~ SIXTEEN~

After brushing her teeth for the third time, Larissa checked herself in the mirror for the tenth time. She couldn’t wait to see Gabe again. As she made her way through her suite to her office, she laughed at herself. She couldn’t remember a time she cared so much about her appearance. She went into her office and opened the door that let out into the hall. Rather than focus on Gabe, she glanced up and down the hall. “Where’s Javier?”

“I sent him away,” Gabe said.

“You did?” She frowned. “Why?”

“You miss him?”

“A little. He’s interesting.”

“Interesting?”

“Very interesting. And very nice.”

He frowned. “Would you like me to have him come back?”

“If you wouldn’t mind.”

“And if I mind.”

“You’ll have to deal with it.”

“I guess I’ll come back after I’ve dealt with him.” He turned away as if to leave.

“Stop.” She grabbed his arm. “I would rather spend some time with you.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Why?”

“I would rather spend time with you than kill him.”

Larissa laughed. She couldn’t believe how strong her feelings were for Gabe. It just felt right. She’d sworn off the idea of ever being with a man. She wanted to be with him.

“What are you doing out here?” she asked.

“Just standing around.”

“You didn’t knock.”

“I thought about it.”

“Do you plan to stand out here all night?”

“Unless you’re leaving.”

“Why didn’t you let me know you were out here?”

“I don’t know. I guess I just needed some time to think.”

“What’s wrong, Gabe. You’ve saved me a few times. You know my deepest, darkest secret. If you have a problem, I might be able to help you.”

“I don’t really have a problem. I just have too much on my mind.”

“Okay. I won’t pry into your personal business.”

“No. It’s not that I am keeping something from you. It’s nothing personal. I just need to…”

“I don’t need details,” she interrupted as she stepped out of the room. “I was just going to ask Javier if he would mind heading down to the pool with me.” She shut the door. “I wanted to check out the damage in the locker room and maybe go for a swim.”

“I am glad I sent Javier away.”

“Why?”

He smiled. “I like the idea of going for a swim with you much more than the idea of you going for a swim with him.”

Despite his smile and the teasing, she felt a heaviness in him. Dark. Moody. It was stronger than the pain she’d always felt in him.

In the elevator, he stood close to her. When it stopped to allow more people to get in, he managed to tuck her in the back corner, keeping his body between hers and everyone else. It felt protective. Possessive. His actions always felt protective and possessive. It seemed so natural that she doubted he even knew he was doing it. Being so near him, she could feel the heat of his body. He wasn’t actually touching her, but he was driving her insane with lust. She felt as if he’d brought her body back to life. She’d long ago given up on the idea of even casual dating. All she could think about was him. His body. Touching him.

She felt something in him reaching for her. Constantly. She loved and feared the way he made her feel. She felt something in her reaching out to him. It was like a powerful compulsion. She constantly struggled against the urge to touch him.

Why was she fighting it? They were both adults. And she knew he wanted her. It wasn’t something he hid. She reached down and took his hand. He looked down at her and smiled, a smile that reached his eyes. He released her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulder when the elevator stopped at their floor. He walked with her. She really was going up in smoke.

Just before they reached the locker room he stopped and turned her to face him. The floor moved, a tremor that went from the bottom of her feet to the top of her head. “What’s wrong, Gabe?”

“I need to kiss you.” When he caught her waist and lifted her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his body. His eyes darkened as they drifted from her eyes, to her mouth, and back to her eyes. They shared something powerful, magical, all-consuming. For a few seconds, the world slipped away as they breathed together. “Kiss me.”

His lips touched hers, moved over hers gently. Then, deepening the kiss, he captured her mouth with his and parted her lips with his tongue. Cradling her hips, holding her as if she weighed nothing, his kiss was so tender, so intense, and so damn hot that it caused her blood to catch fire with desire in her veins.

He tilted his head back to meet her gaze. “I feel better. What about you?”

