Chapter Three

  Why am I letting this man get to me? “Fine. As silly as this is…” His dark, knowing smile made her stomach flutter as Abby marched up and stood on her toes to plant one on him. She refused to inhale his masculine scent or touch his body as she brushed her lips against his mouth for the briefest of seconds. “See, no big deal. Don’t mistake adrenaline for something it’s not—”

  Her shoes hadn’t even flattened to the floor when his muscular arm came around her waist. Yanking her against his chest, his striking blue eyes flashed with heat. “Let’s try that again—my way. Shall we?”

  Abby placed her hands on his hard chest and her stomach tumbled.

  Gabriel’s warm lips brushed hers, stealing her words as he tested the texture of her mouth. When his tongue traced her parted lips, her breath caught. Then he began to suck gently on her bottom lip. Heart thumping harder, she curled her fingers inward to keep from following her natural instincts, telling her to grip his shoulders tight.

  “You have the sexiest lips,” he mumbled against her mouth right before he nipped the sensitive flesh. Abby closed her eyes as fire consumed her, licking every sensitive place with tingling awareness. She moaned, waiting for him to kiss her deeply.

  A warm hand caressed the back of her neck and she felt him smile against her mouth. “Uh uh, sweetness. This time, kiss me like you mean it.”

  He was making her kiss him? Damn the man! But she needed to know. Abby gave into the temptation. Sliding her tongue inside his mouth, she inhaled, taking his earthy, masculine scent deep inside her.

  The moment her tongue touched his, Gabriel’s chest rumbled and he reversed their positions. Locking her against the counter with his hips, he thrust his fingers into her hair and slanted his lips across her mouth in a dominant kiss that swept through her entire body. When his tongue caressed hers in a curling, provocative sweep, Abby fell into their kiss. His piercing upped her excitement, adding an erotic edge to the arousing friction of his tongue’s imitate glide against hers in an aggressive exploration of her mouth.

  Lost in his hard embrace, her brain fogged with unadulterated lust, Abby slid her hands up his muscular shoulders and wrapped her arms tight around his neck. The feel of his erection pressing against her, and the way his lips claimed hers, as if he couldn’t resist—as if he had to taste her—silenced all the warning bells that had been clanging in the back of her mind from the moment he pinned her to the floor in the hall.

  When Gabriel began to slide her sweat jacket’s zipper open, Abby’s breasts tingled and her breathing turned shallow. His lips moved to her jaw before he slowly made his way down her throat, pressing tender kisses along the way. She couldn’t deny the irresistible need clawing within her, creating a magnetic pull that demanded she wrap herself around the sexy man and relish every tender touch and arousing sensation he planned to share with her.

  Then, as suddenly as the warnings had silenced in her mind, they came rushing to the forefront—chiming. The sound was incessant and irritating. Abby froze and jerked away when she realized the noise wasn’t in her head. Someone was ringing the doorbell quite forcefully.

  Pushing on Gabriel’s chest, she mumbled, “I have to get that or they’ll knock the door down next.”

  As Abby walked briskly down the hall to answer the door, the pent-up sexual tension within her eased off a bit and her mind cleared. What the hell was I thinking: kissing him and opening up that can of worms? While it was true Gabriel exuded the kind of “dangerous for your health” persona that she normally went for in men—the kind of guy she dated, then broke up with soon after—something about this man felt…different. It was the way he touched her, the seductive force of his kiss. He radiated a level of serious intensity she’d never experienced before with another man.

  Abby blinked at the five gouges on the wood door in front of her—four were lined up in a column on the right and one was by itself on the left. How odd, she thought before she pulled open the door. A man in his late seventies stood on the porch, his short gray hair fluttering in the wind and an old, battered raincoat hastily buttoned around him. He held an umbrella with a tight grip, and a concerned look pinched his forehead.

  “You must be Abby. I’m Frank Donohue from across the street.” He blew out an embarrassed breath at the same time he peered around Abby, staring into the house. “Kaitlyn called my wife, Alice, earlier to say you’d be staying at the house, and when I mentioned seeing a strange man walking around the perimeter of Kaitlyn’s house earlier this evening, my wife got worried and tried to call. Since the phone just rang and rang, she sent me over to check on you—” Mr. Donohue cut himself off when his gaze locked on something in the hall.

