Kiss of a Stranger (Lost Coast Harbor #1) (17 page)

Maddie peered closer, seeing the series of parallel lines, the last one broken in two.

“The lines symbolized bars, the last one represents my freedom. I thought it was pretty profound at the time. Now it seems stupid. There weren’t any bars in juvie. Those came later.”

The question was answered. They should go again, give him another chance at the shirt. Instead, he kept going. Gabe moved past the bands that circled his forearm, heading for the stylized heart on his bicep. “I got this two years after the first. A heart made of barbed wire. It was a reminder to keep my heart guarded, not let anyone too close. By then, I really wanted to go home, but I pretended I didn’t. Pretended I didn’t need my family.”

A soft finger traced the tattoo, drawing a heart on his arm. “Do you still keep your heart guarded?”

Gabe swallowed and moved on, pulling up his sleeve to reveal the compass on his shoulder. “And this is when I finally pulled my head out of my ass and realized how much I needed to go back. That my family is, and will always be, my true north.” He closed his eyes, fighting the tears that threatened. So many years to return to them. So many lost chances.

“If that’s true, why aren’t you with them now?”

“Revenge.” The word was automatic, spoken out of habit. “When I finally make it to Redding, I want to start over. I got my college degree in prison. I have more options than I ever did before, if I can convince the world I’m not a felon. I want to build a life, not just get by. Maybe I can even do some good in the world. Mateo’s up there, waiting for me.”

Wondering what the hell was taking his little brother so long, but Mateo wouldn’t push. He never pushed.

Maddie’s fingers touched the points of the compass. South, east, west, north. “Another chance is worth fighting for. We’ll get that proof for you. I promise.”

Gabe pulled her in, kissing her not because he wanted to, but because he
needed
to feel her lips. To have that connection with someone who believed in him. Who was willing to fight for him.

She withdrew and held up the deck of cards. Gabe had forgotten they were still playing.

By pure luck, he ended up with three aces in his hand. He dropped two of them in the reject pile and waited for her next question.

“Take off your shirt,” she told him.

Maddie had tried to resist. She only meant to ask questions as a way to discover just who this stranger was—and understand why he never really felt like a stranger.

But it was impossible. He leaned against her sofa, the outlines of his pecs and abs visible under the thin material of his t-shirt, and she kept flashing to how he looked draped in a towel, his perfectly chiseled chest on display. That memory had starred in too many of her thoughts, most of them while she lay in bed, too restless to sleep. And earlier, in the office, she barely had a chance to enjoy the view before his hands and lips and mouth distracted her.

Gabe grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it off.

Time hadn’t done justice to the memory. If anything, he was more cut than she remembered. Her mouth grew dry.

He smiled, enjoying her reaction. “This is my favorite game in the world.” He dealt another hand.

She didn’t win. Gabe slid his eyes up her body, considering every item of clothing. His gaze lingered on her top, and her hands moved toward the buttons, excitement building. God, all the man had to do was look at her with those hot, dark eyes and she grew wet.

“Did you love him?”

She blinked. “Who?” He couldn’t mean Declan. They’d dated twice.

“Charlie.”

“You’re wasting a question,” Maddie pointed out. “You asked me that in the office.”

Gabe shook his head. “I asked if he was good to you. That doesn’t mean you loved him. So did you?”

A laugh escaped. The question was ridiculous. Whatever she’d felt for her ex-husband, it had crumbled to dust the day the cops showed up at her front door with a warrant.

“I married him,” she said.

“That’s no answer.” Gabe’s eyes remained fixed on her, demanding the truth.

What was the truth? Of course she loved Charlie. He was her first boyfriend, her first everything. Back then, he’d made her laugh. He cared for her when her mom passed.

And he’d made sure there was more beer in the fridge than food, and never took her on dates after they married, and never told her she could have more than a dead-end minimum-wage job.

Of course, there was also the whole drug dealer thing. That was a pretty big strike against him.

But people loved the wrong person all the time. Just because Charlie was a selfish, criminal asshole didn’t mean she hadn’t loved him.

