He felt so hot and satiny. She couldn’t resist. She eased his boxers out of the way. He lifted up enough that she could push everything down around his thighs.
And then she had him. All of him. She broke the endless kiss they shared and sought his eyes. He met her gaze, his eyes like oceans, so blue. So deep….
And then she lowered her head to him. She took his heat and hardness into her mouth. He threaded his fingers into her hair, holding her, steadying and guiding her, as she took him deep and slowly released him. Oh, the sounds of pleasure he made then.
By that time, it seemed impossible that she had ever been scared of this—of them, together, in this most intimate way. Impossible. There was absolutely nothing to be scared of.
There was only pleasure. Only this wonderful man, the man she loved, only the touch of him, the feel of him, the taste of him in her mouth, on her tongue…
She wanted to take him all the way, as he had done for her. But he wouldn’t allow it.
“Not yet. Mary, wait…” He pulled back. But only long enough to get out of his boots, rip off his shirt and shove his pants and boxers off. He tossed them over the end of the bed. “Condoms?” He groaned the word.
She pointed to the box, right there in plain sight on the nightstand. He reached for it, had one out and rolled down over him in seconds flat. And then he pulled her close again, rolling with her, until he was on top and he could ease her knees apart.
Settling between her open thighs, he braced himself up on his hands, the lean muscles in his arms knotting tight. She reached up, took his face between her hands, pulled him down for a kiss as she felt him, smooth and hard, nudging her secret flesh, there, where she wanted him most.
He pressed in. She kissed him, sighing into his mouth, raising her legs and wrapping them around him, pulling him into her.
All the way. So deep. So exactly right.
He rocked against her and she responded, kissing him deeply as he rode her. She moved with him. It was effortless. Magical. Exactly as she had dreamed it might be in her wildest fantasies. And better.
Oh, yes. Better…
She pulled him down onto her so she could feel him fully, the thrilling male weight of him, heavy on top of her, pressing her into the mattress. He lifted his mouth once, breaking the endless kiss, but only long enough to whisper her name. “Mary…”
And she gave his back to him. “Gabe…”
And then she was reaching for the finish again, hitting the top—and hovering there, above the world, above everything. Until the sweet tension burst wide open and she was falling softly into fulfillment, a long, slow, delicious glide.
He came, then, right after she did. And her body, acutely sensitized to pleasure at that point, responded. She hit the peak all over again, a shattering fulfillment, as he pulsed deep within her.
She clutched him, hard and tight, and she cried out his name, thinking I love you, Gabe. You are my love…
But no. She didn’t say her love out loud. Even in her ecstasy, she kept it back.
They slept together that night, in her bed.
And the next night, when he came to her, he brought her a necklace, her birthstone—a sapphire—ringed with diamonds on a delicate gold chain. She told him he had to stop buying her things.
He only laughed and kissed her. And then he scooped her up and carried her into the bedroom. They were in bed most of the night, except when they had to get up to take care of the baby. In bed, but rarely sleeping.
It was the same the next night. And the night after that. Unless his work took him away from her, he slept in her bed every night. They were so lovely, those nights. The best she had ever known.
The days were happy, too. And productive. Mary had her writing and her baby. And Wyatt and Ty were the greatest. They worked hard. They painted the exterior of the house, built a lean-to for the horses and a big, new goat house.
Gabe wanted them to put new roofs on the barn and the house, but Mary nixed that as too expensive. Gabe said he would be happy to pay for it. Mary just shook her head. As if he hadn’t paid for way too much already.
Ty and Wyatt spent most mornings clearing brush. It was a tough, time-consuming job, since much of the land had become dangerously overgrown in recent years. Rowdy had loved his ranch, but he’d made his living working with Ida in town. And Mary had her writing to do. There had never been much time for the upkeep the land required.
That was all changed now. Thanks to Ty and Wyatt. And Gabe, most of all. Mary was so grateful to him. And so in love with him—more each day, it seemed to her.
She longed to know if he might love her, too. He certainly behaved as though he did. He was attentive. He made beautiful, passionate love to her. He came to her nearly every night. She had no doubt he was true to her.
Mary considered herself a practical and reasonable person. She did see how unreasonable it was of her to keep waiting for him to declare his love first. This was the twenty-first century, after all. Women didn’t wait around anymore for things to happen to them. Women were empowered. They made things happen for themselves.
So on the last night of April, when Gabe arrived at her door, Mary put her fears of rejection aside. She sat him down on the sofa and told him she had something she needed to say.
Apparently, she hadn’t put her fears away completely.
He picked up on them and that scared him. “Mary. What? Damn it, what’s wrong?”
Her heart was bouncing around like a jackrabbit on the run from a big, bad wolf. “I…um…”
He took her hand. “What’s happened? You’re white as a sheet. Tell me. Let me help.”
Her hand felt clammy. She pulled it free of his. “I, um…”
“What? Say it.”
Sheesh. She was empowered. She knew that. So why didn’t she feel that way? “Um, I…”
He swore, reached for her—and let his hand drop when she shrank away. “My God. You’re pregnant.”
“No! Really. No…”
“Dying of some incurable disease.”
