Where She Belongs (24 page)

"What
are you doing here?"

"I
have a small problem, Gabe. And you always help me out. And I have to
ask you a really big favor."

His
stomach dropped to his feet and his heart thudded against his ribs.
He tried to ask her what, but he couldn't make his mouth work.

"I
quit my job and moved out of my apartment. Then I drove across the
country because I had to say sorry to this really great guy."

"Which
part was the problem?" he said in a hoarse voice. The urge to
pick her up and kiss her until she went limp was driving him crazy.

She
closed the distance between their bodies. She took his hand and knelt
on the ground. "Gabe... Gabriel, I have loved you since I was
too young to really understand what love was. You scared me last
month when you told me that you loved me. Could you imagine all your
dreams coming true at once? It was too much."

He
tried to brush the tears in his eyes away. "Shan, stand up."
He tugged at her arm.

She
shook her head. "I love you. I have to ask you something."

He
lowered himself to his knees beside her "Fine, I'll come down.
You cannot ask me anything. I need to kiss you before I die." He
guessed what she was going to ask and there was no way he was going
to let her do the asking. That was his job. He wrapped his arms
around her and slid his lips against hers.

She
tried to protest, but he took advantage of her parted lips to slip
his tongue inside. She put her arms around his neck and moaned, her
mouth and tongue joining in the clash for dominance.

Once
she was limp in his arms, he pulled his mouth from hers and kissed
her face softly: eyes, nose, cheek, then down her neck. "At the
risk of ruining one of the happiest moments of my life, what
happened?"

"We
should go inside. Your neighbors are probably staring."

"Let
them stare," he said, tasting the saltiness of her skin at the
juncture of her neck and shoulder.

"I
don't think we should get naked on your front lawn."

"Naked?"

"It's
sort of what I had in mind."

He
stood and scooped her up into his arms in one swift movement. "Must
be one hell of a story."

"It
is."

*
* *

It
took her fifteen minutes to tell the story, or it probably would
have, if she hadn't stopped five times to kiss him and twice to
nuzzle his neck and breathe in his aftershave.

She
sat on his lap while she told the story. He stared into her eyes and
made her feel as if she was the only person in the world worth
listening to.

“
So
I moved into Carmen’s spare room, and looked for a job. Some
people were willing to overlook von Brooke’s words about me, a
few wanted to hire me because he had said I was a bad choice.”

“
Why
didn’t you stay? I bet you would have proven to anyone at any
job that you were an asset to the company.”

“
Because
every night, for five long nights, I would lay down in my empty bed
and think of the night I stayed over with you and how we laughed. And
I would remember kissing you and how it made my knees weak. It did
things to me.”

He
slid his hand between her legs. “Did things here?”

“
Yes.
I got wet and achy and it wouldn’t go away until I touched
myself and imagined it was you.” She nipped his ear.

He
nuzzled her neck. “So you came back. You put your stuff in your
car and drove.”

She
brushed her lips across his cheek. “I repacked my clothes at
Carmen’s. I washed the sheets she’d lent me, and left her
a note. Then I drove. It’s a hell of a long drive, by the way.
So I hope you appreciate it.”

He
trailed his fingers up her cheek. “I do.”

“
All
through my fight with Trenton, I kept thinking I’m more upset
about the lost job opportunity than the lost boyfriend opportunity.”

Gabe
laughed. “So what? You weren’t in love with him?”

“
Not
really. Maybe I was once, foolishly, youthfully. Eventually, it would
have blown up in my face. Good thing it was sooner, because rumor was
that he wanted to knock me up.”

“
That’s
what I want to do.” At the look on her face, he held up his
hands. “Okay, we can talk about that later. I don’t care
if you want ten kids or no kids. If you want the sun or the moon, I’d
try to get those, or if you want to shut down the plant when you take
over...”

“
I’d
never do that,” she said. “I want to marry you and invest
all your money in other companies. I want to work with
entrepreneurs.”

“
We’ll
talk about that,” Gabe said, kissing her.

Her
eyes turned sad as she looked at him. "I'm sorry for the last
month. For leaving you here alone. For being stupid."

He
put three fingers on her lips to stop her. "Shanna, if you
apologize again, I'm going to spank you."

"You
wouldn't," she gasped.

He
smiled. "Probably not, unless you asked me, too. We'll try it
another day. Please say you'll stop."

"I
don't want to." She pouted and he swiped her bottom lip with his
thumb.

"I
am as much at fault for my heartache. I let five years go before I
figured out myself. Maybe I'm more at fault for wrecking your life."

She
scoffed. "The life I thought was so wonderful. And I thought
about it for the five days it took me to drive here. I am really here
because I love you, not for anything else." She pressed her face
into his shoulder.

He
stroked her cheek with his fingertips until she relaxed and looked up
at him. Then he bent and kissed her, his lips so soft across hers,
she wondered if he really touched her. She reached up and dug her
fingers into his hair and pulled him down. She kissed him with a
lifetime's worth of pent-up passion.

