CHAPTER TWENTY
Apparently, soon didn’t mean the next day, or the next.
Or the one after that.
Did Nora care? She did not. Just because Gabe had held on to her as if he never wanted to let her go, didn’t mean she was going to forget her determination to keep her feelings for him under control.
She’d been a warm body in the right place for a hug when he needed one at the end of a long day. That was all. He was a tactile man, affectionate and open. It hadn’t meant anything—witness the no communication.
Not even a text.
Nora took in a deep breath, let it out in a strong exhale. She did it again. Cleansing breaths. Sunshine strolled alongside her on their morning walk. The air against her face was damp and cool. Fresh and new.
Like her attitude.
She checked her phone—for the time, nothing else—and picked up the pace. She was due at the office in an hour, and they were still twenty minutes from home. “Come on.” Nora gave the leash an encouraging tug. Sunshine grumbled and sped up for a few paces, than relaxed back into her usual steady plod.
“Feeling the damp in her bones, hey?” An old man shuffled up the hill toward them. He was wearing a lime-green anorak and matching sneakers, an odd contrast to his smart dress pants and bowtie. His upper body canted forward almost forty-five degrees and he had his hands clasped behind his back.
“Know how she feels,” the man said as they drew level. “This weather and old bones?” He shrugged his shoulders, and his deep brown eyes twinkled up at Nora. “Not good bedfellows.”
She smiled. “I suppose not.”
“We press on, though? Hey? Us old ones. You have a good day, young lady.”
“You, too.”
“Bye, pooch.” He unclasped his gnarled hands to give Sunshine a clumsy pat on the head, and ambled off.
Nora stared after him, plodding on, getting his daily exercise. She glanced down at Sunshine, who’d taken advantage of the break to sit.
“You’re not old,” Nora said. “You’re my baby.”
Sunshine heaved up and shook vigorously.
Nora straightened Sunshine’s collar then looked over her shoulder as they moved off. The old man had disappeared into the fog. “Come on,” she said. “We have to get going. Time’s up.”
She got to the office late, and Anna actually yelled at her.
Nora yelled back, startling her cousin so much that Anna dropped her caramel macchiato onto her desk and all over the keyboard of her beloved Mac.
More yelling.
Anna stalked out and returned with a new keyboard. She made a big production of opening it, leaving the packaging all over the place.
It took every ounce of self-control Nora had to pretend she didn’t notice the mess, and hold herself back from running it out to the recycling bin. At the end of the day they snarled goodbye and flounced their separate ways.
Nora spent the drive home fantasizing about a new job.
This led to thoughts of leaving San Francisco entirely.
She was overreacting, she knew, her emotions for some reason wound to a pitch.
For some completely unknown reason.
When Nora let herself in to the apartment, Sunshine wasn’t waiting for her at the door as usual. Instead, she was snoring in her cozy bed, oblivious. Nora had to poke her three times before she woke and huffed a joyful yet subdued welcome.
Nora held it together until she was measuring kibble into Sunshine’s food bowl. It was then that she noticed the gray hairs sprinkled around Sunshine’s muzzle and throughout the thick ruff.
And in her eyebrows.
Nora burst into sobs, slumping to the floor. She slung an arm around Sunshine’s neck and bawled. Sunshine spared her a sidelong glance, but continued eating.
My dog is old!
Someone knocked at the door.
Nora shook her head and swiped at the tears on her cheeks. Not a chance was she getting that.
The knocking continued.
Not getting it.
She sucked in a shuddering breath. It would be Anna, to either yell at Nora some more, or to make up for the earlier yelling. She’d get all sympathetic. The crying would never stop.
“Nora.” The voice was muffled through the door, but she recognized it anyway. It was Gabe. “Open up.”
Shit.
“I’m not leaving.” He knocked again. “Come on. Open up.”
Nora dried her eyes on a dish towel, tossing it into the sink as she crossed to the door. She pulled her shoulders back, took a deep breath…and burst into tears again.
“Nora?” Gabe’s voice sharpened. “Are you crying in there? Nora. Open this door. Right now.”
“N-not a g-good time. Come back tomorrow.”
“I’m in New York tomorrow. Open.”
“No.”
“Swear to God, you open it or I’ll break it down.”
