Heartsong (Singing to the Heart Book 2) (16 page)

Gabe couldn’t help it. She was too damned cute. He kissed her soundly, and she opened under his questing tongue, running her hands through his hair and over his shoulders. Although he’d pulled out of her, his desire flared, and he wanted her all over again.

He broke the kiss and gazed at her. She stared back at him with an emotion he couldn’t guess at. Desire mixed with something old, like the way she’d once looked upon him with love shining in the blue depths of her eyes.

Despite his best intentions, he’d lost his heart to her again weeks ago. He could admit that to himself now, and with that admission a new resolve bloomed.

Micki had once loved him. What happened to cause her to break their engagement the last time, he didn’t know; however, unlike when he’d drowned the hurt with his dreams, booze, and the arms of another woman, this time he intended to fight for her.

The gravity of his decision hit him hard. Was he seriously thinking of making this marriage work?

She jerked him out of his thoughts when she moved against him. The last time had burned hot and wild; this time he wanted to make love to her. He kissed down along her neck to nibble at her pulse, beating strong and fast under soft, jasmine-scented skin. She tasted salty and sweet, as intoxicating as any alcoholic drink.

Farther down, he teased and explored her breasts with fingers, lips, and tongue. First one, then the other, bringing moans and mewls from her.

As he moved down to her flat tummy, she fisted her hands in his hair. She shifted to allow him access to her long leg to caress the smooth skin up to the moist, hot place at the apex.

“Gabe!” She arched to meet his fingers as he slid them against her folds and curls. Her breaths came hard and fast as he stroked her and suckled on her hard nipples.

He watched as ecstasy washed over her face and she quaked under him. Leaning over her, gently bringing her down from her high, he whispered, “You are the most beautiful woman.”

She opened her eyes, fuzzy from pleasure, and touched his face. “Don’t say things like that.”

He sensed her withdrawal and refused to let her retreat. She was afraid. Of what, he didn’t know--maybe of love? He was determined to show her she could fight that fear and together they’d defeat it. Smiling, he caressed her cheek. “I’ll say whatever I want, when it’s the truth.”

Kissing her, coaxing her to a feverish pitch again, he entered her. Unlike the first time, he rocked slowly into her, letting them both build to an explosion of bliss.

He turned, pulling her on top, and held her. As their breathing slowed, he stroked her back for a long time. Neither of them spoke. He was afraid of breaking whatever spell they were under.

Michaela was the first to move. She shifted off him to sit next to him on the edge of the hay bales. “I need to go inside to make sure Mrs. Hernandez has everything ready for Momma for while we’re away.”

She found her clothes and started getting dressed.

He sighed and sat up, then reached for his own clothes. The magic moment was over. “Okay.”

As she stepped onto the ladder, she looked back at him. “Just so you know. I’m not sure we should do this again. Sex. I mean. I don’t want something to happen.”

Her words stabbed his heart as hard as if she’d used a pitchfork. What was she so afraid of happening? “Yeah,” he said, despite his question, and swallowed the lump in his throat. “You’re probably right.”

As Michaela hurried down the ladder, he prayed he hadn’t made the biggest mistake of his life by making love to his wife.

Micki avoided Gabe until they had to leave for the airport. The events in the barn still rattled her. She’d needed the hot, wild sex the first time to release the pent-up desire and frustration. Their second coming together had been anything but raw and stirred too many emotions. Gabe’s gaze and the gentle way he’d touched her had reminded her of when they’d first fallen in love.

The unthinkable had happened; she wanted this marriage to be real. Was she being foolish for entertaining such an idea? She believed Gabe had loved her before, but he’d abandoned her as soon as he was given a chance at Nashville.

“We’ll be at the airport in fifteen minutes,” Gabe said from her side.

Nodding, she watched the traffic zip by on the highway from the backseat. Jake, one of the cowboys hired on at the ranch, was driving the BMW to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.

Gabe shifted on the seat beside her. “I hope we can avoid the paparazzi, but I wouldn’t bet on it.”

She looked at his profile. He was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeve T-shirt with a guitar logo on it. His unruly dark hair curled around his ears as he scribbled on a tablet. He scrunched up his face in concentration, reminding her of Jesse when he tried to figure out a math problem.

