Page 70 of Gonzo's Grudge
When I pulled up, his bike was out front, gleaming in the afternoon sun like it was waiting for me. My chest tightened at the sight. I cut the engine, sat for a moment, and drew in a shaky breath.
Then I got out.
The cabin door opened before I reached it. He stood there, broad and solid, cut slung over his shoulders like it’s part of him because it was, eyes locked on me like he’d been expecting me all along.
“IvaLeigh,” he said, low and rough, like gravel dragged over steel.
“Gabriel,” I answered, my voice steadier than I felt.
He stepped back, letting me in. The cabin smelled like leather, smoke, and him. It felt smaller than it had the first time I was here, maybe because my heart was taking up so much space in my chest.
I turned to face him, words tumbling out before I could second-guess them. “If this is going to work, it has to be real. No agenda. No secrets. And I don’t share.”
His brows lifted, the faintest smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You don’t share, huh?”
I folded my arms, chin high. “Not with Shay, not with anyone. If I’m in this, it’s you and me. That’s it.”
He stepped closer, heat rolling off him, eyes dark. “What about our ages? My son is older than you.”
I met his gaze without flinching. “Well, you keep up better than any man my age. So I don’t see a problem.”
His smirk widened, slow and dangerous. “You sure about that?”
“As long as this works, I want it to work,” I said, voice fierce. “And when it doesn’t work for either of us anymore, then we walk away. But we do it honestly and completely.”
The smirk faded. His eyes burned into me, intense, unflinching. “I’ll never walk away.”
My breath caught.
He stepped so close I had to tilt my head back to hold his gaze. His voice dropped, steady as a vow. “I’ll give you my world, but you gotta know—it’s for life.”
I swallowed hard, heart hammering. Everything with him was so intense. But nothing in life ever felt right until he came into my world. Then I nodded. “For life.”
For a beat, silence stretched between us, heavy with the weight of the promise we’d just made.
Then he scooped me up like I weighed nothing, his mouth crashing onto mine, kissing me senseless.
The world fell away. The lies, the pain, the distance—all of it burned to ash in that kiss. All that remained was the fire between us, fierce and consuming, a fire I didn’t want to escape.
And for the first time, I didn’t feel crazy for wanting him. I just felt alive.
Chapter 22
Gonzo
I tasted forever on her mouth and knew I couldn’t outrun it. I didn’t want to.
We were still standing in the middle of my cabin, breathless, the door half shut on the rest of the world. She’d laid it out clean—no agenda, no secrets, no sharing—and I’d said the truest thing I’ve said in years: I’ll never walk away. I’ll give you my world. It’s for life.
For life.
I’d thrown around lifetime words at different points in my life. I’d carved them into wood at graves that weren’t supposed to be made yet. But I’d never said it to a woman and felt the floor hold under the weight.
She pulled back a fraction, cheeks flushed, eyes lighting bright. “You mean it.”
“I don’t do pretty lies,” I told her. It came out rough.
“Good,” she whispered, like she’d been waiting to hear a thing that might still break us both.