  Glancing behind her, Abby saw Gabriel leaning casually against the hallway wall, watching them with interest. His arms were folded across his naked chest, and a slight smirk tilted his lips.

  “Oh…I see,” Mr. Donohue said, drawing Abby’s attention. The older man’s gaze had lowered to Abby’s unbound breasts pushing against the thin white tank top underneath her unzipped jacket to Gabriel and then back to her. Damn, she’d forgotten she hadn’t put on a bra in her rush to get out of her apartment earlier.

  Abby’s face heated when she realized Gabriel’s shirtless and shoeless appearance, along with her own braless one, had led Mr. Donohue to one conclusion. Zipping up her jacket, she gave a sheepish smile and went with the easiest response. “Thanks for your concern. My boyfriend and I are housesitting for the weekend. He’s going to install a security system while we’re here.”

  Mr. Donohue cleared his throat and nodded his approval in Gabriel’s direction. “Well, that’s good to know. The house needs a system, since Kaitlyn’s away more often than she’s here. I hear the storm’s going to get worse, so hunker down. Have a good evening.”

  “Be careful on the ice,” Abby called after him as he shuffled back across the driveway.

  Abby shut the door, and when she turned to walk into the office, Gabriel’s amused voice floated her way.

  “Boyfriend?”

  “I wouldn’t have had to lie if you’d have kept your half-naked self in the kitchen,” she snapped, feeling both flustered and exasperated as she flipped on the light.

  His presence filled the doorway behind her, but Abby choose to ignore him. She had to step over spools of wire, a tool belt, a power drill and other security-system equipment to reach the combo phone and answering machine on the credenza. Leaning over the furniture’s smooth wood surface, she pulled on the cords running behind it. “What’s up with the phone?”

  Gabriel planted his hands on the desk, his hips trapping her against the furniture. “That wasn’t a complaint, Abby.”

  His comment made her pulse trip with excitement, and her stomach twist with concern at the same time. Abby straightened and redirected their conversation. “They were unplugged!” She held the loose answering machine and phone cords toward him, her gaze slitted.

  He nodded toward the cords and equipment on the floor at their feet. “I was testing the line, preparing to run the new line for the security system when the storm blew in, making accurate testing near impossible as everything began to freeze.”

  Sighing, Abby leaned across the desk once more and plugged the cords into the wall outlets. “We may as well put these back until the storm is over.”

  When she straightened, she expected Gabriel to move and give her space, but he remained where he was. Leaning close once more, he inhaled along her throat, his voice gliding over her like the finest velvet. “Being your boyfriend is a start.”

  Abby’s warning alerts went off once more, making her heart palpitate and her palms sweat. A start? Was he thinking of something more permanent? She didn’t do permanent, no matter how much he made her heart pound and her pulse thrum. Brushing his arm out of her way, she put some distance between them. “Don’t let that kiss go to your head, Hawthorne. I’m going to go take a much needed shower.”

  As she walked toward the doorway, she felt his penetrating gaze measure every step she took, seeing more than she wanted.

  “Still afraid, Abby?”

  Abby tensed inside, but she didn’t let her confident stride falter. In just a few short conversations, Gabriel had seen more than any man ever had. Way more than she wanted.

  Chapter Four

  Ten minutes later, Gabriel had just come in from the garage with the rest of the security equipment when the telephone rang. He let the answering machine pick up, but once Kaitlyn’s voice came across the line, he grabbed the phone, his voice gruff with suppressed sexual tension. All he could think about was Abby upstairs in a hot shower, rubbing soap all over her lush, naked body. “Hey, Kaitlyn.”

  “Gabriel! What’s wrong with the phone? I’ve been trying to call for the past two hours.”

  “I had the line disconnected for a while. What’s up?”

