by LuAnn McLane
And so she did.
Gabby put her palms on his chest, loving the solid muscle beneath her hands. She could feel the rhythmic thud of his heart, the heat of his skin through the soft cotton. He remained very still, waiting, allowing her to take the lead. He’d made it clear how he felt about her, how much he cared without expecting anything in return. His admission gave her a heady sense of freedom to let her fear go and to simply live in and embrace the moment.
When Gabby slid her hands up Reese’s chest to hook around his neck, he closed his eyes and his breath hitched just slightly but enough for Gabby to know how much this meant to him. This vulnerable side of Reese shot straight to her heart. Instead of kissing him as she intended, she unlaced her fingers and took him by the hand.
Reese opened his eyes and tilted his head in silent question.
“Come with me,” Gabby said.
Reese swallowed, nodded, and followed her through her living room, down the hallway, and into her bedroom. Once inside, she turned and before she could reach out to him he pulled her into his arms. His lips captured hers in a tender, sweet exploring kiss that ended with him trailing his tongue over her bottom lip.
With a little groan Gabby fisted her hands in his shirt and tugged upward, needed to feel his skin. Ah . . . warm, silky smooth. She needed more, so much more. As if reading her mind, he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it and then stood there letting her run her hands over the contours of his chest. “You’re gorgeous,” she breathed. And he was. Lean with defined muscle, with tattoos that added an edge of danger, of excitement. He was sexy as sin, but what drew Gabby to him was how he looked at her. How he cared. Beneath the tough guy image remained the little boy who had used his money to buy her a candy necklace.
Reese stood very still and let her touch and explore. Needing to taste, she leaned forward and kissed his chest. When she licked a pebbled nipple he sucked in a breath. His reaction made her feel sexy, powerful, and then with a throaty laugh she pushed him back onto the bed. He looked so masculine against the light blue comforter and piles of colorful pillows. “Would you mind very much if I undressed you the rest of the way?”
“No” was his immediate reply. “I wouldn’t mind at all.” He came up to his elbows. “In fact, do whatever you want to. I’m all yours.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” Gabby reached over and turned on the small bedside lamp, giving the room a soft glow. She removed his shoes and socks, but instead of reaching for his belt buckle she trailed her fingers over his chest. He sucked in a breath and his ab muscles tightened. Gabby wasn’t a virgin, but her brief sexual encounters were limited to her college days. She thought her inexperience would make her nervous, but with Reese she felt relaxed, safe . . . and when she saw the heat in his dark eyes and the obvious bulge beneath the zipper of his jeans, she felt a sultry sense of power that made her feel like a sexy siren. She let one finger dip beneath his leather belt, sliding back and forth before she reached for the buckle.
“God, Gabby, what are you doing?”
“Whatever I want, remember?” She leaned over and kissed him and then trailed her tongue down his chest, kissing and licking.
“I didn’t think torture was part of the plan,” he protested gruffly.
With slightly trembling fingers she slid the zipper down and then ran her fingertip over the hard ridge beneath the black cotton of his boxer briefs. With a moan he tilted his hips upward so she could tug the denim downward. A moment later his boxers and jeans landed on the hardwood floor and he was completely, gloriously naked.
Gabby drank in the sight. The soft glow of the lamp gave his tanned skin a golden cast. When Reese came up to his elbows again, muscle rippled. She wanted to touch him, taste him, and feel his skin against her naked body. She wanted to straddle him and sink her body down onto his thick, erect penis. She never knew that this kind of longing could be so powerful, so intense.
“Take your clothes off for me,” he pleaded.
Gabby nodded slightly, but the need to touch him was so strong that she reached over and ran her fingertip over his mouth and then trailed south over his abs and to the hard, hot ridge of his penis. She touched him lightly, but he tensed and sucked in a breath.
“God . . . Gabby.”
