Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
The text from Dawson gave Gage the heads up he needed.
Don’t know the specifics, but Sloane’s brother Noah is following her home for leftovers. Picked up some bad vibes. Something going on there?
He glared down at the message and wondered how to explain something he wasn’t sure about himself.
Family drama. Thanks for the warning, though.
He was waiting for Sloane at the downstairs entry when she pulled into the driveway, a sleek gray Audi sliding in behind her as though deliberately blocking her in when the space beside her was clear.
Gage opened the door and stepped out. “Hey, I heard you were bringing a…guest.”
Sloane slammed her car door shut and didn’t even bother to spare a glance at the tall man who shared similar features to her but minus the freckles and wildly curly hair. “My brother invited himself to dinner. Feel free to say no. I have several times already.”
“Well, if that’s the case. Sorry about dinner, but there’s only enough for two,” Gage said, taking a read on the man and not liking what he saw. “Noah Walker, I presume?”
A huff left the guy, and Gage caught Sloane’s wince and mouthed sorry.
“Noah Harrington,” the man corrected. “Just like Sloane’s, which from the sound of it, she hasn’t told you. Interesting. Seeing as how you’re so close and all.”
Yeah, the guy had douchebag written all over him. “She’s told me the important things. That’s all that matters.”
“Did she now?” Noah murmured.
Sloane had made her way to the door, and Gage stepped back to let her in, wrapping his arm around her and dropping a kiss atop her head. “You put yourself in danger,” he murmured for her ears only. “We’re going to talk about that later.”
She gave him a quick upward glance of her beautiful green eyes before glaring at their unwanted guest.
“Sloane, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”
Sloane stared at her brother, and Gage noted the fact Gabriel Wolfe slowed his Jeep to take in the scene as he rolled by, undoubtedly on his way home from the fire station’s Thanksgiving dinner.
The man stopped in the road.
“Evening! Happy Thanksgiving,” Wolfe called.
Gage lifted his hand and nodded. “Happy Turkey Day to you.”
“You guys doing okay here?” Wolfe’s question made it clear he’d provide backup if needed.
“Just telling my girl’s visitor goodbye. He’s leaving.”
Noah Harrington chuffed at him before shifting his attention to Sloane. Gage noted that Sloane kept her expression neutral, but she gripped her hands so tightly in front of her they’d turned red.
“Sloane.”
One word. Her name. A warning and a question. And only an idiot wouldn’t hear the measure of threat in the tone Noah Harrington used as well.
Yeah, it would’ve been nice if she’d shared that bit of information with him before now so he didn’t feel like a fool.
He’d known her name was different because she’d admitted to that at the rentals building, but in all their conversations and late-night talks, she hadn’t actually shared her real last name.
“Goodbye, Noah.”
“Father won’t be happy if I go back without you. Let’s talk some more and figure this out.”
“I’ve said everything I have to say.”
“He said if you refused to come home, he’d send someone else.”
Sloane stiffened up like a board, and Gage lightly rubbed his thumb along her shoulder in an attempt to soothe her.
What did that mean, send someone else? Send who? And why did that frighten her so much? What was going on?
Gage straightened to his full height and sent the other man a quelling glare. “Her father can send whoever he likes, but if she doesn’t want to go with you, she’s not going anywhere.”
“That sounds like your cue to leave there, bud,” Wolfe called out. “I’d do it.”
Yeah, Sloane’s brother really didn’t like that.
Wolfe put the Wrangler in Reverse and backed up a bit so Noah could slide out of the driveway. Then, he parked and cut the engine as though just waiting for some popcorn—or a reason to hop out and join a fray.
Gage silently welcomed the neighborly kindness.
“Fine, I’ll go,” Noah said, holding Sloane’s gaze but unmoving. “But remember I warned you. You’ll have no one to blame but yourself.”
Just when he thought Sloane couldn’t get any more tense or rigid, she locked up even more. Was she even breathing? Her response was so physical; Gage took a step to go after Noah Harrington to find out exactly what he meant by the statement.
