by Lori Foster
“Gabe?”
He didn’t look at her again as he stuck the speaker out the window and hooked it into place on its stand. A lot of people would recognize his car, and they’d know he was leaving early. They’d probably even deduce why. For Lizzy’s sake, he hated that, but couldn’t think of an alternative. It would be worse if he ended up doing things with her here that he knew damn good and well should be done in private. And his control was too strained. Already he wanted her so bad he felt sweat forming on his naked back and at his temples, though the night had cooled off and was comfortable.
Even without the speaker in the car, he heard the on-screen moaning and looked up. Tanya’s Revenge wasn’t much in the way of evil intent. Gabe figured she planned to physically, sexually wear out her adversary, then gain her revenge—whatever it might be. Lizzy was spellbound. She’d watched every sex scene with single-minded intent.
His heart pounded in his chest as he considered doing all those things to her, and how she would react. “Put your seat belt back on.”
Without tearing her gaze from the screen, she obeyed. His car started with a low purr and then they were maneuvering out of the lot. Once the screen was no longer in view, Lizzy turned toward him. He could feel her curiosity, could almost hear her mind working, thinking about what she’d watched and wondering if they’d do things like that together.
“Damn right we will,” Gabe said, answering her silent question. Lizzy fanned herself, but otherwise held quiet. They reached her place in record time. In one minute flat they were inside with the door locked and Gabe had her pressed to the wall, giving his hands and his mouth free rein.
* * *
ELIZABETH held her breath as Gabe’s right hand stroked down her side, over her waist, her hip, then to the back of her knee. He pulled her leg upward so that she was practically circling his hips—then he thrust gently.
A moan escaped her. She could feel the fullness and hard length of his erection through his jeans as he deliberately rocked against her in a parody of sex. His mouth, open and damp, moved over her cheek to her arched throat. “I want to be inside you right now, babe. I need to be inside you.”
“My…my bedroom,” she muttered, nearly incoherent, more than ready to accommodate him. But Gabe shook his head.
“You have to do some catching up. I want you to be as hot as I am.”
She tried to tell him that she already was, but then his mouth covered hers and his tongue licked past her lips and she could barely think, much less speak.
His hand, rough and incredibly hot, smoothed over her bare thigh to her panties. Elizabeth couldn’t stop her instinctive reaction to his hand on her bottom, exploring, first palming one round cheek then gliding inward to touch her in the most intimate spot imaginable.
“Easy,” he whispered against her mouth. “Damn, you’re wet. You do want me, don’t you, sweetheart?”
“Yes…” She felt like she was falling, though her back was flat against the wall with Gabe’s hard torso pinning her in place.
“Let’s get these out of the way.” He released her leg and hooked both hands into the waistband of her panties beneath her skirt. It felt naughty and exciting and achingly sexual the way he went to one knee in front of her to strip off her underclothes. “Step out of them,” he instructed.
Like a sleepwalker, Elizabeth lifted first one foot and then the other. Her sandals were still in place, but Gabe had no problem tugging her panties off around them. She waited for him to stand, but he didn’t, and she looked down.
His face was flushed, his eyes burning hot as he kneaded the backs of her thighs. He looked at her and didn’t smile. Instead he leaned forward and kissed her through her cotton dress, making her suck in a startled, choking breath. Her hands automatically sought his head and her fingers threaded into his cool blond hair.
“Gabe?”
“You smell good,” he said, nuzzling into her. Her knees threatened to give out, but his palms moved to cuddle her naked backside, keeping her upright. “So good.”
“I…I can’t do this.” Even as she said it, her hands clenched in his hair, directing his attentions to a spot that pulsed with need. His mouth opened and his breath was incredibly hot, almost unbearable. She felt the damp press of his tongue through her clothes and she cried out.
Gabe shot to his feet in front of her and took her mouth in a voracious kiss meant to consume her. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t react, couldn’t think. She felt wild, this time lifting her leg to wrap around him without instruction. Both his hands covered her breasts, squeezing a bit roughly, but she loved it, loved him and the way he made her feel.