She’d never thought much about oral sex, but she suddenly wanted him in her mouth, against her tongue. When she leaned forward, though, he shook his head. “If you do that . . . God, I’ll lose it and I want to be buried deep inside you. Gabby, I want you naked. I want your skin sliding against mine so damned badly.”
Gabby reached down and pulled her blouse over her head and then, while watching him, she unclasped her bra. He sucked in another breath, and while Gabby was wild with wanting him, she forced her fingers to go slowly, seductively. After tossing her jeans to the side, she stood there in nothing but a lacy thong. She toyed with the sides until he rose to a sitting position and with a low groan reached over and ripped the lace as if it were made of paper. “I’ll buy you a dozen more,” he promised, and putting his hands on her ass, he pulled her forward, pressing his mouth intimately against her.
“Reese!” When a flash of sharp pleasure hit her, she gasped. The abrasive tingle of his dark stubble rubbed against her thighs, making a hot shiver slide down her spine . . . and his mouth, oh, his mouth! “God . . .” When his tongue flicked over her she felt her knees buckle. Cupping her ass, he held her steady. “No . . . ,” she gasped again. “You said . . . ,” she continued in a throaty protest, but then threaded her fingers in his hair and moaned.
“I have to do this. . . .” His soft lips covered her while his hot tongue teased with light flicks. . . . And then she exploded with a rush of pleasure that had her clinging to him, dazed.
Wrapping his arms around her, he lowered her to the bed. She felt his weight leave the mattress and would have protested, but her voice had decided to take a holiday. All that came out of her mouth were low breathy sounds. She vaguely realized he was putting on a condom and she wondered how, when she was so satisfied that she could want more. Her limbs felt heavy and her heart pounded a slow thud. But when his skin brushed against hers, she sighed and was surprised when her body responded with another deep longing to have him make love to her.
Reese kissed her, slowly, deeply, and with such passion that she wrapped herself around him, loving the sensation of skin against skin. He dipped his head and captured a nipple in his mouth, licking, sucking, and when he nipped lightly she groaned and arched her back.
“Your breasts are beautiful.”
“Too small.”
“No . . . perfection. Just like everything else about you. Are you ready for me, Gabby?”
“Yes, oh yes. . . .” When she nodded he eased her thighs wider and then rocked against her, entering her slowly. She knew he was holding back to please her and she felt such tenderness for him that she pulled his head down and kissed him. He moved in a slow, steady rhythm until Gabby urged him faster. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and her pulse pounded while the pleasure started to build, intensify, reaching higher. When she felt him stiffen and his muscles bunch and quiver, she let go, crying out while wave after wave of sweet bliss washed over her.
Reese kissed her, holding her close, and then rolled to the side, taking her with him. Gabby rested her cheek against his chest, feeling the wild beat of his heart.
“Gabby, my God, making love to you was even better than I imagined, and I thought that would be impossible,” he said gruffly.
“So you’ve thought about it?”
“Maybe a little.” His laughter rumbled beneath her cheek. “Okay, a lot. But mostly just about you, period.”
Gabby raised her head and smiled. Threading her fingers into his hair, she pulled him in for another long, heated, bone-melting kiss and then sank back onto the pillows. He came up on his elbow and traced a fingertip down her cheek and ove
r her bottom lip. She licked his finger, making him smile.
“I want to stay with you tonight, Gabby. Hold you in my arms all night long. See your face first thing in the morning.”
“Wow, do you know what’s amazing?”
“You?”
Gabby giggled. “That someone as tough and sexy as you are has such a tender, romantic side.” She traced her finger over his armband tattoo. “Who knew?”
“I sure didn’t. You bring it out in me, Gabby. So . . . I take that as a yes?”
“On one condition.”
“Name it,” he said so seriously that she giggled again.
“That you wake me up in the middle of the night and do this all over again. . . .”
His answer was to pull her against him and kiss her gently, tenderly but with an underlying heat that made her melt into the pillows.
They snuggled for a few minutes, but when Gabby started to doze she said, “I’m fading fast.”
