“And stop doing that!” she grumbled, but turned so that her legs weren’t caught by the door as he closed it.
“Stop doing what?” he asked, pausing before closing the truck’s door.
“Stop picking me up and putting me where you think I should be.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew she should have kept quiet. The gleam in his eye changed from intent to intense in a flash. She remembered how he loved to challenge her when she started giving him orders. At the moment, her stomach tightened with anticipation.
She wasn’t wrong.
His hand moved from the door to her calf. She was immediately grateful for the thick work boots that protected her skin from his touch.
Oh, but he wasn’t stopping just at her ankle. No way! Teague was a master at finding sensitive skin! His hand traveled higher, his fingers making the skin above her sock tingle. “Teague!” she gasped, begging him with her eyes. Although she wasn’t completely sure if she was begging him to stop or to continue. Either was possible after this morning.
“You wanna change your wording, darlin’?” he asked, his hand tightening on her calf.
She closed her eyes. “Teague, just…stop.”
He didn’t move his hand higher, but he did stop. “Any chance you could explain why you want me to?”
“Because I’m engaged to another man!” she told him, her tone making it clear that there shouldn’t be any question in his mind as to why she didn’t want this.
His fingers tightened ever so slightly on her calf, but enough so that she recognized his anger. “And you’re my wife. I think my marriage certificate trumps his ugly diamond ring.”
He had a point. Not that she was willing to admit it though. She reached down and took his wrist, tugging his hand away from her skin. “Teague, I’ve told you. We just don’t work. I need something different for my life.”
His eyes narrowed. “Tell me what it is that he gives you that you can’t get from me.”
She bit her lip, trying to figure out the best way to explain it to him. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but she needed to be clear. He wasn’t the man for her and she needed to move on.
“It is hard to explain, but in a nutshell, Toby is settled. He has his life on track and he’s going somewhere. He doesn’t drive me crazy either. He is sober, calm, and controlled. I like that in a man.”
Teague listened but her words still didn’t make sense. “You don’t think I have my life on track?” He didn’t question the craziness issue. He knew he drove her crazy. It was one of the best parts of their relationship. He loved making her lose control, to see her fall apart in his arms. Just the thought of making her do that was making his erection throb against the zipper of his jeans.
She shook her head. “You’re a good guy and I’m sure you’re great at your job, but you live in a trailer, Teague. I grew up in a trailer. I hated the way people made me feel. I want kids eventually. And there’s no way I would subject my children to the torment I had to deal with.”
Teague glanced over his shoulder at the trailer where he lived during the week, his mind starting to grasp her issues. “You want to divorce me because you think I live in a trailer?”
Gabriella shrugged, feeling horrible now. “Well, and the fact that you work construction. I want more from life than that, Teague.”
“And you don’t want to lose control, correct?” he clarified.
Gabriella nodded. “No. I don’t like losing control.”
He almost threw back his head and laughed. It took all of his control to restrain himself because she’d just sealed her fate. “Darlin’, you…” he started to say something, but then stopped. Shaking his head.
No, this wasn’t something he could explain to her. Yes, he could show her his house and that might ease her concerns about security. He could even show her his bank balance. That would definitely eliminate her worries.
But as he looked into her pretty eyes, he understood that there was so much more to this than money. Yes, he sensed that she wanted the financial security that some ass in Boston might be able to provide for her. Hell, he could damn well provide that for her.
It was the other part, the crazy part -the best part- which she needed to accept about him. All the other stuff was just the frosting on the cake.
She was scared. She was scared and she wasn’t going to relent until he could show her that they could work.
Challenge accepted, he thought and closed the truck door.
Chapter 4
Gabriella pressed the buttons on the microwave, and hurried out of his home trailer, back to the office trailer. She was laughing as she skipped over the mud puddles created by the rainstorm earlier, unaware of her hair flying out behind her.
Teague saw her and his body hardened with need when her laughter flitted over the wind to him. Damn, she was gorgeous, he thought with relish. And she was up to something.
His green eyes snapped from his temporary home to the office trailer, then back again, narrowing as he tried to figure out what she’d done. She was a delightful mixture of mischief and sensuality, all wrapped up in a lush package that made him ache to make love to her again.
He almost laughed when he thought of the numerous times she’d tried to slip those annoying divorce papers into the stack of things she wanted him to sign. He wanted to tell her that he didn’t need to sign all of the documents. That was Harry, his foreman’s job. But she was having too much fun trying to trick him. And he was enjoying her attempts as well.
They were currently at a standoff.
Well, maybe not, he thought as his eyes moved back to his home-trailer. “What’s she done now?” he muttered as he walked across the boards.
As soon as he opened the door, he reared backwards, disgusted by the smell.
“Gabby!” he bellowed, repulsed and impressed in equal measure.
The woman had cooked broccoli in his trailer! He hated the smell of broccoli! It made him gag!
He heard her laughter before he saw her and he sprinted across the boards to the office-trailer just in time to see her blonde head duck into the back of a cab. Those dark eyes promised more of the same and he stood there with his hands on his hips, his own look promising retribution. Soon.
