Dangerous Grounds

by Shelli Stevens

  He must have mistaken her silence for distaste because his tone grew harsh as he said, “I’m sure it’s not up to your usual standards, but it should do.”

  “It’s perfect, Gabe.” She turned around to face him. “I’m a little confused. Did I run over your dog or something? Where is this hostility coming from? There’ve been a couple of barbed remarks tonight.”

  His glance dropped to her mouth, and his body tensed. It’s me. Being here. He still fought the inevitable. He was so damned determined to be the good guy.

  “Gabe.” She took a step toward him, wanting to feel her mouth under his. She hadn’t kissed him yet. He’d given her a mind-blowing orgasm, and she hadn’t even kissed him. That needed to be remedied.

  Her tongue slicked over her lips as she glanced up at him. His gaze caught the movement and she could have sworn he groaned, but he still kept the distance between them.

  “I thought you were hungry, Maddie.”

  She ran her hands down his chest, her fingers clenching the material of his shirt.

  “I am.” She reached up to the back of his head and pulled his mouth down onto hers.

  His lips were soft, yet firm as she moved her mouth against them. She ran her tongue over his bottom lip then gave it a gentle bite with her teeth.

  He must have given up any idea of refusing, because his hands grasped her hips and jerked her firmly against his body as he backed her up against the wall.

  He pulled the rubber band free from her hair and threaded his fingers through the strands that fell to her shoulders. He tilted her head a bit and deepened the kiss, his tongue thrusting into the cavern of her mouth.

  Madison’s head spun and she realized she had just lost control of the situation. Not that she cared. This was the exact response she’d been hoping to get from him.

  His knee slid between her legs and rubbed against her throbbing sex through her jeans. He groaned again, and she answered with one of her own.

  She stroked her tongue against his, loving the warm, abrasive textures rubbing together. His hand came up to cup the side of her face and she yelped in pain.

  “Maddie…?” He pulled back, looking dazed.

  “My jaw is just a little tender.” No! Madison wanted to smack herself. She reached for him and tried to bring his mouth back down to her. “We can work around it.”

  “Shit.” His hand gentled against her cheek as he stepped back from her. “I forgot that he hit you. Let’s get some ice on that.”

  “No. No, no!” She grabbed his arm. “Let’s not. Let’s stay here and you can keep on kissing me until my knees go weak again—”

  Gabe took her hand and pulled her into the kitchen after him. He urged her into a chair and went to the freezer, pulling out a bag of frozen vegetables.

  Madison shook her head in disgust. She’d almost had him. Had been so close to having him. But no. She had to let a little bruise get in the way.

  He handed her the vegetables wrapped in a paper towel and she obediently placed them against her cheek, wincing at the abrupt coldness.

  “Now, let’s get you something to eat.” He cast her a sharp look as he opened the fridge. “And I mean food.”

  Madison sighed and gave him a wry smile. “You can’t blame a girl for trying.”

  He laughed as he pulled a carton of eggs and a pack of tortillas out of the fridge.

  “Do you like eggs?”

  “Yeah, that’s fine.”

  “All right.” He turned on the stove and sat a frying pan on top of the burner. “I’m going to make you something my aunt used to make. It’s called tortilla con huevo.”

  “Hmm.” She watched as he added a glob of butter to the pan, making a mental note to attend an extra spinning class this week.

  Gabe tore a small hole in the middle of a corn tortilla, and laid it into the cast-iron skillet.

  Curious, she stood and went to lean on the counter next to him, watching him prepare her food. When the tortilla had turned a light brown, he cracked an egg over the hole and allowed it to cook.

  After a moment, he grabbed a spatula and flipped the tortilla so the yolk of the egg peeked through the gap.

  “Wow,” she glanced at him. “I’m impressed. That looks great. Fattening, but great.”

  “Oh, please.” He shook his head and flipped the concoction out of the pan and onto a plate. “Do you want salsa?”

  “Oh, yeah. Pile it on, baby.” She accepted the steaming plate and a fork from him a minute later.

