Rock Hard (Rock Kiss #2)(36)

Charlotte’s breath just stuck in her chest. It was so unfair how he could look like raw male temptation while eating a goddamn pastry. Which she’d given him. So she was responsible for her own torture. But it was worth it to see the shadows fade from his expression, his shoulders no longer so tense.

“Why don’t you ask me?”

She felt her eyes widen. Had he realized she was imagining him naked in bed while she fed him pastries and licked up the crumbs from his chest? Good God. “What?” she managed to get out.

“Why I dated Tiffany in the first place.”

Air escaped her in a quiet rush. Making a face at him, she said, “I think the letter D had something to do with it.”

Throwing back his head, he laughed. “I like it when you let your snark out, Ms. Baird.” Still grinning, he said, “In point of fact, I wanted to buy a property she owned and dinner was the only time she’d talk to me about it.”

Charlotte’s mouth fell open. “Are you telling me the Bishop was forced into a date?” She humphed. “Right.”

“I needed to eat, so why not?” His eyes gleamed. “I now have the property and my business association with Ms. Summer is complete.”

“Not a T-Rex?” she said sweetly. “I see some very sharp teeth.”

His smile deepened until the stupid melting inside her started up all over again. “Never for you, Ms. Baird.” Walking back into the office and thankfully missing her blush, he said, “Let’s get this done so we can both have the night free at least.”




FIVE O’CLOCK AND THE deal was done. By six, Charlotte should’ve been at home. Instead, she found herself standing in front of Gabriel’s apartment door, not quite sure how she’d ended up there.

Tired but exhilarated at their success, she’d been putting on her coat when Gabriel had unexpectedly taken her up on her offer to teach him how to make a pasta sauce that would impress his girl. Since it would’ve been churlish and too revealing of her own feelings to refuse, especially after she’d already admitted her exciting plans for the night amounted to a DVD and possibly some further pastry experimentation, she’d stupidly said yes.

She didn’t even know why she’d made that offer in the first place. Maybe to beat it into her thick skull that he could never be hers. Gabriel accepting the offer? That she hadn’t predicted—and as a result, she now stood three feet from the door to his apartment, the two of them having stopped off at the grocery store to pick up ingredients.

Her pulse raced, cheeks burning as her abdomen clenched. This time it wasn’t for the reason that had given her such scandalous pleasure this morning. She wasn’t comfortable being alone with a man in his home—this was the first time she’d been in this situation since Richard. However, as Gabriel keyed them in using the touchpad on the side of the door, she remembered Molly’s words.

“Be happy.”

Taking a deep breath, she told herself to cross the threshold when he pushed the door open. Gabriel had never done anything to make her feel unsafe.

But Richard had been like that too. At the start.

Her heart slammed into her throat at the whispered reminder from the girl she’d once been, her skin going ice-cold, and her lungs struggling for air. She fought to calm herself using every technique she knew.

She failed.

Stumbling away from the door, blindingly aware of the watchful steel of Gabriel’s gaze, she fell back against the corridor wall. The words she wanted to speak wouldn’t come, her throat choked up with the ugly, metallic emotion that had once again turned her into a quivering coward.





15


T-REX SETS A TRAP FOR CHARLIE-MOUSE





WRENCHING HIS VIOLENTLY PROTECTIVE response under control because anger was the last thing Charlotte needed, Gabriel put the paper bag full of groceries on the floor and pulled the apartment door shut. The despair he glimpsed in the clear hazel of her eyes made him want to punch something; it took conscious effort of will to keep a handle on his temper.

It wasn’t directed at Charlotte but at the person who’d hurt her. If he ever got his hands on the piece of shit, whoever it was wouldn’t have any unbroken bones left in his body.

“Let me take you to dinner,” he said, wanting to walk over to her, haul her close, keep her safe. The idea of anyone putting a hand on her, a bruise… His hand fisted by his side. Exhaling quietly, he worked hard to keep his tone as gentle as he could make it. “You can teach me the recipe over a glass of wine.”

Eyes wet, Charlotte looked away, her shoulders slumping. He’d never seen her like this—shy or not, Charlotte had held her own against him since the day he’d forced a promotion on her. This was breaking her, he realized. And he was responsible for manipulating her into this situation, into this position.

Not only had he wanted her in his personal territory, he’d just wanted her with him. Earlier, her quiet, thoughtful care had wiped away the gut-churning anger that had gripped him after his discussion with his mother. His and Charlotte’s resulting conversation had made him remember that he wasn’t that lost, angry boy anymore but a man who had a beautiful, smart, deliciously sexy woman in his life. It had been selfish, but he’d wanted more of her warmth and sweetness around him.

Because of that, he’d caused her pain. Him. No one else. So he had to find a way to fix it. “Remember how I told you I have three brothers?” It had been during a late-night work session, after the two of them broke for coffee. “Sailor, Jake, and Danny.”