by Joan Davis
Gabriel’s green eyes flashed as a banked fire began to burn in his eyes, but before he could speak, Honor held up her hand.
“Wait, I’m not finished.” Honor hesitated and was not sure how to go on. “As much as I loved being with you, for me it’s all been intense. I’m used to closing myself off from people. I don’t trust people enough to even talk to them. Jumping into bed with you was a giant leap for me to take, and then it all seemed to go to hell. With everything else that has happened I feel like I don’t know which way to turn,” Honor said.
Gabriel nodded and said, “I’ve never been the trusting type either. In my line of work, I have to look at everything with jaundiced eyes. God, what a pair we make, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let that stop us from being together. I can’t, and I damn well know you want me as much as I want you. I’m also not going to allow you to walk away from me again.” His eyes blazed with determination.
A shiver of awareness skittered down Honor's spine and pooled between her legs. Why did his arrogance turn her on so much? She didn’t know, but his dominance made her body radiate sexual heat every time. “I’m not denying anything, Gabriel. I want to be with you more than I’ve wanted anything in my life. You’re not the only one on the lust wagon, mister, but let’s face it. You and I, we know nothing about each other. I mean, we know about traumatic events that occurred in our pasts, but there is so much we don’t know, personal things. What if we dive into this thing and end up hating each other’s bad habits or something else?” Honor asked. She wanted him to understand her need for validation. She wanted him to see her clearly. The problem was that another part of her wanted to crawl into his arms and forget everything except how his touch made her soar.
Gabriel looked thoughtful for a few moments. “So you want us to get to know each other a little better before things heat up again,” he said.
Smiling in relief, Honor nodded and said, “I just want to you to know who I really am first.”
Gabriel looked at Honor in askance. “And you don’t think I know the real you?”
Honor rolled her eyes. “Get real. You know statistics, maybe, but what about private things like my favorite color? Why do I hate to eat broccoli? Am I a morning person, or not? Which side of the bed do I prefer?” she asked. When Gabriel couldn’t answer, Honor said, “Don’t you see, it’s all the stupid little things that make up who we are. I don’t know any of your stuff either. Shouldn’t we find out that kind of information before things go too far? We might find out we disgust each other. Who knows, but I want to give us a chance to figure it out,” Honor finished with a hesitant shrug.
“Okay, let me get this straight. You want us to start getting to know each other before we get more involved. I guess I can deal with that, but I think we need to set down some guidelines,” Gabriel said with a serious look on his face.
Glad that Gabriel was being so understanding Honor smiled and asked, “What kind of guidelines?”
“Well, for instance, can I still rub your feet like I’m doing now?” Gabriel asked.
Honor nodded and said, “I love that, so yes, and I can rub yours if you want.” A little tingle went up her spine.
“What about kissing you hello and goodbye?” Gabriel asked.
“Of course,” Honor said.
“What if say, you get some sex crazed notion and throw yourself at me. What am I supposed to do?” Gabriel asked skeptically.
Honor gasped and laughed at Gabriel’s expression. “I think I can control myself.”
“Well, how am I supposed to know that? I hardly know you.” Gabriel looked affronted, but there was a twinkle in his eyes.
Rolling her eyes dramatically, Honor held up three fingers like she was taking an oath. “I, Honor Weston, do hereby promise not to try to jump Gabriel Ryan’s bones until we try to get to know each other a little better. There, satisfied?” Honor asked, giggling.
Gabriel held up his fingers and said, “I, Gabriel Ryan, do hereby promise to try to sneak in as many necking sessions and groping scenarios as I can during this ‘getting to know you’ phase of our relationship. I also promise to try to change your mind about the mindless sex thing from time to time. There, satisfied?” Gabriel asked.
Shaking her head and trying not to laugh, Honor said, “I am sitting on my couch with a man and his warped mind.” She sobered a little and thought about how they were going to deal with their experiences with Maximus Dunn, but they both turned to look out the big living room window when they heard a vehicle pull up out front. Sighing, Honor knew it would have to wait for later.
“It’s Conner,” Gabriel said and met him at the door.
