After a long shower and a stern lecture to herself about correct and lady-like behavior around a man who was not her fiancé, Gabriella stood in the middle of the office trailer, her mind working to sift through the details. She had a plan and, if she were careful, she could win this standoff with Teague and he wouldn’t even see it coming.
“What the hell are you doing, Gabby?” Teague said as soon as he stepped into the trailer. His hands fisted on his lean hips as he stared at her.
Gabriella stood up and straightened the papers on the desk. “With Marcy out for a while, I thought you might need a bit of help. I can keep things organized in here while you figure out why you won’t sign the divorce papers.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at her. “You’re going to help as the office person here at the construction site,” he stated blandly, not sure he believed her. “Why the hell would you do that?”
Gabriella glared right back at him. “Because I’m going to try and figure out why you won’t sign the papers, then figure out a way to convince you to do it. No hidden agenda. I’m just trying to get my divorce so I can get back home to Boston.”
Teague continued to stare at her, taking in her delectable figure in the tight jeans and yet another soft sweater. Damn, she looked hot!
If she’d said anything else, he wouldn’t have believed her. But those words had a ring of truth to them. “Fine,” he told her and shrugged. Deciding to test her, to see if she could really handle the job, he nodded his head, a slight smile forming on his lips as he watched her watching him warily. She wanted to play? Oh, he was going to have fun!
“Find the contracts for the welders and plumbers. There should be several different contractors and I need them all so I can work out the details of their schedules and tasks.” He ran off a list of several other issues he needed to resolve and Gabriella just stood there, glaring back at him.
“And if you can do all that, you’re hired. Otherwise, don’t waste my time.” A moment later, he was gone, his hardhat on his head as he headed back into the building.
She watched him for a long moment, then looked around. Marcy was an amazing assistant and everything was neatly organized. So it wasn’t difficult to accomplish all of the tasks that Teague had demanded.
With the supply orders on top, the contracts, timesheets, schedules and other items all organized and neatly put into folders, she was ready when he came back into the trailer with two other men behind him.
“Lost already?” he asked when she hung up the phone.
Gabriella stood up and walked around to the other desk. “Sign!” she snapped at him and lifted the first page, which was a supply order that Marcy had pulled together and just needed the foreman’s authorization.
She went through each page and Teague seemed adequately impressed that she’d pulled it all together so quickly. After carefully reviewing the first five documents and realizing that she’d gotten everything correct, he barely even skimmed through the rest of the pages, just signing where she told him to sign. “And here,” she said, pointing to the last page.
Teague looked down at the page and then tossed his pen aside without signing. “Nice try, darlin’,” and he walked back out. “Get me those contracts on the basin area. And I need the blueprints for the electricity.”
Gabriella almost laughed when he winked at her. Okay, so she’d tried to sneak the divorce papers into the stack and he’d caught it. She was impressed. But undeterred.
An hour later, she looked up when the radio rattled. “Gabby? You there?”
She picked up the radio and pressed the side button. “What do you want?” she demanded, laughing at the way he was probably grumbling as he walked.
“You, naked and in my bed.”
Since he wasn’t anywhere that he could see her smile, she didn’t stop herself from grinning. He was relentless, she’d give him that much. “Not happening. Try again.”
“How about the supply list for the drywall?”
She laughed before she pressed the button again. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”
“Damn, I love an organized woman,” he came back.
She rolled her eyes but grabbed the supply list, and started out of the trailer. “Wear a hardhat,” the radio crackled again.
She doubled back into the trailer and grabbed the hat that hung on one of the hooks by the door, not answering his call.
It was a beautiful, sunny day, but she didn’t have her sunglasses with her. She’d checked the weather report before she’d left and it had indicated only cloudy skies with rain possible. Since that had been yesterday’s weather, she hadn’t bothered to bring her sunglasses with her. Now she was suffering for her lack of planning.
But she didn’t care. It was a gorgeous day and, for some reason, she felt exhilarated trying to outsmart Teague. He was so wily! It was the challenge, she told herself. She wanted to outsmart him, to best him. He’d manhandled her yesterday. Now, it was time to show him who was the boss.
So when she handed him the supply lists, she almost snickered at his wary expression while he flipped through the pages, obviously making sure that she hadn’t slipped the divorce papers in again.
She was already walking away, heading back to the trailer and completely unaware of his appreciative gaze watching her bottom in the jeans, when he asked, “What are you doing for lunch?”
She shrugged and glanced back over her shoulder but kept moving towards the elevators. “I planned on snooping through your home.” And she closed the metal screen for the elevator again, ignoring his stunned expression. She was able to suppress her laughter, but only until the makeshift elevator had dropped to the next floor. By the time she’d reached the ground floor, she was leaning against the wall of the elevator as her laughter took over.