Drawing her bottom lip in her mouth and biting down on it, she frowned. “I am feeling many things right now. I don’t know about better.” She laughed softly. “I think it would help if I strangle you.” Since her fingers, gently massaging his scalp, were tangled in his hair, she easily pushed his head back and bit his chin. “Never mind, I guess I don’t need to strangle you to feel better. Biting you worked great.”

Laughing, he lowered her to her feet. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. I feel much better now.”

“That’s good.”

She was unprepared for the emotions, the deep connection they shared. A connection, unlike anything she’d ever experienced. The look in his eyes made her feel adored and cherished. And wanted. She saw his desire for her in his eyes. She felt her soul surrender to him. It alarmed and thrilled her. She’d worked hard to make her life her own. She’d never wanted to share any part of herself with anyone. She wanted…she needed to share everything with him.

Just then, she sensed a struggle in him. A powerful struggle. A fight for dominance. A thrilling fight. She tried to hold back her smile, but it widened over the thought of him struggling to maintain control over himself. She liked the idea of being the reason for his need to fight for control.

His mouth curved upward in a wickedly hot grin as he traced her lips with his finger. “That is the most mouthwatering, sexiest, naughtiest smile I’ve ever seen.”

The elevator opened. He moved so fast she hadn’t ever realized he’d scooped her up and placed her behind him until she was staring at his back.

“Don’t shoot.” Javier held his hands up. “When I realized you weren’t standing guard outside her room, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

“You knew I was with her,” Gabe’s voice was a growl.

“We can’t be too careful nowadays,” Javier said.

Larissa stepped to Gabe’s side and waved. “It’s great to see you again, Javier. Gabe and I were just thinking about going for a swim. Would you care to join us?”

“Javier is leaving.” Gabe crossed his arms over his chest. “He’s very busy.”

“Not really,” Javier laughed. “But I have to turn down your offer. I’m not a fan of pool chemicals.” He frowned. “They make my skin all itchy.”

“That’s too bad.” She looked up at Gabe. “Isn’t it?”

“Not even a little.” Keeping his gaze on her, he waved Javier off. “Goodbye, Javier.”

Laughing, Javier turned and headed back to the elevator.

“That wasn’t very nice, Gabe. I think you hurt his feelings.”

“He’ll get over it.”

She unlocked the locker room door, opened it, and froze. “It’s actually harder to go back inside than I thought it would be.”

“You don’t need to do it.”

“I do.” She walked inside.

****

He realized, while they were kissing, she felt his firedragon. She had no idea what it was other than it was a part of him. She should’ve feared it, but she didn’t. She didn’t possess any fear at all. She had absolutely no fear of his dragon. He feared it. He feared losing the struggle to keep that part of him under control. And she was playing with it, teasing it.

He was in the best trouble ever. He felt so much love for her. So pure. So raw. He felt so much for her and knew she felt it for him. He wanted to fall at her feet. She was everything he wanted, everything he needed. He followed her into the locker room. She turned the lights on and looked around.

“Have you been in here before?” she asked.

“No.”

“You rushed in here, never hesitating. You picked me up and carried me at least fifty to sixty steps to the showers. Looking at it now, it seems impossible. The distance you move and the dizzying speed. You didn’t trip once. You maneuvered around benches and lockers flawlessly.”

Oh, shit. She was confronting him, wanting answers. He wanted to explain, he wanted to tell her everything but feared it would be too much. He knew Joseph kept the truth from her. “It was a mixture of desperation and luck.”

When she looked up at him, he knew she didn’t believe him. “Maybe. None of it seemed real at the time. Everything was kind of a blur. And the guns were so quiet.”

“They had silencers.”

“I’ve never heard a gunshot with a silencer.” She laughed. “Except for on television. How did Joseph get the damage fixed so quickly?”

“You’ll have to ask him. I have no idea.”