“No.”
“It’s Ginny, right?” He whipped his head around toward the stairs. Mary had moved the baby up to her own room a week before. “Something’s happened to—”
“No. Honestly. Ginny’s fine.”
“Damn it, Mary.” He dragged his hands down his face. “You’re killing me here. Whatever it is, will you just, please, say it?”
“Oh, God. Yes. All right.” She sucked in a mammoth breath and used it to push the words out. “I…I love you, Gabe.”
He gaped. “You love me.”
She swallowed hard and sat up tall. “I do. Yes. I love you.”
“And that’s…it? That’s all?”
She wanted to grab the Ranch Life magazine on the coffee table, roll it up and bop him on the head with it. Hard. “What do you mean, that’s all? For me, it’s important. For me, it’s pretty huge.” She strove for a reasonable tone. Because she was a reasonable person—and because she was right on the brink of jumping up, running into the bedroom, slamming the door, throwing herself on the bed and sobbing like a baby—which wouldn’t be reasonable at all.
“Mary.” Gabe took her hand again, his expression contrite. She didn’t pull away that time, though she was seriously tempted to. “I’m sorry. I’m an ass.”
She sniffed. “Well, yeah. That word crossed my mind. Among others…”
“Mary.”
“What now?”
“I love you, too.”
Too little, too late, she thought. “I’ll bet you say that to all your girlfriends.”
“No. I swear to you. I’ve never told a woman I loved her before now.”
She slanted him a doubting look. “Never?”
“I swear. Never. Unless you count Gladys Dilly, in eighth grade. I really did think I loved Gladys. But, sadly, she dumped me during Christmas vacation for a band geek.”
She stared at him. Hard. “You’re serious?”
“Oh, yeah. His name was Dirk Smith
. Played the tuba.”
“Gabe. Stop.”
He had the grace to look abashed. “Sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood. As a rule, I like to keep my relationships…open-ended.”
She shook her head. “Makes it easier to escape when you’re ready to go, right?”
“You know, it sounds pretty bad when you put it that way.”
“But that doesn’t make it any less true.”
He looked at her levelly then. “It’s different with you, Mary. I promise you. I’m crazy for you. Whatever you want from me, you can have it. Just ask.”
He really did seem to mean it. And then he said the important words again, with more feeling than the first time. “I love you, Mary. You’re the only woman for me.”
That did it. Her heart melted.
When he reeled her in, she went. He cradled her close. They shared a long, sweet kiss. And then he carried her to her bedroom and made beautiful love to her.
Everything was good between them.
Except, well, it wasn’t. Not in the way Mary had dreamed it might be.
As more weeks went by and May faded into June, she started to realize that they weren’t really together, not in the deepest sense. He had his life and she had hers. He came to her in her life and seemed to really like being there, as she loved having him. But other than the occasional fancy meal in an expensive restaurant, she didn’t go into his world.
She began to think that he wanted to keep her separate. He showered her in diamonds, bought out expensive baby boutiques for her child, paid the wages of her ranch hands.
But when it came down to it, she wasn’t part of his real, everyday life. He’d yet to invite her to meet his parents or his brothers and sisters, though he’d been sleeping in her bed for over a month.
Yes, he had told her he loved her. And meant it. She really did believe that he meant it.
Now, though, she began to see that it wasn’t just the words she wanted. As the days grew longer and hotter, she realized that what she wanted from Gabe Bravo was not only more than words, it was more than all the terrific things he’d done to make her life better, more than diamonds or fancy baby toys.
She wanted it all. She wanted her house to be his house. She wanted his ring on her finger. She wanted a life with him. A real life, not a fantasy.
She wanted to be Gabe’s wife.
And since he wasn’t leading the way on this issue, she was going to have to gut it up and tell the man what she wanted, just as she had made herself say I love you first.
The night she finally made the decision, it was the first Monday in June and he was out of town on a business trip. But he would be back on Thursday. He’d already promised he would see her Thursday night.
So, all right. When he showed up Thursday, she would ask him to marry her.
Chapter Fourteen
Gabe and Davis got off the BravoCorp jet at a little after five Thursday afternoon. It had been a long trip from Madrid. BravoCorp was considering getting into the wine import business—Spanish wine, to start. Davis had wanted a BravoCorp attorney with him to take on any potential legal issues when he met with the prospective distributors. And if given his choice of lawyers, Davis always picked Gabe.
A limo was waiting. The driver put their luggage in the trunk and they were on their way.
“Stop by the house,” Davis suggested. “We’ll have a drink. Dinner, too, if you’re open. Your mother will be happy to see you.”
“Thanks, Dad. Another time, maybe.” He was anxious to see Mary.
After a moment, Davis asked carefully, “Going out to the Lazy H?”
“That’s right.”
“You’ve been going there a lot lately—and don’t give me that look, okay? I’m not butting in. It’s only that your mother and I have been wondering why you never bring her around.”
“Is that an invitation, Dad?”
“That is exactly what it is. How about Saturday, at the ranch? Mary might enjoy a tour of Bravo Ridge. I’ll get your mother on it. She’ll round up the whole family.”
