Perfect Fit - Brenda Jackson [76]
Gabe broke off the kiss the exact moment her body began to shudder in his arms, and Sage screamed his name … his name … moments before collapsing against his chest.
Half an hour later Gabe was still holding Sage protectively against him in his lap while she slept. He had gotten great satisfaction bringing her pleasure, and just to think he had kept his promise to her.
Kissing, touching but no sex.
Inhaling deeply, he ignored the ache that still claimed his body. And it didn’t help matters that his erection was still hard and was pressed intimately against her. Closing his eyes, he downplayed any need he had. Taking care of her needs had been more important to him than taking care of his own.
And bless her heart, she hadn’t understood that she’d had those needs. He wondered if it had ever occurred to her that those “sexual urges” had been the result of her body going six months without something she’d grown accustomed to getting.
He shook his head. To Sage everything was supposed to be simple. But she had found out just how problematic life could be when her father and ex-fiancé had caused her grief, and although she hadn’t yet admitted it to herself, her pain had not yet healed. She was in a state of denial if she thought that it had.
He also knew that in order for them to share a relationship that was strong, meaningful and absolute, it had to be based on love and not lust, trust and not mistrust, gain and not pain. And to make sure they moved in the right direction toward those goals, they would do things his way.
Leaning down, he kissed her damp forehead and then tightened his hold around her. Gabe knew at that moment, emotional baggage or not, Sage was the one person who could make him feel whole.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Sage yawned and slowly stretched out on the bed when she came awake. Memories flooded her mind, and the last thing she remembered was …
“Oh, my.”
She quickly sat up in bed and glanced around the bedroom. Someone had placed her atop the covers fully clothed. That someone had to have been Gabe. She glanced at the clock on the night-stand at the same time she picked up the aroma of food cooking. It was seven in the evening. Evidently, Gabe had decided to start dinner without her.
She drew a deep breath, wondering how she was going to face him after the way she’d acted, wanton and hot. No telling what he thought of her. Kissing him again hadn’t been so bad, but she had actually let him touch her … there. Last night had been their first date, and already he’d made it to second base. She had dated Erol a full year and a half before she’d entertained the idea of sleeping with him, and before then all he’d gotten out of her was a kiss, a kiss that was nothing like the kiss Gabe had laid on her. Gabe had a way of turning a kiss into foreplay, just like he’d said. But she couldn’t hold him responsible for what had happened. He had told her that he wanted to kiss and touch her. She just hadn’t known to what extent he had wanted to touch.
She leaned against the bedpost, relieved that at least they had talked, although she had been the one doing most of the talking. She still wasn’t sure what he wanted out of their relationship other than kissing and touching.
She reached up and let her fingers touch her lips. They felt sore. Rolling to the side, she grabbed her purse off the nightstand and fumbled through it in search of a mirror. She found one, and when she saw her reflection, she wasn’t surprised that her mouth looked swollen and well kissed. Placing the mirror back in her purse, she flopped back on the bed, knowing she couldn’t hide in this room forever.
Her heart began to race, her nipples felt tingly against her sweater and she felt hot between her legs when she remembered just what Gabe had done to her, just how he had touched her. She and Erol had always engaged in traditional lovemaking. Foreplay was something that happened before you did the real thing, to basically get you ready for that point. Foreplay had never been a standalone