by Jess Dee
He wanted to ask again what had made her so sad, but as he’d promised to take all responsibility of making conversation away from her, he chose not to. Instead he searched his brain for some neutral topic of conversation—and came up blank.
Tina saved him. “How is Connor?” she asked as Gabe contemplated a tight curve in the road.
“He’s okay. Quite good really. He met a woman.”
“He did?”
“Yep. Fell pretty hard for her.”
“Nice woman?”
“Very,” Gabe said.
Something about his answer must have given him away. “Was she one of your women?”
Gabe frowned. “You ask that as though we’ve had so many.”
She straightened her shoulders. “I don’t know how many you’ve had, and frankly, I don’t care. But you have that gleam on your face, leaving me to assume you and Connor shared her. Just the way you shared me.”
She was right. They had shared her. But that was where the similarity ended. Gabe had never fallen in love with Maddie, and Connor had never been in love with Tina. “Yes,” he said. “She was our lover.”
Tina pursed her lips. “So, Connor went ahead and introduced you to a woman he loved?”
“Not quite. I, er, met her first.” About a month ago. “I introduced Connor to Maddie.”
“Interesting,” Tina murmured under her breath.
“What is?”
“That Connor fell for her. What happened to your understanding? How does it go? Only the man who meets the woman first gets to fall in love with her?”
Gabe overstepped the brake, and the car ground to a sudden halt. “How do you know about that?”
Tina would not look him in the eye. “How do you think I know? Connor told me.”
“When?” Gabe rasped. Christ, she knew about his and Connor’s pact.
She stared out of her window. “Before he introduced me to you. Before anything happened. I was…uh…nervous. He reassured me. Told me you had strict rules that you play by.”
Gabe cleared his throat. “We abandoned the rules. They weren’t working.” He eased his foot back onto the accelerator.
“When?”
“This morning.” He wished it had been four years ago. Wished he’d had the guts to do for himself then what he’d done for Connor now. But rules were rules, and he’d stuck to them. Put his friendship with Connor before his love for a woman. Just like Connor had been willing to do for him today.
About bloody time one of them came to their senses.
“So, Connor’s off the market.” she said with a marked casualness.
Gabe listened for any other undertones to her statement. Anything that might resemble regret or disappointment. Anything that might suggest she’d had feelings for Connor. “Looks that way.”
“Lucky girl,” Tina whispered.
“Lucky Connor,” Gabe countered. Connor had found what he’d been looking for. Someone to fill up the emptiness in his life. A very nice someone at that.
Tina turned sharply to look at him. “Are you okay? About Connor falling for your girlfriend, I mean?”
Gabe’s answering smile was genuine. “Sure I am. They’re good for each other. They’ll be good together.” If he hadn’t believed that, he’d never have insisted Connor and Maddie stay together—just the two of them.
He made a left, then a right and pulled up outside a house.
Tina checked her watch. “Nineteen minutes,” she warned, and he suppressed the urge to kiss her senseless.
“Then let’s not waste time.” He had less than twenty minutes to convince Tina to let him back into her life. Twenty minutes within which his future happiness rested. Well, at least a shot at his future happiness. He climbed out of his car.
Tina followed suit.
“Uh uh,” Gabe warned. “Don’t leave your sketch pad behind. Bring it along.” If he was going to change her life he needed the pad. And damn, he wanted to make a difference to her future. Almost as much as he wanted to be a part of it.
Tina shrugged and did as he said. They walked up the pathway of a small, picturesque house with a beautiful landscaped garden. Several strategically placed sculptures highlighted a water feature and a rock garden. It was a yard worthy of a feature in Better Homes and Gardens.
“Okay, I’m curious. Where are we?” Tina asked as she looked around.
“Ever heard of Valerie Carnell?” He kept his gaze on her. As beautiful as the garden was, it paled in comparison to her.
Tina sighed. “Don’t tell me. She’s another one of your women.”
