BULLETPROOF BRIDE (19 page)

A light caress brushed across the small of her back. She turned. Gabe was directly behind her. Brows lowered, his worried gaze searched her face. "Are you okay?" he murmured.

No. Her dreams lay in shattered pieces at her feet. She clung to a thin edge of control, barely holding back the emotional storm. Not trusting her voice, she nodded.

"I'll get the '
Vette
. Hang in there." Gabe disappeared around the corner of the church.

Tessa waited on the front steps with Mel. With a last apologetic glance, Dale strode toward his car.

Blinking rapidly, Tessa bit the inside of her lip and tasted blood. She yearned for a real family. But under the circumstances, her marriage would have been as hollow and unsatisfying as her relationship with Vivienne and Jules. She wanted a deep, emotional commitment, a true soul mate.

Even though her aching heart now knew Dale wouldn't have been that soul mate, hurt and loneliness twisted like a knife in her chest as she watched him walk away.

Chapter 11

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G
abe's knuckles whitened on the steering wheel as he followed Melody's dilapidated red Volkswagen. He'd broken the rules big time by directing Melody to the house and letting Tessa ride with her. But a girl needed her best friend at a time like this. He wouldn't be any help. He
couldn't
be any help. He didn't know how to give Tessa the comfort she needed. And for both their sakes, he had to keep his distance.

When they arrived, he deliberately avoided looking at her. He could still see her standing on the church steps, pale and trembling, her spine straight,
her
chin high. Another up-close and personal glance at her brave misery and he'd be a goner. "I'll leave you two alone." He fled to his room. Cold wind rattled the windows, but failed to drown out soft sobs from the kitchen. Oh, no, not tears. Gabe rubbed his breastbone, trying to banish the piercing ache.
Damn it!
He had the awful suspicion Tessa's tears could bring him to his knees.

Torn between the desire to go to her and self-preservation, he shoved a CD in the player and jammed on headphones. Kicking off his shoes, he flopped down on the bed. She didn't deserve a guy like him. No way was he sticking around. Letting her depend on him, and then taking off was cruel. She'd become involved with one wrong man, and Gabe was witnessing the consequences. He refused to be the next man to break her heart. He knew far too well how much damage abandonment caused.

When the CD finished, he had another ready. Four CDs later, he tugged the headphones off his ringing ears. Thick silence surrounded him. He tiptoed to the threshold, easing the door open a crack. The house was dark.

He hadn't had any dinner and he was starving. Without turning on the light, he cat-footed to the kitchen. He'd memorized the floor plan the first night and could navigate blindfolded. Opening the fridge, he grabbed an apple. As he swung the door shut, an empty carton of chocolate-chip ice cream and a bottle of chocolate syrup on the counter caught his eye. Melody must have made an emergency run. He shook his head. What was the deal with chicks and chocolate?

He started to return to his room, and stopped short. Out in the dark, Tessa stood gazing into the backyard, huddled against the deck rail. She wasn't wearing a coat. Her arms were wrapped around herself, and she was shaking. She must be cold, or still upset, or both. His throat constricted.

It wasn't his concern.

He hurried to the living room to peek out the drapes. Melody's car was gone.

Not his problem.

Fists clenched, he marched down the hallway to his room.

None of his business at all.

He stripped, and then tugged on a pair of black sweat shorts. Normally, he slept in the raw, but since Tessa had moved in, he'd started wearing sweat shorts. If she needed him, he didn't want to get caught swinging in the breeze.

After a quick trip to brush his teeth, he climbed under the covers and squeezed his eyes shut, determined to forget about Tessie and go to sleep if it killed him.

In living Technicolor, the image of her alone on the deck, shivering and forlorn, projected on his closed eyelids. Even though common sense said she'd probably stopped crying hours ago, her soft sobs echoed in his ears. He spat out a curse and snapped on the lamp to rifle through his CDs. Something mellow to help him relax. His hand stopped on a Righteous Brothers CD. Man, he hadn't listened to that one for ages. He wrenched up the volume to ten. Snapping off the light, he flopped back into bed and shut his eyes again.

He lasted through the first song.

Two minutes and fifteen seconds.

You're heading for big-time heartbreak, Bubba
. In spite of the warning screaming through him, he flung off the covers and climbed out of bed. His bare feet sank into the thick carpet, silencing his steps. His throat tight, he stood with his hand gripping the patio door, wrestling with himself.
You might as well stick your head in the garbage disposal, you chump. It'll hurt less in the long run.
Heaving a resigned sigh, he slid open the door.

The frigid night air snatched the breath from his lungs, and his toes curled on the cold wooden boards as he walked toward Tessa's shaking body. She was still huddled in the same spot. "Tessie?" He rested his hands on her shoulders. Her icy, quivering skin chilled his palms through the soft silk.

She flinched and went rigid. "G-go away," she whispered through chattering teeth.

Gabe burned with the desire to rip out Dale's eyeballs and feed them to him. He battled down his anger. She didn't need that right now. "It's cold. Come inside."

"L-leave me a-alone. I h-have a lot of
th
-thinking to do."

Ignoring her feeble resistance, he turned her around and pulled her into his embrace. "You're hurting." And he was hurting right along with her. Somewhere along the line, his objectivity had been blasted all to hell.

Not good.

Her icy, shaking hands shoved against his bare shoulders. "I don't n-need your p-pity."

"How about comfort. Compassion." He stroked her cool, silky curls. "Friendship?"

She made a soft, vulnerable sound that punched him right in the gut. Her arms slid around his waist, and she rested her cold cheek on his chest.

He drew her trembling body closer. "You're freezing. How long have you been out here?"

"D-don't know." She barely stammered the words. "A-after M-Mel left."

