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This was a big mistake, Hope thought.
Huge. Enormous. Gigantic.
Gabe stood in his doorway, wearing nothing but a pair of low-slung jeans. His abs were rock-hard, his hair was tousled, and his eyes were more than a little apprehensive.
His gaze finally rose from the condoms she held to meet her gaze again. “What are you doing, Hope?”
Excellent question. What was she doing? She didn’t really know. All she knew was that she had given up tossing and turning in her empty bed, where she was only getting hotter and hornier, thinking about him and how their evening could have ended—but hadn’t.
She couldn’t get his last kiss out of her head. His words replayed over and over in her head. She hated that they’d left things unfinished, and more than a little acrimonious. She hated that she’d let him believe that their attraction was just some superficial physical need.
It was so much more than that. And before she could think otherwise, she’d come to stand here, condoms in hand, wanting to… What? Apologize? Jump him?
Yes, and yes.
But also, to take a chance. Part of her really wanted to believe him when he said that what was between them was more than an itch. And maybe that was why she was here.
Except now that she actually was and he was standing there watching her with guarded, wary eyes, the confidence she’d mustered in coming over slipped several notches.
“You know, on second thought…” Embarrassment heated her cheeks. “This is probably a mistake.”
But as she turned to leave, his hand wrapped around hers.
“No,” he said, his voice deep and rough. The sound sent a shiver up her spine. Not of fear, but lust.
He tugged her hand and she stumbled over the threshold and into his arms. “No mistake, Hope,” he murmured against her ear. His throaty growl and warm breath arrowed straight through her core, and the burning hot need she felt for him snaked through her entire being. No, there was no mistake here.
He kicked the door closed behind her. Then he pushed her up against it and kissed her. It wasn’t a rough kiss like it had been earlier that evening. This time, he moved his lips over hers slowly, purposefully. He was gentle, but just as thorough. His mouth moved seductively, drawing her under like he always did. Like only he could, and it was a drowning she welcomed. Grasping his shoulders, she clung to him and when he released her mouth, her body stayed against his, craving, needy.
She wanted him to take her here, up against the door, hard and fast. Right that second.
But Gabe held her steady, until her gaze lifted to his. When she saw his expression so intense and serious, she swallowed with difficulty.
“Hope,” he demanded, his voice hoarse, just above a whisper. “Tell me why you came here.”
In answer, she rubbed her hips over the hard length of him. Slowly. Once up, then back down. In response, he pulled away from her, just slightly.
“I need to hear you say it, Hope,” he said through gritted teeth. Barely restrained lust and tested patience burned behind his dilated, dark green irises.
With stunned awe, she realized he was asking for consent. He wasn’t assuming it, or counting on it, or even taking it. He wasaskingfor it. Even though she was shamelessly rubbing against him, he wasn’t taking her gestures as an open invitation. He wanted her to tell him outright what she wanted. And because there was no possible way that he could know the events of her past—that she was far too familiar with men who believed they could just take and not ask—a big piece of her heart melted for him.
Gabriel Walsh was a good man, and that was a gift she intended to cherish. For as long as she had him.
Cupping his jaw between her palms, she reverently kissed him. When she was done, she drew back no more than an inch and looked deeply into his darkened eyes. As clearly and deliberately as she could, she said, “I came here tonight because I want you, Gabe.” She leaned in for another kiss. “I need you.” Then, with one more kiss, this one not so soft, she added, “Take me to your bed, please.”
“So that I can scratch your itch, Hope?” He was laying it all on the table. She could see the vulnerability flickering in his eyes. Needing to soothe, she lifted a hand to his cheek, he immediately turned his face into her palm.
“No,” she whispered, before admitting honestly, “because I have a feeling one scratch from you would never be enough to make this ache go away.” She paused, locking her eyes with his. “I’m sorry about what I said, Gabe. This is all new, and fast, and scary. I want to do what’s right for you and Ruby. I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt either of you, but— but, I just really need you tonight. And probably a lot of nights after. So I’m here to figure it out. One step at a time.”
A tortured groan rumbled out of him as he bent to bury his head in the hollow of her neck, and then his hands were sliding up the backs of her thighs and under her butt, lifting her off her feet. Instinctively, she responded by wrapping her legs around his waist. When she was anchored, he walked them toward his bedroom, his lips never leaving hers.
His room was dark, only the glow from the moon and streetlights slanted through the blinds. When he released her and reached for his jeans, she slid off his body onto the mattress, enjoying her view of him pushing his jeans down his legs to reveal all of his magnificent body.
Between his jogging, the makeshift weight room set up in his apartment, and the way he fit into his clothes, all hard lines and firm contours, she knew he was fit. But she hadn’t expected this. His body was sheer perfection. His broad shoulders dominated the space, and his sculpted abs formed a sexy V that went southbound and made her lose the very last of her brain cells. Lower still, his massive erection jutted out, promising untold pleasure. She had never seen anything so powerful, and she licked her suddenly dry lips.
Gabe’s eyes followed the movement of her tongue. He looked a little wild and a whole lot tempting as he finished removing his clothing. Then he came over to her on the bed, his movements purposeful. When he leaned down to kiss her, she pressed her hand flat against his chest.
He immediately stilled above her. The only movement was his heart beating wildly under her palm. He watched her, waiting.
