Gabe (The Buckhorn Brothers)

by Lori Foster

  “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.

  Her feet were bare and looked adorable peeking out from beneath the sheet. Pink, but adorable. Gabe looked at her breasts again, surreptitiously, so she wouldn’t notice. The tops of her breasts, from just beneath her collarbone to somewhere beneath that white sheet, were sunburned.

  “Here, sit down.”

  She remained standing. “Gabe, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of this myself.”

  “But why should you when I can help? I know it can’t be easy to reach your shoulders.”

  Her mouth twisted, her eyes downcast. Her long auburn lashes left shadows on her cheeks from the fluorescent light overhead. He wanted to kiss her.

  “I’ll get dressed.”

  “Don’t.”

  She stared at him, unblinking.

  “Please, Lizzy?” He kept his tone cajoling, soothing. “Sit down and let me help, okay? It’ll make me feel better, I promise.”

  Still she hesitated, and finally she heaved a sigh. “Oh, all right.” She lowered herself carefully into the straight-back chair. “But if you hurt me,” she warned, “I’m going to be really angry.”

  His hands shook as he stared at her shoulders. “I’ll be as gentle as I can.”

  He lifted the tube of cream and realized it was cool. Lizzy must have been keeping it in the refrigerator, just as Sawyer had suggested. He squeezed a large dollop onto his fingertips, then very carefully began smoothing it over her skin. Her head dropped forward and she shivered.

  “Cold?”

  “It’s supposed to be.”

  “I’m not hurting you?” Her skin was so delicate, even without the sunburn.

  “No.”

  There was a tiny quaking to her voice that made everything masculine in him sit up and take notice. Velvety soft curls on the back of her neck got in his way, and he used one hand to lift them while spreading the cream with the other. Her neck was long and graceful, her hair somewhat lighter here, more like a golden strawberry blond. “Feel better?”

  “Mm. Yes.”

  Gabe looked at her arms, saw they were pink and stepped to her side. He lifted her arm and said, “Brace your hand on my abdomen.”

  She jerked her hand as if he’d suggested she cut it off. She held it protectively to her chest so he couldn’t take it again.

  Gabe smiled. “C’mon, Lizzy. Don’t be shy. I just want to put the cream on you, and I’m even wearing a shirt. There’s no reason to act so timid.”

  Her spine stiffened. “I am not acting timid! I’m just not used to how you…how you constantly…”

  He could imagine what she’d eventually come up with, so he decided to help her. “How informal and comfortable and at ease I am? Yeah, that’s true. Touching someone isn’t a sin, sweetheart.” He pried her arm loose, being careful not to hurt her, then pressed her hand to his abdomen. His mu
scles were clenched rock hard, not on purpose, but in startling reaction to the feel of her small hand there. “See. That’s not so bad, is it?”

  A tiny squeak.

  Gabe lifted a brow, still covering her hand with his so she couldn’t retreat. “What was that?”

  Lizzy glared at him and said, “No. It’s not…awful.”

  Laughing, Gabe released her and reached for the cream. “Now just hold still.”

  He could feel her trembling as he spread the sticky aloe cream up and down her slender arm. She felt so soft, so female, which he supposed made sense. It even made sense that his overcharged male brain immediately began to imagine how soft she was in other, more feminine places, like her inner thighs, her belly and lower.

  He felt himself hardening and wanted to curse. Like a doomed man, he continued with his ministrations, torturing himself, but enjoying it all the same.

  With only one hand to hold it, her sheet started to slip. Gabe froze as she made a frantic grab for it, his breath held, but she managed to maintain her modesty.

  Sighing, he went to her other side, determined to behave himself. He was not a boy ready to take his first woman. He was experienced, mature…There was absolutely no reason for all the anticipation, all the keen tension.

  His voice gruff, he said, “You know the drill.”

  She looked away from him even as she thrust out her arm. Nervously, she said, “I have to admit I’m a little surprised to see you so fully dressed. I was beginning to think you didn’t own any shirts or slacks.”

