Bachelor's Bought Bride / CEO's Expectant Secretary: Bachelor's Bought Bride / CEO's Expectant Secretary

“You’re not the first person to have made that observation, either. A giant phallic symbol rising over San Francisco. On that note, shall we go in?” She grinned and Gavin chuckled.

Inside the rotunda of the tower, he slid his arm around her waist as they looked at the murals painted during the depression: rural scenes of people picking crops, a San Francisco street scene complete with a pickpocket and a nasty car accident, a poor family panning for gold while a rich family looks on. “These were all painted during the depression, to provide work for artists, under the Works Progress Administration.”

She enjoyed the warm sensation of his big arm around her, heating her skin through her thin blouse. “I know. Aren’t they’re stunning? I guess something good comes out of even the worst disasters.”

“That’s a very positive perspective. I fully approve.” He squeezed her slightly as he turned to answer. Their faces hovered close for a second. Bree held her breath, sure he was going to lean in and kiss her.

But he peeled his arm gently from around her waist and moved away to peer at a detail in one of the paintings.

She rocked back on her boot heels and sucked in air. If he didn’t make a move soon, she was going to go out of her mind.

After they had a delicious dinner and walked the short distance back to Russian Hill, Bree eased herself into the passenger seat of Gavin’s sports car with a growing sense of anticipation and terror.

What if he didn’t try anything? She might just die.

Gavin’s gray gaze drifted from her hot cheeks to her rather dramatic cleavage and back again, with enjoyment that made excitement sizzle in her belly.

She could hardly believe how intimate and easy their conversation had become over the last few dates. Weren’t men supposed to be difficult and mysterious and hard to understand? Gavin was easier to talk to than her girlfriends.

His apartment was in a tall white building on Stockton Street, and they parked in the lot underneath.

“This is very convenient.” Bree pressed the elevator button that Gavin said would take them from the garage up to his apartment. “I hardly feel like we’re in San Francisco. Shouldn’t you have to throw on the parking brake and hike up a hill to get home?”

Gavin grinned ruefully. “Until I met you, I’d been missing out on a lot of the city’s charm. I moved in here so I’d be close to work. I’ve been in this apartment since I first came from L.A. five years ago.”

Gavin stepped into the small elevator after her, his nearness intimate in the cramped space. He’d rolled up his sleeves to reveal muscled forearms. His skin was tanned, dusted with dark hair. She wondered what those arms would feel like wrapped tight around her waist—right now.

Heat unfurled in her belly at the thought.

She glanced shyly at him as the door opened.

“We’re here. It’s the third door on the right. Not nearly as stylish as your studio, I’m afraid.”

Bree walked down a hallway lined with identical blue doors. She watched Gavin’s strong fingers turn the key in the lock, and a shimmer of exhilaration slid through her as he opened the door into his apartment.

Gavin held the door for Bree to walk in ahead of him and she could swear she felt his eyes on her backside as she stepped over the threshold. His interest in her put a swing in her hips that she’d never felt before.

The front door led into a living room dominated by a black leather sofa. A glass coffee table held three neat advertising magazines and a TV remote.

“Would you like a drink?” Gavin headed for the small kitchen. “I have white wine, vodka and rum.”

“I think I’d better go for wine. I’m not used to the hard stuff.” Just being around Gavin made her lightheaded. She followed him into a neat galley kitchen with gleaming appliances. “Your apartment is very tidy.”

“We can thank the maid for that. I’m not home all that much. I’ve been working flat out on the Prentice account lately. They’re running a new campaign starting next month.”

“I can’t imagine working such long hours. You must be exhausted.”

Gavin poured wine into two glasses and handed her one. “Not really. You get used to it. I enjoy the work—it’s energizing for me.”

She took the glass and smiled. “You’re lucky to have found work you like so much.”

“Trust me, I know it. We’re both lucky that way. Here’s to your promising career as one of the West Coast’s hottest young photographers.” He raised his glass and Bree clinked hers against it.

“I’m not sure I’m really young enough for that title.”

“Of course you are. Don’t be ridiculous.” Then a mock frown darkened his brow. “Unless you’re seventy and have a really good plastic surgeon.”

Bree laughed. “This is California. You should probably check my driver’s license.”

