“Brandon isn’t a cowboy, not really. He’s the CEO of a bank who knows Grayson quite well. The two of them really seem determined to help find us a long-term solution to replace our property in the city.”
“Replace it? Do we want to replace it?”
“I want to leave this harassment behind,” she says, her voice tightening, the joy of moments before gone. “I need to leave it behind.” There’s a desperation to the words and she doesn’t even know about the threats against her.
“I’ll be there soon and we can talk.”
“You don’t have to do that. We’ve got this under control. And I’m going to stay the night tonight, anyway. I’ll ride back with Brandon in the morning.”
We chat a few more minutes and disconnect. Brandon’s help should please me, but my mother’s defeat overshadows this, and I don’t know how she’s going to take hearing about the threat of criminal charges against her. I need to talk to her in person and make sure she doesn’t get sideswiped. And to do that, I need to talk to Gabe. I eye my morning-after-sex appearance in the mirror and fight the urge to make myself look more presentable. I did that with my ex. I wasn’t even comfortable being me and I lived like that for years of my life. I’m not doing that again. If I’m not good enough for Gabe, if the real me is not good enough, I don’t want to do this.
I walk to the door and open it, staring at the bed that’s a tangle of sheets and blankets Gabe and I made together. Together. I never thought I’d wake up on a Sunday morning and be a together again. I had shut down so completely before Gabe.
I head for the doorway and down the hall as I bring the living room, kitchen, and Gabe behind the island, into view. “Okay, Dexter,” he’s saying, glancing from his computer screen to the floor, where I assume Dexter is hanging out. “Should I file a motion or hold off for further negotiations?” He rotates in his seat and looks down at the dog. “Bark once for motion. Twice for no motion. Three times for uncertain.” He waves his hands at Dexter, who gives a funny whine.
Gabe scrubs his jaw. “That’s none of the above. Let me give you the details. Collin Bloom is the CEO of Megna Enterprises and a real dick.”
Dexter barks.
“Motion it is,” Gabe says. “And for the record, I agree. He doesn’t deserve further negotiations.”
I laugh when a few minutes ago I wouldn’t have thought that to be possible, and Gabe turns those beautiful blue eyes on me. “There is nothing funny about Collin Bloom, I promise you.” He motions me forward. “Come have some coffee and I’ll tell you all about him.”
I start in that direction and Dexter rushes around the island and charges toward me, a big smile on his cute face. I meet him halfway to the island and kneel in front of him, only to be knocked over as he starts kissing me. Gabe is there in a heartbeat, helping me up and controlling Dexter. “Bad manners, Dexter,” he says, pulling me to my feet. “But good choice of women.” His hands slide under my hair and he pulls my mouth to his. “Good morning,” he says, low and rough.
“Good morning,” I say, my hand flattening on the hard wall of his chest, the connection electric, warmth spreading up my arm and through my body.
He kisses me again and it’s not a barely-there kiss. It’s a melt-me-in-my-bare-feet kind of kiss that I feel in every part of me. I moan with the impact and he pulls back to look at me, a smile playing on his lips as he says, “Forget the coffee. Let’s go back to bed.”
“Oh no,” I say. “I can’t do that. I need to go to the ranch.”
“I talked to your mother. It’s calm there. Grayson and Mia already had breakfast in bed, so breakfast with us is off. We can go to the ranch to check-in and take your mother coffee. After we fuck in the shower.”
I pull back. “You talked to my mother?”
“Of course. I wanted to make sure she was okay.”
He was worried about my mother? Oh God. This man is trying to make me fall for him. “She’s not okay. She’s not. She wants to give up the property. She said Grayson and Brandon are helping her, but there’s not a better option. They won’t find one and she—she’s not good and I haven’t even told her about the legal issues.”
He cups my face. “There are no legal issues. I’m handling this. Trust me. I have a plan.”
“What are you going to do, Gabe?” I ask, alarm bells sounding in my head.
“Teach your ex a lesson. Teach them all a lesson.”
