Anybody but Justin

by Shelli Stevens

  Her heavy breathing turned into low moans, putting what little control he had left at risk. His grip on her legs tightened and he pounded into her faster.

  “Yes.” She gasped and closed her eyes. “Just like that.”

  A growl of possessiveness ripped through him and he thrust blindly into her. Her moans echoed, reverberating in his head. The sensation of her slick heat squeezing his cock ruled him.

  Reaching down, he found her clit, swollen and wet, and pinched it.

  Her moan switched to a guttural scream and the walls of her pussy gripped him as she came. More moisture coated his dick as she trembled.

  Watching her face, the complete abandon and pleasure, sent him over a second later.

  His sac tightened and he exploded mid-thrust, his fingers digging into the softness behind her knees.

  Wave after wave of pleasure rocked him through his orgasm. A few minutes later, with his thighs still shaking, he lowered her legs to the bed and slid on top of her.

  “Jesus, Gabby.”

  “No kidding,” she muttered, biting his shoulder and then kissing the same spot. “That was…yum.”

  “Good way to put it.” He rolled to the side, his heart still pounding from his climax. “Why the hell did we wait so long to do that?”

  “I haven’t a clue.”

  Gabby let out a shuddering breath. Her stomach felt as if butterflies had taken up permanent residence. She wiped her palm down her face, but it did little to wipe the smile from her face.

  There was a softness around her heart, a hope for possibility that she’d never really let herself feel before. The possibility of Justin.

  “Are you hungry?” He nuzzled her neck, pressing a kiss to the pulse she knew must be all aflutter.

  “A little bit,” she admitted.

  “Me too. How about we go make those quesadillas now? You know, since you made me forgo them earlier?”

  She swatted his shoulder and giggled. “If you think for one minute that I’d believe you’d choose food over sex, you’re completely delusional.”

  “Well, never over sex with you, Gab.” He grinned and climbed off the bed, holding out his hand.

  Her heart sped up and her stomach flipped again.

  “You coming?”

  “Sure.” She placed her hand in his and his long fingers closed around hers.

  They opened the door to the bedroom and Doug bounded in, barking with excitement.

  “Don’t think he appreciated being locked out too much,” Justin commented, leaning down to rub the dog’s ears.

  “Apparently.” She patted Doug on the head and moved past him toward the kitchen, her stomach growling.

  Justin followed her and retrieved the cheese from the fridge again.

  “Thank God tomorrow’s Saturday,” she murmured. “I’m going to be exhausted in the morning.”

  “Will you stay here tonight?”

  His question knocked the wind from her sails. She opened her mouth to answer, but wasn’t quite sure what to say. Stay here. Sleep in his bed. More snuggling. God, the idea had appeal.

  “Do you hear that?”

  His sudden question saved her from having to answer the other one.

  “Hear what?”

  “I think your phone is ringing.”

  “My phone?” Her brows drew together as she pushed past him to retrieve her purse from the laundry room.

  She yanked out her cell phone on the beginning of the fourth ring and answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Gabrielle, is that you?”

  Gabby grabbed onto the washing machine, her knees almost gave out at the trembling voice on the other end of the phone.

  “Gabrielle, are you there?”

  “Yes, I’m here, Mom.” She closed her eyes.

  A lump settled in her stomach, a premonition that this would not be a good phone call. Her mother didn’t just call to chat after not talking to her daughter for several years. Especially after midnight.

  “What’s going on?” She lowered her voice, her hand squeezing around the phone.

  “I…I left him. I left your father tonight.”

  Shock and disbelief warred inside her, but she pushed the emotions aside. She had too much training with her day job to let them interfere with what needed to be done.

  “Okay. Where are you now?”

  “Ugh—well, I’m at a payphone at the mini-mart down the street from the house.”

  “Stay where you are. Go inside and wait if you can. I’ll be there in twenty minutes to pick you up.” She drew in a slow breath. “And please, Mom, don’t leave.”

  She snapped the phone shut and ran a hand through her hair.

  “What’s going on?”

  She spun around, pressing a hand to her chest in surprise. Justin stood in the doorway to the laundry room, naked and seeming unconcerned by the fact. Not that it mattered; she was sans clothes right now as well.

  Her gaze drifted over his body, needing the second of distraction. But it didn’t put her any more at ease. If anything, the knot in her stomach doubled.

  Hearing from her mom gave her the gentle reminder as to why she’d sworn never to sleep with Justin. Don’t think about that now.

  “I need to go,” she muttered. “That was my mother.”

  “Your mother?” His brows drew together and his look grew more troubled. “I thought you didn’t see your mother anymore?”

  “I haven’t. Not in over two years.” Her stomach clenched and a wave of anxiety threatened to overtake her, but she stuffed it down. Later. She could think about all this later.

  She moved past him to grab her clothes from his room.

  “It’s after midnight, Gabby. What’s going on?” He caught her arm before she reached the door to his room. “Where are you going?”

  “I need to go pick her up.”

  “This time of night? You don’t even have your car.”

  “I’ll...call a cab. Look, I have to go.” She tugged her arm free and hurried to find her clothes, pulling on each item with rapid speed.

