by Wendy Stone
“It’s me, Gabe. It’s Lexi.”
He opened his eyes and blinked, his gaze blurry. “Lexi? What are you...”
“I’ve had to go into witness protection, Gabe. We’re now roommates.”
He tried to push himself up. She helped him, piling pillows behind his back. “What happened?”
She ran her hand from his shoulder down over his bicep to his hand. He turned his over, capturing her fingers in his. “Tell me, Lexi. What happened?”
“Jack will have my ass for this,” she said with a sigh and a shake of her head. “I had a visitor when I went back to work tonight. Whoever it was, well, he was searching for you. When I tried to arrest him, he threw himself out of a window.”
“Did you find blood or...?”
“No, Gabe. You don’t understand. It was a window from the eighth storey he went through.”
“So he’s dead?”
“No, that’s the problem. There was no body, no blood, no ropes. We have no idea how he managed it. I watched him go out the window. I was there only seconds later, Gabe. I can’t explain it, but they have associated me with you. I had to go under; there was no other way to keep you safe.”
“And you,” he said softly. He was playing with her fingers, trailing the tips of his across her palm. She couldn’t hide the shiver he caused or the sensations that were running through her. No man ever made her feel this way.
She parted her lips and moved closer to him. Her heart was racing, her pulse throbbing in her wrist and throat. She wished she had the nerve to lean forward, to kiss him like she wanted.
“Lexi?”
“Yes, Gabe,” she answered, her voice husky.
“Why are you here?”
“Uh, I just told you.” She stared at him as if maybe he were having a relapse, and raised up her other hand to lie gently against his forehead.
“No, Lexi. You told me you would be staying with me. You didn’t need to come up here to tell me that. It could have waited until morning.” He reached up, taking her hand off his face and holding on to it. His eyes were intense, direct, and she felt a thrill at the strength she could sense inside him.
“I guess I should have waited.” She made to get up, to pull her hands out of his, but he wrapped his fingers around her wrists. He tugged, and she fell against him, unable to use her hands to stop herself.
“Why are you here?” His voice was soft, husky, sensual, and she felt its effect. Her hands shook slightly, and she dropped her gaze.
“I...I had a rotten day. I wanted to see you.”
“To see me?” He lifted her hand up, letting his lips touch her palm. “Why would you want to see me?”
“I’ve been asking myself that question for the past five minutes.” She shook her head. “If you’ll give me back my hands, I’ll go find my own bed.”
“Not yet,” he said, putting both wrists into one of his huge hands, and then he lifted her chin in the other, staring down at her. “You’re beautiful, Lexi.”
“Thank you.”
“I didn’t say it to compliment you. I am just speaking the truth. You’re a beautiful woman. Any man would think the same.” He let his fingers stroke over the skin of her face. “You aren’t in just any man’s room, Lexi. You’re in mine, and you have a reason. I want to know what it is.”
Her heart was thundering in the pulse throbbing under his hand.
“Do I make you nervous?”
“Yes,” she answered.
“Why?”
“Why?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “You’re holding me captive, Gabe.”
“I’m not doing what you want me to do.”
“What do I want you to do?”
He caught her chin with his hand once more, the other hand holding onto her wrists. He tugged her even closer. “This,” he whispered. He moved his lips over hers, dipping his tongue inside her mouth. He kissed her wantonly, his mouth hot, his tongue tangling against hers. Her moan was caught in his mouth, and she fought against his hands, wanting to touch him.
He wouldn’t let her go. When he lifted his mouth from hers, it was well before she was ready for the kiss to end. The next words that came from his mouth surprised the hell out of her.
“It’s time to go to bed, Lexi. Your own bed, sweetheart.”
If he thought the affectionate nickname would make her feel any better, he was sorely mistaken. She sat there, staring at him, feeling her eyes growing harder by the second. “Let me go,” she said finally.
“Lexi...you’re taking this the wrong way.”