Conner came inside with a big bouquet of brightly colored flowers and a carton of orange juice. “Hey, I just wanted to come by and check on you guys and give you the latest information,” Conner said, smiling.
Honor grinned. “Wow, orange juice. Is that for me?” she teased, acting like she didn’t see the giant spray of flowers in his hands. She saw Gabriel grab the juice and head for the kitchen.
“Risa and Sam are running behind and she called to tell me she forgot it, so I stopped and got some,” Conner said chagrined and handed the flowers to Honor.
“They’re beautiful, Conner, thank you. Take a seat,” Honor said just as Gabriel came out of the kitchen with a glass pitcher filled with water. He took the bouquet and arranged the flowers in the pitcher. After disposing of the waste Gabriel retook his seat and looked over at Conner.
“What?” Gabriel demanded.
“Damn, brother, you should become a florist, that was damn fine work,” Conner said with a cocky grin.
“Jackass,” Gabriel said. “What do you know?”
Conner’s smile diminished as he said, “I just talked to a friend of mine at the police department. Pete Wilson saw the whole thing and ran towards the scaffolding at the same time Honor did. He was just farther away. He stayed behind and dealt with the police when Sam and Buck followed Honor to the hospital. Sam told him to keep the area clear so the police could collect evidence. The cops picked up Merrick last night and he started squealing like a stuck pig. He blamed it all on Danny Bets. He told them if Danny hadn’t opened his big mouth at that meeting, Merrick wouldn’t have said what he did about Honor.” Conner shook his head in disgust. “The jackass set off two small pipe bombs at the base of the scaffolding and that’s probably how Honor got the shrapnel in her arm. Last thing I heard was that Homeland Security had stepped in and he may be facing terrorism charges. Honor, you’re going to have to give a statement.”
Nodding, Honor’s eyes got really big. “I forgot about Danny. Is he okay? Did he get hurt?”
Conner laughed and shook his head. “Danny is doing fine, just a few cuts and scrapes. He is telling everybody who will listen to him that you picked him up and threw him twenty feet so that the scaffolding missed him altogether.”
Honor laughed at the exaggeration. “I’m just glad he’s okay,” Honor said. Just then another vehicle pulled up in front of Honor’s house.
Gabriel got up, opened the front door and waited for Risa and Lela to come inside. He and Conner went out to help Sam when they saw he had his hands full.
Lela was a bit hesitant about coming in, and Risa urged her farther into the room. “It’s okay, there’s Honor right there. See, she’s doing fine,” Risa said gently.
Honor felt her heart squeeze at the worried look on Lela’s face. “Hey, Lela, I guess you heard about my little accident, but I’m doing just fine now. I just had to have a few stitches in my arm, and in a few days I will be good as new,” Honor said and smiled at Lela.
“I’m sorry you got hurt. Did it hurt to get the stitches?” Lela asked, eyeing the sling supporting Honor’s right arm.
“The stitches didn’t hurt, but when the painkiller the doctor gave me wore off it was pretty sore. He gave me medicine for it, and it’s a little better now,” Honor said. “Why don’t you and Risa come and sit down? I haven’t seen yo
u in a while. How was your sleep over at your friend Molly’s house?”
Still keeping her eyes on the sling, Lela crawled up on the couch and sat as Risa took a chair. Lela said, “Molly’s mom fixed lasagna and it was so good. We stayed up really late, but we had to be extra quiet so her parents wouldn’t make us go to sleep.”
Risa laughed and said, “You, Miss Lela Timmons, are a night bug. You never want to go to bed.”
Grinning proudly, Lela said, “When I get big I’m going to stay up late every night, all I want.”
“Oh yeah?” Honor asked. “Well, I will tell you a little secret about getting older. Old people like me and Risa love to go to bed early.” Honor said.
Giggling Lela said, “You and Risa aren’t old. Old is like Uncle Gabriel or Uncle Sam,” she said without a bit of guile. Honor and Risa looked at each other and burst out laughing just as Samson, Gabriel and Conner walked through the opened door with their arms full.
Still grinning Honor looked at Risa and then at all the stuff and asked, “What is all this?”
