Page 27 of For Always
“I don’t think so, but I also don’t want to think about that right now. I’d rather spend some time with you.”
“I can’t,” Gabriella replied instantly. “I have to get the proposal and budget over to Clyde, then I need to make contact with my account manager at Proctor to let her know what we’re doing here. And I should meet with Naomi to go over all the specifics of the project.”
He was rubbing his thumbs over the back of her hands, a very distracting action that had her warming in places she should not be warming in, while standing in this office with him.
“Are you saying that because you just watched me slug someone? Or are you running from me again?”
Damn, she so wanted to run. Long, hard and fast! But that wasn’t in her nature.
“I’m saying that because even though you could probably toss me on this table and have your way with me at this very moment, I do still have a job to do.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Why were his eyes so alluring? And why did looking into them at this close range, make her want to wrap her arms around him and hold him close?
“You’re right,” he said finally. “I’ve got some things to take care of too. But I want to go riding with you. In the morning is the best time, riding along the land as the sun’s coming up.”
“That sounds really nice,” she admitted.
“Then it’s a date.”
A date?
“We’re going riding, Gabriella. That’s all. So you don’t have to look like I just stole your cat,” he said with a chuckle.
“I wasn’t looking like anything.” At least she prayed she wasn’t.
He shook his head. “It’s cool. I told you I want to get to know you better. I’m also very attracted to you. But I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do. So in that regard, I’ll wait until you come to me and you’re ready.”
Gabriella didn’t see herself ever doing that.
“For now, I’ll let you get back to work,” he told her and then kissed her quickly on the lips before leaving the room.
Gabriella fell back into the chair again, closing her eyes and wondering what the hell she was doing. Here in this place? And with this man?
Chapter 8
Gabriella had been taking pictures of the rooms on the upper level of the house, getting measurements and letting her ideas settle before she started purchasing materials. And she really intended to walk right past that open door and head down the steps, but her feet wouldn’t move. Not after she saw him, legs spread while he lay back on the weight bench, muscled arms moving up and down as his hands gripped the bar holding the weights.
It was crazy because she’d seen men workout before. She belonged to a gym and used to work out religiously before… Anyway, she was no stranger to the sight of a sweaty male body. But this one was different. He was shirtless and when he finally placed the bar back onto the bar catchers and sat up, she had to suck in a breath. His bare chest looked so much better in person than it had in the pictures online. The ones she’d looked at too many times to be considered normal. He spotted her and smiled.
She was wet. In that instant moisture coated her lips and seeped into her panties. Her breasts felt full, heavy and ready for whatever Tyler wanted to do with them. With a shake of her head she walked towards him.
“Looking for something?” he asked.
His voice was so deep, but smooth as it rubbed along her already sensitive skin.
“I was taking pictures.” Gabriella realized how silly that sounded, but was unable to take the words back.
“Then please, continue,” he said and stood from the bench.
Gabriella took a step back, lifted the camera and pointed it at him.
He was a model, so striking the perfect pose was nothing new to him. To Gabriella, snapping a picture of every angle of his perfect body was like taking another seductive step closer to him.
He stood with his arms straight down by his sides, fingers clenched into fists. She took the picture of his abs so flawlessly molded. He turned to the side and she pointed the camera downward, snapping a shot of his calves beneath the loose fitting shorts that fell to his kneecaps. Strength. She pressed the shutter button on the camera once more, and could only think of that one word. Every part of his body depicted a level of strength that he so easily displayed. When he turned so that his back was facing her she took another picture of his shoulders, the muscles in his back, and his taut ass. By that time her hands were trembling, her fingers aching to touch.
“I’m waiting on you,” he said.
Just a he’d told her on each occasion they’d been together in the last few days.
Gabriella paused because she wasn’t ready. She couldn’t be. This wasn’t for her.Hewasn’t for her. Hadn’t she continued to tell herself that in the almost two weeks that she’d been in Hobbs Creek? She wasn’t looking for a romantic connection, or even just a sexual hook-up. She’d sworn off both since January and had no intention of backsliding.
