Page 9 of Tempting Gabe
"I don't think he'd email..." Her brother's handle was on the screen on a list of unread messages. Her heart beat faster. "Wait." The threat was also directed at her. She turned the screen toward him. "He knows it was me."
His voice message to her had been the same as what he wrote. There was nothing new. Gabe leaned closer and shut the screen, irritated. "He won't harm you."
She imagined for a second them on a deserted island, but she blinked the dream away. "How can you be sure?"
"My home is more secure than the White House."
It wasn't his security that made her feel anything. She swallowed as she peeked at his lips until she looked away. "I can't stay here forever. I have a job."
"Call in sick."
Depending even for a second on Gabe was a bad idea even if this was what she wanted. Strength meant she was supposed to survive on her own, but she smelled the scent of a home she had never truly had. But this was impossible, so she licked her lips and made an excuse. "I used my time when my mother died."
"Then lose your job. I'm sure there is something you can do for Hawke Inc."
The image of seeing him every day in a business setting when she was this attracted to him would be a recipe for disaster. She stood straighter and stepped out of his arms. She tugged her ear and tried to think of something to say. In silence, she walked toward the living room and the massive windows that overlooked the evening ocean. "Is it strange to hear your last name as incorporated or does that give you a sense of power?"
His footsteps echoed on the floor during the seconds he came toward her. "What? I thought we were talking about your sick time."
He wanted to protect her. She stared at the ocean and knew there were waves down below. The ebb and flow of the current made her think she too would survive. She turned and realized he was right behind her. "I'm over it. I'll call in and hope I don't lose my job."
"That's good."
Earlier his kiss set her off course. Her lips tingled, again, as she stared at him. "Yeah, I don't want to die by going back to my place, but I do want my cat. Maddox knows I care about Anakin and that he's all I have."
He crossed his arms and braced his legs wider. "So what do you want me to do?"
If she had to, she'd have to go home and hope her brother was too nervous, but her cat deserved to be with her now. "Can you get one of your security guards to go get him? I have the key. Once he's here, I'll sleep better."
“Sorry.” His body became lax. "I wish you thought of it before."
She swallowed. "I thought I'd be home in the morning and that he'd be in jail."
"I don't know if the building allows cats."
She'd have to go and be scared, alone. "Seriously?"
"Okay. We won't worry about it. Give me a minute."
So he'd get Anakin. Perfect. She lowered her shoulders that she hadn't known were stiff and nodded. She turned toward the ocean to get a handle on herself. Nothing made sense in her life. "Thanks."
"Give me the key." Right. She walked away and went toward the door to her huge pocketbook. As she dug into the side pocket, she wrapped her fingers around the keys.
She handed the set to him.
"Anakin will be here in an hour."
“Great.” Perhaps space was a good thing. Space would let her stop imagining what it would be to wake up next to Gabe. Her face felt hot as she shook her head. "Maybe we should go there? I would like a few clothes."
"No."
"Huh?" She stopped moving but felt her eyes widen.
"I can have clothes delivered. We don't want your brother tracking you here."
Tracking. Emails. Gabe ran a tech company. She narrowed her gaze. "Aren't you tracking that email?"
"How did you know?"