Before he could say anymore, she shook her head. “Just let go of me, Gabe. I’ll leave and then we won’t have to continue this embarrassment.”
He slowly let go of her hands, watching as she shook them to get the blood moving again. She rose and took a step to the door, stopping only when she heard him groan and the sound of the mattress creaking. She turned and saw him trying to hoist his injured body out of bed. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to keep you from making an ass of yourself.”
She glared at him, stopping herself from running over to help him out of bed. He finally made it to his feet, his nude body standing unashamedly in front of her.
She took in the hard-muscled body in front of her. He was a bit on the skinny side from being in the hospital, but the rest of him was very much eye candy. Lexi didn’t deny herself a sugar fix as she stared at him and felt her body soften against the words he spoke earlier. “How am I making an ass out of myself? You’re the one who told me to go; I’m just doing what you asked.”
“You were pissed, Lexi. Don’t even try to deny it. You need to know, I want you.” He could probably see the doubt in her eyes and took a step closer, sliding one of his hands down her arms to take her hand in his. “Does this feel like I don’t want you, Lexi?”
He placed her hand on his body, gently moving it to cup around his cock. He was hard and heavy in her hand, and she couldn’t help sliding her palm up and down, measuring his length.
His groan had his head falling back. “God, Lexi. Does that feel like I don’t want you?”
“Then...why?”
* * * *
“Why did I tell you to go to bed?” He reached down and took her hand again, trying to stop the way she was jacking him off. The scent of her, the exotic aroma of whatever she was wearing, seemed to be going straight to his head, making turning her down even harder. “I’m a pretty good judge of character, Lexi. I just don’t see you as falling into bed with a man, no matter how attractive he is to you, on the first night you know him.”
“This kind of tells me that you find me attractive as well.”
Gabe laughed shortly, groaning when she shook off his hand, hers going right back to where he so desperately wanted it. “God, Lexi, you’re going to kill me here.” He found the wall with his hand and used the leverage to hold himself up.
* * * *
“I don’t want you dead,” she mused quietly, and then wrapped her unoccupied arm around him, turning him back toward the bed. He was warm under her hand, almost too warm. She helped him into bed, covering him and tucking him in.
“What are you doing?” he asked, reaching out to grab her hand.
“I’m heading to bed, Gabe.” She shook her head when she heard his moaning protest. “You were right. You aren’t up for this, no matter the evidence to the contrary. You need rest and to recover.”
“Lexi...”
“No, Gabe. I wasn’t thinking very clearly earlier, your own fault of course, but what I wanted from you could have made you a lot worse. You need to sleep to heal.”
“Will you stay in here with me for a bit?”
She smiled as she looked into his face. “You aren’t going to try to change my mind, are you?”
He yawned, rolling to his side. “Nope. I just hope my snoring won’t turn you off.”
She chuckled and reached out, stroking her fingers through the thickness of his hair. “Sleep, Gabe.”
Chapter Five
Gabe woke early. He lay in bed, remembering the visit he had in the middle of the night. It was hard for him to believe now, to know Lexi craved him as much as he yearned to take her. The only proof of her being in his room last night was the faint left-over scent of her on his skin.
He lifted his hand to his nose, breathing in the exotic aroma. He hummed his pleasure, feeling his morning erection grow even harder. “You really are hopeless,” he growled to himself. With a sigh, he forced himself out of bed, walking slowly into the bathroom. It took several minutes, and some of the psalms Sister Theresa at the elementary school forced him to memorize every time he got into trouble, before it would go down enough so he could take his morning piss.
He decided to forgo taking the shower he was craving and put on the other set of clothes Lexi got for him. The thought of her picking out the clothes he was pulling on his body had his erection happy and waving at him before he put the boxers on over it. The sweats didn’t help much in disguising his arousal, and he sat on the side of the bed until it subsided.
He left his bedroom and headed down the stairs, favoring his side and holding on to the railing. He could hear raised voices in the kitchen and hesitated for a moment before he went in.
