us is wearing a lot of clothes, and umm...well, hell. You’re incredibly sexy and attractive.”
Her hand around his waist moved up his chest and curled around his neck, her fingers playing seductively in the short hairs at the back of his neck.
“Gabe. Look at me.”
He stared down at her in distress. He wanted to make love to her right now just about worse than he wanted to breathe.
“I’m not scared of you.”
Was she inviting him to... Oh, holy God. No way. He was not going to fall on her like some sex-starved beast. Like James Ward.
“Yeah, well,” he retorted gruffly, “I’m scared of me.” He squirmed out from under her and surged to his feet. He turned his back fast to hide his arousal from her. No matter what she said, he wasn’t going to chance scaring her off men for good.
Arms snaked around his waist from behind, and her delicious chest pressed against his back. He could all but feel the firm globes cupped in his hands. Swelling sweetly into his mouth. He groaned aloud. “I’m trying to be a gentleman, here, dammit. You’re not helping, Willa.”
“Kiss me, Gabe.”
He bolted forward, tearing out of her grasp. “No!” No way was he taking any chances with her. She was still too fragile, too afraid for that. She needed time to recover. To learn to trust men again.
Willa was quiet behind him. Too quiet. Cautiously, he looked over his shoulder at her. And swore. Tears were sliding down her cheeks silently as she stared down at her toes. She looked like a little kid who’d just had her puppy stolen.
He swore aloud as he turned and swept her into his arms. “It’s not you, baby. I swear. Believe me, you’re just about the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. But it’s too soon.”
She made an impatient sound and shock exploded across his brain. It wasn’t too soon for her? Then that must mean...damn... was it too soon for him?
Chapter 7
W illa tossed and turned in her bed, so frustrated she could scream. No matter what she’d tried last night, Gabe Dawson flatly refused to kiss her. He kept spouting some drivel about her needing time to learn to trust men again.
Frankly, she expected she would never trust most men. But she did trust him. He’d charged to her rescue three times now. First at the police station when the media mobbed her, then again at the press conference when the reporters had overwhelmed her and most of all, last night.
He’d risked his life to confront a potentially deadly intruder in her house, for goodness’ sake. Jerks didn’t do heroic stuff like that just to get in some girl’s pants.
She punched her pillow, but it was hopelessly bunched and hot beneath her cheek. It figured. The first time she was truly attracted to a man in recent memory, he refused to lay a hand on her, let alone kiss her. After James had beat her up, she’d found herself craving someone to touch her gently. Respectfully. Okay, maybe not so respectfully, but definitely intimately.
At least Gabe didn’t think she was a complete troll. Memory of his entirely obvious physical reaction to her last night under his cotton pajama bottoms made her smile in momentary triumph. Temptation to go to him, to cajole and tease him until he couldn’t resist her washed over her.
She really shouldn’t. It would create a horrible scandal if she dated her dead father’s mortal enemy. Not to mention all the divorcées of Vengeance that Gabe had spurned over the years would be out for her blood if she landed him.
But darned if he wasn’t everything she’d ever dreamed of in a man. Truth be told, she’d spent most of her teen years, and an embarrassing portion of the years to follow, idly dreaming of him. He’d figured prominently in most of her first sexual fantasies. She’d literally dreamed about him more times than she could count. Hot, explicit dreams where he did all the naughty, forbidden things to her that nice girls weren’t supposed to think about or even know about.
She had no doubt he
Her hand around his waist moved up his chest and curled around his neck, her fingers playing seductively in the short hairs at the back of his neck.
“Gabe. Look at me.”
He stared down at her in distress. He wanted to make love to her right now just about worse than he wanted to breathe.
“I’m not scared of you.”
Was she inviting him to... Oh, holy God. No way. He was not going to fall on her like some sex-starved beast. Like James Ward.
“Yeah, well,” he retorted gruffly, “I’m scared of me.” He squirmed out from under her and surged to his feet. He turned his back fast to hide his arousal from her. No matter what she said, he wasn’t going to chance scaring her off men for good.
Arms snaked around his waist from behind, and her delicious chest pressed against his back. He could all but feel the firm globes cupped in his hands. Swelling sweetly into his mouth. He groaned aloud. “I’m trying to be a gentleman, here, dammit. You’re not helping, Willa.”
“Kiss me, Gabe.”
He bolted forward, tearing out of her grasp. “No!” No way was he taking any chances with her. She was still too fragile, too afraid for that. She needed time to recover. To learn to trust men again.
Willa was quiet behind him. Too quiet. Cautiously, he looked over his shoulder at her. And swore. Tears were sliding down her cheeks silently as she stared down at her toes. She looked like a little kid who’d just had her puppy stolen.
He swore aloud as he turned and swept her into his arms. “It’s not you, baby. I swear. Believe me, you’re just about the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. But it’s too soon.”
She made an impatient sound and shock exploded across his brain. It wasn’t too soon for her? Then that must mean...damn... was it too soon for him?
Chapter 7
W illa tossed and turned in her bed, so frustrated she could scream. No matter what she’d tried last night, Gabe Dawson flatly refused to kiss her. He kept spouting some drivel about her needing time to learn to trust men again.
Frankly, she expected she would never trust most men. But she did trust him. He’d charged to her rescue three times now. First at the police station when the media mobbed her, then again at the press conference when the reporters had overwhelmed her and most of all, last night.
He’d risked his life to confront a potentially deadly intruder in her house, for goodness’ sake. Jerks didn’t do heroic stuff like that just to get in some girl’s pants.
She punched her pillow, but it was hopelessly bunched and hot beneath her cheek. It figured. The first time she was truly attracted to a man in recent memory, he refused to lay a hand on her, let alone kiss her. After James had beat her up, she’d found herself craving someone to touch her gently. Respectfully. Okay, maybe not so respectfully, but definitely intimately.
At least Gabe didn’t think she was a complete troll. Memory of his entirely obvious physical reaction to her last night under his cotton pajama bottoms made her smile in momentary triumph. Temptation to go to him, to cajole and tease him until he couldn’t resist her washed over her.
She really shouldn’t. It would create a horrible scandal if she dated her dead father’s mortal enemy. Not to mention all the divorcées of Vengeance that Gabe had spurned over the years would be out for her blood if she landed him.
But darned if he wasn’t everything she’d ever dreamed of in a man. Truth be told, she’d spent most of her teen years, and an embarrassing portion of the years to follow, idly dreaming of him. He’d figured prominently in most of her first sexual fantasies. She’d literally dreamed about him more times than she could count. Hot, explicit dreams where he did all the naughty, forbidden things to her that nice girls weren’t supposed to think about or even know about.
She had no doubt he
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