Chapter 15

Gabriel

I’m sure I must be dreaming. And whatever it was I was dreaming about has me in a spin. All I know is my body is shaking, my mind is reeling… and there’s a pretty redhead next to me. I run a hand through my hair as I adjust to the moonlit darkness.

The faint smell of peonies tells me exactly who it is.

I lean over, tentatively, and smell her skin as she lays dreaming. A small sigh escapes her lips as I press my body into hers. Her back to my front.

She stirs under my touch and rolls around to face me.

“Gabe,” she sighs, breathing into my chest and pulling my body close to her as she takes me in.

“Red. I didn’t mean to wake you,” I whisper.

“It’s alright. Are you okay? You’re soaking.”

“Just a bad dream.”

She wraps her arms around me and I hold her body close to mine, then her leg hitches around my waist. “But you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I am now. You chase the demons away, baby.”

She laughs faintly. “Glad I can do something.”

“Oh, you can do more than that. In fact, I wanna get closer than the Holy Ghost.” I buck my hips into hers and she giggles.

“That can be arranged, honey.” She reaches up to kiss me, soft and slow.

I sigh into her sumptuous mouth as her lips envelope me and make me forget whatever gave me nightmares. Certainly not her.

I roll onto my back and take her with me. She rolls on top and flicks her long curls to one side of her shoulder.

“You feel like you’re happy to see me,” she whispers.

“Always, baby.”

She rubs herself up and down over my hard length and I groan. I know losing myself in her is exactly what I need right now. We fit together like a glove.

“Hard and fast, or slow and passionate?” She cocks her head.

I grin, feeling like a fucking king. “What about slow and hard?”

I hear her faint laugh. “I think I can manage that”

“That feels good,” I whisper as she rubs up against me.

She brushes my hair out of my eyes. “I love how we’ve gotten this close so fast.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Bonus, my daughter loves you.”

“And she’s adorable. She’s not hard to love back. But what are you going to do about the Tiffany situation?”

“Let’s not talk about that right now, not when I’m about to do you.”

She laughs at my words. “Aren’t I the one doing you?”

I chuckle as she continues to rub herself up and down on me. “You do have me in a compromising position.”

She slides her tank up over her head and I stare at her glorious tits. Two good handfuls, and perky as fuck; I can’t get enough of them. “You better be careful,” she whispers, reaching down my torso, finding her way to my very excited cock. Her hand slides over the material of my boxers.

I groan as I close my eyes, enjoying every sensation she’s giving me with just a simple squeeze.“I’ll be very careful, Red. Always with you.”

She bends toward me as I catch a nipple in my mouth and suck, running my tongue around, feeling my way. I reach up to squeeze the other one with my free hand.

Her hand slides under the waistband of my boxers, where she grabs a hold and gives me a tug. I hiss, bucking my hips. Her hot little hand always has the ability to make me come undone.

“Need to be in you,” I whisper, moving my mouth over to her other nipple.

“Impatient.” She squeezes me harder.

“For you, I am. You should know that by now.”

“I think I’m getting the gist of it.” She slides her hand up and down my length, slowly, just to prove a point.

I pull at her pajama bottoms, indicating she needs to take those off.

My boxers are next. I lift my hips, pulling them down. She shifts a little and helps roll them down my legs. Her focus back on me, I capture her nipple once more in my mouth.

“You’re gonna be the death of me,” I mumble.

She peppers a row of kisses along my neck as she grabs my cock tightly and lifts her hips, lining me up to her entrance. I close my eyes as I feel her press her body to mine, and I inch inside. Her warm wetness sucks me in as I slide in farther with a grunt. Letting her adjust, I still my hips, enjoying the sensation of being seated deep inside her.

“Baby,” I murmur, my hands on her hips. I wasn’t kidding about the Holy Ghost thing. I want to savor every last inch of her.

My eyes flick up to her intense gaze, heated even in the darkness as I get lost in all things Skye…

“Tell me it’s always going to be like this,” she whispers, clasping her hands in mine, as she starts to ride me and we both hang on for dear life.

“Always, Red.”

I jolt with a start and gasp out loud, like I’ve been thrown back into my body.

In a second, I’m sitting bolt upright.

Oh. Hell. No.

I rub a hand down my face, trying to gather myself and adjust to my surroundings.