“She’s not going to like that.”
The words sent the small hairs on the back of his neck up. The only she he could think of would be Lexi. Whatever they were saying concerned her, so it concerned him.
“What isn’t she going to like?” he asked as he walked into the kitchen, grabbing a cup and pouring himself a coffee. At least he thought it was coffee. It seemed a bit thick to be considered coffee. He glanced at the three people that occupied the room. The woman was tall and slender, with red hair that curved perfectly under her chin. She had smoky gray eyes that seemed to flame when she was pissed, and she was definitely pissed now.
One of the men was as tall as the redhead, but his hair was as black as sin. His eyes were a bit on the spooky side, so light as to look white, but they were blue and icy, gazing over Gabe and then going straight back to the girl. He glanced back at Gabe as he spoke.
“Mr. Elliott, when we have everything thought out, we’ll be more than happy to let you know our plans.”
Gabe looked over the man who spoke to him. “Where are Joe and Gerald?”
“Off duty, sir. I’m Luke, and that’s my partner Molly. We’ll be taking the day shift for you and Lexi.”
“I’m Gabe, and since what you’re discussing does concern me, I’d appreciate being told about it now.” He took a sip of the coffee, almost gagging at the consistency. It was like drinking thick acid. He set down the cup, going to the refrigerator and getting out the milk. Adding a healthy dollop, he stirred it carefully, waving at Luke to continue.
“Well, sir...we thought about moving you and Agent Hunter today. Since her part in this was blown yesterday, we think it might be best to relocate you.”
“Since that makes sense, why is there a big discussion about it?” He lifted the spoon out of the coffee, amazed to see it was still in one piece, and then took another sip, turning and cocking an eye at Luke as he hesitated.
“It isn’t about relocating you, Mr. Elliott,” Molly said, interrupting her partner. “We are having problems coming up with where we should take you.”
“What are our options?” Gabe asked, glancing up.
Luke glanced at Molly and Jack, and then back at Gabe. “That’s need to know, sir.”
“Since it’s my body you’re moving, I think I need to know.” He let some of his aggravation through in his tone of voice. He didn’t drop his gaze from Molly’s eyes even when he felt Lexi come into the room. He could smell her, the lotion she’d used last night, and the same aroma that had still been on his body this morning. It was a sweet smell, one he wouldn’t mind smelling every day of the rest of his life. That thought shook him, and he glanced her way, losing Molly’s gaze.
“I think you should tell us what Gabe wants to know, Molly.”
Molly suddenly looked as if she’d like to be anywhere but in the kitchen facing Lexi. “It’s not that I don’t want to,” she said suddenly. “It’s that Jack said not...to...” She moved across the kitchen to stand by her partner, glancing over at Jack.
* * * *
“He told you not to...tell me?” Lexi asked. Gabe reached out, grabbing her hand when she tried to get by him.
“Whoa, Lexi. Don’t go ape-shit all over them. It’s not their fault if they are following orders.”
Molly nodded her head, but Luke kept his gaze on the floor. He looked guilty about having to follow Jack’s orders.
“So what are you allowed to tell me?” Her hand was still caught in Gabe’s, curled around his fingers, refusing to let him go. Of course it helped he wasn’t fighting her grasp.
“We’re moving you today,” Luke said, lifting his mug of coffee to take a long sip. “We are just trying to decide the best safe house for you.”
“What are our options?”
“That’s the part we aren’t allowed to discuss with you.” Luke held his hand out to try to diffuse some of the anger he could see in Lexi’s eyes. “Jack just doesn’t think you should be allowed in on the decision-making phases. You are in protection as much as Gabe or any of the witnesses you’ve dealt with through the years, Lexi. He wants you to stay safe.”
“Jack wants me to stay safe.” She spat the words as if they were curses. “He doesn’t have much faith in my abilities if he thinks I can’t handle any witness, even myself.” She turned to glare at Jack. “So is that what this is? Is it your inability to trust me?”
