Chapter Nineteen

Taka fell back on his bed and groaned aloud.

He scrubbed his hand over his eyes and sighed. It was Thursday night. He’d planned on stopping by Gabby’s place tonight, but he’d had to deal with extra emergency surgeries when a colleague had collapsed with appendicitis.

She’d been gone from his house not quite two weeks, and even though she’d been there such a short time, a gaping hole now existed where her presence had been. He turned his head and pressed his face into the comforter. If he breathed really deep, he could still make out her lingering scent.

Frustration ate at him. He was sick of being around her and not being able to touch her, kiss her, or even hug her without having to explain why.

He’d learned the hard way that when Gabby made a decision, she stuck to it. When she’d pushed him away the first time, he’d wanted to be swallowed whole. She’d said the only thing that would’ve made him leave—that he wasn’t man enough for her. He’d realized why she’d done it, many months later, but it didn’t stop the rejection stinging.

He understood that sleeping together didn’t mean that she loved him. It had happened before. She’d pushed him away before because he was too young, afraid of what people would think, afraid of her own desires. This time he had to make sure she couldn’t push him away.

The difference this time was he knew she cared. He could see it, could feel it in her touch. Making her admit it to herself—and to him—was going to be the hard part. Whether it could develop into love was something he wanted the chance to explore. He wouldn’t let her push him away again. Not without good reason. He’d be officially out of his twenties. There’d be no more excuses.

His plan seemed to be going well. He’d seen her three times this week, and she always looked happy to see him. It was so hard keeping his hands to himself. It took so much determination to keep himself back from her, to keep that wall between them, to act like they were only friends.

His birthday party was Saturday night. Two days until he told her how he felt and asked her to marry him. His parents were flying over for the party. They were staying with Gabby, on the pretense of spending time with her after her accident. In reality, his parents knew he was proposing to her and had wanted to give him space, in case she said yes and stayed at his home. And also in case she said no.

He sighed and glanced over at the clock on his nightstand and shook his head against the quilt.

Two a.m. That was why he hadn’t stopped by to see her.

Tired didn’t come close to how he felt. He’d just lie here for a minute and then he’d get up and go for a shower.

Damn, even his bones felt weary. He glanced back at the nightstand and saw his cell phone where he’d left it. He couldn’t be bothered moving to turn it off. The hospital wouldn’t call, not after being on duty in the ER for so long. He’d been given the next three days off which suited him just fine.

 

 

The shrill ringtone of his cell jolted through his brain. He flew upright, fighting to make his gritty eyes focus. Taka squinted at the glare from the overhead light he’d left on and peered at the clock.

Three-thirty. “What the hell…” He picked up his phone and peered at the screen. They always let it ring until he answered. It never stopped after only one ring. The number that flashed back at him wasn’t the hospital.

Gabby!

The phone hit the floor as Taka bolted from the room and down the hall, grabbing his keys and helmet as he passed the stand in his entry. The door slammed shut behind him as his feet hit the driveway gravel, the sharp sound echoing back at him through the silent night. He swore as the jagged stones dug painfully into the soles of his bare feet. He swung around and grabbed his boots from inside the front door.

This time of night there wasn’t a soul on the streets, not around here. Everyone was safely tucked in their warm beds.

All except one woman who was either scared or upset enough to call him at this hour. He pulled up his bike and parked near the back door. He knocked lightly. Not hearing a reply, he slid the key into the lock, and he pulled the door gently shut behind him, not wanting to scare her more with it slamming. He slipped off his loose boots. Jogging down the hall to her room, his bare feet slapped softly on the solid timber floorboards.

Taka rounded her doorway and stopped with his hand on the jamb, trying to catch his breath. His heart slowed a little when he saw she was safe.

Both lamps were on, blazing light out into the darkness. Gabby lay on her side under her quilt with her back to him, a pillow clutched to her face. Her ragged breathing sounded loud even from the doorway.

“Gabby?”

She rolled over. Relief at the sight of him flooded her face.

He hurried to the edge of the bed and sat. The mattress dipped a little under his weight.

Taka lay down beside her on top of the blankets, his head on the spare pillow next to hers. He brushed stray hair from her face from where it had fallen across her cheek with gentle fingers. She moved closer and snuggled into his body, her face nestling under his chin, her hand resting on his chest beside her face. Muffled sobs burst into his shirt on short puffs of breath.

