Resisting Sin (Gold Diggers #1)

Episode 13 : Hunger

The grounds of the beachfront estate was ablaze with lights. Hayley could hear the music pulsing even from a distance; it grew louder as they approached. The party had started.

The crushed seashells crunched under the wheels of the car as Hayley pulled up the driveway. The sound of a helicopter landing nearby was loud enough to be audible over the music, and it startled her as she was parking the Porsche. At her raised eyebrows, Gabriel simply said, "Some of the guests are traveling from out of town."

"Right," she said as she turned off the engine.

Four young men in impeccable white evening jackets, grey dress pants, and neat snow-colored gloves were standing in attendance just outside the doors. Two of the men had walked down the front steps as they pulled up.

Gabriel tossed his car key to one of them.

"Aren't we getting our things?" Hayley said, glancing at the boot of the car where their overnight bags were stored.

"They'll take it up to our room," he said.

They walked up the steps to the open, wide entrance to the Spanish-Mediterranean-style house.

"This way, Mr. Sin. Ms. Denton," said the tallest of the doormen, leading the way inside. "Mr. Lam is with the guests outside. Dinner will be served in a few minutes."

"Thank you," Gabriel said. "We'll find our way."

The doorman stopped. "Yes, sir." With a short bow, he left them.

"How do they know which room is ours?" she said. He hadn't said a word to any of the staff.

"They know who we are. They know who all the guests are."

"Oh."

"I'm going to kiss you."

She froze in her steps.

They were walking through a wide hallway. When he noticed she had fallen behind, he paused and turned, Seeing her expression of alarm, he added, "Not now, obviously." He held out his hand to urge her forward.

"Obviously," she echoed, still not moving. There was an odd tingling in her arms and it took her a moment to remember to breathe.

When it was clear Hayley wasn't moving, Gabriel dropped his outstretched arm. In a few long, lazy strides, he closed the distance between them.

Her gaze was drawn to his lips. Damn it. Why did he mention kissing? Heat bloomed in her cheeks.

In a panic, she lifted her eyes to his. Big mistake. His gaze was cool, as though he'd just commented on the weather. But for some reason, her body prickled with heat.

"We've been dating for only a few days," he said.

"A week," she said, remembering their cover story.

This close, she could smell the spice of his aftershave, the musk of his cologne, and that hot, heady male scent. Being this close to him was dangerous. He was too beautiful, the low rumble of his voice too full of the promise of intimacy. But she couldn't make herself take one step backward. Not even when he wrapped his large — oh so large — hands over her hips. When his thumbs began to stroke her sides, her back arched and her heels lifted off the floor.

"Yes?" she said in an attempt to quell the moan that was threatening to escape her. "I mean... yes."

"That means we can't keep our hands off each other."

"We can't?" Her words came out in a whisper, barely audible over the furious beating of her heart.

"No."