She walked over to the shower and looked at the spot he’d hid her. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared. That was worse than being alone in my bedroom with Scott.” She looked at him. “I can’t believe you came in here knowing you might die. How many men were shooting?”

“I’m not sure.”

She looked at him. “I wish you wouldn’t lie to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know how many men were shooting. I would bet anything you know each man’s eye color.”

“Three were inside the locker room and two were standing guard outside the door. I didn’t bother to look at their eyes.”

“You weren’t scared. How many times have you been shot at?”

“I’ve never been more terrified.”

“You weren’t afraid. You were so calm.”

“I was terrified for you. I just did what needed to be done to make sure you weren’t hurt.”

“You killed them.”

“The two that were outside the door and one that was in here. Joseph killed the other two. And I don’t regret it. They shot at you. They tried to kill you.”

“Do things like that happen to you often?”

“Do I get shot at often?”

“Yes.”

“I guess more than I’d like.”

“Do you ever want to get away from it?”

“From what?”

“Getting shot at. Working outside the law to take down bad guys. Living dangerously.”

“Danger has always been part of my life. To be entirely honest, until recently, I’ve never really given what I do much thought.”

She sat down on the wooden bench and took her flip-flops off. “What happened recently?”

“I met the woman of my dreams.”

“Anyone I know?” She stood up, pulled her t-shirt over her head, and then tossed it on the bench.

He stared at her.

“What? Don’t look at me like that. You’ve seen me in less.”

“I think I’ve made the mistake of leading you to believe I’ve more self-control than I actually possess.”

Keeping her gaze on his, she bent over to push her leggings down. “Maybe I’ve made the mistake of causing you to believe I don’t want you to lose control.”

“You aren’t planning to swim in your suit, are you? The chlorine will ruin it.” She reached up and pushed his jacket over his shoulders. “Do you always carry guns?”

“Most of the time.” He removed his shoulder holsters and set them down on the bench. “Do they bother you?”

“I was just curious.”

He removed the rest of his clothes quickly. He considered taking his boxers off but decided it might be best to keep them on.

Once she forced her eyes from checking out his body she met his gaze. “You have a very nice body.” She reached up to put her hair in a ponytail.

“Wait.” He took the hair tie from her.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“You always put it up.” He brought her hair to his face and drew the scent into his lungs. “I never realized your hair is so long. It’s beautiful.”

“It’ll be a tangled mess if I don’t put it up in the water.” She felt like an idiot. He was complimenting her. She didn’t know how to receive a compliment from a man. And he was no ordinary man. He was remarkable.

“I know.” He turned her around, gathered her hair, and gently put it in a ponytail. “I just needed to feel it.”

She glanced over her shoulder as if to look at him, but she kept her gaze slightly diverted from his. “You have a hair fetish?”

He turned her around, wrapped her hair around his fist, and gently pulled her head back to force her to look in his eyes. “I do now.”

“I know you’re keeping something big from me. Normally, I would see it as a big red flashing light. But I don’t. Not with you. I trust you, Gabe.  I don’t know where we’ll end up, but I can’t get you out of my mind. I need you.”

“What do you think I’m keeping from you?”

“I don’t know.” The heat between them threatened to engulf them in flames of wild passion. She knew she was playing with fire, surrendering to her desire for him. He would force her to reconsider every life rule she’d ever made. He would ruin everything. And she wanted him to ruin her plans.

When he released her hair, she turned away from him. He tilted his head to the side, watching her walk toward the pool. When she sat on the edge of the pool he walked over and sat next to her. He hated that she felt uncomfortable with being complimented. He planned to remedy that quickly with lots of compliments.

She glanced up at him. “What are we doing, Gabe?”

“I thought we were going for a swim.” He pushed himself into the water and turned to face her. She wanted to hear more, but he couldn’t give it to her. Not yet. He needed to find a way to convince Adam to allow him to buy his freedom back. He wouldn’t claim her until he was free. He wouldn’t force her to be bound to him. “Are you getting in?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“What?” He swam over to her and closed his fists around her ankles. “You’re getting in.” He slipped his hands from his shins up to her thighs.

