have to stop. I need food, Conner, and probably some sleep. Real sleep too, not this close my eyes for thirty minutes and wake up
to your penis back inside of me.”

  “I love it when you talk dirty to me.” He flashes me a devilish grin before smacking a quick kiss on my lips.

  “Alright. My baby needs food, and sleep. I can do both of those things for you.”

  I grimace, before glancing over to the bedside clock.

  “If food means having to be around your family right now, I think that I can hold off. I’m not that hungry.”

  Just as the words leave my mouth, my stomach growls. Conner just rolls his eyes.

  “We don’t have to go back out there. I’m sure no one besides Alexandria even realizes that we’re gone anyways. We could order some takeout, I could bring you out to dinner, I can make you dinner, or I can order pizza. You pick.”

  “I definitely do not want to go anywhere.” I snuggle myself back into the bed. “You’re offering to make dinner, does that mean that you can cook?”

  “Sure.” Conner shrugs. “Of course, I can. I live alone, Gabs. A man can only handle so much takeout before he learns how to make his own food.”

  I stare at him, letting my eyes feast on the gorgeous man standing in front of me. He’s pulled on a pair of black boxer briefs, that hug the part of him that has been inside of body for about four hours straight perfectly. I smile at him, before my eyes travel up to his.

  “You like what you see?” He smirks at me, and I roll my eyes.

  “Yes, but I’d like it a lot better if it were in the kitchen right now.”

  “Alright, alright. I’m going.”

  As he heads towards the kitchen, I stand from the bed and stretch, letting my aching muscles finally relax. I’ve been laying on my back for hours now, every inch of me tensing again and again as Conner rocked my world. I’m not complaining by any stretch, but it feels good to be upright.

  I wrap myself in a sheet and make my way towards the kitchen.

  Conner spots me, and smiles, before placing his hands on my hips and lifting me onto the counter.

  “We’ve got eggs and pancake stuff. How does that sound?”

  “Amazing.”

  He nods, and then gets to work making the food. I watch him as he works, staring at his every movement. I’m going to be honest here, while I can’t stand being around his family, I am going to miss this part. I’m going to miss falling asleep at night in his arms and waking up to his kiss. I’m going to miss the gentle way that he holds my hand and calls me baby.

  These feelings weren’t supposed to happen, yet they have. And the pit in my stomach only grows the more that I think about it.

  “It’s going to be really weird, you know, once we get back to work.”

  He flips our omlettes and turns to face me.

  “Yeah? How so?”

  That nagging, uneasy feeling that fills me gets even bigger.

  “I mean, you know. We have to go back to you being my boss. It’s going to be a bit weird, after I’ve just spent the last week with you inside of my body.”

  “Babes,” he grins. “I’d already been inside of your body, prior to being your boss to begin with. It won’t be any different than it already was.”

  Obviously, not for him, since he’s managed to not get his feelings wrapped up in our agreement. Stupid me, however, went ahead and fell for the guy.

  “You’re right.” I force myself to smile. “It won’t be any different.”

  Lies. All fucking lies. I mentally make a note to call Natalie later on, and make sure that she has spent the last week furiously looking for a new position, because I don’t know how long I will last continuing to work for Conner.

  “Plus, if all goes well, as long as we can secure all of the accounts and get things turned back in the right direction, Carter and I won’t have to stay in Chicago to run the company. One of our guys will be moving there to take over.”

  “Oh.” I blink. I had absolutely no idea that this was ever the plan.

  “I mean, I suppose that it would be a bit weird, me always being around you, while you’re carrying my child and me having nothing to do with it. I’d be even weirder if you had an office baby shower, and I was expected to buy a gift for the product of my seed.”

  A bucket of cold water couldn’t have woken me up anymore than his words. He truly doesn’t want anything to do with me or this child, if this child actually happens, of course. I mean, I knew that. This was our agreement all along. He gives me sperm, and then rides off into the sunset. I wanted to be a single mother, and not have to worry about some guy trying to be in the picture, especially when I knew that he wouldn’t be my forever.

  It was easy to keep that in mind when Conner was being his usual prick of a self. But then he started looking at me with those sweet eyes of his, holding my hand and calling me baby. He began doing sweet little things for me, things that reminded me that while it’s ok to go it alone, it’s even better to have someone to share your life with.

  My stomach literally turns over my foolishness.

