Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Later that night, on the back of Clayton’s motorcycle, Gabriella arched her neck to check out the stars as he slowed down for a stop sign close to the Chance home.
A perfect, clear fall night revealed a million stars overhead.
The vastness of the Tennessee sky made her all the more grateful she was with Clay, his warm body anchoring hers and warding away the growing chill.
She laid her cheek on the back of his shoulder, the soft flannel of his shirt doing little to disguise the roped muscles beneath.
He was strong and solid and kept her safe despite the speed and the thrill of the ride.
Traveling along the isolated roads made her feel like they were all alone in the world, just the thrum of the machine beneath them and her arms wrapped around him.
He’d given her his leather jacket for the ride home and she’d gladly left her car parked on Main Street.
She’d pick it up tomorrow. For tonight she wanted to enjoy what could possibly be her last weekend in Heartache.
With the digital evidence now a factor in the case, the newspapers had suggested the prosecution might have a slam dunk.
They could rest early next week and then what could the defense possibly come up with?
Things looked hopeful.
But even as that news heartened her, she had to wonder what it meant for her relationship with Clay. As Zach pointed out, Clayton had a business in Memphis. A home. A whole life that didn’t include her.
Or Mia.
That was the most troubling part if she thought about trying to extend their relationship. She couldn’t imagine being with someone who would abandon his own sister.
And even though that idea troubled her, at least they’d shared a happy day together.
Mia had seemed more relaxed, laughing as she tried to teach Davis Reed how to two-step at the Hasting family reunion.
Gabriella had watched her carefully, searching for signs that the teen might be nervous around her new boyfriend, but if anything, the jazz-loving teenage drummer seemed to put Mia more at ease than Gabriella had seen her all week.
Davis wasn’t the problem.
She’d been surprised when Mia asked for permission to sit with her father tonight for an hour or two, but Davis had offered to drive her, which Gabriella appreciated since she knew what an emotional toll those visits could take. The two of them had left the party shortly before Gabby and Clay.
Now, pulling into the driveway outside her childhood home, Gabriella stared up at the sprawling Craftsman her father had upgraded continually, remembering that her time was running out to revisit her old bedroom.
The darkness of those days surged like clouds across the tiny crescent moon.
After Clay parked the bike and helped her off the back, she watched him while he set their helmets on the bike seat.
She gladly put those unhappy thoughts aside to study his broad shoulders in the moonlight.
She’d been in his arms half the evening, dancing to one song after another while they laughed and joked, enjoying the company of a wide range of people who had all stayed under the Hasting roof, no matter how briefly.
She wanted to be in his arms again.
Her mouth went dry just thinking about him. She’d had so little experience with men before this week. And now she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about Clay.
His low whistle pulled her out of her thoughts. His eyes were on her.
“What?” Her voice sounded scratchy and she hugged his leather jacket tighter around her.
It wasn’t the same as being in his arms, but she liked the weight and scent of the leather. The hint of his aftershave at the collar.
He stepped closer, his boots scraping lightly against the cobblestones.
“I’d give anything to know what you were thinking about just then.” He gripped the zippered lapels of the jacket and slowly hauled her closer.
Her heart beat faster and she swallowed hard. Was she that transparent?
“I’m not sure I remember exactly,” she started to fib.
“No?” He tunneled his hands beneath the jacket, finding her waist. “Whatever it was, I liked it.”
With his hands on her, his breath mingling with hers, it was easier to admit the truth.
“I may have been thinking about how much I wanted you to kiss me.” She laid her palms on his chest and felt the steady beat of his heart through the thermal shirt under the flannel.
A few night birds called overhead, but other than that, silence wrapped around them in this rural end of town.
“I’m glad, Gabriella.” He brushed feather-light kisses along her jaw, making her shiver and move closer to him. “But I want you to know you have an open invitation to kiss me whenever you feel like it.”
The words provided a small, secret thrill that shot through her like a falling star.
“Is that so?” She liked this new boldness he gave her. This ability to flirt and feel the soft magic of attraction without fear or shame, without the barbs and tenterhooks of the past calling her out of the moment.
