THE UNLIKELY BODYGUARD Read online

  "You teasing me again?" he murmured, smoothing his hand up over her buttocks.

  "Oh, of course." She pushed back into his touch and tossed her bra over her shoulder, then glanced at him. He dragged it from his face. She laughed throatily as she sat up and slipped on her shirt, and Gabe couldn't help noticing her nipples pushing against the soft fabric. He caught her to him and bent, closing his lips over one plump bud, wetting the fabric.

  She shuddered in his arms and sank her fingers into his hair. When he straightened, she had a glazed look in her eyes. He liked it. She reached behind her for his shirt and fitted it over his head, then when he pushed his arms into the sleeves she smoothed it over his chest. Gabe enjoyed every second of her touching him.

  He gave her a sly look. "Where are your panties?"

  "Check your pocket."

  He did and pulled the yellow scrap out. She offered her foot. He shook his head. "They're mine." He stuffed them back where he'd found them.

  In the moonlight, she blushed. "Adding it to a collection?"

  "No!"

  His reaction made her smile. "Good. Another first, I bet."

  He eyed her, wondering if he should be pleased or insulted. She smiled like a cat with a mouthful of bird, and Gabe, having given up on trying to figure her out, climbed over her into the cab, then dropped behind the wheel with a groan. He started the engine, eased onto the road. She rubbed her arms and he pulled her close to his side.

  "Now admit it," she said after they'd driven a mile, toying with the small loop in his lobe. "Wasn't that better than a cold shower?"

  He glanced at her, a look she couldn't decipher in his pale eyes. "Calli," he said, his voice holding an odd regret. "Making love with you is better than breathing."

  * * *

  Eleven

  « ^ »

  They stood in the living room, watching through the window as Bull drove away.

  "He knows," she said, a light blush in her cheeks.

  Her lips were swollen and she had red marks from his beard on her throat and the swells of her breasts, but he wasn't going to bring attention to that.

  "What makes you say that," Gabe replied, hiding a smile, although his gaze lowered to her breasts, her nipples bare beneath the tank shirt and pushing against the fabric. She nudged him, blushing redder. He swept his arm around her waist, pressing his mouth to her temple as he murmured, "But the man would definitely have a heart attack if he knew you were completely naked beneath that skirt."

  "Think so?" She tipped her head to look at him, speculative. "It did have a rather interesting effect on you, though."

  "God, yes," he groaned, then pulled her flush against him, kissing her, stripping her, dragging her with him as he back-stepped into her room.

  "Why are we in here?" she said breathlessly as she peeled his T-shirt off over his head. His anxiousness aroused her, his lips firm on her skin and his hands roaming frantically over her body.

  "Something I've wanted since that first night in your hotel room."

  She opened his jeans, sinking her hand inside, and he choked. She arched a brow; he looked mischievous. "To talk nasty to me?" She stroked him heavily and a tremor racked his tall body.

  "No, baby—" He fumbled in his back pocket, tearing open the foil pouch with his teeth. "To do it."

  He lifted her up onto the dresser and pushed inside her, surging deeply, letting her feel every inch of him before Calli could catch her breath. Then he withdrew and pushed, slowly. She pounded his shoulders, scraped her teeth over his jaw, and he refused to move any faster, loving her squirming, her begging, her pleas to end her torture. He wouldn't, anchoring her hips and moving with a lazy erotic cadence, watching her eyes flare, her lips part with each ragged breath, feeling her fingertips dig into his shoulders as her body peaked with pleasure.

  Gabe held her tightly in his arms, absorbing her rush of desire, her climax spiraling from her and into him. He kissed her and kissed, lush and thick, and before the heat faded he carried her to the shower, drenching her with tepid water and hot kisses. He made love to her again. Made love to her. She was breathless and panting against him and he swore if he could, he would spend all day right there under the water, letting her soap him and touch him. Ah, yes, her touching him was the best.

  Naked, he took her back to the house, into his room and Calli hardly gave the surprisingly richly appointed room a glance. But he had a magnificent sleigh bed and they sank onto the mattress, a wild tangle of arms and legs as they slept.

