Chapter Twenty-Two
G abe shifted his shoulder a little to settle Emma more comfortably against him.
What a night.
He regarded the clock on her nightstand and grinned. Big red digital numbers stared back at him. Four a.m. He was having trouble keeping his eyes open. Emma’s warm body curved enticingly against his in the dark. He tightened his arm around her and grazed his lips over her forehead. She sighed and her warm breath dusted across the skin of his chest, sending goose bumps all over him.
How could someone make you feel like this after only one night? It wasn’t just the sex. He’d felt a connection he’d never experienced before.
Gabe let out a breath. The problem was, it wasn’t one night. He’d wanted this for weeks now, since the first time he’d laid eyes on her in Max’s bar. He’d just refused to accept it, wouldn’t let himself get closer than friends.
Seeing her reaction to him, her need for him, floored him. He stroked a finger over her creamy skin. A shaft of moonlight speared through the night, slashing across their chests. He’d never thought he could feel this way again. Not after what had happened.
Betrayal wasn’t a nice word.
Gabe tangled his fingers through the ends of her long hair where it lay across his chest. He would have to tell her the full story about his break-up with his fiancée. He knew Darby had told her about the cheating, but that was nothing compared to the rest.
Tomorrow would be soon enough. He kissed her forehead again and closed his eyes. He was going to need his sleep if they went another round like that. They’d been in bed since the previous afternoon, only stopping to grab something quick to eat when they thought they’d die of starvation.
He’d only left the house long enough to run to his ute and grab the box of condoms Darby had insisted on putting there a couple of weeks ago, arguing that it couldn’t hurt to have some. Just in case he and Emma got intimate. They’d had a blistering fight over it. He’d finally given in and sworn to leave them there for eternity, unused.
So much for that.
Emma stirred gently, her soft moan muffled by his skin. Gabe held himself still, not wanting to disturb her. She needed rest, too.
“Hmm. Alex.” Her soft voice caressed his ears as her arm moved across his chest.
Alex? Who the hell is Alex?
Gabe frowned into the dark. Hearing her say another man’s name wasn’t exactly an aphrodisiac, but he supposed he could understand. If Alex was an old boyfriend and she felt comfortable here with him, her subconscious would associate them.
Nothing to worry about. Gabe waited a few heartbeats, but curiosity got the better of him.
“Who’s Alex?” he whispered.
He felt Emma’s mouth curve into a smile against his shoulder.
“My husband, silly,” she answered on a breath of air, and sank back into oblivion against him.
Gabe’s heart stuttered to a halt. His blood turned to ice. He couldn’t breathe.
Husband? She’s married?
A vice gripped his insides and clamped down hard.
Oh Christ, no. Not again.
The first person he’d felt something for after Sami and she was the same? How could that even be possible?
Gabe had to move, had to get out of there before he did something stupid. He slid Emma gently off his arm and froze when she rolled over and sank back into the pillows.
Of all people, he would never have taken her for a liar. She seemed far too genuine.
So much for him knowing anything. He spotted his jeans laying bunched up on the floor near his shoes in a shaft of moonlight and pulled them up hurriedly. He turned back toward the bed, his heart twisting and dying a little as he stared at her.
He’d thought—no, hoped—that there could’ve been something more. Gabe had denied his instant attraction to Emma to anyone who would listen. He’d nearly managed to fool himself into believing it too. They’d become friends instead of jumping into something headfirst. He’d thought it might make a difference.
Obviously, he was very, very wrong.
Gabe grabbed his shoes and backed out of the room, imprinting the image of Emma lying in the moonlight. He wouldn’t be seeing her like this again.
If there was a God, he wouldn’t see her again… at all.