by Paris Hansen
“Oh Gabriel,” Savannah whispered as she gripped the frame so tight her knuckles turned white. Gabriel watched as a tear fell onto the glass. His heart seized in his chest as he realized that she was crying for him even though she wasn’t speaking to him for some reason. Dropping to his knees in the tight space between his desk and her chair, he tried again to lift her chin so he could look into her eyes. This time she didn’t fight him, rather her tear filled eyes met his and he was lost. All he wanted to do was lean in and place a kiss on her lips, to wrap his arms around her and pull her into his lap; instead he brought both hands up to cup her face, his thumbs swiping across her cheeks to catch the tears that fell.
“Shhh, there’s no need to cry Savannah. I miss my brother and I worry about my mom, but I’ve never been happier. And you coming into my life is a big part of why I’m so happy. Please just give me a chance to show you that I can be exactly what you’re looking for. Please let me prove to you that I’m the man you need.”
“God. I want to let you show me those things so badly. I’m sorry for judging you; for having the wrong idea of who you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re just a bartender or something else. I don’t care about anything else except seeing where this can take us. I don’t want to fight these feelings anymore.”
Gabriel couldn’t hold back any longer. He put his arms around her and pulled her into his lap like he wanted to before. When she was steady, he wrapped his left arm around her waist and ran his other hand through her hair. Their eyes never strayed from each other as he leaned forward, his mouth suddenly so close to hers he could feel her breath against his lips. Everything about the moment felt right, felt perfect. Just like the other night in front of her house, their bodies fit together and he knew their mouths would too. Without a second thought, he pressed his lips against hers lightly at first, but when she shifted her body so she was even closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, he deepened the kiss.
Her lips were softer and more enticing than he remembered. There was no doubt in his mind that he could kiss this woman forever and never tire of it. Parting his lips slightly, he swept his tongue across the seam of her lips, which she immediately opened, her own tongue greedily meeting his in a seductive dance. The kiss deepened, becoming more and more frantic as their denied passion was finally released. Without breaking the kiss, he pulled her closer to his body, wrapping his left arm tighter around her before moving his right arm beneath her knees. Climbing to his feet, he turned until the desk was behind her and then set her down on the edge where he had been sitting.
Breathlessly they broke apart, their eyes meeting again as Gabriel moved between Savannah’s legs. With a smile, she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him into her until he could feel her heart beating against his chest. He liked knowing that even though he felt like his heart was going to break out of his chest, her heart was beating just as hard as his was. She was just as affected by him as he was by her. As he reignited the kiss, he felt her legs tighten around him, her hands skimming along his forearms. Her touch sent chills down his spine. All he wanted to do was spread her out on top of his desk and devour her. His cock hardened at the thought of her naked and aching for his touch, but it was all too soon.
Fuck, I sound like a chick, he thought while he tried to control his raging hormones. The last thing he wanted to do was tell her no again, but he also didn’t want to move too quickly. What he wanted with Savannah was more than just sex, was more than just physical. He wanted it all and he couldn’t let his base desires get in the way of what could be the best thing that ever happened to him. But then again, if she wasn’t going to stop things, then maybe she wasn’t worried that taking things further would do any damage to their fledgling relationship.
As if she could read his mind, Savannah broke the kiss, her legs loosening around him as her thumbs traced random patterns onto his already decorated arms. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she tried to catch her breath. Gabriel tried not to stare at the hint of cleavage that her sweater showed off. Her lips were kiss swollen and when she ran her tongue along her bottom lip before pulling it between her teeth he had to fight the urge to kiss her again. Instead he moved his hands from her lower back onto her thighs, resting his forehead against hers.
“God, I want you so badly,” she said softly. She slowly brought her right hand up until it was resting against his whisker roughened cheek, her eyes closing as her skin made contact with his.
“I know the feeling.”
“We just can’t do this here. Not now. You were right on Saturday and a quickie on your desk isn’t really how I want our first time to go either. And I don’t want to fuck this up. While I know that this is going to have to happen before we both explode, I think we have to wait. Get to know each other better. Maybe hang out like we talked about.”
“I’d really like to do that. I hate that you had this misconception of me that was keeping you from seeing me…even if I think you were being slightly judgmental,” he said with a smile and then gave out a yelp as she pinched his arm. “I told you I want to know you, the real you. And I want you to know the real me.”
“I’ve got seven dates left. We can’t technically date until those are over, but if you’re not busy in the morning maybe we can go for a run and get coffee? Just two people hanging out, getting to know each other…”
“That sounds perfect. Just two friends getting coffee, nothing more, nothing less...at least for a few more weeks,” Gabriel said as he watched the most beautiful smile light up Savannah’s face. Finally, he was getting his chance to be with her. It wasn’t exactly what he wanted, but a few weeks with her as a friend was better than not having her in his life at all. He just had to make sure that he did whatever it took to keep her once her blind dates were over.