“Nah. I’ll take my chances and drink to California’s most beautiful photographer instead.” He sipped his wine and peered at her with those seductive gray eyes.

“Now you’re just exaggerating.”

“Not at all.” His eyes swept over her, scorching her skin all the way from her exposed neck to where her new expensive jeans encased her thighs. “You’re certainly the most gorgeous woman in San Francisco, and I can say that with some authority since I meet a lot of models in my line of work. They’d all fade into the background with you around.”

Bree bit her lip. What a flatterer. He did working in advertising—and she’d better not forget it. Still, he was very convincing.

She sipped her wine. The tart, cool liquid zinged over her tongue. Maybe he really did think she was pretty. She pushed her shoulders back the way Elle had shown her and tossed her curls behind her shoulders.

“Come sit on the sofa.”

Gavin led her back into the living room. His blue striped shirt revealed his broad shoulders and, tucked into his faded jeans, emphasized his trim waist and a very cute butt. Desire sizzled in her belly as she imagined what he looked like underneath. All their hiking around the city had revealed him to be extremely fit.

She tore her gaze from his physique as he turned around and gestured for her to sit. She lowered herself carefully onto the leather couch and crossed her legs. Once again she felt Gavin’s eyes on her cleavage. Heat swelled in her breasts and thickened her nipples, making them hum with sensation.

Usually she hated her large breasts. They were always in the way, making her feel large and ungainly. But in her new, perfectly fitting bra, they were transformed into a pleasant and desirable part of a body she was forming a new relationship with.

Since she’d met Gavin, she felt comfortable—sexy—in her own skin. For the first time in her life.

He put his glass down on the table. Feeling a sense of impending … something, Bree set hers next to it.

Her skin prickled as he drew closer. His scent, masculine and seductive, crept over her. She could see the shadow of stubble on his skin—he’d definitely have to shave twice a day to lose it. A tiny smile lifted the corners of his wide, sensual mouth.

Oh, boy.

Bree sucked in a breath as lips moved closer. He’s going to kiss me.

Her heart beat hard against her ribs.

For an agonizing instant, their faces hovered so close she could feel the heat from his skin against her cheek. Panic rushed through her, laced with longing so deep it ached in her bones.

Then his mouth brushed softly against hers.

Four

Bree shuddered as sensation crashed through her. Gavin’s big, strong hands pulled her close as he deepened the kiss. His fingers pressed into her back, revealing the urgency of his own need.

Their tongues met in a jolt of electricity and she enjoyed the rough rasp of his chin against hers. She writhed on the smooth leather, desire filling her body like a bottle that might overflow.

Her hands found their way to Gavin’s shirt front, where she ran her fingertips over the cotton, feeling the muscle beneath.

A moan issued from his mouth and echoed through her. His thickly muscled arms pulled her close until her nipples brushed against his chest. Arousal thrummed low in her belly, pounding in a way she’d never felt before. Her hands were now on his back, roaming and testing the hard muscle, grasping at his shirt while he kissed her—hard and fast.

When they finally came up for air, Bree found herself blinking and breathless.

“Wow.” The single, low syllable fell from Gavin’s moistened lips.

Bree exhaled hard. “Wow is right.” Her whole body stung and tingled with stray sensations all the way down to her toes.

She’d kissed men before, but it had never felt anything like this. Usually there was some groping and fumbling, and she’d even had rather disappointing sex on two occasions, but she’d never known anything like this crazy jumble of emotions and feelings that swept through her like madness.

She reached for her wine and took a bracing gulp. Anticipation glowed between them in the quiet apartment. It wasn’t total silence, though—the rapid beating of her heart warred with the ticking of a nearby clock.

Bree blew a lock of hair out of her face. “I guess that’s what they call chemistry.”

Gavin’s mouth quirked into a smile. “No question. And I suspect if harnessed correctly it could solve all the world’s energy problems.”

“Less dangerous than nuclear fission, too.”

“Or so we think.” His storm-gray eyes swept over her. Her skin tingled as atoms snapped in half under his gaze. “Further experimentation is required.”

Bree inhaled slowly, her breasts rising inside the caress of her bra. “If it’s for the cause of science, we can hardly refuse.” Her lips hummed with the desire to meet his again.

