He blinked a few times like she’d suddenly slapped him out of a trance. “Where are you going that’s casual dressy? And with who?”
“With Zeke. He’s got some doctor dinner thing. Does it look bad?”
“It’s...” He pushed his skully back and forth on his head. “Wow. I’ve never seen you like that.” His bewilderment vanished in a single beat, replaced with a heavy frown. “He being good to you? You being careful?”
“Danny!”
“What? You’re my sister.”
“And he’s your friend. He’s a good guy.”
“He is. But he’s also a guy. Meaning he has a dick. He sees you like that, that’s the only fucking thing he’s going to think with.”
A huge flutter rippled low in her belly, so powerful she pressed her hand to her abdomen before she could catch it. God, she hoped that was the case. Zeke’s intentions might have been noble with the whole slow thing, but she’d reached a point where she was ready to play dirty if he didn’t change his tune. “Stop worrying. He’s being good to me. Really good.” She shrugged, a little uncomfortable admitting anything further, but if it kept Danny from acting like an ass around Zeke, it would be worth it. “I like him.”
He fisted his hands at his sides and stared at her in that scary way her dad used to when she was in trouble.
Three solid raps sounded at the door.
Danny still didn’t move, just studied her with his lungs cranking heavier than normal.
Well, shit, she wasn’t letting Zeke stand out there all day just because Danny had his briefs in a twist. She broke the starefest and started forward.
“I’ll get it,” Danny grumbled and turned for the door. He jerked it open hard enough the blinds covering the front window clattered.
“Hey, Danny.” From her angle, she couldn’t see Zeke, but the confusion in his voice didn’t really make a visual necessary. “Something wrong?”
Danny grunted, stomped out from between them, and into the kitchen.
Zeke shut the door behind him, strolled a few steps deeper into the living room, and took his sweet damned time eyeballing her head to toe, the heat behind his gaze so potent she nearly melted. “Well, I guess that explains a lot.”
Holy. Freaking. Cow. Zeke in a suit was a thing of beauty. Black on black, the outfit put off a seriously intense vibe, but the lack of a tie and his tanned skin peeking out from just below his collar took some of the edge off. She started to move toward him, eager to smooth her hands along his shoulders, then stopped. “What explains a lot?”
Zeke grinned and ambled closer. “Why Danny’s so angry.” He rested his hands on her hips and skimmed his lips along her cheekbone. “Você é linda.”
“What’s that mean?” Whatever it meant sounded really, really nice. But then, Zeke could order a hamburger and fries in Portuguese and make it sound sexy.
“It means he’s gonna try to get that dress off you the minute he gets home. Don’t need to speak Portuguese to know that.” Danny upended his beer for a huge gulp and stalked down the hallway toward his bedroom. “No fucking way I’m coming home tonight. Some noises I don’t need to hear coming out of my sister’s room.”
“Danny!”
“It’s okay, gatinha.” Zeke chuckled and rested his forehead against hers. He pulled in a long, slow inhalation, opened his eyes and kissed the tip of her nose. “It means you’re beautiful.”
“So, I picked okay? I didn’t have a clue what to buy so the girl at the store helped me find something. I mean, it probably wasn’t the swankiest place in town, but she was helpful, and some help is better than no help, right?” She clamped her mouth shut and fingered the starched edge of his shirt where it opened near the top. Her whole life she’d kept her mouth clammed up, but she had to go and pick tonight to get chatty.
“You were nervous about what to wear?”
She nodded.
“You could have just asked me. I could have saved you a lot of worry. Hell, I could have taken you shopping. I’d like spoiling you a little.”
“I didn’t want to look stupid.”
He straightened to his full height and frowned. “Right.” He stepped back, scanned the room, and settled his gaze on the kitchen table. With a hand on her upper arm, he guided her to it, sat in one of the chairs and pulled her between his knees. He glanced down the hall toward Danny’s room, then focused on her. “We need to talk.”