He started on the buttons of her dress and had them all free within seconds. The bodice opened just wide enough for him to tug it down her shoulders and beneath her breasts. The dress framed her, caught at her elbows and pinning her arms to her sides. “Gabe?” She struggled, wanting to touch him, too.
The dress pulled taut and forced her straining breasts higher. Her nipples were stiff, pointed, and with a low growl Gabe bent and sucked one deep into the heat of his mouth, his rough tongue rasping over her, his teeth holding her captive for the assault.
She screamed. Her body arched hard against his. Gabe switched to the other nipple and his hands went under her skirt, one lifting her thigh, the other cupping over her belly then delving into her moist curls. She knew she was wet, could feel the pulsing of her body. His fingers were both a relief and a torture as he moved them over her hot flesh, stroking, then parting slick, swollen folds.
She pressed her head against the wall, feeling a strange tension begin to invade her body.
“We’ll go easy,” he promised, but the words were so low, so rough, she could barely understand them. “Right here, sweetheart,” he murmured, and she felt a lightning stroke of sensation as one fingertip deliberately plied her swollen clitoris. Gasping, she tried to pull away because the sensation was too acute, but there was no place for her to go.
“Don’t fight me,” he whispered around her wet nipple, licking lazily. “Trust me, Lizzy.”
She couldn’t. The feelings were coming too fast, too strong. Her muscles ached and tightened, then tightened some more. Her vision blurred as heat washed over her in waves. She tried to tell him it was too much, but her words didn’t make any sense and he ignored them anyway, listening more to her body than what she had to say. His fingertip felt both rough and gentle as he continued to pet her, concentrating patiently on that one ultrasensitive spot, driving her insane.
Her climax took her by surprise, stealing her breath, making it impossible to do more than moan in low gasping pants, going on and on…. Her body bowed, but Gabe held her securely, not stopping his touch, pushing her and pushing her. He moaned, too, the sound a small vibration around her nipple as he sucked strongly at her. His left forearm slipped beneath her buttocks, keeping her on her feet as her knees weakened, forcing her to feel everything he wanted her to feel.
When finally she slumped against him, spent and exhausted, his hold gentled, loosened. She was no longer crushed against his body, but remained in his embrace, gently rocking. His palm cupped her, holding in the heat, and he said, “I can still feel you pulsing.”
Embarrassment tried to ebb into her consciousness, but Gabe didn’t give it a chance to take hold. He kissed each breast, her throat, her chin. Putting his forehead to hers, their noses touching, he whispered, “That was incredible, Lizzy.”
If she’d had the strength she would have laughed. Gabe was a master of understatement. Slowly she opened her eyes and was seared by the heat in his. While she watched, he removed his palm from her and raised his hand to her face. His gaze dropped to her mouth and with one wet fingertip, he traced her lips.
She sucked in a startled breath, but couldn’t think of a thing to say. Still watching her, Gabe slowly licked her upper lip, then pulled her bottom lip through his teeth to suck gently. “You taste as sweet as I knew you would.”
She couldn’t
move. Her eyes opened owlishly. Good grief, she’d never been in this situation before, never even imagined such a thing! He hadn’t shared intercourse with her, but she supposed this was one form of lovemaking. Only…against her front door? With her panties off and his clothes still on and his magical fingers…
“Cat got your tongue?” he asked while smoothing her hair from her face.
“I…” She swallowed hard. “I don’t know what to say.”
“How about, ‘Gabe I want you.’” His gaze moved over her face in loving detail, his fingers gentle on her temple. She noticed his hands shook.
“Gabe, I want you.”
The smile she’d already fallen in love with lighted his face. “Thank the lord. I haven’t come in my pants since I was a teenager, but it was a close thing, babe. A very close thing.”
“Oh.” The things he said, and how he said them, never ceased to stupefy her. She was still considering the image he’d evoked with his words when Gabe scooped her up in his arms and started across the floor. She held on tight, charmed by the gallantry. This was another thing, like fogged windows, that she thought only happened in books.
