TrustMe

by Unknown

  “Great. It’s settled then,” Gabe said, judging it to be an excellent time to make himself momentarily scarce. “I’ll go get the car while you two say your goodbyes, and meet you out front.”

  And with that he gave both women a gallant smile and headed inside.

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  Six

  “S o I guess you’re not speaking to me,” Gabe remarked into the silence that filled the SUV.

  Staring out at the distant lights as they drove back toward the city after dropping Lilah off at her home in the Denver foothills, Mallory parted her lips to say that’s right.

  Then she caught herself.

  No. She’d already been much more gracious than he deserved, chatting with Lilah about the fashion show debacle and exchanging ideas about what they might do about it, just as if she wasn’t perfectly aware of how he’d maneuvered her into accepting this ride.

  More to the point, it was clearly a trick question. Regardless of what she said, she’d be trapped into defending her answer. And once she did, she knew exactly what would happen.

  He’d say something charming or aggravating or arrogant or insightful. What, it didn’t matter. And she’d feel angry or enchanted or amused or alarmed, the particulars of which also wouldn’t matter.

  Because just like back at the party, the whole time they were talking her heart would be racing and her stomach jitter-bugging. Worse, she wouldn’t be giving the conversation her complete attention because no matter how hard she tried to concentrate, part of her would be wondering whether a second kiss between them would be as explosive as the first.

  Given that she’d already decided there wasn’t going to be a second kiss, her continuing fixation on the subject was mystifying. Granted, his unexpected presence at tonight’s event had taken her by surprise. And in retrospect, she could see that her decision to resume her old party girl persona with the hope of reestablishing a proper distance between them had been a miscalculation.

  She simply should have ignored him. And if that hadn’t worked, she should have behaved like the rational adult she was and pointed out that in light of her new job, she clearly didn’t need his assistance.

  But she hadn’t. Instead, she’d gotten sucked into having a conversation with him and look where it had landed her. Once again they were alone in a car in the dark. Only unlike a week ago when she’d so foolishly lowered her defenses, this time around her awareness of him was on heightened alert. She found herself listening intently to his every breath, her pulse jumping each time he moved, her body humming with the effort of remaining aloof.

  Even more confounding, there was a reckless part of her that had an alarming desire to slide across the seat, climb into his lap, bury her fingers in his hair and take another taste of that hot, chiseled mouth.

  Forget mystifying. It was mortifying. And another excellent reason to remain silent, no matter what.

  “Well, if you’re not going to talk, I will,” Gabe said out of the blue, as if he’d read her mind and decided it wouldn’t do for her to think she was actually in control of the situation. “Because I want you to know that I’m sorry about what happened the last time we were together.”

  Pursing her lips, she forced herself not to react even though she suddenly felt as if he’d jabbed her with a knife. Sure, she regretted that kiss, but the idea that he might had never even occurred to her.

  “Not for kissing you,” he went on, just as if he really were clairvoyant. “But for letting you think that my interest in you isn’t first and foremost about you as a person. That may not have been the case initially, but it is now, and it’s important to me that you know it.”

  Well…damn. How exactly was she supposed to respond to that? Or, more to the point, how could she not? “I—that’s…thank you.”

  The words seemed woefully inadequate the moment she said them. Yet the truth—that he’d just slid past her guard and said the one thing she’d wanted to hear before she’d even known it herself—was far more than she was willing to reveal.

  “I just thought you should know.”

  Once again, silence descended. Feeling totally inadequate, thinking there must be something more she could add, Mallory looked out the window, hoping for inspiration. And felt a niggle of surprise instead as she realized that at some point during their conversation they’d left the highway and were now winding through a sprawling community of large, modern homes set well back from the road.

  “Where are we?” she asked.

  “My place,” he answered, turning into a wide, well-lit driveway leading up to a contemporary wood and stone house with, of all things, a basketball hoop attached to the three car garage.

  One door of which had started to rise.

