But they were still wearing too many clothes, she realized, and pulled away again, dragging her mouth down his chest while she eased his jeans lower still. She murmured a protest when they would go no farther, and he rolled away from her to yank off his boots and the rest of his clothes. When he turned back to her, naked, with a fierce, primal glint in his eyes, her heart slammed in her chest.
He reached for her, tugged her underneath him, then rose over her while he slipped her sweatpants and underwear down her legs and tossed them aside.
He was so magnificent, his chest broad, his shoulders muscled, and she knew in her heart that she would never be the same after this night. She knew at some instinctive, basic level, that their joining would profoundly alter her existence.
The muscles in his powerful arms stood out like thick cords as he lowered his body to hers. He watched her, his face a sculpture of hard, sharp angles, and she felt as if he could see inside her, that he knew her every thought, every secret. The very idea that he might have that power frightened her for a moment, but her need for him pushed the thought aside.
And as he slid into her, all she could do was feel.
The ache that had been pulsing through her veins turned into a living thing. She rose to meet him, bringing him deeper inside of her. Her arms wound around his neck, her fingers dug into his scalp, then moved restlessly over his powerful back. She felt his strong muscles bunch and ripple under her hands as he moved. Pleasure spiraled through her like a hot wind, whirled faster and faster. Higher. Hotter.
Gasping, she called out his name, moved with him stroke for stroke. His skin was damp under hers, and the male scent of him invaded her senses, sending her higher still. She held on, called out his name on a sob when her release came in an explosion of color and sound. The waves were still moving through her when, on a low, deep groan, he buried his face in her neck and shuddered against her.
Peace settled over her as she wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed. She felt her smile touch not only her lips, but her heart, as well.
At thirty-five, Gabe had never been a saint, nor had he pretended to be. He thought it was natural for two people who were attracted to each other to end up in bed, and whenever he had been in a relationship, he’d always believed that it should be exclusive. He’d genuinely cared for every woman who had been in his life and was still friends with most of them.
But now, lying here on this hardwood floor, in Mildred Witherspoon’s closet, holding Melanie in his arms, he couldn’t imagine ever being “friends.”
She’d quite literally knocked his socks off.
He tightened his hold on her and pulled her closer. With a sigh, she snuggled against him, burying her face into his chest. He pressed his mouth to her temple, breathed in the fresh scent of her hair into his lungs. Neither one of them had spoken since they’d made love, and the quiet settled over them like a warm blanket.
Her body fit perfectly to his, and he tucked her closer still. “You all right?” he asked carefully.
“Hmm.”
He took that as a yes. “This floor must be killing you.”
“Uh-uh.”
Making love had obviously exhausted her, but Gabe felt energized, as if he could leap tall buildings in a single bound. He also felt as if he could eat the proverbial horse. “You hungry?”
“Starving,” she muttered weakly.
“We could go into town, to the tavern or somewhere else, if you like.” He didn’t want to, didn’t want to leave here and share this precious time with anyone else. But he thought he should ask. “We’d be back before Kevin gets home.”
Her fingers moved softly back and forth on his chest and her touch sent an arrow of heat straight down. “I don’t want to go anywhere.”
Relief poured through him. He tightened his hold on her, kissed her cheek. She turned her head and met his lips with her own. It was a soft kiss, tender.
“Thank you,” she murmured against his mouth.
Thank you? She’d just given him the single most moving experience of his life, and she was thanking him? He chuckled softly. Good Lord, but this woman never ceased to amaze him.
“Anytime,” he teased.
She lifted her head. “I mean it, Gabe,” she whispered. “I can’t remember when I ever felt so wonderfully alive.”
Her words, and the intensity in her dove-gray eyes made his throat turn to dust. The desire that had been sated only minutes before rose again, as hot and wild as ever.
He wouldn’t let this woman go, he thought desperately. He couldn’t. Surely she’d change her mind and stay. How could she possibly leave now, after this?
