by Vivian Arend
Her heart stuttered to a stop. “What did you say?”
His eyes looked so haunted, but a hint of his smile tweaked the corner of his mouth. “Allison, I know it’s crazy, but having you around these past weeks has been the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time.”
The trickle of fear that had filled her as he’d shared had become a ball of ice as he told her more of the story. How could she possibly find the right words to explain that Jesse was wrong? That everyone who thought Gabe was a person to take advantage of was wrong.
And she’d felt the guilt hard at what she’d done.
Now, looking into his honest face, the ball of ice melted a little as hope lit a flame beneath her. “Oh, Gabe.”
He smiled. “‘Oh, Gabe, what the hell have you done?’ I know we started this thing as a ruse to fool your mom, and I’m totally on board doing whatever necessary to keep her happy. I want you to know it’s become more than an act for me. I like having you in my life.”
She swallowed hard. “I like it too. I…”
Was she in love with him? Could she even know right now with everything else ramping up her emotions?
Was he really in love with her or just saving her all over again?
He stroked her cheek with his finger. “Don’t rush. I don’t need you to say anything yet. Hell, if anything, maybe you shouldn’t say anything tonight, because I don’t want to push you into something you’re not sure about.”
“I pushed you into helping me,” she pointed out.
“Helping you was a given. I was already hooked by those big eyes and the sexy swing of your hips.”
She screwed up her courage and kissed him. Long and hard. Taking what she wanted. Giving what he needed. Trying to affirm without words that things were different, and she was good with the change.
She was breathless by the time he released her, his grin stretching from ear to ear. “Mmm, nice.”
Allison slowly undulated against him, rubbing their torsos together. “There’s more where that came from.”
Gabe lifted a brow. “You needing a bit of sexy cowboy? You want me to take off my shirt so you can touch my abs for a while?”
A gasp escaped. “Gabe Coleman, you were eavesdropping on me and my sister.”
“Course I was. Had to know if it was safe to come in. Didn’t think I’d be hearing about how you wanted to strip me down and take advantage of me.”
Oh, stripping him down was a fine idea. But that second part of what he’d said? “Sex isn’t why I want you. Just to be clear. You’re a good man—”
“You say that one more time and I’m going to feel as if they should put a halo over my picture when they hang it on the wall.”
“Well, it’s true.”
“I’m not a good man. I choose to do good things. There’s a difference.”
“Not in my books.”
If he could be brave, so could she.
“Gabe?”
He nuzzled her neck. “Umm?”
“I’ve been wanting this to be more than just something to make my mom happy. I’ve been hoping you were starting to want me. For me.”
The sheer joy in his face lit the room. “I want you. Not just want you, physically, although, oh, woman, you are very fine.”
She caught his hand and stared intently at him. The little flecks of gold in the green of his eyes sparkled like stars. He rolled her, covering her with his long hard body, and suddenly his expression had nothing to do with being angelically good.
“Let me make love to you.”
Even the way he said it sounded different. More intense, more meaningful.
She grabbed on to his shirt and jerked it loose from his jeans.
He helped her, she helped him. One article of clothing at a time, they stripped. When he dropped his shirt to the ground, she reached out and touched him. Pressing her fingers to his abs and tracing the rigid lines of his muscles. She kissed his collarbone, licked the hollow of his throat.
His hands were busy, pulling her top free, reaching around to unhook her bra. The warm air from the open window brushed her naked skin a second before his mouth covered her right breast, and she sighed with pleasure.
He licked and sucked, his other hand coming up to hold her left breast and tweak her nipple until the spot tingled and she squirmed against his mouth.
One side. The other. She wanted to undo his pants and continue the getting-naked part, but he wouldn’t let her, instead spreading her over the mattress and continuing to drive her crazy.
“I’ve rushed and rushed. Every time we’ve fooled around it seems my brain shuts down, and I’ve never stopped to savour you. Tonight? I’m in no hurry, so you just enjoy.”
Gabe kissed her then inched his lips along her throat as he returned to her breasts. Every touch, every lick, it was as if strings were attached from the sensitive tips to her core, and he tugged them again and again. She squeezed her legs together to try to get some pressure where she needed it most.
He dropped to her belly and played with the piercing there. She was wearing a tiny diamond chip, and as he tongued it, the heat of his breath fanned over her belly.
Bringing her up, taking her higher.
He kissed the centre of the butterfly on the crest of her hipbone. “It’s beautiful. They all are.”
The tiny butterflies she’d had inked on her body were therapeutic and made her smile every time she spotted them. “I needed something to show how I felt. The butterflies were a natural fit.”
He fell silent, fingers tracing the outline. “Incredible.”
“Life goes on. Changes. I wanted to celebrate that.”
Gabe shifted lower and touched her thigh where another of the brightly coloured creatures decorated her skin. He kissed the spot tenderly. “Inspiring.”
Then he covered her mound with his mouth, and she was the one being inspired. Long, slow, thorough licks followed. His tongue teasing through her folds, circling her clit. Plunging deep into her core. He clasped her thighs and pushed them up and out of his way, and dove in deeper.
