Connor had been all alone when he hit rock bottom. He hadn’t needed me to come and save him. Instead, he’d picked himself up and brought himself home so he could heal his body and mind. Maybe he’d been right, about me wanting to play the hero. Helping people had always made me feel good, that’s why I did what I did.
The way he’d looked at me, when I helped him gain the strength to stand up to those bullies in high school, had made me feel powerful. I guess a part of me missed that feeling and wanted it back. But he was a grown man now. He didn’t need me the way he did then, and it was unfair of me to expect him to.
I did still want to stand beside him though. Not so I could save him, but so I could support him, and love him, and yes, be there for him when he did need me. More importantly, I wanted to learn how to let him support and be there for me.
Gabi had never had any illusions about me, and she hadn’t looked up to me the same way Connor did. We’d always been equals, and from the second she’d stepped into her bedroom and saw me kissing Connor all those years ago, she’d known exactly who I was. She’d rejected that side of me as a girl. But as a woman she’d come to understand me and accept me. I wasn’t sure, though, that she would ever accept the same in herself. Even after these months of sharing our lives with each other, she’d never once said she loved me. Maybe she never would. It was still possible, when it came time to choose the kind of life she wanted to live, she would decide two was the only acceptable number.
“Law?”
My head snapped up at the sound of her voice. She stood in the doorway, frowning as she took in the stubble on my cheeks and the circles under my eyes. Crossing the room in a rush, she dropped to the floor in front of the couch where I sat.
I moved forward so she knelt between my knees. The sweet smell of alcohol hit my nose and I shook my head, grinning. “Gabi, baby, have you been drinking?”
“Yeah,” she admitted, a cheeky grin sneaking onto her lips. “Sean’s margaritas are the bomb. But I’m not drunk, I’m just… tipsy.” She gave a sigh, her hands coming up to cup my cheeks. “I had to see you.” She tilted her head to indicate the bag she’d dropped on her way across the room. “By the way, Sean dropped me off and I have no way home, so you’re stuck with me tonight.”
Smiling, I took her waist in my hands, drawing her closer. “Sounds good to me.”
Frank cleared his throat from the other side of the room. “I’m gonna head off,” he murmured, gesturing over his shoulder. “I’ll catch you two later.”
I nodded, offering him a weak smile. “Thanks for coming.”
“Anytime.” The door closed behind him a moment later.
Turning back to Gabi, I leaned forward to place a kiss on the softness of her lips. A part of me was convinced she would use the argument we’d had as an excuse to end things between us. If this was to be my last chance to taste her, I wasn’t going to let it pass untried.
“Gabrielle,” I whispered, my eyes closed as I touched my forehead to hers. “I missed you.”
She moved her body closer, wrapping her arms around me until our bodies were pressed tight together. “I missed you, too.” We stayed there for a long time, simply holding each other in silence. Her body was heaven in my arms. I never wanted to let go.
“I’m sorry I walked out on you and Connor the other day,” I told her, needing her to understand why I did it. She pulled away, but only far enough to look me in the eye. “I knew I was being unreasonable about his new job, and if I stayed, I only would have kept trying to talk him out of it, which would have made things worse. I figured it would be better if I stayed away until he left.” I swallowed hard, hating how powerless I felt about this whole situation. “I don’t want to lose either of you.”
“You’re not going to lose us,” she whispered, cupping my cheeks between her hands. “I’m not going anywhere and Connor… whatever he decides, we’ll figure it out. Even if he goes back to travelling the world and being on covers of magazines. We’ll make sure he doesn’t ever feel alone or unloved or not enough. He’s ours, and we’ll take care of him.”
I nodded, knowing she was right. It would be hard to watch Connor leave over and over again. But if he wanted this, I would find a way to be okay with it. Helping him reach his potential meant encouraging him to follow his instincts, even when they conflicted with mine. It would take practice, but I could work on it.
“Law,” she murmured, “if you were staying away to prevent more arguments with Connor, why didn’t you come over today, after he left?”
I dropped my gaze to my hands, where they clutched the sides of her rib cage, my fingers digging lightly into her skin as if to prevent her from escaping. “I wasn’t sure you’d want me there, without him.” Blood rushed in my ears as I revealed my greatest fear. “Let’s face it, Conner is the link holding you to me. If he didn’t love me, would you even be mine at all?”
Tears began to spill down her cheeks as she stared at me with shimmering eyes. “A part of me has always been yours. It’s taken me a stupid long time to admit it, even to myself, but it’s always been true.” She grabbed on to the front of my shirt, balling it in her fists as she spoke. “I’ve been such an idiot, and I know I’ve made you feel like you didn’t belong. But it won’t happen again, I promise. I’ve been so scared of committing to this relationship, but I’m going to be braver. You and Connor have taught me to fight for what I want, and I want this. I want us.” Closing her eyes, she pressed an eager, tear-streaked kiss to my lips before she whispered the words I thought I’d never again hear from her lips. “I love you, Law.”
I meant to say it back, but my mouth claimed hers before I could get the words out. She climbed onto my lap, straddling me, and I fell back against the couch cushions. Searing heat flared between us in seconds and my dick hardened as she moved against me. Her breasts filled my hands, her tongue filled my mouth and I groaned as she surrounded me with a love that was at once desperate and reassuring.
We struggled out of our clothes, only parting when absolutely necessary, and then she impaled herself on me, taking every inch of my hard length in a single stroke. Throwing her head back, she cried out in pleasure, and I took the opportunity to capture one round breast between my lips. Her nipple was hard against the flat of my tongue, her hands tangling in my hair. I had one hand splayed across the middle of her back for support as I used the other to fondle her breast. All the while she fucked me in a hard, steady rhythm. She clenched her muscles tight every time she dragged herself up off my throbbing dick, only to release a shaky breath as she sank back down.
Licking my lips, I drank in the hot, writhing sight of her, allowing my gaze to slide from her mussed hair, over her naked breasts and stomach, all the way down to where our bodies joined. “I want to watch you come, baby,” I said, taking hold of her hips so I could pull her tighter against me.
Heavy-lidded eyes looked back at me and she smiled, her breath coming in shallow pants. “I want to come for you, my love,” she rasped, “my Law.” She leaned forward, changing the angle of our thrusts. I hissed in a breath, my back arching until her hard nipples brushed against my chest with every frenzied movement. Before long, she came apart in my arms, her face contorting with the force of her bliss.
My eyes stayed locked on her, watching every movement of her face and body, loving the sight of her, loving everything about her. I came with a shuddery cry, my fingers digging into the flesh of her arse.
“Holy fucking hell.” The words slipped out a few minutes later, while we were still sprawled across the couch, sweat drying on our skin. “I hate arguing with you but making up is fucking phenomenal.”
A quiet laugh shook her body as she lifted her head off my chest to look at me. “Given we have a lifetime of fights ahead of us, that’s probably a good thing.”
My heart clenched as happiness flooded every cell of my body. “A lifetime,” I said, smiling at her. “I like the sound of that.”
THIRTY
