She lifted her head. Her drowsy eyes were soft and vague. “Wasn’t that nice?”
He laughed, but a sense of unease ran through him. “Yeah.” He pressed her head against his shoulder.
“We’re cool, right?”
No one would find out. He ran his fingers through her hair, letting the various shades of brown reflect the firelight. “Yeah.”
Her smile was wavery but hopeful. She placed a sweet kiss on his cheek, and then snuggled close, falling asleep within a few seconds.
He covered the spot she’d kissed with his hand. Nothing had changed. He had sex with women all the time. Casual. Uncommitted. Nothing shared other than their bodies. This was no different.
His stomach sank. So why did it feel like he wanted it to be different?
Chapter 17
Eve didn’t want to wake up. She was so nice and toasty warm here, snuggled up against Gabe.
She sighed and lifted an eyelid. She was sleeping on top of him on the narrow couch, her nose pressed against his chest. His lashes fluttered open when she raised her head. “Is it morning?” he asked hoarsely.
A bit of sunlight streamed through the dusty window, highlighting exactly how grim their little rescue cabin was. “Yes.” The rain had vanished overnight.
A big hand stroked over her back, down to her bottom. He squeezed her gently, and she inhaled, but he gave her a sheepish smile. “We should go back.”
“Right.” The night of privacy was over, and they had to return to the rest of the wedding party.
And her brother. Nicholas was going to be a ginormous pain.
She got up reluctantly, and they both dressed in silence. Their clothes were stiff and still a bit damp. Eve grimaced and adjusted her bra. What she wouldn’t give for having breasts that could occasionally go without support.
Gabe stopped her at the door. “Hey... you’re okay, right?”
“Totally.” She’d gotten exactly what she’d set out to get last night. Her body was relaxed and tingly. The sex had been amazing.
She’d worry about her crush on him later. For now, she was going to do her best to protect her heart and stay out of her shell. She captured his hand and squeezed. “I’m not going to freak out. I will still keep your secret.”
He studied her face, and then squeezed her hand back. “Thanks.”
She couldn’t keep her post-coital buzz going for long. With every mile they got closer to the mansion, another nerve tightened. Not even the novelty of straddling the ATV, pressed tight against Gabe, could distract her from the impending doom of her confrontation with her brother.
Nicholas walked out of the house when they drove up to the garage, which meant he’d probably been pacing the foyer for hours waiting for them. She hopped off the bike before Gabe could help her. He halted her before she could move away. “Why don’t you let me talk to him first?”
That was what her mother had often done, intervening on her behalf with her father. She was sure Gabe hadn’t meant to hurt her, but her cheeks burned. She wasn’t a child, and he wasn’t her mother. “No. It’s okay.” She cast him a wan smile.
He stepped up close and placed a hand on her waist. The familiarity of it thrilled her even as a part of her brain fretted over what her brother might think. “You’re not a little girl. Don’t let him chastise you like one.”
She twisted her fingers together. “He means well.”
“Sometimes it’s harder to go against people who mean well.” His gaze was far away, and she wondered who he was thinking of. “People you feel like you owe.”
She took a deep breath. “I’ve got this.” She moved away from Gabe, though it pained her when his hand fell away.
While they’d spoken, her brother had come stomping closer, so she didn’t have to walk far up the driveway. She did her best to straighten her shoulders and not feel as tired and bedraggled as she probably looked.
“Jesus Christ, Eve. I trust you won’t go riding off into a thunderstorm again?” A forbidding frown creased Nicholas’s face. He was so big and he could be loud and intimidating. She was none of those things. She touched her wrist, stroked the bare skin there, and tried to not shrink away.
Livvy slipped out of the house, her half-made-up face telling Eve the other woman had rushed downstairs to intercept her fiancé. Everyone thought she needed protection. “Nico,” Livvy said warningly. “We talked about this.”
Nicholas grunted. “I can’t not say anything.”
