about at the moment. “Did I mention my big bed?”
“About a thousand times on the flight here. Even the pilot of that private plane heard you.”
Gabe hadn’t been going for subtlety, so that wasn’t exactly news. Plus, the guy worked for him. Mostly contract work, but his piloting skills weren’t up for debate. Gabe paid what needed to be paid to secure his services and his loyalty, not to mention his dignified silence.
“Want to see it?” With the hope of winning her over, Gabe started kissing her neck. Hell, they could make out on the couch for all he cared, but later.
“This conversation isn’t over.” But she tilted her head to the side to give him greater access to that soft skin.
Relief washed through him. “Of course not.”
“I’m going to figure it out.”
“I’d rather you spend your time studying me.” He lifted her off her feet.
On cue, she wrapped those long legs around his hips. “Naked, I presume.”
Now they were back on track. “Definitely.”
SEVENTEEN
The man exhausted easily for someone who spent most of his military life waiting in fields for the enemy to arrive. But Gabe being asleep provided Natalie with the perfect opportunity to wander. She refused to hang around in bed, staring at him until he woke up.
Though that did have some benefits. In sleep, some of his rough edges smoothed out. He didn’t look so stern and couldn’t sound unbending with his mouth closed. And that dark beard against crisp white sheets was something to behold. But curiosity with a side of hunger called, and she planned to answer.
She slipped across his big bedroom—emphasis on big—and stopped at the dresser running along the side wall. Not to be confused with the sitting area or the couch or the connecting room she could barely make out without the sun rising or a light on, but it looked like a deep cave. The walk-in closet, she presumed.
She picked up the T-shirt he’d abandoned on the floor. Held it to her nose and inhaled his scent. Something spicy that reminded her of the outdoors. Not being one to stumble around naked in strange houses, she put on the shirt and it dropped to her upper thigh. Very upper.
For some reason being clothed, at least a little, made her snooping feel a bit less sleazy. Not that she planned on looking through drawers and cabinets. This really was a what-does-this-place-look-like run.
She slipped into the hall and for a second debated looking around on the upper floor. She decided that great room had to lead to a kitchen and she’d start there first. Her feet thudded against the shiny floor. She smiled at the contrast between her pale skin and the dark hardwood.
She’d probably be able to see her nearly white legs in the dark but she didn’t need to rely on that. The pale gray morning, just before dawn provided a dull splash of light as she rounded the first set of stairs and hit the landing to the next. He had carried her up those without breaking a sweat or starting to pant. The man sure did impress.
The steps emptied out into the great room. The space was aptly named. It stretched across a good portion of the back of the house. Outlined by glass doors, it had an open feel. The soaring ceiling and two seating areas did the rest. And she didn’t even know what to think about the massive television over the fireplace. The thing looked six feet long, but she doubted that could be right.
She might have done the calculations and measuring if she hadn’t spied the photographs all lined up on the mantel. So many of them. Her eyes refused to adjust so she stepped closer. Tiptoeing for some reason she couldn’t really explain. It wasn’t as if she was doing anything wrong.
She’d wound her way around to the back of the large sectional. There was something odd about those photos. She needed to get closer to see.
“Good morning.” The deep, booming male voice rang out in the quiet room.
She nearly jumped out of her skin. She spun around, her hand going to her hip for her gun but she grabbed nothing but cotton. And not much of it.
She had no trouble focusing now. The last traces of sleep vanished. She stood facing the shiny sprawl of the kitchen with its light gray walls and stainless steel everything. That and a kid, but not a kid. An almost-man. One right on the verge where his