Instead of feeling glad, she worried. What if Gage was caught, not in an emotional bond, but in a sexual one? If he’d indeed had a dry spell—and he had from the few months she’d witnessed—he might be mistaking his sexual release for something more and not even know it.
Damn it. She sucked in a breath and stumbled to her feet. Half-naked, she threw off the rest of her clothes and took a long, warm shower, unable to rinse the dread from her mind.
Hadn’t Sydney warned her to go slowly? But not Hailey. Oh no. Instead, she’d admitted to thinking about Gage constantly, and then had another round of mind-blowing sex with the man. Hell, their relationship seemed based on sex. From watching him naked, to watching him perform.
She flushed, feeling aroused at the memory. Could she help liking the way he looked? He was hot, no doubt about it. And he had moves to back up his killer looks and body. The only other times Hailey had experienced intense orgasms had been with a vibrator. None of her other boyfriends had cared enough to turn her on, or to make sure she came when they didn’t.
She and Gage definitely shared some natural chemistry. Perhaps that’s what soothed a lot of her awkwardness, an inherent need to cling to someone who turned her on? But he’d been so generous. She could almost imagine a lifetime of great sex, of coming home to a man who would do the dishes and give her bliss without asking for anything in return. But what would happen when the sex faded?
She stopped the shower and stood, dripping wet, afraid of the answer.
Chapter Eight
Gage stared arrogantly at his brothers sitting around their mother’s kitchen island wearing shit-eating grins. “That’s two weeks now, my friends. Pay up.”
Derrick groaned and handed over a twenty, while Dylan merely shook his head.
“Betting on your relationship? That’s both immature and beneath you.”
When Gage merely raised an eyebrow in Dylan’s direction, his brother cursed under his breath.
“Here,” Dylan barked, handing over his money. “But I still think you should let us be the judge of her. You say it’s been two weeks, but what have you done with her besides,” he paused, looking over his shoulder, “screwing?”
Gage frowned. “We’ve been to the movies, hung out at the bookstore, rented videos.
I don’t know. We do other things besides fuck.” He too quieted as he looked around the kitchen. “Where’s Mom?”
“She had to run out to the grocery store. Said we’re eating her out of house and home again.”
Gage glanced at his money and sighed, placing the twenties under the island centerpiece.
“Good boy,” Derrick said with approval. “Now tell us again how staying in every night doesn’t imply fucking.”
“We went to Atlanta last weekend.”
Dylan rolled his eyes. “And stayed in a hotel most of the time…doing what, pray tell?”
“Oh, shut up,” Gage muttered, tired of feeling the need to defend himself. “You don’t understand.”
“Sure I do.” Dylan slapped him on the back, the glint of his Rolex nearly blinding in the early morning light. “You have a hard time communicating outside the bedroom. So instead of confessing how you feel, or perhaps telling Hailey how much you admire and love her, you’re screwing her into a tired, contented state, hoping she won’t get wise and cut you off at the balls one day.”
“Honestly, Dylan. How you manage a thriving practice with that mouth is beyond me.” Their mother stood in the kitchen hallway with a large scowl on her face.
Derrick and Gage burst out laughing.
“You two might have warned me,” Dylan mumbled with a red face.
“But I have to admit, you have a point,” Barbara said, shoving one sack at Dylan and the other at Derrick. “Gage, you can’t solve your relationship problems with sex.”
He cringed, as did Derrick, when she started on the topic. Dylan nodded in agreement. Stupid therapist.
“You need to tell her how you feel, honey.”
“I did,” he gritted, wishing they’d all stay out of what they didn’t understand. He and Hailey were happy, and if she was a little quiet lately, she probably had a lot to worry about at work, what with that possible promotion coming her way.
“You did? What did you say?”
“I told her I loved her.”
His family stared at him like he’d grown a third eye.
“What? You said to be honest. I’m honest.”
“When did you tell her this?” his mother asked quietly.
“Ah, two weeks ago.”
“And what did she say?”
He shrugged, wishing he’d kept his mouth shut. He’d forced that awkward moment from his mind, and now they’d brought it to the surface again. He couldn’t help feeling simultaneous rejection and relief that Hailey seemed to have disregarded his big I love you moment. Had she maybe not heard him, or misunderstood him? He sure as hell hoped so.
“What did she say, Gage Andrew Warren?”
Both his brothers, and he, winced at his mother’s tone.
“Nothing. She said nothing.” But she’d just given me one hell of a blow job, so maybe she took what I said as in the heat of the moment? The notion hadn’t occurred to him before, and as his mother tried to soften the blow of Hailey’s rejection, he felt lighter, somehow. Maybe Hailey had attributed his declaration to one of those Oh God flashes.
“Oh, honey, I’m sure it’s all a big misunderstanding.”
“Yeah, I think it is.”
“Poor guy,” Derrick muttered, shaking his head. “And I still don’t have Sydney’s number.”
Gage grinned, surprising them. “Don’t worry about it. I have it under control. Now how about some hash and eggs?”
Gage whistled as he worked in his kitchen, waiting for Hailey to show. He’d clipped a deep red rose from his mother’s rose garden, and had cut all the thorns off but one.
Prickly, the flower reminded him of Hailey. Beautiful, but not to be taken for granted.
He’d thought about what his mother had said earlier, and what he’d finally figured out.
The time had come to lay it on the table. Why hide how he felt?
Hell, the way Hailey made love to him every night, she had to feel the same way.
Sure she’d been quiet lately. Maybe she had begun questioning their future. He knew from their many discussions that she viewed her past as a nightmare in the dating world.
She too often chose loser boyfriends, just like he’d chosen loser girlfriends, afraid of a commitment. Actually, he thought she was afraid of being abandoned again, like when her father had split, so subconsciously chose men she knew would never really suit.
Not that he’d ever admit as much to Dylan or Mom, but he did listen when they spoke, and paid attention to the lectures on relationships he’d been forced to attend when younger. A noise at the door called him from the stove.
Answering Hailey’s soft knock, he pulled her into his arms for a deep, breathless kiss.
“Hi,” she gasped. He hugged her, but felt only a lackluster return. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Shit. He could feel bad news coming, and raced through his mind for the last stupid thing he’d said.
“Gage, we need to talk.”
We need to talk—the four words every man dreaded. He stubbornly returned to the kitchen, but remained standing and braced himself for the worst.
“It’s just, well, I’m a little nervous about our time together.”
“What?” Okay, that had definitely confused him.