The Odds of Happily Ever After (The Reyes Siblings #2)

Chapter 34

chapter thirty-four

luna

Chloe

I CAN’T BELIEVE IT

Professor Hottie is mystery man?!

Kriz

You mean Gabe. Right, Lulu?

Chloe

Get that birthday D. Then tell all tom

He came. Not just that, but he stayed.

Nothing in my life had surprised me more than when I glanced at our booth and found Gabe talking to Chloe. Those dark curls and broad shoulders almost had me tripping over my own feet because I would have known it was him anywhere. It took everything in me not to run to him and kiss him on the spot, but Kai touched my arm and the reality of where we were and who I was with crashed back into my consciousness.

As it was, I rushed over to Gabe with Kai trailing behind me, and I knew that anyone who saw my face then would have known I was gone over this man.

Shifting in the passenger seat, I watched shadows dance across his face as he drove. He seemed more intimidating and stern—the brooding stranger standing in a corner of the club as he waited for me. He’d refused to stay in the booth, which I knew was his way of trying to maintain some form of propriety.

A distant part of me felt guilty for putting him in that position, but I couldn’t deny that it made my entire day. My whole year, even.

“You didn’t have to stay,” I murmured.

He glanced at me. “I couldn’t leave.”

My stomach flipped, and it had nothing to do with the alcohol and everything to do with his words. He was making it hard for me not to launch myself at him—and with every passing second, my resolve weakened. “I’m glad you came,” I told him.

His gaze moved to me again and dropped to my thigh. He made a sound deep in his throat and focused back on the road. “Your skirt.”

I looked down. With my left leg partially on the seat, the hem of my dress stretched high across my thighs, but it covered everything it needed to. “What about it?”

“You’re almost flashing me.”

The alcohol combined with the adrenaline caused by his presence heightened my senses. I shifted as I grew aware of the empty ache between my legs. “And? We’re friends, right?”

A muscle in his jaw ticked. “Is that what you do with your friends?”

“Just the ones I’m attracted to.” My thighs pressed together as heat flooded my core, and my breath hitched at the friction it created.

“Luna.” Gabe’s hand clenched around the steering wheel, the muscles on his forearm flexing.

Visions of his arms braced on either side of me as he straddled me on a bed flashed in my head. I didn’t get myself off often, but when I did, it was always Gabe I pictured with me. The only guy I wouldn’t say no to.

What would he say if I admitted that to him? Would he be horrified, or would he be turned on?

Gabe cleared his throat. “What about Kai?”

There seemed to be a lag between my ears and my brain. “Kai?”

“The boy you were dancing with.”

His voice was tight, and I wondered if I read the undercurrent correctly. “Are you jealous ?”

“Yes.”

His quiet admission froze me in place.

“He seems like a good guy. There’s nothing stopping you from being with him.”

“There’s only one guy I’m interested in, and it’s not Kai.” I looked at Gabe then.

His eyes met mine.

Ask me , I silently dared him.

But he turned his gaze back to the road and parked outside my building.

“Bring me up?”

His hands didn’t leave the steering wheel. “I shouldn’t.”

And then he unbuckled his seat belt.

gabe

I told myself I was only bringing her up because it was the right thing to do, seeing her safely to her apartment. I would have done the same with Tala at this time of night, especially if she was under the influence of alcohol. The difference was, I wouldn’t have questioned my ability to leave Tala at her door.

Leaving Luna was tough enough on any other day. Leaving her after she’d confessed her interest in me?

It tested my control unlike anything else.

Standing inside the elevator, I had never been more aware of someone’s presence beside me. Mere inches separated us, and if she were to lean into me, I wouldn’t move away. Not unless she asked me to.

The doors opened, and I followed her out into the hallway. When we arrived at her door, she turned to me, and I braced myself for what she would say next.

She smiled at me softly. “Thank you for coming, Gabe. I know it wasn’t your thing and that you’re worried about your reputation, but you being there really meant a lot to me.”

“It’s your birthday. I couldn’t miss it.”

She stepped in and wrapped her arms around my neck. Moving on reflex, my arms encircled her waist, and her eyes searched mine. Then she kissed me.

At the first touch of her lips, I sucked in a breath. A million thoughts crowded inside my brain, like is this really happening and this feels like a dream and I should move away . But she whispered my name, her voice heavy with need.

My hold around her tightened, and she kissed me again. Everything in me tuned into her. The softness of her lips as they coaxed a response from mine. The rasp of her nails across my scalp. The stiffness of her nipples pressing against my chest through our clothes.

Adrenaline surged through me as I kissed her back. This—this was where I belonged. In her arms, with her lips against mine.

She parted her lips, and I followed her cue, deepening the kiss. Angling her head back, I swept my tongue inside her mouth and tasted . . .

Vodka.

The subtle yet undeniable sweetness jarred me out of my fever dream.

I couldn’t. Not when Luna was tipsy at best.

Mustering every ounce of my self-control, I eased my head away from hers.

Her lashes lifted to reveal dazed eyes. “What’s wrong?” she asked as her fingers stroked my nape.

Sensation zipped down my neck all the way to my cock. It pressed against my pants and I had to step back to keep her from noticing my body’s reaction to her nearness.

Her hands fell away from my neck, and I caught them in mine. “You’ve been drinking,” I said.

“I’m not drunk.”

“Yes, but you’re not fully in control.”

“Maybe that’s what I need.” She tipped her head back, closing her eyes. “To stop overthinking every little thing and just go with what I feel for once.”

The graceful curve of her neck invited me to trace it with my lips. “I don’t want you regretting me, Luna.”

She opened her eyes and spoke without hesitation. “I’ve wanted you since I met you. Even when you were being an asshole.”

The utter honesty in her declaration only fed my need for her, but I couldn’t let my hormones dictate my actions. “I’m trying to do right by you,” I said as I squeezed her hands.

She sighed and removed her hands from mine. “I know. You’re always trying to do the right thing.” Her voice dropped. “I just wish I wasn’t the wrong one.”

What? I opened my mouth to insist that wasn’t what I meant?—

“Will you stay with me? You can take the sofa or my bed. I just . . .” She chewed on the inside of her lip. “I just don’t want to be alone right now.”

When she had the alcohol out of her system, I’d tell her there was nothing wrong with her, only the situation I’d kept up for too long. I’d tell her that she was everything good to me. She took my existence and brought life into it, shining light into the parts of me I’d kept hidden. I would do whatever I could to keep her shining bright.

But for now, there was only one thing I could say.