“It’s your care package,” Lela said. “I got to help pick stuff out for it.”
Gaping at Risa, Honor said, “What did you do, raid Macy’s?”
Looking properly affronted Risa said, “Everything you see is utilitarian and chosen to help speed your recovery.” She frowned at Samson when she heard his loud snort of laughter. “Anyway, I brought some waterproof bandages so you won’t get your stitches wet when you take a shower. Oh yeah, Samson is going to install a new shower head with a hose so that you can hold it when you shower for better control. It has a lot of different settings.”
Lela got up and excitedly took two of the bags from Gabriel’s hands and brought them back to the couch. “Uncle Sam took us to Wal-Mart and we got you some books and magazines and Slim Jims and chocolate-covered cherries and some Cheetos and Doritos and hair bands and good smelling body soap and shampoo.” Lela kept up a running description of everything she was pulling from the bags until she finished and looked at Honor proudly. “Do you like it?” Lela asked smiling.
Honor laughed and opened her left arm and hugged Lela tight. “I love all of it. Wow, you guys did such a great job. Thank you so much for everything,” Honor said and kissed Lela’s cheek.
Risa got up, went over to Samson and got a larger bag from him and brought it back to Honor. “I called Selena, Samson’s grandmother, and asked her if it was okay to loan this to you and she said it was meant to be shared with a pure heart. It’s a healing quilt. When you sleep under its warmth it will help heal you, mind, body and spirit.” Risa said with deep respect.
Honor took the colorful quilt and was a little choked up. “Wow, thank you so much! It’s amazing and I will take good care of it. Please tell Samson’s grandmother thank you, as well. I don’t even know what to say. This is all so much, I really appreciate it all,” Honor said as she hugged Risa.
Samson cleared his throat and said, “Honor, I figured you’d have to have a tool box. Where can I find it?”
“On the middle shelf of the hall closet, thanks Sam,” Honor grinned and then she met Gabriel’s gaze and gave him a watery smile.
A few hours later, Honor, with the help of Risa, had a refreshing shower and was able to enjoy some pizza that Conner had ordered for everyone. Exhaustion finally hit her, and Honor began to acutely feel the pain in her arm. She tried to ignore it, but it kept getting worse with each passing minute. Excusing herself, Honor walked into bedroom and shut the door. She sat down on the side of the bed, cradled her arm and tried to breathe through the pain.
Honor heard the bedroom door open and close. “Here you go,” Gabriel said, and held out a hand with one of the pain pills in it and a cup of water in the other.
Shaking her head, Honor said, “It’s not that bad. I just need a few minutes. You need to get Lela home.”
“Don’t worry about Lela. She just left with Risa, Sam and Conner,” Gabriel said, and then held up a hand at the look on Honor’s face. “Don’t look at me like that. Sam and Conner told her they were going to pull a paddle boat out so that she could drive around the lake. She made Risa ask me, honest!” Gabriel held up his pledge fingers.
Grimacing and smiling at the same time, Honor took the pills and washed them down with water. Standing up she pulled the bedding down but then remembered the healing quilt. Gabriel was already out the door and headed to the living room before she could ask. He returned and pulled off the comforter and spread the quilt over the bed. Honor got in and scooted to the middle of the bed. She then looked up at Gabriel, but he just stared at her blankly.
Finally, Gabriel said, “Oh, you want me in your bed. I didn’t know if that was included in the whole pledge thing or not.”
“Gabriel . . .” Honor said in a near whine.
“Okay, okay, you women are so fickle. First you want us, then you just want to be friends and then you want us in your bed, what’s a guy to do?” Gabriel sighed heavily as he kicked off his shoes and climbed in beside Honor. Once she settled against him and her arm was resting on his chest, Gabriel whispered dramatically, “I feel so used.”
Honor started giggling despite her pain. “You are crazy,” she said, smiling as she felt Gabriel’s hand start to rub her back.
“I’m just crazy enough for you,” Gabriel said.
