Page 8 of Kiss Me

“Ugh,” Gabi sniffed and then popped another chip in her mouth, chewing quietly.

“What? Did the meat go bad?” I smelled my sandwich, but it seemed fine.

“No, you make a great sandwich. I smellstrongly,” she emphasized the word as if it was dirty. “Of chlorine. It never occurred to me that I wouldn’t be able to take a shower.”

Fuck! Now that she’d mentioned it, there was a light chlorine smell in the air.

“Sorry. Did I not tell you that you can take a shower? The water should be hot, but the room will be pretty dark. I have a gas water heater, and the power outage doesn’t affect it. With any luck, we’ll have power by morning.”

“Then it won’t happen,” she mumbled against her sandwich.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because I have shit luck.” She frowned, swiped another chip, and tossed it into her mouth.

“Do you want to tell me about it?” I asked, curious.

“Not really.” She sighed and looked off into the dark.

I wanted to know more about her and didn’t at the same time. The more I learned, the more drawn I’d be to her.

“Still, I shouldn’t complain. All you’ve done is help me. I should be more grateful.” She smiled around the sandwich wickedly. “Why didn’t you get into the hot tub with me?”

“Earlier, what were you going to say about my voice?” I countered.

Shaking her head, Gabi ran her fingers through her still damp hair. “You first.”

Clearing my throat, I tried not to grimace. I didn’t want to tell her, but if I refused, she wouldn’t open up to me. “Fair enough. It was the right thing to do. I was trying to be a gentleman.”

“Was it really? Wouldn’t the gentlemanly response be to join your guest when said guest asked you to join her?”

Eyebrows raised, I asked, “Really? Said guest?” Her only response was to smile and nod. “Fine, because if I had gotten into that water with you knowing you were naked, I would have taken advantage of you. I wouldn’t have been able to hold myself back.”

I could swear even in the dim light, I could see her face flush, which was surprising. I’d only known Gabi for a few hours, but she seemed like the type of person who would never be shy about anything. Bold and brash were more her style.

“Your turn.” I pushed her but gave her a wink to lighten the mood. If she saw, I wasn’t sure.

“Okay.” She shook her head, smiling. “Wow. You were definitely honest.” Clearing her voice, she answered resolutely. “I was going to say that with your voice alone, you could get any woman you wanted.”

“So, you like my voice? First time I’ve heard that.” Warmth spread through my chest.

She shrugged. “It’s the hottest thing I’ve ever heard.”

I sat back in my seat to hide in the shadows. It didn’t help to know that she liked my voice, no matter how it made me feel. How was I going to be able to stay away from her?

To put an end to the night before I did something I was sure I’d regret, I stood and started to clean up. “You’ve had a long day, and I’m sure you’re tired.”

“Yeah,” she stammered. She was probably taken off guard at my sudden change of subject. “Do you need help with anything?”

“I got it. Do you need me to show you to the bathroom or your room?”

Gabi tilted her head to the side and watched me intently for a moment before answering hesitantly. “I can find it. Goodnight, Jax.”

“Night.”

Maybe it was good that she thought I was an asshole. Then she’d stay away from me, and I wouldn’t be tempted.

6

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