Taka slipped his arms around her and tightened his hold. His fingers traced the ridges of her spine. As his hand travelled down her back, the rhythmic strokes relaxed her stiff form under his hands. Gabby’s breathing slowed and evened out, sleep overtaking her fear now he was there.

How many times had this happened in the last couple of weeks and she hadn’t called him? She hadn’t mentioned nightmares on his visits. Guilt chewed through him at the thought she’d gone through this alone. Didn’t she trust him to keep his hands off her if she called? He rested his face on top of her sleeping head, his cheek pressed to her hair.

He breathed deep. The scent of her hair and warm body invaded his lungs and curved his lips into a smile as his own eyes closed. This was where he was supposed to be. He knew it with a certainty transcending his attraction to her.

If only he could convince her of that.

 

Sunlight shafted through the windows behind Gabby’s head, slanting across her pillows and warming her face with its caress. She breathed deep. A smile widened her lips. She was so relaxed, her bones felt liquid. She hadn’t had a night’s sleep this good since she’d moved into her house.

A weight pressed down on her shoulder, causing her to shift uncomfortably. She frowned to herself and opened her eyes. Her smile returned and grew larger, taking over her whole face.

Takeshi.

That was why she’d slept so well.

She needed to touch him, to feel his warm skin. She reached up and ran her fingers through the hair on the back of his head. The sunlight caught and reflected the raven tones as the long strands shifted and fell like liquid through her fingers. From some angles, it appeared almost blue it was so black. She wanted to bury both her hands into the thick mass and feel it run all over them.

“Mmm. That’s good.” Taka’s voice resonated against her breast where his head rested between her shoulder and chest. Sometime through the night he’d ended up beneath the blankets with her, his long denim-clad legs entwined through her naked ones. She wanted to melt into his warmth.

Her traitorous body responded to both his husky voice and the fact that his mouth was so close to her breasts. Goose bumps broke out in every conceivable place. She hoped he wouldn’t notice her nipples had tightened into hard little nubs only inches from his mouth. Awareness of his warm body pressing against her curled through her veins. Images of exactly what she’d like to do to that warm body flashed through her mind, consequences be damned.

“You can do that all day, if you like. I’ll just lie here and enjoy it.”

Gabby laughed at that one. “Okay, you asked for it.” Gabby burrowed both hands into his hair and started massaging his scalp with slow, hard strokes.

“Ohh, man!” A sound halfway between a moan and a growl erupted from lips pressed to her chest. Taka melted into her where he lay, his whole body going boneless. His moans were muffled by her skin, and she felt the shudder surge through him from head to toe. She pulled her hands from his hair to rest them on his shoulders, waiting until he lifted his head to look at her.

“You need to license those things.”

“Behave yourself, or I’ll do it again.”

Taka rested his chin on his hand. “Please! That felt so good it was almost indecent. By the way, good morning.” He bounced a light kiss on the end of her nose.

Gabby grinned around the sudden butterflies flocking her stomach. He was in her bed, and looked like he was quite comfortable there. She shoved her confusion down. She didn’t want to dissect her feelings. She needed to learn to let go a little. If he was here, maybe he wanted to be.

“If you’re nice to me I might just do that properly for you later on, to help you relax a little after your busy week. If you’re really nice, you might even score a back massage.”

“I think I’ll relax right through the floor—but it’s a deal.” A cheeky light entered his eyes. “Do you think you could stretch it to a full body one? I’ll cook you breakfast in exchange.”

Gabby brushed his delinquent fringe out of his eyes. He insisted on leaving it this length. Had done for more years than she could remember. The thought of having her hands all over him sent blood rushing, sensitizing her skin to every part of them that touched.

“You’re on. I want bacon and eggs.” She twisted her mouth and pretended to think hard. “And toast and—”

“All right, already! I get the hint. You’re hungry.” He shifted a little and dropped his head back to her shoulder, his warm breath breezing over the bare skin around her skimpy tank top. “You’re mean, though. I’m comfortable right here, and you’re gonna make me get up. I should just lie back down and make you starve.”

Gabby glanced at the clock. Seven a.m. She looked back to Taka. “What time did you finish last night? You look tired.”