Oh, shit. The last talk they’d had they’d downshifted to slow. The only other gear slower meant nada. She edged backward, heart clamoring with a whole lot more speed than her feet.
He tightened his hands on her hips and tugged her back in place. “Not that kind of talk. I mean talk about being honest with each other.”
As fast as her panic had set in, the tension in her shoulders ebbed and her lungs started working again.
Smoothing his thumbs back and forth in a calming stroke, he inhaled deep. “You get after this week that I’m after more than a quick tumble?”
Boy, did she get it. Hard to miss a guy’s intentions when he put her in a one-on-one situation with the women he’d honored with the title of mother. “Yeah, I get it.”
He paused a minute, studying her. “That mean you’re ready for more?”
All of a sudden, the space around her went from light and easy, to thick and supercharged. Part of her wanted to dodge a verbal answer and drag him back to her room for something more tactile, but her new and blossoming courage punched forward and answered first. “Yes.”
“Good. Then let’s cover something else.” His hands slid around and cupped her ass, pulling her even closer. “Even more than you understanding I want you for you, I want you to feel confident enough with me to ask for what you need. Communication with sex is a must for me. Absolute straight talk.”
She traced the seam where his sleeve connected to the shoulder. Silence stretched between them and her brain kicked and sputtered trying to come up with words to fill it.
“On our first date, I went with my gut,” he said. “Everything I read in your body language and actions told me you needed that release, so I went with it. But if I’d been wrong, if that had been too much for you, I’d want to know you’d feel safe enough to tell me to stop.” He cupped the side of her face and steered it so she couldn’t avoid his gaze. “That also means if you want something, you’ll ask for it.”
“Are you...” Ugh, just once she wished she could come off as smooth and sophisticated as him. In her head, the words came out just fine, but getting them all the way to her tongue was a whole different game. “You’re not wanting a list or something right this second, are you?”
He smiled so big her anxiety scattered. “I’m not after a list, no. Just to know you’ll ask me if something comes to you.”
“Okay, good. Not exactly an impromptu subject.”
“No, it’s not. But since we’re talking straight, there is something I need to ask you.” He laced his fingers with hers. “Are you on any kind of birth control?”
Heat seared her cheeks, and she was mighty tempted to study the tips of her new black pumps. She held his gaze instead. “No.”
“Do you want to be?”
She probably should be. She might not have talked much in school, but she sure as shit listened. Almost all the other girls had talked about getting on the pill at one time or another, but she hadn’t dared to broach that subject with her dad. Of all the times she could have used a mother to talk with, that and starting her period had been the hardest. “When I’ve...you know. We just used condoms.”
Zeke fanned his thumb along the pulse point at her wrist. “We can do that if you want, but there are other options, unless you’ve got a medical reason you can’t take them.”
She shook her head. “None that I know of. I just never needed to.”
&nbs
p; “So you’re not against it.”
“No.”
He pulled one hand to his mouth and kissed her palm. “When’s the last time you were with a man?”
God, this was embarrassing. Probably smart to talk about, though, considering he’d figure out her lack of experience sooner or later. “It’s been a while. A couple of years.” More like three, but no need to toss gas on the already fuming blaze.
“And you always used condoms?”
She nodded.
“I’m not gonna lie. The idea of being with you skin to skin makes me hard enough I could come just thinking about it.” He squeezed her hand. “How do you feel about me getting tested? I’ll show you I’m clean, and we’ll get you a form of birth control you’re comfortable with.”
No condom. Nothing at all between them. She swallowed and tried to ignore the very vivid image her mind conjured up to go with the thought. As conversational topics went, this had to be the weirdest and most awkward ever, but it was also comforting. More evidence that Zeke was nothing like the men she’d slept with before. “I think I’d like that.”
His eyelids lowered and a low rumble percolated up his throat. His hands cupped the space just above her bared knees and skimmed upward, fingers teasing just under the hem of her dress.