  “You think you’ll want another one?”

  “No, this’ll do me.” She took a seat at the antique table in the dining room. “Aren’t you going to eat?”

  “Eric and I got something before we…”

  Before they’d shown up at her shop. She knew the rest of what he hadn’t said. Her stomach rolled with the memories and she almost lost her appetite. Squelching down any further reaction, she lifted a bite to her mouth.

  The buttery tortilla combined with the rich moist egg yolk had her moaning her appreciation.

  “You like?” Gabe’s eyes darkened as he watched her mouth.

  “I really, really like.” She’d seen his reaction, but continued to eat. After she’d polished off most of it, she laid down her fork. “You know what else I like?”

  He took a seat next to her. “I can guess.”

  She raised an eyebrow and leaned back in her chair. “I like to be on top. I like to ride a man like he’s a mechanical bull.”

  Gabe forced a laugh as the image of her riding him floated through his head. “I guessed wrong.”

  His ran his gaze over her. She was so damn sexy with her hair falling around her face and partially covering one of her eyes. Eyes that twinkled a challenge to him. She lifted a finger to her mouth and licked it clean of any trace of yolk.

  “I like a lot of things, Gabe.” Her voice grew breathy. “Aren’t you at all curious to discover them?”

  Hell, yes. Right now he wanted to be that bull. God, he wanted her. He wanted her on the table. On the couch. On the bathroom rug.

  “Some things are better left unknown, Maddie.” He kept his voice neutral.

  “Why is it so taboo to sleep with your friend’s sister?” she asked with genuine confusion. “I’m not unfamiliar with your sexual habits, Gabe. You’re not the type to decline strings-free sex…”

  He stood. “Maddie—”

  “Unless you’re not attracted to me.” Doubt flickered through in her eyes, and she stood, moving to stand right in front of him. “I mean, I know men can fake it. And if that’s the case then—”

  “How could I not be attracted to you?” he snapped and grabbed her hand, pressing it against his hardening cock. “Do you feel what you do to me? Are you happy now? Is that what you wanted?”

  “Yes, Gabe.” Her gaze flicked up to meet his with fierce determination. “This is exactly what I want.”

  His fingers closed around her wrist and he pried her hand away, already regretting his decision to have a hands-on demonstration.

  “You know where your room is, Maddie. Go to bed.” He set her aside. “It’s almost midnight and we’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

  “Are you kidding me?” She threw her hands in the air. “And they call women teases? You’re sending me to bed fully aroused, do you realize that?”

  “What do you want me to do?” he demanded in frustration. “Like it or not, Maddie, there is a rule. An unspoken rule between friends, and I respect your brother too much to have sex with you.”

  “Don’t think of me as Eric’s sister.” She groaned and pressed her body against his. She took his hand and mimicked his earlier motions, placing it between her legs.

  Through the thin layer of her pants, he could feel her heat and the hint of dampness. He groaned, knowing he couldn’t take her the way he wanted to. And if he gave her the orgasm she wanted, she’d hate him later. Then again, that might not be such a bad thing.

  She made the decision for him a
nd shoved his hand away from her. “Fine. I’ll go to bed.”

  Disappointment stabbed through him, even when he knew it should be relief.

  “But take this memory with you.” She stepped forward and lowered her voice. “I am going to be lying in your spare bed touching myself. Think about me rubbing my hot, swollen, wet—”

  “Madison!”

  She gave his erection a pointed glance.

  “Sleep well, Gabe,” she murmured, and turned to go to her room. It was all he could do not to follow.

  An hour later she lay in bed wide-awake with frustration. Despite her declaration to accomplish her own orgasm, she was far from it.

  She traced her finger over the smooth folds between her legs, playing with the moisture she found and rubbing a finger over her clitoris. Imagining it was Gabe didn’t help, because her soft finger couldn’t compare to his thick, calloused ones.