“Gage, no. Please. Just let him go.”
The growl that emerged came from deep within him as he watched Noah Harrington strut to that sleek car of his like he had all the time in the world, despite the threat he’d just issued his sister.
He opened the door, gave one last look at Sloane and then chuckled and saluted Wolfe before climbing behind the wheel.
Gage knew without a doubt that wouldn’t be the last time they’d see Noah or the rest of Sloane’s family, though.
The powerful vehicle roared to life, but instead of putting on a show and squealing tires, Harrington eased out with the driver’s side window down, a fake smile on his face as he stared at them and pulled away.
Sloane extracted herself and turned, moving quickly down the hallway to her room while Gage raised a hand and lifted his chin in thanks to Wolfe.
He closed the door and locked it as Wolfe’s 392 rumbled to life with a purr.
Gage breathed deep as he closed the door and locked it, taking a moment more to rein in his anger and gather the shreds of his remaining patience before heading to Sloane’s room.
The door was shut. And if he had to guess, locked.
Gage lifted his hand and took a note from Noah, knocking softly instead of pounding his fist on the door the way he wanted to do. “I know you don’t want to talk about this, but I am not going anywhere until we do. Open up, and let’s get it over with.”
“I have nothing to say.”
Her words were muffled by the paneled door, one he was ready to take off the hinges because it separated him from the most frustrating woman he’d ever met in his life. “Nothing. Really? Well, I have plenty to say, and you need to hear it. Open up, Sloane.”
“Why am I only Sloane when you’re mad?”
Her question pulled a smile from his lips despite his upset. “You’re Sloane other times too. But Merida is reserved for special occasions. Now open the door, or I’ll bust the lock and make us both angrier doing it.”
She huffed and grumbled on the other side, and the adorable sounds almost made him release some of his anger.
She was upset with her brother’s appearance.
Obviously. He had to remember that whatever was going on, she was processing it, too.
Her family life was complicated. She’d said that from the beginning.
And as of today, he’d witnessed it for himself. The next few moments—next steps—were important and had to be handled with care.
“Leave me alone, Gage. Please.”
“Yeah, not happening. We’re talking about this right now, and I’d rather not do it through a door. You want to think of a plan or vent or whatever, I’m in. But we do this together.”
“Gage—”
“Together, Sloane.”
He heard more huffs and mutters, and then finally stomping footsteps approached the door before she unlocked it and yanked it open. “You need to—”
He shoved his way in enough to bend, put a shoulder in her belly and lift her, shrieking and gasping, to carefully back into the hall.
“What are you doing? Are you crazy?”
“Trust me, this conversation will be easier if we don’t stay near a bed. We’re going upstairs to talk,” he said, his long strides making quick work of the space leading to the stairwell.
“I can walk, you caveman!”
“But would you?” Yeah, that got another screech of frustration and a hard pinch on his back. To which he swatted her behind and earned a shriek.
“You’ve lost your freaking mind! Put me down!”
They were almost to the top.
“I’m going to puke on you, and you’ll deserve it for being a neanderthal!”
He knew she was lying, but just in case she wasn’t, he made quick work of the last few steps and lowered her to her feet, gently crowding her through the open door at the top because he’d stopped locking it long ago, and then shut it behind them.
“Gage—”
“Sit. Down.”
Oh, that fired her up even more. Her eyes widened to the size of sand dollars and blazed with a fierceness of a red-hot temper that coincided with the copper in her hair.
“I am not a dog you can order to sit.”
He stepped forward and crowded her until her back was against the opposite wall, arms bracketed on either side of her as he lowered his head, stared into her eyes and willed her to see the fear and frustration he’d felt when Dawson had sent that text.
Her family had found her. Was obviously trying to frighten her into returning home. And she was ready to run as a result.
He felt it.
Knew it in his gut.
Saw it in every line of her body.
Sloane didn’t break eye contact, glaring right back at him as he shifted his gaze to her lips.