“Zeke?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“That day when we...when you...”
He opened his eyes and locked his gaze on hers. “When I got you off with my fingers?” His wicked grin made her squeeze her legs together tight. “Oh, yeah. I’ll die remembering that day.” His fingers inched a little higher. “What about it?”
“I liked the things you said. How you talked to me.” She smoothed her fingers along the opening of his shirt, focusing on the warmth beneath. “It helped me not think of anything else. I couldn’t worry. All I could do was listen to you and feel.”
He pulled his hands from beneath her skirt, stood and palmed the back of her neck. “I like that. I like that a lot.” He lowered his mouth to hers, not quite touching but skimming close enough her lips tingled with the need for contact. “You think you could give that to me, too? Let me hear what you’re thinking when I touch you? When I kiss you?”
She gasped and his mouth closed over hers. God, she loved the way he kissed, powerful and yet languid as though he had all the time in the world to savor what sparked between them.
He pulled away and rested his forehead on hers. “Can you do that for me?”
Her hands fisted in the hair near his nape and the space around her heart grew weighted and tight. “I doubt it will come out as sexy as when you do it, but I’ll try.”
“That’s all I need, gatinha.” He pressed another, far more chaste kiss to her lips and backed away, lacing his fingers with hers. “Now, let’s get this dinner over with so I can whisper dirty commentary in your ear and peel you out of that dress later.”
Chapter Seventeen
Gabe braced both hands against the bathroom stall walls, closed her eyes, and tried to slow her breath. Lined up in front of the multi-sink vanity of the hotel’s ballroom bathroom, a gaggle of women chattered about their dates, the food and what they had planned after they escaped the charity’s boring event. Couldn’t they just shut up and leave?
She rested her forehead against the door’s cool metal. They had to finish soon. For crying out loud, she didn’t know what she was doing with lipstick and even she could have touched hers up by now.
Five more agonizing minutes later, the clique shuffled out the door, their high heels clacking on the smooth, luxury-tile floor. The door whooshed shut, leaving blissful silence. Now all she had to do was make sure the anxiety attack and subsequent cold sweat that had driven her to the bathroom in the first place hadn’t sent her mascara running down her face. Talk about your nightmare dressy debut. Everyone had been politely conversational and sweet on the surface, but they were nowhere near as comfortable to be around as Zeke’s family. More like tiptoeing through a masquerade ball riddled with landmines. As soon as the acid churning in her stomach had collided with the not-so-enticing dinner, she’d bolted for the restrooms. While she hadn’t actually puked, it had been a close call.
Hair fixed, face checked and a fresh stick of gum later, she teetered toward the door on newborn-deer-shaky legs.
Zeke leaned against the wall opposite the women’s restroom door, his hands anchored in his slacks pockets and one ankle crossed over the other in a classic GQ model pose. He straightened the second she crossed the threshold. “Hey, gatinha.” He skimmed his knuckles along her cheek. “You okay?”
“Better now.” Embarrassed as hell at the near sprint she’d made through the big room with its round tables and crisp white linens. “You didn’t have to come check on me.”
His soft, concerned expression sharpened in an instant. “You’re kidding me, right? You think I’d chill at the table and not be here if you needed me?”
Well, when he put it that way... “Yeah, sorry. I didn’t mean to imply...” Shit, she just really needed to unplug for about thirty years and give her head a break. “I’m not thinking too good.”
He pulled her tight against him, wrapped her up and kissed her forehead. “You seemed to do okay at the drive-in. Any idea what triggered you?”
For a few seconds, she simply let his warm and summery scent settle against her senses. Once her heart settled into a decent rhythm, she lifted her head and met his steady gaze. “Not sure this will make sense, but there’s a big difference between your family and the people here.”
