Page 24 of Tangled in His Embrace

Chapter 7

Gabby was trying her best to hold on to her temper. “And what if things didn’t go well? Huh? You could have died and we never would have known.”

“Yes, you would have. And you would have been taken care of. I’d made sure of that. Even before I went to Chicago, I updated my will to make you and Taylor my sole beneficiaries. The life insurance would have—”

She stood abruptly. “Do you think I care about that? That somehow money would have made it better if we had lost you?” Tears were streaming down her face again and there was nothing she could do to stop them.

“I didn’t mean—”

“Of course you didn’t. You didn’t mean anything.”

Jax eased himself into a standing position, almost as if he were afraid if he moved too fast he would spook her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. That was the opposite of what I wanted. But I thought a little hurt now would save you from a bigger hurt later. I see now that I was wrong.” Stepping forward, he placed his hands on her forearms and waited until she looked at him. “If I could go back and do it over, I would do things differently, but I can’t. All I can do is say I’m sorry and try to make it up to you if I can.”

“How?” She sniffed, hating that she was such an emotional mess. “How are you going to make it up to us?”

“I want to be a good dad to Taylor. To be there for her when she needs me. To see her grow up, and even to help chase the boys away when she’s old enough to start dating.”

Gabby couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

He slid his hands up her arms and cupped her face between his palms. “I promise I won’t take off again.”

“I don’t know if I can trust you.” She whispered the words because that was all she could manage at the moment. The pull she always felt toward him was there, even though seconds ago she was ready to throttle him.

A small step forward closed the gap between them until their chests were touching. “Give me time. I’ll prove it to you.”

She closed her eyes, trying to steady herself—an almost impossible task when he was standing so close to her. “I don’t know...”

“Please, Gabby. Give me one more chance. I promise you won’t regret it.”

His mouth was a breath away from hers. It would be so easy to give in—to let her hormones take control again. But she’d done that before. Twice. And it had gotten them nowhere.

Before she could talk herself out of it, Gabby pulled away.

He didn’t reach for her again, letting his arms fall to his sides.

She took a deep breath, trying to clear her head. Every time he was near her entire body went into hyperdrive. “I need some time to think.”

Jax looked disappointed but nodded anyway. “I understand.”

They stood there for several minutes, the air between them becoming charged again. She knew they needed to get out of her bedroom. “Have you checked the weather this morning?”

“Not much change from last night. They’re asking people to stay off the streets so the plows can salt the roads.”

Gabby moved to her dresser. “I’m going to shower and then see if I can get some writing done.”

“I’ll try to stay out of your way.” With that, he turned and walked out of the room, leaving her alone.

Grabbing a clean pair of underwear, bra, and a change of clothes, Gabby headed for the bathroom. Once the door was closed behind her, she felt as if she could breathe again. Or at least, better. Knowing they were both stuck there for the time being wasn’t helping. She didn’t like feeling trapped in general, but with all the emotions flooding through her she felt as if she’d been thrown into the deep end of a pool without knowing how to swim to the other side.

Warm steam filled the room as she removed her pajamas and threw them into the hamper that was almost overflowing. She’d need to do laundry today. It would give her something to do to take her mind off Jax. As much as she wanted to write, she wasn’t sure she would be able to focus. She’d written the big fight scene the night before and all that was left was the final reunion of the two main characters. Given the intensity of the story’s climax, and its tone, it needed to be both sweet and sexy and Gabby wasn’t feeling either of those at the moment.

Okay, she was feeling somewhat sexy. It was impossible not to when Jax looked at her the way he did—like he wanted to rip her clothes off right then and there.

Gabby groaned when she realized the direction her thoughts were taking. It was always like this. All she had to do was think about him and she began remembering all the things he could do to her body.

Grabbing her shower gel, Gabby added a large dollop to her loofah. She kneaded the gel into the fibers with a little water until it was covered in suds and ran it over her skin. Even though her loofah felt nothing like Jax’s hands, the sensation lit up the nerve endings in her arms, stomach, and breasts. She was a hot ball of arousal by the time she rinsed herself off.

There was only a moment’s hesitation before she reached for the removable showerhead. She’d invested in one not long after Jax left. With a baby in the house, the shower was one of the few times she had to herself and she’d made the most of it.

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