“It was for the best for both of us.” If he could take those words back, he would. But they were out there.
Her reaction to them was to march straight over to him. She stood toe-to-toe, staring at him for what felt like minutes but was probably seconds. “Do you really mean that, Gabriel?”
Now he knew what she was doing. She was getting close enough to tell if he was lying. All she’d ever had to do was really look into his eyes when he answered, and she could read his mind. Times had changed. He’d learned to shove his emotions down deep, put on a blank face and finish a mission no matter the cost. The U.S. Military had taught him to do that and he was grateful. He was no longer the angry kid who was always one inappropriate comment directed at him away from losing his temper.
Gabriel was a calm, collected grown man who didn’t need to prove himself with his fists when someone hurled insults at him anymore.
And he could certainly handle five-and-a-half feet of cobalt blue eyes and honey-wheat colored hair.
“You haven’t answered me.” She was so close he could breathe in her clean and flowery scent. She smelled like spring lilies.
He shrugged in response.
“If you were smart, you’d take a step back,” he finally said.
“Are you threatening me, Gabriel?” He shouldn’t enjoy the sound of his name rolling off her tongue so much. It was weakness causing him to get lost in another time—a time when life was easier?
He couldn’t exactly say high school had been his best years. Not at the Foster Farm. His fosters had made sure him and the other kids in their care didn’t cross the line. He still had scars on the backs of his legs from the welt marks the belt had left the few times he’d gotten out of line.
Not until he’d dated her did he let himself believe had might have a future. He started to hope that life could get better. And that’s probably all this bout of nostalgia was—a blast from the past. A snapshot in time, a turning point, where he’d started to turn his life around.
It had taken a few angry years of beating himself up in the military for him to push past the pain of losing her.
But then he’d learned to breathe again. He kept himself exhausted and in enough physical pain to be able to set aside everything else. Had he stopped living? Had he closed himself off to any other possibilities? Had he gotten over her?
There was one way to find out. Kiss her.
“You mind if I do something?”
“Depends on what it is, Gabriel.” For a split second they were those two young and in love kids again. Everything that had happened since they were last together became white noise with no power over either of them.
“Kiss you.”
Her mouth, those pink lips of hers, formed an O. She hesitated for a moment before she tilted her face toward him and brought her hands up to his chest.
That was all the encouragement Gabriel needed. He brought his hands up to her face. He cupped her cheeks. He took in a breath, a moment of hesitation in order to breathe in her sweet scent. Memorize her.
“Gabriel,” she whispered, “Kiss me.”
He dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers. She opened hers to give him access as he delved his tongue inside her mouth. His tongue found hers as he deepened the kiss.
All rational as to why this was a bad idea flew out the window along with logic.
It didn’t matter when her lips were pressed to his.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and he felt her full breasts flush against his chest.
Gabriel dropped his hands to loop around her waist. He smoothed his hands across the dip in her lower back and took his time gliding them up toward her neck. He could feel her trembling under his fingertips as he trailed down her spine and spread his hands around her sweet round bottom.
His breath came out in rasps and his pulse pounded. Her fingers outlined the ridges in his chest and then smoothed over his stomach before moving lower to the waistband of his jeans. She stopped at the clasp.
He stood there for countless minutes kissing the woman he’d once loved aware of how easy it would be to open her cotton robe and touch her in places he’d only fantasized about as a young buck. Places that he was certain he knew how to bring her the most pleasure from now.
Experience had taught him that he was decent in bed. Most women returned for an encore, which had been fine with him as long as they knew what they were getting with him, and maybe even more importantly what they weren’t.
Tongues tangled, the feeling of the world righting itself for this moment in time overcame Gabriel. He teased his tongue inside her mouth, tasting the sweetness there.
Kissing was as far as they’d gone as kids along with some heavy petting.
They were adults now with adult-like desires. She nipped at his bottom lip, tempting him to take this further. And then she bit down in a way that was so damn sexy Gabriel thrust his tongue inside her mouth.
And then she brought his hands to her robe. She opened her eyes. Those depths of the ocean blue eyes were glittery with need and his heart detonated when he looked into them, into his Kinsley’s eyes.
He gripped the lining and she tugged his hands apart, freeing ample breasts. She’d grown into a stunning woman with just the right amount of curves.
Gabriel trailed his finger along the inside of her robe until he palmed her breast. She arched her back and the move was sexy as hell.
His cell buzzed on the counter. He muttered a curse. Kinsley pulled her robe closed as he stalked toward the annoying noise.
“This had better be damn important,” he muttered.
And then he saw the