“I don’t remember.” It sounded so foolish. She should remember if she loved her husband. But it was so long ago now, and so tainted by years of suffering. She could no longer recall feeling any love for him. “I mean, I did love him. I know I did. But I don’t remember feeling any of it now, if that makes sense.”

Gabe shuffled the cards, even though it was her turn. “It’s strange how that works, isn’t it? Emotions we took for granted just vanish, and it’s like they were never there at all.”

She won the next two hands, and she made him remove his shoes and socks. He was down to just his jeans and whatever he wore underneath them, like he’d been the first time he lay on her sofa.

Her mouth was dry as she dealt the next hand. She was already picturing his fingers freeing the button on his jeans, then sliding the zipper past that insistent bulge.

Instead, Gabe won, and he was silent for a long time, debating what to ask. “Your top.” His voice was hoarse.

Heat rose in Maddie’s chest, but she felt no reluctance. Her fingers on the buttons were steady. She popped open the first one, and the fabric gapped, revealing just a hint of cleavage. Two more buttons, and the full swell of her breasts was visible.

Though he’d already seen this, his eyes were locked on her fingers, entranced, as one inch of skin after another was revealed.

At last, the top was unbuttoned. She pushed the silken fabric from her shoulders. It slid down her arms, landing in a puddle on the floor. She wore no bra underneath.

Maddie raised her eyes to his. He wasn’t just looking at her breasts. His gaze caressed every part that had been revealed.

He ran his eyes over her shoulders and upper arms, over her stomach. She felt like he was seeing her, not just her body.

His voice was little more than a rasp. “God, you have such pretty nipples.”

“Well, you have been away from women for a while.” She hated the words as soon as they left her mouth. She didn’t want to demean herself, to suggest he only wanted her because he’d been deprived so long. She knew it wasn’t true. He wasn’t looking at any half-dressed woman. He was looking at
her
, and she never wanted him to stop looking—and that terrified her.

“You were worth the wait.” He shuffled. “Once more.”

They both left their cards facedown for a second too long, knowing this hand would push them over a line they’d yet to cross.

Maddie had the makings of a flush. One more diamond, and she’d have it. She dropped the jack and kept the eight of spades.

Gabe won with a pair of threes.

He watched her from beneath hooded lids, letting the tension build. He wet his lips. “Where do you want me to kiss you?”

Her entire body lit up. There wasn’t a single part of her that wasn’t clamoring for his touch. “Everywhere.”

He chuckled. “I’ll get to that, trust me. But where do you want me to kiss you now?”

“My neck,” she whispered.

Gabe moved closer and dropped his lips to her collarbone, then slid them along the column of her neck, trailing hot kisses.

“And now?” His tongue darted out, licking the salt from her skin.

The part that had been cheated earlier, that only felt his lips and tongue through interfering fabric. “My nipples.”

His eyes grew darker. “Excellent choice.” He lifted her left breast, letting its small weight settle in his hand, and dropped his mouth, wrapping gentle lips around the tip. “You have the most perfect tits.” The words were crude. The attitude was reverent.

Her body felt boneless. Maddie fell backwards onto the couch, drawing Gabe with her. His mouth never left her nipple.

She arched her back in invitation, and he moved to the second breast. His gentle attention grew more demanding. He drew on the pink tip, then bit it until she gasped. Gabe returned to the left one, biting until it was the same dark rose as the other.

Her hips rose of their own volition, seeking his body.

“You will wait, Maddie, like I’ve been waiting for you. You feel how hard I am?” He ground against her. “I need you to want me as much as I want you. I need you to be desperate for my touch, no matter how long it takes.”

She opened her mouth to tell him she was already there, that all he had to do was slide his hand beneath her skirt to feel how wet she was, how ready, but his lips moved lower, across her stomach, and all she could do was whimper.

For the second time that day her tights came off. He ran his palms along her bare legs. His hands were callused, the rough touch making the delicate skin of her thighs come to life. The skirt was removed next.

She’d lied earlier. She hadn’t put underwear back on.

Gabe drew back to gaze at her naked body. It seemed to last hours, his eyes scanning her shoulders, her hips, her knees, everything, taking his time as if he wished to memorize her.