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The next five weeks were the longest of Gabriel’s life. While he spent a lot of time with Savannah, it wasn’t the kind of quality time he craved. He was dying to take her out on a real date and get the chance to kiss her again. Since they weren’t able to actually date, neither wanted the temptation of a physical relationship. Since the night in his office, they had done nothing but hug goodnight a few times. It sucked and they both hated not touching, but he didn’t want to ruin anything and neither did she. The more time he spent with Savannah, the more he wanted her not just in his bed, but in his life, permanently.
So instead of dating, they simply hung out; never just the two of them unless they were running. Nearly every night, she came into Arrow for dinner. If it was a date night, she came in early so she they could chat. Non-date nights she sat at the bar for hours, having dinner and drinks, while chatting with Gabriel when he could. In the morning, he would head into Delectable Delights and have coffee with her before she got too busy. Her sister Brooklyn was often there or one of the other staff members. Savannah rarely got to actually sit down and drink her coffee, but it didn’t matter to Gabriel as long as he got to see her.
The only good thing that came out of the long waiting game was that Gabriel was able to work out a way to give himself time away from Arrow. Ray jumped at the chance to be promoted to behind the bar and Sylvia and Meghan were more than willing to take on the extra work with the promise of their own promotions once he got things in order. Knowing that he didn’t have to worry about Arrow was a huge weight off of his shoulders; one that he hadn’t been rid of since the day Jonathan’s will was read.
Although, now that he was free, he didn’t really know what to do with himself. He had promised that he wouldn’t go into the restaurant as it was officially his first day off in three years. It was also his first official date with Savannah, which made the fact that he had nothing to do even worse. He spent the majority of the day a nervous wreck; afraid that what he had planned for their date wouldn’t be enough. Gabriel had over a month to plan the perfect date, but he wasn’t at all satisfied that he had actually done it. Of course, he knew he was his own worst critic. It d
idn’t even matter that he had heard over and over from Savannah’s best friend and sister that he had done a great job, he still wasn’t 100% certain Savannah was going to enjoy what he had planned.
Gabriel tried to clear his mind by taking a run along the beach before his date. The fresh air helped a little, but he still couldn’t shake the nerves. He had waited so long for Savannah and now that he was finally going to take her out on an actual date, he was more nervous than he had ever been in his entire life. Arguing major cases in front of judges and juries had never been as nerve-racking as what he was facing. Dealing with his father after Jonathan’s death had never made him feel this way. In every instance, he had something to lose, but nothing was as important to him as Savannah.
There was no doubt in Gabriel’s mind that he was falling for her…hard. Every day he found something new that he loved about her and they hadn’t even really had a chance to be alone together. He constantly wondered what Savannah would think about a certain topic and he couldn’t picture his life without her in it, even though her involvement had been so limited. On the rare occasion that they couldn’t see each other, his day was ruined, which made him no fun to be around.
The nerves were nearly at full blown panic attack level by the time he pulled up in front of Savannah’s house; his palms were damp, his heart beating faster than normal. He was early, which was normally a good thing, but he was a half an hour early, not just ten or fifteen minutes. For a moment, he thought about driving around the block a few times, but decided that would make him look worse, so he parked his truck and walked up to Savannah’s door. Taking a deep breath to try and calm the nerves, he knocked softly. As he waited, he cursed himself for being so early. Now he worried that she was going to feel rushed and that the date was going to start off on the wrong foot. Before he could think about it too much, the door opened and he nearly stopped breathing all together.
Whether she was dressed up or covered in flour, Savannah was always the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Standing in front of him now, she looked even more amazing than normal. For once, she was dressed up just for him and not one of the guys she had been fixed up with. Gabriel slowly took her in, memorizing every detail of how she looked in that moment. She wore her long blonde hair loose and wavy over her shoulders, exactly the way he liked it. He clenched his hands at his sides, fighting the desire to reach out and run his fingers through the soft curls. Her make-up was light, but perfectly accentuated her bright blue eyes and plush, full lips. Again Gabriel fought against his urges, this time to pull her close to him so that he could kiss her berry pink lips.
Gabriel hadn’t told Savannah what they were doing, but had instead told her to dress like she had for her previous dates. He was pleasantly surprised to see that she had opted for a dress, since she had worn mostly pant suits during the last half of her dating spree. She had also told him once that she felt like a phony when she wore a dress because she was more of a jeans and t-shirt type of girl. She wore a cable knit black sweater dress that went to the middle of her thighs, seeming to accentuate her shapely legs. It had long sleeves and a high neckline that met her collarbone. The dress looked warm enough for her to be outside and free enough for her to move around the dance floor. On her feet, Savannah wore a simple pair of black heels that he hoped she’d be able to walk in. Although, he’d gladly volunteer to carry her around or massage her feet if the shoes were as uncomfortable as they looked.
“Hi,” Savannah finally said breaking Gabriel out of his drawn out perusal of his date. His eyes traveled back up her body to meet hers. She was smiling widely and he loved the way that it shown in her eyes. All of the nerves he had been feeling seemed to melt away as he smiled back at her.