“I’m exhausted. I got home at two. Thankfully my ER stint is over for now. I can go back to what I was hired to do on Monday, and that means relatively normal hours for a while.”

He hadn’t moved, only settled more comfortably against her shoulder while they talked. He snaked his arm around her waist.

Gabby stroked her fingers through his hair again, running them over his scalp. His cheek nuzzled her shoulder in response.

“I’m sorry. Why did you come if you got home so late? I should never have called you. I actually thought that I cut it off before it rang.”

He shook his head against her skin. “No. I told you to call me and I meant it. I’m glad you did. I’m here for you anytime. You know that.” Humor laced his voice. “Besides, I like waking up with you like this. You’re all soft and cuddly. It’s real nice. It beats waking up alone in a cold bed.”

Gabby stifled a laugh. “I don’t know if I like being called soft and cuddly. What if I was going for lean and hot? You just blew my sex goddess imaginings straight out of the water. How am I supposed to pretend I’m irresistible now?”

Taka’s shoulders vibrated with laughter. “I’m sorry to bust your bubble, but you have too many curves for that.”

His hand slid from her waist down to her hip and back up to her ribcage, sending all sorts of tingles flying over her body. Gabby’s blood zoomed around her body at his words, and followed the heated trail his hands left in their wake. If he kept this up she’d be ripping his clothes off for sure.

“See what I mean? If you’re going for sex goddess, you’ve got that title hands down. You need curves, and breasts, and softness for goddess status. And curves are extremely hot. You’re perfect.”

You’re perfect.

Now there’s a couple of words every woman wants to hear. Gabby bit her bottom lip to stop the smile from expanding over her whole face. She was feeling a little cheeky this morning, and he was in her bed.

He likes breasts, does he?

Gabby wrapped her fingers around his hand and guided it beneath her tank top to her breast.

Taka tensed. Neither of them moved. He drew in a shuddering breath.

“Gabby?” he whispered. “What…?”

“You said you like breasts.” Her cheeky words were equally breathless.

She hoped like hell she hadn’t made a mistake. How embarrassing would it be if he said no, thank you?

Taka lifted his head to stare at her, his eyes unreadable and boring into her own.

“You want me to…” His hand moved on her breast, massaging gently.

Gabby’s eyes fluttered closed at the exquisite shivers spiking all through her. She drew her bottom lip into her mouth, biting on it to stop her soft moan from escaping.

“Open your eyes. If you want me to touch you, you have to look at me.” His softly spoken words sent curls of anticipation winding through her veins.

Oh, I want you to touch me, all right. I want you, period.

She opened her eyes.

“What do you want, Gabby?” He ran his thumb over her nipple, then pinched it between his fingers. “Is that what you want?”

Gabby sucked in a deep breath in response, her breast pushing hard into his hand. He felt so good. She shouldn’t want him to touch her, not with things unresolved between them, but when he was near, it was all she thought about.

Taka’s voice lowered further. Desire deepened it to a husky growl. “Do you want me? Do you want me inside you?”

“Yes,” she whispered. Her gaze hadn’t left his. “If you can…you know.” She didn’t recognize her own voice. It was so breathless.

Taka’s face became impish. “Get it up?” Ebony eyes gleamed in amusement.

He released her breast and grabbed hold of her hand, sliding it down between them. Gabby gasped at the evidence beneath her fingers.

“I don’t think that will be a problem, Marishaten. I’ve been hard since I woke up with your hand in my hair.”

Sliding his hand across her stomach, he stopped at the waistband of her boy-leg shorts. He nibbled his way from the top of her tank top, up her neck to her ear, then back to the sensitive spot under her jaw.

Gabby tilted her head upwards to give him better access. Her breath shuddered into her lungs when his hand slid beneath the band of her shorts to move down between her legs. She loved the way his fingers felt on her. She parted her legs to allow him where he wanted to go. Anticipation held her so tight, she thought she’d burst as Taka’s fingers gently pushed between her folds.

A sighing moan escaped her parted lips when he slid his finger upwards over her to rest right where she wanted it. An incredible burst of need flooded her body as he flicked the tip of his finger back and forth, speeding up the more she reacted.