Gavin leaned in, his soft breath warming her skin for a second before his mouth slid over hers. Their tongues tangled and their hands grew bolder. Bree’s fingertips slid beneath the waist of his pants and pulled at his shirt. She gasped when he brushed her nipple, and he cupped her breast, testing its weight in his palm.

Bree pulled his soft shirt loose in the back and reached under it, touching his skin. It was hotter than she expected, and the muscles of his back flexed under her fingertips.

His thumb slipped inside her blouse and strummed her nipple through her bra. She arched and moaned through their kiss in response.

Leaning into him, she let her fingernails rake over the hard muscle on either side of his spine. She’d never felt such a powerful male body. Heat simmered in her core as she felt the sheer strength of him, so different from the skinny boys she’d known in the past.

With a deft hand, he unbuttoned her blouse and pushed it aside until her breast was bared—or at least her bra. Her lips reluctantly gave up his mouth as Gavin pulled back.

Bree’s eyes opened to see his gaze resting on her cleavage. The fine lace of the pretty bra gave the vista an erotic flavor. Thank goodness she wasn’t wearing one of her old, white “over-the-shoulder-boulder-holders.” She owed Elle big time for her fashion and beauty tips.

Gavin’s chest rose as he inhaled and sighed. “This is the best view I’ve seen in a long time.”

“And I bet you can see pretty far from this high floor.”

“Rooftops and seagulls have nothing on the hills and valleys I see right now.” His gaze scorched her skin.

Then his fingers tugged at her blouse and pulled it off completely. Bree wriggled out of the sleeves, until she was naked from the waist up.

Well, a bra counted as naked, didn’t it?

She certainly felt naked under his hungry gaze.

Gavin lowered his mouth to her breast and licked her nipple through the satiny fabric. Bree’s belly quivered at the sensation. His hand roamed over her back, sliding under the bra strap, then releasing the clasp with practiced ease.

She sucked in a breath as he pulled the black satin and lace from her, leaving her totally exposed.

“You are unbelievably hot.” His eyes rested on her chest as he said it, which made her laugh. Her breasts weren’t used to such frank and enthusiastic worship, and she couldn’t help enjoying it.

“I don’t think it’s fair that only one of us gets to enjoy the view.” She reached for his shirt buttons and pushed the shirt back to reveal ripped, tanned muscle. “Ah, much better.”

A fine line of silky dark hair ran between his thick pecs, heading down below his leather belt. Bree’s breath caught in her throat as she saw the thick bulge beneath the buckle.

On instinct, her hand slid down to touch him through the denim of his jeans. Hard and powerful, his raw arousal made her blink.

“I think we’d be more comfortable in the bedroom.” Gavin’s low voice sent a shiver of awareness through her.

“Okay.” Her voice may have quavered a bit but he didn’t seem to notice.

After a smoky head-to-toe glance that threatened to light her skin on fire, he took her hand and led her into his bedroom.

He switched on a soft light, which threw out just enough illumination to reveal dark blue sheets on a wide wooden bed with sleek modern lines. Blinds covered the floor-to-ceiling windows. Gavin shrugged off his shirt—which was barely on to begin with—and held out his hands. Bree walked into his inviting embrace.

Her skin hummed under his exploring fingers. Breathless and a little nervous, she reached for his belt buckle. She wasn’t experienced but she knew she shouldn’t sit back and wait for him to do everything. He was probably used to temptresses like that woman at the party, who could drive a man to heights of distraction with one flick of a manicured fingernail.

She was surprised when the thick leather belt came easily through the thin buckle. Her knuckles grazed his thick erection, which throbbed under her touch.

He really wants me. She still could hardly believe it. How could everything have turned around so quickly?

One minute she was plain old Bree Kincannon, going about her usual dull but pleasant existence. Now she was standing in a strange man’s apartment in her underwear, apparently on the brink of making love.

Love?

No. No one had said anything about love. Still, she couldn’t deny that she felt a special connection with Gavin. And he obviously felt it, too. Isn’t this what falling in love must be like?

“Oh!” She let out a little exclamation of surprise as he unzipped her jeans. He slid them down her thighs, caressing her skin with his mouth as he went, leaving her in only her lace-edged panties.

