by Melody Anne
GABE FOUGHT THE URGE to scold Lainey as he shifted into gear. How the hell did she think it was remotely okay to get on a bus after drinking an entire bottle of champagne and looking like that? When the gala ended, he’d shown her where to wait safely for a taxi. Something about the way she bit her lip as she nodded along made him suspicious that she wasn’t going to listen to him, which is why he immediately drove up to the spot where he left her once the valet fetched his car.
“You’re a good man, Gabe Havelak.”
Gabe wasn’t really a good man. If he were, he wouldn’t have jacked up the heat in the two-seater just so she’d take off that ridiculous sweater. Desire rushed through him as Lainey awkwardly shimmied out of the heavy material. She crossed her legs and rubbed her hands along the edges of her seat, and Gabe almost exploded.
“So, where’s home?” he asked, trying to regain his self-control.
“Home?” She sighed. Somehow she managed to make the word sound sexy without even trying. “Head north on the I-5.”
Gabe nodded. He wondered what kind of a place a woman like Lainey Lukas lived in. Was it an austere bomb shelter of an apartment? Was it covered in posters of herself? Maybe a giant shrine in the image of the World Cup trophy?
“I’m going to like driving this,” she murmured, flashing him a lopsided, devious grin.
“Are you sure you can handle this much horsepower, sweetheart?” He gunned the engine and eased onto the highway, showing her how much his Porsche 911 Turbo S deserved to be driven with a man’s touch.
“I can handle all the power you throw at me.”
Gabe clutched the steering wheel and tried to keep his focus on the busy highway. His cock was pulsing just at the sound of her sultry, albeit slurry, voice uttering those words. Lainey threw her head back and made a noise that was part squeal, part giggle.
“I can’t believe I just said that! I did not mean that the way it sounded.”
“Wouldn’t mind if you did.”
She twisted around in her seat to face him. The narrow strap of her dress slipped perilously close to the edge of her shoulder. “Why do you do that?”
“What?”
“Go from being a gentleman to acting all . . . all . . .” She twirled her wrist as she tried to conjure up an ending to her sentence out of thin air. “All Rico Suave.”
“That reference is about twenty years too late.” Against his better judgment, he reached over and pulled her strap up. Even though he pegged her at tipsy rather than out-of-her-mind drunk, and he desperately wanted a glimpse of her body, he wouldn’t feel right taking advantage of this very tempting situation.
“Oops.” She giggled. “See, you can be a gentleman. Why the act?”
“It’s not an act. I was that guy once, and part of me still is. There was a time when I partied hard and never bothered to give a woman a second date. But mostly that image is what gets me into the places I need to be with the people I need to talk to in order to keep my soccer camps running. There isn’t enough time with our game schedule to field enough volunteers from the Surge, and the instructors’ salaries add up. Combine that with field rental fees, insurance, and all the other incidental costs, and things get expensive. I need the charity dollars to keep it going, and that means I need to make a splash at parties like this. But the truth is, I’m getting tired of living that lifestyle. This night with you was the most fun I’ve had at one of these events in a long time.”
“So you’re saying that after tonight I don’t have to worry about you harassing me anymore?”
“Seriously, that’s all you got out of that? I practically poured my heart out just now.”
She yawned through her smile. “You really love your home, huh? You get to have it all. Soccer. Family. Friends. Money.”
He nodded. Words couldn’t do justice to the depth of his love for all his family, friends, and memories that were practically synonymous with the city. But there was something missing. He had everything a man could want except for someone to share it with. “Speaking of home, where are we headed? We’re almost at the edge of the city.”
“Take exit 212.”
That was well beyond the suburbs north of Seattle. “That’s where you live?”
“That’s where home is,” she said dreamily.
She closed her eyes and snuggled into the seat. From the corner of his eye, he could see the damn strap slipping again, but now that they were far beyond the city lights, he had to focus on the pitch-black highway. Though she seemed to be asleep, she muttered fairly coherent directions when he pulled off the exit.