Even as he watched, his body hardened to a painful throb when he saw her head fall back as she laughed, thinking she’d gotten the upper hand.
Oh no, my naughty little wife!
He pulled his keys out of his pocket and came around the trailers again. It took him only a few moments to rev up his truck and pull out of the job site behind the cab. He knew where she was heading and he was going to get there first.
He was already in the apartment when he heard her key in the door. Stepping towards the door, he opened it himself. She was too stunned to react when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside.
By the time the door was closed, he had her pressed up against the wall, his hands lifting her higher so that he could swoop down and cover her mouth with his.
It wasn’t enough!
Slanting his mouth across hers, he lifted her higher, needing all of her against him. He couldn’t figure out how to get enough of her! Damn, he’d dreamed about having her in his arms, feeling her like this so often over the past year but this was even better than his dreams and his memories. She was hotter, just as eager as he was. He would have smiled when he felt her fingers curl around his ears, bringing his head down to hers, if he’d had the energy. But all of his concentration was on kissing her, feeling her against him.
Teague thought he might just explode if he didn’t get her clothes off. “Come with me,” he commanded and set her back on her feet. His fingers were twined with hers as he pulled her towards the bedroom.
The knocking on the door startled both of them. One moment, they were both rushing to the bedroom. The next, they were staring at the door as if a giant, beastly monster was going to step through it and devour both of them.
He glared down at her. “Are you expecting someone?”
Gabriella looked at the door, then back at him. “No one but your family knows that I’m here,” she told him. Her heart was pounding in her chest as her fingers tightened around his hand. He was trying to pull away and she…she didn’t want him to? She should want him to! She didn’t want this.
Did she?
“Teague,” she said softly, thinking this would be a good time to slow down and talk. “We should…”
His name on her lips seemed to soothe him and his hold relaxed slightly. “Ignore it,” he said and bent his head to start kissing her again. Visitors be damned. If she didn’t know anyone else in Seattle, he didn’t care if he was rude.
Unfortunately, reality came crashing back down on her. She realized what she was doing, that Teague was making her lose her concentration. His touch made her forget her priorities. This was exactly why she’d left him! This was why she needed Toby.
“I can’t ignore it,” she hissed back at him, and extracted her arms from his. Pulling back, she shot over to the door, her body shaking at how close she’d come to actually agreeing to have sex with Teague!
When she opened the door, the woman standing on the other side was startled. “Oh! Hello! I’m Nancy and I live across the hallway. I just…” she stopped speaking when she saw Teague step into the hallway as well. “Oh! I’m sorry, am I…?”
“No!” Gabriella exclaimed, glancing behind her at Teague, registering his furious expression but ignoring it. “No! I’m very pleased to meet you!” she gushed. “I’m Gabriella and this is Teague.” She glanced at the woman, then at Teague once more. “He was on his way out.”
The woman’s smile brightened again. “I was just…” she held up a bottle of wine. “Want a glass?” she offered.
Teague sighed and shook his head. “I have to help Zeke with something tonight,” he told her, not wanting to have any part of a ladies night. “You ladies have fun,” he said and rushed out the door, eager to escape.
Gabriella watched with fascination as he hurried down the hallway. Their eyes clashed once more when he pressed the elevator call button and Gabriella shivered, awareness sizzled and she had trouble breathing until he stepped into the elevator. When the door finally closed on him, blocking her view, the tension finally eased and her shoulders relaxed.
“Whew!” the other woman said, fanning herself. “That was some look!”
Gabriella sighed, rubbing her forehead to try and stop the impending headache. “Yeah. He’s pretty good at that look.”
The woman laughed. “I did interrupt something, didn’t I?”
Shaking her head, Gabriella stepped back. “Only in a good way,” she admitted.
“Maybe my timing could have been better.”
Gabriella laughed and stepped back. “Honestly, your timing was perfect. Your name is Nancy? That’s an interesting name.”
Gabriella chatted with her temporary neighbor while she opened and closed cabinets, looking for wine glasses. When she found them, Nancy had already opened the bottle of wine and they were laughing about men and the problems they brought into one’s life.
Chapter 5
The following morning, Gabriella walked into the office, more than prepared for the day. She’d spent a wonderful evening talking with Nancy and considered the beautiful woman to be a friend now.
Also, she had a plan. A good plan that she’d worked out in her mind while trying to calm her body down so that she could sleep last night. First of all, never be caught alone with Teague. The last few times that had happened, she’d ended up in his arms and only some odd interruption had saved her from falling into bed with him. There was no way she was going to be caught alone with Teague again! That simply couldn’t happen! Somehow, she had to get him to sign those damn papers and still not be caught in his arms. That was emotional suicide!
So as soon as she walked in, she popped the top on the plastic container, stuck it into the microwave oven, pressed the timer for three minutes and sat down behind her desk.
When Teague walked in a few minutes later, all she heard was cursing as he stumbled out of the office.
“Gabby!” he bellowed.