She was kidding herself. They were only in this for Jesse and to think otherwise would turn out disastrous to her heart.

As Jake parked the car next to the curb to drop them off, Micki spotted two men near the door with professional cameras, watching the parking cars.

She jumped when Gabe took her hand and squeezed it. “Looks like word got out that we were headed for our honeymoon.”

Jake looked over his shoulder from the driver’s seat. “You want me to drop you off somewhere else, boss?”

“No, this is good.” He held Micki’s gaze. “You ready?”

No!
“Yeah.” She reached for the door, but he grabbed her hand.

Shaking his head, he let go and shoved his notebook into a leather bag. “Let me play the part of a gentleman, okay?”

She ignored him and opened the door. Grunting something that sounded like “Figures she wouldn’t listen,” he got out of the car and came around to her side. He challenged her with his smile and with the twinkle in his dark eyes as he held out his hand. Taking a deep breath, she put her hand in his and savored the buzz she got when he touched her.

Cliff, another ranch hand who rode shotgun, retrieved their bags from the trunk. Jake pulled away from the curb and headed for the parking lot where Cliff would meet him later for the three-hour trip back to Bluebonnet Creek.

As the taillights of the dark gray luxury sedan disappeared into the traffic, she wished she could go home with them.

Gabe wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her against his side. She wanted to move away, but his hot breath on her cheek stopped her.

“Smile. Like it or not, we’ll be on the cover of every tabloid out there, so get your lovey-dovey on.” His low, deep voice flowed through her ear like water, flooding her senses with memories from this morning in the barn.

She forced a smile. “Freakin’ wonderful. I should’ve bargained for hazard pay when I agreed to marry you.”

“Get used to it, Mrs. McKenna.” He grinned and kissed her full on the lips, just as the paparazzi flashed their cameras. She shivered, not sure what frightened her more: the heat of his kiss as he pressed her into him, the husky way he said her name, or the thought of such an intimate act being splashed in the tabloids.

* * * *

The first-class flight to Nashville was uneventful, but Micki came off the airplane feeling like she’d been bounced around the entire hour and forty minutes. She’d never flown in first class before nor with a celebrity. Sure, she was known in the rodeo world, but even that notoriety was small compared to what she experienced as Gabe’s wife.

The flight attendants, after several moments of being starstruck by him, had catered to him--and by extension to her, which she found surprising. She’d been given a fluffy pillow before she asked for one. The women brought her snacks, and although alcohol flowed freely, they brought her a diet Coke when she’d asked, then continued to keep them coming. She’d been treated like a queen, and that she’d enjoyed the attention scared her as much as the gentle way Gabe had touched her. For a long time into the flight, he’d held her hand. Then, as they disembarked their plane, he rested his hand on her back.

She was in a daze as Gabe guided her through the airport. A tall, redheaded woman waved and rushed toward them. She was dressed in a stylish jade pantsuit and carried an iPad and a large designer handbag. As Micki stood by forcing a smile, Gabe greeted the woman with a quick hug, sending an unexpected jolt of jealousy surging through Micki.

The woman smiled and moved forward. Before Micki knew what happened, she was wrapped up in a hug.

“Glad someone finally married this guy,” she said and stepped back. Micki’s shock must have shown on her expression because the lady blushed and shook her head, sending red curls bouncing on her shoulders. “Sorry, I was so thrilled to hear about Gabe’s wedding. Maybe it will keep him out of trouble...” She glanced sideways at Gabe. “Making my job easier.”

Gabe folded his arm around Micki’s shoulder and chuckled. “Michaela, I’d like you to meet my assistant, Trish Russell.”

She recognized the name from their rushed invitations and smiled. Trish was married to the son of Gabe’s manager. “Nice to meet you, Trish. I don’t envy you. Keeping him out of trouble must be a fulltime job all in itself.”

“Hey!” Gabe narrowed his eyes at her but couldn’t mask his amusement. “Don’t worry, Trish is well paid for what she does.”

Laughing, Trish motioned for them to start moving. People were noticing them and staring. “That’s debatable.”

