Chapter Five: Gaby

 

 

Derek's hand was warm and strong on her arm. As she looked up at him, it was all she could do not to throw herself into his arms.

Being a single mom meant having to be a pillar of strength. She had her mother to help her, but with Mama recovering from hip surgery, Gaby had to be there for her mother as well as her son.

She hadn't realized how much she'd needed someone to be there for her.

And for all the things she kept telling herself about why this was a bad idea—Derek was a professional bodyguard; he was protecting her because it was his job—she felt as if she'd been swept away into something too big to stop.

Sandy would have been the one big sticking point. She couldn't be with a man who couldn't accept her son. But now Derek knew about Sandy and he didn't seem to mind ... unlike every other guy she'd dated since Sandy had been born.

It just felt different with Derek. When she'd first laid eyes on him, it was like something that had been missing all her life had clicked into place. She'd never felt anything like it before.

And the way he was looking at her with that warmth in his eyes ...

It was like there was a magnetic attraction drawing the two of them together. Gaby started to lean forward—

And Polly came out of the back, dusting off her hands on her apron. Gaby jerked away, trying to recover her poise and look professional.

Polly glanced between the two of them. Her gaze softened and became almost maternal.  "Gaby. Go home."

"What?" Gaby protested. She could feel herself flushing. "I thought you were okay with the whole thing—uh, Derek staying here to guard me, I mean—"

"I'm fine with it, but I don't see any reason for you to work a shift and a half today after the shock you had this morning." Polly patted her on the shoulder. "I really appreciate you staying through the breakfast rush, hon. But I've called Mei and she can come in and do the closing shift."

"It really is okay. I just got off the phone with Mama—"

"Gaby. Gabriella. Dear." Polly leaned in and murmured in her ear, "Let the nice tall bodyguard take you somewhere safe. We'll be fine here."

Gaby sighed and gave up on fighting it. She hugged Polly. "Thanks. I'll be here for the opening shift tomorrow, I promise."

"I'll expect you, but give me a call right away if you can't make it, okay?"

Gaby nodded. "Thanks for looking out for me."

At the door of the coffee shop, Derek stopped her. "I'm going to take a quick look to make sure the street's clear. Stay behind me, but touch my back lightly so I know exactly where you are, especially if I have to draw my gun. That's going to be our procedure when we enter a new location from now on. Okay?"

She nodded, moving a little closer so she could rest her hand tentatively against his back. She hadn't expected it to feel so intimate. She could feel his muscles flexing as he moved, one hand hovering near his gun. He seemed so sure and capable. She'd never felt safer.

"Clear," Derek said quietly.

Gaby took her hand away from his back, with an instant's regret as her fingers left the warmth of his shirt-clad skin, and followed him outside. As she left the coffee shop, she glanced back to see Polly looking after them with an expression that could only be described as knowing.

Then she was out on the street, which looked perfectly normal, bustling with pedestrians and vehicles as it always did at this time of day. The armored car was gone now, and the patch of sidewalk in front of the credit union looked no different from any other part of the sidewalk. Gaby doubted if the people going in and out of its swinging glass door knew that a robbery had taken place this morning right where they were walking.

If she hadn't seen it happen herself, she would've been one of those oblivious pedestrians herself. Now she wondered how many other life-changing events she'd walked past, never knowing.

"How are you holding up?" Derek asked, placing a hand in the middle of her back. His fingers were warm and strong, and more bracing than her half-finished latte.

"I don't know," she admitted. "It feels like ... like the cover has been ripped off the world. Does that make any sense? Everything's different. But everyone's going on like it's just the same."

"That's perfectly normal when you've witnessed an act of violence," Derek told her. "The department can probably hook you up with a counselor if you need one."

Yeah, and how was she supposed to pay for that? Gaby shook her head. "I'm doing okay, I think. All I need is—"

You, she wanted to say. But that was ridiculous. She'd only just met him.

And yet there was that coming-home feeling, as if the only place she ever wanted to be was right here by his side.

As she started walking down the street toward her usual transit stop, Derek stopped her with a hand. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Where are you going?"

"My bus stop," Gaby said. Her feet had automatically turned in that direction; she hadn't even thought about it.

