Up by Five (12 page)

Gabby was carrying an armful of beer bottles to the kitchen when Conner stopped her. “Let me look at your finger.”

She rolled her eyes. “My finger is fine.”

“Let me look, G.”

She had been around enough stubborn men in her life to know that it was sometimes easier—and took less time—to give in, than to stand and argue about not giving in. Besides, the idea of Conner wanting to be sure she was okay made her feel kind of tingly.

Which was probably a very good reason to
not
let him look at it. Still, she found herself setting the bottles down and holding her finger out to him.

He unwrapped the bandage and studied the cut and her first aid. Which was, of course, perfect.

“You satisfied?” she asked, taking her finger back before she asked him to kiss it better.

“Pretty good” was all he’d give her. But he studied her face. “You don’t like people fussing over you? Why is that?”

She tucked her cut finger into her front pocket. “I don’t need it.”

“Everyone needs it sometimes.”

“So you don’t like living with a girl. Why is that?” she asked him.

He grinned at her turning the tables, but answered, “Lots of reasons.”

“Such as?”

“You want a list?”

“Yes. And a chance to prove to you that some of it may not be that bad.”

He chuckled. “Fifteen years with five women, Gabby. I know what I’m talking about.”

She moved in a little closer. “Yeah, but
I’m
not your sister.”

He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’ve noticed.”

She grinned at that. “Let’s see what you’ve got. What’s the first thing you don’t like?”

“The drama. Everything is always ten times better or worse than it
really
is.”

She thought about that. He had a point. But not all women were like that. In fact, she knew that his sisters played it up sometimes just so he’d be able to do that you-exasperate-me-but-I-like-taking-care-of-you thing.

“So, let’s pretend you had some excitement at work. You got shot at, you saved some guy’s life and you’re tired and sore and hungry. You walk in here and I’m all ‘Oh my God, Conner! I’m so glad you’re okay! Here, sit down. Here’s some lasagna. And wow, you were so brave. I was so worried. I was pacing around here for hours’. Then I throw my arms around your neck and hug you tight and say, ‘Can I give you a massage? Or rub your feet? Or here, lay with your head in my lap and we can watch whatever you want on TV…’ That’s not so bad, is it?”

He was nodding. “No. That’s not so bad.”

“Okay, what else?”

“Getting your feelings hurt easily.”

“All right. So, I’m at work and someone says I look fat in my pants. I’m totally beside myself. I mean, okay, I’ve skipped a week or so on the treadmill, but come on. I can’t be
fat
. So I go into the bedroom and I put on a tight pair of jeans and I come out and ask you to look at my ass. You do, being the good friend you are, and you assure me I look okay. But then I need to be
sure
, so I go in and put a skimpy dress on. And this one shows a ton of cleavage and leg. I twirl around and ask you to check me out. Which you do, because you’re a great guy. But I’m still not sure. I put on my short-shorts and a tank top. Then I have to try on my bikini, to be
sure
. And through the whole thing, you are so sweet and reassuring, and in the end I feel better about myself and you’ve saved the day.”

“Uh-huh. Okay, you might have something there.”

She grinned. “What else you got?”

“How about all the
stuff?
”

“The stuff? Like the stuff all over the bathroom counter that’s taking up all the space?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, let’s see. You don’t mind when I lean in close when we’re in the kitchen.” She stepped close and leaned in to demonstrate. She felt Conner’s breath against her neck and goose bumps danced down her arm. He breathed in deeply. “Or when I pass you in the hallway, and you get that little waft of my body spray?” She moved back and looked up at him. “That’s okay, isn’t it?”

He swallowed “Yeah, that’s okay.”

“And that’s from that purple bottle.”

“Well, there’re tubes and jars and stuff.”

“Yes. One is face moisturizer. It’s what makes my skin soft and smooth. Like if you put your hand like this…” she lifted his hand to her cheek, “…you feel how nice that moisturizer is.”

He drug his thumb across her cheekbone. “That is nice.”

