by Unknown
In fact, she couldn’t wait to be in pleasure.
Certain Poppy should be gone by now, she threw the covers back and got out of bed, her every step strong and sure. She’d really had no idea how much she’d lived in constant pain, or the fear of it.
She stepped into the hallway to hear dishes in the kitchen sink, stopping to make sure that was Gabe and not Poppy. If the woman saw her out of bed, there’d be hell to pay.
“C’mere, Popcorn,” Gabe said. “I have to show you something.”
Oh, for heaven’s sake, she was still there. Lila didn’t dare move for fear Poppy would hear her.
“I only have a moment, Mr. Gabriel. There’s a new guest at one of the villas, and my goodness gracious, she’s demanding. Wouldn’t even take the box of tissue I brought. Had to have a particular brand. And only a certain kind of sparkling water from France. As if the country the water comes from really matters.”
“I know.” But Lila could tell from his voice that he couldn’t muster, as Gabe would say, two fucks about the difficult new guest. “Can you just look at my computer for a second?”
She heard Poppy hustle to the living room—of course. He said, Jump, and she said, Through which roof? Smiling at the loyalty, Lila stayed still, expecting whatever he was going to show her would last only a moment.
“You see this woman, Alyssa Fitzgerald?”
“She’s pretty. Friend of yours?” She tsked loudly. “I don’t know why you’d want any other woman than the one in that room I just left.”
Lila smiled. You go, Poppy.
“She’s a lawyer,” Gabe interjected. “Based in Kingston. And she’s taking Isaiah’s case as a favor to me.”
Even twenty feet away she heard Poppy gasp. “Really?”
“He’s going to have to do some community service and pay a fine, she thinks, but I’ll cover that.”
No surprise, a wave of affection rolled over Lila. There he went again, saving the world all by himself.
“Oh, Mr. Gabriel!” She could practically hear Poppy squeezing the life out of Gabe. “Thank you, thank you. And thank you, Jesus, for putting this great man, named for your favorite angel, in my life. You are an awesome and wondrous Lord!”
I feel you, honey, Lila thought. She wanted to thank someone for putting Gabe in her life, too. The sheer joy she felt probably matched what was going through Poppy at that moment, and best of all, there was no pain in her head. Just happiness in her heart.
“But it’s not free, my friend.”
Lila inched forward, not sure she’d heard right. Gabe would make Poppy pay for this?
“I have a thousand dollars from the swear jar!” Poppy said.
He let out a soft hoot. “Shit.”
“A thousand and one.”
“I gotta stop that now,” he said. “I seriously have to clean up my act.”
Of course he did. Because he had a son now. Even more happiness sparked through Lila, making her want to leap into the living room and hug them both. But then she’d be sent right back to bed.
“Thank you, Mr. Gabriel,” Poppy said for the tenth time. “Let me write down this lady’s name and see if I can get in touch with her.”
“Not necessary. I’ve lined it all up.” Of course he had.
“You do like to do things on your own, don’t you?”
“So I’ve been told.”
Lila smiled at the wryness in his voice. At least, it sounded wry. Or was he just sick of being reminded that he was the ultimate lone wolf? Maybe he was just coming to terms with the fact that he wasn’t going to be alone anymore.
Lila pressed her hand to her chest as if she needed help to keep her heart from popping out from an overdose of happiness.
“Mr. Gabriel, I’ll work for free forever, but that won’t be enough to pay for this. What does this good lawyer charge?”
“Nothing for you.”
“But you just said it’s going to cost me.”
“Not in cash, Pop-Tart. In love.”
“I don’t think I’m your type, baby boy.”
Lila had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing at the conversation. “You’d be wrong,” Gabe said. “I like my women strong, smart, capable, and trustworthy. You are all of that and more.”
“Aw, child. You make my heart flutter.”
Mine, too.
“But you do have to do something for me,” Gabe said.
“I will do anything for you, Mr. Gabriel.” True that. She’d walk to Mars and back for the man, which only made Lila love him more.
