P L A Y L I S T
The Drug in Me is You - Falling In Reverse
Now Gabriel understood why Zari had quizzed him about having kids. She'd found Rosie's engagement ring and planned out their life together! He should be upset, but no need for that. Her misconception about his impending proposal was no worse than him pretending to be her boyfriend. After what Elena had told him, Zari didn't expect anything to happen until she regained her memory, and once she did, he wouldn't have to explain a thing.
Well, she'd probably want to know what he was doing with a diamond ring hidden in his desk—or not. If he was right, she'd be so upset about the scheme, she wouldn't be speaking to him.
Gabriel inhaled a deep breath of cold, crisp air, pocketed his phone, and went inside. Let the torture begin. Time to help her get naked. Sports. Yeah. He needed to concentrate on sports, and other things he hated, like the word Moist, and the never-ending opening credits to Netflix shows.
He tapped on the bathroom door.
"Come in."
He eased it open. She sat on the commode lid, working to remove her boots.
"Here, let me help you with that."
Kneeling before her, he made short work of the job.
She stood, and unzipped her pants.
He hooked his fingers in the waistband and inched them down.
Basketball. NBA playoffs. Figuring out the brackets. He pictured a player dribbling down the court, but damn if the image of the ball didn't make him think about her round, creamy, soft breasts. Shit.
Shifting gears, his mind went to the Super Bowl, but a vision of the quarterback having the ball snapped from between the center's legs brought Gabriel right back to how close his face was to Zari's thighs. Damn.
He rose to his full height and blew out a silent breath. Once her sweater came off, the powder blue lace bra got his full attention. Snap out of it! Hockey. Yeah. Nothing about that should elicit lust. Burly, semi-toothless men padded from top to bottom, fighting and swinging sticks at a puck...which rhymed with fuck. Sonovabitch.
"Are you okay?"
Her voice jolted him back to reality. "Uh...what?"
"You have a funny look. You feel okay? Stomach acting up again? Maybe it was the meatloaf."
He swallowed, and grumbled, "I'm fine. Turn around and let me unhook your bra."
Once he unhooked the eyelets, she grabbed a towel and held it in front of her, then faced him again. "It's undressing me, isn't it? That's what has you upset."
He shook his head. "I want to help you, but this isn't easy for me. Seeing you naked—never mind. Like it or not. I'll do it. Won't be long until your cast comes off."
"You know you can touch me without us having sex. I wish you would." She peered up at him, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.
Gabriel ran his hand over his face and the thought of parting Zari's thighs, the sounds she'd made when he finally pushed her over the edge came unbidden. "Don't say that. It just makes it harder for me to keep my promise."
"To who?"
Holy shit. This is what happened when dick brain did all the thinking. Even though he'd decided to confess everything, it wasn't the right time. "Uh. To your doctors. Remember?"
"Look, it takes me a while, but I can do all this for myself except my bra. From now on, I'll get you to do that first, then you can leave. Just reach under my shirt and unhook it. You won't even have to see me half-naked. Okay?"
"I appreciate it." He backed away and turned to leave. Granted, it's what he wanted, what he should want.
"Gabriel?"
"Yeah?"
"I like that you want me."
He leaned his head against the door. "You have no idea."
She ran her hand up his back. "Yes, I do because I want you so much I ache all over."
And just like that, Gabriel got hard. She might think she understood, but she didn't have a clue. If she knew how long it'd been, she'd watch her tongue. Those few words unraveled his self-control until it hung by a thread and a thin one at that.
God, he couldn't remember ever wanting someone so much and here she stood, naked, willing, and eager. The perfect cocktail for disaster. He could have her, but he wouldn't. Couldn't. Because soon enough, she'd leave, and he'd be left with regret.
He didn't dare face her. If he did, he'd come undone. Those eyes. Pouty lips. Ripping off his fingernails wouldn't be more agonizing. "If I touch you... Let's just get through the next few days, and then we'll have all the sex you want." Not a total lie. What he needed to say was let's get to the part where I tell you I'm not your boyfriend, and if you still want me, then I'm your guy. "If you don't need me for anything else, I'm going to bed."
