by Robin Huber
I savor the feeling of him buried deep inside me, stretching me, filling me, sending electricity to the tips of my fingers and the ends of my toes. He pulls back and I gasp with need and anticipation, wanting to feel him inside me. He pushes into me again, making an audible mmph, and I cry out again as a tear falls from my closed eye. “Gabe,” I whisper, gripping his shoulders. He begins to move in and out of me, kissing me slow and deep, holding my face in his hand, and I feel him wipe the tear with his thumb. He nudges my cheek with his and whispers, “I love you, Liv. Je t'ai toujours aimée.” I’ve always loved you.
This is the first time Gabe has spoken French to me in seven years. I close my eyes and soak in his beautiful words, which I understand perfectly. They wrap around my heart, filling the hole as if it was never there at all.
“Je t'aime aussi. Tu es tout pour moi, Gabriel. Mon coeur ne bat que pour toi.”
Gabe pauses and stares at me with a look of surprise and wonderment, and my heart swells, because I know that he understood every word I just spoke to him. I love you too. You are my everything, Gabriel. My heart beats only for you.
He smiles and kisses me hard, and whispers in my ear, “Je ai été tellement perdu sans toi.” He doesn’t translate, because he knows I understand him now. I’ve been so lost without you.
I wrap my arms and legs around him, wanting to be as close as I possibly can to him. He runs his hand down my thigh, holding it against him as he sinks into me deeper. Ahh. I moan loudly.
He moves a little faster now. Oh, God. “Gabe,” I pant. He sits up and falls back on his heels, pulling me into his lap with one smooth motion, never breaking our connection. He holds me close and lifts me up and down on him, until I take over, moving at my own pace, taking as little or as much of him as I want. I wrap my hands behind his neck and take as much as I can get.
He lowers his head to my breasts and gives them the utmost attention, kissing and squeezing them gently in his hands. The fire starts to build deep inside me, spiking each time his lips touch my skin. It sears through my veins and burns across my thighs as I fall against him harder, taking him deeper.
Ohh, yesss. “Gabe,” I cry as I tighten around him and a million little explosions ignite throughout my body.
He leans forward, laying me back on the pillows, and holds my hands, pressing them into the mattress as he thrusts into me hard...again and again...sending tremors through my body until I explode again, moaning and calling his name as the embers settle. He makes a deep, guttural, groaning sound and buries himself inside me as he finds his release. Then he collapses on top of me.
A few seconds later, he leans up on his elbow before I have to tell him that he’s crushing me. He kisses my swollen lips and flashes an exhausted, satiated smile. He pulls out of me slowly, giving me one last morsel of pleasure, and I let out a soft, contented sigh.
“That was amazing,” I breathe.
“You’re amazing,” he pants, pulling me onto his chest, and I listen to his heartbeat slow to a steady pace. “After everything that happened, you still went back and minored in French,” he says, bewildered.
“It made me feel close to you.”
He smiles and rolls on top of me again, and kisses me softly. He lowers his head to my neck and trails light kisses across my collarbone and breasts that tickle me. He leans up on his elbow again and rubs his hand over my breast, giving it a soft squeeze. “You’re curvier”—he smiles softly—“softer.”
“Yeah, I guess I’ve filled out a little.”
“I like it.” His finger gently traces the delicate chain that’s draped across my chest, until he gets to the small gold ring that’s attached to it. He picks it up and rubs his thumb over the engraved compass. “You found your way back to me.”
I smile and say softly, “My true north.”
He unclasps the chain and the ring falls softly onto my breast. He picks it up and slides it onto my finger, where it once belonged. Where it still belongs. And my heart swells.
“Always wear it,” he says softly, “so you’ll always find your way back to me.”
“Okay.”
He presses his lips to mine and kisses me firmly. Then he runs his teeth across his bottom lip and lowers his head to my breasts again, tickling me with light kisses.
I laugh and squirm beneath him. “Gabe!”
