“So that leaves you where?” he asked, the kindness in his voice reminding me he wasn’t just a stranger I was attracted to, he was a friend. Or could be.
I sighed heavily, hating myself even as the breathy sound escaped. “I don’t know. I left a bad situation without thinking things through.”
“That much is obvious.” One hand on the wheel, he drove with precision and confidence, turning his eyes from the road to face me for a moment. “But you did leave.” Satisfaction sounded in his tone. “What were your plans?”
I shivered, and he raised the temperature.
“I thought I’d find a cheap motel where I could hole up and think. Which I still can do since your brother returned my cash.”
Gabe set his jaw, much the same way his brother had when I’d said something to aggravate him. “You’re coming with me.”
I sighed, the sound heavy in the enclosed space. “It’s not smart, Gabe.” I didn’t need to elaborate on why.
He reached over and covered my hand with his. “Maybe not in the way you mean, but for my peace of mind? Your safety? It damn well is.”
I closed my eyes in acknowledgment. The sexual tension between us scared me, but that didn’t come close to more immediate fears. I wasn’t afraid of Lance tracking me down, but if I were honest with myself, the kind of rattrap I could afford in the city freaked me out.
I wasn’t stupid. Gabe was offering me a lifeline. I might not know him all that well, but the way he took control and his dark edge gave me a sense of security Lance never had, not at the beginning, middle, and especially not at the end of our relationship.
Okay, I thought to myself. Decision made. “I’ll go home with you. For now.”
His deep exhale told me my answer pleased him, and I liked having his approval. I narrowed my gaze, confused by the reaction and the warmth rolling through me.
“You won’t regret it,” he assured me.
A smile curved my lips. “That remains to be seen.”
His wry chuckle echoed around us.
He maneuvered the stick shift as if the car were a part of him, the high speed no match for the powerful man. Which made me wonder more about him.
“So what do you do for a living? Besides invest in nightclubs?” I asked.
“Various things.”
I rolled my eyes. “Such as?”
“I own hotels and nightclubs,” he said.
“It’s better than you being on Wall Street,” I mused.
“Technically, one of the hotels is on Madison, but I live off the East River.”
I whistled before I could stop myself. “Swanky address.”
“Decklan picked you up on your way from the Hamptons. Not so rough yourself,” he reminded me.
I swallowed hard. “That’s over.”
Yet here I sat, en route from one man’s cushy beach house to another’s deluxe apartment. I exhaled and said what I should have from the beginning. “Thank you for helping me out.”
“My pleasure, kitten.”
The term of endearment sent a rush of warmth skittering through me and a distinct pulsing between my thighs.
“Stay as long as you need.”
I shivered at the prospect of being alone with Gabe. I wished I knew how long I’d need to remain there, but the hard truth was, his generosity would help me get my head on straight and give me breathing room to make decisions about my future.
“If I stay, I need to earn my own way.” I was finished being kept by any man.
“So we’re back to prostitution after all?” he asked, laughing before I could take offense.
I blushed, my cheeks hot. “I just don’t want to take advantage of your kindness.”
“I’m not kind,” he said, his severe words at odds with the lightness from seconds before. “But if you insist, we’ll work something out.”
I exhaled in relief. More relaxed now, I leaned my head back against the sturdy leather and closed my eyes, when a very unwelcome thought intruded.
I bolted upright in the seat. “Won’t your girlfriend have a problem with me staying over?” Even before I’d been on the receiving end of being cheated on, I drew the line at going after another woman’s man.
His gaze slid to mine. “It won’t be any of her concern,” he said, the words clipped but certain.
“I… Oh.” I bit down on the inside of my cheek, not knowing how to respond to that or what he meant.
We remained quiet, only the rain lashing down on the windshield breaking the silence. I shut my eyes and let the steady beat wash over me, lulling me into oblivion.
“Wake up, kitten.” A familiar, soothing voice washed over me.
A gentle shake and I came fully awake, my surroundings registering. Gabe’s car.
“We’re home,” he said in the deep voice that caused a flood of moisture between my thighs and a distinct softening of my brain.
The one that told me I was in trouble. Sexy, compelling trouble.
* * *
Isabelle: Home?
I’d assumed Gabe’s apartment would be huge. Gorgeous. Expensively decorated. He looked like a man who expected and would only accept the best. And I’d been around enough of Lance’s associates to know how the other half lived.
Gabe’s place put anything Lance owned to shame. It was a three-bedroom, three-and-one-half-bathroom apartment with not one but four terraces on Fifth Avenue. Yep. Apparently off the East River meant on the most expensive street in the world. I was a fountain of useless knowledge, as Lance liked to remind me when I’d occasionally spout out a tidbit or fact I’d learned from the Internet, television, or books.
Something else about me, I’m a bookworm and not the least bit ashamed of it. So when, in the midst of my tour of Gabe’s living space, I found myself in a den with fully lined bookshelves and a movable wooden ladder, I instantly fell in love. Not with the man, I assured myself, but with the library.
“You can read in this room anytime you like,” Gabe said, pleasure in his voice that I loved his library as much as he obviously did.
“I still don’t understand why you’re doing this,” I murmured. “Your brother is right. You must like taking in strays. How many before me?”
He came to a complete halt in the entryway of the library, a furious look in his eyes, and not one I liked aimed at me.
“None,” he said.
We both knew he lied.
With a tip of his head, he started back toward the foyer, past a closed door. “What’s this room?” I asked, eager to change the subject, at least for now.