She slid his hand down her arm. “And the bottle of body lotion makes this skin soft and smell good. Nice, right?”

His fingers wrapped around her wrist and he lifted her arm, his eyes on hers. He took another deep breath. “Delicious.”

She had to swallow hard now. “And there’re the razor blades in the shower. But those make this…” she turned and propped her foot up on the table and ran her hand down her leg, “…soft and smooth too.”

Conner moved in close, his chest against her upper back, and reached to touch the same leg with his hand. His palm ran up and down the length of her leg and Gabby blew out a slow, quiet breath.

“You’ve got a great point,” he said.

He was so close that it felt like his deep voice rumbled through her whole body.

Gabby set her foot on the floor and turned to face him, absorbing the heat of his big body. “Maybe all the girl stuff isn’t so bad.”

“I’ll admit I never looked at it all like that before,” he said. “And then, of course, there’s your dip.”

She laughed. “You can be impressed by food too?”

“Absolutely.”

“It’s a bunch of premade stuff mixed together.”

He nodded. “You owe me a can of chili.”

“I’ll make a note of it.” She grinned. “Good to know that I can get you to do anything if I mix stuff up in a Crock-Pot.”

“What kinds of things do you want to get me to do?” Conner asked moving in closer.

A dozen delicious fantasies danced through her mind. She moved in closer too. “My brothers will rearrange my furniture and my uncles will do dishes for my dip.”

“Even though it’s just premade stuff mixed together?” he asked with a small smile.

“I’m the best bluffer in my family,” she said. “I’ve convinced them it’s the best stuff they’ve ever had.”

He paused, an eyebrow going up.

“What?” she finally asked.

“Just wondering what else you might fake with me.”

She wet her bottom lip and Conner’s eyes followed the motion with heat. She’d never fake an orgasm, anyway, but she was pretty sure that wasn’t going to even be an option with him.

“In poker and cooking I’ll keep you guessing,” she said. “I like everything else very real.”

He ran his thumb over her lips. “Damn right,” he muttered.

She held her breath, waiting for him to do…something. She could kiss him. He was right there, the desire in his eyes real. But he needed to make the move here.

For one thing, Conner didn’t do that with women. They made the moves, offered themselves up. But she’d warned him that sex with someone he actually knew and liked would be different. He needed to make this decision. He needed to realize what he was doing here and do it intentionally.

For another, she often made the first move. It might be nice for the guy to take that initial risk for her.

Not that it was a huge risk for Conner. He’d have to be an idiot to miss that she wanted him.

“So…” she finally said, “…probably bedtime.”

Damn, that was pretty obvious.
Chill, Gabby, let him do it.

Conner dropped his hand and stepped back. “Yeah, okay.”

Back. Not the direction she wanted him going. She took a deep breath. “The bed in the guest room is really comfortable.”

He swallowed. “I’m glad.”

“Have you ever slept in it?”

Let him do it! Do not throw yourself at him. Relax.

“Um, no.”

Is
your
bed comfortable? Do you want to try the guest room out? Or we could do it right here…

She gave him a smile that hopefully didn’t look as forced as it felt. “So…sleep well.”

“You too.”

He needs to make this move.

Or not.

She took another deep breath, then turned and headed for her bedroom.

He didn’t stop her and she hated that she was disappointed by that.

Conner was sure that he’d been attracted to interesting women in the past.

Sure of it.

He couldn’t think of one off the top of his head, but
surely
he’d been intrigued before.

Conner headed for his bathroom to get ready for bed. Alone. In spite of the fact that there was a gorgeous, intriguing woman just down the hall.

Who had cleaned up all the lace and silk in his bathroom.

He kicked the door shut and reached for his toothbrush. A flash of pink caught his eye and he turned to find a hot-pink thong still hanging from one of the hooks on the back of the door.

He stared at it, scrubbing his teeth.

He could see how she might have missed it. It was tiny.

He spit out the toothpaste and scrubbed again, harder.

Fine, she
was
scaring him. He wanted her. Despite everything. She was attracted to him, but she knew him and wouldn’t be swayed by his usual flirtations. He didn’t really know what to do with her.