Roxy’s watching us from the kitchen, whining.
“She probably thought I was killing you.” Gabe laughs.
“Ah, Roxy. It’s okay.” I sit up and pat the bed. “Come here, girl.”
She comes running toward us and leaps onto the bed, excitedly wagging her long, shaggy tail and licking us all over. “Ahh!” I squeal.
“No, Roxy! Down!” Gabe points to the floor, trying to cover himself with the sheet.
She does as she’s told and sits at the foot of the bed, resting her head on the mattress.
I lean forward, stretching across the bed to pat her head. “You’re a good girl, Roxy.”
Gabe lets out a sexy moan and I realize that my bare bottom is up in the air. He reaches for my hips, pulling me back to him, and whispers in my ear, “I want you...again.”
* * *
I wake from a satiated, sex-induced coma to the sound of Roxy whining. She’s sitting by the door, nudging it with her paw.
“You need to go out, Rox?”
She prances around in a circle.
I get up to let her out and then climb back into Gabe’s bed. I gaze at him sleeping beside me. His muscles are relaxed and his scruffy face is smushed against the pillow. He looks younger when he’s sleeping, like the Gabe I fell in love with all those years ago. I stare at his broad chest, watching it rise and fall in peaceful sleep. It’s hard not to be in awe of the man he’s become since then. So strong and capable. And he definitely knows his way around the bedroom. I sigh, smiling down at him, but then I wonder who he’s had so much practice with and my face falls.
I’ve always been safe, I remember him saying, though it quickly evaporated into the haze of desire. The condoms in his drawer weren’t for me, so who were they for? My mind runs rampant with possibilities. Stacey McGillis had her arm around him at the bar last night. I didn’t have a chance to ask him about it.
I pull in a worried breath. We just had unprotected sex.
He did not sleep with Stacey McGillis, my conscious reassures me.
“What’s the matter?” Gabe asks, opening his eyes. He sits up slowly and studies my worried face. “What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“Liv, I know when you have something on your mind.”
I chew the corner of my mouth. “Just please don’t be offended when I ask you this.”
“Okay,” he says cautiously.
I press my lips together and look down at my hands, folded in my lap. “I know I don’t have any right to ask you this. And you don’t have to answer.”
“Liv, it’s okay. Just ask.”
I bob my head and spit it out. “Who were the condoms for?” I look up at him hesitantly. “I mean, I don’t expect that you’ve been celibate all these years. In fact, I’d say you’ve had quite a bit of practice.” I raise a suggestive eyebrow. “I was just wondering if maybe there was someone more recently. Maybe someone like”—I let out a soft laugh and shake my head, because saying it sounds so ridiculous—“Stacey McGillis?”
He looks at me very seriously and says, “You saw that last night, huh?”
Oh. I exhale a stunned breath, because the tone of his voice and look on his face answers my question. “Yeah,” I finally say, trying to find my heart, “I saw.”
He pulls his eyebrows together, making the little crease appear over the bridge of his nose. “Liv”—he sits up and shakes his head—“Stacey is...she was...”
I stare at him with big puppy eyes, waiting for the blow.
“Yes,” he finally says, and my heart sinks further inside me. “One time, years ago. It was a mistake. One I’ve regretted ever since.”
/> I nod, acknowledging his shocking admission, but I can’t bring myself to say anything.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I say quietly over the unreasonable hurt I feel, “you don’t have to apologize.”
I was with Travis. I don’t have the right to have an opinion about any of Gabe’s sexual endeavors. But the masochist I am, I ask, “Were there many others?”
He shrugs. “A few. But none of them meant anything to me.” He reaches for my face. “None of them were you.” He rubs his thumb across my cheek and I smile softly over the unwarranted ache in my heart. “If I thought there was a chance that we would be together again, I would have waited for you. I swear I would have.”
I wrap my arms around him and kiss his neck. “I didn’t expect you to.”
“The condoms weren’t for anyone recent.”
