of her bed, Gabi leaned in and up to kiss him. Gently at first, then with a building passion. A lingering hint of tension slowly left her body, until there was just this. Just the two of them.
Gabi was the one who pulled away but she did so reluctantly, not in a panic. She stood and offered her hand. He took it, admired the way this marvelously naked woman looked by the soft light that filled her bedroom, then rose to his feet and waited for her to tell him what to do.
For a moment she seemed uncertain, but that didn’t last long. She used her hands on him, exploring, arousing. She kissed his chest as her hands raked down his side, to his backside, and up again. It was as if she was attempting to learn every crevice, every inch of his skin. He was tempted to pick her up and throw her on the bed, but he didn’t. This was her show, and he would do nothing that might alarm or frighten her.
She guided him back into her bed, placing him on his back. She lay atop him for a moment, kissing, touching, and then, finally, she reached for the bedside table and grabbed the condom. She opened the packet with just a little bit of trouble, he didn’t offer to help and she didn’t ask, and sheathed him so slowly she almost pushed him too far. Almost.
This beautiful woman who had stirred him up inside and made him question everything looked him in the eye while she straddled him and took him in. She wasn’t afraid; her mind wasn’t elsewhere. There was no one in the bed, or in her mind, but the two of them. She was fully and completely in this moment. There was nothing else in her world, or his, but the way they came together.
She rode him slowly at first, then hard, and climaxed with a low moan that was all he needed to push him over the edge.
Afterward they were both motionless for a long moment, breathlessly depleted. Eventually reality returned. Gabi rolled off him, but she didn’t bother to slip under the covers. Her eyes were closed, her body relaxed. She was wonderfully on display.
Silas didn’t leap from the bed. He wanted to lie here a while longer, wanted to look at Gabi, to touch her.
Finally she opened her eyes and looked at him. “I don’t love you,” she whispered.
He understood. Love had burned him, once, had made it hard for him to trust. It had burned Gabi badly, judging by her reactions tonight. “I don’t love you, either.”
She seemed relieved. “I do like you, though, and tonight was lovely.”
“Lovely?” He smiled at her.
She laughed. Gabi had a great laugh; he’d never heard it before, not like this. It was real and free. The laughter didn’t last long, not nearly long enough. “Go. You can have the bathroom first. And I guess you have to get back to your place soon. Because of the dogs.”
“I have a helper on duty. I can stay as long as you want me to.” He left the bed, headed for the single, small bathroom. Gabi said nothing, not a single word. He added, “You could at least pretend to want me to stay.”
“Oh, Silas,” she said seductively as he reached the doorway. “Don’t go.”
He turned and looked at her. “Don’t say it if you don’t mean it.”
Her lips pursed as her head returned to the pillow.
He didn’t want to have anything to do with Jenna’s plan. That was already decided. The question now was whether or not it was best for Gabi to stay or to go, knowing what was coming. Would she want to be trapped here forever? Would she want all her options for the future taken away? He didn’t have to worry about her heart being broken, which seemed to worry Marnie. Gabi had made it clear her heart wasn’t up for grabs.
He ignored the fleeting thought that his own heart might be on the line.
Gabi slept better than she had in more than a year. It was amazing what a good orgasm could do for a woman.
She’d almost blown it, with that unexpected panic attack. It had been a long time since Blake had felt so near to her, since any memory of him had been so fresh. It had also been a very long time since any man had touched her. And boy, had Silas touched her.
He’d known exactly what