He’s going to end up dead, which means I have to handle this before he does, I have to end this. I’m going to have to do what I never wanted to do. There’s only one way to stop my ex. There’s only one way and I have to use it to protect my mother and now Gabe and his family. And I have to do it now. Which means I need to get away from Gabe for a while to make it happen.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Abbie
When Gabe kisses me and picks me up, carrying me toward the bedroom, I welcome the distraction. I don’t want to think about my decision to go to the dark side to deal with my ex. I don’t want to be in that thought. I don’t want to live in that deep cavern of darkness. I don’t want to be the person my ex is making me become.
And so, I let Gabe carry me down the hallway. I get lost in the two of us naked in the shower. I crawl into the passion and huddle down, deep and wild. I touch Gabe. I kiss Gabe. I free myself into the moment, no inhibitions. We have no inhibitions. I can’t get pregnant with this man. I can’t feel guilt with this man. I haven’t hurt him yet. He hasn’t hurt me. We’re in that raw and fresh and perfect place that can be damaged so very easily. It can go from rainbows and perfection to thunderstorms and earthquakes. Perfect can become imperfect. Perfect can even become poisonous. If I let it. I won’t. Not because of my ex. And not because of an outside force that should have no control over us.
When it’s over, we dress, sharing the intimacy beyond the naked passionate moments in the shower. I share his bathroom. We share this small space to dress. To get ready for what the rest of this day holds for us. And finally, we take Dexter for a walk and laugh about the silly dog who wants to turn the ocean into his next victim. It must be evil since it runs at him after all.
It’s almost lunchtime when we load into the car, and I call my mother to see if she needs anything. Apparently, she doesn’t. Her and the cowboy on the ranch, as well as the animals, are all just peachy. “Nothing,” I say, eyeing Gabe. “They had breakfast and lunch.”
“Then I vote for donuts as our breakfast and lunch. And coffee. More coffee for sure.”
I laugh. “And how do you stay in such great shape, if you eat burgers, fries, and donuts?”
“I work out and eat well during the week. You’ll get a variety of protein shakes to try with me later this week.”
Later this week. “Will I now?”
“If you stay with me tonight at my apartment like I want you to, yes, you will. Starting tomorrow, I’ll make you my famous strawberry pudding protein breakfast.”
He wants me to stay with him again? Do I want to stay again? For now, I focus on the promise of breakfast. “Strawberry pudding?”
“It’s delicious and healthy. You do like strawberries, right? Because if you don’t, this doesn’t end now, but it’s going to shake me to the very core. Really. Like, shake me right here.” He pauses at a stoplight and balls his fist over this heart, a playful gesture, the kind he hides behind, but I believe this is also a part of Gabe. He’s fun and funny. He’s just not always that person. Sometimes there’s more. Sometimes there’s the pain he can’t quite hide from. I see this because I understand. I know what that feels like.
His expression darkens and he brushes my cheek. “What just happened?”
“Nothing,” I say, catching his hand, and it warms me that he notices my shift in mood. That he cares. It scares me how much I’m drawn to him, how easily I could fall in love with him. And I could. I stare into his intelligent, blue eyes that spiral into his complicated soul, and I know, I absolutely know how hard I’m falling. It’s snuck u
p on me. He’s snuck up on me.
“Nothing?” he presses.
“You happened,” I say.
“You look sad. I don’t want to make you sad.”
“You didn’t. You don’t.” I grip his hand tighter. “You make me laugh and smile. You make me a lot of things that don’t include sad.”
Someone honks and I jolt. Seemingly unaffected, Gabe leans over and kisses me. “We’ll talk about all the things I want to make you feel later. Alone.” His voice is low, rough, sexually charged.
I’m sexually charged now, too. I’m perpetually squeezing my legs shut, as I am now, when I’m with this man, trying to calm the ache he creates in me. A good ache. The sweet kind of ache you both want to float around inside and sate, all at once.
