Dangerous Flames (Mafia Hearts) (17 page)

He
strolled into the kitchen, coming to a stop just inside the door
where he rested a hip against the edge of the counter.

Clanging
pots and pans mixed with her reply of, “Nope.”

“
Well,
I need your help,” he said, keeping his face serious in case
she looked back at him while she moved around the kitchen, opening
cupboards.

She
tossed a glance over her shoulder. “With what?” she
asked, returning her attention to moving some plastic containers
aside, looked at the rear of the space before moving the dishes back.
She moved to the next one.

“
Entertaining
me. Honestly, I’m bored. I’d like some conversation.”

She
stiffened her spine, saying, “But I don’t feel like
talking.” She pulled the block of cheese, milk, and butter from
the fridge, placing them on the counter.

“
That’s
okay. I’ll do the talking and you won’t have to say a
word.” He’d already decided not to return to the Mafia
lifestyle, with or without Gabi, so he might as well share with her.
He failed at pulling his attention from the gentle curves of her
hips, the roundness of her ass as she bent down to grab pasta from
the pantry, and the two long, shapely legs she’d been blessed
with.

Keeping
her back to him, she filled a pot with water and put it on the boil?
“What do you want to talk about?” She started on the task
of preparing ham and placing the meat in the oven.

“
About
your dad and his business. I’d like you to have some answers.
Maybe the information will help you make some important decisions.”
He’d always fantasized about cooking with her, stealing kisses
between tasks, and here he stood in the kitchen with her except he
couldn’t touch her. Prohibited from pulling her long hair
behind her shoulders and kissing the curve of her neck. Focus, he
thought as he shifted his eyes to the kitchen window.

“
We
don’t need to talk about that.”

“
Yes
we do. As you know, I work for your father.”

She
squared her shoulders. “Mm hm.”

“
I
work for him, but I’m not part of the crime family. What I do
isn’t good by any stretch of the imagination, but it could be
worse.”

She
turned to face him, crossing her arms over her chest. “And what
does that mean?”

“
It
means I can walk away from them any time I choose.” He tried
ignoring the smell of ham wafting through the kitchen, the way her
dark brown eyes drew him in, and the small hint of a smile peeking at
the corners of Gabi’s mouth.

“
That
doesn’t make sense.” She turned back to her cooking,
dumping pasta into the colander, sending steam in a plume of smoke in
front of her.

“
Although
it wouldn’t be safe for me to stay in Vegas in case anyone has
linked me to the Family, but your father will let me leave.”

She
took the ham out of the oven and replaced the meat with some dinner
rolls. “You appeared to be part of that Family. I guess I was
mistaken. What else am I wrong about?” She sighed, relaxing her
shoulders as if the confession pushed the weighted situation from her
muscles.

Should
he lie to her? He couldn’t. Not now. “Probably a lot.”

Trying
to reach around him to grab something on the counter, she let the
side of her rest against his chest. Finally having physical contact
with her, he didn’t want to move. “Excuse me,” she
said softly, sending him sliding over an inch anyway.

She
stood on her toes to reach the dinnerware. Jumping to action, he
said, “Here, let me.” Sandwiching her between his body
and the counter, he breathed in the scent of her hair.

“
Uh,
Mik?”

“
Yes?”
His hands were on the plates but didn’t move them. Just stood
against her, caught under her spell.

“
You’re
squishing me.”

Catching
himself in a daze, he grabbed the plates, and said, “Oh sorry.”
After gathering the silverware, he set the dining room table. Each
time she came into the dining room, he looked up from his task to
meet her gaze.

“
I
wish we had a radio or TV. Something for sound,” she said,
slipping into her chair. “But we don’t so I guess you get
your wish fulfilled tonight.”

He
stopped dishing up the macaroni and cheese, his hand frozen in
mid-air. “Uh, what?”

With
flushed cheeks, she said, “To talk. We get to chat over
dinner.”

“
Mm
hm. We haven’t done much of that, huh?” He offered a
crooked smile and continued serving the dinner. Taking a moment to
stare down at his plate, his chest tightening. She’d made
dinner for him. A simple gesture that meant so much to him.

He
hadn’t had a relationship in quite a while, but this little
stuff reminded him of when he did and made his chest feel tight with
affection. His need for Gabrielle went beyond physical and wanted to
experience all of relationship stuff with her.

“
We
haven’t. What has been going on with you while I’ve been
away?” She sliced a piece of ham and plopped the meat into her
mouth without breaking the connection her eyes made with his.

He
shrugged in response. “Just working mostly.” No, damn it,
he silently chastised himself. Bringing up his employment meant
granting her the option to ask questions about his career. The one
thing he did not want. “This is a really nice cabin.”

She
took a moment to take another bite. “It really is. I wish I
would’ve found out about this place some other way. The cabin
would make a fantastic vacation destination.”

He
slid his free hand through his hair. A vacation. Here. With her. What
could be better? He couldn’t think of a single thing that he’d
want more than the fantasy she’d just planted in his thoughts.

She
scooped the last bit of pasta onto her fork, leaned forward, and said
asked, “What are you thinking? A dreamy look just came over
you.” Her words yanked him right back to reality.

He
shook his head. “Nothing.”

She
let out a giggle. “Come on. Tell me.”

