gave her a head start.
A low growl rose from the back of Gabriel’s throat as he flung open his own door and raced out in grim pursuit. As he came around the car in the street, heading toward the curb, a red sedan nearly hit him. The driver honked angrily, but Gabriel didn’t even pause, just leaped recklessly over the hood. He ran into his building’s private lobby, across the marble floor. Ignoring the greetings of the guards, he ran for the private elevator just in time to see the silver doors slide together in front of Laura’s face. Their eyes met for a single instant, and he saw the small smile that curved her lips. Then she was gone.
Gabriel cursed under his breath. He pressed the elevator button impatiently, multiple times, then rushed inside as soon as the door opened. When he arrived at the penthouse, he followed her voice.
“So Robby had a good day?” he heard her say from the terrace.
“Yes, Senhora Laura,” Maria replied. “He had a good lunch, good play and is now having his second nap.”
Breathing hard, Gabriel saw them through the windows, out on the terrace. The older woman was sitting in a lounge chair, with a glass of lemonade and the baby monitor on the table beside her, placidly knitting in the warm Brazilian sunshine.
“Did he miss me?” Laura’s voice trembled. “Did he cry for me?”
“No, Mrs. Laura,” she said kindly. “He had a happy day. But of course he will be glad to see his mama. He should wake soon. Perhaps you would like to take him on a walk?”
“Yes, I would like that. Thank you, Maria.”
Laura turned and headed back inside. Gabriel ducked into the corner as she opened the sliding glass doors. Still holding her towel over her body, she started down the hall toward her bedroom.
He moved fast, springing like a jaguar. He heard her gasp as he shoved her through the open doorway of his room, pushing her against the wall. The towel dropped from her hands as he closed the door behind him with a bang. Grasping her wrists, he held her against the wall.
Without a word, without asking permission, he kissed her.
He felt the heat of her skin, covered only by the tiny bikini as he crushed her against the wall with his bare chest. Releasing her wrists, he grabbed the back of her head with his hand. Holding her tight against him, he kissed her savagely, hard enough to bruise, ruthlessly taking his pleasure.
CHAPTER NINE
WITH a gasp, Laura pulled back her hand and slapped his face.
“How dare you!” she cried.
The sound of the slap echoed in the bedroom. He stared at her incredulously, his hand on his cheek. Then his eyes narrowed. “Why are you pretending it’s not exactly what you want?”
Laura sucked in her breath, feeling overwhelmed by need for what she could not—could not—allow herself to have. “Even if I want you, Gabriel, I know you’re no good for me. It nearly killed me last year after our night together when you kicked me out of your life—”
“Kicked you out of my life?” he demanded. “You’re the one who left!”
“You didn’t try to talk me out of it. You didn’t even ask me to stay!”
“I was trying to do what was best for you,” he said. “I knew you wanted a husband, children. You needed a boss who didn’t demand your life and soul. You needed a man who could love you as I cannot. So I gave you up, when it was the last thing I wanted! And what did you do?” He glowered. “You let yourself get pregnant by some cold bastard who cannot even be bothered to pay child support or visit his son!”
Tears streamed down her face as she shook her head. “Why do you keep torturing me about my pregnancy?”
“Because it means I sacrificed you for nothing!” “Sacrificed?” she cried.
He grabbed her shoulders. “Don’t you know how much I’ve wanted you, all this time?” His eyes searched hers fiercely. “Do you know how I’ve dreamed of you? In my office. In my bed!” His fingers tightened painfully on her shoulders. “If I’d known you would settle for so little, I would never have let you go!”
Panting with anger, they stared at each other in the shadowy bedroom, the only sound the violent rasping of their breath. His eyes were dark and furious with denied desire. His gaze fell to her lips.
“Laura…” he whispered.
She jumped when she heard Robby suddenly crying on the other side of the wall. All the shouting and the banging must have woken him.
“I’m not that virgin secretary anymore,” she murmured, “free to make whatever stupid choices I want. I’m a mother now. My baby comes first.” Setting her jaw, she pulled away from Gabriel. Stopping at the door, she looked back at him. “I gave in to passion once before,” she said quietly. “And it nearly killed me.”
Leaving him, she went to her own bedroom and locked the door behind her before she gathered her crying baby in her arms. Robby’s plaintive wail instantly stopped as she cuddled him close. She breathed in the sweet smell of his hair.
She heard a low knock on the door.
“Laura.” Gabriel’s voice was muffled. “Go away.”
“I want to talk to you.”
“No.”
Silence fell on the other side of the door and she thought he’d left. She sat down in the rocking chair and held Robby in the darkness of the shuttered bedroom. Then Robby started to squirm and complain. Clearly, his nap was over and he was ready to play.
Setting her baby down on the carpet, with a pillow beside him in case he suddenly forgot how to sit and toppled over, she looked through the shopping bags that Mrs. Tavares had sent and selected some dark jeans and a white tank top. Pulling them on over a new bra and panties, Laura lifted her son onto her hip and quietly unlocked her door. Holding her breath, she peeked out into the hallway.
Gabriel stood leaning against the wall, waiting for her in jeans and a black T-shirt. His eyes were dark, almost ominous.
“Planning to sneak out?”
She took a deep breath, then tossed her head defiantly. “I’m taking my son for a walk.” “You need to get ready for the gala.” “It will just have to wait.”
He stared at her, then set his jaw. “Fine. Then I’ll come with you.”
“Come with me?” she repeated incredulously.
He moved toward her quick as a flash, scooping Robby from her arms.
“Hey!” she cried.
Gabriel looked down at the baby, who was staring up at him with a transfixed expression. A shadow of a smile passed over Gabriel’s handsome face. Turning, he opened the front closet and pulled out a folded stroller, an expensive brand that she would never have purchased on her own. Still holding the baby with one powerful arm, Gabriel opened the stroller with his other, in one easy gesture.
Her jaw fell. “How did you know how to do that?”
He shrugged.
She tried again. “Have you ever been around a baby before?”
He looked away. “It’s madness outside. You are my guests. I will keep you safe.”
“To protect us from a festival on Ipanema Beach? We’re just going for a walk!”
“Funny. So am I.”
“You’re being ridiculous.”
Putting Robby into the stroller, he clicked the baby’s seat belt, then without a word, pressed the elevator button. The doors opened and he pushed the stroller onto it. Looking at her, Gabriel waited.
Exhaling, she followed him onto