Gabe laughed out loud. “Not even close. We met a while back, at a fundraiser organized by the children’s cancer ward at the hospital.” Gabe had had a special interest in the fundraiser since he’d treated several patients from the ward in his physical therapy practice.
Tina nodded. “I heard about that. It was a photographic exhibition right?”
Gabe nodded and rang the front doorbell. “Right. I got to know Valerie then. She’s an amazing woman. I think you’ll like her.”
Tina wrinkled her nose, an action Gabe had always found both sexy and endearing. This time wasn’t any different, he realized, as his ribs tightened around his heart. “I don’t understand. Why are you bringing me to meet her?”
“Because, T, she can help you.”
The front door swung open, revealing a middle-aged woman brightly clad in an ankle-length dress comprised of layer upon layer of colorful silk. At least Gabe assumed it was silk. His knowledge of dress fabric was, he supposed, limited at best.
Her face lit up at the sight of him. “Gabriel!” She threw her arms open, and he stepped into her welcoming hug. “Darling. To what do I owe the pleasure?” She pulled back and gave him both of her cheeks to kiss.
“Val—” he smiled, “—I’ve brought someone to meet you. Someone I think you’ll like. A lot.” He angled his body so Valerie could see Tina. “Tina Jenkins.”
Valerie appraised her with obvious interest. Then she returned her gaze to Gabe and lifted a speculative eyebrow.
Gabe resisted the urge to shift beneath her scrutiny.
“Why Gabriel, she’s just a little bit of a thing. Doesn’t even reach your shoulders. I couldn’t see her standing behind you.” She stuck out her arm and took Tina’s hand in hers. “A pleasure to meet you, my dear.”
Tina looked at her with big eyes. “Uh, and you too.”
“Is that a sketch pad I spy?” Valerie asked, staring at Tina’s other arm.
Tina tensed, as if drawing the pad closer to her body. “It is,” she answered hesitantly.
Valerie smiled up at Gabe. “Well, then. Why don’t you two come right on inside and we can chat.” She turned around and bustled them both through the door.
Tina shot Gabe an inquiring look. She held one palm up as if to say, “Who is she?”
Gabe grinned. “You know the gallery where the exhibition took place?” He winked at her. “Valerie owns it.”
***
Tina wanted to skip down the path towards Gabe’s car. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt like skipping, the last time she’d been this excited about anything.
“Don’t pinch me,” she warned Gabe. “If this is a dream I do not want to wake up.”
“It’s not a dream.” His grin was infectious. She couldn’t help but smile back. “Val loved your work.”
“My own exhibition? Can you believe it?” She threw her head back and laughed. “She wants to show my sketches. Wants to sell them. Who would have thought it?”
Gabe’s hand on her arm stopped her in her tracks. “I would have.” The look on his face whipped the air from her lungs. He stared at her with hooded, hungry eyes. “Anyone who’s ever seen them would believe it.” The mixture of lust and respect in his expression almost brought her to her knees.
Except she’d been on her knees with Gabe before. She’d worshipped him on her knees, pleasured him, taken him to the same incredible heigh
ts he’d taken her—and still he’d left her. It didn’t matter how he looked at her now or how much her own body ached to respond to the desire burning in his gaze, she would not give in to her impulses. No matter how grateful she was to him for introducing her to Valerie.
She swung away from him, feigning a playfulness she no longer felt. “How am I ever going to lug all my sketch pads to her gallery? I must have one hundred of them.”
“It’s not a problem. I’ll help you,” Gabe offered. “Unless…” The fire in his eyes dimmed and he shrugged. “It’s been a lot longer than thirty minutes.”
Tina checked her watch, stunned to see over two hours had passed since they’d arrived at Valerie’s. And just like that her heart dipped in her chest. Gabe’s half hour was up, long ago.
Thank God for that. Now she could walk away and not look back. What a relief.
He opened the car door for her. “Would you like me to drop you back at the coffee shop?”
