Safe from Harm (17 page)

She turned his face toward her. “You couldn't have known Derrick Monroe was going to barge into the diner and shoot Chris any more than you could've known Mark Monroe was going to take a shot at me.”

His eyes closed, effectively shuttering his gaze from her, but she could sense the turmoil inside him, the survivor guilt that plagued him. Mostly because she'd been feeling it, too.

“I was supposed to have Chris's back,” he said, his voice catching. “I should've been there.”

She touched his cheek, gently skimming along his chiseled jaw. “Look at me, Gabriel Dawson.”

He opened his eyes, his expression still guarded, angry—not with her, she could tell, but with himself.

“You can't protect everyone,” she reminded him. “You just
can't
. So you need to cut yourself some slack or it's going to eat you alive. Trust me. I know.”

“And what if I hadn't been able to protect
you
, Elle?” he asked softly. “What if another stupid coincidence had kept me from following you out to the courthouse steps that day?” He reached up, smoothing her hair away from her face, and grasped the nape of her neck, pulling her down so her forehead was pressed against his. “What if I'd lost you before I'd ever had the chance to hold you in my arms?”

God, he's breaking my heart.

She had to blink away tears when she pulled back to peer down at him. “But you didn't,” she assured him. “I'm here now, Gabe. And there's nowhere else I'd rather be.”

He kissed her then, the pressure of his lips so loving and tender, the tears she'd been holding back slipped to her cheeks. And she
knew
. Her heart was telling her everything she needed to know but that her brain wasn't ready to acknowledge. When the kiss drew to a close, she nestled against him, the sound of his heartbeat soothing in its steady rhythm as she drifted to sleep in his arms.

Elle stretched languidly as she awoke, feeling more well rested than she had in ages. A slow smile curved her lips as she remembered why.

Gabe.

God, what a night they'd had. Because…
Damn.

She had to admit, Gabe definitely had the skill to back his swagger—he was the most selfless lover she'd ever had. But it wasn't just the mind-blowing sexathon that had her grinning from ear to ear. She'd never felt so safe, so cared for as she had while lying in Gabe's arms, held tenderly against his heart.

Longing for those strong arms around her, she slipped from the bed and searched the ground for her clothes. Not immediately finding them
or
the T-shirt she'd worn to bed—which had been discarded at some point during the night when Gabe had awakened her for a kiss that had quickly and blissfully led to more—she opened his closet and grabbed a long-sleeved button-down. Luckily, he was tall enough that the shirt hit her midthigh.

She shrugged.
Good enough.
If she had her way, she wouldn't have it on long anyway.

But as she padded down the hallway, the house was so quiet, she began to wonder if he was even there. Then she caught the sound of soft music coming from the room he used as his office. She crept to the doorway and peered around the doorframe, her breath catching in her lungs when she saw him.

Gabe stood at his desk, holding a steaming cup of coffee, wearing only a low-slung pair of jeans and a fierce scowl. His bare chest moved in slow, even breaths, but Elle could tell from the way his jaw was clenched that he was furious.

“Band of Horses, if I'm not mistaken,” she said, referring to the band playing on the stereo.

His gaze snapped up to her face and the tension in his expression instantly eased. “Well, good morning,” he said, a smile breaking across his face as he reached out a hand, inviting her in. “Sleep well?”

She nodded as she came forward, taking his hand and letting him draw her into his embrace. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest, heaving a contented sigh. “How about you? How long have you been awake?”

He pressed a kiss to her hair. “Few hours.”

She pulled back and studied him for a long moment. “Gabe, it's only eight ten. What time did you get up?”

He shrugged. “About five. I wanted to do some more snooping on Monroe. He updates his blog every Saturday.”

Now it was her turn to frown. “So you've been reading his blog for over three hours on a Sunday morning?”

He took a sip of his coffee, then set the cup down on the desk so he could wrap his arms around her and draw her closer. “I do my best thinking early in the morning. Of course, that's not all I'm best at in the morning.”

She raised her brows, preferring his playful, dimpled smile far more than his pensive scowl. “That so?”

He demonstrated what he meant with a long, slow kiss that set her mind spinning, his lips alternately gentle and demanding. When the kiss ended, he took her hand in his and spun her in a quick dance step before drawing her close again, swaying slowly with her in time to the music.

“And you can dance, too,” she mused, grinning up at him.

“Took a class in college,” he admitted. “Thought it'd be a good skill to have, make me more of a Renaissance man.”

