Perfect Fit (26 page)

He leaned in the doorway. “Evidently,” he said slowly, not taking his eyes off of her.

Not wanting him to see too much too soon, Sage eased her body a little beneath the bubbles.
Nervously, she darted her tongue out to moisten her lips.
Big mistake,
she thought, when Gabe’s attention was drawn to her tongue.

She cleared her throat and placed her attention on his sexy-as-sin appearance. “Do you plan to take a bath with me?” she found the courage to ask, ready to take things to the next level. Especially with the ache between her legs intensifying in slow, tormenting degrees.

Still holding her gaze, he slowly walked into the room and rolled up his shirtsleeves to his elbows. “No, I’m not going to take a bath with you, but I intend to kiss you, touch you and taste you all over.”

Sage watched his approach, and the only thing she could think of saying while her heart beat rapidly in her chest was, “Oh, my.”

G
abe released a long, stirring breath as he glanced down. His gaze swept over the enticing womanly body submerged beneath a ton of bubbles. Sage wasn’t letting him see anything just yet, which wasn’t such a bad idea. If he was to see her now, naked and wet, he would lose control, and he couldn’t do that.

He closed his eyes for a second, trying to get his bearings, maintain what little control he did have and remember his promise, his word, and he intended to keep it someway, somehow.

“Gabe, I’m ready to get out of the tub now.”

Sage’s words made him open his eyes. He met her gaze and immediately knew that for some reason, she wasn’t going to make tonight easy for him. She would intentionally push him to the limit. Why? Was she counting on him not keeping his word so she could claim a reason not to trust him, which would make her walking away after tomorrow that much easier, that much more convenient?

He tightened his hands into fists at his sides.
No, his thoughts couldn’t go there. He refused to let them. He couldn’t start doubting her or the ground they had covered over the past weeks. Her decision to become an enticing vamp tonight had nothing to do with seeing her ex-fiancé tomorrow. He had to believe in his mind as well as his heart that one didn’t have anything to do with the other. So whatever plan she had in mind for them tonight, he had to keep his cool, let her take it to the heights
he
would allow it to go and make sure in the end, no matter what, they didn’t make love … although, he thought, smiling, what he had in mind was penetration of a different kind.

“Gabe?”

His smile widened. She wouldn’t have to call his name a third time. Grabbing a huge velour towel off the rack, he held her gaze as she slowly began standing.

He sucked in his breath, almost forgetting to breathe. She was a mind-blowing vision rising from the bubbles, with tiny rivulets of water coursing down her body. Standing tall, naked, wet and sudsy, she was the most beautiful and the most desirable woman he had ever seen.

He couldn’t help but take a moment to appreciate what he saw. Everything. Every single curve, indention, hollow, body part. Nothing was missed during his scan of her body. Nothing.

Stifling a groan, his gaze lowered and made contact with that part of her he wanted desperately, but couldn’t have yet. But boy, did he want it. When he saw her tremble, he reached out his hand to help her out of the tub. She was getting cold, and it was time to dry her off.

“I can do it,” she said quietly, reaching for the
towel when she stood on the floor mat in front of him.

“No, let me,” he said softly. “I want to do it.”

With trust in the depths of her eyes, she nodded and gave herself to his ministrations. Sucking in another deep breath, Gabe began drying off the water from her body, deliberately lingering in certain places, stroking her, patting her wet skin, flesh that felt hot to his fingers through the thickness of the towel. He moved the towel over her shoulders, past her breasts, down to her stomach, hips and thighs, deliberately saving the best spot for last.

He slowly began kneeling, patting her legs dry, parting her knees and drying between them, going lower and drying her ankles and liking the way the gold chain looked around her left ankle, and thinking her polished toes looked sexy, too.

Raising his head, he came eye level to that part of her he had to resist … up to a point. He lifted his gaze to hers, wanting to see her reaction to what he was about to do. Her eyes went wide, and her lips parted in surprise. He could tell by her expression this was completely new and an alien form of love-making for her. This would be her first time, but he had no intentions of making it her last.

