Perfect Fit (23 page)

“Oh, my.”

She quickly sat up in bed and glanced around the bedroom. Someone had placed her atop the covers fully clothed. That someone had to have been Gabe. She glanced at the clock on the night-stand at the same time she picked up the aroma of food cooking. It was seven in the evening. Evidently, Gabe had decided to start dinner without her.

She drew a deep breath, wondering how she was going to face him after the way she’d acted, wanton and hot. No telling what he thought of her. Kissing him again hadn’t been so bad, but she had actually let him touch her … there. Last night had been their first date, and already he’d made it to second base. She had dated Erol a full year and a half before she’d entertained the idea of sleeping with him, and before then all he’d gotten out of her was a kiss, a kiss that was nothing like the kiss Gabe had laid on her. Gabe had a way of turning a
kiss into
foreplay,
just like he’d said. But she couldn’t hold him responsible for what had happened. He had told her that he wanted to kiss and touch her. She just hadn’t known to what extent he had wanted to touch.

She leaned against the bedpost, relieved that at least they had talked, although she had been the one doing most of the talking. She still wasn’t sure what he wanted out of their relationship other than kissing and touching.

She reached up and let her fingers touch her lips. They felt sore. Rolling to the side, she grabbed her purse off the nightstand and fumbled through it in search of a mirror. She found one, and when she saw her reflection, she wasn’t surprised that her mouth looked swollen and well kissed. Placing the mirror back in her purse, she flopped back on the bed, knowing she couldn’t hide in this room forever.

Her heart began to race, her nipples felt tingly against her sweater and she felt hot between her legs when she remembered just what Gabe had done to her, just how he had touched her. She and Erol had always engaged in traditional lovemaking. Foreplay was something that happened before you did the real thing, to basically get you ready for that point. Foreplay had never been a standalone act, something in a league of its own.

Until Gabe.

The sound of a cabinet closing reminded her that he was busy in the kitchen and she needed to be in the kitchen helping him. It was not her intent for him to wait on her hand and foot this weekend. But then … it hadn’t been her intent for him to seduce her either.

She shook her head upon silently admitting
that as far as the seduction went, she’d been a willing participant. She had trusted him, and he
had
kept his word. There had not been sex, just kissing and touching. She glanced down at her outfit, knowing the best thing to do would be to change into something else, all the way down to her panties. She didn’t want to wear anything that was a reminder of her and Gabe’s earlier behavior.

She blew out a long breath as she pulled the sweater over her head, asking for strength to get through this.

She’s going to have to wake up sometime….

Gabe glanced in the direction of the guest bedroom. It had been over an hour, and Sage was still asleep. Placing the lid on the pot he had just finished stirring, he crossed the kitchen to get something out of the cabinet. Usually, he was a lot better organized when preparing dinner. But then, usually, he didn’t have a feminine distraction asleep in one of his guest bedrooms.

He reached up for a small can of cayenne pepper and picked up another can instead. He breathed deeply when he read the label.
Sage.
He shook his head, smiling. One way or the other he intended to keep her in his hand. Placing the can of sage back on the shelf, he got the can of pepper he wanted and closed the cabinet door. He hoped she liked spicy foods. Everything was ready. All he had to do now was wait.

Then he heard the sound of her feet against the hardwood floor. He turned and stared at the entranceway to the kitchen, waiting, anticipating. He felt his heart trip into a higher gear. Had anyone told him a year ago that he would have been
this excited, this mesmerized, this so much into a woman, he would not have believed them. It seemed Christopher falling hard for a woman wasn’t the only miracle.

Gabe tapped his hand on the counter, impatient for Sage to appear. He wanted to see her. He needed to see her. Now.

No sooner had that thought formulated, than Sage walked into the kitchen. Their gazes met. His throat immediately went dry. He had to blink in order to focus. She looked so beautiful it was almost blinding. She had changed from her sweater and skirt and was wearing a large sweatshirt and a pair of well-worn jeans. If she thought that for one minute her outfit would be a total turn-off she had definitely miscalculated the effect anything that she put on her body had on him.