I look around my expansive bedroom realizing where I am, then feel next to me, but there’s no one laying there.

Obviously. I was fucking dreaming.

Once the realization hits me I’m in my bed alone, I flop back down into the pillows, letting the quiet of the house envelope me.

What the actual fuck is going on with me?

I can’t be having dreams like this about Skye, of all people. She’s my kid’s new nanny, for Christ’s sake.

But damn, it was as vivid as day and felt like the most natural thing in the world.

Since when did me and the nanny start sharing a bed?

And since when did I start calling her Red?

This is very bad.

I don’t even want to think about the whole ‘What are you going to do about the Tiffany’ situation.I shudder at such a thought.

I tell myself it was just a dream. It doesn’t mean shit, and Tiffany is nowhere near being in our lives again. She never will be.

Then there’s the naked body on top of me. Sucking on her nipples… then sinking into her sweet pussy. I relive every sensation again, like it’s still happening.

For fuck’s sake.

I glance down at my erection and groan.

I suppose I can hardly be blamed for my subconscious mind and where it goes while I’m sleeping. It’s not like I meant to dream about me and her in bed.

She’s beautiful — obviously very smart, with a great body — but my mind hasn’t gone to a scenario that far in real life. Certainly not her ending up in my bed, anyway.

Glancing at the clock, I see it’s two in the morning, and daylight is nowhere in sight.

I reach down and grab a hold of myself, because it’s the only opportunity I’ll have to sort this out. Unless I take a shower when Trin is at school, or find some other opportune time when I’m alone, I don’t get much of that with how busy things are around here.

You never know when my daughter is going to come bursting through the door, for one.

So the middle of the night usually works best for me. I wake up like this regularly, but I’ve never had a dream quite like that; not since I was a teenager, and never anything so vivid.

I remember every word we spoke and every move we made.

I push my boxers down and take a hold of myself, gripping the base of my cock.

I groan, moving my hips, knowing it’s wrong to even think about picturing Skye. But it’s my dream that did it. Her riding me. Her sweet words brushing against my lips. Her pretty scent… I never stood a chance, even if it was just a pleasant dream.

I wrap my arm over my eyes as I try to just get the job done, and not picture my nanny naked. Every time I close my eyes, though, all I see is her.

I work my hand up and down my dick, not even daring to imagine how long it’s been since I had the good love of a woman, or a simple roll between the sheets. Either would be good right now.

But it’s Skye I just can’t stop picturing. The more I try not to, the more she appears.

And it’s wrong on so many levels. She’s my fucking nanny!

I won’t lose her because I can’t keep my thoughts in check.

I can excuse the dream, since I was unconscious at the time, but what excuse do I have for this?

I try my best to put my moral dilemma to one side for a moment, because I need to come. Rubbing one out now is the best way to just put it all behind me.

Start again tomorrow like it never happened. That’s what I’ll do.

I’m shameless as I pump my hips, working frantically as sweat covers my skin. I’m so hard and so turned on, I’m spilling into my hand and all over my torso in a matter of minutes.I groan as silently as possible until I milk every last drop.

I shake my head, disgusted with myself because all I pictured while I did that to myself was Skye riding me naked. And I swear I’ve never come so hard in my life.

* * *

When I wake up, the traces of last night are still swimming around in my head. Along with what followed after that. But I justify it by reminding myself that nobody has to know.

It’s my dirty little secret.

I know I won’t be able to look at her in the same light when she’s here again on Thursday, so I decide to make myself scarce. She seemed to enjoy her first day, and I’m over the moon that she’s getting along so well with Trinity. It seems to take Trin’s mind off the fact Geraldine will be leaving soon. She was elated when she got home yesterday and Bunnykins was sitting high on one of the plush cushions on our large sectional sofa, facing the TV. I chuckle at the thought.

It was a really sweet thing to do.

The school run can always be a little hairy because it’s rush hour with drop offs, parking, pulling back out and all the rest of it. Though something tells me Skye can handle just about anything. And that pleases me to no end. It certainly makes my life a lot easier when I’m stuck at work and don’t have to worry.

I leave early for work. I know it’s a copout, and I’m not one to usually run, but I need to put some space between her and the dream I had the other night. I can’t stop thinking about it.

I don’t want the lines to get blurred between work and play. It’s not like she’s having the same feelings for me. She’s pleasant enough towards me, but that’s because I’m her boss.

