18. Gabe
18
GABE
“Try not to kill each other,” Alex says and then strides for the doorway.
“If he drinks my coffee again, no promises!” Katherine calls to his back.
Damn, she’s stunning when she gets that mischievous glint in her eyes. I knew she would be. This little tiger was always lurking under the sheet of ice she kept wrapped around her.
Why is she showing this side of herself now? Is it as simple as getting her away from the city? Surely, one night and a helicopter ride aren’t enough to change things between us.
The crease at the corner of her mouth is almost a dimple, and I have the sudden urge to make her smile flat out.
“I was half asleep,” I chime in.
From her spot by the bay window, she rolls her eyes, a grin tugging her lips. There it is.
My heart thuds in my chest, and I reach up to rub my breastbone. Why does that impish fairy make me so pleased?
Then she takes a sip from her cup. From the exact spot where my lips touched. Her small hum of pleasure goes straight to my dick.
Knock it off. She’s the enemy’s granddaughter.
“Excuses, excuses,” she teases, turning her attention to the ocean.
She can’t have any idea how her words have a double meaning. In the time we’ve been on the board together, she’s shown herself to be trustworthy, reliable, indispensable even. So why am I still hung up on Henry Chanler?
Is that all just an excuse so I can keep my distance?
I drag a hand down my face. Of course it is.
I can’t tear my eyes away, no matter who she is. No matter how many times I tell myself to keep this woman at arm’s length, I just can’t help myself.
I shove the rest of the bear claw into my mouth and chew. Fuck.
A new thought occurs to me.
Is it possible that her mood has shifted because of the auction? Because of the money? Was it a boost to her already healthy ego?
I hate that idea .
And as I watch her quietly enjoy her coffee, I know that’s wrong. It wasn’t the money. Katherine Montgomery isn’t wowed by riches.
So maybe it was the attention. Two men fighting over her?
I’m going to drive myself crazy speculating when I should just enjoy her softness. Her good humor. Those legs.
“Why are you over there stewing when you could be looking at this?” she asks a minute later.
Because I’m looking at you. Wondering what on earth you’re doing here, turning my well-ordered life upside down. Wondering why I’m going to let you.
I don’t say any of that, though. Instead, I grab my coffee, lick the frosting from my thumb and pad over to the window. We watch the waves roll toward the beach.
“Backyard needs an overhaul,” I say, breaking the silence.
“Need a recommendation?”
I turn to her. “You have one?”
Her cup pauses halfway to her mouth. “Yeah. There’s a crew out here my dad has used for years. I’ll get you the number.”
I should focus on the interior, but suddenly, I’m eager to hear from her. To forge any sort of connection.
Given the state of the house, I’m going to be much more involved moving forward. But if Katherine Montgomery says someone’s good, I believe her.
“Two years on the Winter-Farmington board, and you’ve never let us down. I appreciate the rec.”
She stares up at me, her jaw slack. As if realizing she looks a bit like a fish, she snaps her lips closed, but I watch the war in her eyes. She doesn’t know what to make of me.
We’ve battled it out in the boardroom every quarter. I prefer putting our resources toward rural kids, and she supports girls in STEM. Both are laudable goals.
“Even though we don’t always see eye to eye, it’s always been obvious that you’ve had the kids’ best interest at heart,” I feel the need to tell her. Because I see how hard she works for the children, and I have such a soft spot for kids.
“Who are you, and what have you done with Gabriel Rothburn?” She glances around as if she actually expects someone else to pop out of the shadows.
I chuckle and feel lighter than I have in months. Years.
It’s addictive.
She’s addictive.
“Would you rather me make a biting comment?” I murmur, my blood humming with challenge. Then my lips pull up in a smirk. “Nice shirt. ”
“You’re just jealous,” she shoots back with a flirtatious wiggle of her eyebrows.
“Jealous?”
“That it’s not yours.”
“I am, actually.”
“See, you had to go and ruin a perfectly nice—” She stops. Freezes, mouth open. And then, as her brain catches up, there’s a tiny little gasp. “You are?”
Now it’s my turn to freeze because I didn’t mean to admit the truth.
She looks confused but not disgusted. So that’s something.
Heat scorches over my skin. I swear, my body’s decided it’s fifteen again.
“What if I am?” I ask because the perverse part of me needs to know. The little boy who dreamed big dreams and never could have imagined such a beautiful, classy woman looking twice at him. That little guy is giddy.
I’m sick of burying these feelings. This desire for her. And it’s been that way since the moment we met. That moment when I didn’t know who the gorgeous redhead was. And it didn’t matter because, short of being married or into women, I was going to find a way to have her. And she looked down her nose at me.
“Gabriel Rothburn. Your reputation precedes you,” she’d said, shattering all the illusions forming in my head .
No doubt her family poisoned her against me from the time she was young.
Then she’d held out her hand. “Katherine Montgomery.” I fully expected some sort of electric shock when our hands touched. Like the kind that would put me six feet under. Not the exquisite tingle of awareness that almost brought me to my knees.
We’ve been at odds for years. Yes, I love teasing her. I fucking live to make her eyes flash with challenge. But this is different. It’s. . . more.
“Alex kissed me,” she blurts, pulling me back to the present.
Surprise and delight ricochet through me. My best friend kissed her? He must like her more than I thought.
My gaze drops to her lips. Pink. Dewy from her coffee. A crumb of her muffin clings to the corner of her mouth. Without thinking, I cup her cheek and flick it away with my thumb.
“Did you like it?”
She doesn’t shy away like I expected. Her skin is ridiculously soft.
Slowly, she nods. “Yes.” The word comes out on a gusty sigh, like she can’t quite believe she’s admitting it out loud. And certainly not to me.
But now there’s a giant bolder in my path. And his name is Alex.