  Conner puts the omlettes on plates and sits down on the stool in front of me. I’m still sitting on the counter, wrapped in the sheet, but my appetite is completely gone.

  I pick at the omlette with my fork, and Conner looks at me questioningly.

  “You don’t like it?”

  “No, no,” I shake my head and force a smile. “It’s delicious. I guess I’m just not as hungry as I thought that I was.”

  He continues to stare at me, and a sob that I didn’t even realize was stuck in my throat threatens to leave me.

  “I, ah. I think that I’m just really tired. Too tired to eat. I probably should get some sleep. Tomorrow is a big day for us. It’s party day, you know? Time to really put our plan in full effect. I think I’m just going to go to sleep.”

  “Gabs?” He stares at me, as I hop off of the counter. “Baby, what’s the matter?”

  He looks at me as though he actually cares, when I know damn well that he doesn’t. This is all just part of the plan, part of putting on our show, even though we are behind closed doors. The man standing in front of me isn’t capable of caring about me, and I need to firmly remind myself of that. I am a foolish woman, for allowing myself to get caught up in the act.

  “Nothing, besides being really tired. I’m going to turn in, Conner. Thanks for the food.”

  His arm wraps around my waist, and he pulls me back against him. I squeeze my eyes shut, clamping hard onto my lip with my teeth, trying to force the tears that are threatening to fall from doing so.

  “Baby,” he spins me to face him, as he stares hard into my eyes. “What did I say to upset you? What’s the matter? Please talk to me. I know that somethings’ wrong. I can tell.”

  “It’s nothing,” I lie. “I just get really emotional when I’m tired, and I’m absolutely exhausted.”

  “Ok,” he looks as though he doesn’t totally buy my story, but I don’t even care.

  “I’ll help you to bed.” He begins to lift me, but I place both of my hands against his chest and push him away from me.

  The look of shock is evident on his face.

  “Gabs, what the fuck?”

  His words are almost a growl, as I turn in the opposite direction of his room, heading towards my own bedroom.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To bed,” I respond, without a single glance back to him. “Your bed is only for fucking. My bed is for sleeping.”

  I don’t bother turn around to see his face. Frankly, I don’t really give a fuck. I let myself get caught up in him, and now I need to firmly distance myself. Today was my ovulation day anyhow, and he’s given me plenty of chances to get pregnant. Now, I just have to survive one more day with him, and then I can go back to living my life, perfectly content all alone, and hope to god that something amounts from this sure to be heartbreak.

  19

  Conner

  I’m sitting on the couch, waiting for Gabriella to emerge from her bedroom, where she has been holed up all day.

  My parents’ party starts
at five, and it’s now four thirty. I’d asked her to be ready to leave in fifteen minutes, and she had agreed. But I’m beginning to think that I won’t see her a moment before that time.

  Something happened yesterday. Something changed in her, so suddenly that it made my head spin.

  One minute I was making her dinner, and the next, she was shoving me away and locking herself in her room.

  I saw her momentarily this morning, when she came into the kitchen in search of coffee. I ate breakfast at my parent’s house all by myself, after she had said that she was tired and wanted to take a nap.

  As I sat at that long table and listened to the chilling silence of what is my family, my body just ached for her. Everything in me ached for her, and for the feeling of calm that she gives me.

  I had glanced toward her empty chair, wishing like hell that she was sitting there next to me, because she could always make me smile, even in that shitty ass environment.

  But she doesn’t seem to want to be near me.

  Finally, the door opens, and my breath catches in my throat as she finally steps out of her room.

  She’s wearing a short black dress that hugs her in all of the right places. The straps crisscross across her breasts, covering her well, but still causing my dick to take notice, because I know exactly what lies underneath them. There is a small area open on her stomach, showing off her toned flesh, but it’s simply just a peek. The rest of the dress flares out at her hips, ending just below her mid-thigh.

  She has a pair of sky high heels on, with straps that wind up her ankles, and a small black clutch in her hand.

  Half of hair is twisted back, while the rest lays in soft curls that cascade down past her shoulders.

  “Oh, my god, baby. You look beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” She only nods at me before her eyes trail over me. “You look very nice yourself.”

  I pull on my black tuxedo jacket before standing and then walking towards her. I reach for her hand, but instead, she grabs onto her clutch with both of hers, steadily ignoring my reach.