Unexpected Gift Read online

  Was this a battle that she truly wanted to win?

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  TRYING TO CLEAR out the remnants of a bad dream, Gabe stared out the guest room window and watched the sun lighten up the horizon. There were no real sunrise colors yet, just the darkness turning to gray. It’d be morning soon.

  Christmas morning.

  It’d been a while since that’d even had any meaning to him. Even when he wasn’t deployed, he usually volunteered to work on Christmas Day so that other officers could spend time with their families.

  Now he’d be spending Christmas with Noel. His baby girl. And while Gabe would treasure every moment of the day, it was also bittersweet.

  The ice was already melting. He could see the icicles on the eaves dripping, and once the sun was up, it wouldn’t take long for the roads to clear. That was winter in central Texas. An ice storm one day, and the next might see temperatures into the sixties. A clear road would add yet another level to that bittersweetness.

  Because Kelly might just tell him to leave.

  She certainly hadn’t asked him to stay. Nor had she accepted his proposal or the ring. It was still in the box on the nightstand next to the bed.

  Bittersweet indeed.

  Of course, he’d never been certain that she would accept it anyway. When Herman had mentioned that Kelly had tried it on a time or two or three, Gabe had seen immediately why she’d loved it. The clean lines of the design. Both an heirloom and modern look.

  Like Kelly herself.

  Even if she turned his proposal down flat, Gabe would leave it for her. One day she might just consider it a gift from him and not a ring with strings attached.

  He listened to hear if there were any sounds of Kelly or Noel being awake.

  Nothing.

  He’d left the guest room door open so he could hear and see if Kelly came out of her bedroom, but it’d been quiet for a while now. Kelly had fed the baby a bottle about two hours earlier, around four, and Gabe wasn’t sure if that meant she’d sleep later or still wake up for breakfast. He was hoping for the latter so he could spend as much time with Noel as possible.

  Another piece of the dream drifted through his head again. More of a nightmare than a dream, though. These images had actually happened, fragments of rescues that hadn’t gone so well.

  Times he’d failed.

  As bad as the failures were, and they were bad, he tried not to let them plague him to the point of PTSD. Thankfully, he’d been able to put his life into little compartments and shut the bad stuff away.

  Most of it anyway.

  His mother had given him lots of practice in that area.

  And now that he was dredging up the past, maybe his relationship with his mother was the reason he’d drifted from one woman to another.

  Great.

  Here he was analyzing himself. He wouldn’t mind if he could figure out how that would help him with Kelly, but reliving his past was just plain depressing.

  Gabe dropped back down on the bed, the feather mattress cocooning around him, and he tucked his arms behind his head so he could think this out. Noel had brought him to this point, but there was an equally important facet to this.

  “Kelly,” he mumbled.

  She’d been part of the dream, too. Not the nightmare part, though, but the visions of her beautiful face had worked their way into the images. It was so clear that Gabe could still see her. In fact, for just a flicker of a moment, he thought the dream had come back, but this was the real deal.

  Kelly stepped into the doorway of the guest room.

  She was wearing her usual flannel pj’s. Hardly sexy, but she managed to make them look darn good.

  Naked would look even better passed through his mind.

  Gabe told that thought to take a long hike. There were lots of reasons Kelly would come into his room, and getting naked wasn’t necessarily one of them.

  “Is Noel okay?” he asked, getting his mind off the way the soft flannel skimmed her body and that naked thought.

  While he was at it, he pulled the quilt over his midsection. He wasn’t a modest man, but he was wearing only his boxers, and just in case he got any more of those naked thoughts, it was best if he covered up.

  “Noel’s fine. She’s still sleeping.” Kelly had a baby monitor that she set on the nightstand, and with her other hand she handed him something that she’d kept hidden behind her back.

  A present.

  Wrapped, at that. Not with newspapers or tissue, either, like the ones he’d bought from Herman. This was more of her hand-designed stuff, and once he had the paper off, he lifted the top of the gift box.

  “It’s not much,” she said. Kelly eased down on the edge of the bed next to him and watched. “But I wanted to get you something.”

  Gabe liked it before he even opened it, simply because it was a gift from Kelly, but he liked it even more when he saw what she had done.

  A drawing.

  Part of it was a sketch of his CRO badge. A guardian angel holding the world globe in her arms, but Kelly had gone beyond the basic design on the badge. With strokes of pen and charcoal, she’d brought the angel to life, and that wasn’t all. Next to it, there was yet more life.

  Noel’s precious, sleeping face.

  Kelly had captured that deep, peaceful sleep, including the faint smile that Noel seemed to have most of the time. It was the exact image that he had of her in his head, and here it was—all caught on paper.

  “When did you have time to do this?” he asked.

  “Last night, when I told you I was going to bed early.”

  “I thought you said that so you could get away from me and have some time to think.”

  “That, too,” she admitted. “I know it probably seems stupid, giving you a sketch of something you wear almost every day,” Kelly continued, “and you can take actual photos of Noel. But I wanted to draw you something.”

  “It’s perfect,” Gabe managed to say.

