He plastered a fake smile on his face and came around the sectional to meet her halfway into the room. “Nothing.”
That he thought he could still fool her, or that he needed to, frustrated her a bit. She got self-protection, but they’d shared so many secrets that they had to be past some of the basic stuff.
“Something.” She put a hand on his chest. Let it trail down until it rested on the top of his jeans.
His hands came up to rest on her waist. “Rick has been in contact with Brandon.”
Rick wasn’t even in the room and he changed the mood to something dreary. The guy needed to back off. She wished she was in a position to tell him. Frankly, if he were standing here she would. Forget protocol and manners. He acted like an ass and deserved to be treated like one.
Since Gabe didn’t seem to be in the mood for an it’s-not-that-bad speech, since it clearly was, she went with reason. “Doesn’t that violate your informal agreement that he not talk to Brandon directly about what’s going on?”
She could have Bast there in ten minutes to straighten it all out. Maybe not that fast, but he’d hammer through a real deal. The problem was, no matter how she turned this problem over in her head, at some point Gabe was going to have to concede to the DNA test. He could only run from the truth, whatever it was, for so long.
“Rick isn’t exactly one to follow the rules,” Gabe said.
He managed to say it in a nice way, so she followed his example. “Apparently he’s not a boundaries type of guy.”
Gabe exhaled and his head fell forward. He rested it against her cheek and just stood there. “He wants a DNA test, but I guess you figured that out.”
“Seemed logical under the circumstances.” She caressed his cheek because nothing she could say would bring any comfort.
“He wants it now and has given me a deadline to agree. I have a week or two left. He promised not to bring Brandon into this directly right now, but who knows.”
She hesitated for a few beats before talking again. “You should be the one to tell him.”
Gabe lifted his head and looked at her with eyes filled with pain. “That’s not a conversation I ever want to have.”
She felt sick for him. His love for Brandon, biological or not, shone throughout the entire house. She couldn’t walk into a room or down a hallway without seeing a reminder of some piece of family history. Photos from rafting trips and baseball games. Little Brandon and Brandon as he was now. The photos showed so much.
But photos were about memories, and they had a real-life crisis to deal with. She brushed a hand over Gabe’s hair. “What are you going to do?”
“Let it happen. Maybe try to control the conversation a bit. Brandon wants to see him.”
She’d meant the DNA test, but he clearly was talking about a meeting between Rick and Brandon. No question he wasn’t ready to deal with the big picture yet. “That sounds like a nightmare.”
Gabe lifted his head then. Sadness vibrated through him and tugged at the corner of his eyes. “That’s what all of this is, Nat.”
“That boy loves you.” She knew that. Could tell from ten minutes with the kid.
“I know.”
At least he had that. She’d been raised without any sense of love. She envied Gabe for his certainty even as she worried about the weeks ahead and how he would get through them. “You aren’t going to lose him.”
Gabe exhaled as his expression visibly changed. It was as if he pulled himself back from the emotional abyss. “Hey, we’re supposed to be worrying about your safety.”
She glanced out the glass door then looked around the comfortable room. “I feel pretty calm here.”
“Me, too.” His hands slid a little lower, past her waist. “Bought the land when the only thing here was a falling-down shack of a two-bedroom cabin.”
“Ah, now I see where I got that idea.”
“We struggled and built it up.”
She tried to imagine those years and couldn’t. The strength it must have taken. The perseverance. She admired him so much, but another emotion snuck in. One that had her feeling light from the inside out. She didn’t analyze it and vowed to ignore it. Underneath all the gruffness he was a good guy. That’s what she was reacting to. Nothing more. Well, that and great sex.
“How exactly did you handle a baby when you were barely an adult yourself?” She’d once decided not to get a cat for fear she’d forget to feed the thing.
“That’s just it. Rick and Andy helped. It was a family effort. Neighbors stepped up. The Army had some programs that provided assistance. We somehow made it through without me dropping him or forgetting him at school one day.”
Which only made Rick’s deception and demands now more painful. She got it. “And now that the hard part is done, Rick wants to swoop in and play dad.”
“That’s how I see it.” Gabe nodded. “He got injured, took a shot to the back that should have paralyzed him, and came out of rehab with this need to be closer to Brandon.”
She could see the entire scene playing out. “He had an epiphany.”
“You’d think that would be a good thing.” Gabe groaned. “Hell, maybe it was for him. I don’t know.”
She slipped her hands up his chest and around his neck. Laid her head against his shoulder and smiled at the sound of the strong heartbeat thundering under her ear. “Let’s just stand here.”
He rested his chin on top of her head. Kissed her hair. “And do what?”
“For the first time in my life, nothing. I guess I should get used to it.” But she didn’t feel sad or upset. She’d actually found a sense of peace. In his arms, in this place.
They swayed in time to whatever music must have been playing in his head. “You’re going to find your way.”
This time she didn’t rush to deny the claim. She’d been so programmed to fire back a snotty response that it had become routine, but with him it all fell away. “You did.”
