Abel (18 page)

“
I’ve been burned really badly, Sam.” She shook her head, unable to believe she was addressing this so soon with him. “It might be a while before I’m ready to open up my heart,” she paused for a moment, exasperatingly feeling the lump in her throat. “Trust,” she whispered.

His hand caressed her cheek
, and she fought the urge to pull away. Instead she leaned her face against his hand, closing her eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead then lowered his hand, lifting her chin. There was no missing the alarm in his eyes when he saw the tears, but it was only for instant. Then he hugged her, and she let herself fall into his arms, hugging him back. “I get it, okay? And I promise I’ll be patient. When you do feel ready, I’ll do everything in my power to prove to you that you can trust me.”

As good as his strong arms felt around her and as much as she needed that at that moment
, neither his embrace nor his words had anything on how Abel made her feel.

He pulled away
, suddenly glancing around. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“
Nothing,” he frowned, still looking around, but began walking back down the pathway. “Let’s go sit down.”

Her phone was buzzing on the table where she
’d left it next to his. It was her mom again. After reading Logan’s text, she’d completely forgotten that she had a missed call from her mom, and now she was calling again. “I gotta get this.” She turned to Sam, already feeling alarmed. “My mom only calls if it’s urgent.”

“
Go ahead,” he said, looking a bit concerned himself.

“
Mom, what is it?”

“
I don’t want you getting upset, and you don’t need to come down to the emergency room or anything—”

“
Emergency room?” she asked already upset. “What happened?”

Sam
’s hand was instantly on her back when he saw her clutch her chest.

“
Gus shoved a bean up his nose, but he’s gonna be fine. The doctors are working on getting it out. Your father and I tried to at home, and when we couldn’t, we decided to drive down here.”

“
Oh my God, Mom!” A myriad of emotions washed over her. Concern over her nephew was the most prominent, but she couldn’t help feeling irritated that her elderly parents had to deal with this instead of her sister or her worthless ex-husband. She, at least, had to be there to help them deal with some of this. While her mom sounded calm enough, Nellie heard it in her shaky words: she was worried. “What hospital are you guys at?”

“
Nellie, you have to work in the morning. You don’t have to come down here.”

“
What hospital, Mom?” she asked a little more firmly this time.

Sam had already walked away before she
’d even ended the call. As she walked back into the room, she saw him rushing back to her with his keys in hand. “You can tell me about it on the way.”

He sounded so resolute
that she didn’t bother telling him that he didn’t have to take her. Obviously, he’d balk at the suggestion that she could take a cab to save him the trouble. Not only did he take her but he hung around, meeting her parents and Gus in the process and then drove her home when it was all over. She’d already explained when he picked her up why her home wasn’t the same one he’d picked her up and dropped her off at last time. It was easy. She gave him the same reasoning she’d given Roni that night. She’d wanted Roni’s take on her outfit.

It was way past the time she thought she would
’ve been home now, but at least Gus was fine. Sam walked her to her door.

“
Interesting night out,” he said with a smirk.

“
I’m sorry it turned out this way,” she said, turning to him with a wince.

“
Don’t be,” he chuckled. “I got to spend more time with you and even got meeting your parents out of the way.”

The way he said that
as if it were a given—something that was bound to happen—made her feel a little weird. “Thank you so much for everything, Sam.”

His smile went serious suddenly
, and those crystal blue eyes stared at her now as they stood silently staring at each other. Before she could get her thoughts together or even think of a reason to protest, his lips were on hers, and he kissed her softly. She almost let him go on—let him slip his tongue into her mouth—but she couldn’t. The knot was instantly at her throat and she pulled away.

“
I’m sorry,” he whispered quickly. “I said I’d be patient, but I couldn’t help myself. I’ll try harder. I promise.”

She shook her head
, angry with herself. Letting loose? What a joke. She couldn’t even bring herself to let another man’s tongue in her mouth. Who was she kidding when she talked about wanting to free her spirit? “It’s okay,” she insisted. “It’s just that—”

“
Shh,” his finger touched her lips. “You don’t have to explain. I understand. I get it—baby steps.” He took her hand and kissed it. “This is all I get for now, and I can live with that. Whatever it takes.”

