Letters to Gabriella

by Patricia Paris

  She looked at him and raised a brow. “Do you really think the two of us are going to be able to eat all this?”

  “Sure.” He scooped up another bite, lifted it to her mouth.

  Gab leaned forward and took the offering. Justin smiled, all crooked and sexy and tempting as sin.

  “You’re a demanding woman, sweetheart. I worked up quite an appetite trying to satisfy you.”

  She hit him in the chest and he laughed. Did he have any idea how big a deal it had been for her to have gone to bed with him? He had tapped into her passion so easily, and she had given herself over to him with abandon, holding nothing back. Did he think she had been as free with other men in the past, or that it was her habit to go to bed with someone just for the physical pleasure it might bring?

  She couldn’t be sure how much of his joking around was just teasing because that was his nature, or if it was a more deliberate attempt to keep things light and uncomplicated.

  “Open,” he said, spooning another bite into her mouth.

  They finished off most of the dessert before Justin admitted his eyes may have been a little bigger than his stomach. He put the dish on the nightstand beside the bed and reached over for her.

  “Come here, gorgeous.” He pulled her against his side, his left hand caressing her arm. He kissed the top of her head. She nestled into his embrace, closing her eyes and trying not to think about the what-ifs, just enjoying the comfort of his touch.

  “Gabriella,” he said softly.

  She looked up, searching his face. He regarded her tenderly, the warm golden glow of his lion’s eyes wrapping around her heart, drawing her further under his spell.

  “What?”

  “Thank you.”

  She stared at him, forgetting to breathe under his intense gaze.

  “Thank you for tonight,” he said, leaning down and brushing a kiss as soft as a summer breeze across her lips. She didn’t know whether to tell him he was welcome, or thank him too. She did neither. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him and rested her cheek against his heart.

  Several minutes later Gabriella stirred. She rose up on her elbows so she could see the clock. She hated to be the one to bring their evening together to an end, but it was almost eleven. By the time Justin drove her home and then returned to the cottage, it would be pushing midnight.

  “You should probably take me home soon,” she said. “It’s getting late.”

  Justin drew her back into his arms. “Stay with me tonight.” He trailed his hands up and down her back, every sweep a caress that melted her resistance. “Stay.” He whispered the word against her lips, a seductive plea she had no desire to refuse.

  “Chloe’s out of town. We may not have many opportunities like this,” he continued, point well-taken. She dragged in a breath, wavering. “I need to work tomorrow.” It was a weak attempt to resist his offer. “I…I need to get an early start.” Nothing more than a lame excuse. She’d already sent off the copy for tomorrow’s deadline. Yes, she had thought she would get an early jump on her next deadline, and she had plenty of work she could do, but none of it had to be done by tomorrow.

  “I’ve got to get an early start as well. What if I promise to get you home by eight?” He pulled her back down against his chest so they were face to face and started using his magical lips against her.

  “Justin.”

  “Gabriella.”

  “No, Justin…really,” she tried to insist between kisses.

  “Yes, Gabriella…really,” he murmured right before joining his tongue with hers.

  She was going to give in. She was going to give in because he was right; they may not have many opportunities like this. She was going to give in because it was already late and just made sense. She was going to give in because he was so good at convincing her to stay. But most of all, she was giving in because she wanted to spend a night wrapped in the arms of Justin Morrison.

  Lifting her head she looked down at him and pursed her lips.

  “Stay,” he whispered, his amber eyes a plea she couldn’t turn down.

  “No later than eight o’clock.” She tried to sound firm.

  He drew his brows together, looking very serious, and nodded. Then he made an X with his index finger over the center of his muscular chest.

  “Okay then.” She laid her head over his heart and said softly, “I’ll stay.”

  She couldn’t see his face, but she could feel that he was grinning. And she suspected it was a very toothy and no doubt triumphant grin at that.

  JUSTIN WOKE with an arm full of soft female warming his side.

  Gabriella.

  Smiling to himself, he angled his head and opened one eye to regard her. Her hand was splayed over his heart. Her lips were parted slightly. He could tell from her deep, steady breathing that she slept soundly. He closed his eye, content to lie quietly with the woman who had captured his heart snuggled against him. He hadn’t felt this happy for a long time. Coming back to Glebe Point, being around family again, Gabriella…it all felt right.

  They’d only been dating for a month, but Justin didn’t need any more time to know she was a keeper. His fingers curled around her shoulder possessively. Last night had been the clincher. The way she’d loved him…she hadn’t been giving him her body, she’d been giving him her heart.

  He felt her stir and looked down at her again. Her thick lashes twitched and she yawned. She raised her arm, rubbing the back of her hand over her face with no apparent purpose. It stopped in mid-rub, half covering her mouth, before sliding down limply to land on his shoulder.

  Justin chuckled. Her lashes fluttered, her eyes opened, begrudgingly, momentarily, before squeezing shut again as if trying to force sleep’s return.

  “Good morning.” He rolled onto his side and kissed her forehead.

  She grunted.

  “Do you still want to be home by eight?”

  “Time—is—it?”

  “Six.”