  Madison knew she had it bad when she couldn’t even bring her own release. She wanted him so much that it became almost a physical pain.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and rolled over onto her side, curling her legs up toward her chest and willing the ache between her legs to disappear.

  It took almost another hour before she slipped into a light sleep, and instead of being comforted, she found herself reliving the robbery. Except this time, the robber pulled the trigger.

  She jerked upright with a cry, dragging the sheets around her. A moment later her door burst open and Gabe’s silhouette filled the doorway.

  “Maddie?” He shut the door and came over to the bed. “What’s wrong? I heard you cry out.”

  She turned her head away before he could see the shine of tears in her eyes. The dream had been too real.

  “Did you dream about him?” Gabe asked, his voice soft. “It’s all right, Maddie. It’s normal. I haven’t seen you break down once yet.”

  “I’m not the type to break down,” she mumbled. She urged herself to regain control and not lose it. But the back of her throat burned from choking back the tears, and soon she stopped fighting.

  The tears ran down her cheeks and she kept her face averted, trying to hide them.

  “Maddie…” He pulled her unresisting body into his arms, sliding back against the bedpost to support them. She buried her head against his chest.

  “It’s just sexual tension combined with the post-traumatic stress.” She tried to laugh and it came out choked. “Nothing to worry about. It’d all go away if you’d just have sex with me.”

  “You don’t need to make it a joke, Maddie,” he murmured. “It’s nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about.”

  Wasn’t it? She hated that she was crying on Gabe’s shoulder. He was always so controlled and seemed so kept together. And now, in between pathetic attempts to seduce him, she sat here bawling her eyes out on his chest. His naked chest. Hmm. She hadn’t noticed that before.

  She blinked the last of her tears away and became quite aware of the rapid pounding of Gabe’s heart.

  Maybe he wasn’t as controlled as he’d have her believe.

  She kept her head against his chest. “You’re not immune to me, Gabe.”

  His hand that had been stroking her hair stilled, and then resumed its comforting movements.

  “I never said I was.”

  “Then why—”

  “Just sleep, Maddie,” he interrupted, his voice gentle. “I’ll stay here with you, if you’d like. But only to sleep.”

  Madison considered her options. Having Gabe in bed with her would be a major temptation to attempt to seduce him again. It’d be better just to send him back to his own bed. But then the thought of being alone, with the possibility of more nightmares, made it an obvious choice.

  “I’d like you to stay, and I promise not to touch you. Tonight. Deal?”

  He gave a soft laugh and maneuvered them so that they were lying down next to each other.

  “Deal.”

  Chapter Five

  Gabe woke with Madison’s head resting on his chest. His arm lay curled around her back in a protective gesture. The light that slipped through the blinds hinted that his alarm would soon be going off, although there wasn’t a clock in this room to confirm it.

  He moved his hand in a gentle caress over her exposed shoulder, loving the silky texture that invited him to keep exploring her body. His hands moved to her tousled hair and he smoothed it down her back. A soft moan emerged from her mouth and his body hardened at the sexy sound.

  Damn it. He shouldn’t find her this desirable. Her hair was a mess. She snored. She’d even done that lip-smacking thing a couple times during the night. And he’d never been so turned on in his life. It had to be her choice of nightgown. Well, not a nightgown really. Just a tank top and white cotton panties.

  “No…don’t want pee’ut buttuh…” she mumbled and rolled off him onto her back, nearly pushing him off the bed.

  Gabe turned to his side, propping his head up with his hand as he stared down at her. He wondered if she faked being asleep, but then she did that lip-smacking thing again. Her legs moved around on the bed, before falling open a little.

  I won’t look. But he couldn’t stop himself. His gaze lowered to the apex of her thighs. Through the thin cotton he could see the shadow of her sex. He stared for a moment, imagining what she looked like up close. He’d touched her in the espresso shop, felt that tight, hot channel, but he hadn’t actually seen it.

  Knowing he was being an idiot and not much caring at this point, he reached out a finger anyway and traced it down the middle of her panties. He could feel the plump folds, and he increased the pressure of his finger until he pushed the panties inside her.

