Perfect Fit (30 page)

Biting back a moan, she breathed in deeply. “You may be asking the impossible.”

He shifted to meet her gaze. “Nothing is impossible with us, Sage. We’re a perfect fit.”

Gathering her close and still holding her gaze, he lifted her hips to him and slowly entered her, stretching her, filling her completely, burying himself inside her to the hilt.

“Aaah, baby.” He released a long, deep, guttural moan when her womb clenched him snugly. She couldn’t move and neither could he. It was as
though they were glued together in that position. Moments later, he reached up and weaved their fingers together, then entangled her legs with his, wanting to be joined with her in every way. She tried to move, but he held her down tight; and when he felt her womb clench him again then quiver with him in its clutches, he sucked in a deep breath.

“Don’t,” he said softly.

“I can’t help it,” she said breathlessly upon realizing he was holding still to make sure her body adjusted to his. With trembling fingers she reached up and traced the line of his jaw, tight from restraint as he tried maintaining control. She didn’t want him to be in control. She wanted him to be out of control like she was. “You feel good inside me, and I want you, Gabe. Now.” She arched her body to take him deeper.

Not able to take any more, he eased his hips back, for just an inch, then forward, beginning a rhythm of thrusting in and out of her over and over, increasing the rhythm, expanding his strokes, engaging in the most powerful and the most soul-stirring lovemaking of his life. The pleasure of being inside of her, mating with her, was so intense, he began growling in sensuous pleasure as a sharp, spiraling need consumed him, making him want her even more and throwing the notion of going
slow
right out the window.

He began pumping frantically into her, strong, powerful thrusts. She managed to keep in tune with him, feeding and abating with the fluid movement of her body. She raked her nails down the length of his back and moaned deep in her chest as she rocked against him in the fast-paced rhythm he set, urging him deeper and deeper.

The turbulence of their lovemaking consumed them, and when Gabe felt Sage’s body shudder uncontrollably beneath him, he closed his eyes and tossed his head back, giving in to his own earth-shattering release. Every part of his body felt connected to her in an intimacy so profound it took his breath away.

He lowered his head and kissed her as slow shudders shook him, taking him into a world where only the two of them existed. And the only thing he could think of when he gathered her up into his arms, their bodies damp from the whirlwind of passion they had shared, was that the next time they
would
take it slow.

Or at least they would try.

They tried several times that night and still didn’t take things slow. Each time they came together seemed more passionate than before. After a while they stopped trying and resigned themselves to the fact that whenever they made love, although there would be plenty of foreplay, there would be no time devoted to teasing preliminaries. The sexual chemistry between them was too strong, and the two of them were too greedy. They wanted it all.

Sage couldn’t believe just how her body responded to Gabe. It was as if his touch was what it needed and most desired. Why? She ignored the question, thinking there had to be a logical explanation. And she refused to believe that she would be responding that way to any man, after five years with the same man. A part of her believed she could only respond this way with Gabe.

A knot formed in her stomach when she thought
of all the things that had happened since moving to Anchorage and the part Gabe had played in it. After what had happened with Erol, she had wondered if she would ever let another man get that close to her again, and then to top it off, her father’s unfaithfulness had convinced her that there was no such thing as total love and commitment between two individuals. But being with Gabe had helped her to see the world in a new light. She had dealt with Erol, and now she knew she would have to find a way to deal with the issue of her father and the hurt he had caused her. She could not continue living each day with one part wanting to despise him and the other wanting to love him the way she always had.

Sage knew the moment Gabe had awakened when he reached out and pulled her closer into his arms, and she went into them willingly as anticipation rose inside of her.

“I can’t get enough of you, baby,” he said huskily, letting his fingers stray down to cup her bottom before slowly caressing their way to her front. As soon as he touched her in that place that seemed to have throbbed for him all night, she sucked in a deep breath.

“Too tender?” he asked with deep concern in his voice.