Almost savagely, he covered her mouth with his, rolled her underneath him. She rose up and met him, slid her arms around his shoulders and kissed him back with an urgency that made the blood roar in his ears.
He didn’t mean to be rough, but he simply lost control. He entered her fast and hard and she gasped, arching upward as she took him into the tight, warm sheath of her body. Breathing ragged, muscles strained, he filled her, and when he laced his fingers with hers and lifted her slender arms over her head, pinning her beneath him, she sucked a sharp breath through her teeth and shivered.
“Gabe,” she cried out on a sob. “Now, please, now.”
He moved, and she wrapped her long, silky legs around him, drawing him deeper inside her.
“Open your eyes,” he said hoarsely, still holding her arms. “Look at me.”
Her heavy lids fluttered open, and her smoke-colored eyes were glazed with desire. She met his gaze, held it, and he felt as if he’d fallen into a dark, swirling well of intense pleasure.
He drove himself into her, and she met him with every thrust. She bit her lip, rolled her hips violently, then shuddered into him, and he followed, his jaw clenched, his body convulsing. Completion ripped through him, and he groaned deeply, the sound primal.
When he could breathe again, when he could move, he gathered her in his arms and held her close.
It was eight forty-five before they made it down to the kitchen. Gabe kissed her long and hard by the kitchen sink, then suggested sandwiches while he nibbled on her neck.
Limp from his kiss, she sucked in a breath, struggled to gain control. “We’ll never eat if you keep doing that.”
“Okay.” He caught her earlobe between his teeth and nipped.
Her laugh was breathless as she pushed him away. “Food, Sinclair. I need sustenance. Lunch meat’s in the refrigerator door.”
To her relief, and disappointment, he sighed, then moved away.
“Got any lettuce in here?”
Melanie glanced over her shoulder and looked at Gabe. He was barefoot, like herself, his hair mussed, like hers, and he was busy rooting around in the back of the small refrigerator. The view he offered of snug jeans stretched tight over his butt made her heart trip. Gabriel Sinclair was the most perfect specimen of male that she’d ever laid eyes on.
And most certainly that she’d ever laid her hands on, she thought with a smile.
“It’s in the bottom drawer,” she answered, and reached for the loaf of bread on the counter. “There’s a tomato in there, too, if you want.”
A package of ham in one hand and sliced cheese in the other, he slammed the refrigerator door shut with his hip and moved beside her.
“That will take too long,” he murmured from behind her. He dropped the packages on the counter, circled her waist with his arms, bent to press his mouth to the back of her neck. “How much time do we have left before Kevin gets home?”
“Cara said—” her breath caught when Gabe’s warm, wet tongue slid over her bare skin “—they’d be back around ten.”
A shiver raced from the spot where his lips touched her straight down to her toes. She fumbled with the tie on the bread.
He’d pinned her between the counter and his hard body, and she gave up on the bread and leaned back against him. His mouth roamed over her shoulders, pausing to nibble here and there,
and his hands slid upward under her tank top to cup her breasts.
How could she want him again so soon? she wondered. This was so new to her, so incredible. One hand slid downward, under the waistband of her sweats.
So thrilling.
He cupped her, brought her rear end flush with his body while he nibbled on her neck, then murmured exciting, erotic things in her ear. Gasping, she pressed against him, wanting him to do all those things he whispered and more.
His hand slid under her panties, and he slipped one finger into her, stroking her while his teeth worked on her ear. She gripped the counter, thought her knees might give out, she felt so weak.
Fire raced through her blood as he stroked her, and the ache tightened, a pain-pleasure that centered between her legs and built to an urgency that demanded release. His hold tightened on her when she cried out and jerked backward. She shattered against him, fell bonelessly back when the shudders finally subsided.
“Gabe,” she whispered. “What are you doing to me?”
“Making love to you, sweetheart.” He turned her in his arms, smiled down at her as he kissed her nose. “I believe you asked me to.”