Another twenty minutes passed, leading them down increasingly windy, rugged roads. Roads constructed out of the kind of mud and gravel that should never, ever be in the vicinity of his custom rims. Roads laced with overgrown branches that were probably scratching his $6,000 paint job. Screw the bet. This woman clearly did not deserve his car. Gabe was contemplating whether he should wring her beautiful neck for her crimes against vehicular decency when her eyes popped open.
“We’re here,” she murmured. A desultory smile creased her face.
Gabe pulled into the narrow drive that led to a small wooden cottage at the edge of a bay. The view was spectacular, with millions of stark white stars unfettered by city lights, twinkling over the obsidian water. The rhythmic sound of waves lapping at the shore echoed faintly. He was a city boy through and through, but this nearly took his breath away. When Lainey stepped out of the car, her pale creamy skin gleaming against the incandescent backdrop, Gabe really did struggle for breath. With a sigh, she took in the view, then made her way to the front porch. He followed her closely and watched her pluck a key from the rim of a potted rosemary bush.
“How were you going to get here by bus?” Despite the incredible scenery, he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her ass as she bent over in that tight dress.
She peered over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. “I was going to take the bus to my apartment. You said you would take me home. Here we are.”
Unable to resist, Gabe stepped behind her as she unlocked the door so that only the barest fraction of space separated them. As it opened, Lainey tripped on the threshold and tumbled into the swinging screen door. He caught her immediately, spinning her to face him. He walked her inside backward, holding her waist tightly. The air filled with the weight of heavy expectation and desire. She glanced up at him with the most innocent, wide-eyed look he’d ever seen, and he realized he was completely hard and pressed up against her.
He swallowed the knot in his throat and let her go.
The strap of her dress had slipped over her shoulder, exposing her small, pert breast. Her pink nipple puckered in the cool air, like it was begging his mouth to make contact.
For the second time tonight, Gabe Havelak was stunned into silence.
“UM, SO THIS IS my uncle Walt’s cabin.” She swished her arm out and nearly fell over. She tried to mask her embarrassment with a nervous giggle but cut it short when she was met with nothing but an impenetrable stare. She cleared her throat. “My uncle used to take me fishing here on the weekends I didn’t have practice. It’s my favorite place in the world. My plan is to buy this place from him in a few years. Once my soccer career is over, I want to live here. Spend my time gardening, fishing, you know . . . doing the things everyone wants to do but never has the time for.”
Why was she talking nonsense? Her brain knew to shut up, yet the words kept spilling out. She was a quiet person by nature, but the sudden awkwardness between them was too much to bear. A second ago, she was certain he was about to kiss her. Somehow, she found herself gesturing to the worn brown sofa in the front living room. “The way you talk about your home is so magical, and the whole evening was so fun, and I just thought it should end here, since you were driving me. Oh no! I made you drive me all this way. What was I thinking? I’m so sorry. You can sleep in the bedroom. I’ll take the couch. And I’ll pay you back for the gas. I—”
“Lainey.” His
voice was guttural and raw and when he said her name, it was like a command in itself. He stepped closer.
“Are you going to kiss me?” she blurted out before slapping a palm over her mouth. Oh, what the hell? She’d already dug herself this deep. “Because you can. Kiss me, I mean. I don’t even like you, but I want to kiss you right now.”
“For the love of god, stop talking.” He reached out to her shoulder and grabbed the strap of her dress. She glanced down and gasped. Her breast was completely exposed by the wayward strap. As he pulled the strap over her shoulder, his knuckle grazed her nipple, and she felt it pucker. Shivers rippled across her body as the anticipation knotted in her stomach.
Before she could process her mortification, Gabe cupped her face and crushed his lips to hers. She gripped the lapels of his tux and deepened the kiss, intoxicated by the taste of him. His hands glided down to her butt as he pressed his erection into her. He lifted her that extra inch she was so desperate for, allowing his hardness to meet her hot, wet core. He kissed her furiously as he carried her to the small bedroom behind the ramshackle kitchen.