“Would you live with a man you aren’t married to?”
What? Poppy’s stuttering reply sounded exactly like the one in Lila’s brain. Why would he ask her that?
“I…I…no. I would not. I’m a virgin, Mr. Gabriel, the bride of Jesus Christ.”
“I’m not asking you to sleep with him, just consider sharing a house.”
“With who?” Good question. Her brows drawn, Lila took one silent step closer to hear the answer.
“Nino.”
Poppy gave a soft hoot. “One of us might be dead before a week is out, and I’m afraid I’d be the one going to hell for the killing.”
“He’s not that bad, and you two have really been getting along better.”
“I can tolerate him,” she said. “Mostly. But why would I?”
“Because I think I can get you a nice big house to live in, right out here on Mimosa Key.”
Lila took another step out of burning curiosity. What was the master controller controlling now?
“And why would we need a big house?”
“To live in.”
“I live in a house over on the mainland.”
“Alone. But you could live here on the island, with Nino.”
The older woman grunted. “Or Satan. Take your pick.”
“I need you to do this because Nino needs kids around. Lots of kids. Not just mine.”
Lila leaned against the wall, sighing contentedly.
“And what about you, Mr. Gabriel?”
What about him, Lila wondered, biting her lip as she waited for his response.
“I’m not sure yet,” Gabe replied, each word a little pinprick in Lila’s heart.
He wasn’t sure? She was. She was positive. She loved him. She’d stay here, and he’d have his business, and they’d raise Rafe, or…
Or was this still Gabe Rossi, the original lone wolf with a brick wall around his heart?
“Of course I would take care of Nino.” Poppy heaved a sigh as though he’d asked the moon. “But I don’t know why we’d need a big house, and who are these kids you are talking about?”
“The Bible boys,” he said. “Isaiah and…what are their names? Moses and Methuselah?”
“My nephews? Isaiah’s little brothers are Ezra and Samuel.”
“Yeah, them. The lawyer I found you specializes in international adoptions, too, and she says arranging for those boys to come here and live with you, in a big house, would be relatively easy for her to arrange. But they’d need stability. Two adults. Two adults who don’t want to kill each other.”
Lila’s heart softened at what he was doing for Poppy.
“My nephews? My boys? Here on this island? Living with me and Nino?”
“Isn’t that why I’ve been swearing all these months?”
“Thank you, Mr. Gabriel.”
“And Jesus,” he added.
“And thank you, Jesus! Praise the Lord! Praise the—”
“Shhh. You’ll wake up our patient. Hell, you’ll wake up the dead.”
“I’m not going to charge you for that, Mr. Gabriel, but when you are around that sweet little Rafe, you must stop swearing. You must.”
“I will,” he promised. “I’ll do anything for that kid.”
Lila let out a soft sigh, and not just because she couldn’t love the man more if she tried. But because it didn’t hurt anymore to feel that way. She could close her eyes and experience the bone-deep thrill of f
alling in love, and it didn’t cause the burning, excruciating pain that had become part of her very being.
How could she possibly thank him for that gift?
She knew how she wanted to start. Now. “What’s all the commotion about?” she asked, entering the room.
“Miz Lila! You need to get back in bed.”
“I don’t want to be in bed anymore.” At least, not alone.
Gabe was already up and coming toward her. “You’re supposed to be in bed.” He reached his hands out and put them on her shoulders, a sweet light in his eyes that made her legs weak. “I’ll go with you. I know how to keep you there.”
“Oh my my. I best be leaving.” Behind Gabe, Poppy hoisted herself to her feet and beamed at him. “Thank you for being wonderful and full of surprises, Mr. Gabriel.”
He blew her a kiss, but his full attention was on Lila. “Did you hear that? I’m wonderful and full of surprises.”
She looked up at him, studying his expression. “You certainly are.” She took his hand and waited for the door to lock behind Poppy. “Come to bed with me.”
“You need to rest.”
