Authors: Leslie Parrish
with her and her col eagues on the other—she had to again count her
blessings that he’d been the one to land this case. She put a hand on his arm,
feeling the bunched muscles tense beneath the sweaty male skin. “I won’t,
okay?”
He hesitated, then shook his head, slowly, his gaze locked on her face. “I’m
swimming upstream here, Liv. I have no idea what the hel I’m doing, but I
couldn’t make myself stop, even if I wanted to.”
Now she understood why he’d needed to come here rather than cal to tel
her what had happened. It was as if he needed to see her to convince himself
he was stil doing the right thing, as if he trusted her, drew some kind of
strength from her. Maybe it was because he’d been there, had borne witness
when she’d connected with Zachary. It wasn’t easy for anybody to let go of a
lifelong certainty that some things couldn’t possibly exist—it had been hard
enough for her. For a blunt skeptic like him? Wel , she had to admit, the man’s
courage in stepping out onto this huge limb with her stunned her a bit. Hel .
Everything about him stunned her a bit. It had from the minute he’d saved her
life last week.
“Thank you, Gabe,” she whispered. “Knowing someone who has so much to
lose is putting this much faith in me . . . wel , I can never express how much I
appreciate it.” Unable to help it, she moved closer, her hand tightening on his
arm, until they stood just a few inches apart.
“I’m not good at ignoring my head and going with my heart,” he said, his
voice low.
His tone and the way he looked at her made her wonder if they were stil
talking about just the case. There was something intimate in that stare, in the
way his eyes dropped to her lips and his own parted on a slow breath. She
sensed he was referring to something a lot more personal. Like the fact that
he’d been tel ing himself she was out of his league, that they were wrong for
each other . . . when his heart was saying
to hell with all that
.
She desperately wanted him to listen to his heart, to touch her, to finish what
they’d started this afternoon in the conference room. But she’d initiated both
their intimate encounters. If Gabe real y needed to get his head involved in
whatever crazy—yet also wonderful—thing was happening between them, he
needed to make the next move.
“Are you sure you don’t want to sit down, relax, and have a beer?” she
asked, leaving it entirely in his hands.
He hesitated, as if tempted, then looked down at himself. “I’m a mess. But,
maybe I could use your bathroom and at least wash my hands before I go?”
She pointed toward a half-open door down the hal . “It’s right there.” Then
she added, “I’l be in the den—with your beer. If you’re real y stressed about
being dirty, just jump in the shower while you’re in there. Towels are under the
sink.”
She didn’t add that she was having a hard time wondering how she’d feel
sitting one room away while he stripped out of his clothes and washed every
inch of that big, broad body in her downstairs bathroom. Some things were
just better left unsaid. Or unthought.
Going into the other room, she almost held her breath, waiting to hear either
the sink or the shower. One would indicate he intended to simply say
goodbye, then leave; the other that he had reconsidered and might stick
around awhile.
After a long moment, she heard the shower go on.
Olivia smiled. So far, she suspected his head was making the same
decisions his heart would have. That made her happy, not just because she
hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the intimate moments they’d shared,
but also because she’d just gotten used to being in his company over the past
few days. It was amazing how quickly she’d gotten used to having him there.
She liked spending time with him and wanted more of that. Maybe,
someday, they’d even get to spend
normal
time together—going out for
dinner, taking a walk—but for right now, even tense, crazy, madness-is-al -
around-us time would do.
Something was building between them, something insistent, something
real. It wasn’t just sexual—although, yes, they were going to have sex sooner
or later, of that she had no doubt.
There was more, though. Having spent so much time with him over the past
few days, she realized she liked him, very much. More than liked him, real y. In
fact, he seemed like exactly the kind of man she could love. That combination
of blunt strength and sweet tenderness was nearly irresistible. When you threw
in the intel igence, the determination, the flashes of wit, the inherent kindness,
and an overwhelming sexiness, he added up to her perfect man.
She honestly hadn’t been sure men like him were stil around, much less
living in Georgia, working as cops.
Her mind whirling with al those thoughts, she didn’t even notice he was
finished with his shower until he walked into the den. At which point she
couldn’t think a single damn thing.
Because he’d put his jeans back on . . . but nothing else.
The jeans looked great. The nothing? Absolutely amazing.
Olivia’s heart leapt. The man was just stunning. No pale, lean, nine-to-five
body here; he was built like a boxer: smal waisted and lean hipped but so
muscled and toned through the arms, chest and shoulders that he looked
capable of lifting a car. His bare chest gleamed with moisture and steam from
the shower, and his muscles rippled with every movement as he toweled his
stil wet hair. Droplets fel from the damp strands, landing on his shoulders and
sliding down. They left faint zigzag lines that disappeared into dark, wiry chest
hair that swirled over the top of his chest.
“I’m gonna run out to my car and grab my gym bag. My workout clothes have
to smel better than these,” he said.
She tried to speak with too dry a mouth. Lifting her glass, she sipped her
water, then managed to mumble, “It’s fine. You don’t have to.”
“Hey, are you okay?”
She managed a tiny nod but kept her attention on her drink, not on him.
He apparently noticed that and misinterpreted. Moving closer, he put a hand
on her shoulder. “Liv, what’s wrong?”
She closed her eyes, breathing deeply as two strong scents fil ed her nose:
clean and male. Gabe moved his hand to her hair, running his fingers through
a few long strands, and she quivered a little. Did this smart man real y have no
clue what he was doing to her?
