Bound by Love's Gravity (6 page)

“Are you going to leave, Ansley? Or am I going to have to kick you out?” he asked, suffusing his every word with an arctic air. “Because right now I have no problem with either.”

Ansley giggled. “I’m sure you don’t. You wouldn’t want me to call you on your bullshit.”

Deke frowned but still didn’t rise to her bait. He remained silent and aloof as he wound his way around the boxes to Sarah’s dilapidated couch. Dropping down, he threw an arm across the back of the sofa with a grunt. “See you later, Ansley.”

“Dream on, bossman,” she retorted. “I think I’ll hang around and watch the sparks fly. I have to live vicariously, you know. It’s not like Hale or Wyatt are ever going to do anything fun with me.”

Deke rolled his eyes. “I wish they would. Maybe then, you’ll keep your nose out of everything.”

“Not hardly. You’ll have to kill me first.”

“Why is Deke killing you this time?” Adam inquired drolly as he approached with Sarah tucked into his side. “Did you give Wyatt another prostate exam when he didn’t need it?”

Sarah choked, her face flaming red, and Deke couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face. She was cute, too cute for a man like him. “You did that? Really?” Sarah asked, clearly astonished by Ansley’s audacity.

Ansley grinned proudly. “Yes, I did.”

“She tried that on me once,” Adam told Sarah. “But I didn’t fall for it.”

Sarah shook her head, sending the strands of her rich caramel-colored hair from side to side. “You’re too smart for that, huh?”

Deke had to clench his hands into fists to fight off the urge to toy with Sarah’s silky hair as the tips brushed along her graceful neck. He had to draw his hands even tighter when a couple of stray tendrils fell forward and framed her pretty face, making his fingers itch to feel the warmth her rosy cheeks would radiate.

Staring at Deke’s hands, Adam smirked. “Much too smart.”

Ansley snorted. “He’s not that smart. Wyatt warned him ahead of time.”

“Oh, really?” Sarah asked innocently but there was laughter in her gray eyes.

Ansley nodded. “Really. If Adam were half as smart as he thinks he is, he would have jumped your bones already. And if Deke were half as smart as his IQ says he is, he would have joined in the festivities.”

Sarah’s eyes grew round, the delicate blush staining her cheeks darkening to crimson. Deke almost felt sorry for her. But he was too riled up by Ansley’s high-handedness. “Time to go, Ansley,” he ordered. “You need to get to work before you’re late. From what I hear, the bosses are hard-asses about tardiness.”

Ansley winked at Sarah saucily. “My work here’s done.”

Sarah bit her bottom lip, clearly trying to hold back a laugh.

But Adam didn’t. He guffawed. “Yes it is,” he murmured. “Couldn’t have done it better myself.”

Blowing a kiss to Sarah, Ansley headed for the nearest exit. As she swung open the door, she peered over her shoulder. “Oh, yes you could have, Adam. I have faith in you.” A second later, Ansley was gone, closing the door behind her with a barely audible click.

Frowning, Deke considered Ansley’s too-obvious comment. She, like everyone else, thought Adam could convince him to change his mind about claiming Sarah. After all, he had fought for Deke and won seventeen years ago. But they couldn’t be more wrong.

The situation was completely different this time. Deke had too much to lose. There was too much at stake. So one way or another, Deke had to win the game Adam was dying to play. If he didn’t, he could very well lose his heart and destroy them all.

* * * *

Well
. Sarah didn’t know what to say as she remained plastered to Adam’s side. She knew she should speak up, but her tongue had glued itself to the roof of her mouth and her jaw was clenched to the point of pain.

Unable to do anything to help the sudden tension in her living room, Sarah looked up at Adam with pleading eyes. He smiled at her and nodded. “Why don’t we get some stuff unpacked?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Deke muttered. Getting to his feet abruptly, he removed his suit jacket and folded the fabric in half before laying it on the arm of her couch. “Why don’t you two start in the kitchen? I’ll work in here.” He swiftly turned his back on them, openly dismissing both her and Adam.