  Man, his throat had gone dry.

  Seeing his baby together with his badge was like a gentle jolt. As if the cosmos was giving him a wake-up call, and suddenly some things that had been troubling him made a whole lot of sense.

  “I love her,” Gabe admitted. Even though there were some serious emotions running through him, he still risked looking up at Kelly. “If you want me to leave, I will, but please don’t shut me out of her life and yours.”

  Kelly swallowed hard. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one with a suddenly dry throat. “What you do in the military is important. It’s you. I won’t ask you to give that up.”

  She was right. He was a CRO and had managed to make some key rescues over the years. Rescues that’d saved lives. But he wouldn’t be much of a man if he didn’t give that same kind of time and energy to Noel.

  Even if it meant giving up the career he loved.

  And even if Kelly didn’t ask.

  Gabe was about to tell her that, too, but she leaned in and kissed him. He hadn’t even seen it coming, but he sure as heck felt it. Oh, man. One touch of her mouth to his, and all the memories came flooding back. Memories of the kisses from the day before. And from that other night they’d kissed out on the sofa.

  Memories that’d led them to her bedroom. To her bed. And then to one of the most memorable nights of his life.

  “Noel,” he reminded her.

  “If she wakes up, we’ll hear her on the monitor.”

  Good thing, then, that Kelly had brought it with her because the kissing just continued. Of course, Gabe didn’t do anything to stop it, and he wasn’t sure he even wanted to.

  All right, he was positive he didn’t want to, but he still did have some doubts about whether or not this should be happening.

  She slid her hand aro
und the back of his neck, pulling him closer to her. It was a dangerous move. Especially since they were already in the bed, and he wanted her more than his next breath. Another bad combination, like the one a year ago with the Jack Daniel’s and her tears. There was no Jack this morning, but there was enough heat to fuel an inferno.

  Too bad Gabe only made it worse.

  Despite his reservations, he hooked his arm around her, snapping her closer and kissing her until all shreds of common sense were gone. But Kelly wasn’t exactly fighting to hang on to her common sense, either. However, she was hanging on to him, and she didn’t object one bit when Gabe deepened the kiss.

  In fact, she made a silky sound of pleasure that had him wanting a whole lot more.

  More that he couldn’t have.

  Could he?

  Gabe was trying to fight through the argument that a certain part of him was making. A darn good argument, too. But he knew this couldn’t continue unless…

  Kelly took care of the unless for him.

  She pulled a foil-wrapped condom from her pj pocket. “I got it from Ross’s room,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “Just in case I got the nerve to go through with this.”

  That caused him to pause a moment. “Nerve?”

  “I’m not sure this is the right thing to do.”

  Bingo. They were of a like mind.

  Unfortunately, they were of a like body, too, since she leaned in and kissed him again before he could weigh their options and consequences. That was the problem with really good kisses. Options and consequences didn’t stand a chance against them.

  “You do want to do this, right?” she asked.

  “More than I want air to breathe.” A lot more. “And thanks for getting the condom.”

  It saved him from having to scramble around Ross’s bedroom looking for one. Because there was no doubt in Gabe’s mind that he would have done it. It no longer seemed to matter if this was right, wrong or yet another complication. He was well past that stage, and judging from the urgency of Kelly’s kiss, so was she.

  Maybe it was the thought that she would change her mind or that the baby would wake up, but speed suddenly seemed to matter. Or maybe speed was just because of the urgency that was burning him alive.

  The urgency to have her at least one more time.

  So Gabe took. Kelly did as well, and he grappled with her pj’s. She didn’t have much to grapple with since Gabe was wearing only his boxers, and with Gabe’s help, she managed to rid him of them without even breaking the kiss.

  She was clever.

  But Gabe made some clever moves of his own. He went after her pj’s. The moment he got her top off, he got another jolt. One of those incredible reminders of just how beautiful she was. Of course, he’d seen her naked that other time, but with the sunlight streaming through the window, she was a vision.

  Perfect.

  Having a baby had filled her out a little, giving her curves that Gabe couldn’t wait to explore. He wouldn’t have minded savoring that view a little longer, but the kissing returned. This time with her mouth on his neck. And he was lost.

  Willingly lost.

  They hadn’t exactly had a ton of experience driving each other crazy with kisses and touches, but her instincts were pretty darn good. She was making him burn, and judging from the hot fire in her eyes, she was already there.

  But there meant getting her naked first.

  Kelly helped him shimmy off her pj bottoms, her hands sliding over him and making him crazier than he already was. Something he hadn’t thought possible. The moment he got the condom on, she reached for him, pulling him on top of her. Gabe thought maybe the world had tipped on its axis when he eased into her.

  Yeah, the earth definitely moved.

  Mercy, the pleasure was blinding, and while it ratcheted up the urgency even more, he slowed down. Because as much as he needed Kelly—and he did need her—he also wanted to savor every moment of this.

  Gabe kissed her as gently as he could manage. Looked into her eyes. There was so much he wanted to say to her. But then she adjusted their positions, lifting her hips, and the need fueled itself again.