My best friend.
The man who has saved me from myself dozens of times. Who knows me better than I know myself. Who’d do anything in this world for me.
And me for him.
But that was before I felt Katherine Montgomery’s skin. Her warmth. Got close enough to count her freckles.
Am I willing to give her up for him?
Fuck, I really am a bastard.
And I’m probably going to hell, but as I duck my head, and Katherine’s chin tilts up, her lashes fluttering closed. . . I’m willing to suffer whatever purgatory I find myself in.
“I didn’t plan this,” I whisper against her lips.
“I know,” she whispers back.
The chemistry between us is off the charts. I feel her every breath all the way to my soul. Tension winds around us like a boa constrictor, and I’m wholly aware that I’ve never experienced anything like this.
“This is a bad idea, right?”
“The worst.”
“Then why does it feel so right?”
“Gabe?” she whispers the word against my lips.
Her silky soft skin literally brushes mine, and my gut tightens.
“Yeah?”
“Shut up and kiss me.”
The coffee cup drops from my hand as I sweep her into my arms. I’m vaguely aware of warm liquid splashing over my bare feet, but my remaining brain cells focus on lining my lips up with hers. Angling her face just right. Pulling her closer with my free hand.
My mouth meets hers like a thirsty man greets a canteen. Eager. Firm. I’m sure I’m dreaming until she moans, and her coffee cup joins mine on the floor. Her fingers find the edges of my shirt, and I growl my pleasure.
She’s in this.
She wants it. She wants me .
Her hands slip beneath my shirt to skate over my skin. She moans, and it’s the best sound I’ve ever heard. I want more. More moans. More kisses. More skin against skin.
Luckily, she’s on the same page. Nipping my lower lip, she pulls back just enough to tease and entice, changing the energy between us. Harder. Faster.
My gut tightens.
She lets my flesh go, but then she’s right back to kissing me. I shove my hand into her hair and tip her head back farther. Little Tiger wants it rough? I can do that.
I sweep my tongue along the seam of her lips, giving her a single second to back away if she has any reservations.
Her fingers flex into my obliques, and I’m suddenly thankful for all those early morning workouts Alex ropes me into.
Spearing my tongue into the hot, wet cavern of her mouth, it’s an all-out assault to the senses. Her warm breath puffs against my cheek. Then her tongue meets mine like she’s been waiting for this moment as long as I have.
I tug her hips forward, leaving nothing to the imagination. There’s a tiny gasp, and I swallow the sound. Yes, Princess, feel what you do to me.
She’s amazing. Giving kiss for kiss. Clinging to me like a koala bear. Moaning her pleasure.
I lift my head. Her eyes are closed, her lips slightly parted. I’ve never really thought much about the word bemused, but I’m positive if you looked it up in the dictionary, you’d see a picture of Katherine right now.
Then she blinks up at me.
I hold my breath.
She’s impossible to read on the best day, and I’ve just kissed the hell out of her. If she were wearing socks, they’d be scattered around the room. With our coffee.
But this Katherine lifts a fingertip to her lips. There’s the slightest curve at the corners. Then her gaze drops to my chest, and I swear her nostrils flare.
“Sorry about that,” she murmurs, waving a hand at my shirt.
I glance down to find a coffee stain.
“You can pay the dry cleaning bill.”
She smiles then. Full on summer’s day sunshine smile. And it’s so fucking sweet I almost come.
“I should clean this up.” She nods toward the chaos around our feet.
That strikes me as funny, and fuck, I shouldn’t laugh. But I do.
“What? You think I don’t know how to use a sponge?”
“It’s not that, Princess.”
She pokes me in the abs.
God. How is it that the hottest kiss of my life has turned into such a lighthearted moment that I can’t get enough of? It’s wild and unexpected.
Just like her.
I sober.
“What?” She gives me a look that I’m sure gets her what she wants nine out of ten times. “Say it.”
“This. You.” I drop my head, huffing a laugh. “It’s just. . . domestic.”
She cocks her head, suddenly suspicious, and I feel her withdrawing. “You don’t like domestic?”
“Yesterday, I would have said no way.”
“And today?”
I glance down at the puddles of coffee on the hardwood floor. Her latte has seeped into my soul-black coffee, creating a marbled effect in places. Or maybe it’s the other way around. Whatever the case, a new, medium-brown liquid emerges from the mess .
Is that what life would be like with her?
A mixture? An adventure? A little bit messy. A little bit beautiful.
“I love it.”
At my declaration, she relaxes. She seems closer, even though she never took a step away. Her palms glide up my chest, and I lean into her touch.
“It’s really so easy to change your mind?” She searches my face as if it holds the key to a quest.
“I guess so.” I like to think of myself as open-minded. And heaven knows, I’m curious. Always learning new things. When I see something that interests me, I go for it, down the rabbit hole. Jump first, asking questions the whole way down. It’s my nature, and the zest for knowledge has served me well. “All the data points are there.”
She laughs, and I’m glad I amuse her. It’s even better than frustrating her. “Data points?”
I slide my hand down to cup the side of her neck. She’s glowing with that mischievous look again, and I’m pretty sure I’m gonna get teased about my thirst for numbers.
“Yeah, let’s forget I geeked out there.”
“No.” She shakes her head emphatically. “Let’s not. I want to hear about these data points.”
“Seriously?”
“I’ve been trying to figure out what makes you tick for two years, Gabriel. Lay it on me.”
“Gah—Katherine—You can’t say that to a man. ”
Down, boy.
She smirks. Little Miss Buttoned-Up knows exactly where my mind went, and she likes it.
What is happening between us?
“The data points?” Her fingers walk up my chest, and then she takes a step away from me. “I saw a rag in the other room. I expect to be wowed with analytics when I get back.”