“Sunburn okay?” he asked. He wasn’t even straining to hold her weight.
She sighed, totally enamored of his strength. “What sunburn?”
Gabe laughed, a sound filled with masculine satisfaction and triumph—wholly male, hotly sexual. Rather than put her on the bed, he stood her beside it, and with no fanfare at all, caught the hem of her dress and whisked it over her head. Her arms caught in the sleeves for just a moment, making her feel awkward, but Gabe wasn’t deterred. He freed her easily, then stepped back to look at her.
She still wore her sandals, was her first thought. Second was that the way he looked at her was almost tactile, like a stroke across her belly, penetrating deep to where the need rekindled and came alive once again.
Without a word Gabe kicked off his shoes as he surveyed her body. He unbuttoned his jeans, slid down the zipper and shucked both his jeans and his shorts. Lizzy was given time to look all she pleased—which was a lot. Gabe stood still for her, except to reach out with his right arm and stroke her nipples with a knuckle.
He swallowed at her continued scrutiny. “Put me out of my misery, Red. Please.”
His hips were narrow in contrast to his wide chest. His abdomen was hard and flat, his navel a shallow dent surrounded by golden brown hair that felt soft to the touch. His shoulders were straight, his legs long and strong and covered in hair. His groin…She gulped, then reached out to encircle him with her hand and squeezed. So hard and so strong, his erection flexed and he made a small strangled sound. His hands fisted; his knees locked. One glistening drop of fluid appeared on the tip, fascinating her. She spread it around with her thumb, and heard his hissing breath.
“You’re playing with fire, babe.”
“You’re so beautiful,” she breathed, then started slightly when he growled and reached for her.
“Come here, Elizabeth. Let me hold you.”
But as she stepped up to him he stepped forward and carried her down to the bed. Balanced on one elbow above her, he began exploring her body again.
“I love all these sexy little freckles.” He traced around her breasts, skimming just below her puckered nipples, then trailed down her abdomen to her belly button. He dipped his baby fingertip there before moving over her hipbones and her upper thighs. His hand cupped her between her thighs and she groaned, knowing exactly how he could make her feel. “And this fiery red hair,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Elizabeth squirmed as he parted her, as one long finger pushed deeply into her.
His gaze met hers. “Does that hurt?” he asked huskily.
She shook her head. “No, please, Gabe.” She spread both hands over his chest, reveling in the heat of his skin, the way his heart galloped. She loved touching his nipples and hearing his breath hitch.
“Open your legs more, Lizzy. That’s it. Another finger, okay? I want to make sure you’re ready, that I won’t hurt you.”
His words didn’t make much sense to her, though she tried to listen closely. She was attuned to his scent, his touch, the warmth of his big body. She turned her face toward him to watch as her hands glided over him.
“I can’t wait anymore,” he growled.
Good, she thought, already so tense she ached. If she hadn’t been so unused to the intimacy, she’d have demanded he get on with it, but she wasn’t quite that daring yet. All she could do was try to urge him to haste with her touch.
Gabe reached for his discarded jeans and removed a condom. Curious, Lizzy stroked his body as he slipped it on, letting her palm cup him beneath his erection, where he was heavy and warm and soft. His eyes nearly closed as he groaned, and then he was over her, his entire big body shaking as he forced her legs wide and opened her with gentle fingers.
“Lizzy, look at me.”
She did, snared by his beauty, by the savage hunger in his hot blue eyes. He took her in one long slow thrust and she cried out, not in pain but in incredible pleasure. Her hips lifted of their own accord, trying to make the contact as complete as possible.
Gabe slid both hands beneath her bottom and lifted her, pushing deep, retreating, pushing in again, causing the most incredible friction. “Put your legs around me, sweetheart.”
She did, crossing her ankles at the small of his back, squeezing him tight. His hairy chest crushed her breasts, and she tried to rub them against him, tried to feel as much of him as she could. The sensation of him being inside her, her tender flesh stretched tight around him, was almost unbearable. The explosive feelings began building again and she struggled toward them, her head tipped back, her eyes squeezed closed.