“It’s okay, Gabe, you don’t have to explain.”
“And I’ve never had unprotected sex, until today...with you”—he smiles softly—“just so you know.”
That’s reassuring. I nod thoughtfully and tell him, “Me neither,” to be sure he knows. But now I just want to change the subject.
“Can I ask you something now?”
“Mm-hmm,” I mumble against his neck.
He unwraps my arms and pulls me into his lap. “Why are you on the pill?”
Tell him about Travis.
“I’ve been on the pill since I was fifteen. It helps with my periods.”
“So, there isn’t anyone you want to tell me about?”
Tell him.
“Like, Travis?”
My heart jumps up into my throat. How the hell does he know about Travis? And why the hell am I so afraid to talk about him?
Maybe because I can’t write Travis off as a one night stand. Or maybe because not that long ago Travis asked me to marry him.
“Travis Beauclair,” I finally say. “How do you know about him?”
“Word travels fast in a small town.” He takes my left hand and holds it in his. “Rumor is he wanted to marry you.” He laces his fingers with mine and implores me for the truth.
I shrug and nod my head ever so slightly. “Yeah. Something like that.”
“I take it you didn’t feel the same way about him?”
“No,” I say certainly. “How could I? I’ve only ever felt that way about you.”
He smiles softly and pulls me close until my lips land on his. “Thanks for straightening that out for me.”
“Anytime.”
“For the record, I overheard your momma telling mine about him.”
Great.
“I have to say, I really don’t like the guy.” He laughs, and so do I.
“That’s reasonable.” I kiss him softly and notice the time on the alarm clock next to his bed.
11:30am.
“Gabe, I have to go. Trisha’s probably awake by now, wondering where I am.”
“Okay.”
“Shoot,” I say as thoughts of last night remind me that I still need to go get my car.
“What is it?”
“My car. It’s at Charlie’s. I drove Trisha’s over here.”
“I’ll get it for you.”
“You will?”
“Yeah. I’ll bring it over later today. It’ll give me an excuse to steal you away for a bit. You see, I’ll need someone to take me back to my truck afterward.” He grins.
“Ah. Well, I’m sure I can manage to sneak away, just for a little while.” I laugh. “You know what? Why don’t you bring it over tonight and have dinner with us? My mom’s cooking because Trisha’s here. You should come.”
“I don’t know. You sure Maggie will be okay with that?”
“She’ll have to be.” I reach for his hand. “Come to dinner. It’ll be like old times. And even if it’s not, that’s okay. I want you there.”
He nods and agrees over the hesitation in his eyes. “Okay.”
I smile and lean in to kiss him. “Good,” I say against his lips, and he responds by kissing me back. I reluctantly pull myself away from him and search for my clothes. “You know,” I say, holding up what’s left of my panties, “these were my favorite pair.”
Gabe smiles. “I liked them too.”
“Then why did you rip them in half?” I ask, laughing.
“Because they were in the way.” He crawls across the bed until his hands are on my hips. He pulls me close and drops his mouth to my stomach, dotting it with soft kisses. “I couldn’t wait another second. I had to have you.” He holds my hands and kisses the insides of my wrists. “It was the quickest way to get to you.” He looks up at me with a small smile, one of many he’s gifted me with this morning.
“I wish I didn’t have to go.”
“Then don’t. Stay here with me...forever,” he says, teasing, I think. But then I see a flash of panic in his eyes.
I bite my lip, just hard enough to suppress the worry I suddenly feel. When it subsides, I softly assure him, “I’m with you now, Gabe.” It feels almost dreamlike to be saying that. “I’ll be back,” I promise. “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away from you now.”
He laces his fingers with mine, but I see him struggling with something. Before I get the nerve to ask him what’s wrong, he looks up at me and says resolutely, “I wouldn’t let them. I’ll never let you go again, Liv. No matter how selfish it is.”
I blink back joyful tears and bend down to kiss his full lips. “Good. Because I don’t think I could survive living without you again. Not now.”