  Hours later, Gabe stirred and reached for the body he wanted pressed against him and found her gone. Immediately he sat up and looked around, then pulled on his jeans. His heart skipped with apprehension and for a moment he thought she might have left. Then he dismissed it. Calli wasn't a chicken. She would tell him if she was regretting sharing his bed, his life. She, above all else, was honest.

  And you're not, a voice pestered. Gabe shoved the thought to the recesses of his mind, unwilling to spoil the past hours. He would deal with it when he had to and not before. He heard noise outside and after checking her room, he removed his gun from his desk drawer and left the house. Kerosene lights lit the porch and he found her. He set the gun aside. She looked up as he approached. "Hi."

  "Come back to bed, baby," he growled in a voice still rough from sleep as he slid his arms around her waist. She wore a thick, green terry robe and something deliciously enticing hinted beneath. He wanted to see it.

  Calli tilted her head as his mouth found the curve of her throat.

  "Cooking? At this hour?" Gabe said as she slid a plate in front of him.

  "My latest creation. Sort of a birthday celebration."

  He caught her chin and looked her in the eye. "Is it your birthday?"

  "No, and I figured you didn't know when yours was, either, so today it is."

  He smiled and stared down at the dessert. In the middle of the night she thought of this, in the middle of the night she gave him something he never had. A birthday. Gabe lifted his gaze to hers.

  "Gabe?" she said, frowning softly.

  "Thanks, Cal." He clutched her, his arms so tight she fought to breathe, but Calli let him. She'd seen the shock and pleasure in his eyes, the wonder. My Lord, that so little could make this man this happy, she thought, stroking his back. After a long moment he looked at her, his eyes suspiciously bright. "Can I eat it?"

  She held up a fork and he took the dish and moved to a chair. In the cool night, he drew her onto his lap and then ate the dessert of brandied peaches laced with thick cream and toasted coconut. There was a light cake or something beneath it. It amazed him that she could create this so quickly.

  "Got a name for it?" he said around a mouthful.

  She looked at him for a second, then smiled. "Gabriel's Delight."

  "I can think of something that would delight Gabriel," he growled, using the fork to pull her robe aside. Calli's breath quickened.

  He spread her robe and forked a gooey warm slice of peach, letting the heavy cream drip onto her breast. He ate the peach, then bent to drag his tongue over the lush swell of her breast.

  Calli shivered in anticipation as he lowered his head, then gasped shortly as his lips closed over her nipple. He laved at the lacy green fabric, then hooked his finger inside the cup and dragged it down. He blew on her nipple and it puckered for him before he drew it heavily into the heat of his mouth. He suckled and stroked till she was breathless and slick and squirming. Then he slowly sat back and as casually as he could, finished off the dessert.

  "Excellent, Cal. Four stars as usual."

  His bland expression sent up a challenge. "Glad you like it," she managed, leaving his lap. "I was inspired." She took the empty plate and slid it into the tub. "Though Lord knows by what."

  A dark chuckle rumbled in the night, but Calli refused to look at him. She closed her robe and listened as he stood and walked toward her. She wanted him. It was absolutely decadent the way she craved this man. There was something muc
h more precious and greedy in receiving gentleness from Gabriel, because he thought himself incapable of giving it. Calli cherished every touch, every sliver of himself he gave to only her and he stole a piece of her soul every time his fingers whispered over her skin, his lips covered hers, his rough voice spoke. In a lifetime, she would never have enough of him.

  Suddenly she felt his presence, the heat of him behind her.

  "You really think that's going to get me mad?"

  "No, I never intended it to." She didn't look at him.

  "If you want me to … make love to you, I will."

  "No, thank you very much."

  Gabe grinned at her straight back. Always polite. Who'd have thought she was a clawing wildcat when he was inside her? "You sure?" he said near her ear and thought she flinched.

  "Yes … quite."

  "Positive?" He pulled her robe open and down her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor.