He
nodded, letting her gaze drink him even more. How did Gabi have the
power to pull him in a trance? Fine. She wanted to know? He’d
tell her. “A vacation sounds really nice. I was just thinking
about what we’d do if we were here for any other reason.”

She
glanced at the darkness that had just fallen beyond the window pane.
“This time of year? Or would you prefer summer?”

Any
time of year with her. “This is fine.” He dropped his
hand in his lap and then moved it to the table, tempted to touch hers
resting on the table top only inches from him. “I’d like
a campfire. Roast some marshmallows.” And feed them to her.

Her
beautiful smile emerged. “That sounds great. I’ve only
had campfires at the beach, never in the mountains.”

“
They’re
great. Sitting under the stars with the glow of the fire.” He
slid his hand closer to hers. “Nobody out there but us.”

“
Yes?”
The single word came out barely above a whisper, the sensuality of
her voice took his breath away.

“
You
know, Gabi. We don’t need to be on an official vacation to do
that.” He let his fingertips brush against hers. “Do you
want to have a campfire before we leave here?”

She
pulled her hand away. “I, uh…” Pushing away from
the table, she stood. “I need to take a shower.”

She
rushed to the bedroom and shut the door behind her, leaving him
alone. He didn’t even want to try to figure out why she’d
just run from him.

“
I’m
done for,” he mumbled. When the water rattled the pipes along
the cabin wall, he carried the dirty dishes into the kitchen. “They
might as well lock me up in the mental ward after this. Or I can tell
Enrico that I love his daughter so he’ll shoot me.”

He
quickly washed the dishes before returning to the living room. He
threw another log onto the fire. She needed to hurry in there to give
him a chance to continue with the conversation, but the water ran in
the bathroom, sending whooshing sounds underneath the length of the
cabin. He glanced at the bedroom door, yearning to be the one washing
her right now.

The
lights flickered. Mik shifted his gaze up at the chandelier hanging
over the table. A moment later an inky blackness drenched the room.
Gabi screamed from the bathroom, sending him jumping up from the
table. As he pushed the door open, she dove onto the bed, yanking the
comforter over her head. The water in the shower continued to pound
against the tile.

“
Are
you okay?” he asked.

“
No,”
came her muffled response.

“
There’s
a generator in back. Hopefully it has enough fuel, so we’ll be
fine until the electric comes back on. Will you back okay in here for
a few minutes while I check it out?”

“
Yes,”
she answered, sending him out into the cold night. He checked the
generator’s fuel tank to get an idea of how long they could
expect to have the large machine to power the cabin—guestimating
by the level of gas that they’d have enough to get through the
night. After pushing the power button, he waited long enough to
listen for the motor to purr to life before returning to the cabin.
Electricity greeted him.

“
We
have enough for awhile. Tomorrow I’ll have to figure something
out,” he said to Gabi, who sat on the bed with a shy smile.

“
At
least we are taken care of for tonight.”

The
lights flickered twice and then everything went black.

He
grabbed some candles he had found while rummaging through the kitchen
earlier. Two were lit and carried back into the bedroom. After
placing one on the bedside table, he carried the other with him into
the bathroom.

The
steam was a deep fog in the small space and enhanced the scent of her
shower gel. Her wet clothes were in a pile on the floor, her brush
with a few strands of her dark hair sat on the counter. A toothbrush
lay on the other side of the porcelain sink. Unlike the bathroom at
his own home, the room looked lived in; the way it should be. He
reached into the shower and twisted the knob.

A
muffled sob came from the bedroom. He needed to check on her, to make
sure she was okay. Maybe she had fallen or something. That could’ve
been easy to do in the dark and a good reason to scream. Or was she
scared?

The
mattress sagged underneath his weight as he sat on the side of the
bed. She faced the opposite direction, giving him the opportunity to
rub her back through the thick quilt. She slowly began to relax
underneath his touch and the sobs started to subside.

“
Gabi?”
he asked. “Are you okay?”

“
Mm
hm.” She slowly straightened her body out from the ball she had
been curled up in. “A little better now.”

He
kept his voice low. “The generator has a bad motor, but I
brought a candle in here for you.”

Her
fingers first became appeared as they wrapped around the very top of
the blanket. She slowly pulled it down until the top of her head
became visible. A mass of wet dark hair contrasted against the white
pillow. Next was her dark brown eyes opened wide with fright. She
pulled the blanket down until her bare shoulders were showing.

It
hit him then that she was naked underneath the blanket. One blanket
served as a barrier between him and the full strength of her nudity.
One small flip of the cloth would reveal everything he’d always
wanted to see. The tension growing in his pants forced him to shift
away from her even though he wanted to get closer. “Do you need
to get dressed?”

“
Yes,”
she said, her voice soft, her gaze not wavering from his face as if
the dark changed the situation between them.

He
glanced down at her flushed cheeks. “I’ll just…
uh… step out then.” After a nod from her, he got up from
the bed, and walked to the bedroom door.

“
Mik?”

He
stopped with his palm on the bedroom door. “Yes?” He
tossed a glance back in her direction.

“
Can
you leave the door open, please?”

“
Of
course.” He had never in his life seen her look as fragile as
she did at that minute. He wanted to make everything better but still
had no idea what had spooked her so bad. Maybe she had found
something? They were in a Mafia owned cabin, making it hard to tell
what exactly could be hidden. First thing in the morning he planned
on searching the place for sure so there wouldn’t be any more
surprises.