Page 11 of Needing His Touch
“I’m okay. Let me use the restroom, and if you have a spare toothbrush, I’ll take that as well, then I’ll call Bernie.” I attempt to duck my head once I tell him my plans. Gabe does something I never see coming. His fingertips slide to my chin, lifting it up, and then his lips are barely a breath away from mine. My body ignites, reminding me that I’m not wearing anything beneath his shirt. There are a lot of things I can handle, and wearing a bra to bed and re-wearing panties is not one of them. Gabe doesn’t slide his hands beneath my shirt, and I almost want to groan in dissatisfaction. He does one better, one I wasn’t at all prepared for. His lips press against mine, soft and subtle, careful yet packing a punch all the same. My eyes close, and I sink into him once again, kind of like I did all night. Anytime I’d move, Gabe was there, holding me or wrapping his big body around mine. I felt a sense of peacefulness I never had before, a place that felt like home, and damn if I’m not hoping that this isn’t all a dream. I’d pinch myself, but Gabe might think I really hit my head good. Either that, or I’ve lost the plot.
“Don’t give a fuck about morning breath, fairy. Now, do what you need to. I’ll side-track Grandpa Bernie for another ten or fifteen minutes, but if you don’t call him by then, you won’t be the only one in trouble.” These McCoy men. It seems when they want you in your life, they’ll stop at nothing for that to happen.
“Okay, I feel like there’s so much more to say, but, umm…” I point to the bathroom. Thankfully, Gabe gets the memo. My bladder is screaming at me, as it should. I’ve ignored it for far too long given the number of hours I’ve slept, plus our conversation got the best of me, too.
“Take care of business. I’ll see if I can’t scrounge up a few sandwiches to tie us over until dinner.” I nod. Gabe stands up from bed first, hand reaching for mine. He’s still wearing a pair of sweatpants low on his hips, and I have to tear my eyes away from him before I throw myself on the bed and beg for way more.
“Okay, I’ll be fast. Promise,” I tell him, shuffling to the bathroom. He says something, yet I don’t hear him, too busy silently screaming, pumping my arms, and having an all-out cheer session for myself that Gabe McCoy kissed me, Gabe McCoy held me all night, and Gabe McCoy wants a whole lot more after I saw what the evidence of our kiss did to him. Never mind the way my body is tingling, nipples hard and pebbled, wetness coating my bare thighs. I am one hundred percent in mypinch me, I must be dreamingera.
12
GABE
One slip of my tongue, and I could have had Carsynn flat on her back, my hand sliding beneath her shirt. I’d take it slow, wanting to relish the feeling of her body against mine, her spread thighs stretched to capacity as I wedged mine between, wanting to feel every nuance of her body. I could have taken things a lot fucking further with Carsynn. She was putty in my hands. Christ, the small taste of her alone isn’t enough, and I’m having to tell my cock to calm the fuck down. I’d have probably taken things a hell of a lot further if there weren’t certain barriers looming over our heads, her virginity not included.
As much as she’d like to pretend she’s okay, I know there’s some lingering pain. Hell, I woke up throughout the night to check on her. She’d make a jarring movement, a soft mewl in her sleep, and I’d be sitting up in bed worried that I’d somehow have to manage to get her to a hospital. A damn impossible task before this morning. My truck was proving its worth with the ice on the roads, but even then, we were still sliding, try as I might to keep it from happening or to lessen it. There was no missing the tires not grabbing in a couple of instances. For the most part, Carsynn clenched her hands together in front of her, I’m sure reliving the moment she went through. I couldn’t take my hand off the steering wheel in order to hold hers, and it about killed me. I heard and saw her take a deep breath of relief once we were parked inside my detached garage.
“Hey, Gramps,” I answer my cell on the first ring. Carsynn still hasn’t made it out of the bathroom yet, an annoyance Grandpa Bernie is going to grumble in my ear about.
“Hi, boyo, our girl awake yet?” His voice sounds optimistic, and for that I’m glad. When I told him about the accident, I could hear the strain of emotions in his voice. Shit, he could probably hear it in mine, too.
“Yep, she’ll be out in just a minute. I think she’s up for the day,” I tell him. I’ve been up since before the day broke, looking around the house and property. Mainly the ceilings in each room, the windows and doors. Shit can get in when you least expect it. I’ll be shocked if my place or Carsynn’s won’t have a few issues once things thaw.
“She okay?” It’s the same question he’s asked each and every time he’s called. I couldn’t answer him until Carsynn woke up, which didn’t help calm his nerves any.
“She seems to be. Her forearm is bothering her some. After you two get off the phone, I’m going to take the bandage off and clean it again.” I didn’t think she’d sleep for damn near sixteen hours, or I would have done a better job at bandaging her up. As it was, last night, she was dead on her feet, eyes drooping with every movement. So, it was a rush job.
“Good.” Gramps already knows I was up throughout the night, checking on Carsynn and the house. There’s a lot of snow outside, well above hip deep, which means it’s sitting on top of my metal roof. Once we’ve eaten, I’ll rebandage her arm, and we’ll take care of the elephant in the room of her renting the apartment from me. And I plan on getting on the roof to shovel off the snow that’s piling up.
“Here she is. Don’t take too long with her. She hasn’t eaten yet,” I tell Gramps as Carsynn rounds the corner. She’s in my borrowed shirt from last night. It hangs down to her knees because she’s that fucking tiny. The truth of the matter is, her size is probably the reason she didn’t come out worse for the wear from the wreckage. My eyes sweep the length of her body, landing on her feet. She stole my slippers that were sitting on the floor at the end of the bed. Carsynn must be cold, and while I run hot, she clearly doesn’t. I learned that last night when she was on her side of the bed and would roll toward me, pressing herself to me, her skin was cool to the touch.