“We all do.”
“We’ll have to see what the next few days bring.” She knew reality would come crashing in. She’d have to make decisions. They’d have to figure out if she’d finally gotten to the point where she was safe to move on. Then she’d have to force herself to do that.
“While we—”
“Wait.” She lifted her head and looked up at him. “Are you about to mention your bed?”
“Hell, yeah.”
She almost laughed at his enthusiasm. “Your son is around here somewhere.”
“When he leaves tomorrow, you’re mine.”
She didn’t hate the idea. “Deal.”
NINETEEN
Gabe somehow made it through the day without jumping on top of her. He wasn’t a fucking animal but sometimes he felt like one around her. She listened, she held on to him. His blood raced.
He’d almost thrown Brandon in the car and drove him back early. Well, he thought about it. He’d never actually do it, but it was the first time in his life the idea tempted him. The two cold showers today helped a little to take the edge off. He was still recovering from the one he tried after they all sat around watching an adventure movie. For some reason just having her next to him on the couch, so close with their legs touching, did it for him now.
Maybe he was an animal after all.
Night had fallen and Brandon ventured off to his room to spend some quality time with his computer. Gabe decided he didn’t want to know what that meant. In the old days he’d use the time to play video games, but the kid was old enough to find and watch all kinds of porn now. Gabe just pretended he didn’t.
He’d reset the property alarm and checked every door. Standing in the middle of his bedroom, he found only one thing missing—Natalie. He had a feeling he knew what was happening.
Throwing on a T-shirt to go with his faded jeans, he stalked down the hall. Past Brandon’s door and the steady thump of the bass from some song he couldn’t recognize. Kept going until he got to the room at the end of the hall. The guestr
oom Andy didn’t use. The one actually for guests, which meant no one ever stayed in there.
Gabe knocked once then threw open the door. He caught Natalie in mid-squeal as she made up the bed. He asked anyway. “What are you doing?”
She glared at him as she held a folded sheet to her chest. “Getting ready for bed.”
She still had her clothes on. She’d only managed to wrestle the bottom sheet on. There was still hope he could turn this around.
“Not in here.” Gabe didn’t bother lowering his voice. He wasn’t really in the mood for this or for hiding. He was a grown-ass man and he paid the mortgage on the place. He got to say who slept in which room, and she was with him.
“Excuse me?”
She could save the indignation and grumpy tone. They’d moved on from that, at least he hoped so. “You’re sleeping with me.”
She got up on her toes and looked like she was trying to peek around him. “Close the door.”
He ignored the order and kept staring. “What?”
“What do you mean what?” She shifted around him and closed the door for him.
He thought that amounted to a waste of energy since they’d be leaving the room soon. Or that was the plan. Since they clearly had a communications problem he was no longer so sure. “I have a big bed. It will fit us both.”
The argument seemed reasonable enough to him. He didn’t even understand why they were having it. She’d become a bit shy. Okay, he could adjust to that. For now. No screaming. No tying to the bedpost. All that could wait. Holding her, touching her. Nope, he wanted that back on the agenda immediately.
“Your son is right there.” She pointed in the general direction of the hallway behind him.
“So this is a proximity issue?”
“You can’t be this clueless.”
Apparently he could be. “He knows we’re having sex.”
She dumped the sheet on the bed. “That doesn’t mean we need to rub his nose in it.”
“I’m not sure you’re using the right metaphor, or whatever that is.”
She actually growled. Made a rumbling sound and sounded ready to launch a smackdown. “My point is that we can wait until he’s gone.”
Damn kid. “No.”
“Whatever happened to me getting the choice?” She laid it out there then raised an eyebrow at him.
That shot landed. Gabe could feel it all the way to his gut. “That’s not fair.”
She shrugged as she held her hands out to the sides. “Your words.”
If she wanted to fight dirty he would join. She could not win this game. Not against him. “Fine, we’ll stay in here.”
The amusement left her face. “You’re not getting this.”
Oh, he absolutely was. He stepped up to the bed and tucked the end corners in. Snapped open the sheet she’d left in a pile and threw that over the mattress. “There.”
Admittedly it was not the most inviting bed he’d ever seen, but it had a mattress. Unlike the cabin, it also had an inch of breathing room around it. Even being the smallest bedroom, this one measured sixteen by sixteen. Hardly small, and the perfect size for what he had in mind.
“Go back to your big bed.” She whispered the comment, but those sexy eyes widened.
He had her intrigued. Exactly as he wanted.
He kicked off his shoes and sprawled across the bed on his side then patted the open space in front of him. “Have a seat.”
She took a step closer. Her knees actually knocked against the side of the mattress now. “Your son will hear us.”
Brandon wore headphones half the time and kept his music cranked up to deafening levels, so Gabe doubted it. Still, if she needed the reassurance, he’d reluctantly give it to her. “We’re not going to have sex.”
“No?” She almost sounded disappointed.
That made two of them. “We’re going to sit and then I’m going to head back to my big bed for a lonely night of sleep.”