“I’ll call the police.”
“Honey. Please. You’re killing me here.”
She unlocked the door.
“What?” Gabe said, pushing her back into the apartment and kicking the door shut behind him. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?” Dropping a carrier bag of Chinese food to the floor, he caught her upper arms and ducked down to look into Nora’s face. “Is it your ex again? Is it triplets? Your mom called and your ex is having triplets?”
Nora sucked in a breath. His fingers tightened as he waited for her to reply. “Sunshine’s dying,” she said.
He shoved past her and rushed over to the dog bed where Sunshine, finished with her food, was reclining. He fell to his knees beside the bed. Sunshine’s tail thumped on the floor and she swiped her pink tongue over the back of his hand then stretched out onto her side with delight as he checked her over.
Gabe sat back on his heels and aimed a furious look up at Nora. “She’s fine!”
“Now she’s fine,” Nora said. “But for how long?”
He shook his head, staring at the floor, then lunged to his feet in a fluid move. “You scared the shit out of me!” he said. “I heard you crying. I thought something was really wrong.”
“It is! She’s got gray hairs. She’s going gray. I never noticed before. Has she always had gray hairs? Is this new?”
“I’ve got gray hairs,” he told her.
Nora’s gaze tracked up to his hair. She took his face in her hands and pulled him down to get a closer look. “Oh my God.”
He sent her an amused glance from beneath his lashes.
“You’re old!” she said.
His smile vanished and he tugged her away. He straightened to his full height and looked down. “I’m thirty-nine.”
“You’re going to die!”
“Okay. What’s really going on? Is this a breakdown? More importantly, am I going to take advantage of your fragile emotional state? I’m thinking yes. You’re a mess. I like it.” He wiped the tears from her cheeks with the backs of his fingers. “Where’s this coming from?”
Nora’s breath stuttered. “We met an old man on our walk this morning. He called Sunshine old. I suddenly realized.” She dropped her voice lower. “She hasn’t got long. I don’t know how old she is, but the shelter guessed maybe ten? And I looked up—” she lowered her voice to a whisper. Gabe leaned in, “—life expectancy. Thirteen, Gabe. She might only have three years. That’s barely a thousand days.”
“Baby,” he murmured, brushing her hair from her hot face. “This is just hitting you now?”
At their feet, Sunshine made a contented dog noise—a contented old dog noise—and began to snore.
“No,” Nora said. “Yes. Kind of. I don’t know. What am I going to do?”
“Kiss me.”
“What?”
“Kiss me.”
She stared into his green eyes.
“Have it your way.” He shrugged. “I’ll kiss you.”
Nora bolted.
“I get to chase you?” Gabe laughed. “Awesome.”
She whirled and held up a hand, palm out. “Stay where you are.”
“Not a chance. You know how I feel about crying women.”
“Pervert.”
“Yup.” He hurdled the couch.
Nora let out a startled shriek, half-panic and half-laughter, and ran. He crashed into her from behind, wound an arm around her waist, and pulled her hard against him.
“Hmm.” The noise he made rumbled through her. “I know how to distract you from thoughts of mortality.”
Her heart thrashed in her chest. He wanted to have sex with her. She looked around the room, and her eye fell on the abandoned carrier bag by the door. “Feed me Chinese food?”
“Gonna make you work for it first.” He eased her head to one side, stubble scraping over her skin, and she jumped when she felt his mouth open on her neck.
“Maybe I don’t want to work for it,” she said. “Maybe I don’t need your Chinese food. I’m capable of getting my own. I have a cell phone. I have their number programmed in.”
“Think you know what I’ll do to your cell phone if you bring it out now. In fact, where is it?”
“Coffee table.”
Keeping her tight against him, he walked them over to the coffee table and reached for the phone.
“Don’t break it,” she said.
He switched it off and set it back on the coffee table.
The only sound in the room was their breathing. She felt Gabe’s heart pounding into the back of her ribs, the hot solid weight of him as he leaned into her.
“I also have a landline,” she said, and pointed. “I could always use that.”
He walked them over to the landline, bent down and yanked out the cable. Then, slowly, he turned her in his arms. They were thigh to thigh, stomach to stomach, and the look on his face set her on fire.
