“Thank you,” Houston mumbled. And he stabbed the End Call button.
“So Dale might be innocent,” Gabrielle suggested. But she certainly couldn’t say the same for Houston’s father. Or her brother.
Houston bracketed his hands on his desk and stared up
at the oil painting above the fireplace. It was obviously a three-generation portrait, with Mack in the middle and flanked on the right by Houston and on the left by his own father.
Family.
And apparently Gabrielle and Houston could blame his family for some part in what had happened to her. Still, she didn’t want to believe that Mack or Jay wanted to murder them.
“I was hoping Cordell would be the guilty party,” she mumbled. “Or Salvador Franks.”
“They might still be. But even if one of them is the main perpetrator, my father had a hand in this.” He turned to her. “And I’m truly sorry about that.”
“So am I.” And she was surprised that she meant it. “For better or worse, that’s Lucas’s bloodline,” she said, tipping her head to the painting. “His family,” Gabrielle reluctantly added.
Houston stared at her, squinting a little, as if trying to figure out what she meant by that.
“I’m not just handing him over to you,” she said, to clarify. “But I also know I can’t keep him to myself.”
That hurt more than she’d imagined it would. And she’d imagined the worse. For years, Gabrielle had planned for this child and the life she would have with him. That life didn’t include sharing him with his biological father. But Houston was more than that. He loved Lucas, and even if it were within her power to take him and the Sadlers out of the picture, she couldn’t do it.
She hadn’t even realized she was crying, until she felt the hot tears on her cheeks. Gabrielle quickly swiped them away, but more followed.
Houston went to her and pulled her into his arms. “Shh,” he whispered. “It’s okay.”
For some reason, those simple words and his gesture helped soothe her. Of course, after the day they’d had, her nerves were all over the place, and almost anything that didn’t involve bullets or death threats probably would have soothed her.
She suddenly became aware of the close body contact between them. Specifically, his chest against hers. His thigh pressed hard against her leg. She also became aware of the rhythm of his breathing. His scent. And that face. There was always that face. She could dismiss some things about Houston, but his good looks weren’t one of them.
Gabrielle pulled away. The attraction between them didn’t have boundaries, and Houston and she had too much to do, to go at each other again as if they were teenagers ruled by their hormones.
Houston pulled her right back to him.
He looked down at her and their eyes met. That was it. That was all it took before Gabrielle found herself moving onto her tiptoes so she could kiss him.
So much for trying to fight this.
One touch of his mouth on hers, and she didn’t want to fight it, anyway. Of course, she’d known it would happen. She was mindless when it came to Houston. So Gabrielle didn’t try to stop herself when she wound her hands around his neck and pulled him down to her to make the body contact even closer.
He made a sound of pleasure, a rumble deep in his throat, but there seemed to be a question mark at the end of that sound. That was reasonable. It was sane
to question this, but he didn’t stop, and neither did Gabrielle.
It’s just kisses,
she told herself.
And for a few seconds that was true. They did just kiss; but it didn’t take long for Houston to deepen those kisses. It also didn’t take Gabrielle long before she wanted more. Houston’s mouth had a unique way of taking her mind off the real world by setting her body on fire. And that’s exactly what was happening now.
He moved, turning her, and pressing her against his desk. The new position created some interesting pressure at the juncture of her thighs, and she felt her body getting ready for something it thought it was going to get.
Just kisses,
she mentally repeated.
Her grip tightened on the back of his neck. She could feel the need and the heat building, and each new kiss and touch only fueled that need.
Houston put his hands on her waist, moving her away from the desk and toward the door. She’d known this was coming. He was going to stop, and probably send her back to her room. He would put an end to this. Or not.
He made it across the room, their mouths still fused together, his hands all over her, and he reached behind them and locked the door.
“If you’re going to say no,” he mumbled against her mouth, “say it now.”
She couldn’t say no. She couldn’t say anything. Gabrielle didn’t have enough breath to speak. Besides, she didn’t want this to stop. She wanted it to go exactly where it was already headed.
So she pulled Houston back to her and kissed him.
Houston figured he was a couple of steps past losing his mind, but he no longer cared. His body had jumped to the take-Gabrielle-now mode, and his brain was just going along for the ride.
Later, much later, he figured she would regret this, but he decided to give her something worth the regret.
Something they’d both remember.
With the door locked, Houston maneuvered Gabrielle back across the room and toward the sofa. It wasn’t an ideal place to make love to her, but it would have to do. Neither time nor location was on their side here, and it wouldn’t be long before his phone buzzed or someone came looking for them. Truth was, things were falling apart fast. But the only thing he wanted to think about right now was Gabrielle.
He kissed her—much too hard—and he handled her as if this were a routine quickie between two old lovers who were still starved for each other. Houston reminded himself to slow down, to take it easy with her, but that reminder went south when she pulled his shirt from his jeans and ran her hands over his bare stomach and chest.
Oh, man.
The woman sure knew how to make him burn.
They landed in a tumble on the sofa, with their arms and legs all wound around each other. And with him on top of her. The kissing didn’t stop. Neither did those mind-blowing caresses she was doing to his chest.
