by J. H. Croix
Diego stepped back and cast a lingering smile at Gemma. The warmth and possessiveness in his eyes sent a ping through my chest. Lately, it seemed I was watching all of my friends fall in love and wishing I could have something like it.
Diego crossed the room to fetch his yoga mat and put his shoes in a cubby while Harley walked briskly over to unroll her mat beside Daphne. She smiled over at us. “Don’t get me wrong, I love that my brother’s in love. But really. Some of us—” She cut her words off abruptly when Diego stopped beside her.
“Some of us, what?” he prompted as he unrolled his yoga mat.
“Nothing,” Harley replied airily.
I felt a prickle on the back of my neck that raced down my spine, and I knew Gabriel had arrived. Great, just great. I’d come to yoga class to relax, and now I would be a ball of tension because he was here.
Too late, I realized there was room for someone on my other side. In a matter of seconds, he was there.
“Hey, Nora.” His voice was low, and even though others were around, it felt as if we were alone. His tone was warm and intimate, sending butterflies into flight in my belly and tingles chasing through my body. I’d had that unsettling and confusing reaction to him ever since we’d given in to the chemistry that sparked between us.
I was so easily turned on by him, my nerves firing and sending signals of passion and need through me. It wasn’t solely that, though. My heart felt a visceral tug toward him.
Chapter Fifteen
Gabriel
“Hell, yeah!” Diego said, raising a fist in the air as he laid down a winning hand on the coffee table with his free hand.
Flynn, who often won, simply grinned and pushed the small pile of coins across the table to Diego.
Seconds later, he was collecting cards and shuffling them for another round. I leaned back into the couch cushions, rolling my achy shoulder. “Can you grab me a beer?” I called when Grant stood and walked into the kitchen.
We were at the staff house, a house we’d built two summers prior. Once the resort had gotten busy, it was clear the staff needed somewhere else to stay other than occupying needed guest rooms. These days, I lived here with Grant, Tucker, and Harley, Diego’s younger sister. Lately, Diego was mostly over at Gemma’s.
It was almost amusing—almost—that I’d been teasing my friends about falling in love, thinking all along that I would never fall. Now, I had to convince Nora to believe me.
I rolled my head along the back of the couch, catching Diego’s eyes. “When are you going to call it official?”
“Call what official?” he countered.
Grant returned to the room, handing me a bottle of beer. I took a long pull as Flynn answered Diego’s question for me. “Move in with Gemma and get married,” he teased.
“Yeah,” Grant interjected. “You’re not drinking tonight because you have to drive out there. When’s the last time you stayed out here anyway?”
At that moment, the front door opened, and Elias peered around it. “Hey, guys. Daphne said I’d find you over here. Sorry I missed dinner.” He walked in, closing the door behind him. “I was going to bring coffee, but coffee isn’t usually what we do for card night,” he explained as he hung his jacket on the hooks by the door and toed his boots off. “I brought this instead.” He held up two growlers from the local brewery.
“Smart move,” Flynn said with a chuckle. “Want in on the game?”
“He can have my hand,” I offered. “I’m on a losing streak tonight. Maybe you can improve for me.”
Elias laughed as he sat down beside me. “I’ll do my best. Oh crap, I need to put these in the refrigerator.”
Grant hadn’t sat back down yet and offered, “I got ’em.” He snagged the two growlers with one hand and crossed over to put them in the refrigerator in the kitchen.
The lower floor of this house was comprised of a large living room with a woodstove to one side and a kitchen at the back, along with a combined bathroom and laundry room. Four bedrooms and two full baths were upstairs. It was pretty comfy for the staff and didn’t cost us a penny to live here.
“I was wondering if you and Cammi would be here for dinner tonight,” I commented as I glanced at Elias.
“I meant to make it, but I was running a little late. We’re wedding planning.” His eyes went a little wide at that.
Diego smiled and thumped his fist over his heart. “Smart man.”
