and
thanks for helping her out when she realized how absolutely
incredible his touch felt. It occurred to her that she had never
been touched like this by anyone before. Actually, she usually did
whatever she could to prevent it.
Now, Gabriel slowly rubbed his hands along
the column of her neck, then along each of her shoulder blades and
the expanse between them, the movements purposeful, but tender. The
sensation made her want to groan with unexpected pleasure. Then he
progressed lower, to the skin exposed below the single bow tie in
the back. When he reached the base of her spine, she realized her
heartbeat had accelerated to a ridiculous rate.
What the hell?
“Done,” he said after another moment. His
voice still sounded strained.
“Thanks,” she replied, startled that her
voice sounded rather similar to his. She cleared her throat. “I,
um, I’ll be ready in another minute. Meet you in the kitchen?”
She caught his gaze over her shoulder. They
stared at each other for what felt like a full minute. He opened
his mouth to speak, his eyes intense. Her breath caught in her
throat.
Then he swallowed hard and looked away.
“Sure. Sounds good,” he said.
And she suddenly knew with a great deal of
surprise and certainty as he turned and walked out that there was
much more that he wanted to say, and that it wasn’t at all along
the lines of him thinking of her as a freak.
Chapter Four
Heaven help him, he was making a huge mistake
escorting Amber to the pool party.
Gabriel eased the ZX into the makeshift
parking area beside Devon Brewer’s house while praying he could
keep his tongue in his head. Amber sat quietly beside him, gazing
out the window and seemingly oblivious to his inner turmoil. He
knew he had made a complete fool of himself when he first saw her
in her swimsuit. She had looked at him like he was demented as he
stood there without speaking. But for the life of him, he hadn’t
been able to command his brain to return to its fully functioning
state once he saw how undeniably hot she looked.
Unfortunately, her ensemble had only gotten
sexier when she tied the cover-up/skirt thingy Mrs. B had given her
around her slim waist. The slit up the side just drew even more
attention to her well-defined legs and backside. And, dear
Lord…those black, strappy sandals. How footwear from Walmart could
be so provocative, he truly had no idea.
Combine all of that with the stylish new
haircut and some judiciously applied makeup and he was pretty sure
his libido had hit the stratosphere.
The fact was, he’d had many years to learn
how to control himself when it came to his feelings for Amber. He
was being put to the test today, yes. But what concerned him more
was the reality that she was about to open the eyes of the many
males of Newnan High School. It would almost certainly generate
attention toward her that would make her highly uncomfortable, and
it would be entirely his fault.
“Nice digs,” she said as he cut the
engine.
Devon Brewer’s family lived in the Platinum
Point Historic District of Newnan on nearly two acres of property.
The house was Victorian in style with beautifully landscaped
gardens and a magnificent pool complete with a natural stone water
slide, making it ideal for the party.
“Yeah,” he agreed before he got out of the
car.
After six years together, Amber no longer
attempted to open doors for herself if she was with him. He enjoyed
being the gentleman. Mrs. B had instilled those manners in him from
the time he was old enough to understand them. He walked around the
car and opened Amber’s door for her. When she shifted and one of
her long, sandal-tipped legs emerged, he forgot to breathe.
“Well, guess it’s time to get this over with,
huh?” she asked as she stood beside him, adjusting her sunglasses
on her nose and tightening the knot on her cover-up.
“Am.” He paused, then sighed. “I’m sorry I
dragged you into this.” When she looked up at him with