“The paint’s all messed up and everything.” My voice came out cracked.
Gabe got out of the car.
“I can pay to have it fixed,” I said, assuring him that I understood this mess was on me. “I don’t know any local mechanics, but I’m sure you do. Or maybe Micah does, or someone, and they can get the best guy around to fix this. Price doesn’t matter to me.”
I went to apologize again, but Gabe spun me around to face him and pressed a finger to my lips, smushing them.
“Shut up.” There was no heat behind his words. “You’re not paying for shit. I got a guy who can fix this.”
“No,” I argued, shaking my head. “I was behind the wheel.”
Gabe pressed his finger even more firmly against my lips, silencing me. “It’s my car. I’ll pay for what I want. As long as you’re okay.” He ran his gaze over my body.
“I’m fine. What about your car? And you? Oh my goodness, are you okay?” I looked him over the same way he’d just done to me.
“Come here.” He took me by the hand, leading me to the passenger seat. He surprised me when he sat first and then brought me onto his lap. He kissed me.
Despite the adrenaline coursing through me from the near accident, I became quickly engulfed in the kiss. How my emotions could go from pure bliss from my climax to total fear and horror, back to ecstasy in a matter of minutes, was beyond me. But, in Gabe’s arms, that’s how widely my feelings ranged.
I pulled away and grasped his shoulders to keep some space between us as I stared down at him. I searched his eyes for some hint of anger or frustration.
“Are you sure you're okay with the car?” I asked. “Really, I don’t mind paying to get it fixed.”
“If you bring it up again, I’m going to turn you upside down and show you how this night could end on a painful note.”
The words ran through my mind, but I couldn’t make sense of them. Not immediately. Then I gasped, finally understanding his meaning. Laughter emanated from the back of his throat, and I knew I’d assumed accurately.
“I was just making sure,” I said, running my hands down the sides of my thighs. I adjusted my dress as much as I could to keep from spilling out of it up top. “You didn’t even sound panicked.”
When the car started spinning, I freaked out. I probably would’ve taken my hands off of the wheel and slammed on the brakes if he hadn't guided me on what to do. However, it wasn’t that he told me how to navigate us to safety. It was that his voice and demeanor were so calm while he did it. He could’ve been running down a list of groceries in the same tone that he talked me down from the ledge.
I pushed back against his shoulders, my mouth popping open. “You never lost your cool.”
“Never let ’em see ya sweat,” he said before squeezing my knee.
“No Sweat,” I said. “That’s why you named your company No Sweat. Because you don’t lose your cool under pressure.”
He lifted an eyebrow, and I ducked my head. It was silly to feel shy, given that he’d just had his fingers in my vagina.
“I looked up a few of your fights on YouTube.”
“Yeah? Which was your favorite?”
“All of them,” I said before I could get a hold of myself. I rolled my eyes at how lame I sounded. “I mean … anyway, the commentators. A few of them said the same thing about you. You’re Mr. Cool Under Pressure. They said that’s where the nickname Grey Wolf came from. Is it true?”
He grunted and shook his head. “Those commentators talk a lot but don’t know much.”
“Sounded like they knew what they were talking about to me.”
“They know fighting. I’ll give them that.” He played with the hem of my dress, causing his fingers to brush against my thigh again. Though his hands were semi-calloused, his touch was gentle enough to stir up a heat deep in my belly.
“It’s a family name,” he said.
“Grey Wolf?”
Gabriel nodded. “It’s my middle name.”
“Why would your parents give you that for a middle name?”
