Page 48 of Rough and Rugged
Carson shook his head. “You know Caleb. He doesn’t say, he does. Heacts. He’s told you for years, honey. You just haven’t heard him.”
“What do I do?” I whispered, horrified at my own cluelessness.
“Go tell him you heard him. And make him hear you, too.”
Chapter Nine
Caleb
“Incoming.Gemmajustpulledup.”
I nodded my thanks at Lloyd and headed toward the front, pulling my mud-caked gloves off as I walked. Only a few hours earlier I’d left the house while she was still sleeping, propping a note against a coffee mug letting her know her car was fixed, then headed to the workshop so I wouldn’t have to face her.
I should have known that wouldn’t work for long. My Gem was too persistent.
And thinking of her as ‘my’ anything would make whatever was coming worse, not better.
I stepped around the corner of the building as she climbed out of her SUV. I made myself stop, not needing the temptation of having her within touching distance. I ran my eyes over her, unable to help myself, and saw that she’d caught me when I finally looked her in the eyes.
“What do you need, Gem?”
I expected her to say a few things in return. That she wanted me to take her money, or maybe wanted an apology for being an ass to her. Or maybe – my stomach twisted – now that she’d thought about it, she wanted a divorce.
What I didn’t expect was for her to walk toward me slowly, eyes intent on mine. She stopped a mere breath away, so close I could feel the brush of her body against me. She looked up at me with her pretty green eyes and stopped my world with her words.
“You, Caleb. I need you.”
I shook my head, wordless, stunned.
“You…” Her words echoed in my head.I need you. It sounded…she couldn’t mean…
She laid her hand over my heart and my breath froze in my lungs. She’d never touched me this way. Not even close. We’d hugged, brushed past each other, but this…
“I need you to truly be my husband. And I need to truly be your wife. Most of all, I need you to let me love you. Because I do, Caleb. I love you. I have for a long time.”
I was in a parallel universe. Or still sleeping. That was it – I was asleep, dreaming Gemma was saying these words. And I never wanted to wake up.
In my dream, Gemma pressed closer. “I think you love me, too.”
“I do,” I rasped out, my throat tight with emotion. “More than anything.” I gave into temptation, reaching out and running my hand over her hair like I’d wanted to so many times, jolting back to reality at its softness.
This wasn’t a dream. Gemma was really standing in front of me, telling me she loved me.
And I’d told her I’d loved her, too. There was no more hiding it.
I tipped my head forward, resting it against hers, our lips a whisper apart.
“This can’t be real. I’ve wanted you for so long.”
“Show me, Caleb.” I felt her breath on my face and dropped my head closer, dragging my lips across her soft cheek, feeling my body stir at her tiny gasp. “I need you to show me.”
“I can’t let you go, Gem.” I rested my hands on her hips, nearly groaning at the feel of her. I was hanging on by a thread, but I had to make sure she understood. “If we do this, I can never let you go.” I wasn’t sure I could even now. It would be like tearing my heart out.
She skimmed her hands up my sides and I felt myself grow harder. “I won’t ask you to. I won’t ever, ever ask you to.”
The thread snapped.
I pulled Gemma tight against me and took her mouth with mine. When she opened for me, I took the kiss deeper, reveling in her sweet taste as she clung to me, her tongue tangling with mine. I kissed her again and again, running my hands over her body like I’d dreamed, loving the feel of her hands on me in return.