“Nora,” he said on a sudden, harsh exhale. “God, Nora. I want—”
“Yes.” Stretching up, she kissed him.
There was no hesitation this time, no preliminary gentle exploration. Gabe opened her mouth with his and drove in, pulling her into him hard, and then again, as if he couldn’t get her close enough. She felt his unraveling need in the flex of his fingers, his restless grip, and the aggressive movements of his body. Nora stroked his shoulders, holding nothing back.
He lifted his head, ragged breath striking her face as his eyes bored into hers. His chest heaved against her, tremors running through him.
“It’s okay,” she said. “There’s no rush.”
His eyes darkened. “There’s a rush. I’ve been wanting this since the morning you showed up in my bedroom. We’re going to have to do this more than once, Nora. Can you give me that? I need more. I need—”
“Yes,” she said. “Anything.” When Gabe grinned at her, she amended, “Ah, when I say anything—”
“You said it. I’m having it.” He lifted her up and carried her to the couch. “I want it all. I need it all.”
He settled her on his lap, straddling him, and got to work unbuttoning her blouse. After the first two buttons, he ripped it off.
Nora sighed. “That was hot.”
“Thank you. I have some moves.” His voice was muffled as he drew her up to his mouth and pressed a scorching kiss between her breasts.
“It was also Anna’s, so—”
“Is the bra Anna’s?”
“No, but you don’t have to rip it, I can… Here, let me…” She twisted, but her hands were shaking and clumsy, and a task she’d performed without thought since she was twelve years old defeated her.
Instead of helping, Gabe braced his arms behind his head and relaxed into the cushions.
“Suddenly you’re not in a hurry?” she said, annoyed that she was fighting her own underwear.
“Enjoying the show. Do the shimmy again.”
Nora crossed her arms over her breasts. “Maybe the bra stays on.”
“Maybe it doesn’t. Here we go.” He stripped it off her, tossed it behind the couch, and relaxed back again. “Now do the shimmy.”
He didn’t expect her to, so Nora gave it her all.
“Shit.” His eyes darkened further. “I’m not going to last long once I’m inside you. Let’s have a warm-up round.” His hips arched up into hers and he rocked gently.
Nora immediately got suspicious. Every time he was gentle seemed to be a precursor to something a whole lot more overwhelming. She fell into his erotic rhythm and watched with fascination as his cheekbones flushed. He bit his lip, eyes locked on her breasts, and started to get demanding with his hands, dragging her hard against him and controlling her movements.
The friction was going to drive her crazy. Nora made a noise of frustration, lowering her head and sliding her hands down his chest, fingers opening and closing against his abs.
“Not enough?” His voice was rough and he gave her a feral grin. “Now you know how I feel. Every time I’m around you. Always, always wanting.” He twisted, taking her down to the cushions. Leaning away for a second, he removed his T-shirt and then he laid his full weight upon her.
Nora shuddered at the feel of him, ridged muscles and hot skin. He slid a hand behind her neck, tangling into her hair and angling her for his kiss.
She was going to lose it.
He didn’t just kiss her, he was everywhere, all at once. She was drowning under the onslaught of sensation. He had his mouth on her breast, his fingers working at the button of her jeans, and a hard thigh shifting between hers, when Anna’s sexual octopus comment came into her mind. Nora let out a horrified giggle.
Gabe froze. Lifting his head, he gazed down. “Something funny?”
“N-no.”
“Mmm.” He leaned into one arm and trailed his free hand from her throat all the way down to play with the jeans button again. He didn’t open it, he circled it. Slowly. His attention fixed on it.
Nora wanted his attention fixed elsewhere. She nudged him with a knee. “It’s nothing. I was thinking about octopuses.”
He continued playing with the button. “Am I the octopus?”
“Y-yes,” she said, and then wished she could take it back. She couldn’t read his face. At all. “A sexual octopus,” she rushed to add.
Gabe popped her jeans button open. “Lift,” he instructed, and she did. He pulled her jeans down, and all the way off. He settled back between her thighs. “Sexual octopus?”
She nodded.
“Sounds revolting.”
“Octopuses aren’t revolting. They’re incredibly smart.”