  “I’m calling because there’s been a bit of a mix-up. Landon just told me he said you could stay at my house, but I told my friend Abby she could stay there this weekend. Is Abby there yet?”

  Gabriel gripped the phone tight. He might have an all-weather SUV sitting in the garage, but he wasn’t leaving. Hell no. Not now. “She’s here. We had an interesting introduction, considering we each thought the other was a burglar.”

  “You didn’t hurt her, did you?” Kaitlyn voice rose with worry.

  Gabriel grunted. “She’s quite capable of taking care of herself, but no, I didn’t hurt her. Other than her pride. I get the impression she’s used to winning.”

  Kaitlyn let out a relieved laugh. “I see you’ve learned a bit about my friend already. Since Abby needs a place to get away for the weekend, maybe you could head back here.”

  What does Abby need to get away from? “Neither one of us is going anywhere. We’re in the middle of a bad ice storm.”

  “Oh. Can you put Abby on the phone?”

  Crackling came across the line as he answered, “She’s taking a shower at the moment.”

  Kaitlyn sighed. “Well, at least I can speak freely since she’s not around. Abby has no idea about my father’s past connection to the Lupreda. Like all the other humans living in New York City, she’s blissfully unaware of the wolf pack’s existence.”

  “You don’t think she can handle the truth?” Gabriel asked, his throat suddenly dry.

  “Abby’s obviously aware of the Sanguinas vampires’ vicious treatment of the human population before the vampires withdrew from society twenty-five years ago, so I’m sure her practical side wouldn’t allow her to discount the possibly that werewolves could exist, too. Still, I didn’t want to run the risk of exposing the pack by telling my friend about it. I wasn’t sure how she’d react.”

  “I see,” he said, wondering how he was going to convince the stubborn, sexy, tough little human upstairs to trust a wolf. She didn’t seem to trust human men very much. Or maybe it was because they’d just met. Learning more about her could help him determine what he was up against. “Something Abby said made me wonder…did she have it pretty hard growing up?”

  “She hasn’t shared much about her childhood with me, but let’s just say Abby’s a definite success story for Handleburg Hall’s troubled-teen program.” The line began to crackle more, cutting in and out. “Listen, Gabriel, I know how you are—and I know I joked with you—Abby a while back, but she really doesn’t need—fling right now.”

  A fling was the last thing on his mind. Kaitlyn’s half-human and half-Lupreda status made it easier for him to accept her as his alpha’s mate. But Abby was all human, and even though his body howled for her, Gabriel’s brain had a hard time grasping the idea of a human mate. Still, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. “The line’s dying out, Kaitlyn. The storm’s getting worse. Abby’s in good hands.”

  “In—hands? What does—mean? Gabriel? Gabriel Hawthor—”

  Steady loud static sounded, making him wince and yank the handset away from his ear. The line was completely dead. Gabriel hung up the phone and stared at the ceiling above him. “I never thought a human would challenge me the way you have, Abby Brooks.”

  Abby didn’t realize just how cold she was until she unzipped her damp jacket in the bathroom. Of course, the moment she swept off her jacket and shirt, and chill bumps spread across her skin, that’s when she realized she’d been so distracted by Gabriel that she’d forgotten to bring her bag upstairs. There’s no way I’m I going back down there now. He’ll know he flustered me into forgetting my stuff. Then again, it’d serve the guy right if I sashayed past him to get my bag wearing nothing but a towel around my clean body. Abby closed the shower curtain with a smirk and stepped under the pounding hot water, sighing in pleasure.

  As she lathered her skin with lavender-and-rose scented soap, thoughts of Gabriel floated through her mind. His earlier comment that “being her boyfriend is a start” shocked her, reminding her of all the warnings that had scattered through her mind downstairs.

  From an early age, Abby had learned from her mother’s mistakes never to allow any relationship to get serious. She’d lost count of the number of times her mother had cried herself to sleep because her latest lover had walked out and never come back, or because he’d left her for another woman. The men treated her mother like she was a piece of disposable tissue to use up and then throw away. All Abby’s adult life, the only person she ever truly depended on was herself, for money and for personal happiness. Staying emotionally detached meant that if things didn’t work out, the only person she could be disappointed in was herself. And so far, with every relationship she’d had, she’d made the right decision to move on.