But he still wanted to do…everything with her.

Dammit.

Women made the first move with him. He liked it that way. He didn’t like guessing. Gabby had seemed on the verge of grabbing him and kissing him. He’d been waiting for it. She’d even babbled about how comfortable the bed was in the guest room and asked if he’d ever slept in it.

Gabby was definitely the type to grab and kiss a guy she wanted.

But then she’d turned and walked away.

He should let it go. If she didn’t want to grab him, then…it was okay.

But dammit, it didn’t feel okay. Why hadn’t she grabbed him? She’d been affected by the sweet kiss in the bathroom. He’d made the first move there. It should be her turn. He should wait her out.

But it only took him three seconds to swear, pull the thong off the door and stomp out of his room.

He was going to regret it, no doubt, but he was never going to survive living with Gabby and knowing what she wore under her clothes and that she could play poker, change the oil in her car and apparently make the best taco dip in the history of the world.

Hell, he was already fascinated with the feel of her hair.

Already.

That was the word—the truth—that bugged him the most.

She’d been here twenty-fourish hours and he was
already
a goner.

He lifted his hand to knock on her door, but she swung it open at the same time.

He held the thong up. “I think I’d look better in the black.”

She grabbed it from him, seeming to smile in spite of herself. She pressed her lips together and shifted her weight to her other hip. “Okay, listen, I was thinking about you.”

“I sure as hell hope so,” he said sincerely, “because I can’t stop thinking about you.”

She studied his eyes and seemed to be pondering something. Finally, she took a deep breath. “Then there’s something I need to do.” She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing the entire length of her body against the entire length of his.

When her mouth met his, Conner actually felt his knees wobble.

That had absolutely never happened before.

Gabby cupped the back of his head with her hand and opened her mouth under his. He groaned and traced his tongue along her full bottom lip, the lip that had been taunting him. Then he stroked in deep, tasting her fully, absorbing her moan, and took the kiss from hot to nuclear.

They kissed like they were starving for one another for several long moments before she tore her mouth from his.

He stood, staring into her eyes, panting.

Slowly she shook her head. “This is a really bad idea.”

He felt his mouth drop open for a second. Then he shook
his
head. “
This
, Gabby girl, is the very definition of a good idea.”

She let her head fall back against the door and closed her eyes. “No, this is dangerous. Bad and dangerous.”

Not exactly adjectives he was used to attaching to sex.

Women. Everything with women was complicated.

“You kissed me, you know,” he felt compelled to point out. And he’d loved it.

She nodded, pulling her tiny little top down as far as it would go. Which wasn’t far. “Yeah. I had to know.”

“Know?”

“If it would be amazing.”

He sighed again and crossed his arms. “What’s the problem?”

If this had been any other woman, he might have chalked this up to teasing and foreplay, but this was Gabby. She was the most straightforward woman he’d ever met.

“You like me more now than you did yesterday.”

He waited for her to go on. She didn’t.

“How is me liking you
more
dangerous and bad?”

“It’s dangerous to like each other too much and have sex.”

He leaned in, bracing a hand on either side of the doorjamb. “I’m not scared of you, G.”

“You should be.”

He laughed lightly. “What are you in to, girl? I can keep up. Or happily die trying.”

There was a tiny twitch of a smile at the corner of her mouth. “It’s not that. I’m going to medical school.”

Yeah, she kept saying that.

He tipped his head, still grinning. “You afraid you won’t want it to end after the two months?”

“No,” she said firmly. “I’m going to be fine.”

Yeah, an inflated ego was
not
going to be a problem.

Conner sighed. “Then what?”

“
You
might not want it to end. And that’s not fair to you.”

That made him lean back and drop his hands. “What?”

“You don’t know how to have a real relationship with a woman you’re not related to. You’ve never had sex with a woman who was a friend first. But with me you’re going to get all of that if we do this. It’s not fair to get you invested in this if I’m going to end it in two months.”