Page 100 of Tempting Fate
She would miss this, the special kind of intimacy she had with Gabe and no one else. The way he put his whole body into making her feel good. He was the only man for whom she’d never had to wear a coat of armor. With Gabe, she was safe to be herself.
By the time he entered her, she was a jumble of raw emotions. “I love you,” she whispered, so softly that he couldn’t hear the words. It was better that way, she told herself. Leaving him would be hard enough.
His strokes became needier, more powerful, and she urgently rose up to meet each thrust. Gabe rolled her on top, cushioning her ribs, which were still sore from Sunday. She moved steadily with his hands on her hips, guiding and controlling the pace. Slow and easy. Both of them swaying to the rhythm of a primal dance as old as time. Both of them so lost in each other that nothing outside of them existed.
Their breathing had become heavy, and Gabe’s face strained in the sunlight that had seeped through the blinds and left striped shadows on the wall.
“Ah, Ray, I’m not going to make it much longer.”
“Try.” She leaned over him and dragged her long blond hair down his chest.
“That tickles.” His hands clasped her arms and he propped her up. “Are you trying to kill me?”
She laughed, and their eyes met and locked. Raylene traced his lips with her finger and something moved in her chest.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Looking at you. Memorizing your face.”
He reached up and ever so gently rubbed his thumb along her bruised cheek. She shrugged up her shoulder, holding his hand in place so she could revel in his soft touch.
“Does it still hurt?” he whispered.
“Nothing hurts…all I feel is you.”
His eyes heated and he flipped her onto her back, careful not to put pressure on her ribcage. Then he re-entered her in one fluid thrust. Increasing the tempo, he plunged deeper with long, powerful strokes, making her call out, “Gabe, oh, Gabe.”
He reached one hand under her butt and used the other between her legs. And all at once she felt herself break into a million pieces as she clenched around him, waves of pleasure washing over her. Gabe let go of the tight grip he’d had over himself and matched her as his own climax stole his breath away.
“Ray…ah, baby.” He caught her mouth and kissed her hard.
Afterward, they lay there, tangled up together, gulping for air. Eventually, he found one of the pillows that had been knocked to the ground, fluffed it, and placed it under her head.
“I backed out of the deal with Moto Entertainment,” she said, breaking the silence. “I couldn’t go through with it.”
Gabe rolled to his side and faced her. “What are you going to do now?”
“Get a job, I guess.”
He let out a soft chuckle. “What about your women’s shelter?”
She exhaled. Another one of her failures, and another name to add to her long list of people she’d let down. “I don’t know. But I couldn’t sacrifice my hometown. I’ll think of something.”
“I believe you,” he said. “You’re just stubborn enough to get the money.”
“I’m hoping in spring, Dana will find another buyer. A rancher or a farmer.”
“Lucky said you offered to sell it to him for less than half the price.”
She didn’t say anything for a while, ashamed that the man hated her so much he’d pass up the deal of a lifetime so he wouldn’t have to lower himself to take something from her. “I was trying to make amends.”
He tipped up her chin with his finger. “That’s a hell of an amends. You’re a good person, Raylene, who made some mistakes. I think people around here are starting to see that.”
“People around here are riding high on what happened a few days ago. As soon as the adrenaline rush subsides, they’ll go back to hating me. That’s the way it is in Nugget.”
“Maybe.” He rested his forehead against hers. “Or maybe they’re over it. Who can say? But you can leave with a clear conscience.”
She wondered if she’d ever be free of the constant guilt that gnawed at her, or if she even wanted to be. Carrying it around was a good way of keeping her honest and off the booze.
