Chapter Seventeen
The last thing Gabe wanted to deal with was his ringing phone. Again. He’d stopped by his office to fax a few things to the Portland club, and it was like the universe was waiting to pounce on him. Two hours later and he was no closer to leaving.
With a sigh, he picked up the phone. “Schultz here.”
“You’re avoiding my calls.”
The universe really did hate him. “Lynn.”
“Look, I get it. You don’t want to deal with this asshole. Guess what? I don’t want to deal with him either.”
The old G.M. hadn’t called him, but he hadn’t stopped harassing Lynn, either. The truth was Gabe needed to get down there and deal with the problem, but he couldn’t leave yet. Not with his date with Elle coming up. Too much hinged on that. He had to get it right, which meant not ditching her to deal with business. “I’ll be down there as soon as possible.”
“Which means what, exactly? Today? Tomorrow?”
“I said as soon as possible, and that’s what I meant. Give me a few days to tie up a few things here and I’ll let you know.” As soon as he figured out how to tell Elle he had to leave town. No matter how much he wanted to stay, this needed to be taken care of. After their date.
“Fine, Schultz. I’ll try to hold him off for a while longer.”
“I appreciate it.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Talk to you soon.” She clicked off.
Gabe hung up and stretched until the bones in his spine popped. Lynn could handle the issue until he made time to get down there. This shouldn’t be a huge problem, wouldn’t have gotten this far in the first place if he’d stayed in L.A. until things were running smoothly again. It was his responsibility to fix this, one way or another.
Too bad it was the last thing he wanted to do right now.
…
“Working late?”
Elle looked up from her desk and smiled at Nathan. “I have a few things I need to take care of, and then I’m heading home.”
“Sounds good.” He paused in the doorway. “For the record, I’m glad you’re not quitting.”
“I was never going to quit.” She started to reach for a piece of paper to shred, but made her hands still. That he didn’t want her to leave, even knowing the truth, settled something deep inside her. “I love the gallery.”
“I know you do.” He knocked on the doorjamb. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Then he was gone, leaving her staring after him.
Elle waited until she heard the outer door shut and lock before she stood. There was nothing here needing to be done that couldn’t wait until tomorrow, but she’d wanted some time alone before she went home. It was silly, but this was one of the few places that helped center her when she was feeling out of control.
And she was feeling extremely out of control.
Circling the gallery floor, she finally stopped in front of her favorite painting. Even now, she wasn’t sure what it was about the work that drew her so completely, but the first time Elle saw it, she felt like she’d been kicked in the chest. She wanted it with a desire that had been completely unmatched…up until now.
She didn’t know what to do about Gabe. Or even if she should do anything at all. Somehow, he’d managed to push his way into her life in a seriously short time and every time she thought about it, she started to get panicky. Because Jason had done the same darn thing. He saw her, he wanted her, and, for all intents and purposes, he’d charmed her panties right off of her. She could still see the mean glint in his eyes when he laughed at her declaration of love, could still feel her heart shattering when he told her how many others girls he’d slept with while they were dating, still ached with the despair that consumed her when he’d turned around and walked away. He was proof that bad boys were bad news.
Gabe looked just like her ex, at least superficially, with his tattoos, rough style, and don’t-mess-with-me attitude. But every time fear tried to talk her into backing out of their date she’d remember how he’d taken care of her during her allergic reaction. And the next morning, when he made the top of her head explode and didn’t ask for anything in return. She’d given it to him anyway, but she knew to the bottom of her soul that he wouldn’t have pushed for more if she hadn’t.
No, the more time she spent with Gabe, the more she realized just how much she’d misjudged him. Their time together since the disaster with the sage was more than proof of that.
And, God, the sex was beyond anything she could have imagined.
Elle bit her lip and let her gaze coast over the glorious flowers, their pinks and golds set off by the inkblots beneath them. Beautiful and delicate, but the back beneath them was strong. Even just looking at it straightened her spine and helped steady her resolve.
She wanted this date—a real date—with Gabe, wanted it more than she’d wanted anything since this painting. It didn’t matter that her brother would never approve and her mother would go into fits if she knew about it. Elle owed it to herself to get out of her own way and see if these things she felt for him were worth pursuing.
…
Friday night came far too quickly—and not quickly enough. The days since their time at the lake had dragged on, until it felt like months since she’d seen him last. Elle was ready a full hour before Gabe said he’d pick her up. She paced through the house, adjusting pictures that didn’t need to be adjusted, wiping down counters that didn’t need to be wiped down, and generally driving herself crazy. When his headlights finally cut through the kitchen windows, Elle was a nervous, bumbling mess.
Unable to pretend she wasn’t waiting on pins and needles, she opened the door as he came up the steps. “Hey.”
Good lord, he looked fantastic. His jeans were straight-cut and obviously expensive and, combined with the gray dress shirt, had her thoughts diving into the gutter. Elle made an effort to close her mouth and smile at him, even as she fought not to fan herself.
For his part, Gabe seemed just as starstruck as she was. His mouth opened and closed and he swallowed visibly. “You look amazing.”
She smoothed down the front of her dress, feeling heat rush to her face. “Thank you. I’m overdressed.”
“Don’t even think about changing.” He held out his hand. “You ready?” The gesture was oddly formal, but it eased some of her anxiety. It was just a date. Sure, a date with a man who made her crazy, but she could do this.