Within a few minutes, Zari crawled in next to him. Still, in chatty mode, she turned to face him. "I don't think I told you, but I'm going to help your mom with her pie baking. Elena said your mom likes using crazy combinations like oranges and pickles, apples and avocados, bananas and beer. That got me to thinking. What if we incorporate one of those into the crust instead of putting it in the filling? Has she tried that?"
Zari giving this much thought to helping Mom was so damn cute, he wanted to hug her. Even Elena considered his Mom's dedication a waste of time. And Silbie, well, she didn't care one way or the other. Gabriel hated to admit he'd also been indifferent.
"That's a good idea. I don't believe she has. You're sweet to want to help."
"You think I'm sweet?"
She was so close, her warm breath floated across his cheek. He opened his eyes. Shouldn't have. Because in the dim light, she looked so—seductive. He stroked a finger over her temple, then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "No doubt about it."
Her breath caught, and she shifted to get her body closer, then ran her hand over his chest. "Kiss me. I know you want to, so just do it. There's no need for us to suffer. I promise I won't let you go too far."
"God help me." He took her mouth. Slow. Soft. And when he pulled back, he traced her lips with his tongue. "You taste sweet, too." One wasn't enough. Hell, who was he kidding, a thousand wouldn't be. He went back for more, this time, rougher, deeper.
She eased her leg over his and snugged her body in tight against it.
[Slight Mature Themes Ahead]
Trailing his hand to her breast, he let the weight of it rest in his palm, then rubbed his thumb over the stiff nipple. Yeah, she was on board with whatever he wanted, and he wanted it all. He abandoned her mouth, brushed his lips down her throat, then lower and sucked the peaked nipple through the fabric of her nightshirt.
Threading her fingers through his hair, she held him in place. "Oh, God, that feels good."
He glided his hand down her belly to the waist of her pajamas, then hesitated. "This had to stop, Zari."
"No," she breathed, all breathy and wrecked. "I don't want to stop. Not now. Not ever."
This was going too far. He needed to stop, but she'd pressed her face into the spot just above his clavicle, moaning his name against his skin, which was on fire. To hell with it. He inched his hand lower, and then as if the Almighty himself zapped divine intervention, Gabriel's phone chimed.
[Slight Mature Themes Over]
"Don't answer it," she panted against his neck, and damn if Gabriel didn't want to ignore it, but couldn't.
"I can't. I'm on call." When he shifted away from her, she groaned. He turned on the lamp. Pressed the cell to his ear. "Luna—okay. Thirty-minutes." With a deep sigh, he clicked off and climbed out of bed. "Sorry. I have to go. There's an outage in Grapevine."
She sat up and propped a pillow behind her back. "How long will you be?"
He dressed while he talked. "Don't know. Will you be alright by yourself? If not, I can drop you off at Mom's."
She groaned. "I have a car."
"I know, but you probably shouldn't drive until you have both hands working."
"In a town this size, I think I'll be okay. Between here and your mom's, I'll be lucky if I meet two cars."
"Good point. But if you go, be careful, and text me."
Zari sighed and flopped back on the bed. "Does this happen a lot? I mean, you getting called out after you've worked all day?"
"More during the winter months. I may even work in another state."
She bolted upright. "Another state? For how long?"
"Sometimes, weeks."
Heaving a deep breath, she stared at the ceiling. "Maybe we should get a dog."
Gabriel jerked his head toward her. "What?"
"If I'm going to be here by my lonesome, maybe we should get a dog."
Holy shit. Yeah, that's all he needed. Get attached to a pet, then when Zari left, she'd take the furball, and Gabriel would have two things to miss. That's why he had a fish. No emotional attachment. Feed it. Watch it swim, and if it died, get another one. Cold hearted? Maybe. But he'd suffered enough loss.