“Alright, give the phone to her already and cook her something to eat.” I shake my head at his antics. He’s always trying to boss someone around. Today I’m on his list to bully.
“For you. It’s Gramps,” I mouth to her. Carsynn comes within reaching distance, and I hand her the phone. My hand wraps around her waist, pressing her closer to me while she talks to my grandfather. I tune the conversation out, too busy feeling her body along mine. Her breath hitches while she says hello to Gramps. My head dips, and I run my nose down the length of her cheek, squeezing her to me one more time before guiding her to a barstool. She’s going to sit her pretty little ass down and rest, doctor’s orders. Living in a small town helps, a quick phone call to the sheriff to tell him he’s an asshole for not trying to at least find Carsynn, who was missing. Some kind of citizen of Plaine Hill he is. Election day will be here before you know it, and I know Gramps. He’ll be spreading his displeasure far and wide that his grandson had to go looking for the new-to-town sweetheart. After I left the sheriff bumbling and stumbling with someone yelling at him in the background, I called Doc, who answered on the second ring. I told him what was going on with Carsynn, and he asked me a slew of questions, concussion protocol, how bad the injury was, and even told me to video call with him today so he could double check on her. I’d say Gramps worked a hell of a lot faster than I thought he would, considering all the calls I’m able to make without a shit ton of questions. She’s got her good arm holding the phone to her ear. When I move to step away from her, I feel her fingertips. They’re sliding along my lower abdomen, a ghost of a touch. Except her touch is anything but small. She sears my skin in a way that leaves a lasting impression. My cock flexes beneath my sweats. The boxer briefs I have on underneath aren’t doing a damn thing to conceal me either.
I move away from Carsynn. My head, heart, and cock don’t like the idea. Except the woman can’t survive on air alone. We need to eat, her especially. They continue talking. A few words catch my attention, but for the most part, I’m busy going through the motions of pulling out ingredients. I’ll have to pull something out for dinner, too, so I root around the fridge for ideas while finding ingredients to make grilled cheese with a twist. I grab the butter, bread, cheese, and at the last minute, I realize we’ll both need protein and more sustenance than dairy and carbs, so I pull the drawer open for lunch meat to add to our meal.
“I’ll call daily, promise,” I hear Carsynn say after I place everything on the kitchen counter.
“All good?” I ask, grabbing a pan from the cabinet. The floorplan of my house was a damn mess when I bought the place eight years ago. Gramps always told me a man with his shit together is better than one without a plan growing up. So, I bought the house before the shop, put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into it. It’s no longer a bunch of small rooms in a hodge-podge layout. I knocked walls down until the house was just a shell of a place. The only thing I had to hire out was the headers, because that shit was above my paygrade. Everything else, from framing, drywalling, and electrical, was done by me. Gramps helped with the plumbing. I knew the basics, but he knew a fuck of a lot more. He stood beside me and told me how to do it as he explained everything. It was a labor of love, worth it in the end, and now seeing the woman I know is meant to be mine, for-goddamn-ever, it solidifies that even more.
“Yes, your grandpa is a good man, Gabe. You’re lucky to have him.” She pushes the phone toward me. I leave it where it is. The only person who’ll be calling while we’re snowed in is Gramps, and he won’t want to talk to only me.
“He is, and he’s also yours now. Grandpa Bernie doesn’t call me every hour on the hour for just anybody, fairy.” I stop what I’m doing, giving her my eyes, so she can see the conviction in them. “Speaking of, we need to talk.” Her face goes from pleasantly surprised to looking like someone ran over her kitten. Damn, I don’t know what’s happened in the past, but I’ll be damned if I’ll put that look on her face again.
“Oh crap, do you need me to find a way home?” Her thumb goes to her mouth, and she nibbles on the nail. I drop what I’m doing. There’s too much fucking distance between the two of us. The forlorn look on her face has got to go.
“No, you’re staying right where you are.” I walk around the island. She looks up, head tipped back with me standing and her sitting.
“Okay, then, did I do something wrong?” Yeah, my woman has a past, one that can’t be good if everything she’s coming up with is nothing but negative.
“No, sweetheart, you didn’t. This thing between us is building, and I’ll be damned if we start it with a lie by omission. I’m clearing the air, right here and now. The apartment you’re living in was built for Gramps, but he didn’t like the idea of living with me or by me. He’s too damn stubborn and too fucking independent.”
“Do you need me to move out?” she interrupts me, thinking the worst yet again. My hands engulf her cheeks, holding them on either side as I lower myself so we’re eye to eye.
“No. The only time you’ll move out of your apartment is to move into my house. This will be happening. You and I are very much together. I’m letting you know the realtor who rented out the apartment to you was hired by me. Gramps called me the minute he saw you at the diner, told me there was someone who needed a place to stay, and I got the ball rolling. Gramps even told me I’d fall for you after one look. He wasn’t wrong about that, either. One look, and I knew, the new girl in town, tiny like a fairy, sweet like nothing I’ve ever seen before, would be mine, and you are, Carsynn, you’re mine.” I let it soak in for a moment when all I really want to do is slam my mouth against hers and take everything I can from her.
“Gabe, you can’t possibly feel this way, can you? This isn’t real. Good things don’t happen to me. I’m not the girl who gets her duke.”