“Hi.”

The soft sound of her voice brought him around. He smiled at her. “Hi. Did you enjoy your rest?”

Sage tried not to think about the fact that she had fallen asleep in his arms while sitting in his lap after … “Yes, thanks,” she said in a rush. “And I want to apologize for falling asleep and not helping you cook dinner.”

He leaned back against the counter. “No apology needed. You had a busy day, and I hope you’re hungry.”

An overwhelming day is more like it,
she thought. “Yes, I’m starving,” she said. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

“You can set the table if you’d like. Everything you need is in the cabinet over the sink.”

She nodded before quickly crossing the room. Gabe stayed right where he was and stared at her. He knew he was making her nervous and didn’t
want things to be that way. They would be spending the entire weekend together, and after what they had shared earlier, there was no need for them to start tiptoeing around each other. So he decided to make the first move. She had virtually told him what she wanted and didn’t want out of a relationship, and later over dinner he would share with her his thoughts on the matter.

She was standing at the counter with her back to him, getting ready to open a cabinet to pull out the plates. He came up directly behind her and immediately felt her tense when she detected his presence. She quickly turned around.

He leaned closer, and without saying anything, he covered her mouth with his. His tongue was tamer, a lot gentler than it had been earlier, but he knew the passion was still there; there was no place else for it to be since he was kissing the woman his heart desired.

He hoped that kissing her that way was letting her know that what happened between them earlier hadn’t been a mistake. There would be more kissing and touching, and when he thought their relationship was solid, strong and where it should be, there would definitely be sex.

He ended the kiss and took a step back, smiling at her faltering attempt to hide the gleam of desire in her eyes. “Thanks,” he said, widening his smile at her.

She slowly raised an arched brow. “You’re thanking me for the kiss?” she asked, as if such a thing surprised her.

His gaze caressed her face. “Yes, and for a lot of other things like being here with me, and for placing your trust in me the way you did.”

Sage nodded. She
had
trusted him. “And could
you also be thanking me for not helping you cook?” she asked, now feeling more relaxed as a teasing grin curved her lips.

Gabe chuckled. “Why is that? Can’t you cook?”

She shrugged and decided to give him an honest answer. “No. Cooking was nothing I was ever interested in.”

“Neither was I.”

Sage tilted her head and glanced around the kitchen. “You seem to be running a tight ship to me. You actually look right at home in the kitchen.”

A huge smile spread across Gabe’s lips. “Only because of Christopher. He had to learn early to fend for himself, which also included cooking. When we shared an apartment together while away at college, he taught me everything I know.”

Sage gave Gabe a curious look. “Everything?” she asked. Over dinner the other night, he’d told her more about his best friend, especially the fact that Christopher Chandler had been a womanizer to the third degree before settling down and marrying the woman of his dreams.

Gabe shook his head. “Okay, not everything.”

“Thank goodness.”

Gabe burst out laughing. He then took Sage’s hand in his. “I’ll help you set the table, and then we can talk some more.”

“Umm, this is delicious, Gabe.”

Gabe smiled, pleased that she liked the way he had cooked her pork chops. To him nothing tasted better than smothered pork chops over wild rice. Add fresh field peas to that along with a tossed salad and you had a pretty darn good meal.

During dinner they talked about a number of
things, mostly Eden. They were now enjoying their second cup of coffee, and he knew it was time they continued their talk.

“Getting back to our earlier discussion, Sage.”

He saw her ease back in her chair when she realized what they were about to discuss. “We did say we would talk everything through at the beginning so that we can enjoy the rest of the weekend,” he reminded her.

“Yes, we did. But I thought we had talked already.”

He leaned back in his chair. “No, you talked and I listened.”

“Now is it time for you to talk and for me to listen?” she asked, already feeling nervous about what he would say.

“Yes.”

Whatever he had to say, she owed him the courtesy of listening. After all, he
had
listened to her. “All right.”

