19. Diego
Chapter Nineteen
DIEGO
I should’ve gone home after that. That was usually my cue to leave—a satisfied woman, and me replete with pleasure. But I didn’t want to leave. Gemma had this easy joy to her that I wanted to savor. Admittedly, I didn’t quite understand it.
We went back inside, and she offered me some ice cream. There was absolutely no reason to turn that down. Then, she curled her hand around mine and tugged me into her bedroom, announcing, “We’re gonna go to sleep.”
This was the second chance I had to slip away. I didn’t.
Sleep wasn’t hard to come by after that. Hell, she’d blown my fucking mind in the barn. I didn’t know how, but I’d known she didn’t want to experience some kind of orchestrated seduction. She wanted that rough, messy coupling in the barn, so I gave it to her. I hadn’t expected her, in her raw, primal pleasure, to reach in and set a hook deeply into my heart. I sensed it wouldn’t be easy to dislodge.
I fell asleep beside her, listening to the even gusts of her breath. Just when I thought my own brain was going to kick on and keep me awake all night, she hooked her leg over my knee and curled up warm and soft against me. I fell asleep.
When I woke up the next morning, I was disoriented until I looked around. I smelled bacon and maple syrup. The bed was ridiculously comfortable with a lightweight down quilt and tons of fluffy pillows. Gemma was nowhere in sight.
Rolling over, I reached for my phone on the table by the bed to discover it was only six in the morning. I had plenty of time to get back to the resort if I chose, or to shower here. I decided to play it by ear.
After I got dressed, I walked down the hall when I heard Gemma say, “Neal, I’m not sure I want to be involved in the case. I need time to decide.”
There was a pause, and I kept on walking because I didn’t know how else to play this off. When I stepped into the kitchen, she replied to whatever Neal said with, “I promise I’ll think about it and let you know. I love you.”
“Good morning,” I called when she set the phone down on the counter.
She turned back, her brow puckered and tight lines around her eyes. “Oh, hey. That was my brother.” She paused, closing her eyes and shaking her head slightly. When she opened her eyes again, her brow smoothed, and she smiled slightly. “I’m making breakfast. Pancakes and bacon. Would you like some?”
“I’ll never say no to that.” Because I couldn’t resist, I crossed the living room into the kitchen where she stood by the stove and dipped my head to drop a kiss in the curve where her shoulder met her neck. Her hair was pulled up in a haphazard twist, and she wore an apron over her T-shirt and leggings. She looked adorable and absolutely delectable.
She flipped the bacon in the pan and angled her head up. Before I knew what I was doing, I was kissing her and she tasted delicious. By the time I lifted my head, I felt as if I’d tripped and fallen inside. My heart gave a tricky twist as I looked into her eyes. “Good morning,” I repeated.
“Good morning. There’s some coffee ready,” she said, pointing to a coffee maker with an almost full pot and an empty mug sitting beside it.
I helped myself to coffee, and she told me where the creamer was. I watched her finish making pancakes, and we sat together at the table to eat breakfast. It occurred to me that this was the most domestic morning I’d ever had, at least since I’d been a kid in my parents’ house.
“What does your brother do?” I asked conversationally while we ate.
“He’s an attorney in Portland.” She regarded me as she took a sip of coffee. Setting her mug down, she added, “I’m not really the black sheep, but maybe the gray sheep of my family.”
“The gray sheep?” I prompted.
“I don’t really fit in, but I’m not a bad kid. My parents are brilliant attorneys and my brother’s also a brilliant attorney. I was supposed to be brilliant, but my dyslexia got in the way. It made for some difficult times in school before we figured out what the problem was. My family is great, so I only complain a little bit.”
I nodded slowly as I absorbed that detail. “Families can be challenging, even when you love them. You met Harley, and she’s not even the most outspoken of my sisters. I love all of my sisters, but sometimes they drive me nuts. I hope she didn’t say anything out of turn when I wasn’t paying attention last night.”
Gemma laughed softly before taking another sip of her coffee. “Harley was great, and she didn’t say anything out of turn. It’s clear she wants to see you settled and happy, and I’m sure you’d like the same for her.”
I considered that observation. “Maybe so, but my sisters tend to be bossier about what they think I should do with my life.”
Gemma smiled, her eyes sympathetic. “Family is a good thing, even if they drive us crazy sometimes. It’s hard enough not to feel alone in the world.”
She stood from the table, glancing down toward my completely empty plate. I grinned and pushed it toward her and stood. “I’ll help you clean up.”
“You don’t—” she began, quieting when I shook my head.
“You cooked me breakfast, and it was delicious. I’m going to help you clean up, so don’t even try to stop me.”
She cast me a wry smile. “Putting dishes in the dishwasher is tough work. Have at it,” she teased.
I did put everything in the dishwasher and then followed her out to help her deal with the horses that morning. The second I stepped into that storage area room where the feed and hay were kept, my mind spun back to last night.
When I had her in my arms, against the wall, while I was buried inside of her silky, clenching channel. Fuck me. Merely thinking about Gemma coming all over my cock nearly made me spin her back against that wall all over again.
A few minutes later, I stood beside my truck and her lashes lifted when she looked up at me. “Last night was…” Her words trailed off, and her cheeks flushed pink.
“Incredible,” I offered helpfully.
Her flush deepened, and she bit her lip as she nodded. “It was incredible.”
“Was it incredible enough that we’ll finally have that dinner?”
I watched doubts pass like clouds in her eyes before she took a quick breath and nodded. “Definitely. When would you like to go?”
“Any night I’m back early enough from flying, I’m all yours,” I said, meaning it completely.
Gemma slipped her phone out of her pocket and tapped open the calendar, scrolling through it quickly. “How about this Friday? I’ll see you at the class at the resort next week after that too.”
“This Friday works. We don’t do late flights on Friday, so I should be on the ground before five. I’ll text you my schedule and meet you here.”
Gemma nodded, and we stood there for a moment. I wasn’t accustomed to the feeling I was experiencing. I wanted to kiss her. Hell, I wanted to kiss her and take her back inside and stay in bed all day. This was definitely not usually how I felt about a girl. But I already knew the truth—Gemma wasn’t just any girl to me.
Stepping closer, I leaned down for a lingering kiss. When I lifted my head, my cock was rock hard and my heartbeat thumped out a driving fast pace in my chest.
“Until Friday,” I said as I forced myself to step back, climb in my truck, and drive away.
Halfway back toward the resort, my mind got stuck on the conversation I overheard when I walked into the kitchen. What court case was she talking about?
None of this should’ve even mattered. It’s just that Gemma was starting to matter, and secrets didn’t sit well with me. I told myself that she didn’t owe me any explanations and that it was probably nothing. But I didn’t quite believe it because there’d been a thread of tension in her shoulders when I saw her talking to her brother.
I remembered Harley telling me that just because Deana pulled a fast one on our parents didn’t mean everybody would do something like that. I tried to remind myself that was true. I didn’t need to create a problem in my mind where there wasn’t one.