“Calm down, Lexi. This has nothing to do with trust. You know that.” Jack picked up his own cup of coffee, gazing down into the murky brew thoughtfully. “You know we figure out the best places for our witnesses. We don’t take into consideration what they think or want. If we did that, we’d lose too many witnesses.”
“I’m not your usual witness, Jack, and you know that. I’m not going to do anything stupid or anything that’s going to cause us to get caught. I would just like to have a say.”
Jack shook his head. “I understand how you feel, Lexi, I really do, but you know I’m up against a wall here. You’ve got to let us make these decisions for you.” He held out a hand toward her. “You’ll have my best marshals and the best safe houses. You know I’ll take care of you.”
Lexi sighed heavily. She obviously didn’t want him to be right. She shrugged her shoulders, trying to not seem petty, and left the room. Stopping in the living room, she spun in a circle and headed toward the stairs.
Only Gabe’s hand on her arm stopped her from running back up the steps and hiding upstairs. “Don’t even say it, Gabe. I know.”
“You know what, Lexi?”
“That I’m being an ass. I know I am, but it’s damn hard to just shut up and let them ride roughshod over my life. I don’t think I can handle letting someone else make those decisions for me.” She patted his hand and tried to pull away, turning to glance into his eyes when he wouldn’t let her go. “What?”
He smiled down at her, tangling her hand in his. “I understand how hard it is for you, Lexi. I’ve never let anyone tell me where or how to live, but I have a goal. I’m going to drag those bastards who killed off the Blandons through court. I’m not going to let them go without punishment.” He cocked his head to the side to gaze down at her. “While I’m not thrilled I can’t deal out my own form of punishment, I’m willing to use anyway I can. They were way too important to me to just let it go.”
“We are all determined to get you to that point, Gabe. I don’t know of too many of us w
ho have had to deal with crime and want to let them get away with so little recompense.” He reached up, running the backs of his fingers down the side of her face.
“I think you’re going to be the only thing that gets me through this, Lexi. You’re going to keep me sane, and I already feel like I should thank you.” He dipped his head and held up her chin with his fingers so he could find her lips. He kissed her gently, caressing her chin and neck with his fingers. “Mmm,” he moaned. “What is that scent?”
“It’s the lotion I use on my skin.”
“It’s mesmerizing,” he growled, dipping his head to sink his face in her throat. “It’s driving me nuts.”
Lexi inhaled sharply, feeling his lips so incredibly warm against her skin. “If you’re trying to make me forget, you’re doing a damn fine job of it, Gabe.”
“I like how you say my name” He followed the line of her neck with his fingers and slid to her ear, teasing the lobe with his tongue. She held her head to the side to give him more flesh to kiss and touch. “Gabe?”
“Hmm?”
She closed her eyes in pleasure and gave out a low moan. “You’re going to drive me crazy,” she said heavily, reaching out her hands to hang on to his arms, to hold herself up. She wanted to fall at his feet and con him into making love to her the way she couldn’t stop thinking about.
However, she stayed on her feet, staring up at him. “We shouldn’t do this,” she whispered, not really wanting him to stop. “It isn’t right.”
“What isn’t right about this, Lexi? Is it the fact I want you, is that what you consider wrong?”
She shook her head. “No,” she managed to spit out. “No, that’s not the problem. We are in danger. We shouldn’t be enjoying this, or each other.” She pushed away from him and dropped her head into her hands. “It just isn’t right.”
“So these feelings, these emotions, what you make me feel, makes me a bad person? I don’t think so, Lexi. You are a very beautiful woman. I don’t know how any man could just back away from you. I know I can’t.” His voice grew even huskier. “I like you, Alexandra Hunter. I like you, and I like kissing you. I’m not going to apologize for that, or try to stop feeling this way. You make me feel like this is some kind of adventure, and I’m not giving it up.” He lifted her chin and dropped his head, finding her lips with his.