  “What?” She swiveled to face him. “No. Absolutely not, Gabriel. I agreed to a ride, not a tour of your own personal Bat Cave. And if this is what your little declaration was really about, you trying to lull me into thinking you can be trusted—”

  “Relax, Mal,” he said, a steely note of temper edging into his voice. “I didn’t bring you here for sex, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Pulling into the garage’s cavernous interior with the ease of long practice, he switched off the car engine and hit the button to lower the door behind them. “Not that I’d say no if you decided you were up for it.” Beneath his attempt to smooth things over, something darker lurked in his voice that made her want to squeeze her knees together.

  She crossed her arms instead.

  “Look,” he said, pushing open his door. “The truth is that I didn’t plan to drive into town tonight, and I’ve got my brother Deke’s dog for the weekend, all right? I need to let him out or he’s going to start gnawing on the nearest table leg. So while I’d love for you to come in and see my place, I’ve got no interest in coercing you into doing anything you’re not comfortable with.”

  “Good,” she said intractably. “Then you won’t care if I wait here.”

  One big shoulder hitched in a careless shrug. “Suit yourself. Like I said, I won’t be long.”

  Face set, she watched out of the corner of her eye as he climbed out, yanking his tie loose as he walked with the long loose stride that even now had the power to make her stomach hollow. Reaching an interior door, he switched on an overhead fixture so she wouldn’t be in the dark when the automatic lights winked out and disappeared inside.

  Well, good! For once he’d done exactly what she wanted. Telling herself it was about time, she gave a huff of satisfaction and crossed her legs, deciding a moment later that she could afford to indulge her curiosity by taking a look around.

  She wasn’t surprised to see the silver sports car parked in the next space over. Whenever she’d thought about Gabe in the past, she’d pictured him with just such a vehicle, living in a stylish penthouse atop one of the city’s higher skyscrapers. Or occupying one of the newer mansions in some upscale neighborhood like Cherry Creek or Country Club.

  Yet the car was the only visible symbol of the contained, sophisticated loner she’d thought she knew. While the rest of the garage, she realized, appeared to belong to some athletic suburban soccer dad.

  There was a trio of bikes and a pair of kayaks hanging from the rafters, along with enough other sporting equipment from snow skis to hockey skates to scuba tanks that he could stock his own store. There was a lawn mower, what she thought might be a snow-blower, shovels, lawn furniture, a set of barbells, a workbench and a tall red tool chest. Everything was efficiently organized and looked to be well maintained.

  Not to mention being more Martha Stewart than James Bond. And yet another glaring example of him not being the man she’d thought he was.

  But then, she’d never been the person she’d pretended to be, either.

  That’s right. You’ve gone from shallow but daring to hiding out in a parked car because you’re afraid you might be feeling something real for a change.

  The thought had her rearing back against the seat as if she’d been struck. She
wanted in the worst way to deny it, but the longer she sat there, in the looming quiet, alone due to her self-imposed isolation, the more she could see it was true. And that being able to take care of herself financially wouldn’t mean a thing if she kept following her old pattern of running away any time she felt the slightest connection to another person.

  Taking a deep breath, she got out of the car. Then before she could lose her nerve, she walked over to the door and let herself into the house.

  A quick look around showed she was in what appeared to be a combination mudroom and pantry, with high ceilings, a checkerboard floor and gleaming cherrywood cabinets.

  Listening, she heard the low murmur of Gabe’s voice. She followed the sound, walking into a spacious kitchen with stainless steel appliances, more of the same glossy cabinets, a vast expanse of black granite countertops and a big island with half a dozen large, padded bar stools lined up along one side like buttons on a shirt.

  Continuing on, she entered the adjoining family room, which boasted a huge fireplace and a burgundy leather sectional anchored by a stunningly beautiful Oriental rug. Stopping briefly to listen, she gave a faint start as a shaggy canine shape suddenly bounded by on the other side of the sliding-glass doors. Then she followed her ears down a wainscoted hallway and was rewarded by the sight of Gabe in what was clearly his den.

