Chapter 28

GABRIEL

He was smiling, he realized as he brushed his fingers through her long blonde strands. She had met him at their spot, eager and excited, flying into his arms and wrapping her legs around him as he caught her. That was an hour ago. An hour of slow torturous lovemaking that had her begging him for release, and then screaming his name when he gave it to her. Gabe couldn’t imagine a better feeling than what he had right now, a languidly naked Sarah draped over his equally naked body in the bed of his truck, pillows and blankets making their nest cozy.

With his other hand, he teased the nipple exposed to the cool early fall air, and grinned when she trembled against him, his own body hardening in response. She stretched, giving him more access to her breast and he bent his head to suck it deeply into his mouth. This ignited more flames within them both and their lovemaking was more fevered than earlier.

Spent, she rested her head on his chest and traced lazy circles around his belly button, her breath tickling the hairs on his stomach.

“Rah?” his voice was a gravelly whisper, and he wondered if she had heard him.

“Hmm…?” she hummed in response.

“Why don’t you want the family to know who Jimi is?” He didn’t mind if she didn’t want to tell them. He was enjoying the secrecy for a while, having Sarah all to himself, making her blush by sending her naughty texts while her family was around. He smiled at the memory of that afternoon. He had been sitting in his truck in front of the bakery when he had texted her, not wanting to embarrass her in front of her family by speaking about it but wanting to let her know he was thinking about her.

“Because, ~Jimi-ny~,” she responded, dragging out the nickname. “When my normally cool-blooded Italian brother finds out about Jimi, I might be a widow before I become a wife.”

He chuckled. “I can handle Seth, Rah, in ~all~ his moods.” He became serious. “I’ll be honest, I’m enjoying the undercover romance, but I don’t want you to do something you’re not comfortable with.”

She turned to look at him, her chin resting on her hand that was spread across his chest. “Seth and I share so much, Gabe, that I sometimes enjoy having something to myself for a short while. He always figures it out though, and I will tell them. I just…”

“Just what?”

“I guess I’m waiting for you to be sure this is what you want…”

“Oh, Rah…” His fingers tangled into her hair, and he leaned forward to place a soft kiss on her forehead. Her eyes were dark with confusion, and he knew that he was hurting her. But he also knew that he couldn’t let her go. He had tried, but the prospect was even darker than the worst nightmare that kept him awake. “I want to be with you with every essence in my soul, but I am so scared I’ll hurt you.”

She gave him such a sad smile that he felt his heart clench. “You can’t hurt me more than I’ve been hurt before, Gabriel. At least I ~know~ you won’t ever hurt me like that.”

“Your ex?”

She nodded, placing a kiss against his heart.

“Tell me about him?”

He frowned when she shook her head.

“On the outside, he was charming and the perfect prince charming. But inside…” She shuddered and he held her closer to him. “He was pure evil, and I ~will~ ~not~ taint the beauty between us by talking about him. Not tonight and ~not~ at our special spot. I will tell you about him one day.”

“Okay.” He kissed her temple and drew her into him for another hug. “We need to go. I’ve got an early shift again tomorrow.”

“Yip,” she yawned. “I have a wedding to bake for.”

They dressed quietly to the accompaniment of the crickets and other creatures that called the lake home. When they were done, Sarah sat on the tailgate, her arms wrapped tightly around her as she looked over the lake. Gabe slid behind her and pulled her into his warmth, not able to let her go just yet.

“One day soon, we’re going to find ourselves in a situation.”

“I thought we already were,” Gabe teased, making her laugh softly.

“I’m serious,” she pleaded.

“Okay. What is this situation?”

“We’re either going to need to find a different rendezvous spot, hopefully, one with a soft bed…”

“Or we’re going to have to tell the fam…” Gabe finished, and she nodded.

“Shit. Winter is coming, isn’t it?” Gabe said.

Sarah laughed as she jumped to her feet before turning back to him and kissing him softly. “It always comes af—”

A twig broke somewhere close by, and Gabe frowned as he stared in that direction. In the shadows, he spotted another shape that was darker and did not belong to the landscape he had studied so often while he had waited for Sarah.

“Get in my truck, lock the door, and keep out of sight.” While he was whispering the words in her ear, he was reaching for the handgun and flashlight he had stowed under the blankets at the edge of the truck bed.

“Gabe?” Sarah looked up at him with worried eyes.

“Please do as I ask, Sarah.” He knew the use of her full name would get her attention. She nodded and he waited until she had lowered herself and he couldn’t see her through the lightly tinted windows.

Gabe quietly cocked the Glock 17 before moving in the direction he had spotted the person without switching on the flashlight. He used the varying shades of the darkened trees to guide his way, placing his feet with slow deliberate steps to avoid the loose twigs that littered the ground until he reached the edge of the lake. The sandy shore covered his footsteps and he quickly moved parallel to where he could see the person crouching.

“Who’s there?” Gabe called, and with an easy grace, he reached down picked up a tiny pebble, and tossed it to the left of the shadow. The man jerked in fright and spun around, his eyes so wide, that Gabe could see the white.

He straightened into a fighting crouch, and Gabe clicked on the flashlight, training the beam straight at the assailant who lifted his hands to avoid the sharp light. Gabe scowled at the flash of the knife and took a step closer. “Who are you?”

“Fuck you!” the man spat and swung the knife at Gabe.

“Shitting sideways,” Gabe growled, fed up with being knifed and shot at by stupid assholes since early that morning. He blocked the swing and jammed his shoulder into the man’s waist, keeping a firm hold of his own firearm as they landed on the ground. Gabe straddled him and lifted his arm to punch him, but the man punched Gabe on the bullet graze on his side. Gabe groaned as the pain temporarily blinded him. The assailant took advantage by pushing Gabe off him. He swung the knife at Gabe again, but Gabe aimed the gun at him and fired. The man jerked but turned and ran, and Gabe knew that he had taken a hit.

“Fuck!” he screamed as he tried to give chase, but his leg gave out under him, forcing him to his knees, his hand gripping the bleeding side where the new stitches were reopened. He was relieved the man ran in the opposite direction to the truck and Sarah. ~Fuck! Sarah!~

Gabe sucked a deep breath and scrambled to his feet. He sprinted to his truck and fell against it, breathing heavily. Shit, the wound was bleeding more than he thought. “Rah.” He rasped out.

“Gabe?” She stumbled from the cab and rushed to his side. He cupped her cheek to make her look at him, her eyes wide with panic. “What happened? I heard a shot.”

He nodded. “I discharged a shot. But you need to go home if you don’t want Seth to find out about us from one of our colleagues.”

She reared back. “You’re going to lie to the cops?”

“No!” He shook his head slowly, grabbing hold of her hand and giving her a gentle smile. “I’ll tell them I was with someone, but I won’t mention your name.” He cocked his head as he heard the sirens in the distance. “Shit, someone heard the shot. You need to go now, Sarah.”

“But—”

“No buts, Rah. I’ll call you later.” He dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “Go.”

He watched as she ran to her car and went up the bumpy trail as quickly as it would allow. Gabe kept his eyes focused on her car’s tail lights until they disappeared beyond the trees. He counted to ten and the crunch of gravel changed to a smooth swish as Sarah hit the asphalt, and Gabe let out the breath he had been holding. Three ten-counts later, the red and blue lights flashed along the trail as a police car approached him.