Her entire body jerked, her head thrusting back into her pillows with the earth-shattering sensation of his hand between her legs. Moving, touching, rubbing. Her knees fell wide apart, offering him all he wanted to take.

Taka slid his finger inside her, his thumb replacing it on her clit. Her loud whimper of surrender sounded in the quiet room. Labored breath rasped against her neck from his open mouth. His continued kisses and bites increased in intensity the longer he touched her.

His mouth tore from her neck straight to her breast. Taka sucked her nipple into his mouth, the thin fabric of her shirt not deterring him.

Gabby’s fingers spasmed against his jeans where her hand rested, the torturous feel of his hand and mouth sending her brain to mush. Taka bit back a heavy moan that was muffled by her shirt and breast.

She managed to open the button on his jeans and pull down the zip. Gabby slipped her fingers in beneath his trunks and wrapped her hand around him. She touched him hesitantly at first, then more firmly when he swore, his hips jerking against her.

Her thumb found his broad, swollen tip. She rubbed lazy circles over him, getting harder and faster the more insistent his hand became on her.

The first spikes of orgasm struck her, firing through her from his hand to the tips of her toes right up through her spine to her head. She shuddered and flew apart beside him as the need for complete fulfillment overwhelmed her.

She’d climaxed, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted more. She needed him inside her.

“I want you so bad,” she whispered.

His mouth came within millimeters of hers when his fingers stopped. Gabby opened her eyes, trying to focus on him.

“If you want me, you’re gonna have to undress me. You’re going to have to show me you really want it.”

Nervousness spiraled through her with his words. She’d expected he would take over once she’d told him she wanted him, but he wanted proof.

She raised one hand to his chest and slid the other from his jeans, grasping the hem of his polo shirt as she did. Soft material slid up his chest and over his flat nipples, her palms gliding over the top of them in its wake.

Taka’s eyes closed at her touch, his full lips parting as he waited.

Gabby leaned up and pressed her mouth to his skin, her tongue flicking across his lean, muscled chest as she pulled the shirt up and off. She kissed across to his nipple and drew it into her mouth, sucking gently. He tasted so damned nice. All heat and sunshine.

His chest heaved with the effort to remain silent and still. It was costing him. She smiled to herself with the knowledge. Her confidence grew as Taka’s hand slid to her hair, holding her to him while she nipped and licked her way across his skin. Being the one dictating the pace, the one giving him pleasure, thrilled her.

She shoved him onto his back and slid her hands down his body to the waistband of his jeans. She grasped the denim on both sides and worked it down his hips and butt, down his thighs and off. She threw them to the floor, her mouth going to his stomach to bite the tender skin of his hard abs.

Gabby threw a leg over his thighs and straddled him while she scraped her hands over his body, her mouth busy kissing his stomach and hips.

His quickly indrawn breath and soft moans pierced her concentration as she leaned down, his hard length pushing between her breasts, against her top.

Gabby paused and looked up, suddenly aware that she’d never seen him completely naked before. She sat back on her knees and stared at the specimen of male perfection below her.

She ran her hands lightly over his skin as she looked. Her gaze swept over his slim hips and thighs where she sat. Her eyes caught on his thick erection.

Nice. Very nice.

Taka’s eyes opened slightly when he realized she’d stopped.

“What’s wrong?” His voice had all but disappeared in his desire.

Gabby glanced up at him and shook her head. “Nothing. I’ve never seen you fully naked before. I was just looking…and liking.”

His satisfied grin took on an almost predatory cast. “I’m at a bit of a disadvantage here. You’re still clothed.”

Gabby leaned forward over his chest, her long hair falling over her shoulder and trailing over his heated skin. “Tough. You wanted me to undress you. You can wait.”

Taka’s hands slid up her thighs, but she slapped at them and put them back at his sides.

“No. Wait your turn,” she said, laughing at his inability to keep them to himself.

She squealed when he grabbed her waist and threw her onto her back, his hands whipping the shirt up and over her head before she could react.

Taka leaned down low over her and whispered in her ear. “You wanted something…and now you’re going to get it.”

His mouth took hers, invading her, teasing with a promise of what was to come. He stripped her shorts from her hips, shifted himself over the top of her and pushed between her legs. Gabby gasped against his mouth at his urgency. His hand ran up the outside of her thigh, pulling her hard against him as he grasped her bottom.

