Tapestry of the Past Read Online Free Page A

hands wrapped around his cock.
    Slowly, ever-so-slowly, she eased the zipper down. He wasn’t wearing underwear so his cock jutted out, thick and proud, from the opening of his pants.
    “Commando?” The throaty question went straight to his balls.
    Gabriel lifted his head, taking a moment to study the wet circle on her silk blouse. “What can I say? I like to be one with nature.” He trailed a forefinger over the damp spot, satisfaction roaring through him when she shivered, her nipple drawing even tighter.
    “Trust me, sugar, you are a miracle of nature.” Green eyes teasing, she traced an invisible line the length of his aching cock before circling her fingers around it, right behind the flared cap. She seemed fascinated when his cock flexed in her grasp.
    Gabriel slid a hand up the inside of her thigh. Halfway up, his palm met warm flesh instead of silky stocking. Son of a bitch. She was wearing garters. Call him old-fashioned but there was something about garters on a woman. He slid his palm higher, until he felt the lace of her panties. Tugging the delicate panel of lace aside, he slipped one finger deep inside her body. The wet heat of her snug passage made him groan.
    God, he needed to be inside her.
    Wrapping his hand around her neck, he started to tug her up when she turned her head and placed a tiny kiss on the inside of his wrist. Right on the ridged, slick scar that circled it.
    What in the hell was he doing? He was supposed to be getting rid of her, not taking her to bed.
    Using his thumb to tilt her chin, he whispered into her mouth, “Tell Harley not to send a flake next time.”
    She went utterly still, then erupted out of the chair. Unprepared for the strength of her shove, he stumbled back a step. She faced him, all spitting fury and feminine outrage. “You bastard.”
    For a moment, Gabriel thought she was going to take a swing at him. Instead, she leaned down and grabbed her purse but not before he saw the wounded look in her green eyes.
    For a moment, he wished she had.
    Not looking at him once, she crossed the room and fumbled for the doorknob, her movements jerky. On the flagstone walkway, she hesitated as though she were about to turn around but then, squaring her shoulders, walked to her car instead.
    A hard tension held Gabriel taut as she climbed inside. He almost called her back, even lifted a hand to stop her but let it drop when she slammed the door and started the car. He watched her taillights as they winked in and out of the trees as she sped down the drive. Not until after they were long gone did he close the front door.
    Tucking himself back in his jeans, he zipped them but left the button undone.
    It was for the best. If she knew what that scar meant, she wouldn’t kiss it. She’d run screaming.
    A humorless smile twisted his mouth.
    Perhaps he should have told her the moment she walked in the door. He shook his head. No, he wouldn’t have missed the opportunity to hold her, to taste her warmth and light. Not for anything.
    Gabriel snapped off the lamp and sat in the dark.
    * * * * *
    Kalesia stormed into the house and slammed the front door behind her. “The bastard! The low-down son of a bitch. How dare he kiss me, touch me,” a hot blush scalded her cheeks as she recalled just how she had let him touch her, “then call me crazy?” She slammed her purse on the nearest chair. “Just who the hell does he think he is?” It’d serve Gabriel Steele right if she called Major Harley and let him know what a jerk he had for a friend.
    She sat on one end of the sofa, kicked her shoes off and curled her legs under her. Kalesia dropped her head back against the cushion, her righteous indignation fading as the ramification of Gabriel’s refusal to help sank home. She hugged her body to ward off a growing inner chill.
    Dear God, she truly had no one to turn to. Her parents believed her visions were dreams, the police thought, at best, she had an overactive imagination and Gabriel