A few minutes later, we’re in the donut shop and Gabe orders enough to feed the ranch, it seems. We stuff our faces and laugh about little stories he tells me about his time here in the Hamptons and all the snobby attitudes he forgives because of good donuts, ocean air, and a chance to escape the city in a short chopper ride.
“Do you ever talk to your father?” I ask.
“Only when he showboats and tries to pull some crazy stunt like he just did with you and that fake lawsuit.”
“Did you talk to him about that?”
“You don’t talk to my father and get anywhere. You take action.”
“What action, Gabe?”
“Depends on the situation.”
“This one?”
“There are things I can do to cause him pain. He knows it. That’s why he wants me out of this. That’s why he wants you to push me out of this.” He shuts the donut box. “Which is why you can’t make assumptions about me. If you doubt me, talk to me. Give me the chance to speak for myself.”
“Of course, I will. I should have. It was just a shock and you have to understand,” I shove aside half an uneaten donut, “I’ve seen a lot of really dirty play through my ex. Often I saw things he didn’t know I saw.” My stomach knots because sometimes I was more involved than I wanted to be in my ex’s nightmare tactics. “I’m programmed to expect the worst.”
His eyes narrow and then soften right along with my voice. “As am I.” His hand covers mine. “Let’s make a pact. You and I are together. We don’t let others divide us. We don’t let our past history dictate the present.”
“You know my past history,” I say, because it’s mostly true. “I don’t know yours, aside from an extreme distaste for having children.”
His lashes lower, a muscle in his jaw ticking before he looks at me. “It’s not that simple.”
“It doesn’t sound simple at all to me, but for the record, I’m not looking to be a mom, Gabe. I’m not emotionally equipped to be a mom.”
“What does that mean?”
“There’s no simple answer to that question either.”
He sits there, his eyes shifting and probing, and I can almost feel how much he wants to push me for more, but I know he won’t. Because if I tell him my secrets, he’ll have to tell me his secrets. “We better get to the ranch,” Gabe says, eyeing his watch. “We have a chopper back to the city in a few hours.”
“Well then,” I say softly. “Now that we’ve established we’re together but with boundaries, I agree. We should go.” I stand up and start to move away.
He lets me and this bothers me more than it should. We barely know each other. I have things I’m not willing to share. He gets his secrets, too, but if I’m honest with myself, some part of me wanted him to stop me. Some part of me wants him to give me a reason to tell him everything. Then maybe, just maybe, he’d stop me from being a fool and doing something I can’t take back.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Gabe
Secrets.
I have them.
I believe Abbie has them.
I watch her walk toward the door and yes, I let her move ahead. I go so far as to turn my back on her to pick up the donut box. I can feel the divide between us widening every second I let her go, that comment she made about boundaries cutting and twisting inside me. I pause right there at the table, press my fist to the surface and shut my eyes. Damn it to hell. What am I doing with this woman?
My lashes lift and I find a pretty blonde staring at me like she wants me for breakfast. A woman and an invitation I’d have welcomed a week ago, but not now. Now, there’s Abbie, and only Abbie, and I don’t know what the fuck to do with that. I just don’t know and I’m not losing the chance to figure it out.
I grab the box and turn to find Abbie exiting the donut shop. In a few long strides, I’m at the door and outside. She’s charging quickly toward my car, her ass a perfect heart shape in her jeans. I’m hard for her that easily. I want her. Every way I can get her. I catch up to her in a few more steps and shackle her arm. She whirls on me. “I saw you and that blonde looking at each other. I saw, Gabe, and I don’t need to be that other girl again. Not now. Not ever.”
I pull her to me, flush against my body and I hope like hell she can feel how aroused I am. “Do you know what I was thinking when I was looking at her?”
“I don’t care,” she hisses, shoving against me.
“I’m going to tell you anyway. I was thinking about you. I was thinking that before you, I’d have taken her invitation. Now, there’s just you. I only want you, Abbie. And I don’t want you to be with anyone else either.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I know,” I say. “And I know why. Him. And me. I let you walk away. I shouldn’t have.”