“How’s little Bella feeling?” Gabe took Micki’s hand as they walked toward the baggage claim. For her benefit, he added, “Bella is Trish’s two-year-old holy terror she calls a daughter. She’s the reason she couldn’t come to the wedding.”

Trish beamed. “She’s feeling better. Thanks for asking.” She looked at Micki. “I’m truly sorry I couldn’t come, but Bella is almost never sick and this is the first time she’s had strep throat. I just couldn’t leave her here with my mother while I went to Texas.”

“Of course not. We understand.” Micki didn’t know this woman, but she already liked her. “You were exactly where you should’ve been.”

Besides, the wedding wasn’t real anyway.

The sting to her heart at the reminder hurt more than it should have.

Forty minutes later, Trish turned the luxury SUV through a wrought iron gate that looked like it should have belonged to a plantation on a wide tree-lined street. Micki had heard of gated communities, but she’d never seen one, except on TV. Although night had fallen, street lights lit up enough of the Georgian mansions peeping though hedgerows and behind other gates for her to get a feeling of wealth beyond what she was accustomed to. The only mansion she’d ever seen that could compare was her father’s rambling monstrosity.

Trish turned down another street bordering a lake. Silver light reflected off the ripples in a peaceful ballet. Across the water, lights lit up a large classical pillared building. The huge fountain in front glowed in an array of changing colorful lights dancing through the spray. By the faint moonlight and the overflow of street light, she got an impression of rolling knolls and trees beyond the expensive vehicles parked in neat rows behind the building.

“This place is beautiful. I can’t imagine what it looks like in the light of day.” Micki swallowed and rubbed her palms on her jeans.

Gabe leaned toward her as if to look out her window. “That’s the country club and golf course behind it. I like to watch the sun come up over the green.

Dear God, Gabe lived
here
?

On the other side of the street, the homes were a little less grand, but no less impressive as the mansions they’d passed.

Although keeping with the southern plantation theme with frontal columns, the modern design of the insides spilled out of the glowing large glass windows.

Trish slowed the car and pulled into the drive of the fifth house on the street.

* * * *

Gabe exhaled a breath he’d been holding in as Trish parked her SUV in the driveway. He didn’t see any prying eyes of tabloid scum anywhere in sight. One more benefit of paying the price for a gated community.

He glanced at Michaela and fought to keep the snicker off his face. With her very kissable lips shaped in an O, she stared out the window at his two-story home as if she’d never seen a house before. As she let out a low whistle, she turned wide glowing eyes to him. “Trying to compensate for your deficiencies much?”

He opened the door and chuckled. “You know better.”

“I know nothing. Except this place is freaking huge.” She pushed on her door and climbed out.

“You two sound like an old married couple.” Laughing, Trish stepped up beside Michaela and put her arm around her waist. “This place is big, but it’s not excessive.” She led Michaela toward the front door. “My sister-in-law manages a rock star who has a freaking bowling alley and an Olympic-sized pool
inside
his house. He also has twenty-five bedrooms and lives alone. Now, that’s excessive.”

Trish opened the door and headed in to turn on the lights. As if unsure she wanted to enter his house, Michaela hesitated a moment. When she glanced over her shoulder at him, he smiled.

She flicked her gaze over the darkened street behind him, then entered. Her sharp intake of air as she paused in the entry caused him to shake his head and chuckle. “Michaela, for Christ’s sake, stop that already.”

He sat their bags on the polished marble tile of the foyer, and she snapped narrowed eyes at him.

“I’m rich. Get over it.” Anger flashed in her gaze, and he couldn’t help himself. He caught her around the waist and pulled her to him. As her eyes grew wide with surprise, he captured her lips in a kiss meant to let her know he wasn’t going to let her get much sleep that night, despite whatever craziness he’d agreed to this morning in the barn. She fought him at first; then she fisted her fingers into his shirt. The low moan escaping her had him responding to her, and he held her closer.

Trish’s throat clearing reminded him they weren’t alone. “Hey, lovebirds, what do you say we discuss your schedule for the week, and then I’ll get out of here?”

When he pulled away, he couldn’t get enough air in his lungs and her scent filled every bit of breath he did manage. Michaela’s dilated pupils were unfocused and full of the same desire he’d seen in the barn this morning.