She pulled back with a skeptical look. “Renaissance man. Right… You sure it wasn't just a ploy to get laid?”

He laughed in a loud burst and pulled her closer. “I can't reveal
all
my secrets just yet. Man of mystery, remember? There's a lot you don't know about me, honey.”

She brushed a quick kiss against his lips. “So I'm learning. Guess I'll have to hang out with you more often to discover more of these startling revelations about the real Gabe Dawson.”

He brought their clasped hands in close, pressing them against his chest. “It could take a while. You might have to tough it out for a long time before you find out all my deepest darkest secrets.”

She drew him down for a brief kiss, then snuggled in close. “I think I'm up for that.”

As the next song started to play, Gabe began to hum softly, the sound vibrating in his chest where her head rested. Elle closed her eyes, letting the warmth of him envelop her. She didn't remember the last time she felt so
content.
Or loved. It was in his touch, in his smile, in the way he held her close.

As the song ended, Gabe drew back enough to look down into her eyes. Then he smoothed her curls, his gaze roaming as if memorizing every curve of her face. “How'd we get here, Elle?”

She frowned at him. “What do you mean?”

He tucked her back under his chin, holding her close. “I mean, up until a few weeks ago, you detested me. And now…”

She pushed back and turned her face up to his, wanting him to see the sincerity in her eyes when she said, “Gabe, I never detested you.” Her cheeks grew warm when she added, “In fact, I had a huge crush on you for years.”

“Nice try,” he chuckled. “But you've spent the last few years turning your nose up at me, rolling your eyes every time I tried to ask you out. Don't try to stroke my ego now.”

Unable to resist a little mischief, she slid her hand over the front of his jeans. “If memory serves, it's not your ego that responds best to my stroking.”

His breath hitched sharply and he grabbed her hand, bringing it up to his lips to kiss to her palm. “Minx,” he rasped, his desire impossible to mask. “You're changing the subject. Tell me about this crush you supposedly had. Because, I gotta say, sweet cheeks, you sure as hell could've fooled me.”

“Ask Aunt Charlotte,” she insisted. “She still teases me about it, so I'm sure she'd be
more
than happy to fill you in.”

“Give me the CliffsNotes version,” he pressed.

“Fine. If you must know, I fell for you the day you came to help me move in to Charlotte's,” she told him. “You were the most handsome boy I'd ever seen, the golden boy of Fairfield County—or so I was to discover.”

Gabe groaned. “God, I hated being called that.”

She leveled a gaze at him. “And yet you totally used that perception of you to your advantage. Don't even try to deny it.”

He gave her a wicked grin. “Hell, wouldn't you use it if you were an eighteen-year-old kid with a talent for getting his ass in trouble? Between my dad being sheriff and my brother Tom covering for me more times than I can count, I got away with more shit than any other stupid teenager should've. Somebody should've kicked my ass and taught me a lesson.”

Elle shook her head. “No one dared! You were smart, charming, handsome, awesome at everything you tried…”

He chuckled. “I notice you're talking in past tense.”

“Oh, trust me, I had it bad for you back then, Gabe Dawson. But you didn't even know I was alive.”

Gabe grunted. “Oh, I knew.”

He kissed the side of her neck, eliciting a little moan of need before she pushed him away. “But you ignored me!”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “Because you were too young for me. My dad and your aunt would've had a shit fit if I'd gone out with you,” he told her. “Especially after what you'd been through. Besides, I could tell you were the kind of girl who'd be able to see through all my bullshit. I was too much of an idiot to see that as a good thing. Now, back to this crush… When did it fade away?”

She stood on her toes to give a quick nip to his dimpled chin. “Who said it has?”

He looked down his nose at her, still skeptical. “Since you came back to town, you've acted like you wanted nothing more than to nut-punch me every time we were in the same room together.”

She shrugged. “Defense mechanism.”

His brows lifted slightly at this. “Come again?”

“Love to,” she quipped. When he chuckled, she gave him a saucy wink and draped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to receive her kiss.

“I think you're avoiding the question,” he murmured against the corner of her mouth before drawing away.

She sighed a little sadly. “You broke my heart when we were teenagers, Gabe.”

“But I had no idea,” he reminded her. “You can't convict me for crimes I didn't know I was committing.”

“I know, I know,” she acknowledged. “I can't explain to you the mysteries of the heart of a teenage girl.”

He groaned. “I wish someone had back then. God knows I didn't have a fucking clue. But that was
then
.”

