Interesting.
Making a mental note to ask him more about this Walker character, Ellena glanced over his large shoulder to the men talking beneath her veranda. “We should probably let them back in.”
He followed her line of sight and began walking toward her back door. “I’ll get them.”
Before she even realized she was moving, Ellena snaked her right hand out to grab his thick wrist. “Wait.”
He stopped, his eyes lowering to where she was holding him before raising up to meet hers. “Yeah?”
She licked her lips. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For still caring enough to help me.”
“Ah, sweetheart.” His intense stare locked with hers. “I’ve never stopped caring.”
Stunned into silence, by both the emotion in his eyes and the sincerity in his voice, Ellena let go of his wrist and watched as he headed for patio door.
I think I liked it better when we were fighting.
In a way, the fighting made his being here easier. At least when they argued, she could pretend she didn’t care. But that’s all it was, really.
Pretending.
Because shedidcare. Far more than she should. But when he looked at her the way he just had and said the things he just said, there was no denying it.
The man still owned every jagged piece of her shattered soul, and deep down, Ellena knew…
He always will.
Chapter 6
Gabe stood in Elle’s living room, waiting quietly beside her as she started over, telling his team everything she knew about the situation. Unfortunately, it wasn’t much.
As he continued listening, his mind wandered back to earlier, when they’d been standing in her kitchen. He still couldn’t believe he’d almost kissed her. Even more unbelievable was that she’d almostlethim.
And if that damn doorbell hadn’t rung…
I’d have stripped her down, picked her up, and taken her right there by the kitchen sink.
Not that she would’ve let him. He and Elle may be staying under the same roof, but in all the ways that mattered, they may as well be worlds apart.
As if to prove that fact, she’d actuallythankedhim for caring enough to want to protect her. That shit still burned his ass.
The woman obviously had no idea what she meant to him.Maybe you should tell her.
Since coming here, Gabe had told himself over and over that he was here to protect her. That was it.
But he’d been fooling himself.
Truth was, he missed her like crazy. Missed her smile. Her laugh. Hell, he’d even missed the way she was quick to call him out on his bullshit.
It had always been a huge fucking turn-on, andChrist. When she’d done it earlier—in front of his team, no less—Gabe had worked damn hard not to grab ahold of her and kiss her senseless.
“So you don’t remember anything from the wreck?”
Nate’s question had Gabe returning his attention to the conversation at hand.