In the heavy darkness, Gabe pulled back the scratchy wool blanket and sheets of the double bed in the middle of the room, never taking his lips from hers. He sat her down at the edge of the mattress and ran his hand along her thigh.
Oh god. Was she really going to do this? Have sex with Gabe “the Hometown Ego” Havelak? She hadn’t slept with anyone in more than a year. He smelled so good, though. And that tux could make her orgasm on sight alone. The only way he could look better would be if he were naked. With that, she decided sleeping with Gabe was a very, very good idea. If he kissed this well, he had to be amazing in bed.
“Lainey,” Gabe said gruffly, finally tearing his lips from hers. “Stop thinking so much.”
She sucked in a breath, defensiveness being her natural instinct, but then sighed and nodded. With his thumb and index finger, he gently tilted her chin. His lips delicately brushed hers, which were already stinging from the slight stubble on his face. He released her and pressed her back into the bed and swung her legs up, shoes and all.
Lainey braced herself for what was coming.
But the last thing she was expecting him to do was pull the rough blankets up over her and walk out of the room.
“Good night, Lainey. I’ll take the couch.”
“That’s it?” she called out in the darkness after a few seconds of lying there.
She heard the faucet in the bathroom turn on.
He came back into the room and set a glass of water on the bedside table. He settled himself on the bed next to her and wiped her eyelids with a damp washcloth. “I seem to remember most women don’t like waking up with makeup on.”
She felt like a five-year-old as he gently cleaned her face and loosened the braid in her hair. After the evening of champagne and impulsiveness, she wanted to close out the night as a woman, not a child. “What about your superpowered penis?”
He laughed. “Good night, Lainey.”
“Are you rejecting me because my breasts are small?” she asked, feeling self-doubt creep upon her.
He leaned over her until their noses were nearly touching. “Your breasts are a shrine to all that is holy in this world and I cannot wait to get my mouth all over them. But you’ve been drinking, and I refuse to be a regret.”
Gabe stood up and walked out of the room.
“The couch folds out,” she called after him. The telltale creak of the rusty frame unbending echoed through the cabin, letting her know he got the message.
“I wouldn’t regret you,” she whispered to herself. With a groan, she pulled the blankets all the way over her head and tried to ignore the aching between her thighs.
IT WAS RARE IN the Pacific Northwest for a burning ray of sun to streak through the window in April. The fact that said burning ray of sun managed to sneak past the dark curtains and land directly over her eyes was the kind of goddamn miracle that Lainey could’ve really done without that morning.
Every bone in her body felt like it was encased in cement as she rolled onto her tummy. Memories of the previous night infiltrated her brain like a slow-building deluge. The champagne. The donation. Making Gabe drive fifty miles to Uncle Walt’s cottage and propositioning him. Even worse, his rejection.
Knowing he was probably asleep just outside her door, she slowly peeled off her dress and heels as quietly as possible and found the spare clothes and running shoes she kept stashed in the closet. She did not want to face him right now, but her need to escape this small cabin and the memories of last night was esclating. She shoved her feet into the sneakers and pulled the laces tight.
Gingerly, she opened the door, tiptoed into the living room, and tamped down her panic when she saw him on the couch with the afghan pulled up to his bare chest. If she ever forgave herself for the embarrassment of begging him to sleep with her, she had no doubt he’d rub it in her face for the rest of her playing days in Seattle.
In times like this, she needed to run. Literally. Her head was pounding, and the toxins coursing through her body were making her jumpy. Hitting the pavement, or in this case the muddy trails, was the only way she could center herself. The clock on the stove read 5:57 in the morning, which made sense considering Lainey’s internal clock never let her sleep later than six. It would’ve been nice for that particular mechanism to be a little flexible on the night she stayed up late and drank too much, but Lainey was nothing if not consistent.