“No, too greedy. It wants more.” She stroked her hand down his hairy chest past his tight stomach to that part of him her body wanted. It felt hard, rigid to her fingers. “I need you inside of me, Gabe.”

After putting on another condom, without wasting any time, he leaned down and kissed her deeply while he placed his body directly over hers. She felt the blunt tip of him probing her entry,
and shifting slightly to raise her body to meet him, she felt him enter, stretching her, filling her, pleasing her and loving her.

She heard his sharp intake of breath and knew his thoughts were the same as hers. Tonight they had proved just how good they were together.

When he began moving in the rhythm and pace he wanted them to go, sounds of ecstasy she couldn’t hold poured forth from her throat, making him intensify their kiss that much more. A delicious hot sensation poured through her. She didn’t want to think of the future that was not promised to them. She only wanted to think of now. And then later when it was time to let go and walk away, she would have no regrets.

Gabe woke the next morning with a long, satisfying stretch and a contented smile on his lips. Flipping onto his back, he gazed up at the ceiling as memories, stark, potent, clear, flooded his mind, making his body get hard all over again. In all his thirty-two years, he had never experienced anything like he had last night with Sage. And that included his lovemaking sessions with Lindsey and Debbie. Something was different. Nothing was the same. The kiss, the touch, the taste was uniquely Sage. Last night she had definitely become the spice of his life.

He smiled. He hadn’t known he had so much stamina. Each time they had made love, he’d been left feeling drained and depleted. And all it had taken was her touch, her smile, that desirous look in her eye, to make him suddenly feel renewed, reinvigorated, revived.

He rolled to his side when he realized Sage had
not gone to the bathroom as he’d assumed. He inhaled sharply when his nostrils picked up the scent of bacon. Pushing back the covers, he knew his huge bed would never be the same again without her in it. For that matter, no bed he slept in without her would ever be the same.

As he stood and headed for the shower, he knew that he wanted Sage Dunbar in his life forever.

When he entered the kitchen fifteen minutes or so later, he stopped short at what he saw. Sage was standing at the refrigerator, bent and looking into it. What made the scene so heart-stopping arousing was the fact that she was wearing one of his chambray shirts that hit her midthigh, and from her position it was plain to see she had not put on her panties. He leaned against the doorjamb, wanting to get an eyeful of that part of her rounded bare bottom he liked so much. It looked too damn tempting.

He couldn’t help but recall that his hands had touched every part of that bottom and wanted to do so again. But first they needed to eat, and it seemed she had decided to do the cooking. He cleared this throat. “Good morning.”

Sage quickly turned around, almost dropping the orange juice she held in her hands. She smiled, thinking there was just something special about a good-looking man early in the morning, especially one who looked like Gabe. He was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a shirt similar to the one she had on. His hung open, exposing his hairy chest, a chest she loved kissing, touching and tasting. The thought of all they had done the night before caused a flutter to pass through her midsection.
“Good morning. I didn’t know you were awake. Do you want a cup of coffee?”

Straightening, he slowly crossed the room to her. Taking the carton out of her hand, he pulled her gently to him as a warm smile curved his lips. “This is what I want, Sage,” he said moments before leaning down and joining his mouth to hers.

Just that quickly, the fires of desire roared to life between them; sexual chemistry was at its best and all thoughts of the breakfast she was making were put aside when Gabe decided he wanted to be fed another type of meal altogether.

Breaking off the kiss, he scooped her into his arms and turned to leave the kitchen.

“Wait, I need to turn off the stove.”

With her cradled tenderly in his arms, he walked across the room to the stove and turned it off. They would worry about breakfast later. “It’s done.”

A quick look out of a window they passed indicated it was still snowing heavily. Neither minded since they had plenty of things to do on the inside to occupy their time, and not a one of them was worrying about what was happening with the weather on the outside.

T
he following weeks flew by in a furor of activity for both Sage and Gabe. The snowstorm had held everyone hostage inside of their homes for two full days. Then afterward, they were faced with the chore of playing catch-up with those things they had put off during the time they were snowed in.

