you like. Drink as much water as you can—rehydrating your skin will help it feel more comfortable. Oh, and take cool baths, not showers. Showers are too stressful to the damaged skin. If it doesn’t feel better by tomorrow evening, give me a call, okay?”
Feeling horribly conspicuous, Elizabeth nodded. “How much do I owe you for the cream?”
“Not a thing. I’ll take it out of Gabe’s hide later.”
Since Gabe smirked at that, Elizabeth assumed it was a joke. “Thank you.” She glanced at Gabe, then away. “For everything.”
Sawyer kissed his wife, his niece and his sister-in-law, then went off to work again. They were a demonstrative lot, always hugging and patting and kissing. It disconcerted her.
Misty and Honey and Gabe all walked her to the door. Gabe was deathly quiet, which she felt didn’t bode well since he was usually joking and teasing. As she stepped onto the porch, Honey said, “Misty and I are having lunch in town tomorrow. Would you like to join us? The restaurant where Misty works part-time has fabulous beef stew on Friday afternoons. And afterward, we can all go to the library. I know they must have kept records of the local paper there on file. You could see the firsthand reports of Gabe’s—” she glanced at her brother-in-law with a wicked smile “—daring feat.”
Gabe gave Honey a look that promised retribution, but she just laughed and hugged him.
Misty added, “It’ll be fun.”
Aware of Gabe spearing her with his hot gaze, knowing he expected her to turn the women down, Elizabeth nonetheless nodded. “All right. Thank you.”
She could have sworn she heard Gabe snarling.
Misty took the baby from Gabe’s arms. “Great. If you know where the diner is, we could meet you there at eleven.”
“That’ll be fine.”
“Perfect. We’ll see you then!”
Misty and Honey retreated together, and suddenly Elizabeth wished they were still there. Gabe looked ready for murder.
It was his own fault, she decided, refusing to cower. She raised her chin, gave him a haughty look and turned toward her car. Gabe stalked along beside her.
“What are you doing here, Red?”
Uh-oh. He really was angry. “In each of my studies, I’ve included the accountings of family members whenever possible.”
“But you and I had a deal.”
Had. She was right, the deal was no longer valid. Disappointment swamped her, but she fought it off. It had been foolish to look forward to her time with Gabe. He was the epitome of a town playboy. He’d amuse himself with her while she was in town, and when she left he’d never think of her.
But she knew already she’d never be able to forget him. Pathetic, she decided, and deliberately tamped down her regret. She opened the car door and tossed in her bag. She hadn’t been able to carry it with the strap over her shoulder because of the burn. She was anxious to follow Sawyer’s advice and get naked. Her clothes felt like sandpaper against her sensitive skin.
Gabe watched her closely and she managed a shrug. “You never told me I couldn’t talk with your family.”
“Bull.” He leaned closer, crowding her by putting one hand on the roof of her car, the other at the top of the door frame. “You knew damn good and well I didn’t want you snooping around. That’s why I agreed to answer your questions myself.”
With him so close, her heart thundered. Memories washed over her and her belly tingled in response. She couldn’t seem to stop staring at his mouth and swallowed hard. “I understand. If…if you want to cancel the rest of it, I won’t argue with you.”
Gabe stiffened. “Cancel the rest of what?”
The hair on his chest was still slightly damp, as if he’d dried in a hurry. She’d never in her life known a man who paraded around in such a state of undress almost continually. She didn’t think he was deliberately flaunting himself for her benefit so much as he was totally at ease with his own body, aware he had no reason for shame or reserve. She curled her hands into fists to keep from touching him.
“The…the drive-in, the…having fun and loosening up.” Pride made her add, “I thought it was a dumb plan all along.”
He tipped up her chin with an extremely gentle touch. “Oh, no, you don’t,” he growled. “You’re not backing out on me, Lizzy.”
“But…” She faltered, caught by the intensity in his gaze. “You’re angry.”
“Damn right. And we’ll discuss my anger tomorrow. At the movies. If you think I’m going to let you breach our deal now, especially after all your damn snooping, you’ve got another thing coming.”
“Oh.” Elizabeth couldn’t think of anything else to say. Relief was a heavy throbbing in her breasts. “Okay.”
Once again she stared at his mouth and felt her lips trembling in remembrance of how he’d kissed her, how he’d tasted, how hot his mouth had been.
Breathless again, she whispered, “Gabe?” and even she could hear the longing in the single word.
Gabe’s nostrils flared and suddenly he cursed. He leaned forward and took her mouth with careful hunger, that single rough finger beneath her chin holding her captive. The kiss was long and deep and Elizabeth grabbed his shoulders, though he didn’t return the embrace. His tongue thrust in, hot and wet, and she accepted it, stroking it with her own, moaning softly.
When Gabe lifted his head a scant inch, she said, “Oh, my.”
He smiled. “Yeah.” There was a husky catch in his voice.
She realized she was practically hanging on him and jerked back. “I didn’t mean—”
Again Gabe touched her chin, making her meet his eyes. “You can believe I’d have had you close, Lizzy, if I wasn’t afraid of hurting you.” His voice dropped and he asked, “Are your thighs burned?”
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