  When she turned to grab her shoes, she found him half dressed.

  “What are you doing?” she asked sharply.

  “I’ll drive you.”

  “No. Justin—”

  “The hell if I’m going to let two women drive around San Francisco alone after midnight in a cab.”

  She glared at him and then shook her head, knowing it was pointless to argue with Justin once he got his mind set on something.

  Giving a terse nod, she grabbed her shoes.

  Five minutes later, she’d given him directions and they were speeding down the highway toward the neighborhood where she’d grown up.

  “You gonna tell me what’s going on?” Justin asked, breaking the silence that had settled since they’d gotten into his truck.

  She swallowed hard and glanced out the window. No, she really didn’t want to tell him. That was a part of her life she kept to herself. No one knew about it except Phoebe and Delanie. Even then, confessing to her friends had been hard enough.

  “Gabby, it’s me. You know you can tell me anything.”

  Not this.

  She bit her lip, deciding on truth with omission. “My mother left my father tonight.”

  He didn’t say anything for a moment, and then, “Is this a good thing?”

  “Yes.” The word was almost a whisper. “A very good thing.”

  How many years had she lain in her bedroom, the blanket drawn over her head and her face stuffed into the pillow? Praying again and again that God would give her mother the strength and wisdom to leave her father.

  The truck bounced into the parking lot of the mini-mart and Gabby blinked, shaking herself out of the past.

  Her stomach dropped when she scanned the parking lot and didn’t immediately see her mom’s petite form.

  “Is that her inside?”

  At his words, her gaze flew to the inside of the store and the woman hovering around the alc
ohol section.

  “Shit. I’ll be right back.” She fumbled with her seatbelt then jerked open the door to the truck and jumped down to the pavement.

  By the time she got inside, her mom already had a can of beer in her hand.

  Gabby rushed forward, snagging the beer from her grasp and then pulling her into a hug.

  “This isn’t going to help things, Mom,” she muttered.

  Her mother stiffened in her embrace and then let out a ragged sigh, her body going limp against Gabby.

  “You okay?”

  When her mother didn’t answer, Gabby pulled back to get a good look at her. Despite all her training and hands-on experience in her job, it didn’t make it any easier seeing the bruises on her own mom’s face.

  The gash above her right temple needed tending to and the bruises appeared to be at least a couple of days old.

  Gabby gripped her mother’s hands and squeezed. “I’m proud of you, Mom.”

  Her mother’s expression wavered between uncertainty and fear.

  “Mrs. Davison?”

  Gabby went rigid at the sound of Justin behind her. Damn. Why couldn’t he just wait in the car?

  Her mother’s gaze skittered over Justin warily and then back to Gabby.

  “I called your dad,” Arleen said in a soft voice after a moment. “He’s on his way to pick me up.”

  The air rushed from Gabby’s chest as if she’d been slugged.

  “No. No, Mom. Please don’t go back to him,” Gabby pleaded, her voice hoarse from frustration and disappointment. “Please, Mom.”

  Justin stepped forward and took her mother’s arm in a gentle grip.

  “Tell you what, Mrs. Davison.” He gave her a smile that Gabby knew had a damn near-perfect success rate at getting what he wanted. “Why don’t we go have a cup of coffee and you can think about it.”

  Her mom hesitated. “I don’t know…”

  “If you want to go back to your husband after coffee, I promise we’ll return you to your home.”

  Like hell they would! Gabby shot him a furious look, which he countered with one that clearly said trust me.

  “Just coffee?” her mother hedged.

  “Just coffee.”

  Gabby held her breath, her body zinging with tension. Any moment her father would pull up to the store and then the shit would really hit the fan. Chances were the police would get called.

  After another moment, her mother nodded.

  “Great.” Justin nodded at Gabby and escorted her mother out to his truck.

  After setting the beer back in the fridge and apologizing to the cashier, Gabby hurried out of the store and into the backseat of Justin’s truck.

  Just as they were pulling out of the parking lot, she recognized her dad’s beat-up Toyota pulling in.

  Her body sagged in relief at the near miss and she was damn grateful she’d let Justin talk her into taking his truck.

  A cab would have been too obvious and her dad would have followed them all over San Francisco to get his wife back.

  Justin turned the radio to an easy listening station and started to make small talk about the weather they’d been having.

  Gabby swallowed hard, more appreciative toward him by the minute. He was putting her mom at ease now. And, if she admitted it, she likely wouldn’t have even gotten her mother out of the store without him.

  She leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes, weakened by the relief of having her mom in the truck and out of harm’s way. For now, at least.

  There was a lot of traffic out, even this late at night. The white noise of the other cars rushing by them lulled Gabby back into a calm state.

  When she opened her eyes again she found Justin watching her in the rearview mirror, even as he continued to make small talk with her mother.

  She gave him a half smile before turning to look out the window. What must he think right now? Clearly he had seen the condition of her mother and appraised the situation. Had handled it quite fabulously, actually.

  Her stomach rolled with unease. She’d hoped to never have to share this part of her life with Justin. Why hadn’t she considered the fact her mother would obviously be walking around with fresh bruises?