"Oh no, no." Derek shook his head. "You're not using public transportation, not 'til this is cleared up. I'll drive you."

With a possible shape-changing killer after her, she wasn't about to argue, especially if it meant not hassling with the bus. Her eyes widened slightly when Derek escorted her to his car, a classic black Mustang parked outside the coffee shop.

"So you're a car guy," she said, running a thumb across the leather seat before sitting down.

"I like an engine with some muscle."

"Get in a lot of car chases, do you?" Her heart fluttered as the car doors closed, shutting out the city. It felt suddenly, startlingly intimate, just the two of them in the Mustang's front seats.

"I believe in being prepared. Go ahead and lock your door."

She popped the lock down; he'd already locked his. "This feels so weird. Like I'm being completely paranoid."

"Better to take precautions than to be caught off guard if something does happen." He turned to her, his brown eyes very serious. "But I'm not letting anything happen you on my watch, Gaby."

"I believe you," she whispered. She could feel the conviction of his words.

And finally, after all the interruptions, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to lean forward and meet his lips with hers.

It felt like a circuit closing, as if the attraction between them could only be resisted for a little while, never stopped. Derek kissed back with fervor, his mouth opening under hers to claim the sweetness of her kiss. He brought his hands up to bury his fingers in her hair, and she succumbed to the temptation to touch the flat, hard planes of his stomach, her hand sliding to rest on his waist.

When their lips parted, she gazed at him in a daze. She'd never been kissed like that before. Her heart was fluttering madly now, her chest full of heat, and tension grew between her legs, aching for the only kind of release that could relieve it.

"Wow," Derek breathed.

Gaby had to swallow a couple of times to get her voice back. "I shouldn't have—"

"Yeah, you should have," Derek said softly, and with one strong hand he brought her in for another kiss. This one was gentler and longer, and the sensation went straight down through her body to her aching sex.

She wanted him; oh, she wanted him. Her body ached for him. These touches didn't salve her need; they only made it grow.

Derek let go with a few little nibbles at her lips. "Where do you want to go?" he asked, swiping a thumb over the corner of her mouth. "I could take you straight home. Or we could go inspect the hotel room that's apparently been secured to keep you safe."

A hotel room ... with no mother, no small child. A bed with clean sheets that she didn't have to wash. And, most importantly, privacy.

"Hotel," she declared.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Derek was grinning as he put the car in gear.

He took a circuitous route to the hotel. Gaby had lived in this city all her life, and she still wasn't sure where they were going until they pulled into an underground parking garage.

"Didn't want to take a chance on being followed," Derek explained.

"I'm totally fine with that." She got out her phone, guiltily trying to figure out how to text her mom and explain that she was taking off work early, that she was fine but she wasn't going home yet because she was with her incredibly hot bodyguard ...

There was absolutely no way she could explain this to her mom in a series of texts. Not without immediately getting a phone call and a torrent of the Spanglish that Luisa Diaz lapsed into when she was upset.

Mama and Sandy are perfectly safe, she told herself. A cop is with them. And I'm safe with Derek.

All her life, she'd been cautious and careful. She'd always done the safe, sensible, responsible thing. She had put other people before herself, every single time.

Maybe it was time to do something a little bit foolish and crazy. Something just for her.

"Remember the procedure from earlier," Derek told her as they got out of the car. "I'm going to clear the stairwell and lobby before you enter, okay?"

"Okay," she said quietly, subdued at the reminder that they weren't here for fun. (Not just for fun, anyway, said a tiny little voice inside her—the long-suppressed wild'n'crazy Gabriella who had been squashed down beneath serious, sensible Gaby.) There was a very serious reason why she'd gotten off early from work.

But she did feel safe with Derek. It wasn't just having a big, muscular guy at her side. It was a bone-deep conviction that he would do whatever it took to protect her. And she thought that getting away from the coffee shop, where everything had happened, was helping too.

Derek left her sitting in a cluster of chairs in the hotel lobby while he went to check in. It wasn't a fantastically high-class hotel, just a big chain hotel of the conference center type, but it was still miles beyond anything she'd ever been able to afford for herself on a barista's salary. On the rare occasions when she and her family went anywhere, it was strictly Motel 6 all the way.