“You poor thing.” The tone suggested she thought he needed to get a clue.
He refused to take the bait. She was an expert at sidelining them into a conversation he didn’t want to have. One that postponed what he actually wanted to do with her. “I know, right?”
“You could go now.”
“Oh, I don’t think so.” He reached out and ran a hand down her outer thigh. Felt her lean in, just a bit, to his touch.
“What are you planning?”
Now who was clueless? Rather than keep her guessing or risk having her be wrong, he gave her a pretty big hint. “It involves striping your pants off and touching and licking you until you come.”
Her knees buckled, but the mattress stopped her fall. “That’s sex.”
“Don’t have a condom on me.” He hadn’t put one in this pair of jeans. Didn’t think he needed to since he expected her to follow him back to the bedroom. Didn’t look like that was going to happen, so he went with improvisation.
“That’s not the test.”
He had no idea what she was talking about, so he kept on his subject. “There’s only one thing we need to worry about.”
“What?” She rested a knee on the bed.
He decided to take that as a good sign. Still, he waited. She needed to come to him. Once she raised the I decide question, there was no way he was moving until she did. “You’re a screamer.”
She shook her head. Looked half ready to slap him. “Shut up.”
“I’m not lying. You’ll need to cover your mouth or yell into a pillow.”
“Maybe you won’t excite me enough to scream.” She had both knees on the bed now as she sat back, just inches away from him.
“Challenge accepted.” He reached out and touched her hand. Laced her fingers through his and gave a little tug.
She tumbled onto the mattress then turned around until she lay down beside him. “I didn’t mean—”
He cut off the comment with a kiss. His lips met hers, and everything else fell away. His resistance shattered. When he felt her hands slide up his back he knew hers had as well.
In all the rolling her shirt had balled up around her midsection, treating him to a view of her stomach. He flattened his palm against her warm skin. “Still think you won’t like this?”
Her breath caught on a sharp inhale. “I know I will.”
“Then it’s your job to stay quiet.” He undid the button and zipper of her jeans and slipped his hand inside.
“You’re awful.” But her eyes glazed over and she relaxed into him.
“Do you want me to stop?” He needed to know. Had to hear her say it.
She pressed her hand against his through her clothes. “No.”
He could feel the heat pouring off her. “I’m thinking you mean that.”
“Enough talk.” She pulled his head down for another kiss. This one lingered as her lips danced over his. When he opened his mouth and deepened the touch, she fell back against the mattress and dragged him on top of her.
Tonight was for her. The touching, the tasting—he would love it all, but this was about her pleasure. He plunged his hand deeper into her pants, past her underwear to skin. His fingers went to work, preparing her body for his mouth.
He stared down at her. Brushed the hair off her cheek. “I like a woman who knows her mind.”
She shifted her legs. “That is not the part I’m thinking with right now.”
Green light. That was all the encouragement he needed.
He slid down her body, taking her jeans with him. He left the underwear in place because he wanted to strip that off with his teeth. When he settled again between her legs, that familiar scent hit him. This was not all he wanted tonight but he wasn’t about to complain.
He lowered his head and nipped at the front of the material covering her. Her body jerked at the contact and her hands knotted in the loose sheet.
She didn’t make a sound, but he teased her anyway. “Quiet.”
She pressed her heels into the mattress. “Do it.�
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He hadn’t even touched her yet. Not really. He skimmed his fingertips over the elastic band by her leg then caught it between his teeth. With a slow and steady pull he stripped them off her. Over her and down to the tops of her legs. He had to sit up, put her legs together, to peel them off.
When he was done he opened her legs wide again. The back of her hand covered her mouth.
Now he’d make her scream.
His fingers touched her, and her back arched. He dropped down on his elbows and placed a kiss on the very center of her as his fingers slipped inside. No sound ever came from her but she grabbed a pillow. He sensed she would not lose this challenge. It didn’t matter, since in his mind he’d already won.
He’d gotten the girl.
• • •
An hour later Natalie walked around the house. She knew this was a bad idea. Like, on a scale of one to ten, it ranked as a hundred on the do-not-do-this side. Still, she had to help and this was the only way. A backdoor way of finding out.
Gabe insisted on control and depended on family. As a third party she could step in. Call in a few favors through Eli and Wade. Get the answer that plagued them all.
The plan was simple. She and her teams had done versions for years when it came time to collect blackmail material. She’d snagged an extra toothbrush from the hall closet. The thing had more supplies than some pharmacies. After a quick trip downstairs, she had the rest of what she needed for tonight’s adventure. The plastic bags and the will to follow through.
Gabe would be furious. She knew without asking him, not that she wanted to ask. He’d see this as an interference. But, really, she took this risk for him. For his family. The ripping and tearing wouldn’t stop until they had answers. Pretending the problem didn’t exist or that it would go away hadn’t worked. It was time to face it head-on.
In her life she’d always found knowing was better than not knowing. At least people could move forward.
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