Gabe immediately met with Parnell to make sure the construction of Eden would resume as soon as possible. Initially, they had considered the effects of the weather and had made allowances for it. Parnell had found another woman to watch the girls but wasn’t completely satisfied with her. She was good at keeping an eye on his daughters but was a disaster everywhere else. She did not keep the house tidy the way the former live-in housekeeper had done, and he’d found himself picking up after the older woman more than he was picking up after his girls. She was notorious for keeping a messy kitchen, which was one of Parnell’s pet peeves. He found himself coming in from a hard day’s work only to tackle another hard day of work cleaning his house.

“You’re okay?” Gabe asked his foreman when the two of them had finished going over some items that had cropped up.

Parnell rubbed his hand over his face. “Yes, but I don’t know how much longer I can last, Gabe. Mrs. Miller is getting worse every day, and all those good housekeeping habits I’ve instilled in my girls are being thrown out the window. I had to explain to them last night why they can’t eat in their bedroom when Mrs. Miller eats in hers.”

Gabe leaned back in his chair and nodded. “Sounds to me like you and the woman need to have a long talk.”

Parnell’s face took on a look of frustration. “That’s just it. We’ve had a long talk, and it got us nowhere. She thinks she can do just what she pleases because she knows I need someone to care for the girls.” He shook his head, clearly upset. “If this keeps up, I may have to send them back to Mom until this job is over, and I really don’t want that.”

Gabe nodded again. He knew how much having his daughters with him meant to Parnell. He checked his watch. He was meeting Sage for lunch. “Well, I’m sure something will work out. What about Bill Phelps’s wife? Hasn’t she kept them before?”

Parnell shook his head as he folded up the blueprints he and Gabe had gone over. Bill Phelps was one of their electricians whose wife had come to Anchorage with him. She had volunteered to watch the girls during the day. “Yeah, but she’s too easy. The girls run all over her, and she lets them. Besides, Marcy Phelps can curse like a sailor when her soaps aren’t going the way she wants them to go. You wouldn’t believe what the twins have repeated after visiting with her.”

Gabe chuckled as he stood and put on his coat. “Well, like I said, I’m sure something will work out.”

Parnell looked at Gabe expectantly. “You seem happy, Gabe.”

Gabe raised his brow, wondering when he’d ever not been in a good mood. Even when he’d gone through that episode with Lindsey, he had kept his pain from showing. “I’m always happy, Parnell.”

“Then, you seem
happier
.”

Gabe smiled, knowing where the man’s thoughts were going. “Yeah, I am happier.”

“Would it have anything to do with a certain woman by the name of Sage Dunbar?”

Gabe snapped shut his briefcase as his smile widened. “It might.”

Moments later while riding in his car on the way to the restaurant to meet Sage for lunch, he reflected on his conversation with Parnell. Although he hadn’t admitted it, he knew his happiness had
a lot
to do with Sage. His thoughts drifted to the time they had spent at his place during the snowstorm. That morning after waking up and finding her preparing breakfast in the kitchen and taking her upstairs to make love to her, they had returned downstairs again around noon. The breakfast she had been preparing had become lunch. Then later, after playing a game of strip poker, they had made love again on a quilt in front of the fireplace.

But they had done more than make love for those two days. They had also talked. She’d shared with him fond memories of things she and her grandmother had done together and how hard she had taken her grandmother’s unexpected death from a heart attack. She’d also talked about her
strained relationship with her father. Just from listening to her, Gabe knew that her father’s infidelity had hurt her deeply and had disillusioned her thoughts on the whole aspect of love being true and pure.

They had talked about it, and although she had listened to his take on things—that she should not let that one episode cloud her mind and heart to true love—he had a feeling she already had. She had also told him the decision she had to make regarding whether she would go home for the Fourth of July. Gabe had tried convincing her that the thing to do was to resolve the issue between her and her father and move on to rebuild their father-daughter relationship. But she felt that as long as her mother did not know about what had happened, she was caught in the middle.