Page 53 of Enticed
“Shh,” he warned, low enough only I could hear as he gently brushed his thumb back and forth across my lips. I pressed my thighs together as I imagined him rubbing a different appendage over my lips.
“Sorry,” the woman snickered. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.” Neither of us responded, and the couple passed by.
Gabe lingered for a moment after they were gone, holding me in place as he breathed me in. Finally, he pulled back and there was so much yearning in his expression, I considered throwing caution to the wind and asking him to take me right then and there. That thought quickly faded when he stepped away and scrubbed a hand over his face.
“I should probably get Rory home. It’s almost her bedtime,” he said regretfully.
“Yeah,” I mumbled my agreement and pushed off the wall, straightening my clothes. Without his hands on my body and his lips on mine, I could think more clearly. We’d been reckless. Anyone could’ve come upon us out here in the open. Someone who knew my dad or brothers, and if word got back to them, it would be disastrous.“Gigi is probably ready to go too.” He nodded, but made no move to leave. Neither did I.
Closing the distance, he pulled me to him and whispered, “One more,” before crushing his lips to mine. This kiss was desperate. It was urgent and unyielding. He kissed me like I was the air he needed to sustain his very existence, like he was a drowning man and I was his buoy. It felt like coming home. It also felt like it might be our last.
And it was over all too soon.
Gabe pulled back and pressed his lips to my forehead. Then he slipped his hand in mine and led me back to the concert. Despite having been naked in his lap only a week ago, the simpletouch sent tingles up my arm. When we stepped onto the lawn, he squeezed my hand and released it before anyone could see. I swallowed hard, tears welling in my eyes. I hated sneaking around, and I was tired of hiding our feelings from the rest of the world. Something needed to change soon, or I wouldn’t survive loving Gabriel Montgomery.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
GABE
If I thought I was screwed before, now I was well and truly fucked. I couldn’t stay away from Jasmine. My feelings for her had only grown deeper since kissing her and watching her fall apart in my lap. Even though I’d had to look my best friend in the eye days later and pretend I didn’t know what his daughter looked like naked, it hadn’t stopped me from wanting to be with her again.
Then she went and told my daughter she loved her. And I believed it. She’d learned how to knit just so she could make Rory a replica of her beloved chinchilla. My heart had nearly burst from my chest the moment I realized what she had done. That was when I knew this was the real deal. This pressure in my chest was her burrowing her way into my heart.
I’d convinced myself that this desperate yearning was fueled by lust, that I was only drawn to her because she was young and beautiful and so damn vibrant it nearly hurt to look at her. But this went far beyond attraction and sexual desire. IlikedJasmine. I enjoyed her company. I adored her quick wit and sense of humor. I relished her sharp tongue and tenacity. She was a force to be reckoned with. She was unstoppable andfearless. She challenged me and didn’t hesitate to put me in my place. And I fucking loved it.
The problem was nobody would believe that I genuinely cared for her. Everyone would think I was just after one thing. All they would see was a thirty-seven year old man taking advantage of a much younger woman, a woman whose care he’d been entrusted with. A woman he’d known since she was a child and had held a position of authority over. They would think I was a scumbag. They wouldn’t realize I’d tried like hell to keep my distance and maintain firm professional boundaries. They wouldn’t know how I’d agonized over these feelings I tried to ignore, the ones I thought were wrong.
And her family would be our harshest critics.
Their trust in me would be decimated. Her dad would never forgive me. Her mom would turn away in disgust. Her brothers would be arguing over who had to dig the hole for my lifeless body. Except for maybe Nash. He hadn’t seemed fond of the idea of Jasmine and me being together, but was more concerned with someone else finding out. He and Rose might be our only allies should we choose to pursue a relationship.
I desperately wanted to take that leap. I wanted to say, “fuck it” and jump in with both feet. Every stolen moment I’d shared with Jasmine, every clandestine encounter we’d had solidified my need for her. I wanted so badly to show the world that what we had was real.
But at what cost?
Other than Rory, I had no family here since my parents had retired to Florida a few years ago, and my siblings all lived out of state. Elwood and RaeAnne had become like my second family, and getting involved with their daughter felt like the ultimate betrayal of trust. He’d tasked me with keeping her safe, and I’d gone behind his back and kissed her. I’d entertained the idea of entering into a secret, forbidden romance with her. He wouldnever accept or understand that she was the very thing my soul yearned for. He wouldn’t care that we were two consenting adults. All he would see was his best friend defiling his little girl.
And that was the only thing keeping me from diving in headfirst.
Every time I looked at Jasmine, my chest splintered with indecision. It was getting harder to prioritize my friendship with Elwood when my feelings for Jasmine were so strong I could barely breathe when she wasn’t near.
That would make spending the next three days with her nearly unbearable.
This was her last multi-day event for a while, and it would be her biggest one yet. It was another all-in-one competition that featured barrel racing, pole bending, all rodeo events, etc. We had to leave the ranch after completing our morning chores on Thursday to make the nearly nine hour drive to Florida’s Gulf Coast in preparation for her first qualifier on Friday morning.
It was late when we finally arrived at the venue. Jasmine and I were both dog tired, but I wasn’t the one who had to race in the morning, so I took care of settling Juniper into her stall while Jasmine got ready for bed. She needed the rest to perform at peak level tomorrow.
“How’s your sugar? Does your pump have enough insulin?” I asked before sending her off. After what happened last time, I was nervous about her blood sugar levels or running out of supplies. She rolled her eyes, but the corners of her lips twitched.
“They’re all good,” she assured me before turning to drag her exhausted body back to the trailer.
I was securing the latch when I caught the side profile of a man who looked vaguely familiar. When he turned to walk toward me, recognition snapped into place. My jaw cracked as I gritted my teeth together. It was the cowboy who’d been flirting with Jasmine at the last race. He passed by me, offeringa friendly nod and smile. I tipped my head ever so slightly in acknowledgment as jealousy burned in my veins. I didn’t like that he was here. I suspected he and Jasmine had history judging by the familiarity I’d witnessed between them, but he obviously hadn’t wanted to leave it in the past. I’d have to keep my eye on him and make sure he didn’t try anything. I hadn’t been in a fist fight in over a decade, but I’d brush the dust off these knuckles to keep this asshole away from my girl.
My girl.
Damn, I liked the way that sounded, maybe a little too much. Thinking of her that way was going to get me into trouble.
I pushed those thoughts from my mind and headed back to the trailer. Jasmine was already fast asleep, starfished on her stomach atop the duvet. I tried to ignore the soft globes of her round ass that were barely concealed by another pair of those damn sleep shorts. I wanted nothing more than to run my hands up the backs of her thighs and under the hem so I could palm those decadent curves. I’d only gotten a brief feel of them that night at the Honeysuckle Festival, and I wanted more.