“Hi. I’m sorry I’m so early,” he told her.
She laughed, shaking her head. “I’ve been ready for the last half hour. I’ve just been pacing my living room, trying to make the nerves go away.”
Gabriel felt his smile widen as he realized that she was just as nervous as he was. Although they had spent hours getting to know each other at Arrow and Delectable Delights, it had never been just the two of them and it had never been as intimate as it was going to be tonight. He watched as a blush crept across Savannah’s cheeks.
“I’ve been so nervous all day, I paced, I went running, and then it took me nearly an hour to pick out which suit I was going to wear. Most of my suits look exactly the same, so there really isn’t a good reason why that would take so long.”
“Wow, we make a great pair don’t we? I was so embarrassed about being nervous, even before I admitted it to you. I just couldn’t understand why, after all the time we’ve spent together I had a herd of butterflies in my stomach. I’ve never been so comfortable with someone in my life, yet my palms are sweaty and my heart is beating so hard I’m surprised you can’t hear it.”
“I probably could, if mine wasn’t beating so hard.”
“I don’t even know what to say to that,” she admitted. “Ummmm…do you want to come in? I just need to grab my purse and then I’m ready to go.”
Gabriel followed her into the house, admiring the sexy back of her dress as she walked in front of him. It was cut a lot lower than he had been expecting, just barely covering the bottom of her spine. He fought the urge to place his hand on the expanse of exposed skin and instead focused on the house around him. He smiled as he took in every detail while he descended into her sunken living room. The space was decidedly Savannah, functional with a ton of personality. There were pictures and paintings covering the walls and flat surfaces that represented everything that was important to her. The furniture looked comfortable and modern, yet showed pieces of Savannah’s sass in the color of the throw pillows and the lamp sitting on a table next to the recliner.
“You look great, by the way,” Savannah said as she picked a small black purse up off of the coffee table. “I’ve never seen you so dressed up. It looks good on you, but I kind of miss the tattoos.”
Gabriel smiled again as he turned to look at her. “Don’t worry; I’m sure I’ll roll my sleeves up eventually. I kind of hate having my arms covered. And I’m sorry I didn’t say this sooner, but you look amazing.”
He took a step closer to her and then another until they were nearly touching. Savannah’s eyes met his as she closed the tiny gap between them, her hands lightly brushing against the lapels of his suit jacket. All he wanted to do was lean down and brush his lips against hers, but he worried that if he started to kiss her, he wouldn’t be able to stop. He ran his right hand through her hair, his thumb brushing along her temple and then over her cheek to her chin. Savannah’s eyes fluttered as he touched her, but her bright blue orbs never left his until the moment he started to lower his mouth toward hers.
Their lips brushed together softly, making his heart beat faster. Gabriel cupped her face in his hands, tilting it just enough so that their lips molded together. He tried not to take the kiss any further, but Savannah had other ideas. Her arms snaked up to wrap around his neck as she opened her mouth, her tongue gliding out to lick at the seam of his mouth. His lips parted with an appreciative groan, his tongue finding hers. This kiss was what his dreams had been made of since the night in his office where they had decided to see what could develop between them. Her lips were just as soft as he had remembered and she tasted like chocolate and wine, a deadly combination.
Before it went too far, he pulled back a little so that their mouths were no longer touching, but close enough to torture them both. He rested his forehead against hers, a sigh escaping his lips.
“I’ve been dreaming about kissing you for far too long,” Savannah said, her voice breathy and full of promise.
“Me too. God…and as much as I want to just stay here and kiss you until the sun comes up tomorrow, I’ve got something pretty great planned for tonight. Something that I hope will show you how much I care about you.”
Savannah smiled as she stood on her tiptoes to place a chaste kiss against his l
ips. “I’m sure I will absolutely love whatever you have planned. Should we go? I don’t know if I can be held responsible for anything that might happen if we don’t leave now.”
Twenty minutes later, Gabriel led Savannah from his truck to the Argosy cruise terminal. They had reservations for the dinner cruise, which was something that Savannah said she always wanted to do. It was a fleeting comment during one of their pre-date conversations, but he had known right away that it would be where he would take her on their first date.
“How did you know I’ve always wanted to go on the dinner cruise?” Savannah asked after they checked in.
“You told me about a month ago. We were talking about things around Seattle that we’ve never done, but have wanted to. This was one of your things.”
“Wait, you remembered that?”
Gabriel smiled, wrapping his arm around her waist. “I remember everything that you say.”
He could tell by the look on her face that Savannah was surprised. She didn’t say anything else while they waited in line to board the ship. They were led to a table for two near one of the large windows. When he made the reservations, he had made a lot of requests and offered to pay to make sure those requests were met. There was nothing he wouldn’t have done to make sure that this experience was all she hoped for and more. The last thing he wanted to do was share a table with another couple; he wanted Savannah all to himself. He also wanted to make sure that they had the best view possible. While they both lived in the area their entire lives, neither of them had ever seen Seattle this way.