“Me too. Being with you like this is so relaxing.”
“I’ve got a new toothbrush in the medicine cabinet. I need a bottle of water. Want one?”
“Please,” he said.
“Anything else?”
“Just your naked body snuggled against mine.”
Gabby smiled. “I just might even fix you breakfast in the morning.”
“This just keeps getting better.”
Reese was right. The sex had been amazing, but having his strong arms around her in the dead of the night was nothing short of heavenly. She felt warm, secure . . . content. But most of all loved. And while she was usually a light sleeper, Gabby fell into a deep delicious slumber.
• • •
Gabby stirred and her eyelids fluttered, letting in a slice of light. She sighed, wanting to slip back into the dream that she’d made sweet, amazing love to Reese, and then she smiled. It wasn’t a dream. With another sigh of contentment she reached for him . . . and came up empty. Opening her eyes wide, she then blinked at the pillow and looked at the floor for his clothes. Gone. Gabby felt a pang of sadness wash over her. After a trip to the bathroom she looked at her mussed hair and slightly puffy lips. Had he snuck out in the middle of the night or did he wait until morning?
Gabby frowned at her reflection, wondering what to do next. Call him? Cry? She swallowed hard and padded on bare feet into the kitchen. Surely he at least left a note.
No note. Only silence. Confusion.
Gabby inhaled a deep but shaky breath wondering why Reese would have left so abruptly. It was still too early for him to have to be at work. Anger sliced into her sadness and she started getting coffee ready, clanging things around. When the coffee started sputtering and dripping, she folded her arms across her nightshirt and frowned. “That’s it, I’m calling him and giving him a piece of my mind,” Gabby grumbled. But when she picked up her cell phone her fingers trembled. She put her fingers on her lips and shook her head. Was Reese another one of those love-’em-and-leave-’em men her mother warned her about?
“I guess so,” Gabby whispered. It saddened her that her mother had gone through these horrible feelings of rejection, and now she realized why she’d been warned over and over. “Now I know. This just sucks.” She watched the coffee turn into a steady stream without really seeing it or smelling the aroma she enjoyed every morning.
Gabby went up on tiptoe to reach for a coffee mug, but the sound of her kitchen door opening had her spinning around so fast that it turned into a ballerina dance move. “Reese!” After she stopped spinning she fisted her hands on her hips and glared.
He tilted his dark head sideways. “I take it you’re not a morning person?” He nodded toward the coffeepot. “Does it get better after coffee?” he asked with a grin.
Gabby didn’t grin back.
“Wow . . . I sure hope so.” He put down the package he carried and bent over to give her a quick kiss.
“Where were you?” She kept her tone light, trying to get her emotions under control.
Reese raised his eyebrows. “You didn’t have anything for breakfast and I wanted our first morning together to be special, so I jogged over to my place and got supplies to make a breakfast pizza.” He reached past her to turn the oven on.
“Oh. . . .” Her heart skipped a beat. “You . . . you could have let me know or something.”
“You were sleeping so soundly . . . and looking like an angel, I might add.” He suddenly frowned. “Gabby, I was only gone for maybe twenty minutes. Wait. You thought I just . . . left?”
“Um, you did leave.”
The light in his eyes dimmed. “But you thought I bailed. That I wasn’t coming back.”
Gabby raised her hands in the air. “What was I supposed to think?”
“Not the worst,” Reese responded quietly. He took a step backward and leaned against the sink. Emotions played across his face. “So you thought everything I said to you last night was a crock? That making love to you meant so little?”
Gabby hated the hurt that filled his dark eyes. “No . . . I . . .”
“Yes, you did, Gabby.” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “Wow. . . .” He looked up at the ceiling and then back at her. “Will you ever see me for anything other than the troubled kid I was back in the trailer park?”
“I do. . . . It’s just . . .”
