Looking down into her pale blue eyes, he held his breath unknowingly as he waited for her to speak. Her breath hitched, similar to the way his had, and he leaned in closer, unable to stop himself. He craved this woman’s kiss like a drug. For weeks, he’d thought about kissing her, holding her, burying himself deep inside of her body and begging for something more, something he hadn’t been able to give her because he’d been so eaten up with guilt.

Although he had given in to the desire that pulsed around them, he still felt the guilt, but he didn’t want to pull away this time. He found himself craving more of her kisses, wanting to taste her again, breathe in the scent of lavender and vanilla that he found himself dreaming about. No matter what had happened between them, or how much he had fucked up, neither one of them could deny the attraction. It was even more potent now than it had been when he first met her.

Kylie’s soft hand pressed against his chest, and Gage expected her to push him away, but she didn’t. She just touched him, the warmth of her fingers seeping in through the cotton of his shirt. If only his clothes weren’t in the way.

“Kylie,” Gage whispered as he slid his hand beneath her hair, cupping her head and letting the fine, silky strands slip between his fingers.

“Don’t do this.” Kylie’s words came out tortured, and Gage’s heart constricted. “Please don’t do this.”

Gage heard the words, and he knew he should stop, but he just wanted to taste her again. “Do what?” Not that he needed her to tell him. He knew that the best thing for her would be for him to walk away and not look back, but he couldn’t. It wasn’t the best thing for him, and he knew it.

There was something drawing him to her, and Gage didn’t want to walk away. He wanted to right his wrong, and the only way he could do that was to prove to her that he could be trusted.

He was being incredibly selfish, but he couldn’t convince himself to walk away.

“You’ve already hurt me once,” she whispered, his mouth hovering inches from hers. “And I can’t resist you. I’ve tried. I really have. But I deserve better, Gage. I deserve so much better.”

Gage’s chest pounded with the rhythm of his heart. He wasn’t holding his breath any longer because it had all been stolen right out of his chest. She was right. She deserved so much better. So why couldn’t he just walk away? Why couldn’t he give her the space she deserved?

Without thinking, Gage continued to lean in closer, using one hand to tilt her chin up so her eyes met his. Even through the sheen of tears in her eyes, he still recognized the longing. The same thing that pulled him to her was reflecting back, and for the life of him, he couldn’t resist. He wanted to convince her.

He just wanted one more chance.

When she licked her lips, he lost what little control he’d brought with him. He was as gentle as he could possibly be considering his body was aflame with something distinctly foreign to him. Lust was a familiar emotion that he had a fond relationship with, but this was something more than that. Sure, when her lips touched his, his entire body stood up and took notice. His muscles tightened, the hair on his scalp tingled strangely, and his stomach did that odd clenching thing that it had done the first time she kissed him. The same as it had when Travis...

No, he wasn’t going there. He wanted to be here with her. Kylie. Only her. There was no room in his life for even the consideration of what Travis was trying to tempt him with. Gage didn’t have it in him to let Travis string him along for however long it appeased him. Unlike Travis, Gage would end up getting hurt. He wasn’t nearly as emotionally adrift as Travis, and quite frankly, he wanted something more. Something everlasting.

Gage forced himself to pay attention to the sweet, soft mouth pressed against his, the firm, curvy body now moving closer as Kylie gave in to him as much as he was giving in to her. This was inevitable. Ever since their first kiss, he’d known there was something more with this woman.

Gage tilted her head back slightly, changing the angle of the kiss, delving into her mouth until she was damn near climbing him again. He was doing everything he could not to push her up against the nearest wall and reach for the slick warmth he knew he would find between her legs.

“Kylie,” he breathed against her mouth, his tongue licking her lower lip, his fingers still threaded through her silken hair. “I can’t stop this.” He didn’t want to stop it, although he knew he should, but he’d proven how weak she made him once before, and it was quickly happening again.

“I need you to go,” she said, sounding sad. There wasn’t a trace of anger in her voice and Gage was somewhat surprised, but the tone also tore his heart apart.

She was stronger than he was, and if he cared for her the way he was convinced he did, Gage knew it was best if he walked away.

