Safe from Harm (Protect & Serve #2)(7)
“No,” she sniffed. “Not now.”
In spite of her declaration, the tears continued to slip to her cheeks as fast as she could swipe them away. Finally, with a sharp curse, she threw open her car door and strode around to open the door for Gabe.
“C’mon,” she murmured, trying to pull him to his feet. He mumbled something incoherent but managed to stand and wrap his arm around her shoulders. When they reached his front door, she asked, “Where are your keys?”
When he didn’t answer, she huffed and slipped her hand into his pocket, imagining the smart-ass remarks he’d be throwing at her at that moment had he been aware of what was going on. But then a throaty groan rumbled up from his chest and her eyes snapped up to his face and caught his grin.
Warmth flooded her cheeks as her fingers closed around his keys and she yanked them out. “Let’s just get you inside, shall we?”
It only took a moment to find his bedroom, but without the lights on, she stumbled and they fell in a tangle onto his bed, his arms going around her and pulling her into the curve of his body as he rolled onto his back, so that she was half on top of him.
Her breath caught on a gasp when she found herself peering down into his eyes, open now and studying her intently. “You’re crying,” he whispered.
She swallowed hard, damning the tenderness in his voice and how it flooded her with warmth. “I’m fine,” she insisted. But when his hand came up to gently caress her cheek and wipe away her tears, her shoulders shook on a sob, proving she was a liar.
Gabe’s arms came around her, pulling her closer. She buried her face in his chest and allowed the tears to come as he silently smoothed her hair. When her tears began to subside, she lifted her head from his chest to thank him, but as she peered down at him and her gaze locked with his, the words died on her tongue.
His hand slid into her hair and he slowly drew her in to press his lips firmly against hers. For a moment, she melted into his kiss, electrified by the intimate caress of his tongue as it teased her lips. Then with a jolt, she came to her senses and shoved against his chest, pushing him back enough to break the kiss. But his hand was still at the nape of her neck, and her lips hovered dangerously close to his. Even in his drunken state, the brief kiss had been warm and sensual, and awakened something in her she’d just as soon not recognize.
“Elle,” he whispered, his gaze searching hers. “Unless you want me to kiss you again, you should probably go.”
He was right. She should go. She should. Staying would be a very, very bad idea. They were both grief-stricken, vulnerable. Letting things go any further would be a colossal mistake. And Gabe was a ladies’ man. Always had been. God knows who would’ve ended up in his arms that night had she not shown up when she did. She was just a warm body when he needed someone to hold. That’s all this was. She meant nothing to him. She was just another conquest. And for all she knew, he wouldn’t even remember her having been there come morning.
“You’re drunk, Gabe,” she reminded him. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
His gaze was so intense, she had to suppress a shudder. “I know exactly what I’m doing,” he assured her, his voice going deeper. “Do you?”
Every logical thought told her to get up right now and go. But before she quite realized what she was doing, she leaned in, brushing her lips against his…
Chapter 2
One year later…
“You are an irredeemable jackass!”
Gabe grinned and crossed his arms over his chest as he regarded the deputy prosecutor who was glaring at him with such fury, any other man might’ve withered under her irate gaze. But not him. Hell no. Because Elle McCoy was vibrant and fiery even when he wasn’t on her shit list—but when she was pissed at him? Well, then she was just goddamned adorable. And he couldn’t help acting like a frigging ten-year-old, goading her just to see those almond-shaped emerald eyes of hers flash.
“Irredeemable?” Gabe taunted, giving her the dimpled smile he knew had a way of vanishing the panties of every woman he’d ever wanted—except her. “Don’t you mean irresistible?”
Elle’s eyes narrowed at him, her glare growing more furious, if that was even possible. She snatched up the yellow legal pad from the table and shoved it into her sleek leather briefcase. “No, Dawson, I don’t,” she hissed in that slightly husky voice that made the criminals she prosecuted know she meant business. “You’re damned lucky I was able to convict this asshole without his cousin’s testimony.”
Gabe’s swagger faltered ever so slightly. Elle was convinced he’d hooked up with the girlfriend of a key witness on the case she’d been working her ass off on. He hadn’t known the woman’s connection to the case when she’d offered him a ride home from Mulaney’s one night. But she sure as hell had known who he was. And even though nothing had happened between them, she’d lied to her boyfriend, telling him all about a one-night stand with the deputy investigating his family for the murder of a damned good cop—and Gabe’s best friend.
Billy Monroe had gone apeshit—big shocker there. And when he’d finished threatening to relieve Gabe of his manhood and force him to ingest it in spite of Gabe’s attempt to explain that nothing had happened, that he’d only gotten a ride home from Chelsea, Billy had clammed up, refusing to cooperate and offer any testimony on his waste-of-space cousin.