Figuring Gabe would sleep in at least another couple of hours, she crept to the front door.
“Running away?” he asked just as she pulled open the door, causing her to jump.
“Just running,” she croaked, her mouth raw and dry.
“You were a fun drunk, but you’re sucking at the hangover part of it. Most people stay in bed until four in the afternoon, watch bad sitcoms, and eat a greasy breakfast.” Gabe grunted as he swung his legs off the couch. Lainey’s heart skipped a beat when she saw his tight navy boxer briefs detailing every line of his rock-solid body.
“Give me a break, it’s my first hangover.”
“Hold on, I’ve got some gear in the car.”
Within minutes, Gabe reemerged wearing a hoodie, track pants, and sneakers. He handed her a bottle of aspirin. “Take a couple of these first. Trust me on this.”
“There’s a trail that leads up through the hills, about four miles,” she said, swallowing the pills dry. The point of this run was to distract her from how miserable and awkward she felt, but with Gabe tagging along, she’d be forced to think about him the entire time.
She led him down the narrow path at the back of the cottage, picking up her pace as they hit the steep incline. The misty air was cold and abrasive on her throat, but her head was starting to feel better from the strained yet rhythmic movement. They crested the first small, verdant hill after about twenty minutes.
“Stretch?” she asked as they hit a clearing. There were easier trails in the area, but Lainey loved the serene view of endless blue water framed by deep green hills from this spot. Growing up in Nebraska, she never knew such wondrous places existed until she visited her aunt and uncle here for the first time. This view was the only thing in the world that made her almost as happy as soccer did.
Gabe nodded, a wide smile on his face. “That’s quite the pace you’re setting,” he said while pulling his ankle back to stretch his quad.
“No point in doing it if you’re going to take it easy,” she answered, reaching her arm over her head and leaning to the side. She still couldn’t look him in the eye. Sharing this spot, her favorite place in the world, with Gabe made her feel more vulnerable than she could ever imagine.
“I think you’re just trying to prove yourself after the last time we raced.”
“You wish,” she said, feeling a bit more relaxed as he reassumed his trademark competitive personality. That was the Gabe she knew how to deal with. She bent over with her legs apart and stretched her tight
hamstrings.
“It’s really beautiful. I can see why you wanted to run this morning,” he whispered from behind her. Lainey’s heart jumped as a pair of hands landed on her hips and settled her butt against what she could only describe as a giant heat-seeking missile. “The view isn’t the only beautiful thing here.”
She righted herself, causing his erection to slide deliciously between her thighs. He slipped his hands beneath her shirt, fingers grazing along her stomach. Every muscle clenched beneath his fingertips. When his lips found the tender spot at the base of her neck, her body relented to the desire she’d been fighting for weeks. She melted into him.
“You had your chance last night,” she said, gripping his forearms to brace herself against her weakening knees.
“You were drunk last night. Seems to me that if you can run that hard uphill, you’re fully capable of consent now,” he whispered in her ear before nipping at her lobe. “Do you want me? Do you want to experience all the indecent things I plan on doing to your gorgeous body?”
Heat flooded her core.
His hand dipped below her waistband, trailing along her hip bones. They stuck out too far and she’d never considered them a sexy part of her body before, but the simple touch of Gabe’s fingers changed her entire perception. Chills caressed her skin as her brain retreated into hibernation. Pure physicality took over as his hands dipped lower and lower. She pressed up on her toes and reached a hand behind his neck, desperate for him to make contact where she needed it most. His fingers circled agonizingly close. Just another fraction of an inch . . .
He retracted his hand and backed away, leaving Lainey stunned and breathless.
“You obviously still need time to think it over. I’ll see you at the end of the trail. If you can keep up, of course.” With a wicked grin, he took off.
“Bastard!” she called out, sprinting after him on legs that were mush. She refused to let him win on her trail. “I hope you get eaten by a bear!”