Best Man Under the Mistletoe

“You’re not going to say anything?” she called after him.

Gabe tugged at the reins and freed his horse from the tree before glancing back over his shoulder. “You want to fight? You’ll have to look elsewhere. A beautiful woman just came apart in my arms. I’m not feeling much like arguing. I want to be here for you, Chelsea. Not because my uncle tried to ruin you and so many others, but because I can’t ignore this pull between us or what just happened.”

He mounted the horse and turned him toward the stables, but held tight on the reins to keep him in place. “You riding back with me or alone?”

Still flushed and sexy as hell, Chelsea stared up at him. “Unless there’s wedding business to attend to, we’re better off returning separately.”

He had a feeling she’d say something like that. It was expected, but that didn’t lessen his frustration any.

Gabe rested his elbow on his knee and leaned down. “You can push me away, but that won’t stop what’s happening.”

A rumble of thunder had him glancing toward the sky then back down to her. “Better get back. Storm’s comin’.”

He just hoped like hell they could weather it.

* * *

Chelsea dropped her keys onto the accent table inside her doorway and wiped her damp hair away from her face. The pop-up storm matched her mood—fierce and full of rage.

The lightning flashed, illuminating her open floor plan as she made her way inside. No sense in turning on the lights. They were set on a timer, anyway, and apparently her electricity had gone out because nothing was on in the entire place.

Perfect. Her phone needed to be charged and she’d wanted to take a hot bath and ignore the world...and the throb between her legs. Because as much as she tried to ignore what had just happened, it was impossible. Gabe was impossible. The stupid man was making her feel things, making her body hum and come alive like never before—all while they were still fully dressed. Her body still sizzled from the orgasm against the tree.

Chelsea made her way to her bedroom using what little battery she had left on her phone to light the way.

First, the man had tried to get it on with her in a dressing room and then he’d pleasured her at the damn club. He was slick, seductive and she’d loved every single minute of both experiences.

Well, she’d loved the way he’d physically made her feel, but the mental side...

Why did he have to keep messing with her head?

Everything circled back to Dusty and how he’d been so meticulous in planting evidence to ruin lives and pointing the finger of blame in so many different directions. The scandal had rocked the entire town and Chelsea wasn’t sure she’d ever recover, if she were being honest.

It was humiliating to walk down the street and wonder if passersby had seen the photos of her naked.

Tears filled her eyes once again. She’d shed too many tears caused by a whole gamut of emotions. She’d cried from anger, from frustration, from hurt and resentment...so many things. And she’d had to do it all in private because her very best friend wanted and deserved the wedding of the year and there was no way Chelsea would ruin this monumental moment for her.

Chelsea’s cell vibrated in her hand just as she hit her bedroom. When she glanced at the screen, she saw a text from her brother and a missed call from him earlier. With only an eight percent charge left on her battery, she opted to ignore it all. Not that she wouldn’t have, anyway.

She definitely wasn’t in the mood to talk to Daniel. She loved him and his fiancée, Erin, but right now she just wanted to get into pajamas and lie in bed. With the lightning flashing outside, soaking in her garden tub wasn’t the smartest idea. It wasn’t late, but late enough, and with the electricity gone, she could at least lie down and read on her electronic reader.

But as she sank to the edge of her bed, all she could think of was how amazing Gabe had made her feel. The man was so, so giving. All the focus had been on her and then, when she’d wanted to battle it out because she’d had no clue what to do with all her emotions, he’d walked away. Some might have said that was cowardly, but she saw it as gentlemanly. He hadn’t wanted to make things more difficult than they already were.

Either that, or he’d just wanted to seduce her and that was all.

Unfortunately, she didn’t think that was the case. She truly believed he wanted her. That he wanted to get closer to her, and not just for the sex. Yes, Gabe was often seen as a man of mystery, but she was starting to see him for so much more.

All of those reasons were precisely why she was so angry. She’d been furious with him back at the club. No, she’d been furious with herself. It wasn’t his fault that when he touched her she went off like a rocket. It wasn’t his fault that she’d never had a lover like him before.

Wait. Lover? No. They weren’t going to have sex. They couldn’t have sex. That would go against everything she’d vowed to herself. She wasn’t even fully convinced of his innocence in his uncle’s controversy, which was all the more reason she needed to keep her distance.

But how could she?

Six

The scream echoed through the barn and made his ears ring. Gabe spun around and spotted Brandee in the doorway, the sunlight illuminating her.

“That is going to be so gorgeous,” she squealed as she raced across the open space.