Fear grabbed him by the throat. She was borderline hypothermic. He had to get her warm, in a hurry. "What are you trying to do, turn yourself into a human Popsicle?" He scooped her up, ignoring her startled squeak as he strode across the deck. He stepped down into the bubbling hot tub.

Her arms constricted in a stranglehold around his neck. "
Wh
-what
are
y-you doing?"

"Warming you up." He settled her on the bench, shoulder deep, and sat beside her. She continued to cling to him.

"Does the deep water scare you?"

Her face flushed in the moonlight and she jerked away. "No." Sighing, she slid down until her chin touched the fizzing water. Thick steam drifted upward, cradling them in an intimate cocoon of white vapor.

Relieved to see color return to her pale face, he smiled. "Better now?"

"Much."

"You'd be a lot more comfortable with your dress off."

She jerked upright. "My new dress! And my shoes!"

"Sorry. I'll replace them. I had to get you warm in a hurry. You should get out of those wet clothes. You'll warm up faster."

"I don't think so."

"Why not? You've got skivvies on. Your underwear is as good as a bathing suit." He shifted to the bench opposite her. "I can't see you in the dark, and I'll sit way over here."

"Well … these soggy clothes
are
uncomfortable." She nibbled her lower lip. "I … guess."

He fixed his gaze on the diamond arch of stars in the black velvet sky and tried to turn his mind away from Tessa splashing and wriggling out of her clothes across from him. He heard drops of water rain down, her shoes thud, and then a slap of wet fabric. The Righteous Brothers serenaded them through his bedroom window.
You've Lost That
Lovin
'
Feelin
'
. Not quite. The exact opposite in fact. He'd wanted her to feel comfortable and relaxed, but he was paying with his peace of mind. Why, oh, why did he suddenly think this was a very bad idea?

"
Mmm
. This
is
nice."

Against his better judgment, he lowered his gaze. Her luminous eyes shone in the moonlight, a lingering edge of pain darkening the amber depths. His equilibrium shattered. He sucked in a breath of cold, crystal-clear air tinged with pungent wood smoke, desperately trying to relocate his center of gravity. Crickets chirped from the shadows, mocking his feeble attempt.

She swirled her arms through the bubbling water. "I feel weightless, like I could float."

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, letting the tingling warmth caress his skin and loosen his taut muscles. He'd always been more at peace in the water than anywhere else. "Zero gravity. I've always loved this feeling. You should try scuba diving in the
Caribbean
, where you can see the tropical fish and coral clear as day. Incredible."

He relaxed, letting his arms float. "Unchained Melody" began to play in the background. Drifting on the surface, he breathed in the tranquility.

Tessa's soft whisper broke into the silence. "Kiss me."

He sank like a rock. Hot water closed over his head and surged up his nose. He jerked upright, spitting water. "What?" he choked.

"You said you wouldn't kiss me again until I asked you to. I'm asking."

His stomach clenched. He wanted to. Too much.
Which was why he couldn't.
He shook his head. "I don't think—"

"Please." Her voice trembled. "Please, Gabe."

Her soft plea arrowed into his chest and wound around his heart. She was seeking reassurance after the debacle at her wedding rehearsal. Understandable. He could put his own feelings aside and give her that much, couldn't he? What felt like forever, in reality only took two steps to close the distance between them. He stopped inches from her.

She reached up and touched his face, her fingertips tracing the droplets of moisture trailing down his cheek.

In slow motion, his hands glided through the water and grasped her shoulders, warm and silky beneath his palms. "Are you sure?"

She melted into his embrace, sliding her arms around his neck. He breathed in her tantalizing vanilla scent, and his pulse hammered erratically. She raised her face. He gazed into the soft, golden pools of her eyes. Open trust glimmered in the wide depths, sweet and welcoming. An invitation he couldn't refuse if his life depended on it.

Gabe groaned. He was toast. Completely fried.

He lowered his mouth to hers, brushing her lips in a gentle, feather-soft kiss. A quiet sigh whispered out between her lips. Their breaths mingled as she leaned into the kiss, opening to him. He glided his tongue inside, savoring the taste of rich chocolate and sweet Tessie.

All traces of shy, uncertain Tessa disappeared. She met him thrust for thrust, exploring his mouth with a boldness that made him gasp for breath. She glided her fingertips over his cheek and along his jaw, down his neck. His fragile control splintered. He plunged his fingers into her hair, pulling her closer, deepening the kiss. Her heartbeat thundered against his chest, her nipples teasing him through the thin wet bra.

His pulse roaring in his ears, he slid his hands under the water to cup her breasts, rotating his palms in slow circles over the slick fabric. She shivered and moaned into his mouth. Her hot, water-slicked body pressed against him and she began to tremble.

He drew back to nibble her earlobes. Licking water droplets off her soft skin, he kissed a sweet path down her neck. He grasped her waist and lifted her upper body out of the bubbles. Her pebbled nipples beckoned through the transparent satin bra. Bending down, he drew one into his mouth and suckled her through the wet fabric.

Her back
arched,
her breathing fast and ragged. Her fingers dug into his shoulders. "Make love to me."

His mind's eye saw him strip off the tiny scraps of wet satin, slide into her welcoming warmth and take her hard and fast against the wall. Then an attack of conscience slapped him upside the head, squelching his passion as effectively as a bucket of ice cubes. What the hell was he doing? He gritted his teeth, sucked in a sharp, chilly breath of air and gently eased away.

She stared up at him, bewilderment clouding her expression.

"Honey, we can't do this."

"Don't you want to?" She sounded dazed.

"Yeah, I do."
Damn,
Colton
, you mucked that up
. He'd wanted to comfort her, and had hurt her instead. Furious with himself, he thrust his trembling fingers through his hair. "But what I want doesn't matter. You're confused and vulnerable. I can't take you to bed."