Gabriella pressed the buttons on the microwave, and hurried out of his home trailer, back to the office trailer. She was laughing as she skipped over the mud puddles created by the rainstorm earlier, unaware of her hair flying out behind her.
Teague saw her and his body hardened with need when her laughter flitted over the wind to him. Damn, she was gorgeous, he thought with relish. And she was up to something.
His green eyes snapped from his temporary home to the office trailer, then back again, narrowing as he tried to figure out what she’d done. She was a delightful mixture of mischief and sensuality, all wrapped up in a lush package that made him ache to make love to her again.
He almost laughed when he thought of the numerous times she’d tried to slip those annoying divorce papers into the stack of things she wanted him to sign. He wanted to tell her that he didn’t need to sign all of the documents. That was Harry, his foreman’s job. But she was having too much fun trying to trick him. And he was enjoying her attempts as well.
They were currently at a standoff.
Well, maybe not, he thought as his eyes moved back to his home-trailer. “What’s she done now?” he muttered as he walked across the boards.
As soon as he opened the door, he reared backwards, disgusted by the smell.
“Gabby!” he bellowed, repulsed and impressed in equal measure.
The woman had cooked broccoli in his trailer! He hated the smell of broccoli! It made him gag!
He heard her laughter before he saw her and he sprinted across the boards to the office-trailer just in time to see her blonde head duck into the back of a cab. Those dark eyes promised more of the same and he stood there with his hands on his hips, his own look promising retribution. Soon.
Even as he watched, his body hardened to a painful throb when he saw her head fall back as she laughed, thinking she’d gotten the upper hand.
Oh no, my naughty little wife!
He pulled his keys out of his pocket and came around the trailers again. It took him only a few moments to rev up his truck and pull out of the job site behind the cab. He knew where she was heading and he was going to get there first.
He was already in the apartment when he heard her key in the door. Stepping towards the door, he opened it himself. She was too stunned to react when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside.
By the time the door was closed, he had her pressed up against the wall, his hands lifting her higher so that he could swoop down and cover her mouth with his.
It wasn’t enough!
Slanting his mouth across hers, he lifted her higher, needing all of her against him. He couldn’t figure out how to get enough of her! Damn, he’d dreamed about having her in his arms, feeling her like this so often over the past year but this was even better than his dreams and his memories. She was hotter, just as eager as he was. He would have smiled when he felt her fingers curl around his ears, bringing his head down to hers, if he’d had the energy. But all of his concentration was on kissing her, feeling her against him.
Teague thought he might just explode if he didn’t get her clothes off. “Come with me,” he commanded and set her back on her feet. His fingers were twined with hers as he pulled her towards the bedroom.
The knocking on the door startled both of them. One moment, they were both rushing to the bedroom. The next, they were staring at the door as if a giant, beastly monster was going to step through it and devour both of them.
He glared down at her. “Are you expecting someone?”
Gabriella looked at the door, then back at him. “No one but your family knows that I’m here,” she told him. Her heart was pounding in her chest as her fingers tightened around his hand. He was trying to pull away and she…she didn’t want him to? She should want him to! She didn’t want this.
Did she?
“Teague,” she said softly, thinking this would be a good time to slow down and talk. “We should…”
His name on her lips seemed to soothe him and his hold relaxed slightly. “Ignore it,” he said and bent his head to start kissing her again. Visitors be damned. If she didn’t know anyone else in Seattle, he didn’t care if he was rude.
Unfortunately, reality came crashing back down on her. She realized what she was doing, that Teague was making her lose her concentration. His touch made her forget her priorities. This was exactly why she’d left him! This was why she needed Toby.
“I can’t ignore it,” she hissed back at him, and extracted her arms from his. Pulling back, she shot over to the door, her body shaking at how close she’d come to actually agreeing to have sex with Teague!
When she opened the door, the woman standing on the other side was startled. “Oh! Hello! I’m Nancy and I live across the hallway. I just…” she stopped speaking when she saw Teague step into the hallway as well. “Oh! I’m sorry, am I…?”
“No!” Gabriella exclaimed, glancing behind her at Teague, registering his furious expression but ignoring it. “No! I’m very pleased to meet you!” she gushed. “I’m Gabriella and this is Teague.” She glanced at the woman, then at Teague once more. “He was on his way out.”
The woman’s smile brightened again. “I was just…” she held up a bottle of wine. “Want a glass?” she offered.
Teague sighed and shook his head. “I have to help Zeke with something tonight,” he told her, not wanting to have any part of a ladies night. “You ladies have fun,” he said and rushed out the door, eager to escape.
Gabriella watched with fascination as he hurried down the hallway. Their eyes clashed once more when he pressed the elevator call button and Gabriella shivered, awareness sizzled and she had trouble breathing until he stepped into the elevator. When the door finally closed on him, blocking her view, the tension finally eased and her shoulders relaxed.
“Whew!” the other woman said, fanning herself. “That was some look!”
Gabriella sighed, rubbing her forehead to try and stop the impending headache. “Yeah. He’s pretty good at that look.”
The woman laughed. “I did interrupt something, didn’t I?”
Shaking her head, Gabriella stepped back. “Only in a good way,” she admitted.
“Maybe my timing could have been better.”
Gabriella laughed and stepped back. “Honestly, your timing was perfect. Your name is Nancy? That’s an interesting name.”
Gabriella chatted with her temporary neighbor while she opened and closed cabinets, looking for wine glasses. When she found them, Nancy had already opened the bottle of wine and they were laughing about men and the problems they brought into one’s life.