I bet they have room service here, she thought, looking up at the high ceiling of the lobby, brushed by the leaves of potted ornamental trees. I wonder if they'll let me bring Mama and Sandy here too. They'd be safer here, wouldn't they? My mom would absolutely love it. I hope they have a big tub, maybe a Jacuzzi ...

Derek came back and handed her a key card. "Room 419. For the record, we're checked in as Quincy and Mary Jones."

"Er, Quincy?"

"Blame Keegan for that one," Derek said with a grimace. He shepherded her into the elevator, not in a pushy way, but she couldn't help noticing how he interposed himself between her and the lobby until the doors closed. And then it was just the two of them in the elevator.

And very soon, just the two of them in a hotel room.

Gaby cleared her throat, trying to distract herself from his presence—so large, so near. She wondered if he knew what his defensive body language was doing to her. Mess with this woman and die, his stance said. Of course, he was a bodyguard. It was his job. But there was something about having all of that attention focused on her that was doing things to her, especially when it was coming from someone as completely ripped and good looking as Derek ...

"So what's the long-term plan here?" she asked, to stop herself from climbing him right here in the elevator. "I've got a busy life, a full-time job and night classes, not to mention my family."

"Well, since you've made it very clear that you won't be putting any part of that life on hold just because of the small matter of your life possibly being in danger ..." He said it without rancor, instead wearing a small grin that looked almost admiring. "Then I guess I'll be coming with you for all of those things."

"What, going to class with me?"

"I can wait in the hall."

"Derek—no! You can't stay with me 24-7. You must have a life of your own to get back to."

"This is my job," he pointed out. "You're my life now."

Before she could tease out the tangled meanings behind that, the doors opened on their floor. Derek touched her arm, positioning her subtly behind him as he stepped out into the hallway. The elevator door started to close. Gaby touched it to keep it open until Derek looked back and nodded.

"Is it always going to be like ... this, though?" she asked as they went down the hall in close proximity to each other, his arm almost but not quite brushing hers. "I mean, you'll need to sleep and eat and ... and you must have friends, family—you can't put everything on hold for me."

"Only until the cops catch the guy," Derek said. He swiped the key card in the door and poked his head into the room, taking a quick look around before letting her in.

Right. This was only temporary. She tried to convince herself that she wasn't disappointed—not at the idea of getting back to her regular life, but having Derek out of it. To distract herself from the clutch of unhappiness in her chest, she looked around.

After the nice lobby, the hotel room was less palatial than she'd hoped, although there was room for two beds, a desk and chair, and a minifridge. It was much bigger than her bedroom at home. Gaby whipped out her phone.

"Now what are you doing?" Derek asked, coming out of the bathroom. She hadn't heard him do anything in there; she was pretty sure he was just checking it in case of assassins lurking behind the shower curtain. He slung his jacket over the back of the room's only chair.

"I'm taking pictures to show Mama and Sandy. I guess this must be an everyday kind of thing for you, but I've never stayed in a hotel this nice." She started to hold up the phone toward him, then lowered it. "Is it violating your bodyguard rules or anything to take a picture of you? I mean, would that like, blow your cover?"

"Bodyguards aren't like undercover cops. The whole point is that we're supposed to be seen."

"Well, in that case, say cheese!"

He smiled dutifully, and when she put the phone away, she was surprised to see how soft his expression was—almost wistful. "Your family is lucky to have you, Gaby. Every time you talk about them, I can see how much they mean to you."

"I hope they'll be safe," she said quietly, setting her purse on the desk. This kept feeling like a fun adventure ... until it didn't anymore.

Derek touched her arm gently, and when she didn't pull away, he put an arm around her and guided her away from the desk. He sat on the foot of the nearest bed and drew her down beside him.

"Gaby, I haven't known you very long, but I can already tell you're one of the strongest, most determined people I've ever met." Derek touched her chin, turning her face up towards his. "They're going to be fine. You're going to be fine."

"I like it when you tell me that," she whispered, lips parting. "Say it again."

"You're really fine, Gaby," he whispered back, his lips inches from hers, and the corners of her mouth pulled back in a grin.

"You too," she murmured before his mouth closed on hers and rational thought fled.