But he wanted to handle it in the right way. He wanted her comfortable with it. Dropping the towel, he began using his hand and reached out and began stroking the soft skin of her stomach, and each time he stroked, his fingers slowly moved lower and lower at the same time he leaned closer. Then he began using the air from his lungs to blow her dry. Up close and definitely personal and with the same force one would use to blow out a hundred candles on a birthday cake, he watched,
torturously so, as her body became dry in a very special spot with him as her personal blow-dryer. Her womanly scent surrounded him, filled his nostrils, his mind and his heart. She smelled of vanilla, a result of the candles and bubble bath she’d used. He glanced up. Her eyes were closed and her breathing ragged, and she’d placed her hands on his shoulders for support. Inhaling deeply, he breathed in her scent and dipped his head for the exquisite taste he knew awaited him.

Sage came fully awake, rolled to her back and stared up at the ceiling. She clutched her pillow to a very naked body and released a deep moan as hot, tantalizing memories flooded her mind. Once again Gabe had pleasured her beyond belief, unselfishly and without reservations.

And while she had slept from sexual exhaustion, he had left and not received anything in return.

Nothing she had tried doing had pushed him beyond the limits of control. Instead, he’d concentrated on giving her intense pleasure. He had used his mouth to savor every part of her body, every texture. He’d taken the words
kiss, touch
and
taste
to entirely different levels than anyone she knew. Even now her body was tingling all over just thinking about all that he had done.

And still they hadn’t made love.

Gritting her teeth, she smacked the pillows into the mattress. Gabe Blackwell had given her pleasure for the last time without letting her reciprocate. When she saw him again, he’d better be ready, because she had a thing or two to show him, and the next time she would be the one in charge.

*  *  *

Cold water cascaded down Gabe’s body as he stood in the shower and wondered how many of these he could take. Tonight it had been hard to leave Sage, after tasting her from head to toe.

He closed his eyes and rested his head against the back of the shower wall. The scent of her would be forever embedded in his nostrils, and the taste of her would always be implanted on his tongue. Everything, every part of her, had been exquisite.

The woman was made for him. He knew it, and he believed that she was beginning to realize it as well. A part of him tried not to think about what she would be doing in Dallas. He had to believe that Friday evening when he called her, she would be back in Anchorage and would want to see him.

Deciding it was time to get out of the shower before he caught pneumonia, he stepped out and began drying himself off. If anyone had told him he would have endured all of this torture in the name of love and trust, he would not have believed them.

He heard the sound of Christopher moving around in the kitchen. His best friend had one more day to spend in Anchorage before leaving to return to Detroit and to his wife and child.

Wife and child.

Gabe shook his head and groaned. He couldn’t even begin to think of a future with Sage until he first let her confront her past.

Sage stood at the hotel’s reception counter and glanced around the lobby of the place where she would be staying for the night. The weather in
Texas was hot, definitely a lot different from Anchorage. She checked her watch. She had agreed to meet Erol at four. That would be just enough time for her to get to her room, unpack, shower and change into something else.

“Here you are, Ms. Dunbar,” the hotel receptionist said, reclaiming Sage’s attention as she slid a door key-card to her across the counter. “Your room has been ready since noon.”

Sage nodded. “My plane was delayed. They had to de-ice the runway.”

The pretty young woman, who appeared to be in her early twenties, gave Sage a warm chuckle. “Boy, I can’t imagine something like that while suffering from this Texas heat. Where’re you from?”

“I flew in from Anchorage,” Sage responded, smiling, glancing down at her key-card to see what floor she was staying on.

“Well, welcome to Texas.”

“Thanks.” Moments later Sage stepped into the elevator. Her thoughts shifted to Erol. She knew he was staying somewhere in this same hotel, attending a business meeting that ended today. She hoped the two of them would be able to sit down and discuss the past, clear things up for the final time and walk away friends.

