Dauntless (Sons of Templar MC #5)(102)
Gabriel’s gaze shot to me. “No, I’m not,” he argued. There was a pause. “What’s a Brody?”
That’s what did it. I burst out laughing. Real, bent-over, gut-wrenching, tear-bringing laughter. I finally got hold of myself, still too far gone to see the way he was looking at me. “A ‘Brony,’” I said between giggles, “is a full-grown man who derives pleasure from watching Rainbow Magic,” I explained. “Never in my life would I think a biker, a big bad Sons of Templar biker, would also be a Brony,” I teased.
Gwen entered the room before he could defend himself, her hair slightly mussed. “Thanks for watching Belle, Lucky,” she said. “Hey, babe, what’s up?” she asked me.
I grinned. “Well....”
Gabriel surged off the sofa, thrusting the sleeping kid into Gwen’s arms.
“We were just talking about how incredibly manly and strong I was and how Becky couldn’t control herself around me. I had to remind her that we were in the presence of a child, but that didn’t stop her.” He shrugged at Gwen. “What can I say, I’m irresistible.” He was at my side in a flash, his hand over my mine. “We’ve got to go now, bye.” He ushered me out the door before I could utter a word.
“How much do I have to pay you to keep that under your belt, Becky,” he murmured in my ear, yanking me to his side.
I grinned and glanced up at him. “About a million dollars. But I’ll take it in installments.”
“Let’s get my baby on the bike.”
“Or we could ride unicorns?” I teased.
“They’re f*ckin’ ponies,” he snapped, and I full-on laughed.
I didn’t think I’d ever be able to, but there was Gabriel, proving me wrong.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“She has been through hell. So believe me when I say, fear her when she looks into the fire and smiles.”
-E. Corona
“I don’t want to go to a party,” I whined, climbing off Gabriel’s bike.
He grinned and took off my helmet, then ran his fingers through my spiky hair. I closed my eyes. I was getting better at it, letting him touch me. Letting the warm feeling wash over me and not feel their hands disperse ice through my limbs. Since that night, three days before, when I’d fallen apart almost completely, it was like I could finally start putting myself together again. I didn’t miss the way Gabriel watched me, his eyes guarded and intense. I knew I scared him with the syringe. I’d terrified myself. I’d looked right into the hell I’d clawed my way out of and seriously considered going back there. But I hadn’t. And that was something pivotal.
I’d been getting better. I wasn’t ready for everything, but I was getting there. I freaking hoped so, because living with someone who looked like Gabriel, sleeping next to him and his abs, had me feeling all pent-up but unable to do anything about it.
Just another kind of hell.
He cupped my chin in his hands, bringing our foreheads together.
“A wise woman once said something about reality,” he murmured. “Something like, ‘Nothing at all to change reality. It often goes on whether you like it or not.’” He quoted me. To me.
I sucked in a breath. Not at his words—I barely noticed them—but the proximity of his mouth. It almost brushed against mine as he spoke, and it was like I was a stupid f*cking schoolgirl who had never been kissed. I wanted him, with a need that was physical. Yearned for him. At the same time, I wasn’t ready, wasn’t rid of that feeling of uncleanness.
He didn’t kiss me. I was equal parts relieved and disappointed.
He stepped back, twining my hands with his as he directed us towards the entrance.
I grinned at Rosie and Lucy, who strutted past us as if they were on a catwalk. They certainly looked the part. Rosie was going for grunge, wearing tight ripped jeans, a Grateful Dead tee, and boots she’d borrowed off me. The girl was a chameleon. Lucy stayed true to her Breakfast at Tiffany’s elegance in drainpipe tailored pants and a tight-fitting black top which slid off her shoulder.
“Um, I know you would have indulged in a few cocktails already, since you’re alcoholics, but the party’s that way,” I informed them, pointing in the opposite direction.
Rosie slowed. “Sorry, we got a better offer from somewhere where my brother won’t kill my game.” She winked at me, and then her eyes went to Gabriel and my intertwined hands. Her grin widened. “Have fun, lovebirds. Don’t do anything I’d do.” She blew us a kiss and Lucy did a finger wave before they left in the direction of Rosie’s convertible.
Gabriel squeezed my hand. “You sure you don’t want to go and troll the town with Trouble One and Trouble Two?” he teased.
I gazed up at him. At the eyes that had become darker and deeper since I’d met him. Since we’d bathed in each other’s darkness. “No. I don’t need to go looking for trouble when I’m staring right at it,” I whispered.
His eyes went deeper and he grinned. “Ditto,” he murmured.
As loath as I was to leave the moment—I wanted to live in it—something flickered in my mind. “Shoot,” I muttered, glancing over to where the girls had almost reached Rosie’s car. “Rosie has my lipstick. I’ve got to get it before they leave.” I tried to run in their direction but the grip on my hand tightened.