Gabe knew Mary would love that. So why did he hesitate? “It’s a big step, the whole meet-the-family thing.”
“Is that a no?” his father asked.
“Of course it’s not a no. Tell you what. Let me get back to you.”
“It’s a straight-up invitation, Gabe. No tricks. Since this seems to be developing into something serious, I’d like to get to know her, and your mother would, too.”
“I believe you, Dad. Thanks. I’ll let you know.”
Gabe called Mary from the car as soon as the driver dropped his dad off.
She answered on the first ring. “Gabe?”
Just the sound of her voice made him smile. “I’m on my way. About six-thirty?”
“I can’t wait to see you.” She sounded a little tense.
He almost asked her if there was a problem. But he’d be seeing her in less than an hour. If something was up, they could deal with it then. He said, “Be there soon,” and hung up.
He thought about his father’s invitation as he showered at his place, and shaved and dressed in jeans, comfortable boots and a T-shirt. He considered it some more as he drove to Mary’s.
By the time he was getting out of the car in front of her house, he’d pretty much decided to turn his dad down. Maybe later.
For now, though, why complicate a really good thing? He couldn’t imagine his life without Mary—and Ginny, too. He loved Mary, which was scary enough for now. Mary was like no other woman he had ever known. Smart and independent. And amazing in bed.
More amazing than he’d expected, if the truth were known. For a woman who had been flat-out terrified the first time they made love, she’d seriously gotten beyond her fear. It was one of the reasons—besides her humor and her intelligence and her decency as a human being—that he was hot-footing it to her place, jet lag be damned.
He couldn’t wait to be with her, to kiss her, to touch her…
But as far as taking her to meet the family? Uh-uh. They didn’t need to rush things. He liked his relationship with her just the way it was.
He stood for a minute when he got out of the car, a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a gift in the other, admiring the new paint job on the house. It looked good.
It would look even better if Mary would let him have the hands put on a new roof. And inside, the place could use a major makeover. He was even thinking he might try talking her into an add-on. A top-of-the-line kitchen, for certain. New furniture. The works.
He figured that eventually he would wear her down the way he did with most things. She would allow him to give her the house she deserved.
And where the hell was she? He’d been gone for five days. Usually after he’d been away, she would come flying out the front door to greet him.
With a shrug, he headed for the steps.
She opened the door just as he reached it. He smelled dinner. Something spicy. He couldn’t wait. Mary was an excellent cook. She cooked almost as well as she made love.
“Hey,” she said softly. One look in her eyes and he knew something wasn’t right. She was anxious. And she’d set her chin at a determined angle.
It was the same expression she’d worn that night she told him she loved him. Then, it had scared him.
It scared him now, too. But in a completely different way, since he recognized that look now. He would have laid serious odds that a conversation about their relationship was in the offing. It was the last thing a guy needed after twelve hours on a plane.
Mary saw he had brought her flowers, which was sweet of him. And also something in a small, beautifully wrapped box. Probably jewelry. Which she’d told him to stop giving her.
The sight of the small box with its satin bow completely annoyed her. It made her stiffen her spine, made her all the more determined to have a little talk with him—now. Before she kissed him. Before he held Ginny.
Before she dragged him to the bedroom and ripped all his
clothes off.
It was only going to get harder every time she put it off. And Mary Hofstetter was not the kind to procrastinate. Once she faced the fact that a thing needed doing, she waded right in.
He handed her the flowers.
“Thank you,” she said. “We have to talk.”
We have to talk? Where had that come from? Really, she should have prepared a good opening line. This was going to be a marriage proposal, after all. No guy asked a woman to marry him by starting out with We have to talk.
She wanted to stop it, then. She wanted a do-over at some later date, when she was better prepared to start out a little smoother.
But seeing the wariness in his beautiful eyes, she was suddenly certain that it wouldn’t have mattered how smooth she was. He simply didn’t want to hear it.
He proved her right a second later. “Mary. Come on, I just got off a plane.”
That got her back up. “Yes, well. I just spent all day in front of a computer. Except for the times I walked the floor with Ginny, who has been colicky—and I cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner. And cleaned up Brownie’s vomit.” In the corner, the dog gave a sheepish whine at the sound of her name. And well she should. She’d dragged a jumbo bag of Cheetos out of a drawer and eaten the whole thing, bag and all. The bag, apparently, hadn’t agreed with her.
And Gabe was no fool. He got the message that the Poor me, I’ve spent hours on a private jet routine wasn’t cutting it. He set the present with its perfect satin bow on a side table. “Is Ginny okay?”
“She’s fine. It was colic, that’s all.”
He started toward the stairs. “Is she in her room?”
She sidestepped and blocked his path. “Gabe.”
He blew out a breath. “Damn it, Mary. What’s the problem?”
They had never had a fight, she realized at that moment. Because he really was a terrific man, a man who loved her and treated her right.
And because she had never pushed him about anything—beyond getting him to say he loved her and asking him, please, not to bring her any more expensive jewelry.
No, they had never had a fight. But she had a really bad feeling they were about to have one now. “We do have to talk about this.”
The Bravo Bachelor Page 15