  As she’d already surmised, he was on the phone, standing with one hip planted against a mahogany desk the size of a small country. What she hadn’t imagined was that he would’ve shed his jacket and tie, unbuttoned his collar and shoved up his shirtsleeves.

  Her mouth foolishly went dry at the sight of his exposed forearms, which were lightly dusted with black hair and corded with muscle.

  “That’s great, Jake.” His eyebrows knit in a slight, surprised V as he caught sight of her in the wide doorway. “What?” He held up a finger to indicate he’d only be a minute. “Yeah, I’ll be sure to tell Cooper. And yeah—” he chuckled “—you’re right that he’s not going to like it.”

  The soft sound of his laughter tickled her nerve endings like the lash of a velvet whip, raising goose bumps on her flesh.

  It made her wonder what would happen when he finally put his hands on her. Because he would, she realized with sudden insight. Something fundamental had changed between them the day of their encounter at Annabelle’s, and as she’d learned at the party tonight, there was no going back, no putting the genie back in the bottle.

  Unless something unforseen happened—say a meteor streaked out of the sky and crashed down on one of them—it was only a matter of time before their attraction led to its logical conclusion.

  So why wait? Why not put an end to this sexual limbo?

  She had to admit there was an undeniable allure in the thought of taking charge, doing the unexpected, making Gabriel feel off balance for a change. Plus it was only sex, which in her experience was overrated and overhyped. They’d come together, do the horizontal tango and then—

  What? For a moment she was perplexed to realize she didn’t know. And then it occurred to her that was actually the whole point. Once they got the sex out of the way, then they’d see.

  Her decision made, she lifted her hands and, one by one, began to pull the pins from her hair, dropping them deliberately onto the carpeted floor. When the last one was out, she combed her fingers through the curly mass, gave her head a gentle shake, and sent the liberated locks tumbling down.

  Eight feet away, Gabe suddenly straightened.

  She reached back, holding his gaze with her own as she unzipped her dress and slowly pushed it off her shoulders. Wiggling her hips sent it sliding down her body. Naked except for her lavender-colored push-up bra, matching thong and Jimmy Choos with their stiletto heels and peekaboo toes, she stepped clear of the pool of fabric at her feet, raised an eyebrow—and waited.

  “Listen, Jake,” Gabe said abruptly, “something’s come up. I’ll call you back tomorrow.” Without taking his eyes off of her or waiting for his caller’s response, he hung up.

  The sound of him dropping the handset into its base seemed very loud in the sudden silence. Yet he didn’t say a word, just took his own sweet time looking her over before finally leveling his gaze at her face. “What the hell, Mallory?” His voice was extremely quiet, his eyes intensely green.

  She gave a slight shrug. “I thought about what you said.”

  “Regarding…?”

  “Us. Having sex. And I decided yes. I’m up for it. The question is—” she gave him a look from beneath half-lowered lashes “—are you?”

  Pushing away from the desk, he padded toward her. “You really need to ask?”

  With a thrill of anticipation, she saw that despite his measured step, there was a dull flush beneath the olive-toned skin stretched over his killer cheekbones. She braced, expecting him to do what any other red-blooded male would—push her up against the nearest wall and pick up where they’d left off on that snowy sidewalk a week and a half ago.

  Yet she should have known he wasn’t prone to acting without thinking. Coming to a halt when a good foot still separated them, he reached out to cup her face, his palm cradling her jaw while his thumb came to rest against her chin. “First—” his shrewd gaze probed her own “—I think you better tell me what brought this on.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Those expressive eyebrows rose. “Ten minutes ago you’d barely talk to me except to say you weren’t setting foot in my house. An hour before that I had to practically twist your arm so you’d agree to let me drive you home. But now it seems you’re hot to get it on with me. So the real question is—” he tapped the pad of his thumb against her bottom lip “—what’s changed, Mallory?”