Allison touched his head, dragging her fingertips over his scalp. His tongue drove her crazy, but touching him satisfied her like she’d never expected.
Sexual tension, physical responses. They were there, they hit just right, but it was in her mind that she felt it most. In her heart.
It was more than physical, stirring her deep inside.
He covered her clit and sucked lightly, tongue flicking against the sensitive spot until her tension rose so high she was ready to tip over. Ready, but needing something more. Just a touch to send her flying.
Gabe caught hold of her nipple. It still tingled from his earlier attentions, and as he increased his assault on her clit, he tweaked the tight point. She took off in a wonderful explosion, pleasure shooting over the barrier and setting free.
As the waves rocked her body, he kissed her intimately, slowing as the pulses slowed. Then he rolled her, rising behind her as he pressed his lips to the butterfly on her lower back. The one on her shoulder blade.
The tiny one at the base of her neck.
He licked her neckline. “I like this going-slower business.”
She had to agree. “Can you get naked, though? That would make the slow business even better, at least in my books.”
Gabe chuckled softly, moving away for a moment. Allison lay in boneless relaxation, wanting more, but satisfied as well.
It was a neat sensation.
Thinking of his words, his confession of wanting more? It was everything she wanted and dreamed of and feared at the same time.
Gabe returned, the mattress dipping under his weight. His warm body settling over top of hers, hard muscles tight to her back, hard length of his erection against her butt.
“Naked as commanded,” he whispered.
She twisted her head to the side and gave him her lips. Slowly they tangled tongues and explored each other. Gabe ran his hands over her shoulders and up to her wris
ts, circling them with his fingers and tugging her arms over her head.
He was full out lying on top of her. Protective. Like he was shielding her.
Her heart ached and was happy all at the same time. Gabe, her guardian angel.
She tried to move her hands, but he had them locked in position. “You planning on tying me up, cowboy?”
“Not today, but now that you mention it, I think we can arrange that.”
She shimmied her hips, attempting to rub against him. His cock was a solid weight pressed into her flesh. “You still planning on doing something with that tonight?”
“Hell, yeah. I was having fun watching you squirm, first.”
He rose off her, the heat and pressure of his possession easing, and she sighed. Her exhalation turned to a gasp as he raised her hips and buried his cock in her pussy.
“God, Allison.”
He gripped her hips tightly and thrust forward again. She was still chest-down to the mattress, arms extended overhead, and the angle he held her hips made him go deep. Filling her, expanding her with his girth. She grabbed on to the headboard and held on for dear life.
Only the wild ride she expected didn’t come. He rocked steadily, filling her completely. Groin meeting ass, his fingers bruising her hips. When he forced his thighs farther under hers, she held her breath, it felt so good. Different angle, different slide against her sheath. Teasing and tangling her pleasure into anticipation, and anticipation into need. He thrust in all the way then paused, bending over her and covering her with his body. Heated chest against her back, his arm slipped under her and wrapped around her waist.
“Let go of the bed,” he ordered.
Her fingers slipped from the wooden struts, and he lifted her torso, settling her in his lap. Her butt rested against his abs, and she was so damn full she was ready to burst.
He caught hold of her neck and sucked, both hands covering her breasts. Sensory overload began, and she was going to die if she didn’t come soon, but she was determined this time she wasn’t going alone.
She squeezed around him, and Gabe responded, hands twitching for a second. “Hell, do that again.”
Allison laughed and reached to catch hold of his neck, arching her back and luxuriating in his caresses. He slipped one hand between her thighs and teased her clit, and she moaned happily.
Just a little more. Little more.
Gabe growled in her ear. “Touch yourself.”
She lowered her hand and her fingers met his. Moisture covered her fingers. He rubbed her clit, stroked along the seam where his cock disappeared into her body, and she shivered.
Gabe placed his hand over hers, joining her in the touch, making it something far more than when she played with herself, looking for release. Not only her, but him, directing, guiding, following her lead as she changed position slightly.
His other arm banded around her body, higher up, and when he leaned her forward against it, he braced her in position.
She would have asked what he was doing, but she didn’t care. She trusted him. Trusted he would hold on, keep her safe. Make her satisfied.
The new position allowed him to move his hips again, and he pulled back, his cock brushing the walls of her sheath, sensitivity rising as he slid forward, forcing his way into her core. Deeper. Intimately close, the heat of the evening and the heat of their bodies making them slick. All the while his fingers worked with hers.
Her climax came between one breath and the next, flashing through and shaking her, squeezing her around his cock as she cried out.
Gabe stilled, their bodies sealed, tight and intimate. His cock impossibly hard inside her.
He groaned, the low aching hum brushing past her ear and caressing her entire body. She did that to him. Made him sound like that. Made him needy and hard and hers. At least for now.
His cock jerked, and she felt him release. Felt his hands tremble as he lost control and spent.
They stayed there, locked together for a couple more seconds. Gabe lowered them to the mattress, still spooning her, his cock lodged in her core.