They were parted, taking in each gasping breath that caused her chest to meet his.
He forced himself to nix the urge to drag her down the hall and tie her to his bed for safekeeping.
Instead, he managed to meet her gaze and found that in the time he’d spent so close to her, her gorgeous greens had gone a bit hazy, her breathing faster now than it had been when he was carrying her up the stairs.
Unable to help himself, he lowered his head even more, slowly, giving her plenty of time to pull away and then somehow—God only knew how—stopping just short of contact. “Tell me no, or I’m going to kiss you, Merida, and I’m not going to stop until we come to terms about this.”
She blinked at the warning, but no words emerged. If anything, she looked just as desperate and needy for the contact, for him to act, as he felt.
His pulse sounded loud in his ears as he finally closed the distance and took her lips in a blazing, open-mouthed kiss that settled something deep in his soul. Because here, now, in this moment, she was with him, and she was okay. Safe.
His.
It took less than a heartbeat before she released a soft sound and twined her arms around his neck, less than a second for her to return the kiss with all the enthusiasm and passion he felt himself.
They stayed like that, him pressing her to the wall as one kiss blended into another and another, every ounce of fear and frustration, curiosity and chemistry, temptation and hesitation, threaded into each and every touch and stroke and caress.
Finally, she broke contact and pushed at his shoulders, lowered her head to his chest to deny him her mouth. He cradled her head in his palms and kissed her hair but didn’t move, taking the same deep breaths she did, to slow the intensity and come back to reality.
“We can’t do this,” she whispered, the sound barely audible. “It’ll just…make things worse. Harder.”
Harder when she disappeared? He freed his hands from her hair and leaned down until he could hook his arms behind her thighs and lift her up, ignoring her gasp and scramble to grab onto his shoulders for balance.
He carried her with him to the oversized chair opposite the couch and sat down. And while it would probably be smarter to have more distance between them, he couldn’t bring himself to let her go. “Talk to me.”
She squeezed her eyes shut and scrunched her nose as though pained and fighting tears at the thought.
Combined with the freckles and the kiss-wild hair, he found himself memorizing her, despite his fear of her leaving.
Or maybe because of it. He’d do everything he could to stop her.
Keep her. But if she chose to go anyway…
Mia’s words came back to him about that stupid quote. To let something go and see if it came back to you on its own.
Man, he hated that saying.
He shifted his hands from her hips to her face, cradling it so that he could touch her skin and, hopefully, she would look at him. “Talk to me, sweetheart. Let me help you. Whatever this is, I can help.”
She sat on his knees with her legs curled beside his in the chair and leaned her head back. Face lifted upward and angled as though praying for patience or giving herself time to come up with the right words.
It took a few long, agonizing moments but finally she spoke.
“You can’t, Gage. I mean it,” she said when she opened her eyes and saw him about to speak. “You can’t. There is nothing you or anyone else can do to help me.”
“There has to be something. Why do they want you back so badly? Tell me that much. We can come up with a solution, Sloane. All this time you’ve been alone, yeah?
Well, now you’re not. I know we haven’t known each other long, but you know me well enough to know I mean what I say.
I will help you figure this out, but you have to trust me and tell me what’s going on. ”
Some of the tension left her body, and she slumped a bit, the expression on her beautiful face one of…resignation.
“Noah was just passing along a message.”
“What message? Other than threatening you? I’m not going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”
A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips, sad and broken.
“My father wants me home. No matter what he has to do to get me there,” she said, stroking a hand over his bicep. “Noah says…my time is up, and I have to go back to Chicago.”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. What did you tell him?”
“I said no. At least not yet,” she added, her gaze sliding away from his.
He tensed at her words. “Not yet? Does that mean you’re considering it? Why? Is this because of what I said about you staying until New Year’s Eve?”
Sloane avoided his gaze and sank her teeth into her lower lip.
“It’s because…maybe it’s time,” she said softly, shoving herself backward and standing. “I’m hungry. Are you going to feed me those leftovers or what?”