  "Only fools are positive," she whispered as his hands rode up her arms to unclasp her bra. He drew it aside, exposing her to the chilling night air. He adored the sound of her breath, fast and ragged, that she stood still, ignoring him, yet letting him do what he pleased. Trust, he thought, and hesitated briefly before he hooked the strip of fabric curling across her hip and lowered to the floor as he eased the panties down, kissing the curve of her spine, the rise of her buttocks.

  "I want to make love to you here, outside," he said against the back of her thigh. "On the table, before God and anyone."

  He stood slowly, his body brushing hers and from his vantage point he noticed her tight firm breasts were prickled with cold. He covered the lush mounds with his palms and nuzzled her neck. "But it's too cold."

  She closed her hands over his. "Then take me inside, bad boy, and warm me." He swept her into his arms and strode inside. And he did just that.

  At dawn, Gabe woke with her beside him, her body cocooned to his chest and thighs. He let his hands ride over her bountiful shape, cupping one plump breast, and she snuggled closer. "Time to get up," he whispered.

  She moaned, then rolled over, facing him. "Mmm, make the world go away, Gabriel," she said sleepily, and dropped little pecks to his chest. "I know you can do it." She searched under the sheets and found him, hard and warm. "Oh, Gabriel," she breathed.

  Gabe groaned and pushed her onto her back. She chuckled throatily, a rich, generous sound as she spread her thighs, taunting him with her sleep-rumpled warmth. "Think we can find another condom in this place?"

  He gasped for air as she stroked him and struggled to reach the nightstand. He fumbled frantically, then showered her with a handful.

  "Sure of yourself, or do enough women parade through—" He covered her mouth with his, stopping her teasing. "I haven't been with a woman in two years," he said against her lips. "And I've never made love to one." A pause and then a scarcely whispered, "Till you," before he smothered her with a heavy kiss.

  Calli's throat grew tight and her eyes misted. Gabe didn't give anything about himself easily. He was too proud to admit he'd no family, no love in his life, and she tried to tell herself she was reading too much into his confession. Wasn't she? Regardless, her heart broke open and hope flooded in.

  When he pulled back, his gaze sharpened on her and his brows drew tight.

  Avoiding the intensity of his gaze, she looked down at the foiled squares littering her bare chest. "Probably should check the expiration dates then, huh?"

  They searched the pile, tossing some onto the floor, and when she found one, it was on him and he was inside her. He surged forward, one hand braced on the curving headboard, the other beneath her hips, bringing her to him, and Gabriel died a little inside as he watched passion enfold her body, wrap around him and hide him in a little place in her heart. This was all he would have of Calli, he knew. He knew he wasn't good enough for a lifetime, knew he was good enough only here.

  Geyser and Deek were already hard at work when Bull arrived later that morning. He immediately sought out Calli and handed her a heavy white-and-blue envelope. Gabe noticed she merely glanced at the contents and tossed it onto the table. Later Bull confessed that it was the courier package of her traveler's checks he'd picked up at the post office. It gave Gabe an uneasy feeling. She had money and no real reason to stay now. His gaze went to her car, her trunk, and he wondered if he would ever have the chance to search it. Closing his eyes, he dismissed the idea. If she was going to stay, he wasn't going to jeopardize it yet. He lifted his gaze to where she stood under the porch, dressed in red shorts and a white T-shirt.

  She'd been creating all sorts of high-calorie, high-fat desserts since just after breakfast. And Gabe was on sugar overload by lunchtime. Every time she made something new, she insisted Gabe be her taster. He was going to be ill, he thought, just pleasing her, his last occasion to sample mocha crème parfaits with shaved chocolate and a powder of almonds. Gabe admitted the desserts were beyond good, but the presentation was what made them Calli's. And Excalibur millions. She created one she called Guinevere's Tears. It was dark chocolate-cherry mousse in the shape of a knight's shield, covered smoothly in chilled white chocolate, intricately detailed with red crystal-like tears bleeding from the center. Romantic, Gabriel thought, lifting his gaze to hers. No, he corrected. Calli.

  "I'll save these for after dinner." She slid the tray into the fridge.

  Geyser and Deek groaned. "Just one taste, Miss Calli?"

  She shook her head and took the spoon Geyser was licking like a child, then gently pushed him toward the barn. "Go work off that sugar, and I'll think about raising your cholesterol later," she said. The boys smiled and raced off.

