On one of the rare nights Rachel stayed in, she started talking to Gabby about me. I lay curled on the floor next to Gabby, listening and amused.
“You are so weird about him. What is it about the guy that keeps you coming back?” Rachel sat on the couch, folding her clothes.
Gabby smiled slightly and turned the page of the book in her lap before answering.
“You don’t know him like I do.”
“How can you know him at all when you two don’t talk?”
“You don’t need to talk to get to know someone. You just need to listen,” Gabby said.
I watched as her eyes stopped moving over the words in her book. Her gaze met mine, and a smile twitched her lips. I wondered what thought put it there.
“But that’s what I’m saying. He doesn’t talk. What are you listening to?”
Gabby laughed. “Actions speak louder than words. He’s there when I need him, he’s kind and caring, he keeps me safe; and as you’ve seen, he cooks and cleans. What’s not to like, Rachel?”
Yeah, Rachel, what’s not to like? I wanted to hug Gabby. Rachel’s grumbling told me she disagreed with my suitability for Gabby. So I stood, walked over to her, and lay down on one of the blouses she was trying to fold. Take that.
She laughed and tried to move me, but I just laid my head on my paws. I caught Gabby’s wide grin and winked at her.
Shaking her head, she went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. I was glad she was looking for more food. She didn’t eat enough. I’d been stopping at the store after work trying to tempt her with different things. Mostly, what I bought went unnoticed. Tonight, though, I was pretty proud of what I’d found, a big double-chocolate cake. Sure enough, Gabby honed in on it.
“Can I have a piece of your cake?” she asked.
“I thought it was yours. It was here when I got home,” Rachel called back.
I moved off Rachel’s clothes to watch Gabby. As she continued to stare at the cake, her expression softened.
I smiled. I just needed to be patient a little longer...
My patience paid off when the snow started to fall the week before Thanksgiving. The wind howled, and despite having the heat on, it was still chilly inside.
I lay at the end of the bed in my usual spot. Gabby had just crawled under the covers. Even with her feet under me, she shivered. I didn’t see how. She wore two or three layers.
“Screw this,” she said, sitting up. Then, she pulled off her sweatshirt and tossed it toward the closet.
I lifted my head, watching her and wondering what she was up to. She lay back down but started wriggling under the covers. A minute later, her sleep pants sailed across the room.
“Clay, will you keep me warm tonight?”
What? Hell, yes!
I shifted as I jumped off the bed and grabbed a pair of shorts to yank on. A second later, I pulled back the covers and slid in next to her where I belonged. Hopefully she couldn’t see my toothy grin in the dark. I just couldn’t help it. She wasn’t sick and she wanted me in bed with her. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. She snuggled in. I grunted when the ice cube she called a nose pressed against my bare chest, but I didn’t let go.
“No more fur at night. Deal?”
My heart felt like it had exploded in my chest. She was telling me I should sleep with her every night. As a man. Sure, I knew she only wanted me for my body heat. But I didn’t care. She could have me in whatever way she wanted me.
She fell asleep quickly while I stayed up most the night enjoying the feel of her wrapped around me. It was different from when I’d slept next to her when she was sick. Her hands moved often, finding a new spot on my chest or waist to warm themselves. I didn’t want to miss a moment of it.
When her cell rang early, I wanted to groan. It was Sunday, the day Gabby usually slept in. Bonus snuggle time. Hiding my disappointment, I quickly reached over her, grabbed the phone, and handed it to her.
She glanced at the display and frowned.
“Hello?” she said.
“Gabby, I found her, but...”
“Luke?”
I scowled. Why was he calling her?
“Yes. I understand you think she’s important, but she’s not even eighteen. How am I supposed to get her to come with me?”
Gabby pulled away from me and sat up. I grunted, annoyed with Luke.
“I can’t believe you actually found her. I need to talk to her. If she’s like me, which I think she is, you had better bring her to the Compound. I hate to admit it, but the Elders need to know.”
“Fine. You better be there when we get there,” he said, sounding annoyed.
Good. At least I wasn’t the only annoyed one. He’d ruined what could have been the best morning of my life. I refrained from sighing as Gabby got out of bed. At least there was tonight.
Chapter 21
It wasn’t just the next night, but every night, that Gabby folded back the covers to invite me in next to her. And, each day I went to work, with no signs of challengers waiting. I lived in a state of bliss.
Daydreaming of sleeping next to Gabby, yet again, I barely heard the shop phone ring or Dale’s answering, “Hello, Dale’s Auto Body.” Last night, she’d been so cold she’d practically slept on top me the entire time. If I concentrated, I could still smell her on me.
“Clay! It’s for you.”
I straightened away from the hood of the car I was working on and frowned. No one knew to call me here. Still, I went to the phone.
“Hello?”
There was an indrawn breath, then a moment of silence. The wait wasn’t long.
“Clay, I did it again,” Gabby said, her voice sounding strained. “I’m at the diner where we had breakfast. I need you to come get me before it gets worse.”
Damn it. I hung up the phone.
“Dale, I need a ride. It’s Gabby.”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
I jogged out the door, and he hurried to catch up. Who had she managed to find at the diner? I’d been so sure she would go after Rachel.
“Where to? Should we call an ambulance?”
“The diner on Main. No. She’s just sick, again,” I said as he pulled out of the lot.
He just shook his head and kept driving. When we pulled into the parking lot, I had the door open before he even stopped.
“Come back when you can. Take care of her.”
I nodded and leapt out.
Through the window, I spotted her. She looked pale. Her bottom lip trembled when she caught sight of me. I pulled open the door and strode to the booth where she sat.
“Hi,” she whispered, tilting her head to look at me. The pain in her gaze worried me.
She handed over her keys then started to slide out of the booth. I helped her to her feet and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her close. Fine tremors wracked her body as she shuffled alongside of me. I wanted to be frustrated with her—why did she need to keep hurting herself like this—but concern outweighed frustration as I maneuvered us out the door and to her car.
Once I had her in the car and buckled up, she shut her eyes. Her breathing hitched several times as I drove home, and she didn’t move when I picked her up and carried her inside. I knew she was awake, though; so after I tucked her into bed, I got her a glass of water. She drained it, then lay back with a tooth-chattering sigh.
I stripped to my shorts and slid in with her. This wasn’t the kind of snuggling I’d had in mind. I hated this. Hated the worrying. She didn’t understand her abilities and neither did I. What if she had a finite number of zaps in her? What would happen if she used them up? Would she burn herself out? Would she not wake up?