  She didn’t respond. Justin propped himself up on one elbow so he could see her better. For a tall woman she had a delicate bone structure, with high cheekbones, and a small, pert nose. Her eyes, when they weren’t refusing to open, were such a striking shade of blue they had the power to mesmerize, and she had the most incredibly thick, long black lashes he’d ever seen.

  “Why are you staring at me?” she asked, her eyes still closed.

  “I’m not staring.”

  “I can feel you breathing on me; you’re staring. Is my hair all goofy looking or something?”

  “Yeah, it’s sticking out in all kinds of funky directions,” he lied, grinning when she reached up and tried to smooth it down. She flattened her hand on the top of her head and then looked up at him with a lazy, morning grin, totally unaware of the devastating affect she had on him.

  “It’s not fair then, that you look just as gorgeous this morning as I remember you did last night.”

  Justin touched her cheek, rubbing his thumb back and forth over the smooth softness along her jaw. They had a small window of time before Chloe got home, and mornings like this would be difficult, if not impossible, to manage after that. He leaned down and brushed his lips across her full, lush lips. He knew he was in love with her. And he was convinced she loved him too, or if not, was more than halfway there, but he didn’t plan on leaving anything to fate. He would take advantage of every minute they had together to strengthen their bond.

  Gabriel wrapped her arms around his neck, and Justin marveled at the intensity of his response to her. He opened his mouth over hers, a slow, steady drumming building in his blood. She stirred a need in him unlike anything he’d ever felt with another woman. He had no desire to analyze it, no want to fight it. He just accepted it. He’d never been a big believer in fate, but if it existed, he wanted her to be his.

  Last night when he made love to her, he’d been anxious. He’d spent two and a half months fantasizing about the woman. The first month and a half she’d been the elusive dream gir
l he hadn’t been able to find. Once he had, and gotten to know her, his desire grew into a tormented need demanding fulfillment.

  Now, he wanted to savor her, to make slow, delicious love to her, and give her a shattering climax. A climax that would be burned into her memory, that would make her smile every time she thought about how he made her feel, one that branded him into her soul.

  He started out with good intentions, and he had believed he could maintain total control. But then she’d started running her hands over his body, caressing the back of his thighs, and scattering little nipping kisses on the side of his neck. His control began to slip. He rolled toward her, hooking his leg over hers, and his erection grew even harder. They could go slow the next time…when she didn’t want to be home by eight.

  In the middle of this logic, Gabriella moved against his leg. It was a grind really—a subtle, or maybe not so subtle, invitation. Justin accepted it. He rose above her and buried himself in her waiting warmth. Unable to resist the lure, he began to move without thought, giving himself up to the will of his body. He filled her with long, deep strokes, groaning at the exquisite pleasure.

  When he thought it would be impossible for her to heighten the sexual euphoria that threatened his sanity, she took his face between her hands and pulled him into a soul-searing kiss. They splintered, together—shattering into a million shimmering particles that floated gently down to rain upon them in blissful wonder.

  “DO YOU want to come in for a quick cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal?” Gab asked Justin when he pulled up and parked in front of her house an hour later. She knew he couldn’t stay long, but she felt like she should offer him something. “I’ve got Trix, Raisin Bran, and I might even have some Boo Berry.” She flashed him a smile. “I can even cut up a banana on top if you want something a little fancier.”

  He glanced across the front seat at her, his tongue working the inside of his cheek, his expression unexpectedly somber.

  “I can’t stay,” he said, his tone so serious she blinked in surprise. She’d expected him to come back with some kind of joking remark about her culinary skills or something, but she detected no trace of humor in either his tone or his eyes, which struck her as out of character. He looked away from her, focused on the house, and frowned.

  Gab felt like maybe she had missed something, but she couldn’t imagine what. All she’d done was to offer him coffee and breakfast out of a box. Maybe she’d offended him. Maybe after the night they’d spent together, he had expected more, maybe steak and eggs, or pancakes and sausage.

  “I’ve got a busy day.” He faced her again, offering a lame smile that only confused her more. After all they’d shared, she hadn’t expected such a cool parting. She didn’t know what she’d expected, but it hadn’t been what felt uncomfortably like a brush-off.

  Okay, she cautioned herself not to jump to any conclusions she had no business jumping to. He could just be tired. Maybe she’d exhausted him…and he was tired…and when he got really tired, he also got a little curt. So she wouldn’t read anything into it. She didn’t want to be the kind of woman who worried and fretted every time the man she was falling hopelessly in love with acted a little…strange. She bit her lip.

  “Okay…so…thanks for the ride home,” she said. Thanks for the ride home? Thanks for the freaking ride home? What about, thanks for the most amazing night of my life, followed by the most amazing wake-up call imaginable?

  Justin mumbled something under his breath that sounded a lot like shit. Based on his expression, she thought that might be a pretty good guess. He got out of the car and walked around to her side.

  Gabriella shook her head. Who was this guy? Maybe Justin and Blake had another brother, a triplet, and that man had slipped into Justin’s car and driven her home.

  He opened her door and she got out, determined not to overreact when whatever had brought about this sudden change in him might have nothing at all to do with her. When they reached her front porch steps she turned to face him.