More than anything, she wanted to get back to Anchorage and be with Gabe.

After a quick shower, Sage slipped into a mint green dress. She applied her makeup, combed her hair, and picked up her purse to leave the room. She glanced at the huge arrangement of flowers that had been delivered an hour ago, a gift from
Erol. She didn’t want to remember what the card said. She knew from his words that he was thinking that by the end of the night the two of them would have patched things up.

Upon reaching the lobby, she noted a number of people were checking in. According to someone who’d ridden down with her in the elevator, there was a big rodeo in town, and a number of the riders were staying at the hotel.

“Sage?”

Sage turned to the sound of her name being called and drew in a long breath. There was nothing about Erol that had changed except it appeared that he had lost a few pounds. He was still nicely built and good-looking.

A keen feeling of finality passed through her upon remembering what they once had and what they would never have again. He stopped in front of her and took her hands in his, leaned down and kissed her cheek. “You look good, Sage,” he complimented, looking her up and down.

She smiled wryly. “So do you.” She glanced around. “Do you want to stay here and eat or do—”

“I’ve made reservations elsewhere. My rental car is outside.”

She nodded. She remembered her mother mentioning that was how Erol’s mother had learned the two of them would be meeting in Dallas, because she’d overheard him making dinner reservations. “That’s fine.”

“How was your flight into Texas?” he asked as they began walking toward the glass doors that led outside.

“It was fine, but I’m missing Anchorage already.”

He raised a dark brow. “You’re missing all that snow?” he asked, as though the very thought of it was pure crazy.

She decided not to tell him that snow had nothing to do with it. She was missing a certain individual.

“The weather reports say snow has been coming down practically every day there,” Erol added when she didn’t say anything.

Sage shrugged. “You get used to it.”

“I doubt if I could.”

Then, it’s a good thing you don’t have to,
she thought as they waited for the valet attendant to bring Erol’s car.

During the drive over, he had done most of the talking, telling her about their friends and what they were doing.

“Patty is upset that you don’t call her anymore, Sage,” Erol said, breaking into her thoughts. She glanced over at him. She was sure he knew why she had stopped calling his cousin.

“I’m sure you know why I thought it was best if Patty and I cool things for a while, Erol. She’s your cousin and she loves you. She couldn’t understand why I did what I did.” Sage knew that deep down neither did he.

“Yeah, but still, she was your friend,” he said, as if it shouldn’t matter that Patty had started getting on her last nerve. And as far as them being friends, Erol’s cousin had been her friend whenever it was convenient for her, like whenever she got behind in a bill and wanted to borrow money.

“You could have moved in with her instead of Rose Woods while we tried to work things out.”

Sage shook her head. She almost reminded him there was never a time when they tried to work things out. That hadn’t been an option she’d given him and, as far as she was concerned, with good reason.

She glanced at her watch, wondering how much longer it would take to reach the restaurant. Already she felt a headache coming on.

The restaurant was exquisite and overlooked a beautiful park in downtown Dallas. After they had eaten dinner and were drinking cups of coffee, Erol leaned back in his chair and looked at her. “I really like the way your hair is styled. I can’t get over how good you look, Sage.”

“Thanks.” She knew it was time for them to talk about why she had come to Dallas. Over dinner they had talked about a lot of things, basically keeping the conversation light. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get out a single word, Erol started talking again.

“I have something for you,” he said, smiling, reaching into his jacket pocket.

She lifted a brow. “What?”

“This,” he said, handing her a white envelope. His face was actually beaming as though he had some sort of a secret. “Go ahead and open it,” he said, leaning toward her.

Sage peered up at him from beneath lowered lashes as she began opening the envelope. Inside was a cashier’s check for the fifty-two thousand dollars he had taken from her accounts. She looked up at him. He was still smiling.

“That business deal with Herb Rollins went through, and that’s from my first earnings. Already
I’ve been awarded contracts for his other locations, so money will be rolling in real good this year. I’m thinking about expanding my work force.”