“Yes.” Elle paused long enough to lock up, and then they walked to his car. “What’s on the agenda?”
He grinned and opened the passenger door. “Wait and see.”
“You’re teasing me.”
“Yep.” Gabe bounded around the front of the car and slid into the driver’s seat. “Though I have to say—you’re doing a damn good job of teasing me.”
She blinked. “I’m not doing anything.”
“Babe, you’re dressed to the nines and grinning at me like I gave you the best present possible just by showing up. If I didn’t have an awesome date planned, I’d toss you over my shoulder and take you to bed.”
“Oh.” She shifted, trying to deal with the surge of desire his words brought. They should shock her—and they did—but they certainly didn’t horrify her. “Um…thank you?”
Gabe barked out a laugh. “Anytime. Now let’s get out of here before I change my mind.”
They drove into town and Elle let herself relax into the comfortable silence. Normally she’d be babbling like an idiot right about now, but the need to do that wasn’t there with Gabe. She watched him out of the corner of her eye, wondering when he had become heart-stoppingly gorgeous instead of just a thug. None of this made any sense, but she deliberately chose to let it go. She liked how she felt when she was with him, even after so short a time. Was that really a bad thing just because he didn’t match the profile of the imaginary man she’d created? Only time would tell.
She didn’t realize their destination until he pulled into the parking lot. “Milford’s?”
“A little birdy told me it’s your favorite.”
Nathan. It had to be. She didn’t know why she was so surprised, but a flutter of sheer emotion spiraled through her. Gabe really had done his homework.
Milford’s had been around for ages, and was arguably the best seafood place in Spokane. Elle had driven past the building for years before Roxanne took her there for dinner. The menu changed daily, depending on the catch, and she’d never had anything less than fantastic. After half a bottle of wine, she’d once told Roxanne their food was better than sex.
Elle smiled at Gabe as he opened her door. Yeah, she couldn’t make that claim anymore—not after meeting him—but it was still her favorite place to eat, even if she couldn’t afford to do it regularly. “Thank you.”
“You keep smiling at me like that, and I’ll do damn near anything for you.” He took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. “Thank you for coming out with me again. I know the last meal we shared wasn’t great.”
She barely fought back a shudder at the memory of the bar. “I appreciate the effort.”
The inside of Milford’s always felt like a step into another world. Everything about the decor screamed money, from the wood paneling to the various art covering the walls. The floors shone as if they’d just been polished and even the lighting created an ambiance of affluence.
They were seated in a secluded corner booth, and she was surprised when Gabe slid next to her instead of taking the seat across the table. He shrugged when he caught her expression. “Can you blame me?”
No, not really. In fact, she had the nearly overwhelming urge to crawl into his lap right here in the middle of the restaurant. His spicy scent wrapped around her, leaving her almost drunk on it. Elle cleared her throat. “I don’t know if I’m going to be able to hold a conversation with you so close.”
The light in his eyes changed in an instant, going from teasing to straight heat. Gabe cupped her face, his thumbs stroking along her cheekbones. “I like that I affect you like this.”
Her breath stuttered in her lungs and her damn nipples perked up. The latter wouldn’t be so bad if she was wearing a bra. Sadly, this dress made it impossible. And, of course, Gabe noticed. When his gaze finally moved back to her face, his grin was more satisfied than the cat that ate the canary. He leaned in and pressed a kiss against her lips. Even that brief contact left her shaking. Wanting. She made an involuntary sound of protest when he moved away.
Gabe shook his head. “You’re doing a number on my control, babe.” He moved to the bench across the table. It didn’t help, though, because now she could see him. And, from the look on his face, he was doing really, really sexy things to her inside his head.
Her cursed brain was all too helpful in offering up what some of those possibilities could be. Between one breath and the next she was back on her living room couch, naked from the waist down with his mouth on her. If she’d thought the man had wicked lips, it was nothing compared to what he did when he had them on her. If her phone hadn’t rung, she would have come hard enough to see stars. Just like he’d promised.
Elle crossed her legs, but it did nothing to help the pulsing heat at her core. In fact, the friction made it worse. She took a hasty drink of water, not sure if she was grateful or annoyed when the waiter approached.
Of course, Gabe didn’t seem to have any problem switching from seducer to proper guest. He ordered a beer and then they were both looking at her expectantly. Crap. “Wine, please.” When the waiter opened his mouth, she hurried on. “A Cab would be great. Whatever you recommend.”
“Very good.” The waiter took the wine list. “Have you decided or would you like some more time?”
Gabe’s smile was a bit too satisfied. “A few more minutes would be great.”
She read over the menu twice before the words actually registered. Good lord, the man was temptation personified. Searching for a distraction, she flipped through the options. Deciding on the salmon, Elle set the menu aside.
Then there was nothing to focus on but Gabe, who seemed all too happy to put all of his attention on her. Elle tried and failed to suppress a shiver. “What are you having?”
“You.”
Beneath the heat in his dark eyes, her thoughts tumbled over themselves and then died a silent death. She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, could barely breathe. The moment stretched on as her heart tried to beat its way out of her chest.
Gabe reached across the table and took her hand, raising it to brush her knuckles along his cheek. The five o’clock shadow scraped against her skin, leaving her almost unbearably sensitive. He kissed the same spot and then released her. “But not yet.”