  Abby squeezed shampoo into her hair and lathered it up, scrubbing her scalp hard to try and rub away her instantaneous reaction to Gabriel. It was almost surreal how she’d so easily fallen into his embrace, desperate for his touch and achy with need. Such an intense response to his earthy smell and the feel of his hard body wrapping around her, like a protective circle of hard steel, smacked of emotional dependence, and she didn’t like it. At all.

  Closing her eyes, Abby bent her head back under the hard spray. As the suds washed away, her mind conjured an arousing picture of Gabriel standing in the shower with her, water beading on the barbell in his eyebrow, highlighting his sexy scar. She’d run her hands down his muscular chest and touch every hollow between his cut abs. His hands would slide along her slick skin, exploring every intimate place, arousing her to a fever pitch of need. Despite the warm water, her skin prickled and her body throbbed. Even in her imagination, the man’s magnetism was palpable and his dark intensity irresistibly seductive. She couldn’t deny it. Their attraction was inexplicably powerful. What was wrong with giving into her desires? She’d never had a problem doing that in the past.

  Because this enigmatic man’s penetrating eyes don’t miss a single detail. His blatant invasion of your personal space was purposeful and predatory. He won’t let you keep him at arm’s length. He’ll burrow deep, and once you’ve fallen completely, he’ll walk away, leaving you raw and empty inside. Gabriel didn’t appear to be anything like her past lovers or the losers her mother had lived with, but all men eventually showed their true colors. Huffing in frustration for mentally arguing with herself on Gabriel’s behalf, Abby turned to shut off the water and gasped when she opened her eyes.

  Someone had turned out the lights, leaving the windowless bathroom completely black. Abby’s heart seized and her throat shriveled to a dry husk, preventing the instinctive scream of terror from escaping.

  Breathing hard through her nose, she tried to pull in air, but it didn’t seem like she’d ever get enough. Her heart thudded and she blindly reached for the tap, managing to shut it off. Over her whooshing pulse, she barely heard the last trickle of water washing down the drain. Gripping the curtain, she closed her eyes tight and tried to swallow the old fears, but her throat and chest cinched tight, stepping her back in time. It didn’t matter that decades had passed. She was eleven all over again. In the dark and all alone.

  Tiny sparks began to dance in her vision and Abby let go of her pride. She didn’t want to pass out stark naked in a bathtub! “Gabriel, please help me,” she managed a squeaky whisper.

  “I’m here,” he said at the same time the curtain yanked from her hand.

  Relief flooded through her when strong fingers gripped hers.

  “The storm knocked out the power,” he murmured while he helped her step from the tub.

  The second Abby’s feet settled on the plush carpet in front of the tub, he released her hand and a thick towel settled around her shoulders. The soft cloth tugged tight in front of her and Abby quickly gripped the ends. She tried to thank him, but the words wouldn’t come, she was still so traumatized.

  Big hands landed on her shoulders, gripping them. “Why are you shaking? Abby, what’s wrong?”

  She couldn’t see him, but his presence and the concern in his voice relieved some of her anxiety. “Li—light. Need some light.” She hated how helpless she sounded. How weak the darkness made her.

  He instantly scooped her into his arms. Holding her against his chest, he carried her to the closest bedroom. Abby’s gaze zeroed in on the faint light coming from across the room and the tightness in her lungs eased a little.

  Once Gabriel laid her on the chaise lounge underneath the picture window and the dim evening light began to filter into her vision. Her throat slowly unclenched, allowing her to croak out “Thank you.”

  Gabriel sat facing her, his hip touching hers. Gentle fingers brushed strands of wet hair away from her face. “Why were you so unsettled?”

  Abby was surprised by how much Gabriel’s attentive response meant to her. Without question, he seemed to instinctively know what she needed. Even now his gentle touch was an instant, soothing balm, calming her frazzled nerves. If she didn’t remember to keep her distance, she could quickly become addicted to this man.