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“Anytime,” he said.Any and every time you want.
Gabe crossed to the island and grabbed the salad and plates. “The burgers should be ready out on the grill and everything else is already out there.”
“It smells amazing,” she said as they walked to the patio together.
Gabe set the salad down and went about plating the burgers and scooping heaps of mashed potatoes onto the plate. He looked down at the heaping plate then up at PJ’s tiny frame.
“Oh, you probably can’t eat all this, can you?” he asked and turned to scoop some of the potatoes back. He’d served her the kind of portion he might hand to Jack or Andrew for a first round.
PJ stabbed at his hand with a fork. “Back off my potatoes, mister,” she said and pulled the plate from his hands. “Mine,” she said, twisting to guard the food with her body as she eyed him suspiciously. Damn she was funny; he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Something to drink?” Gabe’s face heated. With her history of alcohol addiction, he shouldn’t offer her anything alcoholic, he thought quickly. Why hadn’t he considered that earlier?
He had no idea how his caretakers had stocked the fridge, and he hadn’t thought to ask for nonalcoholic drinks. “Water? Coke? Um––” He looked toward the small fridge in the outdoor kitchen, not sure what was there.
“Water’s great,” PJ said as she sat in one of the chairs. If she noticed his discomfort about what to offer her, she didn’t let it show.
Gabe grabbed two bottles of water and shut the fridge with his foot then retrieved his plate from next to the grill. A flick of a light switch with his elbow had flames dancing to life in the gas firepit as he lowered himself into the chair next to PJ’s.
PJ moaned when she took a bite of the bacon, blue cheese concoction he’d cooked up for them and Gabe felt his whole body still. If she didn’t knock off that adorable habit she had of moaning when something good crossed those lips, he wouldn't make it through the week without a lot of cold showers and hand lotion.
“It’s okay if you want to drink,” she said in between bites, and Gabe’s first thoughts jumped to whiskey.
Shots of whiskey might help him get through this alive and moderately sane without too many fantasies about other ways he could make her moan, or what she might sound like when he took her soft nipple into his mouth and made it peak under his tongue.
He shook his head instead, half in answer to her and half in an attempt to banish thoughts of PJ’s breasts from his mind. “I’m good with water. Burger okay?” he asked.
“More than okay. It’s amazing. Maybe that’s what you should do now. Become a chef. Or open a chain of restaurants. World-class restaurants with nothing but comfort food.”
Gabe laughed as PJ took another big bite and then followed that with a forkful of mashed potatoes.
And, another moan. Dear Lord, woman.Gabe wanted to lean across his chair and swallow those moans of hers in a kiss. But, that was the last thing she needed and he wouldn’t do that to her now. He’d be what she needed: a friend.
He shifted his plate in his lap. It wouldn’t look great for her to see exactly how much she affected him. She’d probably run and hide if she knew the kind of thoughts he had about her.
“No?” she asked, seemingly unaware of the effect she had on him. “Don’t like the restaurant idea?Hmmm.A cooking show! I bet all the housewives would watch you cook. You know, jeans and an apron? Nothing much else?” PJ said with a mischievous grin. “I bet if you demonstrated how to make a bowl of cereal with no shirt on it would be a hit.”
Gabe turned to look at her as she laughed next to him. Her whole face lit up when she laughed, and desire flew through him hard and fast and demanding.
To hell with it.
He leaned across the space between the two Adirondack chairs and swept her mouth with his, quickly. Just a taste. Just the taste he’d been dreaming about for years. He pulled back and looked into her stunned eyes.
Shit.
“I’m sorry,” he said, but didn’t move away as his eyes locked with hers. “I just wanted to see what that felt like. What you taste like.”
PJ’s eyes were big and round and Gabe cursed again in his head. He really shouldn’t have done that. This wasn’t what she needed right now. He knew that. Hell, he’d been telling himself that for days whenever he tried to curb his desire.
Then she leaned in, and one of her hands snaked behind his head and pulled him to her—back to her mouth—and he was lost.
Utterly lost in the feel of her lips as they connected with his, the feel of her tongue as it tangled with his own, the feel of her body when he slid his arms around her and pulled her closer to him.
Gabe allowed himself to get lost in her for just a moment, before pulling away and taking a breath.
“Shit,” he said, not meeting her eyes.
PJ was still and quiet next to him, and he could hear her trying to settle her breathing. It was likely as much of a challenge for her as it had been for him. That was one hell of a kiss.