  She gave a soft groan and Gabe’s gaze rose to her face. She still slept.

  He could feel the hot moisture against his finger and he pulled his hand away. He curled two fingers around the edge of her panties, tugging them to the side so he could look at her.

  Christ, she looked enticing. All smooth, plump, and pink. He used his other hand to part her lips, groaning as he spotted the slight hint of moisture shimmering between her folds, her pink clit resting inside like a priceless pearl just begging to be sucked.

  “Gabe?” she murmured, her voice sleepy and disoriented.

  He jerked back. God, if he didn’t look like the biggest pervert right now. She stared at him in confusion, then sat up and started to reach for him.

  “Oh, God!” Her eyes darted to the blinds and she groaned, lurching off the bed. “What time is it? I have to open the shop! And you choose now to get horny?”

  “Easy, Maddie.” Gabe’s gaze moved to her full breasts pushing against the thin tank top. He shifted the blanket over his erection. “I don’t think you should plan on going into work today. We’ve got to go to the station and work with the sketch artist.”

  “Are you kidding me?” She turned from her action of opening her suitcase to glare at him. “This is my fourth day in business. It would be economic suicide to not keep regular hours my first week. That’s the easiest way to piss off a customer. They’ll think my shop is flaky—”

  “Maddie,” Gabe raised a hand to stop her continued tirade. “They’ll understand. Just assume they saw the story on the news last night—”

  “The news?” The shirt in her hand fell limp against her side. “You think this’ll make the news?”

  Gabe sighed, reluctant to tell her she’d already made the news. “Reporters listen to the police scanners for any hint of a story. And the Espresso Bandit is not your typical robber; he’s consistent in assaulting his victims. The one before you died. And, shit, he tried to kill you last night. He’ll be the top story, Maddie.”

  Madison sank down onto the floor and dropped her head into her hands. “I’ve got to call Sarah and tell her not to come in. Maybe I should put up a sign or something.”

  “Eric called her last night.” He got out of the bed—his arousal, for the most part, subsided under his flannel pajama pants—and walked toward he
r. “We found her number on your desk. She was upset, but glad to hear you’re okay. Eric told her to take the day off.”

  She gave him a despondent look—which made him feel like an ass—but he needed to stay focused.

  After a moment she sighed and looked away. “I guess there’s not much else to do. Do you mind if I shower before we go down to the station?”

  “Go for it.” He walked past her into the hallway. “I’ll set out a towel and make you something to eat for breakfast.”

  “I don’t need anything…” She sighed as he cast a warning glance over his shoulder. “Fine. I’m good with Cocoa Puffs if you’ve got them.”

  Gabe fought the urge to roll his eyes. “No. I don’t have them. Damn, you women and your chocolate. Go get your shower.”

  Madison smiled as she walked past him and into the bathroom.

  When she entered the kitchen twenty minutes later, she plopped herself down at the table with a sigh, her hair still wet and her skin all dewy looking.

  He glanced away from her exposed skin down the rest of her body. “That’s my bathrobe you’re wearing, you realize that?”

  “Is it?” Her eyes widened with mock innocence. She stood and reached for the belt tied around her waist. “I can give it back and we can finish what you started this morning.”

  “Never mind.” He turned his back on her before she could drop the robe from her body. When she laughed, his jaw clenched. She was enjoying this a little too much. “Your bagel is ready. Do you like cream cheese?”

  “Love it. You’ll crack sooner or later, Gabe.” He heard her pad off into the living room. “But for now I’ll just watch some television.”

  He grunted in response and then bolted after her.

  “Maddie, wait!”

  But he was too late. She already stared in shock at the television set and the image of her shop being displayed.

  He’d decided to check out the morning news while she was in the shower. Sure enough the media had been running the recent Espresso Bandit burglary as one of their top stories. All the local stations had sent a camera out to her shop at some point to broadcast live. It was another reason he didn’t want her to go into work today. He just wished he’d remembered to turn off the news before she saw it.