Houston did some caressing of his own. He ran his hand along the outside of her right thigh until he reached the zipper of her jeans. He touched her there through the fabric, and he heard her make that sound of pure pleasure as she lifted her hips to make intimate contact.
He was sunk.
The kissing became more frantic. So did the touches. Her sounds of pleasure became ones of demand. It was a demand that Houston was feeling, too, and he knew this wouldn’t last long enough for any real foreplay. If he got the chance to be with her again, he promised himself he’d do better. But for now, he just wanted relief from the heat that was building inside both of them.
Gabrielle fought with his shirt and got it unbuttoned. Thankfully, her top was stretchy, so he just shoved it up and unhooked her bra so that her breasts pressed against his chest. It was a mind-searing sensation, but there wasn’t time to enjoy it, because Gabrielle went for his zipper.
He caught her by the wrist so he could undo her jeans first. She fought and squirmed against him. But Houston didn’t give up. He slid his hand into her jeans. Into her panties. And he touched her the way he’d wanted to touch her since he’d first laid eyes on her.
She was hot, wet and ready, and that sent all kinds of signals to his body and brain to get on with this. Still,
he managed to slide his fingers into that wet heat, and he got to see what his touch was doing to her when he looked into her eyes. The passion was there, glazing through all those shades of brown, and she made that yearning sound again.
It was time.
Houston released her wrist, and Gabrielle didn’t waste a second. She went after his zipper. He went after her jeans. And while it wasn’t pretty, they did manage to get off most of their clothes. Well, the necessary ones anyway.
And he left her for a few painful seconds while he located a condom in his desk drawer. He didn’t want to know how long it’d been there, he only wanted protection and he wanted it fast.
He did rein in some of his passion, though, when he pushed inside her. Houston reminded himself that she’d had a baby only six weeks earlier, but Gabrielle showed no signs of pain. Just the opposite. She wrapped her legs around his and drew him deep into her.
Houston had to take a moment to deal with the blinding pleasure that speared through him, but Gabrielle obviously didn’t want to waste another second. She lifted her hips, forcing the friction and the intimate contact that would bring this to a climax way too soon.
Of course, an hour would have been way too soon for Houston.
Still, he gave into what their bodies were demanding, and he moved with her. Despite the awkwardness of their undressing, they fell into a rhythm that was just what they needed.
It was perfect. Houston moving inside her. Gabrielle
urging him on with those slight adjustments she made with each thrust.
Because he was watching her, Houston knew when she got close to the edge. And he gave her what she needed to push her over.
Gabrielle said his name. Her voice was low and hoarse. Hardly more than a whisper. But it roared through him as if she had shouted it. And it was all Houston needed to fly over that edge with her.
He gathered her into his arms, keeping her close, while they both came back down to earth. Her breaths came fast and heavy. So did his. And he could hear his own heartbeat in his ears. All normal, considering they’d just had sex.
But it didn’t exactly feel normal. It felt better than that. It felt
right.
That caused him to shake his head. What he felt for Gabrielle shouldn’t be this deep and this strong. But it was. Somehow, he’d made the leap from physical attraction to wondering if he should be doing something to make this more permanent.
Except it was too soon for that. Wasn’t it?
Probably. After all, he hadn’t worked out what his intentions were toward her. Yes, he cared. Yes, he had the hots for her. However, he didn’t know how much of that intensity had to do with the fact that she’d given birth to Lucas and how much of it was just because she was a damn attractive woman.
“Don’t overthink this,” Gabrielle said.
Houston looked down at her and realized she was staring up at him.
“It was just sex,” she added.
That clarified things for him. Sort of. It certainly clarified that she wasn’t looking for anything that involved a leap to a permanent relationship.
She cupped his face, kissed him, and then moved in such a way to let him know that she wanted to get up. Houston got off her, and Gabrielle immediately stood. She started to gather up her clothes. What she didn’t do was look at him.
“Don’t overthink this,” she repeated.
He agreed with that, until he saw her stepping into her white lace panties. And Houston wanted her all over again.
Oh, yeah.
He was in trouble, and
under
thinking it wouldn’t help.
Gabrielle used the adjoining bathroom to freshen up and finish dressing, and when she came out, Houston changed places with her and did the same.
“We should, uh, start looking at the surveillance footage,” she reminded him, after he came back into his office.
Houston agreed, and he might have jumped right into if she hadn’t made that “uh” hesitation. He went to her and pulled her into his arms.
“We probably should talk about it.” He brushed a kiss on her forehead.
“It won’t help,” she insisted, pushing away from him. Gabrielle put her hands on her hips and stared at him. “We knew this was going to happen.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “But I don’t think we expected it to be that good.”
He waited, figuring she might try to refute that, but
she huffed and shook her head. “I can’t fall this hard for you, Houston.”
For some dumb reason, that made him smile. “I was thinking the same thing about you.”
That only made her look more annoyed. “This is about Lucas. Mentally, we’re trying to work out how best to handle the situation with him.”
