Safe from Harm (Protect & Serve #2)(22)

“Oh, I know you’re no delicate flower,” he said, his voice going deeper, betraying the effect of her nearness and giving his words a weight he hadn’t intended.

Her cheeks went a little pink, but she didn’t back away. “We’re in this together, whether we like it or not. And I’m not going to be kept in the dark just because I’m not a cop.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he said, not bothering to suppress the grin tugging at his mouth. “You might like being in the dark with me, Elle.”

She blinked, her mouth opening and closing as if she wanted to say something more but was clearly speechless. Then she pressed her lips together and gave him a frustrated look. “You know what I meant, Gabe.”

At this, the little devil on his shoulder got the better of him, and he chuckled, letting his gaze drop down to those gorgeous lips. “Yeah, I know what you meant, Elle. Doesn’t change what I meant.”

When she didn’t immediately pull away at his advance, he took a chance and reached up, gently taking hold of her chin and guiding her lips down to his. But before he could make contact, she suddenly broke away from his tender grasp and straightened, staring down at him with a look of confusion and panic in her eyes.

Okay, well, that wasn’t exactly the reaction he’d been hoping for…

“I have to go,” she breathed. But she didn’t take a single step. “I really… I should go.”

He met her gaze, waiting, wondering at her next move. “You sure?”

She licked her lips, looking as if she was truly torn between going and staying. But then she lifted her chin, giving him that defiant look he’d grown so used to seeing from her. “Yes, I’m absolutely positive.”

Without another word, she turned on her heel and strode toward the door without so much as a glance over her shoulder.

But the little exchange was enough to offer Gabe the encouragement he needed. Maybe the brilliant, beautiful, iron-willed woman wasn’t quite as unaffected by him as she wanted him to believe.

*

“You okay?”

Elle waved away Tom’s concern as she strode down the hallway toward the exit. “Yep. Fine. Let’s go.”

It was all she could do not to demand that Tom get his ass moving. Did he seriously always have to walk so damned slowly? Of course, the rational side of her wondered why in the world she was practically sprinting down the hall. It wasn’t like Gabe was going to come running after her, pull her into his arms, and kiss her breathless.

She came to an abrupt halt as the image of such an encounter filled her head, sending a sudden spike of desire through her veins.

Dear God. I nearly kissed him. Again.

Or, more accurately, had almost allowed him to kiss her. What had she been thinking?

But as soon as the question crossed her mind, she knew the answer. She’d been thinking how much she longed to feel his lips on hers again, how much she longed to feel his strong arms around her, and wondering what the harm really could be in giving in.

The problem was, she knew all too well that one kiss wasn’t where it would end with Gabe Dawson. Not that she worried he would seduce her into doing anything she wasn’t willing to do. For all his womanizing, Gabe was always described as a gentleman. Heck, if he hadn’t been, he certainly wouldn’t have had all his ex-whatevers sending him gifts in the hospital. And he’d proven just how much of a gentleman he could be that night a year ago. He’d let her take the lead, only going as far as she was comfortable with. And when things had become truly hot and heavy and they were lying together on his bed, half-naked, he’d slowed it down, backing off.

Oh, no. It wasn’t Gabe she didn’t trust. Quite the contrary. She was the one she worried about. She wasn’t a one-night-stand kind of girl. And as nice as it might’ve been to give in to Gabe’s advances, she wasn’t going to fall into bed with him just to satisfy her curiosity.

“Hi again!”

Recognizing the chipper voice of the quirky doctor she’d met the day before, Elle spun around, ready to politely explain that as much as she’d like to chat, she really couldn’t stay, only to find the doctor offering Tom a friendly grin and enthusiastic wave. Tom looked like a trapped animal who would very happily gnaw off his own foot if it meant he could escape.

“Hi, Isa,” he muttered. Then he sent a pleading look Elle’s way. “This is Elle McCoy. She’s—”

Isabel flashed Elle her pixie grin. “Hi! How are you? How’s the head healing?”

“It’s doing okay,” Elle assured her. Then she frowned a little, looking back and forth between Tom and Isabel. “We were just here visiting Tom’s brother.”

“I thought that might be the case,” the doctor said, her grin not diminishing. “I was so surprised when I ran into Tom yesterday! I didn’t make the connection between him and my patient.”

Elle’s brows went up at this. “You knew Tom already?”

She nodded. “Oh yeah! We met ages ago. He’s my knight in shining armor.”

Elle blinked a couple of times in disbelief, then turned a questioning gaze on Tom. “Really? How so?”

“It’s not important,” Tom mumbled. “It was nothing.”

“Nothing?” Isabel said with a laugh. “Are you kidding? He doesn’t give himself enough credit. He saved my life.”