He smiled
, making those amazing eyes sparkle. “Thanks for understanding.”

Once inside with Sam out of sight now
, she stood there in the middle of her dark living room. She brought both hands to her face and kept them there for a long time as she took in the day’s events. For as much as she’d talked down how good-looking Sam was, she couldn’t deny it any longer. Sam was
hot,
and she was certain Roni would agree. Her mom had used the word hunk when she’d had a moment alone with her at the hospital and she’d seen the looks from the table full of women at the brunch last week when they’d walked past them. He’d turned a lot of heads that day and even in the emergency room tonight.

Not only was he hot
but he was sweet and was asking her to trust him already. Any other woman would jump at the chance. Yet here she was, once again consumed with thoughts of that other hunk in her life—the unattainable one, for what she needed anyway.

She should be grateful that she had such a
sweet and gorgeous distraction now. Instead, all she could think of was that in less than a week she’d be in a car with Abel for four hours. Even though she said that they’d be keeping it strictly business, she already knew that the minute she saw him she’d melt, and if he even tried to kiss her, all bets would be off.

C
hapter 15

It had been just over a week since Abel had last seen Nellie and his insides were going wild with anticipation. The whole way to her place he
’d driven over the limit. He still hadn’t figured out how he was going to make things work with her, but one thing he was certain of was that he was determined to figure it out. This past week alone had been proof enough that he wanted, no
needed
her in his life. But he damn sure wasn’t sharing her with anybody. So he
had
to figure something out.

He honked at the idiot in front of him driving
way
too slow. The way he was feeling now was further confirmation of how crazy he was about her, because he couldn’t drive fast enough to be near her.

The moment his car was in her driveway and
turned off, he jumped out and rushed to her front door.

“
Come in!” she called out from somewhere inside. “I’m just packing some last-minute things.”

Hastening his step as he walked through her living room and into her bedroom where her voice had come from
, his heart sped up as well. As he came around the corner and into her room, their eyes met and she smiled.
Beautiful
. With three long and quick strides, he was at her side. Fear of rejection or not he went for it.

“
God, I missed you,” he said, slipping his hand behind her neck and kissing her deeply.

The fact that she allowed it
and was even moaning in response then stopping mid-kiss just to say that she missed him too, was all the assurance he needed. This trip wouldn’t be what he’d dreaded. “I wanna make love to you,” he whispered anxiously against her lips before burying his tongue in her mouth again.

He moved the small suitcase she
’d been packing on her bed aside, and immediately Nellie lay back down on the bed. Like a man on a mission, he yanked her shorts and panties right off, pulled her to the edge of the bed, and dropped to his knees. Sucking the inside of her soft thigh until he saw the pleasing hickey that would be there for days, he moved on to what he really wanted to suck. Opening her with two fingers, he went in for his prize. God damn it! He needed to make this his and
only
his.

Instantly
, her back arched, and she moaned loudly as he licked and sucked all her juices. There were plenty. Round and round he moved his tongue rhythmically, loving her body’s reaction to each one of his strokes. She tasted so damn good that he couldn’t get enough.

Every time he though
t she was getting close, he’d slow, not wanting to have to stop yet. It’d been too damn long since he’d had this, and he wanted this to last as long as possible. Her entire body quivered more and more with every stroke of his tongue, and she’d cry out with every suckle until he latched on to that perfect little spot, the one he knew would have her screaming his name in seconds.

Her fingers ran furiously through his hair until he
heard what he now loved hearing. “Abel! Oh my God,
Abel
!” With her body quivering out of control, she continued to cry out in undeniable pleasure until she was begging for him to stop. “
Please,
I can’t take anymore.”

Getting one last taste then kissing her one last time, he looked up at her gasping and still squirming in
delight. He smiled completely satisfied that she couldn’t possibly need another guy in her life.

Abel
wasn’t beyond begging now if she ever spoke of needing to be free to date others. Right then and there, he decided he wouldn’t be bringing it up, but if and when the subject ever arose again, he was going for it.