“The thing is,” she said, searching for the words to adequately explain why she'd resisted him for so long, “I'd heard the stories and rumors from while I was away at college and law school, witnessed firsthand the way women were constantly throwing themselves at you when I returned.”

“I'll admit I went a little off the rails when Audrey broke things off,” he murmured. “But it wasn't nearly as bad as what I'm sure everyone was saying.”

“I know that now,” she told him, “but at that point, it's what I was hearing over and over. And I didn't want my heart to get broken again. So I kept you at a distance, constantly telling myself you were a womanizer, a player. I wasn't about to fall into bed with you only to be discarded like yesterday's trash.”

He winced at her harsh perception of him. “So what changed?” he asked. “You weren't taken in by any of my come-ons, that's for damned sure.”

“You let me see the real you,” she explained, smoothing a hand lightly over his chest. “And
I
let me see the real you. That day at the courthouse…I realized I'd not given you a fair chance. Then what you told me during the argument we had after you kissed me… Well, I realize now I never should've judged you by what others said.”

“And now?” he prompted, his gaze so tender and hopeful Elle's chest went tight. “You sorry you gave me a chance to prove everyone wrong?”

She took his face in her hands. “Not for a second.”

He suddenly lifted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist and peppering her lips and cheeks and chin with kisses.

“What are you doing?” she laughed as he carried her from the room.

“Well, I figure I'd better make sure you don't have reason to regret giving me a second chance.” He paused, pressing her back against the wall as his hands slid under the hem of the shirt she wore. “And seeing you wearing my shirt has been driving me crazy since you walked into my office.”

She leaned her head back against the wall when his lips sought the hollow of her throat. “Gabe, I think you need to take me back to bed,” she said, her voice breathless. “Right. Now.”

* * *

Gabe felt Elle's arms go around his waist and the warmth against his back where she pressed her cheek for a moment before releasing him. “How was your shower?” he asked, turning around to pull her close, disappointed to see her dressed in clothes from the day before. He hadn't been exaggerating about seeing her in his shirt. It'd been sexy as hell.

“Lonely,” she said with a melodramatic sigh.

He chuckled. “Yeah, well, last time we tried to take a shower together we got a little carried away.”

She pressed a kiss to the dimple in his chin then nipped it with her teeth, and his dick jumped to attention, forcing him to shift a little with a groan. “God, woman, you're gonna be the death of me.”

“I don't know that I'll ever get enough of you,” she admitted.

Gabe ran his hands through her silky curls, loving the way they slid through his fingers. “That's what I like to hear,” he assured her. “'Cause I'm damned sure I'll never get enough of
you
, Elle McCoy.”

She glanced at his laptop, then back at him, giving him a questioning look. “Seems like I'm not the only thing you can't get enough of. It's Sunday, Gabe. Give the investigation a rest. You'll make yourself crazy.”

He closed the laptop and lifted his hands. “There ya go. Done for the day.” But the moment he said it, he knew he'd be back at it later that day. He had to find something, anything, that would implicate Monroe. He wasn't going to be able to rest easy until that son of a bitch was behind bars.

She lifted a brow. “Uh-huh.”

“I'll prove it,” he replied. She studied him for a moment, those incredible eyes boring into him. “Let's run by your place and get you a change of clothes. Then what comes next is up to you. You call the shots today. Whatever you want to do, I'm yours.”

His heart hitched at his words, wondering if she had any idea just how true a statement that was. The way her lips curled into a smile and her gaze softened, he thought maybe she did.

Then her eyes went wide on a gasp. “Oh crap! What time is it?”

He checked his watch. “Going on noon. Why?”

“Teddy's birthday party,” she said.

“Teddy?”

“Teddy Andrews,” she prompted. Then added, “Chris and Jessica's son. The party starts at two o'clock. I promised Jessica I'd be there.”

Gabe shrugged. “Let me grab a shirt and shoes and we'll head out.”

“I'm so sorry, Gabe,” she said. “I wish we could spend the day together.”

“Who says we can't?” he asked. “I don't have a gift for Teddy, though. Would a six-year-old be okay with cash?”

Her brows drew together and her head tilted a little to one side as she studied him. “You mean you want to go to the birthday party?”

“Wouldn't miss it,” he assured her. “Like I said, you're calling the shots. Besides, a visit to Jessica is long overdue. I helped out for a little while after Chris was killed, but she said it was too hard to have me around, so I hired a guy to do yard work and stuff for her instead. I haven't been back since.” A sudden thought occurring to him, he added, “You think she'll be okay with me showing up?”