Houston didn’t disagree, though he could have. But for now, maybe it was a good thing that they still had some issues with each other. Some hesitation. Some
uh’s.
If not for those things, he’d be hauling her right back onto that sofa for round two.
Instead, he loaded the surveillance footage and got to work.
Because she still looked tired and hungry, Houston called the kitchen and requested some trays be brought up for Lily Rose, as well as for Gabrielle and him. He also had Gabrielle sit at his desk, and he stood behind her, controlling the speed and the angle of the images with a remote control.
They were only minutes into the task when Houston’s cell buzzed. With all the craziness going on at the ranch, he expected the call to be from the sheriff. It wasn’t. It was from his father.
Great. Just what he didn’t need.
Houston considered not answering, but it was possible that Mack knew something about what was going on. Hell, it was possible that Mack was the
reason
things were happening as they were.
“This better be important,” Houston greeted.
“It is. I just heard about all the trouble that went on at the ranch, what with Jay and all. Are you okay?”
“Fine. But if that’s all you wanted to ask—”
“It’s not,” Mack insisted, before Houston could hang up. But he didn’t explain himself right away. His father hesitated for several seconds. “Look, I know this is probably something you don’t want to hear right now, but I don’t think you should be trusting either Gabrielle or her brother.”
“Funny, Jay said the exact same thing about you.”
“Well, he would, wouldn’t he? He wants to drive a wedge between us, and he’s succeeding. Houston, the man just wants money, and he doesn’t care who he uses to get it.”
Houston didn’t doubt that for a minute. However, he could take objection to something his father had said. “But why do you lump Gabrielle in with Jay as someone I shouldn’t be trusting?”
She glanced back at him, and Houston placed his hand on her shoulder, hoping to reassure her that he wasn’t about to throw her under a bus.
“She’s always stuck up for him,” Mack said.
“Not this time. Gabrielle and I are putting Lucas first. That means she’s not trusting her brother, and I’m not trusting you—until we have proof that neither of you is behind the attempts to kill us.”
“I wouldn’t kill you,” Mack insisted. “Yeah, I’ve made some mistakes, and I’m sorry for them. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Gabrielle getting Lizzy’s embryo. I’m especially sorry that I tried to get the baby from her. But I’m not sorry you have a son.”
Neither was Houston. But being happy about Lucas and forgiving his father were two different things.
“Just watch your back, son,” Mack added. “And after
you learn the truth, I’ll be right here, waiting. Because there’s nothing you can say or do to me that would make me stop loving you.”
Houston didn’t return the sentiment. He hung up and gave his full attention to the images that were scrolling across the computer screen.
“Your father might be right,” Gabrielle mumbled.
Surprised, Houston raised his eyebrows. “About what?”
“My brother.” She swiveled the chair around to face him. “I looked at Jay’s wound when he was here, and it was superficial.”
Houston nodded. He’d noticed the same thing. “You think he could have shot himself?”
She shrugged. “He might have thought it was the only way I’d let him onto the ranch. And he was right. If he’d just showed up, I wouldn’t have let him in. He’s desperate for money, and when he’s this desperate, I think he’s capable of almost anything.”
It was that “almost” part that was giving Houston the most trouble. Jay and Cordell wanted money, and that was a powerful motive for attempted murder. Of course, Salvador Franks had a reputation to salvage. He might even be facing some jail time and would want to cover up the mistakes that had been made at the Cryogen Clinic.
But where did his father fit in?
Houston could perhaps see Mack trying to eliminate Gabrielle, but he couldn’t see his father doing that with Houston in the car with her. Or maybe he was giving his father too much credit.
Was he being blind to Mack’s involvement the very
way he’d originally accused Gabrielle of being blind to Jay’s guilt? Possibly.
Maybe Mack had given up on Houston being the Sadler heir, and had pinned all his hopes on Lucas. It was a long shot. Well, it was, as far as Houston was concerned, but he couldn’t dismiss that his father might have already mapped out a future with his grandson—at Houston’s own expense. With Houston out of the way, Mack wouldn’t have any obstacles in his path to go after Gabrielle.
She moved closer to the laptop screen, her attention nailed to the images there. That caused Houston to do the same. He saw Cordell hiding behind the trees, and he slowed down the speed so he wouldn’t miss anything.
“You must have already been on your way back to the house,” Gabrielle pointed out.
She was right, because Houston saw the ranch hand he’d left to keep an eye and a gun on Cordell. He also saw something else.
Houston adjusted the angle, zooming in on some movement on the left side of the screen. Movement around the area of the fence.
“Someone was there,” Gabrielle mumbled.
Definitely.
Houston tried to get a better picture, but because the person was out of range, his image was blurry. A moment later, the person ducked out of sight. So Houston reversed the feed in order to get a better look.
Gabrielle inched closer to the screen. “I think it’s a man.”
So did he. Houston froze the best frame he could find, and he moved closer, as well. Even though he couldn’t
make out the person’s features, he could see the colors of the clothes he was wearing. Clothes that he immediately recognized.
Hell.
What was
he
doing there?