Nothing
, not his pride nor the fear of her running away, would keep him from telling her that he absolutely refused to share her. She was his now, and he’d just staked his claim on her. One way or another, he’d get her to agree.

***

The drive was far more pleasant than what he’d been dreading all week. For most of it, Nellie had snuggled up next to him. As much as he still wanted to know if she’d seen Sam again, he dared not ruin the mood. The drive was too long for any awkward silences, and that’s what would happen—either that or him blowing up.

She
’d pulled out her tablet earlier to check her emails. She was supposed to meet the director of PR later that evening to go over the 5th Street booth that they’d be setting up in the hotel lobby. Starting tomorrow, the eve of the fight when all the hype really got going, a Los Angeles radio station would be broadcasting from there. They’d be giving away all kinds of free stuff with the 5th Street logo on them. Nellie would be in charge of making sure it all got set up and went smoothly.

He glanced at her
, so glad now that he’d made up his mind. It was still a risk, but one he had no choice but to take.

His earpiece beeped.
Glancing down at his phone, he saw it was Andy. The guy called him nonstop, now that the fight was this close. The media coverage for the fight was nuts now, exactly why Abel hadn’t wanted to fly in. He tapped his earpiece.

“
Hello?” Nellie glanced at him at the sound of his voice, and he pointed to his earpiece.

“
Hey, you almost there?”

“
A little more than halfway.”

“
Listen, today was supposed to be a free day for you. I figured after the drive you’d be in no mood for work. But would you consider having drinks with some of the reps from Fitness magazine?” Andy was speaking quickly. Abel had picked up on this habit from him. Since he was so quick to say no to so many of the things Andy wanted him to do, Andy would speak quickly and get it all out before Abel could reject the idea as he already felt like doing. “It’d be twenty—thirty minutes tops. It’s just a very informal meeting to get a feel of any specific ideas you have for the photo shoot. What date and time of day works best for you—that type of thing. You’d meet them in a VIP lounge. No paparazzi allowed. So you wouldn’t have to worry about dealing with any of that.” Andy cleared his voice then laughed. “They get that you’re, um, I don’t wanna say difficult but that you’re not exactly thrilled about being in the spotlight, so they just wanna make sure you’re taken care of—happy.”

Happy
was exactly how Abel was feeling right about then. He glanced back at Nellie, who was still very much engrossed in whatever it was she was reading on her tablet. “What time are you meeting with Reynolds tonight?”

“
Six,” she said without even looking up.

“
How long do you think you’ll be?”

Now she looked up at him.
“He said about an hour, but you’ve talked to him, right? He goes on and on and
on
. So it could be a little longer.”

“
Is that all you have going on tonight?”

He
’d meant business-wise, but the look she gave him was a strange one. She couldn’t possibly have social plans, could she? She looked away too quickly, making his insides turn, and he swallowed hard. “I’m not sure yet. My friend is supposed to text me when he gets into town.”

“
Lemme call you back, Andy.” Abel hung up on Andy before he could even respond. “What friend?” he asked in the most demanding voice he’d used on Nellie to date. This pissed him
off
.

“
Sam,” she said, staring at her tablet in a voice so low that he barely heard her, but he did and he was instantly lit up.

He jerked the car off the exit they were about to pass so fast
that Nellie gasped.

“
Sam?
He’s
coming to Vegas to meet with you
this
weekend? Are you kidding me?” Pulling the car off the road, he turned off the ignition and glared at her now startled eyes. “Are you seeing him the way you see me?”

His demanding
question was as enraging as it was terrifying. Did he really want to know? Was this something he wanted to be thinking about just before the fight? But there was no turning back now. She was nuts if she thought he’d stand back idly, knowing she was on a date with Sam. He’d hunt them down and the media could finally have what they wanted out of
Aweless Ayala.
It’d be the scene of all scenes—the brawl before the main event.

“
I’ve seen him twice since I met him, and, no, I’m not sleeping with him if that’s what you’re asking, but would it matter?”

Her question wasn
’t an angry one or resentful that he was being demanding like he’d been expecting. It sounded hopeful, but there was a trace of something else.