*****
Honor leaned against the kitchen counter and watched as Gabriel finished fixing her lunch. Her arm was no longer painful, but it would be a few more days before muscle and tendons knitted properly. Lunch-time visits from Gabriel had become the norm in the last few days, so had his numerous phone calls and texts. “Don’t you have a job?” Honor asked with a raised brow.
Gabriel grinned as he looked at her over his shoulder. “Are you complaining?” he asked.
“Hey, I have my own personal chef, no way am I going to complain.” Honor said.
“I just didn’t want you to starve. I know how kitchen-challenged you are,” Gabriel said with a teasing grin.
“I am stove-challenged, thank you very much. I can fix anything that doesn’t require actual cooking,” Honor said. She refused to admit her limitations.
“I know baby, you are really good at opening chip bags and cracker boxes,” Gabriel snorted, and a crack of laughter came out of his mouth as a pot holder smacked into the cabinet by his head. He plated the delicious smelling food, and placed it on the kitchen island before grabbing Honor and pulling her close.
She looked at Gabriel with a distinct pout. “I’m not that bad.”
Gabriel kissed Honor’s lips and said, “I think you are an amazing woman. You get inside those giant machines and make them dance. You’re also damn sexy, but let’s face facts. If you try to cook one more time, that stove will put out a restraining order on you.” When Honor tried to pull away Gabriel laughed again, held on tight, and kissed her until she relaxed in his arms. “Please eat with me.”
Honor looked over Gabriel’s shoulder at the tempting food and gave in gracefully. They sat side by side on the bar stools and dug into lunch. Honor looked up and caught Gabriel’s serious gaze.
“Tell me what you remember about your time with Maximus Dunn,” Gabriel requested.
Honor pushed her plate away and gripped the counter top of the kitchen bar. “I don’t remember much. I have more flashes of memory than anything else,” she said.
“Just tell me what you remember.”
Honor rubbed her forehead and with resignation said, “I remember sneaking out of Mama Leone’s house and going off with my friends to a scary looking warehouse in some industrial park. I remember being overwhelmed with the volume of the music and the flashing lights. I couldn’t hear my friends’ voices even when they spoke close to my ear. Then it’s a blank until I woke up with him standing over me.”
“Maximus Dunn,” Gabriel stated.
Nodding, Honor continued, “I thought he must be an angel. I know that sounds weird, but everything was white around us, everything
. Even his clothing was white, and he was smiling down at me. I couldn’t focus on his voice at first, just the tone. It was so kind sounding. But Gabriel, when I looked into his eyes . . . there was just nothing there. He looked at me like I wasn’t human, like I was nothing. I can’t explain it well, but I knew he was trying to decide whether to kill me or not. I was afraid that if I moved or spoke it would be over. So I just laid there and stared up at him.”
Gabriel’s gut tightened, but he stayed silent and let Honor talk.
“His voice suddenly became crystal clear and he said that when I woke up I would wear his mark and everyone would know I belonged to him. He held up a big syringe, and I couldn’t help it. I started screaming and then everything went black.” Honor met Gabriel’s eyes with unshed tears glistening on her lashes. “The next time I woke up I was still in the white room, but this time I was alone. I could barely move at first because of the drugs. I forced myself to get up, and despite being sick to my stomach I kept moving. I knew I had to get out of there. So that’s what I did. I was terrified that someone would come before I could make it out of that house, but I just kept going. When I got to the big gate it was lock, so I squeezed through the bars,” Honor’s voice trembled as she forced herself to remember.
“That’s when the lady found you walking in the neighborhood?”
“I don’t remember that part. They told me about that at the hospital when I woke up. That’s all I remember about Dunn. It was the only time I saw him that I remember, but I’ve never forgot his face.”
“Detective Lane said that you overheard him telling your foster mother that they found another girl’s body in the San Francisco Bay and that she had a tattoo similar to yours.”
Honor’s jaw tightened and she nodded, but remained silent.
“He told me he felt bad that you overheard and that he never meant to upset you,” Gabriel said, and saw the spark of anger that lit Honor’s eyes.
“Bullshit. He knew I was there and he deliberately said it loud enough for me to hear him,” Honor said bitterly.