Mine

His mouth flattened into a thin line and tension pulled at his eyes. “If this is about leaving, don’t say it.”

She actually had to shake her head. She’d been racing down one road and he was . . . where the hell was he? “What?”

“Eli comes in here and says you’re about to get the green light on your future, and now you want to have a big talk.” With his hands on her hips, Gabe pulled her in closer. “I don’t want to hear about you moving on.”

They’d gone off track. Leaving was the dead last thing on her mind. Her drive to stay with him kept pulling at her to do the right thing and fess up. To give him an answer he might not want but one he needed so he could prepare. “I didn’t say that.”

His fingers tightened on her. “But it’s coming, right?”

“You’ve been nice about—”

“Jesus, Natalie. I am not nice.”

She didn’t know how to respond to a guy who got ticked off at being told he was a good guy. “Okay.”

“The talk I gave you about staying here for your safety is bullshit.” He swore under his breath. Shook his head. Looked as if he had a battle going on inside him and was trying to fight through it. “Well, not completely, but that’s not really where my head was when I made the offer.”

She touched him then. Ran her hand along his jaw because he seemed like he needed comfort. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“I want you to stay for me, Nat. I want you safe, sure, but this is way more selfish than that. I want you to be here with me.”

Her mind went blank. Every argument and thought shuddered to a halt in her head. “Gabe.”

“Yeah, it’s too fast and maybe a little stupid. I don’t give a damn.” He wrapped his arms around her. For a second he leaned his forehead against hers but then he lifted it again and stared down at her with an expression that looked suspiciously like worry. “You being here, sleeping beside you. God, Natalie, it means everything to me.”

“You want—”

He exhaled, long and loud and full of pent-up something. “I want you to stay so that we can figure out what’s happening between us. I want that future you’re considering to include me.”

The words sputtered inside of her. Here she was thinking about covert actions in his personal life, and he was offering her a chance that amounted to more than a few rounds of good sex. She shouldn’t want the opportunity or crave it so much, but she did. From the start her feelings for him had only intensified.

Still, she had to be smart. That protective wall she erected so long ago couldn’t just crash down with a gentle push. It needed to be bulldozed, and it scared her that he might have that kind of strength and staying power. “This started out as sex.”

“Sex and protection.”

Even that much had been a violation of her personal rule and, honestly, of his. “Nothing more.”

He frowned. Looked as if he were preparing for a body blow. “Can you truly say that’s all it is now?”

She thought about how he smelled and how he smiled. How good it felt to lie in bed and run her hands over him. Not just for sex. The getting to know him part.

She should lie and stand firm. Not let the toughness slip . . . but looking into those eyes, so full of genuine feeling, and knowing the leaning of her own heart she couldn’t cut the ties and walk away. “No, it’s a lot more.”

His hands cupped her cheeks now, as if he willed her to believe every word. “Then understand that while I do want you safe and I’ve never forgotten my job is to protect you, the man—not the protector or the president of a security company—the actual man, is hoping you want to stay for him.”

If she hadn’t been falling for him before that moment, that comment would have sent her flying over the edge. His honesty sealed her fate.

She treated him to a quick kiss and pulled back before he could take it deeper. “For a guy who doesn’t say many words, when you do you sure pick the right ones.”

His frown disappeared. “Is that a yes?”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and let the unexpected sensation of lightness wash through her. “Yes.”

“We’re definitely getting naked now.” His hands moved to her back and started wandering.

The friction of her body rubbing against his had her thinking about his bed and how much she loved it when he balanced his elbows on either side of her and hovered above her. “No question.”

“What’s that?” He nodded toward the envelope.

Her gaze slipped to it and guilt nagged at her. She’d open it later. She’d peek inside and find the answer because that’s who she was. She didn’t let clues get by her. And armed with the information she might be able to ease his pain or push him toward a test she knew would make his world better. But all that came later. “Something I thought I needed.”

His hands slid down her back making a beeline for her ass. “And now?”

She jumped up and wrapped her legs around his upper thighs. “I need you.”

TWENTY-SIX

Rick had the power to turn a day to shit.

Gabe got the call that his big brother hit the road from D.C. and was on the way. Andy jumped in the car to act as a potential referee, if needed. At least that’s what his text said. A few minutes ago the house alarm chirped and Gabe buzzed the far gate to let them in. Now he had to wait it out. See what was so urgent Rick insisted on a face-to-face meeting here, where Gabe never conducted business with Rick.

As if Gabe didn’t know.

He’d spent last night all over Natalie, barely letting her rest so he could forget the nightmare closing in. He’d settled one part of his life. Actually found a woman he cared about to the point where he wanted to change his life to make room for her. He’d been in her, over her, under her. There wasn’t an inch of her body he didn’t know better than his own.

She’d traced every scar on his chest and back and asked for the story behind each injury. With how he felt about her, the level of trust he’d developed so damn fast, he didn’t hold back. He gave the details he could without violating confidences. They’d only been out of bed and dressed for a half hour, which matched up perfectly with the time of Andy’s warning text.

He heard her footsteps on the stairs and glanced up. She wore jeans and a long-sleeve V-neck tee. This morning she had her hair up and off her face. So beautiful without makeup. Real to the bone.

But something else lingered there. Gone was the sure woman who knew what she wanted last night. Her steps seemed tentative, as if she expected something terrible brewed.

He hated pulling her into the middle of his family battle but it seemed shitty to cut her out or pretend he wouldn’t spill later anyway. That’s what he did with her. For the first time, he opened up. He shared intimate details and his greatest fear. He knew she wanted to help when she suggested he might want to think about the DNA test, but he’d shut that line of thinking down because he couldn’t find his way through the haze of denial that had fallen around him.

Fucking Rick.

When he saw her hesitate on the last step, not coming into the great room with him, he wondered if her apprehension covered more than Rick. After all, they’d turned a huge corner last night. He went from offering her a sanctuary to offering her more.

He wasn’t being nice when he said she should stay. Shit, what had that been about? No, he was being selfish. For once, reaching out and asking for something for himself—her. Them together, working this out and looking toward a future.

But with her past and her anti-commitment walls stacked even thicker than his, he understood how he could have shaken her up. In the light of day he might not seem as great a catch. “You okay?”

She chewed on her bottom lip. “Should I stay upstairs while you talk with Rick?”