Page 45 of Tangled in His Embrace

“A friend recommended her books to me and I have to say they’re hard to put down.” His mom leaned toward Gabby and lowered her voice. “Not that my husband is complaining. It’s put a little more zing in the bedroom, if you know what I mean.”

“Mom!”

Kathy laughed. “Oh please. If your father and I never had sex, you wouldn’t be here.”

“While that might be the case, it doesn’t mean I want to hear about it.”

His mom acted as if he hadn’t said a word. “Since you’re home, I’ll head out. Taylor went to bed around eight thirty, and when I looked in on her about nine she was sound asleep. Haven’t heard a peep out of her since.”

“Thank you again for watching her,” Gabby said.

“Any time.” His mom slipped on her coat, stuffed the book she’d been reading into her purse, and reached for the door. “I left the rest of the cookies on the counter by the sink. Taylor and I each only had one, so there are plenty left. Call me if you need me to babysit again.”

***

As soon as Kathy was out the door, Gabby went to check on Taylor. She pushed the door open enough for her to poke her head in. Taylor was on her side, her favorite doll in her arms.

Gabby felt Jax come up behind her so she backed away, pulling the door closed.

“She all right?” he asked.

“Yeah. She’s out like a light.” Gabby forced her feet to move. She knew if they stayed there in the hall she would be tempted to drag him into her bedroom across the hall and have her wicked way with him.

Jax followed her into the living room.

Her first instinct was to straighten up, but there wasn’t anything to do. The house was in great shape—better than she’d left it. Kathy had cleaned up any messes that the two of them might have made and had even fixed the throw on the back of the couch. It was too bad because Gabby could really have used the distraction.

She started to go into the kitchen and then changed her mind at the last minute.

To hell with it.

Gabby pivoted and marched over to stand directly in front of Jax. Without overthinking it, she took two fistfuls of his coat, pulled him toward her, and kissed him hard.

It took all of a second for him to get with the new program. He wrapped his arms around her body, molding her to him, holding her head exactly where he wanted it as he took control of the kiss.

Warmth spread through her limbs as the sensations overwhelmed her. She melted against him, needing more. He seemed to sense what she craved and pressed their lower bodies together, letting her feel how much he wanted her. She moaned, anticipation curling in her belly. Her body knew exactly what pleasure Jax could bring.

It was only the sound of a muffled thump that brought her out of the haze she was in. Gabby jerked away from him.

She paused, waiting to see if she’d hear it again, but all she could hear was their labored breathing.

“What is it?” he asked, picking up that something was wrong.

“I thought I heard something hit the floor.”

Jax frowned. “I didn’t hear anything.”

To be honest, Gabby was surprised she’d heard anything either considering how caught up in the moment she’d been. “I need to check on Taylor.”

Without comment, he released her.

Gabby rushed down the hall, needing to make sure her daughter was all right. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found Taylor still in bed and fast asleep. Her daughter was no longer on her side, however. She had rolled over and twisted somehow so that her feet were facing the wall. Based on her position, Gabby guessed the noise she’d heard was the sound of her daughter’s foot making contact with the drywall.

Letting go of her momentary anxiety, Gabby pulled the door shut again and headed back out to where Jax waited. “I think she kicked the wall with her foot or something. She’s still sound asleep, though.”

He started to move toward her, the look in his eyes making it clear he had every intention of picking up where they’d left off.

Gabby decided maybe a change of direction was in order. She needed to cool off and think, and she couldn’t do that when he was touching her. “I wonder what kind of cookies your mom made.”

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