Tina stared at him. That would be the best idea. The car trip would give her ample time to thank him for introducing her to Valerie, and then she could get away from him. Perhaps she’d send him a gift tomorrow. A bottle of wine. Or scotch. Something to express her gratitude. At least she wouldn’t be trapped beside him any longer, yearning to pick up where they’d left off four years ago. Yearning to feel his and Connor’s hands on her body again, their lips on her mouth.
“I could drop you at home?”
Nope, bad idea. She’d feel compelled to invite him in.
“Or I could do what I’ve been wanting to for the last few hours and take you in my arms and kiss you.”
Tina’s jaw fell open. “What—?”
Gabe’s gaze dropped to her mouth. He shook his head. “Not just the last few hours,” he said hoarsely. “The last four years.”
Her vocal powers eluded her. There was not one single thing she could think of to say in response. Not one.
“Christ, T, I’ve dreamed of seeing you again.” His massive hand was on her cheek now, and he dragged his thumb over her lower lip. “Kissing you again.”
A wave of dizziness washed over her. Never mind the powers of speech, she couldn’t think straight.
“Dreamed of touching you.” His thumb traced the curve of her upper lip. “Tasting you.”
Her breath caught in her throat.
“I’ve dreamed of you. Every night for four years.” Even as he said it he bent forward. She watched, spellbound, as he closed the distance between them. With a soft groan, he pressed his mouth to hers.
She turned to mush. Standing on the footpath beside his car, with his lips on hers, she couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think or talk. She could hardly hold herself upright. Her bones dissolved in her legs and her arms lost all structure. Gabe’s lips were on hers—warm, soft and seductive. Gabe. Oh, dear Lord, Gabe.
He drew back to stare into her eyes. “Christ…” he whispered. “I’ve wanted you for four years.” And then his mouth was on hers again, his tongue slipping between her lips, and she melted into him.
God help her, she hadn’t meant to respond, but how could she resist the temptation that was Gabe Carter?
Sensing her capitulation, his arms closed around her, pulling her in even closer, and she lost herself in his immense size, in his taste, in his familiar, spicy scent. Had anyone ever made her feel the way Gabe and Connor did?
All it had taken with them was one kiss, and she was reduced to a trembling wreck. Nothing had changed. Shivers raced through her as Gabe deepened the kiss, reminding her how each cell in her body had always responded to the two men, how every nerve fiber had stood to attention when they touched her.
He lifted her up, curving her body into his. His chest was a solid mass against her breasts, his legs thick and muscled against her thighs. In this position it was impossible to ignore the girth of his erection straining against her belly. Its very presence made her weak-kneed and lightheaded. It also made her horny. Very, very horny.
His tongue danced with hers. His taste filled her mouth. Sex and man.
No one had tasted quite so enticing as Gabe or Connor.
And no one had hurt her quite as profoundly as Gabe.
The thought knocked a little sense into her, giving her the strength to pull away. His arms might have been firm as steel rings around her waist, but the second she struggled against them they relaxed, allowing her to step down. Yet again, Tina was reminded of just how safe she’d always felt with him. No matter his size or his strength, he would never use it against her.
Just like that she was free. Released from the all-consuming embrace that fogged her mind and clouded her body with desire. Her breasts were heavy within the tight constraints of her bra, and her chest heaved in a futile attempt to draw breath.
No one had hurt her quite as profoundly as Gabe.
“You can take me home, thank you.” She stepped back, squared her shoulders and glared at him. Then wished she hadn’t. Glaring at Gabe meant staring him straight in the face. And what a face. His lips, full and succulent at the most platonic of times, were now swollen from their kiss. His eyes were dark and even more hooded than before. Desire seeped from beneath his heavy lids.
Christ, he looked edible. More than edible, he looked downright fuckable. If she didn’t wrap her head around the fact that this was the very man who had stomped all over her heart and her trust, she would jump him. Right here, outside the house of the woman who had just offered her the chance of a lifetime.