She poked his chest. “Rossi, go put the security lock on that door and get your sweet ass in the sack with me.”
His jaw dropped, and then he broke into a giant smile. “Well, well, well. The magic of medicine.”
“What?”
He lifted her fingers to his mouth for a kiss. “Welcome back, Isa. I’ve missed you.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
When Gabe came into the bedroom, he expected to find Lila naked and under the covers, but she was sitting on the edge of the bed with a strange look on her face.
“You okay?”
“I guess.” She tucked her feet under her and got settled on the bed. “It’s just that when you called me Isa, it felt…wrong. Weird.”
“You reminded me so much of her. She was pretty fond of my sweet ass, as you recall.”
But she didn’t smile. “I know, it’s just such a strange sensation. The headaches are gone, but I feel like…like I just got out of four years in prison.”
He sat next to her. “Yeah, you did. And you were essentially in solitary confinement.”
She nodded, chewing on her lip. “And we know what that does to prisoners.”
He brushed her hair back and kissed her cheek. “It’s going to take time and patience and lots and lots and lots of sex.”
Smiling, she nuzzled into his hand. “Lots.”
“Epic amounts of sex.” He kissed her head and stroked her back as he urged her under the comforter. She wore nothing but a long T-shirt, making him want to strip off his clothes and climb in naked.
He pulled his own T-shirt over his head, eyeing her as she dropped back on the pillow, a troubled expression still on her face. “We’ll take it slow,” he said.
“I don’t want to take it slow. It’s just that when you called me Isa, something inside me slipped a little.”
“I won’t call you that if you don’t want me to.” He opened the button of his jeans. “You just reminded me of her. Of you.” He laughed. “It is you, right?”
Still chewing her lip, she stared at him as he unzipped and stripped down, but left the boxer briefs because he didn’t want to get all hard and distracted until he made one hundred percent certain she was ready.
“You still want me to get in there with you?”
“Yes.” He got under the covers and slipped his hand under the T-shirt, finding smooth flesh, his body already responding to the feel of her. “Let’s start with something really slow and easy that won’t make Doctor McDreamy mad at me.”
She fought a smile. “He is pretty cute.”
He found her breast and gave a gentle squeeze. “He can kiss my—”
“Gabe.”
“—astronomical bill for his services.” He thumbed her nipple, earning a little moan as it popped to life.
He kissed her cheeks and inhaled her hair and slid his hand slowly and carefully down her body. “We gotta take it easy,” he murmured into the next kiss. “Doctor’s orders.”
“My head doesn’t hurt, but…” She took his hand and dragged it between her legs. “This does.”
She wore nothing but a tuft of silky, sweet hair, and his fingers immediately found their spot. He moved on top of her, kissing her mouth, tasting the sweet, familiar flavors of Lila.
“Lila…Lila.” He whispered her name a few times, letting the sound of it really roll around in his mouth. “I love that name now. It fits you.”
She pushed him up and searched his face. “Are you sure? Are you absolutely sure you’re not disappointed that I’m not Isadora anymore?”
Seriously? They were going to go through this just because he made a quick joke about something she said?
“She’s not gone completely. She sneaks out, and I hear her laugh…” He kissed her forehead. “And she says things that only Isadora Winter would say…” And her eyes. “And she feels things that can only be felt with me.”
She sighed into the kiss on her lips. “She certainly does. So you’re okay with that? Isadora is gone forever, and Lila is the woman you want.”
He rolled his erection against her. “Does that feel like I’m okay?”
“Mmmh. Yeah.” She put her hand inside his briefs and circled his hard-on with her hand, pulling a grunt of sheer pleasure from his chest.
“Then I’m yours, Gabe Rossi. Lila Wickham is yours.”
She stroked him slowly with one hand, using the other to push off his underwear. Freed, he started tasting everything he could find, while she wrapped her hands around him and lovingly stroked, up and down, cupping his balls, every moan of appreciation making him swell with need.
“Lila…I love ya.”