But then Gabe cursed and paused for one throbbing heartbeat. With another muttered oath he lowered himself to her completely, opened his mouth on her throat and began thrusting hard and fast, his groan building, his body rock hard and vibrating, and Lizzy held him, enthralled as he came. She forgot her own needs, satisfied to smooth her hands over his damp back, through his silky soft hair and straining shoulders.
Gabe relaxed against her, breathing deep, his arms keeping her close, her legs still around him. After several minutes he muttered against her throat, “Sorry.”
Lizzy kissed his shoulder. “For what?”
“For leaving you.” He leaned up and looked at her and there was a deeply sated expression to his eyes, a tenderness that went bone deep. “I’ll make it up to you in just a little bit.”
Elizabeth smiled and touched his face. “I’m fine.”
“I want you better than fine,” he said, and he kissed her, a long, slow, leisurely kiss. He didn’t seem in any hurry to stop kissing her. After a while he sat up to remove the condom—another first for her! Without much talking he carried her into the bathroom where they both soaked in a cool tub. Gabe made her wild with the way he bathed her, stroked her, teased her. After that, he seemed insatiable.
She could barely keep her eyes open after two more climaxes and a lot of new firsts, but when he settled into the bed with her, she found the foresight to ask, “Are you staying all night?”
“Yes.” He pulled her to his side and pressed her head to his shoulder.
His assumption that he was welcome amused her, but then, she wanted him to stay. “Shouldn’t you tell someone where you are so they won’t worry?”
“I’m twenty-seven years old, sweetheart. I don’t have to account for myself to my brothers.”
“What about Honey? Will she worry?”
He went still, then cursed softly. “Don’t move.” He padded naked from the bed into the kitchen where her only phone hung on the wall. After a few seconds she heard him say, “I won’t be home tonight.”
There was a pause. “Yeah, well, I thought Honey might—” He laughed. “That’s what I figured. See ya tomorrow.”
He came back to bed and settled himself. “You were right. Sawyer said she woul
d have worried.” He kissed her forehead and within seconds he was breathing deeply.
Elizabeth stroked his chest, wondering how often he spent the night with women, if this meant anything to him at all, if she had the right to hope he’d stay with her whenever possible.
It was a long time before she, too, dozed off. But thinking of Gabe and how strong and independent and capable he was only served to slant her dreams with miserable comparisons of all the things he was, and all the things she wasn’t.
And sometime in the middle of the night, the nightmares returned.
CHAPTER 10
GABE WAS generally a sound sleeper, but then, contrary to popular belief, he seldom had a very sexy, very warm woman cuddled up to his side when he slept. Because he lived with his brothers, and because his nephew, Casey, was there, he hadn’t made a habit of flaunting his social life. Having Lizzy at his side was a unique and pleasant experience.
And while he’d had no problem sleeping, he was never at any moment unaware of her curled against him.
When her skin grew warmer and her breathing deeper, he stirred. She mumbled something in her sleep and he turned his head to look at her, making a soft, soothing sound. Her hand suddenly fisted against his chest, and her head twisted from side to side.
Frowning, Gabe came up on one elbow. “Lizzy?” She didn’t answer him. He touched her cheek and felt it wet with tears. His heart pounded. “Hey, come on, sweetheart. Talk to me.”
In the dim moonlight filtering through the curtains, he could barely make out her features. He saw her mouth move, crying soundlessly, then heard a small whimper, and another, each gaining in volume.
“Lizzy?” Gabe held her closer and stroked her hair. “You’re dreaming, sweetheart. Wake up.” He made his voice deliberately commanding, unable to bear her unconscious distress.
Suddenly her body went rigid as if she’d just suffered a crushing physical pain. She screamed, harsh, tearing sounds that echoed around the silent bedroom. Her arms flailed wildly and she hit him in the chest, fighting against him, against herself. Gabe pinned her arms down and rolled her beneath him.
