Rush

and then sent you
     home with explicit instructions to be in his office at ten this morning.”
    Mia slouched on the couch across from her roommate and best friend, Caroline, and
     rubbed her eyes in an effort to get rid of the fog hanging over her. She hadn’t slept
     at all the night before. How could she? Gabe had tilted her entire universe and now
     ten o’clock was bearing down on her and she had no idea what she was supposed to do.
    “Pretty much, yeah,” Mia replied.
    Caroline made an exaggerated face and then fanned herself with one hand. “And here
     I thought you couldn’t possibly have as good a time as we did. But I sure as hell
     wasn’t kissed by a gorgeous billionaire.”
    “But why?” Mia asked, frustration making her voice edgy. It was a question she’d asked
     herself repeatedly during her sleepless vigil.
Why
had he kissed her? Why did he want to see her now when he’d seemed to spend so much
     time avoiding her?
    It hadn’t been a request, but then Gabe Hamilton never
asked
for anything. He gave orders and he expected results. And she didn’t know what it
     said about her that she found that particular trait delicious. It made her all warm
     and shivery inside.
    Caroline rolled her eyes. “He wants you, chica. And why wouldn’t he? You’re young
     and hot, and I bet you’ve starred in his fantasies a time or two over the years.”
    Mia wrinkled her nose. “You make it sound so icky.”
    “Oh for God’s sake. It’s not like you haven’t lusted over him since you were a teenager.
     And it’s not like he ever acted on those urges. You’re twenty-four now, not sixteen.
     Big difference.”
    “I just wish I knew what he wanted,” Mia said, worry evident in her tone.
    “If you have to wonder that after he threatened to fuck you on the terrace then there’s
     no hope for you,” Caroline said in exasperation.
    She made a show of checking her watch and then leveled a pointed stare in Mia’s direction.
    “Girlfriend, you’ve got less than an hour to get ready before you have to leave. I
     suggest you get off the couch and go make yourself look fabulous.”
    “I don’t even know what I’m going to wear,” Mia muttered.
    Caroline smiled. “I do. Come on. You’ve got a man to dazzle.”
    Dazzle?
Mia wanted to laugh. If anyone was dazzled, it was her. She was so befuddled by the
     events of the night before that she was going to be a walking disaster if and when
     she actually made it into Gabe’s office.
    • • •
    Gabe fingered the contract he’d taken out and stared at the front page, silent as
     he contemplated the exact path he wanted to take with Mia. It was new for him to spend
     any time pondering how he handled his approach. He only did things one way. Straightforward.
     He treated his personal relationships as he didhis business. There was no room for emotion, even in a relationship. He’d got caught
     with his pants down once—completely blindsided if he was going to be brutally honest
     with himself—and he’d sworn it would never happen again.
    There was nothing like being made a complete fool of by a woman he’d trusted implicitly
     to ensure he didn’t travel that path again.
    It wasn’t as if he’d sworn off women—he liked them too much. Loved the feel of a submissive
     woman under his hands and tutelage. But his approach had changed. The way he dealt
     with them had changed. He hadn’t had a choice.
    But Mia…
    He couldn’t pretend she wasn’t different from any other woman he’d had. She was. She
     wasn’t just another female face that he might view with affection, but keep his distance
     from any messy entanglements. The women he chose to be with knew the score. They knew
     what was expected of them and what they could expect in return.
    Mia was Jace’s baby sister. Beyond that, she’d been a girl he’d watched grow up. Hell,
     he’d attended her high school graduation. He’d scowled at her prom date when the little
     prick had come to pick her up. He’d enjoyed watching the jerk’s balls shrivel up when
     he, Jace and Ash had told him in no uncertain terms what would happen if he disrespected
     Mia in any way.
    He’d seen her when she’d visited Jace at holidays and when she was out of school.
     He’d even gone to her college graduation.
    That had been a hell unto itself, because Mia had blossomed into a stunning young
     woman. She no longer had the look of a much younger, innocent girl. He didn’t even
     want to think of