“You’re breathtaking,” he murmured.

Bree tried to hold up her end by undoing his jeans. Her eager fingers fumbled with the button and Gavin helped her slide them over his tight backside and down his thick, powerful thighs.

Oh, my. She’d never seen thighs like that. At least not outside an underwear commercial. Heart in her throat, she tugged at his dark gray boxers and couldn’t help gasping as his arousal sprang free.

Gavin guided her gently onto the cool sheets and tugged her panties down over her thighs.

Now she really was naked. Excitement and fear prickled in her veins.

He climbed over her, his big muscled body making hers seem almost insubstantial, and lowered himself carefully onto the bed beside her.

A gentle kiss on the lips soothed her rattled nerves. Gavin’s broad fingers roamed over her belly, leaving tingles of sensation in their wake. She tensed up slightly as he strayed between her thighs, but she parted her legs and let them in.

His fingertip probed into her warmth and she sucked in a breath as it found a sensitive spot. Her hips twitched slightly as he moved his fingers, stimulating secret places no one else had cared to explore.

Eyes closed, an expression of pleasure lighting his chiseled features, Gavin looked more heartbreakingly handsome than ever. Bree’s heart squeezed. Could he be the one?

She’d more or less given up hoping that Prince Charming would come sweep her off her feet. Every little girl has that dream, but a grown woman of twenty-nine has learned that most frogs don’t improve all that much upon kissing.

Ooh. She wriggled as Gavin’s fingers sent a shockwave zinging through her. A tiny moan escaped her lips. Gavin’s eyes opened a crack, and a wicked smile played at the edges of his sensual mouth.

Hot and slick under his touch, she felt more aroused than ever in her life. Gavin eased closer, until their bodies pressed together all the way from his broad shoulders to his sturdy thighs. Then he raised himself up onto a powerful arm, rolled on a condom with expert ease, and climbed over her.

She couldn’t help an involuntary shudder as he entered her. All her nerve endings were alive and buzzing. Eyes closed, she gave herself over to the sensation. Her fingers dug into the hard muscle of his back as he slid inside her, slow and gentle, opening her like a secret chamber left unexplored for far too long.

Once inside her, Gavin released a throaty moan—a sound of relief mingled with pleasure. He started to move, and Bree’s hips automatically joined in the dance, just as her body had flowed with his so readily on the dance floor at the charity gala. Maybe they were meant to be together….

She let the delicious thought flow through her as she followed him into a new realm of pleasure. Gavin’s hands roamed over her body, squeezing and enjoying every inch of her, as they moved together. She explored the muscled ridges of his back and the firm curve of his backside.

Desire fluttered in her chest—and in all kinds of places she didn’t know existed—as Gavin deftly shifted them into different positions. Heat pulsed through her and her thoughts jumbled and scattered as primal sensation shoved thought aside. Her body cleaved to his, writhing and twisting, steamy and slick.

She arched under him, taking him deeper, her breath coming in unsteady gasps, until suddenly everything exploded.

Or imploded.

Her body convulsed and twitched as tidal waves of wringing pleasure crashed through her bloodstream.

Then a low groan filled the air and she felt Gavin’s arms wrapped around her like a vice. He throbbed inside her, sending further sparks of nuclear fission to her fingers and toes.

“Wow.” His voice, thick and rough, echoed her exclamation after their kiss.

“Uh-huh,” she murmured back, half amazed that she could still use language. Her brain seemed to have switched off for a few moments there. She opened her eyelids a tiny bit and her gaze locked onto Gavin’s. His gray eyes dark with passion, he gazed at her, wrapped up in her completely.

Bree’s chest tightened, filled with too much emotion. Gavin Spencer was too much for her. Way too much. Sweet, kind, caring, thoughtful—and ridiculously handsome. Things like this didn’t happen to her. She was boring old Bree, the one you could always count on in a pinch because you knew she’d be free.

Or was she?

Maybe, after Elle’s clever alterations, and with the help of Gavin’s experienced touch, she’d truly morphed and changed into someone new. Someone exciting and desirable, whose life would now unfurl and brighten like a flower after the rain.

