Chapter Nineteen
Gabriel
I woke at 5:47 AM.
Three minutes before my alarm, the way I always did. Years of surgical rotations and early morning rounds had trained my body to wake before dawn, regardless of how little sleep I’d gotten.
Except this morning was different.
This morning, there was a woman in my bed.
Cate.
She was curled on her side, facing away from me; the sheet tangled around her waist, her dark hair spread across my pillow. One arm was tucked under the pillow, the other resting on the mattress.
I didn’t move. Just watched her breathe.
In. Out. Slow and steady. She’d fallen asleep almost immediately after we’d talked, her body relaxing against mine, her breathing evening out within minutes. I’d stayed awake longer, my hand stroking her back, trying to process what had just happened.
What I’d just done.
I’d slept with my daughter’s nanny.
I’d crossed every professional boundary that existed.
I’d told her I was “all in” before we’d even had a first date.
And I didn’t regret a single second of it.
That should have terrified me.
The lack of regret. The certainty. The way my chest had tightened when she’d said “okay” in that small, breathless voice.
I’d spent years being careful. Controlled. Making decisions based on logic and reason, not emotion, and then Cate had walked into my life like a whirlwind with her rambling explanations and her anxiety and her terrible jokes, and every carefully constructed wall I’d built had started to crumble.
Last night, they collapsed entirely.
She shifted in her sleep, making a small sound, and the sheet slipped lower.
I could see the curve of her hip. The dip of her waist. The smooth expanse of her back, and my body responded immediately.
I was hard. Had been since I’d woken up and realized she was here, in my bed, naked and warm andmine. I knew I should get up. Take a cold shower. Go for a run. Do something to clear my head before Megan woke up, and we had to figure out how to navigate this new reality. But I didn’t move.
Couldn’t move.
Because Cate was here, and I wanted her again. Needed her again. The intensity of it should have alarmed me. This wasn’t like me. I didn’t lose control. I didn’t let desire override reason. Except with her, I did.
With her, I wanted to.
I shifted closer, my body curving around hers, and felt her warmth seep into me. She fit perfectly against me. Like she’d been made for this. For me.
My hand moved to her hip, fingers tracing the curve, and she made another small sound in her sleep.
Not quite awake. Not quite asleep.
I pressed closer, my erection against her ass, and heard her breath catch.
“Gabriel?” Her voice was rough with sleep, confused.