“Ah, T, there is nothing I would like more than to take you home.” His words were draped in velvet and served to her with a light sprinkling of breathlessness and a thick promise of sex. “Take you home, strip you of your clothes and your inhibitions and make love to you for the rest of the day.” He swallowed. “The rest of the week.”
Shit. She was gawking again. Staring all bug-eyed at him. And why couldn’t she hold her darn mouth shut? Why’d her jaw have to hang open like some speechless moron who couldn’t put a sentence together? And please, someone—anyone—tell her she wasn’t drooling. Please.
“Take me home and leave me there,” she corrected in a cold voice, embracing her inner bitch. “You’re right. Your thirty minutes is long over.”
Gabe drew back as though she’d slapped him.
For an instant she regretted her unkind words. But just for an instant. “You were true to your word. You did change my life today. And I thank you for that. But…” She bit her lip. “But you’re four years too late, and my sketches were never the part of my life that needed changing.” Her vision blurred, and she had to feign an interest in her sketch pad. She’d be damned if she’d let Gabe know he was still worthy of her tears.
A minute passed, then another. The silence stretched out, fraught with unspoken memories. Neither of them moved.
As though it was the last thing in the world he wanted to do, Gabe nodded. He stepped away from her and opened the passenger door of his car. Tina climbed in.
“Are you still in the same flat?” he asked in a stilted voice once he was in the driver’s seat.
She nodded. Four years and very little had changed. Her address was still the same. Her life was still the same, her feelings for Gabe and Connor were still the same, and the hurt cut just as deeply as it always had.
The five-minute car ride home seemed to stretch into five hours. Several times Gabe opened his mouth as if to speak, and several times he closed it again without saying a word. His hands clenched the steering wheel, the skin over his fists stretched taut and white. Muscles bulged in his arms as he flexed his biceps over and over.
Tina turned her attention to the road and pretended not to notice. She would not weaken her resolve. It didn’t matter how strong the physical attraction still was between her and Gabe, or how much she wanted to invite him home for the week. She would not make herself vulnerable to him again.
“Thank you,” she said formally when he pulled up outside her unit. “Introducing me to Valerie was
…thoughtful of you.” She kept her voice restrained. Her earlier excitement about meeting Val had gotten her into trouble. The hot, sensual kind of trouble of which she did not need more. “Would…would you be interested in coming to the exhibition?” How could she not invite him? Without him there wouldn’t even be a show. “Perhaps you could bring Connor along. And Maggie.”
“Maddie,” Gabe corrected, his voice even quieter than it had been earlier. He shrugged. “Perhaps. Send me an invitation?”
Tina gave a short, sharp nod and snapped open her seatbelt.
“I’m sorry, T,” Gabe said before she moved. “I never meant to hurt you, ever.”
She couldn’t deal with the tone she heard in his voice. Was it anger? Frustration? Pain? She didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want to give Gabe any more of her time. It would only crack open her heart further and let him creep inside all over again. She had to get away from him.
“Look, no worries,” she said with a casualness she did not feel. “What was, was. Let’s just leave it in the past, shall we?” She braved a glance in his direction and immediately wished she hadn’t.
Gabe looked at her with much the same expression he’d worn when they’d made love—alone—for the first time. Connor had been away for the weekend, and he’d given them his blessing to “have fun”.
Gabe’s brown eyes had burned with a molten fire when he’d laid her down on the carpet and kissed her until her logic receded to the furthest recesses of her mind, and all she could contemplate was Gabe. He’d kissed her until she writhed beneath him, begging for more, and then he’d undressed her, removing each item of clothing with exquisite tenderness. He’d made love to her that day. That day she’d felt loved by him—and it was the first time she’d realized she loved him. Him and Connor.
And just look where that dumb emotion had gotten her.
Tina came tumbling back to the present with a resounding crash. She shoved the door open and scrambled out the car. It was time to shove Gabe and her memories back into the past.