When she walked back down to the trailer, she turned to the right instead of to the left. She hadn’t seriously planned to snoop around his home, but now that she’d said it, and she’d absolutely loved the horrified expression on his handsome face, she couldn’t simply give in and let him call her bluff.
Walking to the small, galley style kitchen, she started opening the cabinets. Crackers, chips, beer, pretzels, peanuts…the man lived on junk food. His fridge was just as bad; more beer, sliced cheese, lunchmeat and olives. Olives? Was that really his only claim to nutrition?
An evil thought popped into her head and she almost laughed at how perfect it was.
She walked through the rest of the trailer, noting that it might be lacking in nutrition, but everything was neat and clean. Only one toothbrush, one side of the bed slept on even though it really was a large, tempting bed. She blushed as she realized that he’d put her to bed and the two of them had only taken up one side of that enormous bed.
As soon as she thought it, she felt guilty. She’d slept with one man while engaged to another. Okay, so it was much more complicated than that. She was married to the first man. Was she cheating on Toby? Or Teague?
Goodness, she hadn’t thought about Toby since yesterday afternoon when she’d texted him to let him know that her business was going to take a bit longer. The poor man had been so sweet and considerate, texting her back to tell her that he missed her but to take as much time as she needed to straighten things out.
He had no idea that she was married. He would be so hurt if he ever found out!
She was just about to walk out of the trailer when the door opened.
Gasping, she stepped back quickly, only to find that Teague was walking in, his eyes sharp as he glanced around. “You really were snooping, weren’t you?” he demanded, leaning forward and bracing one hand over her head against the wall, trapping her.
“I don’t lie,” she told him, but she did keep things from him.
“You don’t always tell the whole truth though, do you?” his hand came up and caressed her cheek. “But that’s okay. I like a woman who can keep me on my toes.”
She turned her face away, the heat of his touch too much for her to bear. “I was just leaving.”
He moved closer. “Were you?” His legs pressed against hers. “What’s the rush?”
She backed up a step, realizing the poor planning of her mission. She hadn’t thought about an escape route and that was always dangerous. Teague took advantage of weakness. Another lesson she’d learned early on with this man.
“I have to go,” she told him firmly, looking to her left and right.
“You have to stay right here,” he said just as firmly and came fully into the trailer. “You’re playing with fire, Gabby.”
She held her breath, feeling him take over the space around her. He was so large. So male! She’d had such a short time with him before and she’d never really learned how to handle him. “I don’t mind the heat.”
Boy, was she getting in deep! What was she thinking? She was taunting him! Of all the men she’d known in her lifetime, Teague was the very last man she should taunt.
“You can’t handle the heat,” he growled, moving closer, crowding her even more.
“You don’t have enough heat to scare me away,” she came right back, tilting her head back even as he backed her against the countertop.
Teague watched her, trying to figure out her plan. Did she really comprehend what she was doing to him? What she was saying?
“You’re going to get burned, Gabby.”
“Gabriella,” she automatically corrected.
He glanced down at her toes, but they were hidden in her work boots. Damn, she looked good in those! “You’re Gabby,” he argued right back. “You can pretend to be ‘Gabriella’ with whoever you like, but you’re Gabby to me and you’re Gabby underneath all of the subterfuge.” He moved closer, leaving barely an inch between their bodies. “And very soon, you’re going to admit it.”
Her neck was starting to hurt, looking up at him like this. But she wasn’t backing down. “You’re going to admit that I’m Gabriella and you don’t know me as well as you think.”
He chuckled. “Wanna bet?” he offered.
She blinked, not sure she wanted to gamble with Teague. “No.”
“Smart woman. Because,” one finger touched the skin at the base of her throat, his eyes capturing her gaze as that finger moved slowly lower, “you’re Gabby with red toenails. Not Gabriella with pink toenails.”
She opened her mouth to argue but his mouth covered hers, his tongue moving with hers and making her gasp as lust surged higher than ever inside of her. Hands reached up, grabbing flannel. Hips pressed closer, her mind cursing denim that was too thick.
When his hands reached down and lifted her higher, she whimpered with the feel of his large hands on her bottom, moaning when he set her down on the small counter and pressed that powerful erection against the seam of her jeans. She wanted more! She wanted to rip his clothes off and let him do all of the wicked things that he’d done to her in Vegas. It had been so long! So long since she’d let herself feel this way with a man.
