this?” he asked and skimmed his fingers up the back of her leg.
Gabby laughed and pulled her legs out of his reach. “Yes. You’re horrible!”
“Yes. I agree that I’m a very bad influence.” He pulled her closer and looked down at her, not letting her cover herself with the sheet which she constantly tried to do unless he was making love to her. “So what are you going to do about that?”
She looked up at the ceiling, trying to control her laughter. “Um…maybe I’ll have to spank you.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “I’d like to see you try.” He laughed at her feigned outrage and stood up. “I think it’s time for dinner. You made me Italian for lunch, let’s have something interesting for dinner.”
Gabby laughed and slipped out of the bed herself, grabbing her robe and pulling it on quickly. She knew that he’d seen every part of her body, but there was just something about standing in front of him naked that she couldn’t do. At least not when they weren’t about to have sex. “You don’t need to buy me dinner.”
He rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand. “Come on. Let’s shower and then I’m taking you out to dinner. You need sustenance for the night ahead.”
Gabby laughed, delighted that he still wanted to stay the night. “Don’t you ever get tired?”
“Not lately,” he replied as he untied her robe and let it slip to the bathroom floor. “But you’re sore, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” She was relieved that he understood that she felt as if every part of her body had been slightly bruised.
“I wish I could say that I’m sorry, but I’m not.” He turned on the water and adjusted the temperature before pulling her under the spray. He didn’t touch her sexually, but lathered every part of her including her hair. It felt wonderful having his strong hands massage her tired, sore muscles. She was about to turn around and repay the effort, but he grabbed the soap and did it himself. “Don’t you want me to…” she started to say, but he shook his head. “If you do that, we won’t be out of this shower and you’re already tender. Go find something pretty to wear and I’ll be out in a moment.”
She grabbed a towel and stepped out of the shower, drying herself off and hurrying though her dressing process, not wanting to be naked around him again but also not wanting him to tease her about her shyness. She started to lift up a black dress that was one of her more sophisticated, but he stepped out of the bathroom at that moment and picked out a red one from her closet. “Would you wear this for me?” he asked and kissed her neck.
She shrugged and looked down at the dress. It wasn’t one she wore often, not as comfortable in red because of the intensity, but if he liked it, she’d go for it. She was amazed at how much she wanted to please him. This was another change from her previous relationships, she thought. Normally, she didn’t really go out of her way to please the man in her life. Probably a big warning sign, she told herself silently.
Then again, why did she want to please Damon so much? They had spent less than a day together. Wasn’t it wrong to feel this intensely towards a man she barely knew?
Gabby ignored those voices of doubt. Damon was fun and interesting and the most stimulating man she’d ever met. “Sure. Is there a particular restaurant you’d like to eat at?” She slipped the dress over her head and zipped it up. “I’ll call ahead to get a space.” She walked over to her dresser and started fluffing her hair, wondering if she had time to straighten the curls. She wished she could have sleek, sophisticated hair instead of this mess of craziness.
“I had my assistant make reservations,” he came back and pulled out his phone, said something terse and a moment later, walked to the front door. When he came back into her bedroom, he was carrying a wardrobe bag which turned out to contain a dark suit and all the items he needed to