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I don’t want to notice how good he looks. Most of my conscious mind doesn’t care. This might not be a full-on emergency but it’s urgent. I can’t pay attention to the perfect, crisp white of his shirt and how he’s obviously dressed to go out. I can’t pay attention to the brilliant, changeable green ofhis eyes, one moment light, one moment dark. I can’t payanyattention to the lean, muscled height of him or the way his heat seems to fill the hallway.
So I don’t. I stay focused on the task at hand.
My hands don’t shake while I lock the door. I’m proud of that. Less proud of how much I want to throw myself into his arms.
Down the stairs. Out to the street, where a dark SUV idles. Gabriel opens the door, helps me inside, and closes it behind me.
Then we’re pulling away, out into the night.
There’s nothing to do but wait.
Nothing to do but breathe in the clean, new scent of his car and the warm, masculine scent of his skin.
I lean forward to put the Brentwood address into the console GPS.
Our hands brush together.
It’s nothing. The backs of his knuckles against the backs of mine. It’s absolutely nothing, except the ache in my heart expands like a cake rising in the oven. Except the way my throat closes up like we meant something.
“Excuse me.” Gabriel’s tone is reserved. Collected. It’s not charming, exactly. I feel like we’re a million miles apart.
“That’s okay.” I punch in the address, memories ringing in my ears.I have no further use for you.Every time I think about that night, another awful thing that Gabriel said resurfaces. It’s the most painful irony that Idoneed him. I needed him tonight.
And if my heart is to be believed, I need him every night. Not to help me rescue Lydia. Just to be with me. I want him on a level beyond guilt and debt and revenge. I want him because nothing else feels as good as being in his arms.
Gabriel waits until I’ve settled back in my seat to reach for the console again. He twists one of the knobs, which turns up the heat.
“Are you cold?”
He glances at me, and in that fraction of a second I see something unguarded in his eyes. Regret, I think. But it’s gone before I can be sure. “No, but you are.”
“I’m okay.”
“You’re shivering.”
I hadn’t noticed my teeth knocking together, or my hands shaking on my purse. Gabriel did. A tighter grip should take care of that.
“I’m just scared for Lydia.” Although now that he’s adjusted the temperature, warm air caresses my face. My hands. “The heat does feel good, though. And I bet—” Another wave of fear makes goose bumps prickle despite the warmth. “I bet Lydia will appreciate it.”
“You said she was hurt?” He soundssocalm. Almost detached. I couldn’t be less detached if I tried.
“I honestly don’t know. She swore she was fine, but her voice was shaking. It sounded like she was going to cry. I didn’t press her for details. I just wanted to get to her.”
“When did she call?”
“Right before I called you.”
My body braces for a cutting comment.I told you it wasn’t real, Elise. Were you that desperate to see me again?
The words never come. Gabriel flicks his eyes to the center console. “She’s been waiting about half an hour. We can make it there in forty minutes.”
He accelerates. His SUV is so new and luxurious that I hardly feel the bumps in the road. If I’d stayed to work for my father, I’d have a car like this. I’d have acar.I wouldn’t be making the best of bad options at one in the morning.
This doesn’t seem so bad,a voice points out.
Of course it doesn’t. Gabriel’s the most attractive person I’ve ever seen. The most gorgeous man. I know we were enemies.We’restillenemies. We’re people who use each other. That doesn’t make him less hot or less talented with his hands.
Those hands are steady on the wheel. Gabriel doesn’t seem nervous at all. His eyes stay firmly on the road, and his body is relaxed. He checks his mirrors. Follows the instructions on the GPS.
