Rock Hard (Rock Kiss #2)(61)

His breath, however, turned uneven as the seconds passed. Charlotte thought about stopping but couldn’t find any reason to do so. He smelled so good, tasted so good, his warmth surrounding her and making her feel safe and soft inside. As if her blood was molten honey.

Gabriel moved his head, fitting their lips together more firmly. Charlotte moved with him, her hand sliding from his cheek to the side of his neck. The tendons flexed under her touch, the thickness of his neck making her want to kiss every warm inch. Nipples so tight they almost hurt, she went to press up to him, rub herself against the heated strength of his body in an effort to ease the ache.

And the fear, it licked at her.

Breaking the kiss on a choking wave of frustration before the panic attack could hit, she went down flat on her feet.

Gabriel, his lips wet and his pupils dilated, said, “I like the way you make me feel better.”

The cold metal hand around her chest stopped squeezing. Because Gabriel seemed not to mind that he had to go slow. If he wasn’t giving up, she definitely wouldn’t.




IT TOOK THEM THREE hours to get the work completed. Gabriel received a call partway through that led to a short, clipped conversation, but when she asked if everything was all right, he’d said, “Nothing to worry about.”

From the tension in his jaw and shoulders, she knew that wasn’t true. She intended to bring it up again when they left the office, but he was back in a good mood, so she let it slide. Still, part of her continued to worry at the question, especially given the number of calls he’d received recently from an older-sounding man with a smoker’s voice. Those calls inevitably left him with shadows in his eyes.

“Gabriel?” she said as they drove out of the garage.

“Hmm?” A deep smile. “Mission Bay for a late lunch?”

Utterly undone by that smile and uncertain about their fledgling relationship, she just nodded.

Driving to the bustling group of restaurants and cafés by the sea, the water glittering under the sun and kayakers out in force in their colored craft, they decided to eat at a great Mexican café Charlotte had discovered with Molly.

Gabriel ordered what Charlotte recommended, smiling inwardly every time she touched the bracelet. She didn’t seem to realize how she was petting it, and he wasn’t going to point it out when her delight gave him such pleasure.

He’d been dreaming of putting that bracelet on her wrist since the day he’d bought it. She’d been so adorably bad-tempered that day, pointing him in the direction of any piece of jewelry she thought would satisfy him. But he’d been determined—and at that time, he hadn’t realized the depth of the scars she bore, had expected to be able to give her the bracelet in the next few weeks.

Going slow didn’t come naturally to him, but Charlotte was worth it. And that kiss. Fuck. He could’ve stood there forever, letting her taste him with a soft, sexy hunger that had enslaved him. He’d never been a man who enjoyed giving anyone control, but he could definitely get on board with allowing Ms. Baird to have her way with him.

“You have any plans for the rest of the afternoon?” he asked after lunch, the two of them walking back to the car along the pathway that edged the beach, sand gritty under their shoes.

“I was going to finish reading a novel,” she said. “My boss makes me work so late that I haven’t had time.”

“Cute.” He tapped her butt, caught the tug of her lips. “Bring the book, read it at my place. You can sit in the sun on the balcony.” He liked having her to himself, where he could coax her into kisses and other delicious, naughty acts. A kiss today, nakedness tomorrow—Gabriel liked to think positive and plan ahead.

But she shook her head, her teeth sinking into her lower lip. “Do you want to come to my place instead?”

If she hadn’t told him what she had this morning, he might not have understood the depth of both her courage and the trust she was offering him. “Yeah,” he said, his chest aching with the force of his emotions.

Smile tremulous, beautiful, she said, “Do you like period dramas?”

He groaned. “Yes, of course. I love them.”

She laughed at his obvious lie, and it was sunshine falling like rain over him. “I’m joking. I think they’re replaying the South Africa-Wales game later today. We could watch that.”

“Sounds good.”





24


CHARLIE-MOUSE VS T-REX: ROUND 7489





CHARLOTTE’S HEART WAS IN her throat by the time Gabriel parked his SUV in the garage she didn’t really use except for storing a few things. Getting out the instant they were inside, she pressed the remote to lower the garage door, then led the way to the door into the house. This would be the first time since the attack that she’d had anyone but Molly in the house for an extended period. Even when she’d had the plumber come in last year, she’d asked her best friend to hang out at her place.

Her fingers shook on the keys, the metal jangling.

Squeezing her hip, Gabriel said, “Want me to say something dirty and inappropriate to get your mind off it?”

A giggle escaped her. “Hush.” But his teasing did help, and she got the key in.

Gabriel hung back while she put in her alarm code, and she fell a little bit deeper for him that he’d done that, that he’d thought about what it meant to her. “Come in,” she said and, kicking off her shoes, led him to the living room. Only then did she realize a logistical problem. “My sofa is too small.” It’d make it impossible for him to sprawl with his legs up.