She clutched his hand where his palm pressed over her belly. “Don’t let go.”
He rocked lightly, the additional stroke of pleasure making her moan. “You got it.”
Allison closed her eyes and luxuriated in his possession. In his caring. “Can we do that again?”
“What, have sex?” His laugher rumbled against her body. “I’m pretty sure we can arrange that.”
She reached up and caressed his cheek. “That too, but I meant the talking. Telling each other what’s really happening. I need that, Gabe.”
Because in spite of living under his roof for the past couple of months, she felt she’d barely scratched the surface. This feeling between them? It was big and powerful, but it was just the beginning.
He turned her then, leaving for a moment before coming back to lay her flat out on the mattress, their legs twined together. He stroked the hair off her face and gazed down with those star-filled eyes, and she fell a little further without even trying.
“We can do that. We’ve got all the time in the world.” His deep voice so sure and confident.
Then he touched their lips together, and she pulled him over her, and they started all over again.
In spite of the hurtful words by the fire, and dealing with painful memories, it had turned out to be a magical night.
Chapter Twenty
Time was the one thing it turned out they didn’t have. The phone call came at four in the morning not even three days later. Elle’s weeping could be heard over the line, and seeing the colour drain from Allison’s face made his heart break.
They’d known this was coming, known it was probably soon. But you still hoped for longer than you got.
“Is Maisey…gone?” he asked softly.
Allison shook her head. “Elle called the ambulance. They’re taking her to the hospital in Red Deer.”
“I’ll drive you out. We can pick up Elle if she waits for us.”
“Paul’s driving her.”
Gabe caught Allison against him and squeezed her tight. “Shower quick. I’ll make the calls.”
He pushed her toward the bathroom, and she walked willingly but in a daze. Gabe realized this was only the start of the day’s pain.
The hour and a half drive to the hospital was quiet. Allison laid her head on his shoulder and he held her against him. It wasn’t about saving her anymore; it was about being there and being a part of every bit of her life.
He’d been so afraid to tell her how he’d felt. Typical male, but letting her know had been exactly what they needed. The little smiles, the intimate glances they’d shared over the past days. All of it felt different. They were together in a more solid way, which was exactly what she needed right now. Exactly what he’d hoped for, in spite of promising to go slow.
She stopped outside her mom’s room and took a big breath. Gabe squeezed her fingers. “Maisey loves you.”
Allison turned her face toward him. In spite of the dark lines under her eyes, she was even more beautiful than usual. “That makes it all worthwhile, right?”
“Everything. Every ache, every sorrow.”
They walked in together.
Maisey was in bed, the headboard raised so she could lean against the support. Her skin looked paper thin, her body so fragile.
“If you’d wanted to come to Red Deer to go shopping you should have just told me, Mom. I would have let you take a few days off from the restaurant.” Allison stepped to the side of the bed and caught her mom’s hand. She had to reach around an IV tube and another monitor, but she found a way.
Maisey smiled, and the expression transformed her face to something striking and ageless. Joy had that ability. “You know me. Slacking off any time I can.”
Gabe held on to Allison, his arm draped around her waist as the ladies talked. Paul and Elle hurried in about an hour later, and Gabe pretty much just listened. Supported Allison and watche
d as this family who had so much love and togetherness in them—watched as they prepared to say goodbye.
Sharing with Allison the other night had been like letting go the plug on a barrel. He hadn’t realized exactly how tightly wrapped he’d kept parts of himself.
She was right, though. He’d always been like this. Always wanted to save people. Only his tragedies had taken him over and he’d started doing more to save others. He’d forgotten he was allowed to save himself as well. To accept a little saving from her.
When Maisey’s eyes closed in fatigue, he tugged Allison to him. Whispered in her ear. “Come on. I’m going to feed you and give you coffee.”
“But Mom—”
“Will be okay for a while without you.” The nurse who was checking the room nodded at his soft-spoken words. “You need to eat or you’re going to collapse, and then Maisey will get out of that bed and kick my butt for not taking care of you.”
Even as he said it he knew they both wished Maisey would do exactly that.
The small cafeteria was busy with people grabbing coffees and late breakfast. Gabe moved quickly through the line to return to where Allison sat, her head cradled in her arms. He slipped onto the bench seat beside her and nudged her. “Eat.”
She nodded, sucking back the coffee first. They were quiet, the low buzz of voices around them so similar to the familiar noises of the barns. Even in sadness, home called to him.
Something had been running through his brain all morning. He wasn’t sure how it would go over, but she’d said to talk to her.
Gabe took her fingers into his. “Allison, this may sound like a crazy idea, but hear me out.”
She lifted her head, her tired gaze meeting his. “Crazy idea? What you got planned now, Angel Boy?”
He smiled. “Damn, I left my halo at home.”
His quip tugged a smile to her lips. “Tell me your crazy idea.”
“We should get married. Right now. In front of your mom.”
She bit her bottom lip and her eyes welled with tears.
“Why not? Why not make someone who you love very happy?”