Authors: Kris Norris
Brooklyn
sighed and bowed her head. “I was wrong. You were just humouring me. Doing what was necessary to keep me in check. I suppose I suspected it all along, but I just didn’t want to admit it. I may be slow, but I got your message. So I did the only thing I could.” She re-crossed her arms and walked straight for the stairs, moving by him without glancing his way. “I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing. Now I suggest you go back out and take Sam to the motel. He must be freezing his ass off out there.”
“Sam’s not out there. I sent him to town when I got out.”
Brooklyn
continued up the stairs to the first landing before glancing back at him over her shoulder. “Then you can sleep on the couch. It’s a bit lumpy, but no worse than the one in your office. I’m going to bed.” She met his gaze one last time. “I expect you gone in the morning.”
Then she disappeared.
Gage stared at the empty space on the stairs, a lump so large in his throat he could hardly breathe, let alone speak.
Listening to Brooklyn’s words, seeing the pain in her eyes, was more than he could bear.
God, what had gotten into him? Where was the calm, loving tone he’d been practicing in his mind? The sweet words she’d needed to hear? The apology he owed her?
He was a bastard, and the worst type. He reran the short exchange in his mind, trying to figure out where it’d all fallen apart.
When he’d turned around.
She’d been terrified. There’d been so much white in her eyes he’d barely been able to see the vivid blue that often took his breath away. Her hands had clenched the rifle so hard the skin over her knuckles had looked transparent, and despite her best efforts, she’d trembled.
And he’d lost it.
All he could concentrate on were the images of Drake getting to her first. How the bastard would’ve easily turned the events around, perhaps raping her in her bed before waiting to take her away. He could hear her screaming, begging Drake to stop, as he pumped her mercilessly until all her fight was gone, and she just lay limp beneath him. And his emotional outburst had cost him his last opportunity to make things right.
“Fuck.”
He wanted to shout the word until the walls shook with his frustration, but it came out as little more than a whimper. Damn, where was Sam when he needed him?
When he needed a hard kick in the ass to bring him back to his senses.
To remind him who was supposed to be grovelling for another chance.
He glanced up the stairs.
Twenty feet.
That’s all that stood between them—twenty feet and six months of misunderstandings. He huffed and headed for her room. He’d come here to talk and he wasn’t leaving until he’d done just that.
Chapter Nineteen
Brooklyn
was huddled beside the window, her face reflected in the icy glass, when Gage crested the top stair and halted in the centre of her room. He could see tears drying on her cheeks, as more liquid pooled in her eyes. She looked lost, like a fallen angel searching for her faith. He fought the pain that wrenched his heart, and the guilt that swept through him like a wildfire. He needed to get through this before he allowed any emotion to cripple him.
Brooklyn
turned to face him, her eyes wide with surprise. She obviously hadn’t thought he’d follow her upstairs, and seemed unsure whether to stand up to him, or try to run past him. He took one more step forward, eliminating any hope she had of fleeing.
“Does this look like the living room to you?” She’d put just enough annoyance in her voice to sound convincing, but Gage wasn’t about to back down.
He straightened his stance, using every inch of height to increase his presence. “If you think for one minute I’m going to sleep on the couch while you’re up here…crying, you’ve got a lot to learn about me.” He raised his hand when she tried to interrupt and waved her objection away. “Not this time. You’ve had your say, now it’s my turn.” He took a deep breath. There was so much to say, but he didn’t know where to start. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and felt the soft brush of velvet against his left hand.
Her ring.
Their life.
It all came down to this.
Gage looked into her eyes, and for the first time since he’d asked her to marry him, he let his heart speak. “I didn’t come here to fight with you. As a matter of fact, the only reason Sam let me get on the plane was because I promised him I wouldn’t hurt you again.” He waved his hand in her direction. “But I can’t even do that right. I don’t know what it is when I’m around you. I get all mixed up and say or do the one thing that could make the situation worse. It’s like some kind of curse.” He sighed and wished there was something to lean against. His legs were already shaking and his vision was starting to blur. He took another deep breath. “All I really want to do is hold you.”
He looked up at Brooklyn. Her expression had softened and some of the uncertainty had faded from her eyes. He smiled at her, overwhelmed by how beautiful she was. “God, you’re beautiful.”
Brooklyn
laughed softly, her breasts moving gently against her shirt. He could see her nipples pressed against the rough fabric, and longed to wrap them in the soft warmth of his tongue. Caress the tight buds lightly with his teeth. He’d never hurt her again, if she’d only give him another chance.
He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Brooklyn.
For not being there.
For allowing my job to come between us.
For ever doubting your loyalty.
I knew in my heart I was wrong, but a part of me was all too aware I’d left you lonely too long. I was angry with myself for giving you the opportunity. But instead of kicking my own ass, I took it out on you.” He sighed and stared down at the floor. “After that night, I couldn’t look at you without seeing the hurt in your eyes. The pain I’d caused. So I stayed away. I told myself I was giving you space to deal with things…time to forgive me. That if I just waited long enough, things would fix themselves. But it was just an excuse to avoid the real issues. To admit what a jerk I’d been, and that I didn’t know how to ask for your forgiveness…or how to forgive myself.” He forced himself to meet her gaze. “I never meant to hurt you that night. I swear. If I could take it back…” His voice trailed off.
He didn’t know what else to say. His throat hurt from trying to talk past the lump and his head was spinning. Brooklyn stared at him, her mouth slightly open,
her
body frozen like a statue. He’d give anything to know what she was thinking. He tried to form the words to ask, but only a hollow whimper came out. He hung his head again, no longer able to watch her face for her reaction.
“So is that everything?” she asked.
