He smiles, his expression startlingly tender. “Me neither.”
Angling his pelvis, he slides in deeper, his gaze holding mine. I whimper, and my eyes try to close, but I fight to keep them open. He does it again, hitting my clit just right, and between the fullness and the magic of my connection with him, it’s too much. I break into a thousand glittering pieces, sobbing his name.
“Fuck,” he grunts. “Sydney.”
And then he’s shaking above me, unloading everything he has into me, and his eyes are locked on mine the entire time. It’s earth-shattering. There’s no other word for it.
I’m never going to be the same.
He rests his forehead on the bed, then turns to drop a kiss on the side of my neck. Meanwhile, I stare at the ceiling, my heart thudding as fast as if I’d just received a new emergency patient at the tail end of a long shift. Slowly, he raises himself on his elbows and brushes my hair back with one hand.
“That was only the beginning.”
I smile. “It had better be.”
“I promise,mi carino.”He rolls off me and swings his feet to the floor.
“What are you doing?” I ask, hating the uncertainty in my voice.
“Condom,” he replies, peeling it off. “And I’ll get something to clean you up.”
“Oh, okay.”
A moment later, he’s back with a warm cloth, which he uses to clean me with gentle motions. When he’s done, he sets it aside and touches two fingers to my chin, meeting my eyes with his unfathomable ones.
“Baby, I’m not going anywhere tonight. I’m all yours.”
As I creepfrom the room, Gabe snores, and I jerk around, making sure he hasn’t woken up. He rolls onto his back, an arm flung across his face, then doesn’t move. Exhaling with relief, I take the opportunity to study him. Gabriel Mendoza is a stunning man, although many think him a brute. He’s big, several weight grades above his training buddies, but none of that weight is fat. He’s all muscle. Solid, rough-hewn muscle.
I lick my lips. Yum.
In his current position, his chest and abdomen are exposed, the blankets wrapped around his hips and lower half. His shoulders and arms, which held me all night, are relaxed, but still bulky. I name the muscles in my head.Trapezius, deltoids, pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, biceps brachii, triceps brachii, brachioradialis. As far as the human musculoskeletal system goes, he’s a spectacular example. He moves, turning onto his side, and everything ripples. I drool just a little, then I gather my scattered wits from the floor and head out to the living room, closing the door behind me.
In the wake of this momentous event—sleeping with Gabe after being his best friend since we were tiny—I need to sort out the mess of my romantic life, and that means clearing the field of any players except him, at least for now. I’m still afraid to trust that he’ll dedicate himself to this relationship the way he said he would, but if it fails, it won’t be because of anything I’ve done. Finding my phone, which I didn’t want near me last night in case someone interrupted us, I select Ken’s contact details and hit call.
“Hey, Sydney,” he replies, sounding perky and awake. Perhaps he has a shift soon. “It hasn’t even been twelve hours. This either bodes really well or completely terribly.”
Guilt pierces me, but I do my best to ignore it.
“I’m afraid it’s the latter. Gabe came by last night and made a tangle of everything. It seems like there are some unresolved feelings between us, and I really need to work them out before I decide whether to move on with another man. I’m sorry for leading you on, but I truly thought nothing would ever come of my soft spot for him.”
Ken sighs. “I can’t say this is unexpected. It only took me ten seconds to see he’s crazy about you. That’s why he came into the diner the other night, to stake his claim.”
This conversation isn’t making me feel any better, but then, Ken has every right to be annoyed with me. Mostly, he seems resigned. It could be worse.
“Again, I’m sorry. I wish I’d handled this without dragging you into it.”
“It’s okay,” he says, proving what a nice guy he is. “You need to figure this out for yourself, and if you decide you don’t want him, then call me. I’m not going to say I’ll be waiting, because I don’t know how long this will take, but I’d be interested in seeing you again if we both happen to be unattached at the same time in the future.”
The corners of my mouth lift. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for being so understanding.”
“No problem. Take care.”
I end the call, feeling like a storm cloud has finally passed, and blue skies are ahead. How long will they stay that way?
10
Gabe