Sarah frowned, not liking that he was dumping her with his partner rather than spending a few minutes alone with her.
Heaven forbid.
“Why don’t you and I start in the kitchen, Deke?” she asked, her voice telling him that she wasn’t giving him an option.

Adam stiffened beside her, but she didn’t back down. “I’ll go work on the bedroom,” he said. “You’re going to need somewhere to sleep, sweet pea.”

Sarah nodded her agreement then smiled up at him gratefully. “Yes I will.”

Deke mumbled something unintelligible. However, he didn’t deny her. “Let’s go in the kitchen and get this over with,” he grumbled. “Then I need to get going. I have important things to do.”

“So do I,” she shot back.

Deke glowered but came forward and clasped her elbow with a firm yet gentle hand, presumably to guide her into the kitchen. But as soon as his warm flesh touched her, she froze. So did he.

Deke wasn’t affectionate, not with her or Adam. Not with anyone. Sarah had accepted that sad fact years ago. Even as children, she couldn’t remember him being openly demonstrative with her, Shane, or Landon. In fact, the only time she could recall that he touched her tenderly as a child was in a worn photo she carried in her wallet.

When she was six, her foster mother had snapped a picture of an eighteen-year-old Deke cuddling her close as she cried hysterically. Shane and Landon had been kneeling in front of her, trying to calm her with whatever they were whispering. It hadn’t worked. She’d been too devastated that all three of them were going away to college and leaving her alone. As expected, the boys had left the next day, and she’d spent months trying to get over what she saw as their abandonment. But now, she kept the photo on her always as a reminder of Deke’s softer side, the one she loved but rarely saw, the one he was showing her now.

Peering up at Deke, she nibbled on her bottom lip to keep a smile at bay. When she noticed his disconcerted expression, she gave up and grinned. “Come on,” she whispered, giving him an out.
This time.
“We have work to do.”

Sarah didn’t acknowledge the husky tone in her voice. Neither did he. Instead, she allowed him to lead her toward the kitchen without another word. Much to her delight, he didn’t release her, choosing to keep her pressed intimately to his side as they walked.

The feel of his powerful body beside hers heated her blood, warming her own body to a simmer. But even that didn’t drive her nearly as crazy as the smell of his cologne. Raw masculinity flowed off him and danced around her. She felt enveloped by the addictive scent, and she inhaled deeply to garner another whiff of his earthy essence.
Wow. I’m in Heaven.

Noticing movement out of the corner of her eye, Sarah slid her gaze as subtly as possible to Adam. He was disappearing down the hallway that led to her bedroom. Soon though, he was gone, out of her sight. And a second later, she heard the sound of a door creaking open then shutting.

Returning her attention to the man beside her, she sighed happily. It was just her and Mr. Cool, and he had nowhere to go. He had nowhere to hide. They were alone.
At last.

Deke guided Sarah into her cluttered kitchen. As soon as he saw the disaster awaiting them, he groaned. This was going to take forever to clean up. There were at minimum a dozen boxes scattered around the room. Some were resting on the tile flooring. Others were lying on the Formica countertop. A couple were balancing precariously on each side of the sink, and the tiny bistro table by the door had a box that covered the entire glass top.

Scrutinizing the mess, Deke wished he was anywhere but here. He was genuinely anxious about being alone with Sarah, especially considering that unpacking all of this would take time and patience he didn’t have. Right now, he was too edgy to be around polite company. And Sarah definitely fell into that category. He would be better off working alone. But that wasn’t happening. She obviously wanted him to help her, and he sucked at telling her
no.

The more Deke thought about Sarah’s effect on him, the more pissed he got at himself. He wasn’t normally the timid type. He didn’t run away from things. He faced them head-on, and he didn’t care what people thought about him afterward.