His head whipped up. Damn, her voice was so steady and calm, as if they’d been discussing the weather and not their life. He clenched his jaw, wishing she’d just tell him to fuck off and be done with it. “Almost,” he said, wincing at the sudden harshness in his voice. “Since you woke up at the hospital, you’ve accused me, on more than one occasion, of merely fucking you. I want it on record that of all the things I’ve done wrong, that was never one of them. I’ve never fucked you. It’s always meant more to me than that, even if I didn’t know how to show it.”
“Then why…” She stopped and clamped her lips together, waving her hand in the air as if trying to erase what was on her mind. “Forget that. There’s just one thing I need to know. You’ve said everything, but what I really need to hear.” She drew herself up, pushing her chest out as she held her chin high. “Do you love me?”
Was that fear in her eyes? He looked closely.
Shit!
The woman he loved more than his own life was afraid he no longer loved her. How the hell had it come to this? Gage took an involuntary step forward, curbing the need to pull her into his arms until she felt his love for her burn her flesh.
Words.
She needed words first.
“Darling, I love you more than I ever imagined possible. So much I sometimes wonder how I’ve managed to function these past few months. My life is empty without you in it. I know you’d be foolish to give me another chance. I certainly don’t deserve it. But regardless of what you decide, I’ll still love you, and I will until the day I die.”
Gage watched a single tear pool in Brooklyn’s eye and fade slowly down her cheek. Oh God, if he’d hurt her again, he might just as well go out back and shoot himself. He held his breath, his heart jammed tight in his chest, until Brooklyn’s face slowly lit into a smile. That was his sign to move. He crossed the short distance between them, his footsteps heavy on the wooden floor, and stopped a heartbeat away. She stared up at him, her lips curved upwards, slightly opened as if she hoped he’d kiss her. Her eyes glistened in the flickering light, so full of love he felt his own tears cool his cheeks.
She sighed and reached up, softly brushing the moisture from his face. Her hand felt so small against him he couldn’t stop from placing his over top, clenching his jaw at the rush of arousal that pulsed through him as their skin touched. In that instant he realised, he not only loved her, but needed her, as surely as he needed air to breathe. She was his soul, his reason for living. He knew he’d never survive without her. He choked back the sob in his chest and brought her fingers to his lips in a gentle kiss.
“Darling…”
“
Shhh
,” she whispered, placing a soft finger across his mouth. “I think you’ve said enough. And we both know how foolish I am when it comes to you.”
She moved in closer, moulding her body tight to his. He could feel her breasts pressed against his chest, her hips bracketing his erection. He didn’t know if it had stayed that way throughout their exchange, or if it had reappeared the instant he’d realised he hadn’t lost her. Either way, he was long and hard, and dying to make love to her.
“Now,” she whispered, wrapping one hand around his neck. “Why don’t you show me just how much you love me?”
Gage groaned, still shocked she hadn’t kicked him out with her foot firmly inserted in his ass. But he wasn’t about to waste his good fortune. After tonight, she’d never think about leaving him again. He smiled at her, kissing her fingers once more before slipping his arm around her waist and pulling her tighter. Even without her perfume he could smell her sweet, womanly scent mixed with a faint soapy fragrance. He nuzzled her neck, drinking in the fresh aroma of her silky hair as it cascaded over her shoulders. Everything about her reminded him of warmth and softness. It was like holding the sun in his arms. He placed a kiss on her neck, smiling at the needy moan that rumbled in his ear.
“Gage.”
Damn he loved her voice. So low and smoky it sent the blood racing to his groin, increasing his erection until he wondered if he’d burst.
“God.
How is it you can turn me into a puddle of lust with only the mention of my name?” He sighed against her skin, loving how she trembled from the subtle caress of his breath. “You have far too much control over me, darling.”
Brooklyn
whimpered as he eased his hand down her thigh and traced his way back up under her shirt. “I have control? Then why do I fall apart every time I look at you, or think of you?” She pulled back enough to grab the hem of his sweater and guide it over his head, settling her fingers back on his bare chest. “No,” she whispered, tracing the angular planes of his muscles. “I have very little control where you’re concerned, especially involving my own response. I suppose I simply love you too much.”
“Not too much.
Never too much.”
He stared down at her, watching her tongue dampen her lips. Her mouth looked like a soft pink flower, slightly open and ready to be caressed. The edges were turned up in a sexy little smile with just a hint of innocence when she pressed them lightly together. He smiled and bent over her, keeping his gaze locked on hers.
“Now, I believe you had a request,” he teased, brushing his lips across hers. They were even softer than he remembered.
Brooklyn
laughed, poking her tongue out as she drew it along the length of his mouth. “I have a number of requests, baby. But I suppose we can take them one at a time.”
Gage smiled, capturing her tongue between his teeth. He paused just long enough for her to submit control before drawing it slowly into his mouth. He stroked it gently, suddenly needing to show her how beautiful their joining could be instead of giving in to the fiery need burning down his spine. There’d be time for hot, hard sex later, after he’d shown her he still had a modicum of control left.
Brooklyn
moaned into the kiss, and he could feel that control slipping.
He pulled away slightly, his chest heaving, his vision blurred with streaks of white light that pulsed to the beat of his heart. God, he wanted her so badly he didn’t know how he was going to keep his touch soft and loving. She felt so right in his arms. The way her body moulded to his, the perfect female counterpart to his male physique. He couldn’t think of anything except his desire to strip her and plunge inside before her shirt hit the floor. He bit down on his bottom lip, hoping the bite of pain would bring some blood back to his head.
“I need to do this right, darling. If you keep moaning like that, you’re going to get far more than you bargained for.”
Brooklyn
smiled at him, rubbing her body against his. “Is that a threat?
Or a promise?”