  He moved inside her, knowing this would all end too soon. Of course, a week was too soon when it came to Kelly.

  Later, he might get a chance to tell her that, too.

  But for now, the fire was in control, and Gabe just went with it. It didn’t take long before he heard Kelly make that urgent sound, indicating her pleasure. Her grip tightened on his back, and she surrendered to the fire.

  Gabe buried his face against her neck, drawing in her scent and taste at the same time when they kissed. And he surrendered right along with her.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  KELLY DREW IN a deep breath and let the slack feeling of pleasure slide right through her entire body. The only word that came to mind was perfect, and even that didn’t seem enough for what’d just happened.

  Again.

  Now that she’d gotten what she wanted—Gabe—she should be satisfied. Or at least worried that she’d screwed up things between them forever. But the only thing her slack brain could latch on to was that in this moment she was incredibly happy and feeling very, very good.

  “I seduced you,” she mumbled.

  He lifted his head, located her mouth and kissed the breath right out of her. “I didn’t put up much of a fight.”

  No, he hadn’t. Not that she’d expected he would. Gabe and she had been skirting around this heat since his homecoming. Heck, even before that. Even before the night she’d gotten pregnant with Noel.

  He glanced at the monitor, causing Kelly to do the same. Noel was still asleep but stirring a little. It probably wouldn’t be long before she woke. That was Kelly’s cue to put her clothes back on, but when Gabe moved off her, he motioned for her to stay put.

  “I’ll be right back,” he said, heading to the bathroom. “Then I think I owe you a snuggling session before Noel wakes up and we open the gifts.”

  That sounded heavenly. The perfect end to what’d already happened, so Kelly just lay there. Waiting for him to return.

  Unfortunately, her common sense returned, too.

  This didn’t solve anything. All right, it did solve this overwhelming need she had for him. Temporarily, anyway. But it didn’t work out any of the serious issues between them. Still, she hadn’t been able to stop herself. After the way Gabe had left things the day before, she thought he might be ready to finish his Christmas visit and leave.

  Her heart wasn’t ready for that yet.

  Neither was the rest of her, she realized, when Gabe came back into the room, and she got a long look at his naked body.

  Good grief. No one had a right to look that good.

  As promised, he slipped back into bed with her, easing her against him. The moment was perfect, and she braced herself for the serious talk that they had to have.

  But no talk.

  Just the rhythmic sound of his breathing and his heart beating against hers. It didn’t take long for Kelly to relax again, and she might have even fallen back asleep if she hadn’t heard a strange sound.

  Both Gabe and she turned toward the baby monitor. She could easily see Noel on the screen, and the baby hadn’t moved since the last time Kelly had checked. But there was definitely the sound of someone moving around. It took her a moment to realize the sound wasn’t coming from inside the house but rather the porch.

  “Someone’s here,” she warned Gabe, and Kelly barreled out of bed, reaching for her pj’s.

  She was still putting them on when she heard the key in the lock, and the door flew open. The cold air immediately rushed in.

  And so did her visitor.

  Except it wasn’t exactly a visitor.

  It was Ross.


  Her heartbeat went crazy fast, and so did Kelly. She yanked the pj top closed, but she didn’t manage that before Ross got an eyeful. The front door was positioned just right for him to see directly into the guest room.

  And Gabe was still pulling on his pants.

  It didn’t take much imagination to figure out what was going on, and judging from the way Ross’s eyes narrowed to slits, he figured it out right away.

  “I can explain,” Kelly said at the exact moment that Gabe said, “Ross, we need to talk.”

  Gabe pulled on his T-shirt and carried his boots into the living room. He sat down on the sofa to put them on. Too bad he didn’t have a flak vest that he could wear.

  “I think it’s a little late for talk,” Ross snarled. And there was no doubt in her mind that it was a snarl.

  Ross kicked the front door shut, dropping his equipment bag on the floor. He looked around, a long, sweeping glance before his glare settled on Gabe.

  Oh, no.

  Kelly could see where this was going, and she didn’t like the destination. Best to try to diffuse this somehow, and she knew just where to start. She needed to get Ross talking, and maybe he’d talk instead of yell.

  “Merry Christmas,” she greeted, hoping she sounded more welcoming than she felt. “I obviously wasn’t expecting you. How’d you even get here?”

  “Well, it wasn’t easy, but after seeing that footage that Delbert emailed me, I had some serious motivation to get home. I caught the first flight out of Germany.”

  Delbert, of course.

  Kelly hadn’t forgotten about the news crew at the library, but with everything else going on, she’d put it on the back burner.

  Bad idea.

  Because it had now simmered to an overflowing boil.

  “You got here fast,” Kelly mumbled.

  Ross fished his phone from his pocket and kept talking. “I took a taxi from the airport into town. The road was still too icy for him to drive here so I borrowed Herman’s tractor. And now that we’ve gotten my travel itinerary out of the way, start talking and explain this.”

  Ross held up his phone, hit the play button on the video and the images of the incident at the library began to move across the screen. Kelly had known it was a gobsmacked moment for her.