He
hooked one arm under her knees and the other beneath her shoulders,
and he lifted her into the air, without breaking the kiss.

She
pulled away. “Gabe―”

“
I
will not make love to you for the first time on my sofa or
living-room floor. I’m taking you to bed and showing you
properly how much I love you.”

She
nuzzled his neck. “If it helps, I never sleep with Trenton
after I left you.”

“
Do
you know what, sweetheart? You don’t have to tell me anything.
We never have to mention his name again, unless we are discussing
evil.”

“
I
can live with that.” She kissed him. “Take me to the
bedroom. I want to know if the rumors are true.”

*
* *

“
What
rumors?” Gabe asked. His sated body lay atop hers. His
breathing had slowed, but he couldn't move.

“
One
year I was home for the Christmas party and I was in the bathroom. I
was in the stall and I have no idea who it was to this day, but I
overheard a woman mention how good-looking you are. And the woman she
was talking with said you were great in bed. It was the most
memorable time I had heard about you. It wasn’t the first or
the last, though.”

He
lifted his body off hers and eased onto the bed next to her. “So,
are the rumors true?”

She
laughed and shoved his shoulder. Then she felt her face heat. “I’m
not sure yet.”

He
laughed and kissed her. “It exceeded my expectations.”

She
snuggled up to his body. "I love you." She laughed after
she said it. "It sounds strange to say out loud."

He
stroked her hair. "I had sometime to come to terms with it.
Though I'm still surprised that you're here."

"I
should tell my parents, but they'll want to see me, and I want to be
alone with you for a while. The weekend at least."

"I
can let that slide. Send them a text saying you've gone away for the
weekend and will be out of contact."

She
feathered her fingertips over his chest, the light sprinkling of hair
tickling her palm. Gabe, she was laying in Gabe's bed naked. She'd
made love to Gabe, with Gabe. He was hers, and she was his. How many
people could say their dreams came true with their spouse? How many
people could say they were with their true love and their first love
all at once?

"Stay
there for a second, sweetheart." He eased his body away from
her. She watched him walk naked across the room. He rummaged in the
dresser for a moment before he knelt beside the bed.

"Shanna,
I can't really think of anything romantic to say right now, except
that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry
me?"

"I
wanted to ask," she said, in a mock pout.

"That's
not an answer. Come on, I'm kneeling in the cold here."

"It's
summer, it's not cold."

"Fine.
Maybe this will help." He opened the box and held it out to her.

"It
matches my necklace," she said, taking the box.

"It
was a set. I don't know why I kept it."

"For
this moment. I can't say yes until you get back into bed so I can
kiss you right after."

He
raised himself and slipped back under the sheet beside her. She set
her leg over his, laid her head on his chest again. "Yes,
Gabriel Brande, I will marry you. I'll marry you tomorrow if you
want."

"We
could fly to Vegas," he said with a smile. "You told me
there would be a kiss."

"Sorry.
I got distracted by the idea of Vegas." She lifted her head and
kissed his forehead, his nose and finally his lips. He grabbed her
around the waist and upset her balance so she toppled on him.

"All
this romance has stirred me." He pressed against her with his
hips.

"I
see," she said, as his fingers sought her core. She arched her
back with a moan. "Our first time engaged."

"About
five minutes after our first time ever." He stroked slowly,
prolonging their pleasure. And a few moments later, he rolled her to
her back and joined with her body.

When
they were sated, she grinned up at him. "Will you make love to
me twice a day, every day?"

"I
don't know. I am an old man."

She
slapped his shoulder lightly. "Yes, ancient. Thirty-five is over
the hill." She titled her head at him. "Do you really want
to get married in Vegas?"

"Not
tomorrow. I want to keep you here, naked for the next two days while
you tell me everything you've fantasized about me doing to you, so I
can fill your every dream. After Sunday dinner, we are going to drive
to your parents and we can share with them."

"You've
got it all planned out, do you?"

"You
bet."

"I
think we should pace ourselves. I fantasized about you a lot as a
teenager. If you make all those things come true on one weekend, you
might kill us."

"True.
Plus I have a few fantasies of my own to fulfill."

"Mm,
can't wait for you to share. You never told me if you could help me
solve my problem."

"What
problem? That I'm not making love to you right now?"

"No,
I'm homeless and unemployed."

He
thought for a moment. "I think there is a vacancy in the
apartments, and I know the mail room is always hiring."

She
shoved his shoulder. "You're a cruel, cruel man."

"On
the other hand, my house is pretty empty with just me living here.
And my boss told me he can't work full time anymore."

"Can
I live with you or not?"

"Yes,
of course. I didn't think it needed to be said. You'll have to talk
to your dad about the job."

She
kissed him again. "As my first act as your fiance―"

"Second,"
he said.

"Oh
right, second act. I'll go find us something to eat."

"Gee,
who'd have thought. I love you even more than I did five minutes
ago."