CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – GABRIEL
I slept like shit throughout the night after Penny roused from her sleep. I didn’t know what possessed me to crawl into her room after I was confident that Nikki and Alyssa were both asleep, but it had felt right to hold her in my arms, to feel her even breaths as she slept peacefully without stirring when I had pulled her close to me.
I rose early in the morning to hear Nikki’s voice chatting away cheerfully in the kitchen. Having her here certainly complicated everything; that much, Penny was right about. We couldn’t afford to risk being together with the both of them around. Even though having Nikki around increased the risk of getting caught, it didn’t dampen my desires at all. My feelings for Penny had only strengthened since the day before. The urge to pull Penny close last night and to make love to her had been so strong that it took everything in me to respect her wishes and pull away from her. She had a lot of emotions to sort through over the next couple of days, just like I did.
I had no idea what I wanted, either, and I got the feeling that Penny had no idea what to make of our relationship at this point. Things were so complicated between us, making it impossible to get a handle on what exactly we felt for each other.
I found Nikki sitting at the kitchen island with Alyssa, who was already showered and dressed for the day—a sign that she intended on venturing out at some point.
“Morning,” Nikki said cheerfully. “There’s a fresh pot of coffee sitting over there for you, if you want some.”
“Thank you,” I mumbled, rubbing at my aching eyes. “What are you two up to?”
“I have to go into the city to meet Scott, if that’s okay with you,” Alyssa said cautiously. “I didn’t think it’d be a problem since you both are here now to keep an eye on Penny.”
Nikki reached across the kitchen island to pat Alyssa on the hand. “Of course, it is, honey. You don’t have to ruin your plans. Your father and I are here for her.”
I poured myself a cup while I fought to keep my irritation levels down. I had to get through an entire morning with a painful erection straining in my pants that my sweater thankfully covered up. More than anything, I just wanted some damn alone time with Penny to talk things out before we figured out what to do. From the looks of it though, it wasn’t going to happen with Nikki wandering about my kitchen as she frowned at me.
“You look like hell, Gabriel. You were one of the first ones to go to bed, too.”
“I laid in bed for a long time,” I said, which was the full truth. I had waited until I knew everyone was asleep before getting up. “What are you looking for in my kitchen, Nikki?”
“Things for breakfast,” she said. “You have nothing in your fridge at the moment, besides milk and creamer.”
“We don’t eat here,” Alyssa said. “That’s why. We normally just order in because neither one of us knows how to cook a decent breakfast.”
She hopped down from the bar stool to peck a kiss against my cheek. I nodded goodbye to her while Nikki continued to rummage through my cupboards with light clucks of her tongue. I took a long drink of coffee in the futile hope that it would stomp down my frustration, but it didn’t work. I set my coffee down on the kitchen counter when she slammed a cupboard door shut with more force than necessary.
“No need to take your anger out on my kitchen,” I remarked cynically. “Alyssa is right. We don’t eat here most of the time, and when we do, it’s usually take out from somewhere close by.”
Nikki shook her head at me in dismay. “You need to be cooking that child some home cooked meals. I always made a point of doing that for Penny growing up.”
“Alyssa is nineteen years old,” I said. “She doesn’t care about that type of stuff. Plus, she’s already gone to go meet with her boyfriend.”
“Well, I’m not going to stay idle in here. I’m going to the store to get something to cook my child for breakfast.”
She left the kitchen to grab her purse from the living room. I shook my head as I heard Nikki mumble to herself while she swept through my kitchen with a notepad in her hand. She was clearly looking for a way to make things up to her daughter, and breakfast seemed like the easiest thing to do for her right now.
“Mom?”
I looked up at the sound of Penny’s voice cutting through haze of the morning. Her eyes flicked over to where I stood near the kitchen sink before focusing on Nikki who scribbled something else down on her notepad.
“What are you doing?” Penny asked with a tired smile. “You look like you’re annoying Gabriel.”
Nikki glanced up at me indifferently. “I am getting you all groceries. That’s what I’m doing. I’ll be back in a little bit. There is a supermarket down the street that I can walk to.”
She kissed Penny on the apple of her check before the front door clicked shut behind her. Penny and I stood there in a mild daze before she let out a strained laugh.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “She can be tenacious about things.”
I shook my head. “I’m just glad that we have some alone time to talk.”
“I suppose,” Penny said, and reached up to twirl a finger through her hair nervously. “I’m sorry about kicking you out last night. I just didn’t want things to get out of control.”
My erection already throbbed with the temptation to take advantage of the time we had alone together. This was why we never had the chance to talk. We both wanted to be physically close to one another. Just one kiss. It wouldn’t hurt to indulge in one little kiss.
Penny’s eyes widened as I approached, but she didn’t back away. She looked up at me through long, dark lashes that framed her beautiful eyes.
“What are you doing?” she whispered, panic intermingling with desire. “What if—”
“Alyssa is gone,” I said, quieting her fears. “And your mom just left. Just one kiss.”
I pushed my lips against hers. A small sigh escaped her lips as she returned the kiss. Her arms wound around my neck, and she tilted her head back for an even deeper kiss. Our tongues touched lightly while I slid my hands along the slope of her back to grasp her firm ass cheeks through the sweat pants she wore.
“Hey, Penny. I was thinking that—”
The sound of Nikki’s voice felt like cold water splashing over Penny and me. I didn’t even have time to let go of Penny when her mother strolled back into the kitchen, stopping in complete shock and horror. Her wide eyes swept over Penny, who hastily moved away, before “What the hell is going on?” she yelled.
“Mom,” Penny started. “Please, don’t freak out. Don’t—”
Nikki didn’t bother hearing the rest of her daughter’s words. Her eyes cut at me coldly as she turned to walk out of the room.