by Lori Foster
“Can you tell me about it?” Elizabeth asked after a large drink of icy lemonade. With the cool towels on her shoulders and the uncomfortable shoes off her feet, she felt much better.
“Sure.” Honey looked thoughtful for a moment, then turned to Morgan. “You ended up arresting the driver of that boat, right?”
Morgan growled, his tone so threatening that Elizabeth jumped. “The fool was drunk and could have damn well killed somebody. If it had been up to me, he’d have lost not only his boating license, but his driver’s license, as well. As it turned out, though, he was banned from the lake, got a large fine and spent a week in jail. Hell, that poor woman was so shook up, Sawyer had to give her a sedative.”
Sawyer nodded and his tone, in comparison to Morgan’s was solemn. “She thought one or both of her kids would be hurt. She was almost in shock.” Then he smiled. “When I got there, I found Gabe with a kid in his arms, one wrapped around his leg, and the woman gushing all over him. The look of relief on Gabe’s face when he spotted me was priceless.”
Elizabeth reached for her bag on the floor by her chair and extracted her notebook and pencil. “Can you describe it for me?”
“What?”
“The look on his face.”
Sawyer appeared startled by her request, then shrugged. “Sure.”
IT WAS ONLY fifteen minutes before Gabe rejoined them, his shaggy blond hair still wet and hanging in small ringlets on the back of his neck, his requisite cutoffs clean and dry. Elizabeth had already taken page after page of notes, supplied by all the family members, and she was ecstatic to finally have someone agree with her that Gabriel Kasper’s actions had, in fact, been heroic.
When Gabe saw her notebook out, he glared and stomped over to snag the last sandwich on the platter.
Elizabeth drew in a deep breath as he leaned past her, but all she could smell was soap. When Gabe had entered earlier, the earthy scent of damp male flesh warm from the sunshine had clung to him—an enticing aphrodisiac. That wonderfully potent scent, combined with the sight of him, had made her nearly too breathless to talk. She hadn’t thought she’d see him today. When she’d called the number Bear gave her, Honey had told her Gabe would be working all day. Elizabeth hadn’t realized she meant working around his own home.
She also hadn’t realized they’d all make such a fuss about her sunburn. She felt like an idiot for getting burned in the first place. She, better than anyone, knew how easily the sun affected her. She’d even brought along the sunscreen to apply often, keeping it in her bag. But she’d been sidetracked by Gabe and kissing and the erotic feelings he’d engendered. She hadn’t thought once about overexposure.
Honey stood to make more sandwiches since Morgan had started prowling around for a cookie and Gabe had only gotten one sandwich. Once his lap was vacated, Sawyer excused himself, saying he’d go fetch the aloe cream he wanted Lizzy to use.
Gabe downed a tall glass of iced tea, and Elizabeth watched his throat work, saw the play of muscles in his arms and shoulders as he tipped his head back. He lowered the glass, caught her scrutiny and frowned at her. He opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment, Morgan thrust the baby into Gabe’s arms and he got distracted by a tiny fist grabbing his chest hair.
The contrast between Gabe, so big, so strong, golden blond and tanned, and the tiny dark-haired baby held securely in his arms made Elizabeth’s chest feel too tight. She’d have thought a man like him, a Lothario with only hedonistic pleasures on his mind, wouldn’t have been so confident while holding an infant. But Gabe not only held the baby without hesitation, he blew raspberries on her soft belly and nibbled on her tiny toes.
Elizabeth decided it was time to make a strategic retreat. She knew, despite his gentle touch with the baby, that he was angry with her. She supposed that negated her deal with him; there’d be no movies at the drive-in. But at least, she told herself, trying to be upbeat instead of despondent, she’d gotten what she wanted. She had an entire notebook full of details, and hadn’t that been her single goal all along?
Sawyer reappeared with a large tube of ointment and handed it to Elizabeth. “Put that on every hour or so, or whenever your skin feels uncomfortable. It’s mostly aloe. You can keep it in the refrigerator if you like. Drink as much water as you can—rehydrating your skin will help it feel more comfortable. Oh, and take cool baths, not showers. Showers are too stressful to the damaged skin. If it doesn’t feel better by tomorrow evening, give me a call, okay?”