“Your turn.” Her hands went for his zipper.

Gabe pulled away, blocking access. “I said you needed to want me the way I want you. I don’t think you’re there yet.”

He kissed her then, hungry and demanding, and she gave the same back. She didn’t want him? She was desperate for his touch. For the last two weeks, the thought of his body moving in hers had kept her up at night—and now he wanted to make her wait even longer? That was unacceptable.

Maddie wrapped her arms around his back, fingernails digging into his skin as she dragged him to her, wanting to feel his skin pressed against hers. One hand moved to his ass, holding him in place while she undulated her hips into his.

She never took her lips from his, and her breathing grew ragged as their tongues entangled and their skin grew hot and sweaty. Maddie clawed at him, trying to pull him as close as she could, but nothing was close enough.

She drew back, needing to look him in the eye. His face was savage, and she knew she wore the same expression. “Now,” she insisted. “I want you inside me
now
.”

Gabe shot up, standing long enough to take off his jeans and retrieve a foil packet from his wallet. His cock was thick and gorgeous, and she began to sit up, wanting to kiss the glistening tip.

Instead, Gabe covered her with his body. His legs fell between hers, and she felt the coarse hair of his thighs against her smooth skin.

“Say it again,” he insisted.

“I want you. I want you inside me.”

His fingers slid between their bodies. He gave a sharp inhale when he found her dripping wet. “Again,” he ordered.

“I want you.” She was begging now. She couldn’t remember ever wanting anything more than she wanted to feel his cock fill her.

Gabe ripped the foil packet with his teeth and pulled back just enough to slide it on, and with a single movement he plunged deep inside her.

Maddie cried out as her body took him in, and she immediately began moving.

“Slow.” He placed one hand on her hipbone to hold her in place.

She protested, but there was no rushing him. Gabe slid out inch by excruciating inch, then returned at the same speed. His face was tense with concentration.

“I want to feel you,” he whispered. “I want to know how every inch of your pussy feels when it’s wrapped around me.”

Maddie moaned. He tortured her with another slow stroke, and then another. “Please,” she whispered. “Fuck me, Gabe.”

Her words stole whatever control he clung to. Gabe slammed into her, and she rose to meet his thrust.

“Again,” she said.

His hips picked up speed, his cock filling her over and over again. She shifted beneath him until his body hit her clit with every stroke. Her breath came faster, her fingers digging harder into his back as she moved closer to the edge. Their skin grew slippery, and the room filled with the scent of sex and sweat.

The pleasure built with every thrust, then all she knew was sensation. She came screaming. A few more strokes, and Gabe followed with a primal groan.

She returned to herself slowly. Gabe lay on top of her, still breathing heavily. She never wanted him to move.

The orgasm had shattered her, but she didn’t feel like she’d broken into pieces. She felt like she was finally put back together.

Chapter Eighteen

G
abe didn’t want to move, but at last he pulled away, sitting up and removing the condom. He smiled down at Maddie. Her eyes were heavy, her body languid, the very picture of post-coital bliss.

“That’s not how it was supposed to go,” she murmured.

“How was it supposed to go?” He caressed her leg, running a hand from her calf to her hip and back. Even now, he couldn’t stop touching her.

“When you said…I thought…”

She was having difficulty forming sentences. He couldn’t help feeling smug.

“It was supposed to be a hate fuck.” Though the words came out sleepily, her eyes widened a second after she spoke. She hadn’t meant to say that.

“A hate fuck?” Gabe repeated.

“I mean…” She stumbled over the words. “We argued whenever we met, but I was still turned on. Isn’t that what it’s called, when you don’t really like the person you’re fucking?”

The words punched into him. “You don’t like me.”

Maddie pushed herself upright. She looked thoroughly debauched. The afghan still rested on the back of the couch, and she used it to cover herself.

“No! That’s not what I’m saying. But before tonight, I didn’t know you at all. I thought it was just lust, and I was mad at you, so you know. Hate fuck.” To her credit, she seemed to understand how weak the words were.

Gabe yanked on his jeans. She kept talking while he looked for his shirt.