Page 48 of Gator's Gambit
She shakes her head. “No, I’m okay. I might have marks, but skin’s intact. I’m good.”
I study her a moment to gauge whether she’s telling me what she thinks I want to hear or if she’s being genuine. Seeing the truth in her beautiful eyes, I breathe a sigh of relief and run a fingertip down her silken cheek.
Unable to resist – to reassure myself she’s fine – I draw her in and lay my lips on hers. A sweet, chaste kiss is all we get an opportunity for. “Excuse me, Gator?” I hear Eloise speaking from behind me.
“Yeah?” Sadly, I break the kiss, intending to come back to it when we’re alone. That and a whole lot more – there will be talk of marriage and a future together – a future I’m thankful we get to have.
“Detective’s here to speak to you.”
“I’ll be right there,” I reply, reluctant to let go of Fancy.
But I know the sooner I get this over with, the sooner we can head for home. And I cannot wait to get her home and into my personal space.
24
GATOR
Gratitude fills me as I open the front door of my townhouse.
It feels like a lifetime since I left this morning, with zero inkling of how the day would end. Ushering Fancy in ahead of me, I have to fight back the urge to lock the door and throw the key away. To never let her out of this house ever again. To keep her safe here within these walls.
Watching her as she slips her heels off, I have no idea what it is about the simple act that has everything within me tightening. Unexpected tears burn my eyes, and I blink rapidly to get rid of them.
Fancy stands in the open plan space and looks around her, absorbing her surroundings, and I realize it’s the first time she’s been in my home. And I want it to be the first day of the rest of our lives together that she’s in my home, my space, my life. Permanently.
“Can I get you something to drink?”
“Yeah. Alcohol would be great if you have it.” The vehement nodding that accompanies her reply tells me all I need to know about her state of mind.
“What would you like? I’ve got beer, scotch, bourbon, whiskey, wine, tequila, or vodka if I recall correctly. What’s your poison?”
“A glass of red, please.”
“Coming right up.” Returning with our respective drinks, I hand Fancy her glass. “Welcome to my home.”
“Thanks.” She clinks her glass against my beer bottle. “It’s beautiful. Not quite the bachelor pad I expected it to be.”
“You can thank Mama and the girls. If it were up to me, it probably would be.” She laughs, as I hoped she would, but it’s strained, and I can’t blame her.
“Have a seat,” I say, taking one myself. I pat the sofa cushion beside me and watch her gracefully fold herself onto it, legs tucked under her. She looks at me expectantly – I’m guessing she’s picked up on my vibe since she’s pretty intuitive like that.
She studies me for a long, loaded moment, then asks. “What’s on your mind?”
“Considering tonight’s events, a shit ton, honestly. But let me start here – I’d like to pick up our conversation I started a few nights ago. Every time we start, we’re interrupted, but tonight I need to finish it.” She nods but says nothing more.
“Pooks, I love you. More than I ever dreamed it possible to love another human being. I want to be with you. All the time. I want to make a home with you, a life with you, a future with you. But living in two different cities isn’t conducive to that.”
“I want that too. All of it. More than I can ever express. Since it’s easier for me to up stakes and relocate, I’ll be the one to do it. I have someone I can trust to run my shop there, and I can start another one here.”
“I know it’s a big adjustment for you – you have a life, friends, a home, in San Francisco. Thank you for being willing to do this for me. For us. Together we can build something beautiful here. The team and the girls all love you already, soyou’d have a readymade support system in place right off the bat.”
“Yeah, I know. It eases my mind to know I have all of you here already. But at the end of the day, the most important person here is you. You’re the one I’m doing it for. Because I can imagine that life you’re speaking of, and I want it. I want it so bad I can almost taste it.”
Unable to stand even the small distance that separates us on the sofa, I carefully pull Fancy into my arms and onto my lap. Cupping her cheeks in my hands, I do what I promised I’d do back at Jade Garden. I kiss her like I’m a man starving and she’s my last meal.
I lose track of time as we cuddle on the sofa, exchanging kisses enough to melt metal. Just as I ease her back onto the cushions beside us, my phone rings. Using every curse word I know, in multiple languages I’ve learned over the years, I give her one last quick peck on the lips before answering the offending device. What the fuck is it that almost every single damn time things get hot and heavy between us, the stupid fucking phone rings?
Barely glancing at the screen – although long enough to see it’s Knight – I answer. “Unless somebody is bleeding from a fucking artery or we’re being invaded by aliens and we’re in eminent danger of annihilation, you best believe I’m going to kill your ass when I next see you even if you are my boss.”