Feeling horribly conspicuous, Elizabeth nodded. “How much do I owe you for the cream?”
“Not a thing. I’ll take it out of Gabe’s hide later.”
Since Gabe smirked at that, Elizabeth assumed it was a joke. “Thank you.” She glanced at Gabe, then away. “For everything.”
Sawyer kissed his wife, his niece and his sister-in-law, then went off to work again. They were a demonstrative lot, always hugging and patting and kissing. It disconcerted her.
Misty and Honey and Gabe all walked her to the door. Gabe was deathly quiet, which she felt didn’t bode well since he was usually joking and teasing. As she stepped onto the porch, Honey said, “Misty and I are having lunch in town tomorrow. Would you like to join us? The restaurant where Misty works part-time has fabulous beef stew on Friday afternoons. And afterward, we can all go to the library. I know they must have kept records of the local paper there on file. You could see the firsthand reports of Gabe’s—” she glanced at her brother-in-law with a wicked smile “—daring feat.”
Gabe gave Honey a look that promised retribution, but she just laughed and hugged him.
Misty added, “It’ll be fun.”
Aware of Gabe spearing her with his hot gaze, knowing he expected her to turn the women down, Elizabeth nonetheless nodded. “All right. Thank you.”
She could have sworn she heard Gabe snarling.
Misty took the baby from Gabe’s arms. “Great. If you know where the diner is, we could meet you there at eleven.”
“That’ll be fine.”
“Perfect. We’ll see you then!”
Misty and Honey retreated together, and suddenly Elizabeth wished they were still there. Gabe looked ready for murder.
It was his own fault, she decided, refusing to cower. She raised her chin, gave him a haughty look and turned toward her car. Gabe stalked along beside her.
“What are you doing here, Red?”
Uh-oh. He really was angry. “In each of my studies, I’ve included the accountings of family members whenever possible.”
“But you and I had a deal.”
Had. She was right, the deal was no longer valid. Disappointment swamped her, but she fought it off. It had been foolish to look forward to her time with Gabe. He was the epitome of a town playboy. He’d amuse himself with her while she was in town, and when she left he’d never think of her.
But she knew already she’d never be able to forget him. Pathetic, she decided, and deliberately tamped down her regret. She opened the car door and tossed in her bag. She hadn’t been able to carry it with the strap over her shoulder because of the burn. She was anxious to follow Sawyer’s advice and get naked. Her clothes felt like sandpaper against her sensitive skin.
Gabe watched her closely and she managed a shrug. “You never told me I couldn’t talk with your family.”
“Bull.” He leaned closer, crowding her by putting one hand on the roof of her car, the other at the top of the door frame. “You knew damn good and well I didn’t want you snooping around. That’s why I agreed to answer your questions myself.”
With him so close, her heart thundered. Memories washed over her and her belly tingled in response. She couldn’t seem to stop staring at his mouth and swallowed hard. “I understand. If…if you want to cancel the rest of it, I won’t argue with you.”
Gabe stiffened. “Cancel the rest of what?”
The hair on his chest was still slightly damp, as if he’d dried in a hurry. She’d never in her life known a
man who paraded around in such a state of undress almost continually. She didn’t think he was deliberately flaunting himself for her benefit so much as he was totally at ease with his own body, aware he had no reason for shame or reserve. She curled her hands into fists to keep from touching him.
“The…the drive-in, the…having fun and loosening up.” Pride made her add, “I thought it was a dumb plan all along.”
He tipped up her chin with an extremely gentle touch. “Oh, no, you don’t,” he growled. “You’re not backing out on me, Lizzy.”
“But…” She faltered, caught by the intensity in his gaze. “You’re angry.”
“Damn right. And we’ll discuss my anger tomorrow. At the movies. If you think I’m going to let you breach our deal now, especially after all your damn snooping, you’ve got another thing coming.”
“Oh.” Elizabeth couldn’t think of anything else to say. Relief was a heavy throbbing in her breasts. “Okay.”