  Gabe watched them go, then looked at her. "They like you."

  "They idolize you."

  He scoffed. "Yeah, right." He stood and finished off a glass of tea.

  "Don't you see it?" She nudged him and he turned to look. "They wouldn't work that hard for just anyone, Gabe. It's because you can relate to them, you understand them. Even if you never told them anything about yourself. They feel it."

  "Feel what?"

  "That you truly care about keeping them out of trouble and giving them a chance. You respect them."

  He stared at the boys who looked more like men for their abused childhood. It was tough being sixteen and alone, locked in juvenile hall, Gabe thought, remembering when Daniel had given him a chance.

  "I suppose."

  Calli sighed. Would he never believe in himself? "Go work off that sugar, Griffin, before you get fat." Her gaze lingered over his washboard stomach and thickly muscled chest. It would be just like him to be able to eat nonstop and never gain an ounce, she thought peevishly.

  "I can think of a better way to burn some calories," he offered, snagging her as she passed with a stack of dishes. He buried his face in her soft, scented neck and wanted more. A whistle cut the air and Gabe looked up. Geyser and Deek were laughing to themselves.

  "See," she said, "they're really still just children."

  She admired that Gabe took a chance on them like the man who had taken a chance on him. And Calli wondered if he'd give the same to her. As he brushed his mouth across hers and murmured a sexy, "See ya later, baby," in that to-die-for, knee-weakening voice, Calli knew she was in love with him, knew it from the first moment he'd confessed something private to her in her hotel room. Oh, it had taken her a while to fall, but the tumble started then. He was quiet and private and still harbored secrets. But they didn't matter to her. She loved him. And she would never tell him. He would clam up and push her out. Commitment wasn't a strong point with him or he wouldn't still be single. Or so alone.

  Like you? her conscience pestered. Calli quickly cleaned up the mess, scribbled the recipe on a scrap of paper and stuffed it into her back pocket. She would enter it in her journal later. Now she wanted to be more than the ranch cook.

  The past two weeks were the happiest Gabe had ever been in his life. Beyond the ranch there was reality, yet he indulged in havi
ng Calli living with him. He'd made love to her every night, sometimes fast and quick, leaving them breathless and laughing, and more often, slow and leisurely in his bed, indulging in the taste and feel of each other. She'd taught him to play chess and he'd taught her how to ride like a pro. He'd feasted on the finest food in his life and she'd feasted on him, giving herself without question, trusting him completely. He was weak at the sight of her and grew hard when she did something as simple as smile at him. They'd fallen into a routine that Gabe adored, lying on the couch together after everyone had left, where they would talk or read. Days ago she'd asked him to read aloud to her, insisting he had a voice meant for it. In the middle of a story, he'd told her that he'd only learned when he was twelve or thirteen, confessing that he didn't have much of an education. With the gentleness that was Calli, she'd called him a liar and said he was far more educated in what truly mattered.

  She was on the sofa now, her back braced on the arm, her legs stretched out. Her journal was on her lap, her hand writing furiously. The huge day planner was stuffed with scraps of paper, sticky notes, paper napkins with writing on them. Gabe tried not to even look at it. The damn thing was like a pariah seeking him out. He had the irresistible urge to burn it.

  Gabriel dropped onto the cushion and pulled her feet onto his lap. She crossed a t and looked up, her face brightening. "Hi."

  She leaned out for a kiss and he gave it, then nodded to the journal. "Making notes?"

  She looked down. "Yeah, came up with three more recipes. At least Daniel will be pleased."

  "Will he?" Did he sound as casual as he hoped?

  "Lord, yes. I couldn't create anything exceptional enough for the winter line a couple of weeks ago. Which is why I went on a vacation. Or rather, Daniel insisted I take one." She smiled mischievously. "I just didn't go where he wanted."

  "No, you went looking for danger."

  No, she thought, I went looking for you.

  "Yeah," she purred, "and look what I found." She wiggled her toes in his side. He laughed and she was about to tickle him again when he grabbed her feet and rubbed the soles.