Fear and confusion swirl in her eyes, and I can’t say I blame her. I’ve been jerking her around since the night of the wedding—hot and cold, on and off, asshole and lover. Of course she would be unsure right now.
“It means I’ve been thinking…a lot. There’s not much else I could do since I woke up in the hospital. When you brought me home this morning, I had one hundred percent convinced myself that ending things was the right thing to do. I saw it as the only potential way you could save your relationship with Savage. I was prepared to bow out and take a step back from the family so you could all try to mend the damage done. I thought it was the only reasonable choice to make…”
Tears well in her eyes again, and I pause, struggling to find the right words.
“I was willing to sacrifice my own happiness to ensure you could have Savage back. But now…”
A single tear rolls down her cheek, and I brush it away with my thumb.
Her lip quivers. “Now what, Gabe?”
I take a deep breath. “Now, I can’t imagine my life without you, and I am so fucking sick of always doing what’s right for everyone else and never what’s right for me. You’re right for me. You’re fucking everything.”
Fuck, I never thought I’d get that out.
The small gush of air rushing from her mouth tells me she’s been holding her breath. The tears fall steadily now. “Do you really mean that?”
“Jesus, Skye, you’ve known me practically your entire life, when have I ever said something I didn’t mean?”
A genuine smile appears for the first time, and she shakes her head. “Never.”
“Exactly, so tell me what you want.”
Her brow furrows and her eyes narrow. “What I want?”
A growl rumbles low in my chest. “Yes, woman, tell me what the fuck you want.”
She moves her hands up from my knees to cup my face and tilts my head back as she steps between my legs. “I want what I’ve always wanted, what I’ve craved since I was sixteen. I want you, Gabe. Just you.”
In a millisecond, her lips are on mine, and the familiar taste of her luscious mouth makes my cock swell again. She directs the kiss, pushing against my mouth with uncontrolled hunger and probing with her tongue. I relent to her control and let her take what she needs from me; it’s the least I can do after all the bullshit I’ve put her through.
If I were physically capable, I would push up off this stool and pin her to the ground so I could fuck the ever-loving shit out of her. The animal instinct to claim her and somehow mark her as mine drives me forward, and I reach down and grasp her ass, pulling her in tight against my hard cock.
Moaning into my mouth, she nips at my bottom lip before drawing it in between her teeth and biting down.
Fucking fuck fuck.
For the second time, Skye almost makes me come in my fucking pants.
I drag my mouth away from hers. “Fuck, Skye…you need to stop or I’m going to go off like a fucking hair trigger”
She grins and leans in to press her lips against mine again. “What’s wrong with that?”
“I just had a fucking organ removed, for one thing.”
Her lips find that spot behind my ear, and I dig my fingers into her ass. “I’ll be gentle.” The warmth of her breath and the uttered words almost cause me to make a fool of myself, again.
The smell of something burning hits my nose just before the fire alarm starts blaring.
Again?
“Shit!” She yelps and pulls away from me, darting around the island to the stove where I turn to see the pot of sauce boiling over and into the flame under the burner. “Shit. Shit! Shit!”
The piercing wail of the fire alarm continues. My eyes travel all the way to the fourteen-foot ceiling where the red light is flashing.
Fuck.
How the hell am I supposed to get that turned off? A loud bang has me jerking my head back toward Skye, and she’s emerging from the pantry with the broom in hand.
She grins at me. “Old trick.”
With little more than a quick tap of the end of the handle against the alarm, the deafening noise ceases just as the apartment door flies open.
Dani stands in the jamb with Savage immediately behind her. “Is everything okay?” True concern darkens her eyes, but for the first time in over two decades, I can’t read Savage.
Skye rests the broom against the island and takes a step toward the door. Dani holds it for Savage to enter.
Well, this isn’t awkward at all.
The look that passes between Savage and Gabe is indescribable—a combination of anger, hurt, relief, and something else.