Once again she stared at his mouth and felt her lips trembling in remembrance of how he’d kissed her, how he’d tasted, how hot his mouth had been.
Breathless again, she whispered, “Gabe?” and even she could hear the longing in the single word.
Gabe’s nostrils flared and suddenly he cursed. He leaned forward and took her mouth with careful hunger, that single rough finger beneath her chin holding her captive. The kiss was long and deep and Elizabeth grabbed his shoulders, though he didn’t return the embrace. His tongue thrust in, hot and wet, and she accepted it, stroking it with her own, moaning softly.
When Gabe lifted his head a scant inch, she said, “Oh, my.”
He smiled. “Yeah.” There was a husky catch in his voice.
She realized she was practically hanging on him and jerked back. “I didn’t mean—”
Again Gabe touched her chin, making her meet his eyes. “You can believe I’d have had you close, Lizzy, if I wasn’t afraid of hurting you.” His voice dropped and he asked, “Are your thighs burned?”
She couldn’t seem to get enough oxygen into her lungs. “A little.”
“Your arms?”
“Some.”
His mouth barely touched hers. “Your breasts?”
She drew a shuddering breath. “Just…” She sounded like a bullfrog and cleared her throat. “Just the very tops, where the suit didn’t cover.”
“Want some help with that cream?”
New heat washed over her, making her light-headed. “No! I can manage just fine on my own.”
His mouth twitched with a grin. “Spoilsport.”
“I should go.” She should go before she begged him to help her with the cream, before she attacked his mostly naked body. Before she made a total fool of herself. She had to remember that to Gabe, this was just a game, a way to pass the time while indulging her curiosity. He wasn’t serious about any of it. As far as she could tell, he wasn’t overly serious about anything.
“All right.” Gabe straightened, then gave her another frown. “Don’t think I’m not mad over you showing up here. But we’ll talk about it when I pick you up for the drive-in, when I’ll be assured of a little privacy.”
No sooner did he say it than he looked struck by that thought and twisted to look behind him. Elizabeth peered over his shoulder just in time to see a curtain drop and several heads duck out of sight. Gabe cursed.
Unable to believe what she’d seen, Elizabeth asked, “They were spying on you?”
Gabe looked livid but accepting. “Don’t sound so incredulous. I’d have done the same.”
“You would have?”
“Sure.” Then he laughed and scrubbed both hands over his face. “Oh, hell, the cat’s out of the bag now. I’m never going to hear the end of it.”
“The end of what?” Surely he wasn’t embarrassed because he’d been a hero. That didn’t make any sense at all.
“Never mind.” He turned to her, shaking his head. “Maybe I should just do like Morgan and build my own place. ‘Course, Honey’d probably have a fit.”
Elizabeth had a hard time keeping up with his switches in topic.
Gabe pointed toward a spot on a hill overlooking the main house. “See that house up there? That’s Morgan’s. He and Misty moved in there last year. Until then, we all lived in the house together. Morgan lived in the main part of the house with Sawyer and his son, Casey. Have you met Case yet? No? Well, you’re in for a treat. Hell of a kid.”
She reached for her notebook to jot down the name, but Gabe caught her wrist with a sigh. “Forget I said that. Leave Casey alone.”
“But you said…”
“You’ve done enough meddling, Red.”
There was definite menace in his tone. Elizabeth committed the name to memory, determined to write it down as soon as she was away from Gabe. To distract him, she said, “Tell me about these living arrangements.”
He gave her a narrow look, then shook his head. “Why not? There’s no secret there. I live in the basement. I have my own entrance and it’s nicer than most apartments. Jordan lives in the rooms over the garage.”
Elizabeth frowned. “Four grown men all live together?”
“Yeah.” Gabe squinted against the sun, then his eyes widened and he cursed. “Damn it, here I am, keeping you out in the sun again! Woman, don’t you have any sense at all? Get on home.”
“But—”
“No buts. I’ll give you a family history on Friday. After I explain how disgruntled I am with you for trespassing with my family.”
Elizabeth huffed. “I didn’t trespass. Honey invited me over.”
“Yeah, I just bet she did.”