Other than with Adam, Deke was a selfish bastard. He preferred to stay that way because giving a shit about someone else sucked, especially someone as sweet and delicate as Sarah. She was his antithesis, and he wouldn’t change that about her. But it was yet another reason why he had to stay the hell away from her. She couldn’t handle who and what he was.

Deke heaved a frustrated breath. He was being a coward, just like Adam had once accused him of being. He would help Sarah, and then he would walk away. It was as simple as that. Only it wasn’t.

Weaving through the boxes, Deke tugged Sarah over to the corner where the smallest cardboard containers sat and pointed to the top one. “Start with these,” he instructed. “I’m going to work on the bigger boxes. Okay?”

She nodded before reaching for the box he’d indicated. As she attempted to lift up, she grunted. Immediately, he realized that whatever she’d packed must be heavy despite the size of the cardboard container. Unwilling to let her hurt herself, he offered, “Here, let me.” He didn’t allow her to answer him before heaving the heavy box into his arms. “What’s in this? Lead?”

She chuckled, her smoky eyes filled with merriment. “Dishes.”

“Really?” he asked, chuckling with her. “I figured this would have something like a toaster in it.”

“Sometimes big things come in small packages.”

He wasn’t touching that one. “Where do you want it?”

Indicating the counter with a jerk of her head, she said, “Over there.”

He nodded then carried the box to the counter and lowered it onto the sand-colored top. “Here you go,” he murmured.

“Thanks.”

“No problem,” he replied as he turned away from her then went to work.

Snatching up the first box, he started to unpack. Silence fell over them, but it was companionable, so he didn’t interrupt. Thankfully, she didn’t either. He wanted to get the job done then get out, preferably with as little talking as possible.

“So,” Sarah started, finally cutting through the silence, much to his dismay. “That Ansley is a nut. Isn’t she?”

He grunted his affirmative.

“I can’t believe she gave Wyatt a prostate exam.”

Deke could believe it. Ansley was Ansley, and she did whatever crazy thing popped into her mind. “Mmhmm,” he said noncommittally before opening the flaps to yet another box of appliances.

“I bet he”—she came to a halt, and he heard her gulp before she went on—“spanked her for that.”

Deke knew that if he turned around, Sarah would be blushing, her cheeks rosy with evidence of her embarrassment. He also knew that he wanted to see her adorable face flushed like that, and he was unwilling to deny himself that small pleasure. So he peeked over his shoulder. When he saw her, he barked a laugh. She
was
red, really, really red.

Clearly surprised by his out-of-character explosion, Sarah frowned. “What?” she asked as another rush of red claimed her face.

He laughed harder. God, it felt good to laugh. He’d gotten so used to being serious all the time that he hadn’t remembered how much fun laughter could be. “I’ve never heard you say the word
spank
,” he replied amusedly.

Scowling, Sarah put her hands on her hips. “I can say that word.”

Sure, she could say it. Only she rarely did. He also noticed that she hadn’t repeated herself, opting to say
that word
instead. He arched one eyebrow. “Say it again.”

Her lips curved upward, and his heart skipped a beat. “Spank.”

Deke had to bite back a groan as blood rushed from his head straight to his cock. Just one word off her lush coral lips, and he was ready to fuck. Eyeballing her petite body, he thought it was rather sad that the little innocent had no clue the kind of seductive power she had over him. If she did… Well, he would be fucked in every way possible.

Deke swallowed hard. “I think we need to take a break. Why don’t you go into the living room? I can get us something to drink from the refrigerator.”

“Nope, no can do,” she replied. “It’s empty.”

Shit
. He was stuck. “No problem.”

She gave him a sly smile, clearly understanding that he wanted away from her.

They lapsed into silence again as they resumed working. But he kept finding his eyes straying toward her, watching her flutter around the kitchen like a brilliant butterfly. She moved with a simple grace, an unconscious fluidity that entranced him, and he couldn’t stop himself from staring.

Cursing, Deke forced himself to focus on his job, not on Sarah or the warmth she awakened within him.