“Are you panicking yet?” Flynn teased as he lifted his cards and organized them in his hand.
Elias shook his head, his lips twitching with a slight smile. “Nah.” His tone was almost wondering. “I kind of can’t believe it.”
“When it’s right, it’s right,” Diego commented.
“Speaking of right, are you still trying to keep up the façade that you live out here?” Elias quipped.
Diego’s teeth flashed with his quick grin. “I’m not pretending. Just gotta get around to moving everything. Where is Harley, by the way?” he asked, referring to his younger sister.
“No clue,” I replied with a shrug.
“I think she said she was going into town to Sally’s,” Grant offered when he sat down on the sectional couch near Flynn.
Diego glanced at Grant. “I think she might be seeing somebody and doesn’t want me to know.”
“Is she supposed to let you know?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“No, but she damn sure thinks I’m supposed to tell her everything about Gemma and me,” he deadpanned.
I felt Flynn’s gaze on me. When I looked up, he held my eyes for a few beats. I resisted the urge to look away. I knew he was trying to give me a clear chance to get it right with his sister this time. As much as I had faith in my feelings, I had plenty of doubts about myself. Trying to navigate being in love was like being tossed onto the shores of a new land where no one spoke my language.
I took a swallow of my beer and leaned back. Flynn was the reason I was here tonight. I’d wanted to go to Nora’s after dinner at the resort, but I was usually here when we had a casual game of cards. I promised myself I wasn’t going to lie and sneak around this time, so here I was.
Elias actually managed to win the next game with my hand. We chatted about his upcoming wedding and the news that Cammi was pregnant with twins. Everything had changed for him lightning fast. I kept thinking if he could go from being a bachelor who’d eschewed commitment to a man who embraced the love of his life and looked forward to having a family, then I could too.
I forced my thoughts off Nora. I swear, the woman had a dedicated track in my mind, like a train circling on a loop. It was always good to hang out with my friends, and I’d rather enjoy it than dwell on trying to figure out this thing with Nora and me—this knot I couldn’t untangle.
Later, after Flynn left to return to the resort, Elias departed to head home with Diego following him to town as well, and Tucker went upstairs to bed, I decided to slip away to see Nora. I forced myself to text her first.
Me: Now?
My heartbeat echoed in my ears as I waited for her response. I was impatient, but I wanted to get this right. I wanted to see her so badly, my body nearly ached with the force of my need.
Nora: Now sounds good.
Her reply came far too many minutes later.
A quick jog through the crisp autumn air had my entire body feeling alive. Frost was forming on the ground and fallen leaves and evergreen needles crunched under my feet as I moved along the path from the staff house to her place.
The porch light cast a warm glow in the darkness, and my heart kicked in my chest as I climbed the steps to her door, knocking lightly.
“Come in!” her voice was muffled through the door.
I was unaccustomed to this sense of being wound tight. I’d been holding my emotions at bay for so long. Now that I’d let myself actually feel in my fight to get back to us, there was another layer to my feelings—running more deeply and fiercely.
The doorknob was cool under
my palm as I turned it. Stepping through, I closed it behind me. Nora was standing in the kitchen across the room. Her hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail. I kicked off my shoes and crossed the room to her as she turned to face me.
“Hey.” I stopped in front of her, resting my hands on her upper arms, needing the contact to anchor me in the tumult of emotions storming through me.
Her thick lashes lifted, and her brown eyes skimmed over my face. “Hey,” she said softly, her voice a little raspy.
“Now is good?” I asked, referencing her reply to my text.
She canted her head to the side, biting the corner of her lip. The sight of her white teeth denting the smooth pink surface of her lips made me a little crazy.
“I think so.”
“You think?”
She released her lip and let out a little puff of a breath. “Yes, now is good.”
“Perfect,” I murmured.
I slid my hands down, curling them around her hips, savoring her soft curves as I lifted her and slipped her bottom onto the counter. She let out a startled gasp as I tugged her close to the edge and stepped between her knees. I took the moment to simply look at her, to soak her in.