  She gave him her coolest smile, “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s a girl’s prerogative to change her mind?”

  He just looked at her.

  “Oh, all right,” she said. “I got to thinking about it and realized this thing between us has been going on for a long time and I thought maybe we’d both feel better if we just went ahead and got it out of the way. Of course, that was back in the last century when I was still deluded enough to think that my stripping naked would be enough to turn you on—”

  Thrusting both hands into her hair, he cut her off in midtirade by kissing her.

  Except…kiss was too tame a word to describe what he was doing with those warm, skilled, sculpted lips. It was a claiming, Mallory thought hazily as his mouth slanted over hers. A possession. Or maybe an instant, overpowering addiction. Reaching up, she curled her fingers into his shirtfront to anchor him in place and parted her lips to accommodate his.

  His response was immediate. His tongue breached her mouth, strafing her teeth and the inside of her cheeks, a hot, slick invasion that made her moan. Cupping her shoulders, he reeled her in even closer. His palms kneaded her flesh, while his fingertips skated up and down the outer ridges of her shoulder blades, making her arch like a cat being stroked. The heat from his solid, cotton-covered chest felt delicious against her breasts.

  And then, to her shock, he lifted his head and eased back a fraction, dislodging her hands. “What’s wrong?” she demanded, struggling to catch her breath.

  He gave a slight, husky laugh and she felt her nipples tighten in reaction. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Only…why the hurry?” He took a full step back and it was all she could do not to pursue him. “Like you said, this has been a long time coming. We’ve got the whole night. I want it to be one to remember.”

  A faint sensation of alarm rippled through her. What she’d envisioned between them when she’d set this in motion had been something down and dirty, hard and fast, a quick union meant to scratch an itch, nothing more. While what he was proposing….

  She dampened suddenly dry lips as he circled around behind her. “What…what are you doing?”

  She heard a rustle of fabric as his clothes hit the floor, then nothing but the thump of her heart as he bent his head and grazed the ball of her shou
lder with his lips.

  “What do you think?” Maddeningly refraining from touching her anywhere else, he unhurriedly began to lay a trail of kisses until his mouth found the curve where her shoulder joined her neck.

  “But I didn’t expect—” She couldn’t seem to stop her head from lolling back as he nipped at the tender spot, then soothed the tiny hurt with his tongue. “That is, I thought…” She’d thought they’d go up in flames so fast he’d never find out she wasn’t nearly as skillful at this as he was. Except now…with his mouth…doing that…she couldn’t seem to think why it should matter.

  His hand found her hip. Big and shockingly warm, it slid across her stomach. “What did you think, Mal? That all I’d want is to throw you down and take you right here, right now? Trust me, we’ll get to that.” His thumb settled gently against the indentation of her navel, drew a lazy circle. “Just…not…yet.”

  Spreading his fingers, he pressed her back against the solid wall of his body. She bit her lip to suppress a moan as the crinkly hair on his thighs pressed against her bare bottom.

  “You’ve got the most beautiful skin,” he murmured into her hair, reaching to cup her lace-covered breast in his palm. “Soft. So damn soft. It used to make me crazy when we’d run into each other at some party and you’d be so close, yet so far out of reach. The whole time we’d be talking I’d think about what it would be like to lay you down, peel off your gown, run my hands all over you.”

  Heat, liquid and silky, bloomed deep between her thighs. She squirmed, then squirmed some more as he nuzzled the tender, silken seam where her neck met her ear.

  “I…I wondered, too.” Was that breathless, husky voice really hers? “About us. But I never imagined—”

  She broke off as he slowly rubbed his fingertip over her lace-covered nipple and sensation rushed through her, pooling deliciously at her tight, aching center.

  She shivered even as a part of her protested it wasn’t enough. She wanted to feel his hands on her, experience the touch of those hard palms and slightly calloused fingertips on every inch of her skin.