It felt beautiful.
“Anytime. Anywhere.” He nipped her lower lip but still didn’t kiss her. “On the West Coast or in Memphis.”
She felt his slow smile against her mouth, but everything inside her stilled. She opened her eyes to find him watching her in the moonlight, and something about his expression told her he was feeling her out about continuing their relationship after the trial was over.
She edged back.
“Mia’s life is here,” she protested. “In Heartache. And I’m not ready to walk away from her.”
He nodded slowly in a way that suggested acceptance even if his gaze cooled, his expression shuttered.
“She has a good advocate in both of us. I hope you know that.”
That was as much of a concession as she was going to wrest from him.
She knew that from the look in his eyes.
Perhaps it was a sign that she should simply enjoy their window of time together and not worry about what came next.
Clayton was part of her healing, and she was grateful for that even if he couldn’t be a part of her future.
Or his sister’s.
“I do know that.” Understanding washed over her, the realization that she wouldn’t win this battle. It made her time with him more bittersweet.
But by God, she wouldn’t waste a minute of it. So, calling up her courage, she gripped the lapels of his flannel shirt and hauled him back toward the narrow porch of the in-law annex. A motion light tripped on, flooding them in a golden glow that illuminated the dark cedar shake siding.
Illuminated Clay.
She brushed her lips over his, the barest grazing of mouths.
Another thrill chased around her insides, lighting her up.
The scent of barbecue clung to their clothes and skin from the reunion, the smoky tang doing nothing to appease the hunger she was feeling now.
She ran her tongue around his lips. Testing. Tasting.
With a low growl of approval, Clay broke the kiss long enough to disarm Zach’s high-tech alarm system since he knew all the codes. She liked seeing the way his breaths huffed into the cool night air.
Wordlessly, she drew him inside with her.
Like a continuation of their two-step, they moved together with easy coordination.
She shed his jacket on the couch while he reactivated the alarm.
He untwined her scarf from around her neck and she slipped off her boots.
A low wattage lamp behind the sofa made it easy to see, one of many lights that turned on and off according to the security system.
Gabriella liked it because she could see Clay all the better when he lifted her off her feet and into his arms, a gesture that made her smile. He strode with her across the room, elbowing open the door to the master bedroom.
“I could have walked,” she reminded him, mostly to tease him. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“I was going for speed.” He toed the door shut behind them and then propped a knee on the bed before lowering her to the downy mattress with a plump feather bed on top.
The pillowy bedding shifted around her, surrounding her in laundry-scented linens. There was no lamp here, only the scant moonlight. Clay left her for a moment to adjust the top half of the wooden blinds, letting more light shine through from high up, protecting their privacy.
She propped herself on her elbows to watch while he shrugged off his shirts, his chest a sight to behold.
Corded muscle shifted with him as he reached down to strip off his boots.
Inspired, she sat up farther so she could slip her sweater up and over her head.
Clay paused in the middle of unfastening his belt, his attention thoroughly captured in a way that flattered.
In a way that touched her. A way that made her feel normal and womanly.
He must have forgotten about his pants, because he was on his knees at the side of the bed a moment later, his dark eyes intent on her. She felt his hands at her waist, his attention fixed on her skirt as he dragged the light wool down her body.
Sensation hummed in her veins and heated her skin despite the sudden cool air against her legs.
Clay skimmed his fingers back up her calves to rest on her knees, edging his shoulders between them.
Anticipation jumped in her pulse. She knifed to a sitting position so she could kiss him.
Run her hands through dark hair that was surprisingly silky.
He kissed her breathless and gently pushed her back down, trailing his mouth down her neck.
Between her breasts. Along her belly and her hip.
Every sweep of his tongue pitched her fever higher, a restless hunger growing that only he could satisfy.
When he cupped the tender flesh between her thighs, her breath quickened along with her heartbeat.
He kissed his way along the hemline of her panties—a new and ridiculously pretty lace purchase she’d made with him in mind—until she moaned his name with ragged desire.