I loved Nora’s contrasts. She was such a tomboy. She flew planes with ease and grace, she didn’t blink at life in the wilderness in Alaska, a sometimes unforgiving and harsh land. Yet, she was so feminine. Her dark brows arched delicately, and her nose turned up at the end. Her lips made a perfect pink bow. Her curves were soft, thoroughly generous.
I stepped closer, feeling the heat of her against my arousal. I had it that bad for Nora. The moment I knew I was going to be able to be with her, I was swollen with need for her.
I dipped my head, dusting a kiss on the underside of her jaw, feeling the wild throb of her pulse there.
“Gabriel?” she whispered, a lilt of a question in her tone.
“Mmm?” I murmured as I trailed my tongue along the sensitive shell of her ear, loving her subtle shiver.
“What are you doing?” The rasp in her voice sent a sizzle of need through my body.
“You said now was good. I took that literally.”
“Oh.”
I lifted my head. “You know how literal I am.”
Her eyes sparkled, and she bit her lip again. “You are. We could go to the bedroom,” she offered.
“We could, but I like the kitchen. You know that too.”
Pink bloomed on her cheeks, and her chocolate eyes darkened. “I like the kitchen too,” she murmured.
In all honesty, when it came to Nora, it wasn’t a place or time. It was her. Only she had the ability to set me on fire and catch my heart in the net of sparks created by the fire. Only she held my heart in her hands, and I never wanted her to let it go.
“What’s this?” I asked, my voice husky as I caught the strap of her overalls between two fingers and trailed my fingers down along that strip of fabric. I paused when I felt her nipple tighten behind my knuckles when they grazed over it.
I couldn’t resist dipping my head and dusting a kiss over the soft skin where her pulse beat rapidly. Her breath hissed through her teeth, and she let out a little whimper on her exhale.
“You haven’t answered me,” I murmured against her skin, pushing the strap of her overalls out of the way and cupping her breast. The weight of it was lush and full in my palm.
“I forgot your question,” she gasped, her breath tattered.
Lifting my head, I clarified, “I suppose I didn’t explain. Why are you wearing overalls at home? They’re not convenient. Tsk, tsk.”
Nora giggled, and the sound went straight to my heart, sending a sharp, piercing shock to it. She didn’t giggle often. She was a very practical girl, and I loved that about her. But her intense practical nature meant that she only giggled when she really let down her guard. Sprouts of hope shot up in my heart.
Maybe I could persuade her to believe I loved her. Maybe I could rebuild what I’d sent up in flames when I tried to keep my feelings for her at bay.
“I didn’t know you were coming over, and I haven’t changed since I got home,” she explained.
I leaned back, letting my eyes coast over her. Her breasts rose and fell along with her rapid breath. Her pupils were dilated, and her eyes dark as espresso. I released a put-upon sigh.
“Well, let’s take care of these then.”
She let out a surprised laugh when I lifted her from the counter to set her on her feet in front of me. I immediately shoved down her overalls, pushing them over her hips where they fell in a denim rumple on the floor. She kicked them free of her feet. When I looked down, I noticed she was wearing bright yellow socks, like little splashes of sunshine in the room.
Impatience spurred me, and I slid my palms over the sweet curves of her hips and under the hem of her T-shirt, letting it ride up my wrists as I pushed it up over her head. I lingered for a moment to tease her breasts.
There was a whooshing sound as we freed her T-shirt and tossed it on the floor. She stood in front of me in a pair of practical cotton panties with a cream silk bra. Matching was not my girl’s thing.
I wanted to take it slow, to drag this out, but I needed her too badly. That was something else only Nora could do. She always had me grasping to maintain my control. Even when I wanted to play a seductive game to orchestrate her pleasure, it never worked out that way. It was a mad rush, like getting tossed into a river current I could not swim against.
She rested a hand on her hip, cocking her head to the side and letting her eyes sweep up and down my body. “Now who’s wearing too many clothes?”
