The familiar smell of homemade sauce tickles my nose and drags me from sleep. I don’t even want to open my eyes. Last time I did that, bad, bad things happened.
So, I lie still, taking stock of my body.
No searing pain in my side and only a dull throb in my head and shoulder.
Thank fucking Christ.
A muffled bang from the kitchen finally compels me to force my eyes open. The pitch black of the room surrounds me, and I’m tempted to close my eyes and let sleep pull me back under. I’m fucking exhausted.
But the scent coming through the crack in the bedroom door calls to me. My stomach rumbles.
Shit.
I’m not sure what time Skye got me back into bed, but the clock tells me it’s almost 8:00 and I haven’t eaten since 8:00 this morning—shitty hospital food at that.
I push myself up with my right arm and swing my legs over the side of the bed. The room only slightly spins this time and it quickly rights itself. With some concerted effort, I get myself on my feet and shuffle to the door.
The moment I open it fully, the aroma of familiar spices and tomato makes my mouth water.
By the time I make it down the hallway to the kitchen, I’m completely convinced Mrs. Hawke must be here cooking for me. Talk about awkward. Savage won’t even talk to me but his own mother is taking care of me. This is precisely what I’d been trying to avoid when I ended things with Skye.
But the dark-haired woman at the stove isn’t Mrs. Hawke. It’s Skye, and my heart constricts watching her stir the large pot. Who would have thought seeing her cooking in my kitchen would be so Goddamn sexy and feel so fucking right?
God, I’m so fucked when it comes to this woman.
She pulls the spoon from the pot and brings it to her mouth. When she slips it between her lips and moans, my cock twitches to life. I must make a noise without even realizing it because her head whips around and her surprised eyes meet mine.
“Oh, you’re awake.” She drops the spoon back into the pot and approaches me where I lean against the wall. “How are you feeling?”
“Better.” Thanks to you goes unsaid. She knows as well as I do that if she hadn’t shown up, I may have spent an inordinate amount of time in agony on the fucking hallway floor before anyone found me.
A bright smile spreads across her face. “Good.” She glances at the clock. “It’s almost time for your next dose. I was going to wake you up soon anyway. I’ll go grab the meds.”
While she wanders down the hallway toward my bedroom, I slowly lumber over to the island and slide onto a stool facing the stove.
It feels so fucking good to sit down.
Despite my pain being manageable now, the effort it took to get all the way here after this morning’s ordeal has utterly exhausted me.
She returns and places the bottles and water on the island in front of me. “Take them in ten minutes.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I would salute her, but expending energy on unnecessary movement right now sounds like a horrible idea.
When she returns her attention to the stove, I take stock of my kitchen. Cutting boards, half-chopped herbs, and other items are strewn across the island and counter next to the stove.
“I didn’t know you could cook.”
Skye barks out a laugh and grins at me over her shoulder. “I can bake, too. Pretty well, when I’m not being distracted in the kitchen.” And just like that, the feeling of her hot, wet core wrapped around my dick while I pumped into her on her fucking counter sends my cock into full, raging hard-on mode.
A beautiful pink blush spreads up the back of her neck. Even with her back to me, I’m confident it’s overtaken her cheeks. She’s remembering that night too. I bet she’s wet as fuck just thinking about it.
No, stop.
I shake my head to break the spell she put on me with one simple reminder. “What are you making? It smells like your mother’s sauce.”
She clears her throat and stirs the pot again. “It is. And I have the water going for pasta. You need to eat something.”
“Where did you get all the groceries?” I know I didn’t have anything she needed in my fridge or pantry. I don’t exactly keep either stocked. “Did you leave and come back?”
“No.” She turns around to face me and steps up to the other side of the island. “Actually, Dani brought everything over for me.”
I scoff. “Does Savage know she’s aiding and abetting the enemy?”
The corner of Skye’s mouth twitches up. “I doubt it. She said he was at the club tonight for something for a while, so she ran to the store, picked me up what I needed, and then went home.”
“So does this mean she’s staying neutral in all this? ‘Cause I have a hard time believing she would do anything to upset Savage.”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. I didn’t ask, but she did refer to herself as Switzerland at one point, so maybe she’s withholding judgment.”
Maybe.
But I’m pretty confident when it comes down to it, she will do what is best for her relationship with Savage over her friendship with me. And I can’t say I blame her for that. He’s her husband and the father of her child. I’m just the guy who tore her husband’s heart out and created a rift in his family.
Gabe’s eyes darken with sadness. What’s he thinking about? I probably shouldn’t ask. Chances are I won’t like his answer.
“You okay?”
He nods slowly. “Yeah, just wondering if all this was really worth it for you?”
My breath catches in my throat. I certainly wasn’t expecting that question. “What do you mean?”
A sad smile turns his lips up. “I mean, would all this be worth it if we were together? Losing your relationship with Savage. Putting Dani in the middle. This break in your family. Would you be able to accept losing all that if we were together?”
Wow.
In a million years, I never would have anticipated Gabe initiating this conversation. I guess we aren’t waiting until he’s recovered.
I swallow and scrutinize my hands spread out on the granite countertop to avoid meeting his eyes. “Well, you know how much Savage means to me, so I’d be lying if I said it didn’t break my fucking heart to know he’s mad at me, and you, and that neither of us may ever get back what we had with him. But, the rest of the family? I don’t think they would really care one way or the other what we did if it didn’t upset Savage so much. And I think they’ll get over that. So, worth it?” I force myself to meet his gaze. “Yes. A thousand percent yes, it’s worth it.”
He seems surprised. “But why? Why are you willing to lose all of that?”
“Because I love you and want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you.”
His expression doesn’t change.
He doesn’t respond.
He doesn’t move.
He simply sits there and stares at me unwaveringly.
Fuck. That hurts.
Maybe laying it all out like that was an incredibly awful idea. My stomach roils as I continue to wait for him to have some reaction, anything to tell me what he’s thinking.
His lips press together in a firm line and his knuckles whiten on his fisted hands.
When he finally speaks, his voice comes out soft and demanding. “Come over here.”
On shaking legs, I make my way around the island. He turns on his stool so by the time I make it to him, he’s facing me.
I step forward until the front of my thighs meet his knees and study him. He reaches up with his good arm and places his large, warm palm against my cheek. His simple touch combined with the trepidation over what he’s going to say make my legs weak. My body shakes, and I have to steady myself with my hands on his knees.
He lets out a small sigh and brushes his thumb across the line of my jaw. “Do you have any idea how hard this has been for me?”
Unshed tears burn my eyes. I reach up and wipe them away. “I know. You lost Savage…I’m so sorry.”
“Yes, I did lose Savage. But that’s not what I meant.”
Oh God, this doesn’t sound good.
My stomach churns and my heartbeat whooshes in my ears. “Then what did you mean?”
The corner of his mouth ticks up into that lopsided smirk that is so damn sexy. “I was referring to how it’s been tearing me fucking apart having to pretend I’m not in love with you.”
I can actually feel my heart stop. Everything freezes. It’s one of those crazy time-stop things people describe that I always thought were total bullshit.
Did Gabe just tell me he loves me?
“Skye?”
I’m pretty sure he’s saying my name. His lips are moving. The hand that was cupping my face moves under my chin and directs my eyes up until they meet his.
“Skye? Say something.”
“I—”
I’ve been waiting for this moment for over a decade, and yet, when it happens, I completely forget what words are.
String letters together to make words.
String words together to make sentences.
Concern fills his eyes. “Skye, you’re starting to freak me out. Say something.”
A few deep breaths allow me to find my voice. “What does that mean?”