Page 98 of A Little More Forgiveness

“I want another chance with you.”

My gaze shot to his, my mouth going dry. “Why?” I whispered.

“I received this earlier.” He leaned forward and pushed his ass out slightly as he reached around to his back pocket. The instant image of his bare ass as Gabe and I had licked his hole made me flush to boiling hot.

He pulled out a wad of papers folded in half. Unfolding them, he smoothed them on his thigh and passed them to me. “Sorry. They got a bit creased.”

Taking them from him, I felt the residual heat from where they’d been nestled against his butt cheek. A quick glance at the image at the top of the letter informed me who they were from. Dread pooled in my belly at what the documents might mean. I rapidly skimmed the contents, my jaw dropping when I understood what they contained.

I looked at Mitch, who sat watching me like a hawk. “He’s giving you everything.” I’d worried about what might happen to him and what Gabe would decide to do with his half of the property. I should have expected he wouldn’t keep it. In the end he’d want what’s best for Mitch, and to sever any ties he had to the place.

“He is.” He reached back into his pocket, then pulled out and handed over a separate piece of paper.

Unfolding it, my jaw dropped again, as my gaze snapped to Mitch. “That’s a lot of money.”

He nodded, his expression serious.

“That’s good, right? You never wanted to sell and now you don’t have to. You own every square acre and can do whatever you want with it. And with so much cash, you’ll be able to complete all the renovations and finally get the business you and Katie dreamed of up and running.” I stared at him intently when he didn’t respond, my brow furrowing. “Mitch? That’s what you wanted, right?” I failed to understand why he wasn't more enthusiastic.

“No, it’s not.”

What? Now, he’d totally confused me. “I thought—”

“So did I.” His free hand moved up to cup my neck, his thumb sliding along my jaw to rest on my pulse point, the beat increasing rapidly at his caress. I shouldn’t have allowed him to touch me, but the heat from his calloused fingers against my skin just felt so right.

“So?”

“Not like this. Not without you. Not without Gabe.” He leaned in confidently, and I automatically tilted my head, submitting to him and his beautiful lips as they trailed kisses from my shoulder, along my neck and jaw, to stop a hairsbreadth from my parched lips. “I’m so sorry, Leo,” he whispered. “Yesterday, I got too scared about how both of you made me feel. Trying to reconcile these new and incredible feelings with my past relationship and Katie’s death, I allowed my guilt to override everything else, and I panicked.” He leaned his forehead against mine and let out a deep heartfelt sigh. “When you left,” he swallowed. “When I threw you away and returned to the cabin, the reality of what my life used to be, hit me hard. I wasn’t living, only functioning, and without Gabe and you there, all I saw were empty days and empty years stretching into the future.”

I reached up and, pushing off his cap, ran my fingers through his thick hair. He sighed again and relaxed.

“I don’t want to be alone anymore, Leo. I want to take a chance on our relationship because I deserve to be happy, and so do both of you, and together, I think the three of us will be amazing. Please say you’ll forgive me one last time and give me a final chance to make things right.”

I closed the small gap between us until my mouth feathered lightly over his. The beautiful sensation caused me to release a tortured sigh at the simple yet intimate connection and was all the answer Mitch needed. His hand around the back of my neck, he held me in place and took over the kiss. His mouth firmly covering mine, the shock of his teeth biting my lower lip made me groan as the slight twinge of pain turned to full-on pleasure. He eased away a little to glide his lips over mine again and again until they tingled, creating a sensual counterpoint to his beard scratching along my stubble, catching in the short hairs, linking us.

His tongue slid over mine, tangling, tasting, thrusting into my mouth. I clung to his biceps, matching his ardor, determined not to be a meek participant. I needed him to see and prove to myself I was as strong and as willing as him.

We parted, panting, gulping in air. He touched our foreheads, keeping us connected. “I love you, Leo, and I’m sorry that even though I said the words, I didn’t truly understand their meaning until you were gone.” He kissed me again, sweetly and sincerely.

“What about Gabe?” I asked, heart in my mouth, unsure what would happen if he no longer wanted to be a part of us.

Mitch’s smile stretched from ear to ear. “We’re going to win him back.” I quirked my eyebrow at him. “Trust me. It’ll need both of us, but I’m sure together we can persuade him we’re worth a final chance.” I didn’t feel anywhere near as confident as him we’d achieve his goal. Gabe would be a tough nut to crack, but I’d try anything possible if it meant we got to have him in our lives again.

*

It took us a while to find his house, but Melrose Bay wasn’t a big place. With so many people knowing each other, and after knocking on a few doors for directions, we managed to get a specific address. Night had fallen by the time we got there, but we eventually arrived at Gabe’s beach house. I couldn’t see too much, but the porch light glowed brightly, as did a light in the left side front window, and a fainter one coming through the front door, giving me hope he was inside.

Getting out of the truck, the sound of Christmas tunes drifted in the air along with the voices of people chatting and laughing and generally having a good time from the house next door. I’d nearly forgotten today was Christmas Eve, and the thought of Gabe sitting alone, thinking about his exes while he heard other people being happy, made my heart break for him.

Mitch waited for me to round the hood of his truck, his hand out expectantly. Once at his side, I placed mine in his and his fingers automatically curled around mine, holding me securely. Looking down at where we were linked, I loved the feeling of security and possession our display evoked.

I’d never held a boyfriend’s hand in public. It felt liberating, as if Mitch’s simple act declared to the world I was someone special to him, and he didn’t give a shit who knew about it. I hoped I’d be holding hands a lot more in my future.

He pushed the lighted button on the door and a bell chimed somewhere in the house. A few minutes later, the door opened and so did my mouth. A big and muscular body filled the doorway. Who the hell was this guy, and why was he practically naked? We’d obviously gotten him out of the shower, as his skin and chest hair were sprinkled with water droplets. He wore the tiniest towel known to man, pulled tightly around his waist, highlighting the bulge of his cock, and barely concealing its impressive length as the material just about reached to the middle of his thighs.

He crossed his arms, and when I finally managed to pull my gaze from his massive biceps and chest to look into his face, he looked resigned.

“I need to make up a damn sign,” he growled unhappily.

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