I offer Dani a reassuring smile. “Everything’s fine, the sauce pot just overflowed.”
“Oh, is that what smells so good?” She brushes past me and waddles over to the stove, leaving me standing at one point of a triangle with Savage to my left and Gabe to my right.
I’ll take uncomfortable family situations for a thousand, Alex.
“Mmm, Savage, you should come try this. It might be better than your mom’s, but I’ll never admit to saying that if you tell her.”
I know Dani is just trying to break the ice and warm the chill between Gabe and Savage, but it doesn’t look like either of them is going to make any move toward peace.
Men can be so fucking juvenile. Savage is acting like a caveman, and Gabe is just, well, silent.
A quick glance at the clock over the microwave tells me it’s past time for his next medication dose. “Gabe.”
His eyes move from Savage to me, and he quirks an eyebrow.
“Take your meds.” He nods and turns his back on me and Savage, before opening the bottles and downing his pills.
Savage turns his attention to me. “What are you doing here?”
“Seriously?”
His eyes narrow. “Yes, seriously.”
“What the fuck does it look like I’m doing? I’m cooking dinner for Gabe and helping him. He just had major surgery, Savage. I would think you’d be a little more empathetic given the circumstances. I seem to remember him dropping everything to fly to Germany to be with you after the accident and being here to help you when you returned.”
Savage purses his lips together but doesn’t respond. That’s because he knows there isn’t any response except “you’re right, I’m sorry,” that won’t make him sound like a fucking hypocrite and a huge asshole.
Dani and Gabe’s murmured words reach me but I can’t tell what they’re saying, and I refuse to be the one to back off from the stare-down Savage is giving me right now. He may be able to intimidate other people, but he doesn’t scare me.
“Well.” Dani returns to Savage’s side and out of my peripheral vision, I see her rub her belly with one hand while placing the other on his shoulder. “Since things appear to be all right here, we’ll just head home.”
Without breaking my eye contact with Savage, I nod. “Thanks for stopping by.”
I don’t mention anything about her getting me the groceries. There’s no point in starting another war with Savage right now or dragging Dani any more into our family soap opera.
If that’s even possible.
When the door finally clicks shut behind them, I turn back to Gabe. He’s watching me intently, a slight frown on his face.
I move over to him and resume my spot between his legs. “What’s this frown for?” I brush my finger across his lips.
He puckers his lips and kisses my finger. “I just don’t like seeing a standoff like that between you and Savage. It actually kind of breaks my fucking heart.”
Mine too.
But Savage is the one being ridiculous and irrational about the situation. Until he can realize how utterly ludicrous his reaction is, I refuse to feel guilty about my role in our rift. I’ve done nothing wrong. Gabe has done nothing wrong. Savage needs to learn to deal.
“It won’t always be like this, Gabe.”
“You seem pretty confident of that.”
I sigh and run my hand back through his hair. He leans into my touch. “That’s because I know my brother. This just rattles his control-freak tendencies. That, coupled with the storm and Dani’s pregnancy, I think he’s just at the end of his rope when it comes to things he doesn’t have power over.”
Gabe eyes me skeptically. “You really think it’s that simple? Because I think he feels betrayed, and betrayal is not something you just get over and forget about.”
As much as I wish he were wrong, Gabe may have a point. My only hope is that Dani can work her magic on him and convince him he’s doing no one any good by holding onto his anger over this.
“It’ll all work out.”
The look Gabe gives me tells me he isn’t convinced, but he still pulls my face down and kisses me like he believes everything will actually work out. His stomach growls, and I break away.
“You need to eat. Those drugs are going to kick in soon, and I don’t need you passing out on an empty stomach.”
Finding him on the floor like that scared the crap out of me. It’s one thing when it’s some random patient, but when it’s someone you love, all the sterility of medical training goes out the door.
“Yeah, I’d rather avoid another couple hours on the hallway floor if I can. Although, at least I could rest my head on your lap this time.”