Elizabeth sat carefully in the car, trying not to scrape her tender flesh on the seats. Gabe closed her door for her, then leaned in to give her another quick kiss. “Drive careful. And when you get home, get naked.”
“Gabe,” she admonished, embarrassed by his frank suggestion. She wondered if she’d ever get used to him.
She started the engine and put the car in reverse. Gabe leaned in the window once more. “And Elizabeth?”
She paused. Gabe stared at her unconfined breasts in the loose dress, then whispered, “When you’re naked, think of me, okay?” He touched the end of her nose and sauntered away.
Elizabeth stared after him, goggle-eyed and flushed, her heart pounding so hard she could hear it—and dead certain that she’d do exactly as he had asked her to.
GABE CURSED HIMSELF the entire way there, but he couldn’t make himself not go. He tried to talk himself out of it. He’d even made other plans—then had to cancel them.
He was worried about her, and damned if that wasn’t a first. He’d never had a woman consume his thoughts so completely.
But the sunburn was his fault and he felt responsible. Plus he’d yelled at her and she was so sensitive, so inexperienced, she probably felt bad because of it. Besides, he wanted to know what his damn meddling brothers had told her, because they hadn’t given him so much as a clue. Even Misty and Honey were staying mum, refusing to reveal a single word.
Gabe squeezed the steering wheel tight and called himself three kinds of a fool, because the bare-bones truth of it was that he wanted to see her. There. He’d admitted it. He liked her and he wanted her.
He pulled into the driveway on the quiet suburban street just outside of Buckhorn County and turned off the ignition. The house was an older redbrick two-story with mature trees and a meticulously trimmed lawn. As he got out of the car, Gabe wondered if Elizabeth had done as ordered and stripped down. Was she naked right now? Maybe lounging in a soothing tub of cool water?
He shoved his hands into his pockets and climbed the outside stairwell to the upper floor at the side of the building. Miniblinds were pulled shut over the only full-size window. That was good, he thought, just in case she was naked.
Gabe rocked on his heels, took a deep breath and knocked. There was no answer. Briefly he considered turning away in case she was asleep. But it was still early, not quite nine o’
clock, so he knocked again, harder.
A muffled sound reached him from the other side of the door, and then he heard Lizzy call, “Who is it?”
She didn’t sound as if she’d just awakened, but she did sound wary. Probably she didn’t get that many callers, especially not at night.
He felt a curious satisfaction at that deduction. “It’s me, Red. Open up.”
There were more muffled sounds, and finally the door opened the tiniest bit. One big blue eye peeked at him through the crack in the door. “Gabe. What in the world are you doing here?”
Rather than answer that, because he had no answer, he said, “Did I wake you?”
“Oh. No, I was just…Is anything wrong?”
“Yeah.” He pushed against the door, and she hastily stepped out of the way. “I wanted to check…on…you.” Gabe stared. His gut clenched and his toes curled. Lizzy had her hair all piled up on top of her head, and she wore only a sheet wrapped around her breasts. Loosely. Very loosely. In fact, if it wasn’t for one small, tightly clenched fist, the sheet would have fallen. And good riddance, Gabe thought.
He shoved her front door shut with his heel. He knew he should say something, but he just kept staring.
Lizzy cleared her throat. “I was getting ready to put on some more of that ointment your brother gave me. It helps a lot, but it doesn’t last all that long.”
Gabe looked past her to the open kitchen nook. On the table sat a bowl of water and the tube of ointment Sawyer had given her. “I’ll help you.”
Her eyes flared wide. She shook her head, making that huge pile of hair threaten to topple. Her shoulders were bright pink, but just on the top, thank goodness. Most of her back, from what he could tell, was fine. But her breasts…Gabe swallowed. The sheet was white and damp in places around her chest; she must have been putting on cool compresses, he decided.
He was a man. He’d act like a man. Gabe put his arm around her sheet-covered waist and steered her toward the tiny kitchen. Her living room was minuscule, holding only a sofa, a single chair and some shelves. A thirteen-inch television was centered on the shelves and around that were some plants. The only other things in the spartan rented room were a few books and two photos. He’d check out the photos later, but for now he wanted to help ease her discomfort.