Tucking her hair behind her ear, he grinned in a way that said he absolutely understood. “Yeah, gatinha. That makes perfect sense.” He pulled in a slow breath and stepped away, keeping one hand pressed at the small of her back. “Let’s go home.”
She dug in her heels. “No. I’m good.” She motioned to the main room. “This is your thing. It’s important. I can do this. I promise, I’m—”
“Gabrielle.” Low, but definitely stern and brooking no argument. “First, I don’t give a damn about this event. I’ve given my face time and that’s enough. Second, that chicken was closer to a dog’s squeaky toy than a suitable meal. Third, and most important—” he gripped her chin and held it firm “—I would never force my woman to sit through an event if I knew it hurt her.”
Oh. My. God.
My woman.
The overall sentiment of him not wanting to cause her discomfort probably should have been the main driver in the major loopty-loop going on in her stomach, but her head couldn’t quite make it past his possessive claim. In that second, she’d have committed murder for him if he asked it, so snagging a free hall pass out of social hell was a no brainer. “Okay.”
He smiled and tapped the tip of her nose. “Okay.”
The wait at the valet line was nonexistent. By the time her nerves had settled and her brain had come around to the idea it could stand down from its full-scale panic, Zeke had the Camaro blazing down Highway 75 toward Rockwall.
“I don’t get it.” Her wayward thought slipped out unchecked, which just proved how whacked her internal processing was.
“Don’t get what?”
She smoothed her dress’s soft fabric along one thigh. He’d asked her to be open. To share her thoughts. If she couldn’t touch on this one, she’d never do well with anything as intimate as sex. “Why me? I mean, you couldn’t put two more different people together. You’re used to loads of money, and I live paycheck to paycheck. You don’t sit still, and I have a hard time getting out of second gear for anything.”
“Oh, I’ll get you out of second gear.” Zeke grinned and checked his rearview mirror. “And you can’t base compatibility on money. I might have money now, but my family was dirt poor growing up. The only reason I have what I do today is because of the profession I chose and my investm
ents with the brotherhood.”
“But that doesn’t cover how different we are in our lives. I just don’t get it. Why would a guy who lives life on the edge want to be with a woman who’s happy sitting for hours on the back porch?”
“I’ve been able to sit still with you.”
“But why? For how long?”
He stared out over the road in front of them and tapped his thumb atop the gearshift. “Let me ask you a question. When you’re with me, are you uncomfortable?”
“No.”
“You enjoy the time we spend together?”
“Um...” Surely this was a trick question. “Yes.”
“Then maybe it’s not a question of how different we are. Maybe I’ve been in a hurry my whole life to experience all the things I’ve done and seen for a reason.”
“What reason?”
His head turned toward hers. “To share them with you.”
She couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Hell, lightning could’ve struck dead center of the car and it wouldn’t have generated so much as a blink. Everything she’d been through, every tear and every fear, she’d walk through again to be in this moment. “Zeke?”
“Yeah.”
The bridge of her nose stung and tears threatened behind her eyes. “I’m not stupid. I know there’s no guarantee what will happen with us, and I know if it doesn’t work out, it will hurt. Bad.” She swallowed, just barely biting back a quaver in her throat. “But you make the risk worth it.”
He clenched the gearshift hard and his eyes widened. Any trace of the casual man who’d strolled beside her at dinner and introduced her as though she were the finest treasure was gone, replaced with primal, possessive predator. In that moment, if the road hadn’t demanded his attention, she had no doubt he’d have forgone any pretense of foreplay and physically claimed her in any and every way he could. Instead, he pulled in a long, sexy inhalation, reached across the console, and coiled his fingers around her wrist. His thumb stroked along her pulse point. Back and forth. Light, but sparking with intent. Only when they reached the entrance to her subdivision did he release the contact, navigating the short drive to her house far faster than any of her neighbors would care for. He’d barely killed the engine before he was out of the car and rounding the tail end of it for her.
Wild & Sweet (The Haven Brotherhood) Page 18