She laughed softly as he pushed her T-shirt up to suck and kiss one bare breast, licking it to a precious peak. He closed his eyes and tasted her again, not caring that the body was different, or her face, or her hair, even the slender hands that rode up and down his cock.
It didn’t matter what she looked like. The essence was the woman he loved today as much as the day he lost her five years ago. More, even. She’d been toughened up by life and softened up by motherhood.
He lifted himself up, and she started to slide down to get her mouth on him.
“No,” he said. “Stay still. We have to take it easy.”
She gave him a get real look. “I’m fine.”
“Maybe…for a minute.”
She laughed, a throaty, sexy sound that was every bit the laugh he once loved to hear, pushing him onto his back.
“I’m in no pain,” she promised him, kneeling and inching her way south. “I feel amazing.”
“Good, ’cause I’m in a lot of pain and…” He stroked her skin and finger-combed her hair as she moved down. “You do feel amazing.”
She laughed, but it was muffled as she took him into her mouth, and Gabe closed his eyes and gave in to the raw pleasure. Her body was different, her name, her hair…but she still made him want to cry with that mouth of hers.
She curled her tongue over the tip and drew him into the heat of her lips. All the while, she moved her hand over his shaft, pulling him closer and closer to the edge, filling his balls so he could spill into her.
Into her. He had to be in her. He eased her back up, grabbing a condom from the drawer where he’d put them in preparation for this very moment. “Come on, Lila. Let me love you.”
She took the top, her silky blond locks falling over her shoulders. Very carefully, she slipped the T-shirt up, exposing her body completely as she took it over her head without touching the bandage at the back.
He reached up to cup her breasts, vaguely aware of the thread of a scar under her nipple, faded and barely visible.
“I love these, too.” He assured her. “I love you. You. The strong, capable woman who makes me laugh and—”
She grabbed the condom from his hand. “Don’t go all mushy on me now, Gabe R
ossi.” She sheathed him, her hands trembling. “I need you inside me.”
He didn’t argue, reaching up to bring her closer and put her right into place. She was wet, ready, hot, slick, and tight, taking him all the way in one thrust.
Nothing had changed there. He fit in her pocket like he belonged there, swelling as he plunged in and out, lost in her, lost like he always was and always would be.
She whimpered and moaned, clutching him, riding him, taking him completely. Forced to go easy, he slowed them down, kissing her mouth as they joined in perfect rhythm, a timeless beat of life and love.
Squeezing him with her hands and arms and legs, he felt her snap loose and give up, falling into her orgasm with ragged breaths, pulling him along with her.
“I love you, Lila. You are mine. You know that? Mine.”
“Even if I’m not Isadora anymore? Are you sure?”
Why the hell did she keep asking him that?
“But I’m…”
“Mine,” he finished for her, kissing her, feeling the electricity and vibration and need building to a breaking point. “Mine. And I love you.”
She made a sound, acknowledging the phrase. “Yes, Gabe, yes. Yes, I do. I do love you, too. I’m sorry, I’m sorry I’m not—”
“Stop. Stop. Just…that.” But he didn’t have any brain power to decipher her sex talk. He had to come. Had to. He pressed his lips against her jaw, losing the fight, losing control, and exploding into her like a cannon shot, furious and fierce no matter how gently he wanted to take it.
Each jolt to his body was electric, endless, exquisite. He couldn’t stop. Couldn’t stop slamming into her, over and over and over again until there was nothing left in him.
She fell on him, her body sleek with sweat and heavy with exhaustion. “I like when you call me Lila. It really turns me on.”
“Could get dicey in the supermarket.”
“It’s just that I want to be sure you don’t regret losing her and getting me.”
Goddamn. Still, he wanted to be patient. She had been in prison, and he had to respect the aftereffects of that. “Clearly, Dr. Bradbury plucked the common sense out of you along with that implant.”
“I’m serious, Gabe. I don’t look like her, and I feel like an impostor. Isa is one thing to you, and I’ll never be her again.”