“I’ve never met anyone quite like you, Bree.” Gavin rested his head on the pillow, peering at her through sleepy, half-closed eyes.

“Me? There’s nothing special about me.” She kicked herself for giving in to the familiar urge to run herself down.

A frown furrowed Gavin’s brow. “Everything about you is special.” He stroked her chin with his thumb. “You’re warm and kind and caring. You’re clever and creative and artistic.”

Bree swallowed. She’d heard those before. They were the kind of compliments her starchy aunts offered, usually after critiquing her posture and lamenting her lack of marital prospects.

“And you’re the best looking woman in San Francisco.”

“Only in San Francisco?” She couldn’t help teasing. His smoky gaze roamed over her naked body making her feel like the most beautiful woman on earth.

“Definitely in the whole Bay area. And the State of California. And the entire West Coast.”

Bree mock pouted. “And there I was hoping for the Midwest, as well.”

“I haven’t spent much time there so I’m not an authority.” His narrowed gaze twinkled with mischief.

“Never mind then.” She tossed her curls. Gavin took one in his fingers and tried it on like a ring. “That’s rather suggestive,” she murmured.

“Perhaps that’s my intention.” He cocked his head slightly.

She bit her lip to stop a naughty smile sneaking across her mouth. “Shouldn’t we get some sleep? Tomorrow’s a workday.”

“Actually, I’m on vacation. Had to use it or lose it.”

“Lucky you.”

“But if you have a busy day, I quite understand.” He twirled her curl softly around his finger.

“Actually, I don’t.” She didn’t have any plans at all, in fact.

“Then I have an idea.” His brow furrowed again. “A big idea. A crazy, mad, wonderful idea.”

Curiosity prickled through Bree. “What?”

He shifted until he was sitting up. “I’ll be right back.”

With a navy towel around his waist, Gavin strode to the study.

Crazy.

Definitely crazy, but the idea had seized him. Maybe because everything about Bree felt so right. Their lovemaking was sensational. Bree was every bit as passionate and erotic as he’d imagined, and that unbelievable body of hers…. He frowned at the erection already getting started again.

Mad.

No question he was mad. Everyone would tell him that. Heck, Bree would probably tell him that. They’d only known each other for two and a half weeks. But sometimes the universe was on your side and everything came together, like the time he won the big Stayco account.

No. This was nothing like the time he won the Stayco account. That was a business relationship. This would be a lifetime commitment.

His chest tightened. A lifetime with Bree. Right now that seemed very appealing.

In the study, the display on the digital clock gave off just enough illumination for him to see the drawer handles.

Yes, the one million dollars offered by her father was an enticement. But it wasn’t the only one, not by any means. It was more like a pearl necklace around the neck of a beautiful woman: it enhanced her appeal, rather than overshadowed it.

Wonderful.

That’s how things could be if everything went according to plan. He and Bree could buy a nice house somewhere—maybe even Russian Hill, he’d always liked that area.

He could finally start his own company and settle into an exciting yet comfortable existence as a man in charge of his own destiny.

Excitement swelled inside him. He pulled open the top drawer and reached into its dark interior. Past the paper clips and stapler, his fingertips settled on a smooth leather box. He picked it up. The gold embossed around the edges glowed in the green light from the clock. He’d had no idea what to do with this ring when he was given it, but suddenly it seemed like just another perfectly fitting piece in the puzzle of his life.

He flipped open the lid to reveal a lovely Art Deco ring, three flawless diamonds—a large one flanked by two smaller ones—in a pretty setting. Most people probably would have sold it, but he couldn’t do that. It had belonged to his grandmother, one of the most amazing people he’d ever met. She’d encouraged his creative ambitions, taking him to drama class and music lessons, paying for summer arts camp when his parents had disapproved.

She’d left him the ring in her will. At the time he’d wondered why, but now he knew. She wanted him to give it to the woman he loved.

Gavin drew in a ragged breath and plucked the ring from its satin bed. Would Bree be offended by the offer of a used ring? She was an heiress, after all, able to buy whatever she wanted without a thought.

The ring glittered as he examined it. Bree wasn’t flashy or pretentious, he thought. Deep down, he suspected the sentimental value of a ring might be more important than its market price.