“But you did.”
“I’m not a man who opens up to others easily. I’m not a man who has wanted to be anything but alone. Give me a chance to get used to the new me you created before you cut me open and look inside.”
“Cut you open? Is that what you think I’ll do to you?”
I inhale sharply and look skyward. Fuck. I glance down at her. “It was a bad choice of words.”
“It’s what you think relationships are, right? Something that hurts you?”
“It’s not what we are.”
“You just said—”
“Abbie,” I plead softly. “Give me time. Be with me. Just—be with me. I don’t want that woman inside. I don’t want anyone but you and I’ll say that as many times as you need me to say it, but I’ll show you, too.” I stroke her hair. “But you have to give me a chance to do that.”
She studies me, those green eyes of hers glinting with gold in the sunlight, probing my face, searching for something—I don’t know what. Perhaps signs that I’m like her ex-husband and I hope like hell she doesn’t find them. I hope like hell that she doesn’t figure out that the reason I’m so damn equipped to handle him for her is how much like him I am.
Seconds tick by that pass like minutes, hell, like hours, until her hand is resting on my chest, flattening, fingers flexing. “I won’t cut you open and look inside, Gabe, but I’d like to know the man beneath the surface. The one you show no one else. You have to give me the chance to show you that you can trust me, too.”
More like time to decide if she can handle the real me, but I doubt I’ll change my mind on that point. She can’t. I stroke hair from her eyes. “I’m standing right here, and I don’t want to turn away. I want to go to the ranch with you. I want to get on a chopper with you. And I want you in my bed again tonight. What do you want, Abbie?”
“All of those things with the promise of no heartache.”
It’s a raw, honest answer, spoken with torment in her eyes, torment I don’t want her to feel. “I will never intentionally hurt you. You have my word and soon, you’ll know my word is gold. If I give it, I mean it.” I run my thumb along her bottom lip. “Let’s go check on your mother and then go back to the city.”
“Yes. Let’s.” Her eyes light with hope that fills me with satisfaction. I want her. I can’t just take her because that would be fucking. That would be about pleasure, not satisfaction, and for the first time in my life, the two things are n
ot one. Satisfaction is defined differently. It’s not just sex.
I lace the fingers of my free hand with hers, and lead her to my car, opening the door for her. She slips inside and settles into the leather seat. I seal her inside, and I consider the need to steal her away, to take her on a trip and just spend a solid week getting to know her, but that won’t happen. Not as long as her ex is stalking her mother. She needs to protect her. I need to protect them both. I need time with Abbie and I need some time alone to make some arrangements to handle this problem once and for all.
I climb into the car with her and set the donuts in the back. Beside me, Abbie struggles with her belt and it jolts back to its home position. I reach over her, grab it and pause mid-way. “I got it. It’s tricky. It’ll get away from you if you let it.” I soften, a rough quality etching my tone as I add, “I won’t.” Heat rushes between us, expanding in the car, in my chest. “I never let anything important get away, Abbie.” I clamp the belt into position. “That means you.”
“I can’t be important yet.”
“And yet you are.”
“We’ll see,” she whispers.
“We’ll see,” I agree, satisfied for now, with her willing to do just that. Wait and see. Open her life and let me in. “And about those boundaries. I don’t have any when it comes to what I want.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad quality.”
She’s hit ten nails on the head. It’s not a good quality. It is, however, what wins. And it’s the quality that will ensure I get her ex out of her life, and keep her in mine.
“I guess you’ll have to try me and see.” I settle into my seat and crank the car.
A few minutes later, we pull into the ranch. I park and Abbie turns to me. “I have to tell her what’s going on, Gabe. Even if this legal stuff is all fake and a set-up, I have to tell her. I can’t let her get sideswiped. She’ll be more afraid if she doesn’t know you know people involved, and you know this isn’t real. Will you talk to me with her?”
His Demand (Dirtier Duet Book 1) Page 18