A few moments later, he began. “I just want you to know that I understand everything you said earlier about not knowing where you want our relationship to go. If you’d allow me to make a few suggestions, I think we can come to a reasonable solution about a few things.”

Sage met his gaze. “Go on.”

He then leaned closer. “It’s not such a big a problem as it may seem, Sage. You just got out of one long-term relationship and are somewhat leery about getting right back into another. Top that with unresolved feelings you may or may not have for your ex-fiancé …” When she started to interrupt, he held his hand up. “Please hear me out before you say anything, all right?”

Sage reluctantly agreed.

“In no way am I saying that you still care deeply enough for the guy to ever get back with him. All I’m saying is that for you to still have feelings for him is understandable. After all, the two of you spent five years of your lives together as a couple.”

He took a sip of his coffee, then said, “And then for me, there is the issue of Lindsey.”

Sage raised a brow. “Lindsey?”

“Yes, the woman I had planned to marry. She’s now happily married. My relationship ended with her three years ago. Yet, my past experience with her is the main reason I’ve avoided any serious entanglements since then. Therefore, since the both of us were previously involved with people we cared deeply about, I think the best thing we can do is to give each other time,” Gabe finally concluded.

Sage’s gaze became confused. “Time?” At his nod she asked, “Are you suggesting that we don’t see each other?”

Gabe smiled. He liked hearing the disappointment in her voice. “No, quite the contrary. I think we should continue to see each other on a regular basis, but not get deeply involved until we’re both sure that is what we want.”

Sage released a long sigh, then asked, “Would you define
deeply involved?”

“I’m talking about involved to the point where we would sleep together. You did say you weren’t ready for anything like that yet anyway.”

Sage nodded. She bit nervously on her bottom lip, thinking about all that Gabe had said. “Let me make sure I have this right. You’re suggesting that we see each other on a regular basis in a no- sex relationship … until the two of us feel we would want to take our relationship to that level?”

“Yes.”

Sage arched a brow. “Why? What would you be getting out of this?”

He smiled. “Precisely the same thing you’d be getting. A chance for us to continue to get to know each other and further our trust in each other in a developing relationship without the issue of sex clouding up anything.”

“But what about those sexual urges men have?”

Gabe’s smile widened. “Women have them, too.”

Sage shrugged. “Yeah, but I’ve heard they’re a lot harder on a man.”

“And I’m sure there are women who’d have just as hard a time.” Gabe didn’t want to call names, but he’d bet that she was one of them. Whether Sage realized it or not, she was a highly sensually charged person. She had proved that by having an orgasm in his arms just from him touching her. They would both burn to cinders when the time came for him to be inside of her. He was getting extremely hard just thinking about it.

“Are you sure you’re willing to try this?” Sage asked with uncertainty.

“Yes. I enjoy being with you, Sage. Besides, we proved this afternoon that there are other things we can do that are just as pleasurable as having sex.”

Sage knew just what he was talking about but decided to ask anyway. “Kissing and touching?”

“Yes, and as we get more comfortable with each other and with our developing relationship, we can add one other thing.”

Sage’s curiosity was peaked. “One other thing like what?”

Gabe decided he hadn’t wanted to shock her too soon, but she had asked. “Tasting.”

Sage’s hand trembled as she reached for her cup of coffee. She wouldn’t ask Gabe for further clarification on that one. Too many racy, erotic images were already forming in her mind. Deciding to change the subject, she said, “I’ll be glad to wash the dishes since you did all the cooking.”

“There’s no need since I have a dishwasher. But if you want, you can help me load it up. Then I suggest the two of us get to bed early since we have a busy day tomorrow.”

Sage took a sip of coffee. “Doing what?”

“Going fishing, riding on the snowmobile, and getting some skiing in. I’m waking you up before the crack of dawn so the two of us can get an early start.” His smile widened. “We’ll have a lot of fun together.”

Sage nodded. She didn’t doubt his words since it seemed that they always had fun anytime they were together. The steamy, hot kind of fun.