“
Of course it matters,” he said, taking down his lethal tone a notch, and took her hand in his. Only then did he realize how his own hand practically shook with tension. “I can’t do this anymore, Nell. I know you’re not looking for a serious relationship, but I can’t fucking stand the thought of you with someone else.”

Her eyes went wide
, and he saw of hint of a smile then it flattened. “But you and Rachel, the girl from—”

“
It’s all bullshit. I swear to you.” With the hope of her not telling him off yet, he decided to be completely honest. Thanks to Noah she already knew anyway. “She works at the gym, and, yeah, I’ve gone out with her in the past, but since I’ve been seeing you, there’s been no one else.
No one,
Nellie. I’m crazy about you, and I don’t want to be with anyone else.” He couldn’t stress it enough. “I want you and
only
you, but I need this to go both ways. I won’t push for anything too serious if you’re not ready for that, but I do need to know that you’re not seeing anyone else.”

She stared
at him, her eyes still unsure. “The photos of you and her the morning you left my house . . . You two kissed.”

He fucking knew it!
“
She
kissed
me,
and it wasn’t even on the lips. It was close but not quite, only the angle they got made it look as if we did.” Now he spoke as quickly as Andy did in the hopes of her not cutting him off before he could finish. “She was just happy about being one of the 5th Street hopefuls being featured in a big fitness magazine that I’ll be doing a layout for soon. But I swear to you
none
of what the tabloids are saying is true.” He squeezed the steering wheel, knowing there’d been no mistake about what he’d seen the night Sam dropped her off at Noah’s. Now she was telling him she’d gone out with him again and the guy was flying out to Vegas to see her? “You and Sam? I saw you kiss him.” He cleared his throat, afraid to ask, but he had to know. “You said you haven’t slept with him, but have you done more than that kiss I saw?”

Th
e one was seared in his fucking brain now. He stared at her wide eyes as she shook her head. “No.”

“
You’re not still seeing him tonight or this whole weekend, right?” he asked, and once again like when he’d told her he needed her in Vegas with him, the desperation in his own voice surprised him. “Nellie, you’ll kill me. I’ll go nuts, knowing you’re with him.”

To his surprise
, her face scrunched up and she began to cry. He had several reactions that he was expecting from her. This was
not
one of them. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

He leaned in
, bringing her to him, and she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck, speaking through her tears against the side of his head. “You have no idea what I’ve been going through these last several weeks, fearing the end was near. Hearing about you and Rachel and then seeing those photos nearly killed
me
. After the night and morning we’d had, I thought I felt something different. I thought I felt it in San Francisco.” She pulled away and looked at him. Even with her face all red and her makeup smeared, she was still beautiful. “And then those photos . . .” She shook her head again, staring into his eyes. “It’s the only reason why I went to that brunch with Sam in the first place.”

His gut had been right all along. If only he
’d had the balls to act on his instincts sooner. “Is he really flying out here just to meet with you?”

The jealousy consumed him. Even though she was telling
him she hadn’t slept with Sam, obviously they’d done a lot more kissing than what he’d witnessed. The guy wouldn’t be coming all the way down here just to hold her hand. Although the way Abel felt now he’d go to the ends of the earth just to see her now. Sam was probably as taken by Nellie as Abel was. Who could blame him? It still didn’t help the burning he was feeling now as he waited for her to answer.

“
No, he said it’s part work and part pleasure,” she said, wiping the corners of her eyes now.

Part p
leasure?
Yeah,
Abel bet. “But you’ll cancel any plans you had with him, right?”

She nodded and something tugged at the corner of her lips. He also saw a glint of what might be excitement in her eyes.
“Good,” he said before kissing her softly, and then he pushed her down on the seat, thankful for the bench seats that his classic car provided. “You’re
mine,
Nellie. And now that we’ve confirmed this, because we have, right?” He needed to be clear on this. He wasn’t leaving anything to be misinterpreted. She nodded, chewing on her lower lip with a smile, her eyes still twinkling with unshed tears. It was all his tortured heart needed. He didn’t care how busy his life was. Come hell or high water, he’d make time for Nellie no matter what. With a groan, he dove in, kissing her passionately. “But it’s not official until . . .” He started pulling her shorts down.