Her lips slowly parted in a full, tantalizing smile. “What do you think you are doing?”

“I am helping you get in the water.” He gripped her hips, lifted her, and tossed her over his shoulder.

She surfaced a few feet away, laughing. “That was mean.”

“Not as mean as you trying to invite Javier to swim with us.”

She splashed water in his face and swam toward the opposite side of the pool. He caught up to her quickly and pushed her below the surface. She resurfaced behind him and pushed his shoulders. “You’re going down to the bottom.” When he didn’t sink, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his body.

Since he thought it would be more fun to let her win rather than prove he was stronger, he allowed her to take him to the bottom of the pool before he turned to face her and wrapped his arms around her.

He kissed her, bringing them to the surface with a few kicks of his legs. She kissed him deeply, passionately. The hunger in her kiss stirred greater passions in him. He felt her need, the growing intensity of it.

His heart beat painfully in his chest. He kissed her deeply, delighting in the taste of her kiss, mesmerized by the feel of her lips moving over his. He was burning up, his heart pumping liquid fire through his body filling his cock. His hunger, his need to bury himself in her for her was ravenous. He took her mouth more aggressively. He was so damn swollen and hard, throbbing, and aching. The sensation of her body moving against his and her soft, whimpering pleas drove him insane with lust.

Fiery, tantalizing sensations spread over every inch of her body. She gave herself to him, to his touch, to his kiss. He lightly feathered kisses from her ear, his tongue swirling over her flesh, to her jaw. She was on fire, her body burning up with need. She closed her eyes, savoring the heat of his mouth and hard body against hers. Her flesh tingled with delicious sensations. She felt restless. Wanting more. Needing more.

 His entire body shuddered at the sensations created by her lips brushing kisses up the column of his throat to the underside of his chin and along his jaw to his ear.  

He slipped his hand beneath her bikini bottoms and teased her swollen clit with his fingers. Her body was so sensitive. Too sensitive. “Not here, Gabe,” she whispered, her voice sounding breathless.

“Where do you want to go?”

“Come back to my room with me.” She wanted him as much as he wanted her.

He didn’t even think about it. He shifted to her room with her. She kissed him deeply, passionately. He savored the sweet taste of her kiss, his passion violently crashing into hers, their needs erupting into a fierce firestorm of lust that burned through their bodies as he lowered her onto the bed.

Then, she panicked. “What happened? What did you do? How?”

He realized his mistake. He’d shifted with her. “It’s okay.”

“Like hell it is.” She shoved him away from her.

“You know you’re safe with me.”

Panicking, her heart raced “How did we get here?”

“Don’t be afraid of me. I would never hurt you.”

“What the hell is wrong with your eyes?” She backed away from him. “Oh, my god, you drugged me, didn’t you?”

“No, I…Larissa, it’s okay.” He knelt and held his hand out to her. “I would never do anything to hurt you.”

“Get away from me.” She looked terrified, her entire body trembling.

“Be calm.” He merged his mind with hers and took control over hers. “Nothing happened. You’re just tired. Very tired. You are safe, Larissa.”

She blinked once, and a single tear fell from her eye. “Gabe?”  

“It’s okay. I’m going to take you to your bed.” He scooped her up and carried her to the bed. “You’re very tired. You need to sleep.”

“I am tired. I am sorry, I…”

“No. Don’t apologize.” He lowered her onto the bed and sat next to her. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You need to rest.” He was so damned ashamed for not thinking, for doing something that caused her to fear him. He bent down and pressed his lips against her forehead. “Nothing happened tonight. You were so very tired. You needed to sleep.” He hated himself for doing something that forced him to remove her memory of the evening. He leaned back to look at her. “You’re safe. Go to sleep, Larissa.”