He kissed with the same passionate intensity that he did everything else. Derek Ruger wasn't a man who lived life halfway, she could tell already, and after spending her whole life being safe, being sensible, she could feel those chains of caution loosening and falling away under his touch. She had never been kissed like this before. If she hadn't been sitting down already, her knees would have folded.

She surfaced from the kiss to find that his hand had worked its way under the bottom edge of her T-shirt. Both her hands were spread across the smooth muscle of his stomach, and before she could stop herself, she dipped her fingers under the waistband of his jeans. She could just touch the top of his underwear. Boxers or briefs? She had a feeling she was about to find out.

"Don't stop," she gasped, and recaptured his mouth with hers.

They kissed madly as they fumbled with each other's clothing. He unclasped her bra under her shirt; she gasped against his mouth as her breasts swung free. She was already wet as she climbed into his lap, legs spread so she could grind herself against him. Through his tight jeans she felt the massive stiffness of his erection.

They had to break the kiss to strip off their T-shirts. She straddled his lap as she pulled it over her head, and when her face emerged from the gray fabric, she found that he'd done the same in a single fast motion. Now she got an up-close look at that amazing, chiseled body she'd seen earlier. It was all working muscle, not the bulging body of a bulked-up gym rat.

She just wanted to touch him all over, feel him all over, bury her face in him.

Her whole life had been about self-control. It was about denying herself that candy bar so she could save the dollar to pay bus fare. It was about working her way through classes no matter how boring the subject matter, so she could get her business degree and earn a better living for her family. It was about working second shifts at the coffee shop so she could buy toys for her son's birthday and pay the copay on her mom's pain meds.

The only reckless thing she'd ever done in her whole life was her fling with her son's father, and she couldn't regret it because Sandy was the best thing that had ever happened to her. But she'd come out of that affair with the firm conviction that it was the last reckless thing she'd ever do in her life.

She had been wrong. So wrong.

It wasn't about keeping control all the time. It was about losing control with the right person.

She was losing control and it felt so good.

With her bra dangling from one arm by its strap, she pushed Derek down on the bed so she could straddle his hips properly. Making a husky groan deep in his throat, he let her, even though he was strong enough to fling her off without breaking a sweat.

He smelled wonderful. No hint of cologne or hair product, just a faint whiff of shaving foam and soap to accent the musky, spicy smell of male skin. She kissed his collarbones, his powerfully muscled shoulders, and ran her hands across the rough, ridged skin of the scars on his stomach and side.

On anyone else, those scars might have marred the perfection of his skin, but on Derek they did nothing except enhance the whole package. He was a dangerous man who made a living by fighting. She'd never been with anyone like that before.

And yet he was incredibly gentle as he stroked her skin, caressing her breasts, running a big thumb over her nipples. His eyes, when she pulled back to look into his face, were soft with a kind of warm wonder, like he was drinking in the sight of her.

At any other time she'd have soaked up that worshipful gaze like a flower seeking the sun, but right now all she wanted him to do was wrestle her down and fill her with the erect cock pressing through his jeans against her inner thigh. She undid her jeans and rose up to her knees to push them down over her hips, followed by her panties. Derek obviously got the picture; he was fumbling with the snap of his jeans already.

He was a briefs man, she discovered as his jeans went the way of her own.

And he was also huge. She'd never been with anyone that big. Right now, though, she had no concerns about whether he'd fit. She was soaking wet and about as ready as she'd ever been. At the sight of him, any last vestiges of control fled.

"Derek, I need you—now—"

Responding to her cry, he pushed into her, and she threw her head back in pure pleasure, digging her fingers into his chest. Each stroke pressed gloriously against her slippery inner walls, sliding in and out as she thrust back vigorously.

Derek rolled her over on the bed so he could get his mouth on hers, kissing her with a clashing of teeth as he thrust into her. Their bodies were tangled together, sweat-damp and burning with shared need. She could feel herself mounting toward orgasm and she didn't hold back. She was aware of his body shaking with the effort to control himself, to keep from reaching his own climax before she was ready.

She went over the edge with a powerful shock, her mind going numb in the throes of the best orgasm she'd ever had. Derek shuddered through his own shocks as he held her, and finally they collapsed on the bed, coming down from the high together.