She wasn't giving up. "Can we? I'm sure Grapevine has a shelter. We could adopt one. Might be good practice for children later on."
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Kids—pets. What the hell? Next, he'd be buying her feminine products as he used to with his mom and sister. "We'll talk about it later."
"Okay. But we should get a male. Of course, we'll have him neutered. I like the name Jack. Ooh, no, Rebel. I love that name. What do you think?"
I should just kill myself now.
"I mean, you already have a fenced back yard, so he has a place to play, and since I have to walk every day, I could take him with me."
Gabriel gathered his wallet and keys while she continued to make plans, and damn if she didn't look so fucking adorable he wanted to forget about work and crawl back into bed—and her. Yeah. Deep into her. Listen to those soft moans she'd been making minutes ago. Feel her fingernails dig into his skin, urging him on. He rubbed the back of his neck. What he really needed was waiting in Grapevine. Work. The only thing that might be able to keep his attention off her.
"I've never had a dog."
Gabriel snapped his head around to face her. "You remember that?"
She put her hand to her mouth, widened her eyes, and bounced on her knees. "Yes!"
Her breasts bobbed with the movement. A wet circle on her pajama top where his mouth had been just minutes earlier. Her expression, like a kid on Christmas morning, got him every time. She looked so innocent. So sweet. Fuck.
"Even if it's just little things, I'm remembering more and more. So, about the dog. I don't want a big one. Just mid-size. What do you think?"
He couldn't help but laugh. Sounded like she was still car shopping. "I think we need to talk about it when I have more time."
"Oh. Right. Sorry."
She scooted to the edge of the bed, then stood and put her arms around his waist. Sticking her hand in the back pocket of his jeans, she squeezed. "I love your ass."
He swallowed hard. He never knew what would come out of her mouth. One minute she's talking dogs, and the next, body parts. According to what Gabriel had learned from her family, this was new behavior for Zari. On the one hand, he loved that she was so open about wanting him, but on the other, her candor made it difficult for him to resist.
But if Owen found out Gabriel had been feeling her up, Owen would tear him apart, limb by limb. No worries. A little touchy-feely was no big deal. Gabriel just needed to make sure it didn't happen again. "You're making it hard for me to leave."
She slid her hand from his pocket, around to his crotch, and rubbed. "Yes, I am, in more ways than one."
Already the beginning of another hard-on, he stepped back. "You're the devil. You know that, right?"
She giggled. "Maybe so, but not a very good one, because I'm having a hell of a time leading you to the dark side."
"Babe, if not for work, I'd be drowning in pitch black."
Moving closer, she rose to her toes, then kissed him. "You called me babe."
"I did?"
"Yeah. It's the first time you've used a term of endearment. I like it."
Gabriel didn't know what to say. He'd not realized he'd said it, and he didn't know why he had. He'd never used pet names, but it fit her. "I really have to go." He stepped into the hallway, and she followed.
He stopped. "No need for you to stay up."
"I'm wide awake. I think I'll search the internet for dogs."
Gabriel tilted his head and scrunched up his face. "Zari..."
"I know you haven't agreed to get one. I just thought I'd look. No harm in that. Right?" She looked at him, eyes wide, and his heart stopped. Resisting her, he'd come to learn, was futile.
"Right," he grumbled.
She stayed on his heels all the way to the garage, and when he opened the door, a surprise waited—snow. Gabriel stared dumbfounded at his front yard. Snow. In the south. In Texas, where the first sign of melting snow flurries was enough to send everyone in a panic and clean out entire aisles of grocery stores.
"Oh!" Squealing, Zari rushed to the edge of the drive, stretched out her arms, turned in a circle, and stuck out her tongue to catch the flakes.
Gabriel's chest swelled. He'd never seen a more beautiful sight. His next day off, he'd take her to the shelter.
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D'aw, now they're going to get a dog. How domestic.
I'm uploading a new small town romance later today for autism awareness month. Be sure to check it out!
Yikes. What do you think is happening here?