  He looked at his white T-shirt and faded jeans. The jeans were so old, so worn, they fit like a second skin—which meant that if she bothered to look at all, she’d see he had an erection. Again.

  But of course she didn’t look. Gabe studied her averted face and smiled. “Are you disappointed that I came fully clothed, Lizzy?”

  In prim tones, she replied, “Not at all.”

  He didn’t quite believe her. Sure, he felt the tension, but then, so did she. She was practically vibrating with it. Yet she’d deny any attraction. Most women came on to him with force; this tactic was totally unusual…and intriguing.

  She turned her face even more, until her chin almost hit the chair back. Gabe bit his lip to keep from laughing. Elizabeth Parks was about the most entertaining woman he’d ever met. It was probably a good thing she wouldn’t be here long or he’d get addicted to her prickly ways.

  But until she left, he told himself, he might as well put them both out of their misery.

  CHAPTER 6

  ELIZABETH DIDN’T quite know what to think when Gabe moved in front of her, insinuating his body into the small space between the Formica table and the chair where she sat. Every one of her nerve endings felt sensitized from the way he’d so gently stroked her. And now his lap was on a level with her gaze.

  Her eyes widened. He was turned on! It wasn’t just her feeling so sexually charged. But unlike Gabe, she was the only one uncertain how to continue, or if she even should.

  Gabe leaned very close and gripped the seat of the chair in his large hands. Elizabeth yelped when he lifted it and moved it far enough for him to kneel in front of her. Her heart beat so hard she felt slightly sick, her vision almost blurring.

  He smelled of aftershave mingled with his own unique scent. Never in her life had she noticed a man’s smell before. She wished she could bottle Gabe’s particular aroma—she’d make a fortune. There couldn’t be a woman alive who wouldn’t love his enticing scent.

  His lips grazed her ears and he said softly, “I’m going to finish putting the cream on you, then we’re going to do a little experimenting, all right?”

  The soft, damp press of his mouth on her temple served as a period to his statement. He phrased his comment as a question, but given the heat suffusing her, it had to be rhetorical.

  Her hands opened and closed fitfully on the sheet. “What exactly do you mean?”

  Leaning back on his haunches, Gabe stared at her and caught the hem of the sheet. “Your legs are burned, too.” His rough palms slid up the back of her calves all the way to her knees, baring them as the sheet parted.

  Elizabeth pressed herself back in the chair, her legs tightly clenched together, her toes curled. Good Lord, surely he didn’t mean…

  The sheet fell open over her thighs, barely leaving her modesty intact. She tried to hold it closed at her breasts and still push his hands away, but Gabe wasn’t having it.

  “Shhh. Shh, Lizzy, it’s all right.” He held perfectly still, not moving, not rushing her, waiting for her to calm down and either acquiesce or reject him.

  “You’re looking at me!” she said, not really wanting him to stop but unable to contain her embarrassment.

  “Just your legs, sweetheart. And I’ve already seen them, right?”

  She sucked in a quick, semicalming breath. He was right, in a way. “It just…it feels different.”

  “Because you’re naked beneath the sheet?” His fingers continued to stroke up and down her calves, pausing occasionally to gently explore the back of her knees with a touch so gentle, so hot.

  She’d had no idea the back of a knee could be an erogenous zone!

  Gabe watched her, waiting for an answer. She forced the words past the constriction in her throat. “Yes, because I’m naked beneath the sheet.”

  “Am I hurting you, Lizzy?”

  She shook her head, heated by the tone of his voice, the careful way he was treating her.

  “Do you like this?” He began stroking her again, avoiding her sunburned areas while finding places that were ultrasensitive but nonthreatening.

  His hands were so large, so dark against her paler complexion. Working hands, she thought stupidly, rough and callused. She gulped. Words were beyond her, but she managed a nod. She did like it. A lot.

  Gabe met her gaze with a smoldering look, his eyes blazing, his tone low and soothing and seductive. “Relax for me, sweetheart. I’m not going to do anything you don’t want me to do.”