  Justin pulled into a twenty-four-hour diner and parked the truck. They all filed out and went inside.

  She squeezed into a booth next to her mother, hoping like hell Justin would be able to pull off what she’d never been able to do. Convince her mom not to return home.

  An hour later, she could easily believe that Justin was a twin of The Pied Piper.

  Not only had he sweet-talked her mother into not returning to her husband, he also had her agreeing to check into the Second Chances house.

  Gabby put in a call to Nicole, the lady working the graveyard shift at the house, and told her the situation with her mother and to expect them.

  She’d had to leave Justin at the administrative office and borrow his truck, because there were strict rules about who was allowed to know the location of the house.

  By the time she’d settled her mother into the safe house, and picked up Justin again, it was almost three in the morning.

  She could barely keep her eyes open, even as her head spun with the events of the night.

  When Justin took the exit to his house, she was too tired to protest. Her car was still down by the stadium, and she didn’t trust herself to drive when she was this out of it anyway.

  “We’ll grab your car in the morning,” he murmured, as if reading her mind and breaking the silence they’d maintained since they’d dropped off her mother.

  “Okay.” She gave a weak nod and yawned.

  He reached out a hand and threaded his fingers through hers. Her pulse tripped, and she clutched his hand like it was a lifeline.

  “You should have told me earlier.”

  Her gut twisted and a sour taste rose in her throat. She didn’t even pretend to not know what he was referring to.

  “It isn’t exactly something I want people to know, Justin.”

  He was silent for a moment. “How long has it been going on?”

  She gave a harsh laugh. “Since I was a kid.”

  “And she stayed with him.” His response wasn’t a question, more of a statement of incredulity.

  “She loves him. It’s not uncommon for a woman to stay.”

  And it wasn’t, working at Second Chances had proven that to her on multiple occasions.

  “Did he ever…” Justin’s fingers tightened. “Did your father ever hit you?”

  “No.” Her response wasn’t exactly the truth. Her father had lifted his hand to her once, when she’d dared confront him about what he was doing to her mother.

  With the slap across her face had come the motivation to leave home. It hadn’t mattered that she’d only been seventeen and just about to finish high school. Fortunately, she’d had a friend whose family had been willing to take her in.

  For years after, she’d tried to convince her mother to leave, but ultimately it had hurt her relationship with her and they’d lost contact.

  She felt Justin’s gaze on her. He probably didn’t believe her reply, which just made her feelings for him deepen a bit more. He’d always been a little too perceptive.

  He pulled the truck in front of his house and turned off the engine. Once again, he was out of the truck and had her door open before she could do it herself.

  He slid an arm around her shoulder, pulling her snug against him as they went inside.

  Doug barked happily, dancing around them, eager for attention, but Justin led Gabby straight back to his bedroom.

  She tugged off her clothes, the task difficult since her fingers shook with exhaustion.

  Justin, half undressed already, made a sound of sympathy and stepped forward to help remove her clothes.

  Even though the gesture should have made her feel like a helpless child, she appreciated it. She leaned into him and let her body go pliant as he manipulated her out of her clothes.r />
  When she was naked again, he brushed a kiss across her forehead. “Go lie down, I’ll grab the lights.”

  She gave a sluggish nod and stumbled to the bed, crawling onto the mattress and letting her head flop onto the pillow.

  A moment later, the lights went out and then Justin’s footsteps approached the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight.

  When he pulled her into his arms, she didn’t resist, just buried her head against his chest and breathed in the familiar scent of him.

  The hair on his chest brushed against her cheek, but didn’t bother her. If anything, it made her feel smaller, more feminine and protected. And after the emotional roller coaster she’d been on tonight, she kind of needed it.

  He brushed another kiss across her forehead and smoothed a hand up and down her spine.

  A yawn popped her jaw. Her muscles went lax under the calming strokes of his hand and comfort of his embrace.

  How long ago had it happened? she wondered drowsily as she teetered on the brink of sleep. When had he stopped being just a really good guy friend, and become the guy she loved…

  Chapter Seven

  Gabby woke when Doug started to bark in the other room. She lifted her head and groaned when she caught sight of the time.

  Not even six.

  Beside her, Justin stirred, and she glanced down to find him watching her. He’d done so much for her last night. For her mother. Her throat tightened with emotion and she bit back tears, instead trying to just focus on how nice it was to wake up in bed with him. With Justin.

  His naked chest and shoulders were visible above the sheet, large and muscled. Heat stirred low in her belly as she thought about the way his body felt while on top of her last night.

  “Doug must’ve spotted the paper boy,” Justin said softly. “It’s early, Gab. You should go back to sleep.”

  She licked her lips and gave him a sleepy smile. “I don’t know if I can fall back asleep just yet.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “No?”

  “Well, now that I’m awake and you’re right here…” She reached out and trailed a finger over his chest. “I’d kind of feel remiss if I didn’t take advantage of you.”

  Heat flickered in his lazy gaze that dropped to her breasts. “Hmm. And we wouldn’t want that, now would we?”