“Just what? Maybe if I were the mayor of Cricket Creek with short hair and a suit and tie, you’d look at me differently.” He sighed and pointed to his head. “This is who I am, Gabby.”
“I know who you are! Reese, you’re making more out of this than you need to.”
Reese shook his head. “I don’t think so. Do you think I’ll skip out on you like my father did? Are you afraid that I got the leaving gene?” He folded his arms across his chest and gave her a sad, level look.
Gabby felt moisture clog her throat. He was mostly right and she needed to admit it, but she was afraid that if she did he really would leave without giving her a chance. She turned around and went up on tiptoe to get the mugs more from wanting something to do rather than the coffee. Of course she couldn’t reach them and with a groan of frustration grabbed the edge of the countertop and felt tears well up in her eyes. This wasn’t the way this was supposed to go . . . or end. This was supposed to be the beginning of something wonderful.
“Let me help,” Reese said, but instead of reaching up for the mugs he gently turned her around and wrapped his arms around her.
Gabby leaned into his embrace and hugged him around his waist. He felt so warm and solid. She closed her eyes, loving the feel of his strong arms, the scent of his shirt. “I’m sorry,” she said against his chest.
“Ah . . . Gabby.” He hugged her harder and then reached down and tilted her chin up so she had to look at him. “Baby, I don’t want your apology. I want your trust and for you to believe in me.”
“If you had just left a note . . .”
Reese rubbed his thumb gently over her chin. “Agreed, I should have left a note. But that’s not really the issue.” When she glanced away he leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. “Hey, you can’t get rid of me that easily,” he added, but his grin looked a little bit forced.
“I don’t want to get rid of you. I was upset that you were gone, remember?” She gave him a playful shove and tried to smile, but it wobbled just a little bit.
“Ah, Gabby . . . damn,” he said, and lowered his head and captured her trembling mouth with a tender kiss. Gabby fisted her hands in his shirt, pulling him closer. He groaned, deepened the kiss, scooped her up in his arms, and then lifted her up onto the counter. They tugged at each other’s clothing, desperate to have skin on skin. . . .
“Baby, put your legs over my shoulders and hold on to the edge of the cabinets.” When Reese dipped his head and captured a taut nipple in his mouth, Gabby’s breath caught. He licked and ni
bbled, sending a hot tingle zinging through her blood. And then his mouth was everywhere, hot, hungry. Gabby wanted him, needed him, his mouth, his hands . . . all of him. Grabbing her ankles, he pulled her to the edge of the counter, slid his hands beneath her ass, and held her captive while he drove her wild with his mouth. She arched her back and held on to the bottom of the cabinet, urging him on, until her world exploded.
She was dimly aware of him rolling on a condom. Before she could begin to recover, he threaded his fingers with hers, pushed her arms over her head, and entered her wet heat with one sure, hard stroke. With a soft cry Gabby wrapped her legs around his waist, matching the fast, hard lovemaking. She lost herself in the wild beauty of it, giving herself to him gladly . . . freely.
Her release rolled over her like a tidal wave, the exquisite pleasure almost painful in the intensity. She felt his muscles stiffen and when he thrust deep she clamped her legs around him, never wanting to let him go.
Reese released her fingers and when he would have moved she kept her legs around him, loving the weight of him, the feel of him surrounding her. She ran her hands down his back, feeling the sheen of sweat, loving the rapid beat of his heart so close to hers. He lifted his head and kissed her with another long, hot, passionate kiss, rolling to the side but holding her close.
“You drive me completely crazy.”
“You mean that in a good way, right?”
He chuckled. “Mostly.”
“I’ll take it.”
“I could never, ever get enough of you.”
Gabby kissed the warm skin on his chest. “I know exactly how you feel.” She rested her head on his shoulder him but fell silent. She could get so used to having the strength, the comfort, and the security of having his arms around her. Falling in love with him was a heady, wonderful feeling. But could something this intense and powerful be her strong and steady . . . could it last?
Did she have the courage to follow her heart to find out?