Page 39 of Dare to Surrender (NY Dares 1)
I blinked. “Gabe, I can feed myself.”
“Humor me,” he said in a gruff voice. “I called Lucy, and she’s going to be here soon, at which point, she’ll keep you occupied for who knows how long.” He dangled the juicy-looking melon from his fingers.
I smiled and ate the cantaloupe, making sure to nip at his fingers as I did. “Watch yourself or you’ll end up skipping breakfast,” he said on a growl.
I grinned. “Promises, promises.”
He shook his head and held up another piece. The meal continued in comfortable silence, odd considering a man was feeding me and I’d had more sex in the last twelve hours than in my entire life.
“Tell me about your family,” Gabe said, taking me completely off guard.
“What? Why?” I never spoke about them. I didn’t see the point, and if nothing else, it was embarrassing to explain how unwanted I’d always been.
“What exactly do you think I want from you, Isabelle? If it was just sex, I could get that anywhere,” he said, a touch of hurt sounding beneath the
gruff words.
I glanced down. “I don’t know.”
He blew out an obviously frustrated breath. “I want to know you better. So talk to me. You had no one to turn to when you left Daltry. I want to know why.”
I pulled up the walls that had kept me protected for most of my life and spoke in a detached voice. I liked to pretend my past belonged to someone else. It didn’t hurt as much that way. “I was a mistake. My parents didn’t want me, so I don’t have a relationship with them. What time is Lucy coming to get me?” I asked, attempting to pull off his lap.
He wasn’t letting me go. “I’m sorry. That’s an awful thing to know.”
“Yes, it is. But at least I know what to expect from people. I mean them,” I amended, not wanting him to realize how deep some hurts ran.
He stroked my hair, probably in an effort to get me to relax against him again, but he’d destroyed the moment.
“I’m assuming that when Daltry turned on the charm, you believed you’d found the one thing you were missing. Someone who cared. Who loved you.”
A painful lump rose in my throat. “I don’t want to talk about this.”
“I do,” he said in that compelling voice. “Because I also have a feeling this is exactly why you don’t believe I have your best interests at heart. Because nobody before me ever has.”
Real tears threatened, then fell, splashing on his golden chest. “Damn you,” I muttered. “Do you want to talk, Gabe? Do you want to tell me who she was?” I looked up, wanting to see his expression.
“She who?” His voice sounded cold, and I shivered.
What a joke, I thought. Exactly as I’d thought, he pushed me to open up but was unwilling to do the same. “You know who. The last stray you took in.”
I remembered his brother’s words in the police station. They’d stayed with me and helped me find the courage to leave. I didn’t want to be anyone’s pet project. Someone he could keep and feed and feel sorry for.
“She has nothing to do with us.”
“Oh, but my past, my parents, do?” I pushed hard against his chest, and this time he let me go. I started for the sliding door to the penthouse.
“Isabelle, come back here.” His tone said he expected me to obey.
“I told you I do what I want. And if you can’t share in return, it doesn’t matter what you want from this relationship,” I informed him. “It’s over.” I stormed inside only to see the elevator doors open and Lucy step out.
“Good morning,” I muttered and headed directly for the master bedroom. I took a fast shower, then dressed in a bathing suit and cover up, with a pair of flip-flops that looked as expensive as they were.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, I thought. I shouldn’t have spent the money. I knew it had belonged to Gabe. I shouldn’t even have come here.
Without looking at the terrace, where I heard Lucy and Gabe’s raised voices, I hit the elevator button. If the man couldn’t open up about himself, how did I expect to have a relationship with him, never mind maintain my independence? What I wanted from Gabe was … what?
The doors opened. I stepped into the open elevator and turned in time to meet Gabe’s shuttered gaze before the closing doors cut off contact. I headed for the privacy of the beach. I wanted to be alone. Later, I would have to find someone who could direct me to Joely and a way to get off this island.