And that desperation was hard to contain. Without realizing that she was saying the words, she actually admitted to her need. “Too long,” she gasped and pressed her hips closer, shifting against him.
“Too long for what?” Teague demanded, his hands moving higher, cupping her breasts.
“This!” she groaned when his thumbs found her hard nipples.
The strange sound barely filtered through her mind. But the cessation of his thumbs on her nipples got to her and she almost cried out with frustration.
“Yeah?” Teague was saying into the radio. His eyes looked down at her and Gabriella realized what was happening. This was a seriously compromising position! Good grief, his hips were between her legs and, if they weren’t wearing any clothes, they would be…she would be…
Gabriella pushed him away from her, grateful that an issue had come up on the construction site that needed his attention. He didn’t let her rush out of the trailer though. His huge body blocked her only exit while he relayed instructions to his crews. “I’ll be there in a minute,” he told whoever was on the other end of the radio.
Gabriella wasn’t sure if she was relieved or furious at him for that promise. She needed him! He’d started this, pressing her back into his trailer and kissing her like that. Kissing her like he was going to…she dug her fingers into the countertop, trying to figure out how to make him ignore that call. She wanted him to….
Wait, no, she needed him to leave! She was here only to get a divorce, not to re-start her relationship with him! What was she thinking?!
Quickly, she jumped down off of the countertop, trying to slip around him, but he wasn’t allowing that. No way! And he had the muscles and the breadth to stop her if he wanted to.
Teague hooked the radio back onto his belt and moved closer, crowding her once again. “Trying to run from the fire now, Gabby?” he asked, his voice rough and she knew that he still had that bulge in his jeans, even though she refused to look down. She was feeling pretty shaky as well, but that was just another reason why she needed a divorce so badly.
Pushing her hair back out of her eyes, she sighed, and tried to keep her fingers from reaching out to touch his chest. “We don’t work, Teague. Just give up and sign those stupid papers
He shook his head. “This little scene has only made me more determined to keep you, Gabby. You’re mine. You just proved it.” He watched the horror light up her beautiful features and shook his head, confused. “What are you so afraid of, honey? What is it about what happens between us that scares you so much?”
His hand was gentle as he cupped her cheek now. The sexual tension was still there, it never really went away when Gabby was around, he knew. But there was something about him that scared her. He had to figure her out.
“Just…” she shook her head, trying to pull herself back together. “Just leave me alone, Teague. This isn’t the life I want. I need something different from what you can offer me.”
And with those words, she moved around him and sprinted out the door, needing to be around others so that he couldn’t touch her like that.
The cool, moist air revived her, pulled her back to her normal self. She slowed her pace as she made her way across the construction site to the office trailer, more determined than ever to get that man’s signature. Fast!
And she needed a place to stay at night. No way was she sleeping in his bed again! That was just a recipe for disaster!
Later in the afternoon, she stepped out of the office and walked towards the parking lot, her phone up to her ear. She didn’t want Teague to overhear her conversation. “Yes. I don’t know how many nights,” she told the person at the hotel she’d found. “How much per night?” she asked. Gabriella closed her eyes when the person named a figure. With a sigh, she nodded her head. “That’s…”
Before she could finish that sentence, her phone was snagged out of her hands. “She won’t be needing a hotel room,” Teague said into the cell phone.
Gabriella’s mouth fell open. She’d made so many phone calls, trying to find a vacant hotel room. There was some stupid convention in town this weekend and all of the hotels nearby and even far away were booked up. The ones that were available were brutally expensive. This was one of the few that had a vacancy at a somewhat reasonable rate. “Teague! Don’t you dare hang up on that woman!” she snapped. “Give me back my phone.”
Teague didn’t even look down at her. He simply ended the call and lifted his own cell phone. After pressing one of the speed dial numbers, he said, “Hey, I need one of the empty apartments.” He looked at Gabby, then away. “No, a furnished one. And it needs maid service.” He winked down at his wife. “Gabby won’t be spending much time there but she isn’t the neatest person in the world.”
He heard her gasp of outrage and chuckled, but still turned around so that she couldn’t reach his phone and take it away. “Yeah, that would be great,” he said and ended the call.
Gabby glared up at him. “Teague, whatever you’ve done, undo it. I found a place to stay until you see reason.”
He shook his head. “Gabby, you can’t afford to stay in a hotel that long. And besides, it will drive you nuts. You don’t like small spaces and a hotel room for multiple nights will make you miserable. I have a place where you can stay until you come to your senses.”
She was practically bristling with anger when he threw her words back at her. “Give me my phone, Teague,” she said and extended her hand.
He didn’t give it back, but even worse, he stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans. “No.”
