Read Online Gambling with Gabriella (Menage MfM Romance Novel) (Playing For Love Book 2) by Tara Crescent - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Tara Crescent
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lonely life, where I play poker to distract myself from the emptiness within.
When my body convulses in pleasure, when I gasp out their names and cling to them, I know I’m a fool. After just one night five months ago, when we were strangers to each other, they’d taken up residence in my dreams and refused to leave. Now that I know them more? Now that I have seen the depths of love in Carter’s tortured eyes when he talks about Noah, now that I’ve heard the open vulnerability in Dominic’s voice as he tells me he can’t stop thinking about me?
Walking away at the end of this isn’t going to be easy at all.
10
Carter:
D ominic receives a phone call at six. Gabby still hasn’t heard from Bulldog, and she’s getting twitchy. As am I.
Bulldog’s an unreasonable son of a bitch, and he hates Dominic’s guts. Things would have been so much easier had I just been able to call him up and ask for his help locating Ed Wagner. But as much as I’d like to think that even Bulldog wouldn't want to endanger a child, I’m not naive. He won’t move openly against us, but helping me is out of the question. There’s too much history there, and too much hate.
Same thing with Ed. He’d been there the night Chloe overdosed. I’m never going to be able to forgive him for that. I’m never going to be able to get over the fact that had Ed not supplied Chloe with the drugs she’d taken, she’d still be alive. Now, I feel the same sense of helplessness that I did in the first few months after her death.
Should I have taken a harder line with Chloe? Should I have checked her into a rehab facility against her will? Should I have threatened to take Noah away from her, though she was a good mother who deeply loved her child? These regrets have haunted me since the day she died.
Then, Gabby gets up to go pour herself a cup of tea, and as I look at her beautiful warm brown eyes, the pit in my stomach vanishes. She’s here, and she’s helping, and even though her own body is tight with tension, just being around her soothes and calms me.
Five months ago, we should have never let Gabby go. Touching her, making love to her over the last day and a half has just reinforced what my heart knew right from the instant I’d set eyes on her. I’m not going to let myself be haunted again by thoughts of things I should have done, words I should have said. Gabby left us once. This time, I owe it to myself to tell her that I don’t want her to go. I want her to stay and I want to get to know her. I can’t stop thinking about the fire in her eyes or the softness of her touch.
This time, I will lay my cards out on the table. I think I’m falling in love with her, even though I’ve only really known her for twenty-four hours.
But first, we need to find Noah.
----
D ominic listens in silence to the person at the other end of the line. “Okay,” he says into the receiver. “Let’s grab dinner and discuss this. See you in a few minutes?” He hangs up and looks at the two of us. “I’m sorry,” he apologizes. “I’ve got an urgent situation to deal with.” He takes Gabby’s hand in his and kisses her palm. “I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”
“I am capable of taking care of myself,” she says, with her customary sass. “Besides, isn’t Carter going to be right here?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I agree. “Shall we go out for dinner, Gabby?” I’m deliberately needling Dominic. He had all morning with Gabby, and I’m not above admitting I’m a little jealous.
She rolls her eyes at me. She’s smart, and she knows exactly what’s going on. “Every girl’s childhood dream,” she mutters under her breath. “Two hot guys fighting over her.”
“You think I’m hot?” I smirk. In response, she throws a cushion on the couch at me, one I snatch effortlessly out of the air. “Go,” I tell Dominic. “We’ll be fine.”
His eyes are amused, but that hard edge that usually accompanies it is gone.
When my body convulses in pleasure, when I gasp out their names and cling to them, I know I’m a fool. After just one night five months ago, when we were strangers to each other, they’d taken up residence in my dreams and refused to leave. Now that I know them more? Now that I have seen the depths of love in Carter’s tortured eyes when he talks about Noah, now that I’ve heard the open vulnerability in Dominic’s voice as he tells me he can’t stop thinking about me?
Walking away at the end of this isn’t going to be easy at all.
10
Carter:
D ominic receives a phone call at six. Gabby still hasn’t heard from Bulldog, and she’s getting twitchy. As am I.
Bulldog’s an unreasonable son of a bitch, and he hates Dominic’s guts. Things would have been so much easier had I just been able to call him up and ask for his help locating Ed Wagner. But as much as I’d like to think that even Bulldog wouldn't want to endanger a child, I’m not naive. He won’t move openly against us, but helping me is out of the question. There’s too much history there, and too much hate.
Same thing with Ed. He’d been there the night Chloe overdosed. I’m never going to be able to forgive him for that. I’m never going to be able to get over the fact that had Ed not supplied Chloe with the drugs she’d taken, she’d still be alive. Now, I feel the same sense of helplessness that I did in the first few months after her death.
Should I have taken a harder line with Chloe? Should I have checked her into a rehab facility against her will? Should I have threatened to take Noah away from her, though she was a good mother who deeply loved her child? These regrets have haunted me since the day she died.
Then, Gabby gets up to go pour herself a cup of tea, and as I look at her beautiful warm brown eyes, the pit in my stomach vanishes. She’s here, and she’s helping, and even though her own body is tight with tension, just being around her soothes and calms me.
Five months ago, we should have never let Gabby go. Touching her, making love to her over the last day and a half has just reinforced what my heart knew right from the instant I’d set eyes on her. I’m not going to let myself be haunted again by thoughts of things I should have done, words I should have said. Gabby left us once. This time, I owe it to myself to tell her that I don’t want her to go. I want her to stay and I want to get to know her. I can’t stop thinking about the fire in her eyes or the softness of her touch.
This time, I will lay my cards out on the table. I think I’m falling in love with her, even though I’ve only really known her for twenty-four hours.
But first, we need to find Noah.
----
D ominic listens in silence to the person at the other end of the line. “Okay,” he says into the receiver. “Let’s grab dinner and discuss this. See you in a few minutes?” He hangs up and looks at the two of us. “I’m sorry,” he apologizes. “I’ve got an urgent situation to deal with.” He takes Gabby’s hand in his and kisses her palm. “I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”
“I am capable of taking care of myself,” she says, with her customary sass. “Besides, isn’t Carter going to be right here?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I agree. “Shall we go out for dinner, Gabby?” I’m deliberately needling Dominic. He had all morning with Gabby, and I’m not above admitting I’m a little jealous.
She rolls her eyes at me. She’s smart, and she knows exactly what’s going on. “Every girl’s childhood dream,” she mutters under her breath. “Two hot guys fighting over her.”
“You think I’m hot?” I smirk. In response, she throws a cushion on the couch at me, one I snatch effortlessly out of the air. “Go,” I tell Dominic. “We’ll be fine.”
His eyes are amused, but that hard edge that usually accompanies it is gone.
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