Gabriella laughed, almost dancing in her chair behind Marcy’s desk while writing out work orders for the next three days. This was a great job, she thought, as long as one didn’t mind the smell of broccoli.
The radio crackled to life and she smothered a smile of satisfaction as she lifted it to her ear.
“Yes, boss?” she asked, trying to sound innocent.
“Won’t work, darlin’,” he warned her. “That hideous smell isn’t going to last and when it wears off…payback.”
Gabriella glanced down at the plastic grocery bag at her feet. “I’m not overly concerned.”
She could almost hear his eyes rolling and laughed once again, delighted with her victory.
She kept an eye out for Teague heading towards the office. She didn’t mind so much when she had to venture out to hand him or Harry some paperwork. But she didn’t want to be alone with Teague in the office. He was too dangerous and, well, her nerves couldn’t take much more of his touch or the way he kissed her. She became too frazzled.
By the time she was shutting down the computer and locking the cabinets for the night, she still hadn’t come up with a good way to get him to sign the papers, no convincing argument had come to mind, and…well, if she were being perfectly honest with herself, she missed him!
And that was the most ridiculous thought she’d had all week! She didn’t miss Teague! She’d almost lost herself in his arms just last night and today she’d cooked enough broccoli to choke a cow. Every time he’d started to come into the office, she’d had another head of broccoli cooking in the small microwave.
After so many hours in this trailer, the smell was enough to even make her gag.
Now she was tired, cranky, confused, and irritated. And hungry! The smell of broccoli hadn’t been so bad this morning, but by the afternoon, she was sick of it and the smell had made her lose her appetite.
Nothing that a huge, cheesy pizza wouldn’t fix, she thought with relish.
She’d just turned off the computer and locked up Marcy’s files when the door opened again.
He stood there for a long moment, his nose flaring. When he didn’t smell the horrid scent, his eyes changed. He was like an animal who had been hunting for too long and now spotted his prey.
Darn it! She was trapped! Gabriella looked at the door, the window and then down at her feet where one small head of broccoli was waiting to be cooked!
“Oh no you don’t!” he growled, storming towards her.
She had no idea what happened. One moment, she was reaching for the head of broccoli, the next moment, she was flat on her back on the desk, her hands held over her head and Teague’s hips pressing between her legs. The seam of the jeans made her more aware of their position and she looked up into his green eyes, her violet gaze showing him her fear of their position.
“We can’t do this, Teague!” she gasped. “I’m engaged to another man!”
He growled out his fury with that statement, leaning in closer. “You’re married to me!” he snapped. “So in reality, you’re cheating on me with your fiancé!”
She gasped and tried to yank her hands out from his grip. But he wouldn’t release her. He wasn’t hurting her, but she was defenseless. “That’s not the way I see it.”
He shrugged his shoulder, blocking out the light for a moment. “I don’t give a damn about this Toby idiot’s feelings. He’s not here, you’re here, I’m here, and we both want each other. Case closed as far as I can tell. We’re even married, so that makes it even better!”
“Not if you’d just sign those stupid papers!” she came right back.
His smile made her stomach muscles tighten. “You don’t want me to sign those papers, Gabby. Not really.”
She tried to shove him off of her but he wasn’t budging. “What do you
think I’ve been trying to do for the past several days, you big lug?”
“Taunting me,” he replied after careful consideration. “Teasing me. Driving me crazy with lust and unfulfilled need.”
“You’re nuts!”
He shook his head gently. “Think so?” he asked, as he pressed his erection against her, stopping her words. “You’re mine, Gabby,” he whispered forcefully. “And I’m not letting any other man touch you.”
She shook her head, but even now, his words were making her weak with awareness and the same hunger. “I’m not yours. Not anymore.”
“Only because you think we’re too different.” He looked down into her eyes. “Perhaps it is time I showed you that I don’t give a damn about your arguments.”
“You never really listened to me anyway! You think you know me, but you have no idea who I really am! No one does and if they did…” she shot right back at him. And there was something in her eyes, a fear. Or perhaps a secret?
He was startled by that claim. “Gabby, is there some secret from your past that you’d like to share with me?” He spoke the words gently, truly curious now. “There’s nothing you can tell me that could make me change the way I feel about you.”
She struggled once again, but shook her head. “Oh, and what exactly do you feel, Teague? Lust? Great! I can get that from just about any man in a bar if he’s drunk enough.”
His eyes were surprised. “You think I only feel lust for you?” he asked her.
She stilled, looking up at him as if his question surprised her. “Don’t you?”
He bent lower, gently kissing her lips. “Ah, darlin’. If only it were that simple,” and his lips lingered, kissing her gently before increasing the pressure.
Gabriella felt his lips and shivered. An uncontrollable surge hit her and she lifted her head, deepening the kiss until he took over once again. A moment later, she was sitting up with his arms around her, his hand in her hair as he moved her head to the side so that he could deepen the kiss. Gabriella wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him in closer, closer still, and all she wanted was to crawl up higher, to feel every inch of his body against hers.
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