  Relaxing was the absolute last thing she could accomplish. Her thoughts swirled as he reached for the cream and squeezed a large dollop into his palm. She had no real idea what he intended, but the look on his face told her it would be sensual and that she’d probably enjoy it a great deal.

  Should she allow this? How could she not allow it? Never in her entire life had a man pursued her. Certainly not a man like Gabe Kasper. She could do her thesis and indulge in an episode that might well prove to be the highlight of her entire life. Who was she kidding, she thought. It was already the highlight of her life!

  She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath, trying to order her thoughts, and suddenly felt his fingertips stroke up the inside of her thigh.

  She moaned long and low, unable to quiet the sound. It came as much from expectation as from his touch.

  “Look at me, Lizzy.”

  He was asking a lot, considered how tumultuous her emotions were at the moment. It took several seconds and the stillness of his hand on her leg for her to finally comply.

  Gabe was breathing roughly. His mouth quirked the tiniest bit. “I don’t know what it is about you, Red, but you make me feel like I’m going to explode.” His fingers moved in a tantalizing little caress that made her breath catch. “Have you ever played baseball?”

  She blinked, trying to comprehend the absurd question. “I…no.”

  Gabe nodded. “I’ll teach you baseball. But probably not the kind of sport you think I mean.” Still holding her gaze, he bent his golden blond head and pressed a soft, damp kiss onto her burned knee. “Much as I’d like to do otherwise, I think we’ll just try first base tonight. If you don’t like it, say stop and that’ll be it. If you do like it, then tomorrow at the drive-in, we’ll go to second base. Do you understand?”

  He continued to place soft, warm kisses on her skin. Seeing his head there, against her legs, when no man had ever even gotten within touching distance before, was a fascinating discovery. She could
n’t have conjured up something so hot, so erotic, in her wildest dreams.

  “I think so.” Her throat felt raw, but then she had an absolutely gorgeous hunk of a man kneeling at her feet, staring at her with lust, his hot fingers stroking her leg. “Is what you’re doing now considered first base?”

  Very slowly, Gabe shook his head. “No, this is just torture for me.” He gave her a rascal’s grin, and his blue eyes darkened. “For right now, I’m going to just finish putting on the cream. I want you as comfortable as possible. But to keep us both distracted, I’d like to learn a little more about you, okay?”

  She probably would have agreed to anything in that moment. She was equally mesmerized and frantic and curious. “All right.”

  On his knees, Gabe opened his legs so that they enclosed her; his chest was even with her lap. He scooped more of the cream from his palm and began applying it in smooth, even strokes that felt like live fire. Not painfully, but with incredible promise.

  “Tell me why you chose heroism for your thesis.”

  Oh, no. She couldn’t explain that, not right now, not to him. She cleared her throat, trying to disassociate her mind from his touch so she could form coherent words. “I’m majoring in psychology. Most of the topics have been done to death. This seemed…unique.”

  Gabe tilted his head. “Is that right? What gave you the idea for heroism?”

  She bit her lip, trying to sort out what she could tell him and what she couldn’t. “I’ve always been fascinated by the stories of people who managed to muster incredible courage or strength at the time of need.”

  “Like the adrenaline rush? A woman who lifts a car to free her trapped child, a man who ignores burns to rescue his wife from a house fire. Those types of things?”

  “Yes.” The adrenaline rush that made saving someone important possible. Her throat tightened with the remembrance of how she’d failed, how she’d not been able to react at all, except as a coward.

  “Hey?” Gabe finished her legs and carefully replaced the sheet, surprising her…disappointing her. “Are you all right, babe?”

  His perceptiveness was frightening, especially when it involved a part of herself she fully intended to keep forever hidden. She went on the defensive without even stopping to think what she was doing or how he might view her response. Meeting his gaze, she said, “I’m not sure I like all these endearments you keep using. And especially not ‘babe.’ It sounds like you’re talking to an infant.”