Page 79 of Sanctuary

“I like all of you.” Lori popped another button open, and her breath caught at the sight of a huge tattoo under the line of Gabe’s chest. “Is this an angel?”

Gabe shook her head lightly. “It’s Alectho, one of the Greek fury sisters.”

Lori traced the delicate feather detail, and her nail grazed Gabe’s breast. She sucked in a breath at Gabe’s half-lidded eyes. She looked helpless, almost weak and desperate for Lori’s touch, but in the most fantastically seductive way possible, and the control it gave Lori ran through her like an electrical charge. She wanted to tear Gabe’s shirt off to fully appreciate the artwork, not caring that they were in a bar where anyone might walk this way and catch them.

Gabe wrapped her hand around Lori’s neck and pulled her in closer. “Kiss me.”

Lori put her finger against Gabe’s lips. “We shouldn’t. Not here.”

“Where then?” Gabe twirled Lori’s hair between her fingertips. She tilted her head toward the emergency exit. “In the alley?”

The thought sent a thrill surging through Lori’s body, ending with a fierce throbbing at her very core. She’d never been the kind of woman to indulge in spontaneous sex in public places. Even spontaneous private sex had been rare. But, God, Gabe made her feel things she’d only ever read about in erotic novels. Could she be that kind of woman? Even if it was just for one night?

Gabe stroked Lori’s cheek. “Let me take you to a hotel close by. I’ve wanted you since I first saw you—I can’t wait any longer.”

Lori ran her finger along the defined line of muscle under Gabe’s collarbone. She couldn’t wait any longer either. Maybe she’d always been this way, just waiting for a woman like Gabe to come along and untether her from self-imposed disinterest. “That’s the kind of woman you think I am?”

“I’m hoping,” Gabe said breathlessly. “I’m really hoping.”

Lori glanced down at the onyx black wings on Gabe’s skin. She didn’t want to deny herself an exploration of Gabe’s body, and to discover where she imagined the fury sister’s toes disappeared under the waist of Gabe’s jeans. She didn’t want to deny herself anything about Gabe anymore. She crushed her lips to Gabe’s and savored a kiss that gave passion and lust a physical taste, igniting a craving so all-consuming that Lori could never imagine it fading.

Lori’s phone buzzed insistently in her pocket.

“Ignore it,” Gabe whispered and kissed her neck lightly. “Come with me.”

The phone though. The phone just kept ringing, but it wasn’t in her pocket.

“Come with me…please. I need you.”

I need you too, but the words wouldn’t come out of her mouth.

And that damn phone.

Lori’s eyes snapped open and slowly adjusted to the bright afternoon sunshine piercing the window. Disappointment blanketed her awareness and dulled her still pulsing core. So now Gabe had made her way into Lori’s daydreams too.

And her phone was still ringing. She picked it up and shot out of her chair when she saw it was her mom calling. “Is everything okay?” A quick check of the time told her that her mom should still be in the air.

“Of course it is, sweetheart. You sound breathless. Are you okay?”

“Did you miss your flight?”

“No, I’m calling you from the plane,” her mom said. “I wanted to surprise you.”

“You certainly did that.” Though she was more surprised by the increasing intensity and regularity of her Gabe-themed fantasies. She didn’t need to check to know that she’d have to change her underwear before she left the house. That was another thing she’d never experienced before meeting Gabe. They hadn’t even slept together yet, and Lori was beginning to feel like her libido was a long-sleeping chrysalis finally metamorphosing and spreading its wings.

Wings. Did Gabe really have a tattoo of a Greek fury? Lori’s brief view of her abs indicated it couldn’t be real. All she’d seen there were perfectly symmetrical bumps of muscle.

“Lori? Are you still there?”

“Sorry, Mom. I just woke up.”

“Really?” her mom asked.

Her family didn’t waste time on naps; they always had too much to do. “I’ve been up a while… I had a late night, that’s all. I’m a little tired.”

Her mom cooed. “Really? I look forward to hearing all about that when I get there. Although we’ll have to send your dad to do some chores while you do.”

“Dad’s with you?” she asked. This visit would be even better for his presence.

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