Reasoning deserted her. Taka’s mouth, tongue and hands destroyed all sensible thought whenever he touched her. She didn’t want to. She just wanted his hands on her body, making her feel like this. He was devouring her, mind and soul, and there’d be nothing left but stardust when he finished with her.

Fire engulfed her from the heat of his lips on her neck. If he continued like this, she was sure she’d spontaneously combust. Her whole body was a seething mass of wanting. Need for him outstripped everything else.

Taka moved again. His length pressed heavily against her, rubbing over her clit. Gabby opened her eyes as he slid over her again.

His lips brushed hers ever so lightly. “You want this, do you?” He rocked his hips a little, sliding, teasing and tormenting her.

Gabby jerked against him, trying to take him inside her, but his hand on her hip held her firm to the mattress. He shook his head at her.

“I don’t think so. Two can play this game, my beautiful redhead.”

Need shuddered through her, shaking her body as he pushed into her, then withdrew.

“I want to hear you say it. Tell me you need me.” His voice cracked, heavy with need, his body strung tight and hard above her.

Her stomach decided to interrupt, letting out the loudest grumble she’d ever heard.

Taka paused, then his face erupted in a sexy grin. “I take it you’re still hungry?”

Gabby nodded and slapped her hand to her mouth to try and stop the laughter escaping.

Oh, this was too much.

Here she was, right where she wanted to be, with Taka naked on top of her, and her stomach growls. This crap only happened in bad movies.

“I should feed you first, shouldn’t I?” he said, his face solemn. Dark eyes glittered with suppressed humor. “You have to keep your strength up, you know. I can’t have you passing out from hunger before you start screaming my name. It would be rather hard to explain to your son if you keeled over.”

Gabby started to laugh, then gasped. Taka raised his eyebrows in question.

“Matt! Oh, no!” She shoved hard at Taka’s chest. She pushed him off her and scrambled off the bed.

Taka stared at her like she’d finally lost her mind. Gabby stopped dead halfway to her bathroom.

“Matt… He’s picking up your parents on his way home from night shift!”

“Oh…I forgot about that. Looks like their flight was late.” Taka’s mouth split into a grin. He leaned back into the pillows and crossed his arms behind his head, making himself more than comfortable. “Lucky, that.”

Gabby shook her head at his cheekiness and bolted into her bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She turned on the shower full blast.

His parents could be here any minute. They were due in from a flight from Australia over an hour ago, and here she was in bed with Taka. Yumi and Mas could’ve walked in on them. She felt sick just thinking about it. That wasn’t the way she wanted her best friend to find out she loved her son. It would be unforgivable.

Taka’s voice reverberated through the timber door. “I’m going to head home. I’ll see you later, okay?”

Gabby yanked the door open again, surprised. “You’re going?”

Taka held her gaze for a moment, then glanced away, his face a study in neutrality. He lifted an indifferent shoulder. “Yeah. It’ll be awkward to explain to everyone what I’m doing here so early.”

She tried to get him to look at her. His abrupt change in manner and lack of expression concerned her. Was he embarrassed about what they’d almost done? “If you’re sure.”

Taka nodded. “I still have heaps to do for tomorrow.” He turned around and grabbed his clothes from the floor. He shrugged his jeans up his long legs and over his tight butt. He threw her a half-smile over his shoulder. “I’ll catch up with you later when you all come for dinner.”

“Okay. I’ll see you then.”

She waited until she heard him gun the engine of his motorbike before she closed the bathroom door and leaned against it, confused as hell.

He hadn’t tried to follow her, hadn’t tried to finish what they’d started. He’d just got dressed and left the room as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

He’d forced her to admit she wanted him, even made her say it. Then he’d turned it off like a tap.

If he could be so blasé about sex with her, how in hell would she hold his interest? Because if he’d been half as turned on as her, he’d have followed her in here to finish what they’d started. She ached for him even now, and he’d brought her to orgasm. But he hadn’t come. He’d still been hard when he’d grabbed his clothes.

Reality brought her back to earth with a thump. Even though he stopped by every other day, not once had he tried to touch her. She was some harmless fun—when she offered. She wanted his heart, not just his body.

But could she ever be enough for him?