“I know, I know,” she acknowledged. “I can’t explain to you the mysteries of the heart of a teenage girl.”
He groaned. “I wish someone had back then. God knows I didn’t have a fucking clue. But that was then.”
“The thing is,” she said, searching for the words to adequately explain why she’d resisted him for so long, “I’d heard the stories and rumors from while I was away at college and law school, witnessed firsthand the way women were constantly throwing themselves at you when I returned.”
“I’ll admit I went a little off the rails when Audrey broke things off,” he murmured. “But it wasn’t nearly as bad as what I’m sure everyone was saying.”
“I know that now,” she told him, “but at that point, it’s what I was hearing over and over. And I didn’t want my heart to get broken again. So I kept you at a distance, constantly telling myself you were a womanizer, a player. I wasn’t about to fall into bed with you only to be discarded like yesterday’s trash.”
He winced at her harsh perception of him. “So what changed?” he asked. “You weren’t taken in by any of my come-ons, that’s for damned sure.”
“You let me see the real you,” she explained, smoothing a hand lightly over his chest. “And I let me see the real you. That day at the courthouse…I realized I’d not given you a fair chance. Then what you told me during the argument we had after you kissed me… Well, I realize now I never should’ve judged you by what others said.”
“And now?” he prompted, his gaze so tender and hopeful Elle’s chest went tight. “You sorry you gave me a chance to prove everyone wrong?”
She took his face in her hands. “Not for a second.”
He suddenly lifted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist and peppering her lips and cheeks and chin with kisses.
“What are you doing?” she laughed as he carried her from the room.
“Well, I figure I’d better make sure you don’t have reason to regret giving me a second chance.” He paused, pressing her back against the wall as his hands slid under the hem of the shirt she wore. “And seeing you wearing my shirt has been driving me crazy since you walked into my office.”
She leaned her head back against the wall when his lips sought the hollow of her throat. “Gabe, I think you need to take me back to bed,” she said, her voice breathless. “Right. Now.”
* * *
Gabe felt Elle’s arms go around his waist and the warmth against his back where she pressed her cheek for a moment before releasing him. “How was your shower?” he asked, turning around to pull her close, disappointed to see her dressed in clothes from the day before. He hadn’t been exaggerating about seeing her in his shirt. It’d been sexy as hell.
“Lonely,” she said with a melodramatic sigh.
He chuckled. “Yeah, well, last time we tried to take a shower together we got a little carried away.”
She pressed a kiss to the dimple in his chin then nipped it with her teeth, and his dick jumped to attention, forcing him to shift a little with a groan. “God, woman, you’re gonna be the death of me.”
“I don’t know that I’ll ever get enough of you,” she admitted.
Gabe ran his hands through her silky curls, loving the way they slid through his fingers. “That’s what I like to hear,” he assured her. “’Cause I’m damned sure I’ll never get enough of you, Elle McCoy.”
She glanced at his laptop, then back at him, giving him a questioning look. “Seems like I’m not the only thing you can’t get enough of. It’s Sunday, Gabe. Give the investigation a rest. You’ll make yourself crazy.”
He closed the laptop and lifted his hands. “There ya go. Done for the day.” But the moment he said it, he knew he’d be back at it later that day. He had to find something, anything, that would implicate Monroe. He wasn’t going to be able to rest easy until that son of a bitch was behind bars.
She lifted a brow. “Uh-huh.”
“I’ll prove it,” he replied. She studied him for a moment, those incredible eyes boring into him. “Let’s run by your place and get you a change of clothes. Then what comes next is up to you. You call the shots today. Whatever you want to do, I’m yours.”
His heart hitched at his words, wondering if she had any idea just how true a statement that was. The way her lips curled into a smile and her gaze softened, he thought maybe she did.
Then her eyes went wide on a gasp. “Oh crap! What time is it?”
He checked his watch. “Going on noon. Why?”
“Teddy’s birthday party,” she said.
“Teddy?”
“Teddy Andrews,” she prompted. Then added, “Chris and Jessica’s son. The party starts at two o’clock. I promised Jessica I’d be there.”