He nodded his head, knowing she was right. He needed to go. Unfortunately, he didn’t think she was just asking him to leave for the night. Kylie was telling him to leave and never come back. He wanted to beg her to change her mind. Beg her to take the job because he’d never find anyone who would be able to do as good of a job as she would do. It was his grandmother’s house and he cherished it, but that was just an excuse; an excuse to keep her in his life for just a little while so he could prove to her that he wasn’t an asshole that went around hurting people.

It wouldn’t matter, he knew. She wasn’t going to listen and quite frankly, it was his own fucking fault.

Without another word, Gage grabbed his hat from the floor where it had fallen earlier and walked back out the way he had originally come in. He didn’t look back because he wasn’t sure he would be able to keep going if he did.

And the last thing he wanted was for Kylie to see that his heart was breaking, the way his chest heaved as he swallowed the painful lump in his throat was proof.

Chapter Nine

♂♀


Two months later… June

“Fucking hell, Travis. Shit! I told you, he’ll be back today. That’s what Gage said when I talked to him this morning,” Kaleb exclaimed, clearly frustrated.

Well, it was gratifying to know he was back to his old self, getting his brothers riled up with minimal effort. Yes, he was enjoying the hell out of it at the moment too. Travis had perfected the art of being a royal pain in the fucking ass, but in his defense, they expected it from him.

He was just trying to be consistent.

Hell, Kaleb should be praising him as it was. Sitting in the small construction office of Walker Demolition with his brother, Travis had managed to bottle the question for the last hour. Never mind that it was the second time he’d asked since Kaleb walked in the door.

Ok, so yes, he was being a dick. Getting Kaleb pissed off by pestering him about Gage’s whereabouts was too easy. And a little amusing. Which only helped to take Travis’ mind off of some of his questions. Like why no one had heard anything from Gage. Not since the man passed out at the club, sleeping off a bender on the couch in Travis’ rented apartment.

Since he walked out the door after Gage began to stir in the early morning hours, Travis hadn’t seen or heard from him. Not that he expected to because he was pretty sure Gage didn’t remember a thing. And he was almost certain he didn’t realize it was Travis’ apartment he was passed out in. It wasn’t like Travis had any personal items there that would give him away. He liked his anonymity, and since the apartment was little more than a recreation room when he was in town, he didn’t feel the need to clutter it up with personal shit.

Despite Kaleb’s steadfast denial, Travis was pretty sure he kept in touch with Gage regularly. Ever since the mishap at Kaleb’s when Gage showed up with Travis’ wife in tow, Kaleb was keeping his distance from Gage, but he knew he wasn’t shunning him entirely. Not that Travis had shared any information with his brother, but loyalty was loyalty. As it should be.

Over the course of two months, Travis had managed to retain some of his sanity. After the first time he drove by Kylie’s house on a stakeout mission to see whether Gage was there or not, he hadn’t been back. Of course, his stupid ass still wanted to go see how she was doing, but somehow he’d manage to argue himself out of that epic mistake waiting to happen.

Finding Gage at her house would’ve been the worst thing that could’ve happened, but much to his surprise, he had found no evidence to support Gage was staying with her. He’d been a happy mother fucker after that little revelation.

Didn’t mean he wasn’t interested in going back, but Travis had focused on getting his life back to normal. There was no sense in throwing any additional chaos into Kylie’s perfect life. Gage had seemed to handle that splendidly, and Travis saw where that got him.

Missing. That’s where.

Not that Travis expected her to embrace Gage with open arms, but if he knew anything at all, it was how painfully difficult it was to let a woman like Kylie slip out of his hands. He didn’t think Gage was immune to her sweet charm either, even if he’d pulled the most dumbass move anyone could possibly come up with.

Travis had gone rounds with his own conscience ever since, wondering whether Kylie would even give Gage the time of day after that incident. Surely not, but then again, Travis had never expected her to waltz back into his world one day and blow his resolve clear to hell and back.

Now that he knew exactly where she lived, it had been even more difficult to refrain from going to see her. She was a temptation he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to walk away from the second time, and Kylie Prescott deserved so much better than him. And that was the only valid reason he was keeping his distance.