I have a lot to do today again at work. The brief discussion I had with Gray and Brooklyn went surprisingly well, not that they told me anything too in depth; just a concept idea for different flavored bourbon and the market it could appeal to.

I need to see more, especially when they work out costs and a marketing strategy. Then it will be put to a family vote when we have all the facts and figures.

Grayson has blown it out of the water with the communications he’s been managing. Our first export to Australia — and other parts of the world — could be as soon as three months from now.

Production will obviously need to expand, and supply has to be ready for such a big undertaking. It’s not something we’re going into lightly. Gray has been working on it for months already; it’s the one thing we’ve been seeing eye to eye on.

I shoot Skye a text when I leave for the office, letting her know Geraldine will already be at my place when she arrives, and that I have to get into the office early.

I need to think. Seeing her will just be even more of an inappropriate distraction so close after the vivid dream I had, and who knows if that will set off another one.

I just need to put a little space between us, then I’m sure it will be fine.

I don’t let women get me unglued, and Skye is no exception.

“You’re looking more chipper than normal,” Georgia-Blue chimes when I arrive. It’s not often she’s up this early, but we all have our roles to play, and Georgia likes to keep up. She also likes to tidy up the tasting room and make sure everything is stocked up for the next day. She calls it her therapy.

“I am?”

“I’m assuming things are going well over at your place with Skye?”

At first I stand still, sure she’s having a dig. But when she keeps on humming away as she works, I realize I’m being paranoid.

“She seems like a real gem from where I’m standing.” I don’t know what possesses me to say such a thing in front of Georgia.

Her eyebrows raise. “A diamond even?”

“She gets along with Trin, that’s what I meant.”

“So you can thank me now if you like.” She stands with her hands on her hips waiting for my words of gratitude because she found the new temporary nanny.

“Next time, could you suggest someone who actually lives in Stoney Creek?” I quirk an eyebrow.

“That part was out of my control. And that didn’t sound like much of a ‘thank you, little sis, for finding me not only someone with a degree in both nursing and teaching, but who is actually bright, funny and attractive, too!’”

I eye her. That deserves some praise, I have to agree. “Thank you, Georgia. If you could make her stay, that would be an even better outcome.”

She gives me a knowing look. “Strange how you can already say that after she’s been to the house once!”

“Sometimes you just know.” I shrug. “You should have seen her with Trin — she almost made her forget Geraldine will be gone for good soon. I was worried how she’d take it.”

“Sometimes you do just know.” She waggles her eyebrows, throwing my words back at me.

I stay stone faced. “Don’t even go there,” I warn. My little sister is more renowned than most for sticking her nose into other people’s lives, all in the name of the greater good, according to her.

She’s been known to bring out a cleansing crystal and even smudge sticks when there’s ‘tension’ in the distillery. Usually, that was right after Gray and I had been fighting.

“Come on, she’s cute as a button. Admit it.”

I fold my arms across my chest. “Me admitting she’s attractive is going to prove what, GB?”

“That I’m right about quite a few things around here, more than I get credit for,” she sighs. “Anyway, I don’t need praise. I’m just saying she seems like a nice girl. And she’s single.”

I give her a warning look.

She holds up her hands. “Hey, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Gray and Hart were in quite a pickle recently with the whole lawyer-client thing, but they got through it. You could too, if you like her in that way. It’s not a big deal, and you’d have cute babies.”

“Crossing the line again, sis.”

She sighs, folding her arms across her chest. “Well, if not Skye, someone like her.” She gives me one of her rare serious looks. Not a trace of sarcasm or joking on her face, which is a rarity. She places her hand on my forearm and gives it a squeeze. “It’s been five years, Gabe. It’s time.”

I look at her, swallowing hard. It hits a nerve, sending my emotions flying. I keep my mask on — it’s one I’ve perfected after all — and I don’t tell her she’s right.

It has been too long, and I’m well aware of it.

The thing I don’t understand is why the only woman I’ve felt a pull to in all these years has to be the nanny, and she’s leaving town in a few months. I can’t form an attachment to her. It’s bad enough Trinity will, and then she’ll have to say goodbye to her, too.

I’ve built a secure wall around myself and I don’t see anyone breaking it down anytime soon. Even the nanny. Especially the nanny.