Safe from Harm (Protect & Serve #2)(54)

Her grin widened. “You should keep your eyes on the road.”

He laughed. “How did you know they weren’t?”

Her auburn lashes fluttered a little as she opened her eyes and rolled her head toward him. She was tired. He could relate. “I can feel you looking at me. I’ve always been able to feel you looking at me.”

He scoffed. “Right.”

“Believe it or not,” she said with a shrug, “but I’ve always known when you were near, when you were watching me.”

He sent a glance her way and tried not to sound skeptical when he said, “Prove it.”

“I can’t, not really,” she admitted. “Maybe it’s like when moms know something is up with their kids. Or when twins know when something’s going on with the other. I just know. Runs in the family, I guess. Charlotte has the same instinct. Half the time she shows up to come to my rescue, I haven’t called her. She just knows.”

“What are you saying?” he asked cautiously. “You have some kind of sixth sense? Are you going to tell me you see dead people next?”

She laughed sleepily. “No. Nothing like that. It’s not supernatural.” She yawned and when he glanced away from the road, her eyes were drooping as she murmured, “It’s love.”

Gabe’s chest constricted, squeezing the air out of him. But it wasn’t panic he felt. It was hope—hope he hadn’t been willing to indulge in until that moment. Was she saying she loved him? How was that even possible? Just a few weeks ago, she’d been calling him an irredeemable jackass.

But, more importantly, what the hell was he feeling? Did he love her? He knew he cared about her, had been infatuated with her since she was that gawky, wiry teenager she was so convinced was beneath his notice. But was it love?

Whoa. Slow your roll, dude.

It was a little early to be thinking that way. Right now, he needed to just focus on the moment and on keeping her safe. Then, maybe at some point, he could get a handle on what the hell he was feeling.

When he glanced her way again, she was fast asleep, her face slack in repose and unbelievably beautiful. He reached out and took her hand in his, bending over slightly to bring her hand to his mouth and press a tender kiss to her fingertips. She shifted a little at the pressure and twined her fingers with his.

God, he was in trouble…

When he pulled into his driveway a few minutes later, he almost hated to rouse her from her slumber. Odds were good she hadn’t slept a whole lot lately—well, judging by his sleep habits of late, anyway.

He came around and opened the door, unbuckling her seat belt and lifting her into his arms. She nuzzled close and mumbled something incoherent against his shirt, then lazily draped her arms around his neck.

“I gotcha,” he whispered, easily carrying her up the steps—not so easily maneuvering around until he could unlock the door.

How the hell did the guys manage this kind of thing in the movies, for shit’s sake?

The sound of the front door closing roused her enough that she lifted her head and glanced around, eyes still glassy with sleep. “Are we home?”

He hugged her a little tighter. “Yeah, honey. We’re home. I’m gonna get you to bed.”

She sighed, a sweet little sound of contentment that went straight to his dick. “Mmm. Like the sound of that.”

He chuckled but didn’t respond, knowing she probably didn’t even realize what she was mumbling. But when he gently placed her on the bed and pulled back to help remove her shoes, she was staring up at him with a hungry look in her eyes.

“You should get some sleep,” he told her, trying his damnedest to be a gentleman.

Elle glanced toward his bedside table at the clock there. “It’s still early.” She sat up and grasped the front of his shirt, yanking him toward her. “Besides, I need a shower before I get in your bed.”

He couldn’t help grinning. “That so? Need any help?”

She slowly got to her feet, her body sliding up his as she stood, her lips finding his in a slow, sultry kiss that left his pulse pounding. “Well, since you asked…”

He wasn’t entirely sure who undressed whom as they made their way to the bathroom, but by the time they were there, they were both naked. He started the water, then reached for Elle, capturing her mouth again. But the kiss was brief. As blissful as it was to lose himself in her kisses, he wanted to explore every inch of her peaches-and-cream skin. He stepped back, starting with her fingertips, pressing a kiss to the pad of each one, then her palm, the inside of her wrist.

She gasped a little and shivered when he found her pulse point with his tongue. “Oh God, Gabe,” she whispered. “That’s too delicious.”

He chuckled. “You’re telling me.”

But he continued his path, kissing his way up her arm to her shoulder, pausing for several moments, loving the way she moaned softly and clutched at him as he teased the sensitive skin there with his tongue and teeth.

“We should get in the shower,” she murmured halfheartedly as he kissed his way down to her breasts, her belly, her hips.

He didn’t respond. He was more interested in her response as he explored her thighs, the center of her, already slick and swollen with need. He spent a good deal of time there, bracing her hips as he suckled and lathed, not granting her any quarter until she cried out and her knees buckled. Then he kissed his way back up, turning her so he could press another line of kisses along the smooth skin of her back.