“Nora. Are you trying to tell me something? Do you have an octopus kink I should know about? Is it the tentacles? Don’t get me wrong, I’m here for you. No judgement, whatever you need—”
She smacked him. “I do not have an octopus kink. It was Anna. Oh.” While she was busy trying to explain, he slid an index finger under the elastic of her panties and started to drag it back and forth. “Anna said you were like a sexual octopus.”
“Teenage boys with no finesse are compared to octopuses. Men in their prime about to bestow shattering orgasms upon their ladies are compared to gods. Sex gods. Or predators. Again, the sexy kind. Not spiders or snakes. Panthers. Wolves, bears. Think you get where I’m going here.”
He snapped the elastic of her panties.
“I do, and I wish you’d hurry up and get there,” she said. “Weren’t we supposed to be in a rush?”
He fisted the panties at her hip and tore them off.
Nora gasped.
“Hotter than when I tore the shirt, right?” he said.
She lifted up and kissed him. His tongue filled her mouth and he kissed her breathless before pulling away, cupping her chin firmly.
“I’m sorry about the octopus comment,” she said. “It popped into my head. I was panicking. If it helps, Anna also said you looked better than any porn star she’s ever seen.”
Gabe frowned. “You were panicking?”
She tried to distract him by kissing him again, but he caught her and pushed her flat. Undeterred, she went for his jeans. His abdominal muscles jumped under her touch and he let her open his fly before pinning her wrists at her sides. She fought him and he shook his head.
“Nora. Panicking?”
“For a moment. A second.”
“You’re not panicking now?”
“No.”
His green gaze, appearing almost black with passion, held hers. He released her wrists and sighed. “You’re afraid of me.”
Only a little. “I trust you.”
“Want me to slow it down?”
“I’ll kill you if you slow it down.”
He smiled, and sat back.
Nora followed him, placing her palms on his cheeks, loving the roughness of his stubble against her skin. She ran a thumb over his lower lip. “I was panicking about keeping up, that’s all. I haven’t… Vince and I were never—”
He cut her off with a hard kiss. “I don’t care about Vince. I don’t care about your cousin, or her opinion of my moves. Lucky for me my ego can take the hit of being compared to an octopus. I care about you, Nora. I want you so bad, baby, but I want you to be ready. I can wait.”
“Unicorn,” she blurted.
His shoulders shook. “Unicorn?”
She dropped her head to his chest and groaned. “You’re not an octopus or a god or a bear. You’re a unicorn.” She curled her hand into a fist and gave him a soft thump. “I’m sure that I’m not the first woman to tell you this.”
“You are most definitely the first woman to tell me this. Unicorn, huh?” He tipped her face up. “Better than an octopus. Still prefer wolf, though.”
“You’re just…oh, you know what you are. And there’s all of this going on—” she gestured at his arms and abs, “—and on top of all that you’re so nice. You’re out of my league and I had a brief confidence wobble but—”
“I’m going to let you in on a secret, Nora. There is no league. Okay? There’s you, and me. That’s all there is. That’s all there ever is. Two people who want each other. The rest of it is all bullshit.”
“Okay.”
He smiled. “Okay?”
“Yes. Okay. Get the condom. You said you were in a rush. I’m warmed up.” Any hotter and she’d explode. “Let’s go.”
Gabe didn’t move.
“Nooo,” she breathed. “You don’t have a condom? I can’t believe this! Are you kidding me?”
“I have a condom.”
“Where is it?” She started to go through his pockets. Nothing in the front. She pulled him down to lie on top of her so she could access his back pockets. They were empty, but his ass felt so good under her hands she couldn’t help giving him a hard squeeze.
He hissed, his hips jerking against her. “Stop that.”
She did it again.
“It’s not in my pockets.”
She rolled her head to the side and spotted his wallet on the coffee table. Before she could reach for it, he slid a hand under the pink fuzzy pillow, and brought out a condom.
Nora stared at it. “When did you put that there?”
“Earlier.” He opened the packet.
“I never noticed. You do have some moves.”
“You have no idea.”
She watched him shove down his jeans and put the condom on. She shivered. “I think I’m about to get an idea.”
Gabe brought three more packets out from under the pillow and tossed them onto the coffee table beside his wallet. “Honey, you’re about to get more than one.”