  “I had a good time last night,” she said, determined to keep things light in the event she was blowing his behavior out of proportion, in which case she’d regret calling him on it. “Thank you.”

  He nodded, then leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Me too,” he said, rubbing his hands lightly over her arms.

  Despite her attempts to dispel his mood, Gab knew if they left it at that, she’d drive herself crazy all day wondering if something was wrong. She knew she should just let it go, but she couldn’t. Her mind was already off imagining things, probably all ridiculous and unfounded, but nonetheless, it was off and running.

  “I could make dinner tonight if you want to come over,” she threw out, hoping he would respond in a way that eliminated some of the negative vibes she was picking up, and which were already planting little seeds of doubt she didn’t want to let take root. She saw him tense at the suggestion, an observation that made her wish she could take the offer back. His shuttered look nibbled away at her confidence, and she was struck with the realization he didn’t want to see her tonight. She saw it clearly now, in the firm set of his jaw, the way his eyes avoided her own, and the straight line of his mouth.

  He put his hands into his pants pockets and cleared his throat. “I’m probably going to be working late this evening.” He glanced at his watch and then took a step back. “I really need to get going.” He reached out and patted her on the shoulder, kind of like someone might do when they were humoring a child or petting their dog.

  She didn’t like that last thought, and she didn’t like the way he was acting. It hurt. There was no way she’d let him know that, though, not when there was the potential he might say or do something that would hurt even more, and not when his long stride bespoke a determination to be on his way.

  When he got to the car he turned and gave her a wave. “I’ll call you,” he said, and then got in and closed the door. Gab stood on the sidewalk and watched his car until it pulled out of her driveway and onto the dirt road. As the puffs of dust settled back into the gravel, she turned and walked up the steps and into the house.

  She walked into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. Next, she got out the box of Boo Berry and fixed herself a bowl. She sat down at the kitchen table and took a bite, staring out the bay window to the backyard.

  He didn’t want to see her tonight. That became clear when she invited him to dinner. It wasn’t that he’d said no; it was his manner. And he hadn’t suggested they get together Friday or Saturday, either. They were supposed to go to Mary’s on Sunday, but maybe that was off now. She didn’t know.

  Was she wrong about his feelings for her? She shook her head, baffled. How could he have made her feel so much magic, so loved, if he didn’t love her? But if he did love her, what had just happened? Did the possibility of a serious relationship with her make him nervous? Did he just want to see her casually without the complications of a commitment?

  She tried to think of what that would mean from Justin’s perspective. If they were going to have a serious relationship, he wasn’t just making a commitment to her. She was part of a package deal. Justin knew how important Chloe was to her, and he also had to know that because her daughter was still young, there would be many times Chloe’s needs would take priority.

  They hadn’t ever talked about that. There was a lot they hadn’t ever talked about, but she had truly believed they were beginning something special, something lasting. She put her spoon down, resting her elbow on the table, and propped her chin in her hand. Justin’s odd behavior didn’t have anything to do with Chloe, she decided. He loved kids, she was sure of that. She also didn’t think she’d misread his interest in her. It was possible, though, that the interest had all been physical, and she’d only imagined he cared on an emotional level because she wanted him to. If that were the case, now that she’d gone to bed with him he might be worried she expected a commitment he wasn’t able or didn’t want to give.

  Gabriel
la groaned out loud and pushed her fingers through her hair. This was why she had avoided any serious relationships after Bruce’s death. She’d only dated one guy for more than a couple of months and that had ended because he couldn’t handle the complications that came with dating a mom. It wasn’t his fault. She hadn’t been in love with him, and she was thankful she had never slept with him. They had both seemed relieved to end it.

  She didn’t feel relieved now. She felt foolish, and the feeling didn’t sit well with her. If they were going to have an intimate relationship, she needed to know he cared about her on an emotional level. Not that she didn’t lust after him, or that she didn’t want him to lust after her, that was all well and good, very good in fact, but she needed more. The caring had to be a two-way street.

  The exact thing she didn’t want was happening. She was making herself crazy, questioning his motives, what he felt, if they were together, or just having a fling. She ground her teeth.

  Okay, if he was confused about what he wanted, he would just need to figure it out. If he was feeling skittish about their involvement, she wouldn’t push him. All that would accomplish would be to make him more nervous. The ball was in his court. If he cared about her, he would figure out how to return it. If he didn’t…well…she would find a way to mend her heart when it broke.

  JUSTIN PUSHED his right hand through his hair and cursed again. What the hell was he going to do about Gabriella living in a house he couldn’t even bring himself to walk into without wanting to punch out the windows? The place was full of ghosts for him. He couldn’t get past the fact that it had been Landfred’s house before she’d bought it. Maybe he could convince her she should just have it knocked to the ground and let Blake build her a brand new one. One the man who’d killed his folks hadn’t lived and breathed and walked around in for more than twenty years.

  He had to come to terms with his feelings about that house soon, before it caused problems between him and Gabriella. Giving her up wasn’t an option. Perhaps he should start looking to buy a place now instead of waiting. Gabriella could sell her property, and she and Chloe could move in with him. But what did he do in the meantime?