She had, she remembered, and felt her cheeks warm. “You’ve done more than make love to me,” she said softly. “Much more.”
“Tell me, Melanie.” His gaze turned dark and insistent. “Tell me what I’ve done.”
He’d gotten in where she’d sworn no man would again. Into her heart. Somehow, she’d fallen in love with this man, and she could bring nothing but hurt and misery to him. But she couldn’t tell him that. He wouldn’t understand, he couldn’t understand.
“You’ve been a friend,” she said simply. “A wonderful friend when I needed one.”
“Friend?” He frowned at her. “I’m not liking the sound of this.”
“Gabe.” She took his face in her hands. “I wanted to tell you earlier, really I did.” She drew in a slow breath. “I’m leaving tomorrow.”
His frown turned to a scowl. “Like hell you are.”
She sighed. “There’s no place for you and me, for any kind of a relationship, to go. It will be easier for both of us when I’m gone.”
“Easy?” He snatched her hands away, took a step back. “Maybe you think running away is easy, but I call it chicken. You’re a big girl, Melanie. When are you going to learn to face your problems?”
She’d suspected he wouldn’t take this well, but she hadn’t expected such fierce anger. She swallowed hard, struggled to steady herself. But of course he was angry. He had every right to be.
“You can’t understand—”
“You don’t know jack about me if you believe that.” He grabbed her shoulders, and she felt his fury in the bite of his fingers. “Try me, dammit. I deserve something here, other than this ‘it was great, see you around’ number you keep singing.”
“Take your hands off me.”
“Not until you talk to me.”
“I won’t be bullied, Gabe.”
His fingers dug deeper into her arms. “Nothing else has worked with you, goddammit. Why the hell can’t you see I want to help you? Why the hell can’t you trust me just once?”
She stared at him in shock. They’d just made love, didn’t he have any idea what that meant to her? Of course she trusted him. How could he be such an idiot?
Something snapped in her. All these weeks of running, the months of living in her mother-in-law’s house and being under her control, the physical threats and intimidation from Vincent, the fact that he was hunting for her right now, and would bring her back at any cost. It all swirled in her mind like a fiery tornado.
Dammit! She didn’t deserve this! Any of this.
Blind with rage, she pushed away from him.
“You’re no better than they are,” she said in a low, fierce voice. “I refused to give in to them, and I won’t give in to you. Do you understand? It’s my life. Mine and Kevin’s.”
“Who?” he asked quietly, carefully keeping his distance. “Tell me who they are.”
“No.” She swallowed the thickness in her throat, refusing to cry. She wouldn’t cry. “You can’t help. You think you can, but you can’t. This isn’t just about me, Gabe, don’t you understand that? This is about my son, and there’s nothing on this earth that will make me take risks where he’s concerned.”
She backed up against the counter, the same counter where he’d loved her only minutes ago. It was all she could do not to sink on her knees in front of him, to let him take her in the comfort of his arms and make this nightmare go away.
But she couldn’t. And he couldn’t.
“Kevin and I are leaving in the morning,” she said quietly, somehow managing to make her voice even and strong. “I hope you’ll come and say goodbye to both of us.”
A muscle twitched in his temple; his face was a tight mask of controlled anger. “I’ll be here.”
She lowered her voice, let her eyes plead with him. “Please, Gabe, I don’t want our last words to be harsh, not after tonight.”
“You can’t just expect—”
“Melanie?” Cara’s voice called out from the other room. “We’re back.”
So soon? Melanie felt the blood drain from her face. She didn’t want Cara and Ian, and especially Kevin, to see her and Gabe like this. “Gabe, please…”
His eyes narrowed to dark slits, then he snatched up his boots and socks he’d brought downstairs with him and walked quietly out the back door.
Melanie smoothed a hand through her hair, then she sucked in a deep breath and walked into the living room, praying that they wouldn’t see how badly her knees were shaking.
Ian was halfway up the stairs with a sleeping Kevin in his arms, Cara was right behind him.
