Page 17 of The Grumpy Roommate Gamble

But I found I didn’t mind. Not one bit. Because the truth was, I didn’t want to leave. I enjoyed living with someone again. I’d been mostly on my own since my dad died. It was nice coming home to another person at the end of the day. Nice knowing there was someone else down the hall when I woke in the middle of the night. But I particularly liked living with Gabe. Though he wouldn’t admit it on pain of death, the man was secretly sweet, and coaxing those rare smiles out of him was becoming one of my favorite hobbies.

“It’s fine. I’d rather it be done right. And look at it this way—you get more of my cooking.”

“I definitely won’t complain about that.” As if to underscore the point, he forked up a huge bite of potatoes.

I did love seeing the man enjoy my food.

At the sound of hissing above, I glanced up to see some of the candles sputtering.

“What the?—”

But before I could even finish the question, I felt the patter of rain.

“Oh, no!” I hadn’t checked the forecast. And it was dark, so I hadn’t been watching the sky.

Within seconds, the patter had turned into a deluge.

I tried to lunge for the food, but Gabe simply grabbed my hand. “Too late. C’mon.”

He pulled me into a run across the yard and onto the deck.By the time he tugged open the back door, and we stumbled inside, we were both soaked to the skin. I looked out to where the candles had been extinguished. I could barely even make out the shape of containers and dishes on the table.

My lip wobbled. “Everything got ruined.”

“Not ruined.” Gabe tugged me back out the door, into the rain.

“What are you—” But he’d pulled me into his arms and… into a dance.

Music still played from the speakers. “Unforgettable.”

It was so unabashedly romantic and unexpected that the question died in my throat. His big, tough body swayed against mine, his hand warm on my lower back as he circled me on the deck. I didn’t even notice the chill of the rain. My heart leapt into a gallop, and I couldn’t stop myself from looking at his mouth. He looked at mine, and this time IknewI wasn’t imagining it. There was no reason for him to do this for just a roommate. Just a friend. This meant… something. But what?

As the song came to an end, he rasped my name.

I didn’t know which of us moved first, but suddenly his lips were on mine, and I didn’t give a good damn about the ruined food because this fed a far deeper hunger. On a sigh, I opened for him, delighting in the dark delicious taste of him as it seeped into me. His arms tightened around me, molding my curves to the hard planes of his body. I pressed closer, wanting more of this sweet heat. Everywhere we touched, little fires kindled, and I wondered that the water didn’t simply steam off us both.

Thunder rumbled, and Gabe pulled back. He stared down at me, expression unreadable. When he simply stayed there, saying nothing, my anxiety began to build.

Instead of giving in, I blew out an unsteady breath and held his gaze. “Don’t you dare apologize for that.”

Both corners of that incredible mouth curved in one of those hard-won smiles. “Wasn’t planning on it.” He bent just far enough to rub his nose to mine in the sweetest little Eskimo kiss. “Let’s go order some takeout to go with dessert.”

ELEVEN

GABE

When I’d bought my sofa, I’d had only two requirements: that it be leather and big enough for me to stretch out and nap. The unintended side effect of that decision was a couch that turned out to be big enough for two—as long as I kept my arm hooked around Felicity’s waist to anchor her to me so she didn’t topple off backward. Considering that meant all her luscious curves were pressed up against me, I decided it was the smartest decision I’d ever made. Even if my dick had been straining behind my fly for the better part of the last two hours.

What a difference a day made.

I hadn’t planned to act on this attraction. I’d fully intended to stick to the roommates-only policy. But she’d looked so disappointed at the idea that the night had been ruined that I hadn’t been able to resist pulling her back out into the rain to make a different, better memory. She’d already had too much disappointment in her life. And then she’d blinked up at me, raindrops clinging to those mile-long lashes, her pretty lips all rosy and curved in a smile that said she was charmed, and I simply hadn’t been able to help myself. The moment my lips had touched hers, I was fucking lost. Every good and noble intentionwashed away in a tide of need for this woman and all her sweetness.

If she’d backed off or hesitated at all, I liked to think I’d have been able to let her go. But she hadn’t backed off, hadn’t made excuses. And she’d stopped me from making any either. We’d ordered takeout and started with dessert first, which had led to more making out on this very sofa. Because according to some karmic balance sheet somewhere, I’d done something good in my life and was being richly rewarded.

Thank fuck.

We’d effectively spent the whole weekend here, talking and laughing, kissing and cuddling. I’d had no idea how much I’d love cuddling with her. Not only because it meant I got to put my hands on the delicious flare of her hips and those thick thighs and that perfect ass, but because she sated a need for simple human contact I hadn’t even known I had. I’d been alone for a long time. I preferred it that way. But she’d twined herself into my life so throughly, I was having a hard time imagining what it would look like when things went back to normal. Thanks to the state of her house, that wouldn’t be especially soon, and I intended to enjoy the ride, however far it went, however long it lasted.

Felicity pillowed her head on my arm, her hands pressed to my chest, thumbs stroking the cotton of my T-shirt in an absent but incredibly arousing way as she spoke in low tones. “I don’t have a lot of memories of my mom. The ones I do have are hazy and happy. Playing in the dirt with her, planting flowers. Drinking tea in the kitchen. She left when I was about seven.”

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