She had my jeans unbuttoned in a flash. The feel of her cool palm curling around my hard length had me letting out a raw groan. The next few moments were a blur as she freed me of my clothes. Her bra and panties joined the pile on the floor, but I wanted her to keep her sunshine socks on, an incongruous dash of whimsy.
Just when I thought I had control of the situation, she pushed me back, and my shoulders collided with the cool stainless steel surface of the refrigerator. She strung kisses over my chest as she teased my already aching cock to the point of pain with her hands. My fingers were laced in her hair when I felt the swirl of her tongue around the tip of my cock as she swiped a drop of pre-cum rolling out. Her naughty eyes caught mine when she sucked me in deeply. My free palm slapped against the refrigerator, and I gave myself over to her sucking, teasing touch. She drove me closer and closer to the edge.
She almost made me lose it, but I needed to be inside her. I clung to that need when I grabbed on to the frayed thread of my control. “Nora,” I bit out on a ragged breath.
She leaned back, and I looked down to see her lips pink and damp. A rough growl escaped, and my cock pulsed with the need for release. Fortunately, I had wisely already pulled out a condom while we were getting my jeans off, and I snatched it off the counter, rolling it on in record time before lifting her again and walking from the fridge to the counter a few feet away.
Sliding her hips on the counter, I reached between her legs, finding her dripping wet from the juices of her arousal. “Mmm, I love it when you’re like this.”
I teased into her core with two fingers. “Always like this with you,” she gasped.
“I know,” I murmured as I brought her body flush against mine, her skin damp and warm everywhere we touched. “That’s why we’re right together.” I notched my cock in the entrance of her body and filled her in one quick surge.
She cried out, arching into me, her pussy clenching around me. I was hanging onto my control with my fingertips, but I managed.
Chapter Sixteen
Nora
That’s why we’re right together.
Gabriel’s gruff words sent a shiver coursing through my entire body right before he filled me. My body was chasing that sweet relief as he reached between us, teasing over my swollen and slippery clit. My orgasm was racing toward me, its force unstoppable.
“I know,” I gasped as he dr
ew back and filled me again, the sensation delicious and drugging.
“Come for me.” His next words were the last push. “I love you.”
My orgasm hit me in flying sparks, the pleasure piercing and sending my entire body into rough tremors as I gulped in air. He plunged into me once more, and I felt his cock pulse when he shuddered against me. My head fell to his shoulder, and he held me in his strong embrace as I sat there on the counter with my legs dangling around his hips.
This wasn’t the first time my counter had seen some action with us. We had already christened every surface in my small house.
When he brushed my hair away from my eyes, I felt unsteady. My heart felt turned over in my chest, vulnerable and exposed. I swallowed, trying to catch my breath amidst the emotion spinning in the aftermath of my orgasm.
For the second time, Gabriel asked if I was going to send him home. For the second time, I didn’t.
We fell asleep in my bed with his arm curled around my shoulders and my head tucked into the curve of his neck. I loved sleeping beside him. Because I felt safe. Safety and security were the two things I craved most in life.
Gabriel was strong and his touch sure. When we were asleep, I could pretend my baggage wasn’t always in the way, bumping around and kicking people out of my life.
When I woke the following morning, it was still dark. Opening my eyes, I stared out the window beside my bed. The early glimmers of dawn winked, with the darkness a smudgy, charcoal gray and a few stars still visible in the sky. A thin glimmer of light shone above the mountain range in the trees as the first rays of the sun stretched up to the horizon.
I’d slept straight through the night, a rarity for me. That was a holdover from my childhood. My childhood had mostly been our mother and us. Flynn had been the most stable force in my life, if only because things were quieter when he was around.
In the night, if my stepfather was around, my parents argued. He wasn’t violent; he was just an asshole. My mother always wanted more from him. She would go into the bathroom and lock the door and cry. He would go into the living room and watch television.