“You’re back early,” Melanie said, forcing a light tone to her voice. She knew that Gabe had parked in the back and hoped that neither Cara nor Ian had seen his truck.
“He fell asleep before cake and ice cream, so we just brought him back.” Cara looked at her husband and said, “Lay him on the bed, and we’ll be right there.”
“Before ice cream?” Melanie furrowed her brow and watched Ian disappear into the upstairs bedroom. “My Kevin?”
Smiling, Cara came back down the stairs. “I think all the excitement just wore him out. The magician picked him out of the audience to help with one of his tricks, and he also played with the other kids in the rec room. He crawled into Ian’s lap while the cake was being cut, and the next thing we knew he was out.”
Good heavens. Melanie glanced up at the bedroom and frowned. That certainly wasn’t like her son, she thought. But his nap had been short today, she reasoned, plus it had been a long time since he’d played with other kids. He also would have been excited when he’d been chosen as part of the magic act, which would have contributed to his exhaustion.
But to miss cake and ice cream? That was still unusual.
She looked back at Cara and smiled. “Thank you so much for taking him. It sounds like he had a wonderful time.”
“He did, and we enjoyed it, too. He’s a great kid.” Cara glanced around the house as she came to the bottom of the stairs. “So, how was your evening?”
Melanie felt the heat rise to her cheeks. “Yes, it was…nice.”
“Just nice?” Cara arched one brow. “Wasn’t Gabe here?”
Good grief, but Cara was blunt, Melanie thought. There was certainly no beating around the bush with this woman.
Melanie nodded hesitantly. “He was here.”
“Hmm. That doesn’t sound good. Tell me if he’s being a jerk, and I’ll punch him out for you.”
“I—I told him I was leaving in the morning.”
“Oh.” Cara drew in a deep breath. “You don’t have to tell me how he took that. I know Gabe well enough.”
“He was so angry with me.” Melanie wrapped her arms tightly around her. She felt so cold inside. “I suppose he has a right to be.”
“He cares about you. And Kevi
n.” Cara touched her arm. “We all do, Melanie.”
“I care about all of you, too,” she said softly, and blinked back the threatening moisture in her eyes.
“Then stay,” Cara said gently. “We won’t let anyone hurt you or Kevin. We’d all be here for you both.”
Desperately she wanted to say yes. She even considered it for one long, insane moment. If there was any way she could be sure that she and Kevin could be safe, and that no harm would come to these wonderful friends who only wanted to help her, she would say yes in a heartbeat.
But there were no guarantees. No assurances. Because if Vincent found her, she had no doubt that someone would be hurt.
She couldn’t, wouldn’t take that chance.
“I’m sorry, I can’t.”
Cara sighed. “If I thought it would do any good, I’d stand here all night and argue, but it’s your life, Mel, and I don’t want to interfere. Just know that we’re always here for you.”
“Thank you.” Melanie hugged Cara. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”
Melanie glanced up and saw Ian watching her and Cara from the top of the stairs. For a split second, she saw something very dark and intense in his eyes, but then it was gone so quickly she wondered if she’d imagined it.
“I took his shoes off and covered him with a throw,” Ian said as he strolled casually down the stairs. “He didn’t even stir.”
“A bolt of lightning wouldn’t budge that kid from sleep,” Melanie said with a smile.
“You go ahead and tuck him in,” Cara suggested. “If you want, I’ll go make us some coffee, and we can visit for a few minutes.”
“I’d like that.” She hesitated, then remembered that Gabe was still out back.
“Would you like Ian to ask Gabe to come back in?” Cara asked.
Melanie felt her face heat up. Dammit, she was blushing again. “You saw his truck?”
Cara grinned. “Just a lucky guess.”
In spite of herself, Melanie laughed, then quickly sobered. It wasn’t a good idea to see him again tonight. It was too soon. Everything between them was still too raw, too open.
“Will you tell him that I said good-night and that I’ll see him in the morning.”
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