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They start the walk to the front yard, flanking the idiot on all sides as he shuffles his feet, making it more difficult for them to transport him. The squawk of police radios hits my ears, but all I can seem to do is run for Gabrielle, her pale hair illuminated in the moonlight.
“What the hell are you doing out here? I told you to stay inside,” I thunder as I near the back deck.
“Evan said you caught him, and I couldn’t stand waiting another minute. It was stupid, I’m sorry, I just … if something happened to you …”
The raw emotion in her voice gives me pause, softening the steely anger in my heart.
“You don’t trust me?” I reach her, pulling her into my arms as I bury my nose in her hair.
Gabrielle clings to me, wrapping her lithe frame to mold with mine as her hands hold on to my hair.
Just the feel of her skin beneath my fingertips has relief coursing through me like a balm.
“More than you know. I just don’t trust anyone else.” That seems to be a theme of our story.
Our bodies continue holding one another as I hear a commotion in the front yard. When I go to pull away from her, Gabrielle tightens and doesn’t let go.
“They have it handled. Let your family help you, you’ve been taking all of this on your own shoulders since it started, and it’s time everyone be involved.”
Dipping down, I capture her lips, needing to taste the plumpness of her bottom one in my mouth.
“I’m not good at giving up control,” I admit, my voice ragged with emotion.
Tonight scared me more than I ever thought possible. As much as I want her, I want the life we could have, and I see now why my brother and Warren are so protective when it comes to Cassandra and Alana. Thinking about Gabrielle anywhere near harm’s way makes me feral.
Those green eyes mirror the moon above, something like warmth and understanding shining up at me, and something inside my chest gives way.
“I love you.” It comes out sure and strong, even though I’ve been afraid to say it for weeks now, scared I’d run her off.
Gabrielle’s quick inhale of breath tells me she was not expecting me to say that at all right now. “I tried so hard not to, but dammit, you wore me down, Liam. I love you. I’m so in love with you, it scares me most of the time.”
“Thank fuck,” I mutter before sealing my mouth over hers.
How could so much bad and so much good happen in the span of one night? In the span of just a few hours?
If this is what life feels like when you finally open yourself up to the possibilities of it, I’ll take it. I’ll take all the mess and unpredictability if it means I get her.
21
GABRIELLE
Never before did I think I’d be riding in the lap of the man I’m in love with while he drives a tractor, but I guess that’s what I get for falling for Liam Ashton.
After last night’s heart-stopping events, which I’d rather never repeat again, and after waking from a nightmare while sleeping in his arms, I told him I wanted a normal, regular day watching him do what he does.
That was after we were all interviewed by the policeman who put the trespasser in the back of their car. Liam brought me back to his home on the Ashton property, and we made love furiously for two hours before falling into pillow talk until the wee hours of the morning.
The last twenty-four hours have been chock-full of firsts, from meeting his entire family to witnessing a crime to seeing my boyfriend’s house for the first time. The log cabin ranch is situated farther back on the outskirts of the acreage his family owns. From what he’s told me before, he had it built a number of years ago because he wanted to stay close to the farm while also not being a grown man who lives with his mother anymore. As we neared it in the night, I spotted the neat rows of shrubs and plants that sprouted up in front and beside the charming porch, complete with two red rocking chairs illuminated by the recessed lighting he’d installed overhead.
“You do the landscaping yourself?” I teased.
Liam snorted. “You think I’d let someone else touch my land?”
No, no, I did not. In all the time I’ve known him, the very first thing I learned about this man is how independent he is. How headstrong. Especially when it comes to the fields and acres passed down through his family.
Which is why I wanted him to bring me out here today. After waking up in his big California king, the dark gray sheets and comforter pooling around us as he lazily explored my naked body, I knew I had to suggest something to take his mind off the current situation. If not, Liam would spend all day stewing in his office, reviewing security footage, and working himself up more. The police have the guy in custody, they’ll figure it out, and until then, there is nothing for us to do but sit tight.
“You doing okay, beautiful?” Liam says over my shoulder, but I can barely hear him above the noise of the tractor.