“Me neither,” he says gruffly.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand.
“I have to go.”
He nods and untangles his long fingers from mine. “Are you sure Trisha won’t mind me coming tonight? She may want you all to herself.”
“Oh, I think Trisha will be very happy to see you again.” I smirk. “I thought I was going to have to scrape her jaw off the floor when I introduced you last night.”
He shakes his head. “I thought maybe she wasn’t real thrilled to meet me. After everything I put you through.” He shrugs.
“Well, that might have been part of it. But only because she didn’t know you yet. I think all that changed last night, not entirely because of your charming demeanor and devastating good looks.” I wink. “It’s not every day we women see men of your caliber.”
“Well, lucky for you, you can see me any time you want,” he says unpretentiously.
“Seriously, Gabe. I don’t think you know how gorgeous you are. You’re kind of beautiful.”
He stands up and holds my face in his hands. “Je ne peux pas imaginer quelque chose de plus exquis que tu.” I can’t imagine anything more exquisite than you.
Chapter 15
Liv
Trisha scolds me when I walk into my parents’ house just before noon. “It’s about time!”
“I’m so sorry,” I say quietly. “I thought I would be back before you woke up.”
“I’m messing with you. It’s fine. But why are we whispering?”
I take her hand and drag her into the kitchen.
“Where are we going?”
“Shhh.”
“Where were you? Did you go see Gabe?”
“Yes.” I turn around and face her, unable to hide the giant smile on my face.
“Did something happen?”
I nod my head.
“Oh my God!” she screeches.
“Trisha, quiet!”
“Liv, your parents aren’t here,” she says at normal volume.
“Oh. Why didn’t you tell me that before?”
“I don’t know, I was kind of intrigued by your stealthiness.”
I spin around and fall into a chair at the kitchen table with a smile still plastered on my face.
Trisha sits across from me. “Liv, you’re killing me. Will you please let me into your world right now? What happened?” she screeches again.
I bite my smiling lip. “I don’t even know where t
o begin.”
“Okay, well, I’m dying to know, but first back up and tell me what happened last night. Why did your mystery boy disappear at the bar?”
“Oh, that was nothing. A guy made a crass comment about me, so Gabe punched him.”
She raises her eyebrows. “Hot and chivalrous.”
“I guess he was having a hard time staying in the friend zone with me, but he didn’t think I would understand, so he bolted.”
“Do you understand?”
“Yes”—I bob my head—“I do. Because I feel the same way. We still love each other, Trish.” My heart soars and I slump in the chair, still smiling, still reeling, still feeling satiated and enveloped in all things Gabe. But I sit up when I see the look on Trisha’s face.
“You still love him? After everything that happened?”
I inhale a slow breath and square my shoulders. “Yes. I know that’s probably hard to understand, but—”
“It’s not. I could see it after five minutes of being around you two.”
“Oh. Really?”
She widens her eyes. “Oh, come on! It’s like you two were orbiting each other.”
I exhale a quiet breath. “That’s exactly how it used to feel when we were younger. Like I was a satellite and Gabe was the earth.”
“I’ve never seen you like that before.” She shakes her head. “Especially not with Travis.” She stares across the table at me. “I kind of get it now. Gabe was your world.”
“Yeah,” I say softly. “When I was young, my mom used to tell me that you know you really love someone when they give you roots and wings.” I smile and shrug. “Gabe does that. Even now, after all this time, after everything we’ve been through. After everything I’ve been through.” I sit up straight and say happily, “He makes me feel excited about my life again, about my future. Like I can do anything I want to. Or be whoever I want to.” I shake my head, bewildered. “It’s as if this weight was tied around me that’s finally gone. I didn’t even know it was there, but now that it’s not, I feel so...free.”
She nods, trying to understand, but I can tell this is a lot for her. “Well, okay,” she says, smiling softly. “I’m just happy to see you so blissed out.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “Cautiously optimistic.”