She huffed, looked down at his pocket to gauge the effort it would take to retrieve her phone.
“Try it,” he laughed, moving closer. “I would sincerely enjoy your efforts.”
“You’re being crude,” she snapped back. “Give me my phone.”
“No,” he repeated. But this time, he pulled the keys to his truck out of his pocket. “Come on. I’ll drive you to your place so that you can drop off your new clothes and make yourself comfortable. I had someone return your rental car, by the way. You won’t be needing it.” He put a hand to the small of her back and nudged her over to the truck.
“I’m not staying in someone’s apartment.”
“Nope. You’ll be staying in one of the models. Luke can use the other ones when his sales people show the condos to prospective buyers.”
She pulled back, horrified that she was inconveniencing someone. “I can’t do that! You’ll get into trouble!”
He laughed, shaking his head at how silly she sounded. “I won’t get in trouble.”
“You can’t just take over an apartment.”
“Yes. I can,” he argued right back, and lifted her, depositing her into the passenger seat.
“And stop doing that!” she grumbled, but turned so that her legs weren’t caught by the door as he closed it.
“Stop doing what?” he asked, pausing before closing the truck’s door.
“Stop picking me up and putting me where you think I should be.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew she should have kept quiet. The gleam in his eye changed from intent to intense in a flash. She remembered how he loved to challenge her when she started giving him orders. At the moment, her stomach tightened with anticipation.
She wasn’t wrong.
His hand moved from the door to her calf. She was immediately grateful for the thick work boots that protected her skin from his touch.
Oh, but he wasn’t stopping just at her ankle. No way! Teague was a master at finding sensitive skin! His hand traveled higher, his fingers making the skin above her sock tingle. “Teague!” she gasped, begging him with her eyes. Although she wasn’t completely sure if she was begging him to stop or to continue. Either was possible after this morning.
“You wanna change your wording, darlin’?” he asked, his hand tightening on her calf.
She closed her eyes. “Teague, just…stop.”
He didn’t move his hand higher, but he did stop. “Any chance you could explain why you want me to?”
“Because I’m engaged to another man!” she told him, her tone making it clear that there shouldn’t be any question in his mind as to why she didn’t want this.
His fingers tightened ever so slightly on her calf, but enough so that she recognized his anger. “And you’re my wife. I think my marriage certificate trumps his ugly diamond ring.”
He had a point. Not that she was willing to admit it though. She reached down and took his wrist, tugging his hand away from her skin. “Teague, I’ve told you. We just don’t work. I need something different for my life.”
His eyes narrowed. “Tell me what it is that he gives you that you can’t get from me.”
She bit her lip, trying to figure out the best way to explain it to him. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but she needed to be clear. He wasn’t the man for her and she needed to move on.
“It is hard to explain, but in a nutshell, Toby is settled. He has his life on track and he’s going somewhere. He doesn’t drive me crazy either. He is sober, calm, and controlled. I like that in a man.”
Teague listened but her words still didn’t make sense. “You don’t think I have my life on track?” He didn’t question the craziness issue. He knew he drove her crazy. It was one of the best parts of their relationship. He loved making her lose control, to see her fall apart in his arms. Just the thought of making her do that was making his erection throb against the zipper of his jeans.
She shook her head. “You’re a good guy and I’m sure you’re great at your job, but you live in a trailer, Teague. I grew up in a trailer. I hated the way people made me feel. I want kids eventually. And there’s no way I would subject my children to the torment I had to deal with.”
Teague glanced over his shoulder at the trailer where he lived during the week, his mind starting to grasp her issues. “You want to divorce me because you think I live in a trailer?”
Gabriella shrugged, feeling horrible now. “Well, and the fact that you work construction. I want more from life than that, Teague.”
“And you don’t want to lose control, correct?” he clarified.
Gabriella nodded. “No. I don’t like losing control.”
He almost threw back his head and laughed. It took all of his control to restrain himself because she’d just sealed her fate. “Darlin’, you…” he started to say something, but then stopped. Shaking his head.
No, this wasn’t something he could explain to her. Yes, he could show her his house and that might ease her concerns about security. He could even show her his bank balance. That would definitely eliminate her worries.
But as he looked into her pretty eyes, he understood that there was so much more to this than money. Yes, he sensed that she wanted the financial security that some ass in Boston might be able to provide for her. Hell, he could damn well provide that for her.
It was the other part, the crazy part -the best part- which she needed to accept about him. All the other stuff was just the frosting on the cake.
She was scared. She was scared and she wasn’t going to relent until he could show her that they could work.
Challenge accepted, he thought and closed the truck door.