“What is it?”
No, he obviously did not. “Nothing. Just . . . go, do whatever you have to do.”
Before I do something I don’t want to do—like trying to encourage you to
think with a part of your anatomy other than your brain.
It wasn’t his heart she was referring to.
How could she not be thinking of that when he was standing right beside
her, his jean-clad legs a few inches away? He was so close she felt the
warmth as the moisture evaporated off his skin. The man was the most
sexual y exciting creature she had ever seen in her life, he was half naked,
and, given where he was standing, his groin was probably no more than eight
inches from her right cheek—not that she was looking. Hel , no.
Her voice obviously hadn’t convinced him, because Gabe suddenly
dropped to one knee beside her chair. “Talk to me. What is it? Are you upset
about what I told you? Do you want me to go?”
Men could be so incredibly dense. Final y swinging her head to look at him,
she snapped, “I’m trying to be honorable here, okay?”
His eyebrows almost shot up into his hairline. “Excuse me?”
“You said you weren’t used to fol owing your heart instead of your head, so
I’m trying to back off, let you real y think about what you want and not influence
you either way.”
“Influence me?” he said, sounding innocent, but she’d swear a hint of
mischief lurked on those incredibly soft lips.
“Gabe,” she said, speaking through almost clenched teeth, “I’m not going to
make the first move
again
, damn it, and then have you later say your head
wasn’t in the game. So if you want me, you’d better do something about it.”
That was a risk, but she was tired of dancing around this. She wanted him
badly but on open, aboveboard terms. No seductions, no stolen embraces
driven by pity or anything else.
After a moment that lasted just a couple of seconds but felt longer, Gabe
did something about it. Without another word, he cupped her face in his hands
and leaned in close.
She had a moment, one single moment to think,
Thank God.
Then he was
kissing her, tasting her, answering al her questions with warm, deep thrusts of
his tongue. He was hungrier than the other times they’d kissed, as if
desperate to memorize every inch of her mouth. It was as though he wanted to
claim her, make sure he kissed her so wel and so deeply that no man would
ever come close to giving her this kind of pleasure again.
Somehow, she already knew none would. Certainly none ever had before.
Without pausing, he dropped those powerful hands to her hips and tugged
her forward. Olivia parted her legs, al her feminine instincts taking over. There
was no deliberation, no thought, just pure reaction to the feel of him, his smel ,
his hot, hard body pressed against hers.
“Mmm,” she groaned when she let her hands begin traveling over that
muscular form. She kneaded the powerful shoulders, then felt her way down
his chest, twining her fingers in the crisp brown hair that ringed his nipples until
he hissed against her mouth.
Gabe seemed to want to touch her just as much. He reached for the front of
her sleeveless blouse and tugged, hard, sending buttons flying in al
directions. Not that she gave a damn.
“I’l replace it,” he mumbled against her lips.
“No need; I stock up at the dol ar store.”
He laughed softly, and she wanted to swal ow that laughter down, loving the
light, happy way he made her feel. She wished she could bottle this euphoria
to drink from later, a constant reminder that she
could
feel light of heart, could
flirt and be sil y and fun and have a sexy, playful relationship with a man. This
man.
Of al the things she so found so perfect about Gabe, that was one of the
biggest. Though they’d been surrounded by darkness almost since the
moment they’d met, he could, at times, make her feel so carefree. Like she
was just a typical twenty-seven-year-old with no baggage and with nothing but
brightness and al kinds of possibility laid out in front of them. As if they could
just be normal, be at the start of something wonderful.
We are.
She didn’t question the whisper in her mind; she knew it was right. They
were starting something wonderful; she only hoped the evil around them didn’t
bring it crashing down.
“Liv, you take my breath away,” he said, staring down at her, his eyes
narrowed, lips parted as his deep, audible breaths passed over them.
She smiled, more sure of herself as a woman than she’d ever been in her
life. Because she saw how much he wanted her. Hunger, lust, desire—they
dripped from the man.
“Take me to bed, Gabe,” she ordered.
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
He stood and picked her up by the waist, looping an arm beneath her
bottom. Olivia wrapped her legs around his hips, wanting to cry at how big, hot
and hard he felt.
Al that heat would soon be inside her, driving away any remnants of cold,
making her forget what her body had ever felt like before he’d been a part of
it.
He groaned, as if he could feel the heat of her through his jeans and her
slacks, then bent to kiss her again. That kiss continued, deep and wet, as he
walked al the way upstairs and straight to her bedroom. He didn’t reach for
the light; the moon was ful and shiny, gleaming through the door that led out to
the balcony. And a mil ion stars seemed to have burst through the humid sky to
brighten this one perfect night.
When they reached the bed, he sat on its edge, keeping her on his lap. She
scratched his back lightly, loving the way his tongue moved in and out of her
mouth like he was already making love to her. His kisses both fil ed her up and
made her desperately hungry for more.
Moving his mouth across her cheek, he kissed her, nibbling lightly, right
down to her neck. Olivia liked the direction he was heading and leaned back,
trusting him to hold her, not to let her fal . Funny how much she trusted this man
already. He hadn’t let her fal emotional y throughout the rol er-coaster ordeal
of the past few days, and she knew, down to her soul, that he would move
heaven and earth to make sure nothing ever hurt her physical y.
“Please,” she murmured, arching her back further, needing a more intimate