Page 28 of Forbidden Passions

I turned and looked at her.

Her hair was messy. Her eyes were sleepy, but she looked at me like I was something worth saving. And that scared me more than anything else. I picked her up and carried her back to the bed. My bed. She looked up at me, then opened her arms. “Make a new memory, Gabriel. With me.”

A smile edged its way onto my mouth. Then, I stripped away our clothes, pressing her legs open with my thighs. “I don’t know if I can be gentle.”

She threaded her fingers through my hair. “Don’t you know? You can be any way you want with me.”

I didn’t answer, just took her mouth, hard and demanding, how I thought I needed to. How I thought I wanted to. But I was wrong.

About a lot of things. Wrong about needing the solitude. About the lone wolf persona I’d wrapped around myself.

Wrong, about needing her.

CHAPTER NINE

Callie

I wasn’t sure if Gabriel had slept after that nightmare.

I woke to find the space beside me empty. The air in the cabin held a chill, but not the kind that came from open windows or rainy weather. It was the kind that lingered after something heavy had been said—or left unsaid.

I heard the low murmur of Gabriel’s voice as he spoke to Max and the sound of the front door opening and closing.

My whole body ached in that warm, lazy way that came after being thoroughly, well, taken. Taken by my silent, wounded mountain warrior. I stretched under the blankets and smiled to myself, letting the memory of last night settle over me like a second skin.

I found one of his flannel shirts and put it on, holding the edge to my nose, inhaling his scent as I left the bedroom. I could smell the coffee he’d made, but I needed to see him more than anything this morning. I stepped out onto the porch to find him leaning against the railing with Max at his feet.

My two guys.

If only, I thought, pushing back the tears that threatened to form. I knew what today was. The day before… the ending.

Gabriel turned, his gaze sweeping over me in that way that made my heart stutter.

“Morning,” he said gruffly. It was music to my ears, and I grinned even though he stood on the porch, staring out into the distance like he was still trying to outrun the shadows in his head. I had hoped to replace them, but I knew only he could bring in the light.

“Morning,” I echoed. I knew he wasn’t ready to talk about what haunted him. He’d shared more with me last night than I’d expected—more than I thought he meant to. That, in itself, was a kind of trust.

Still, I hated the way he looked right now—like he was back there in that desert, not standing a few feet from a woman who wanted to wrap herself around every one of his wounds and kiss them whole.

We stood side by side in silence. I breathed in the clean air, the fresh scent of the earth after the rain. After the rain. I felt a stab of pain in my heart. I knew what that meant. My time with Gabriel was coming to an end swiftly.

“I want to check the creek,” he said after a few quiet minutes. “Make sure the road held out.”

I tried not to wince at the idea of leaving. “Can I come?”

He glanced at me. “You want to hike muddy trails?”

“Maybe I want to see it with you. Besides, I have boots.”

One dark eyebrow rose. “Those things you wore were not boots. You’re lucky I didn’t throw them out for a bear to play with.”

I stuck my tongue out. “They came highly recommended.”

He snorted. “For a walk in the park maybe. Lone Mountain is not a fucking park.”

Max let out a sharp bark in agreement.

“They will do quite nicely.”

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