Gabe shook his head and reached for the mixing bowl again. This time she took control of the flour while he added the brown sugar and other ingredients. Anna felt her shoulders relaxing as she enjoyed the easy camaraderie between them.
Here, in the small kitchen, it seemed safe enough to talk. To let some of the heaviness from last night go. “My parents really hated each other,” she said, watching as Gabe stirred the mixture. “It made everything in my childhood...very tense.”
The set of Gabe’s jaw told her he was listening intently, and she was grateful for his silence, allowing her to maintain the courage to continue. “My father was always getting into trouble, my mother was always angry, and none of it was idyllic. Not like this place.” Anna took a deep breath. “Baking always made me feel better.”
“My parents loved each other when they were still alive. And my grandmother did her best to make a happy home for us. We were lucky.” Gabe shook his head. “But I never felt like I measured up to a family like this one. It was always so perfect here, and I don’t know—maybe I just wanted something else out of life. I didn’t think I could do what Jonas did. And Chase took off chasing his dream. So, when it was my turn, I did the same. I left the family business to start out on my own. It’s been a success, but then I was never with the right girl, never happy enough...not to please Grandmother, anyway.” He slid the next batch of cookies into the oven and closed the door, setting the timer on the microwave.
When he straightened up, Anna met him with a kiss. Empathy squeezed at her heart, and she already hummed with desire from standing so close to him. Gabe didn’t seem surprised at her arms on his shirt or her lips on his—he seemed hungry. Like a man looking for a port in a storm.
He groaned, low and soft, and the sound made her move closer. “I’ve wanted to kiss you all morning.”
“I’m kissing you now,” she said.
Gabe took her in his arms, letting his hands work over her dress, caressing the soft red material. He pushed it up to her hips like he was opening a present, and then dropped to his knees.
She sucked in a breath at the sight of his blond head below her, leaning in to press kisses to the line where her panties met her thighs. He tugged them down like he was undoing a ribbon and she stepped out of them, suddenly finding herself backed against the counter. Gabe kissed her core, sending a hot wave of desire through her body.
His tongue stole between her folds, and she put a knuckle between her teeth, trying to stifle the moans that escaped. It felt like she was falling. Like he’d opened a door into his heart and soul. It was then she knew the truth. She’d fallen for Gabe. And for the pleasure that wound tight between her legs.
Gabe brought her to a slow, sensuous release. Before she knew it, he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom while the aftershocks still echoed through her body. He opened the nightstand drawer and grabbed a condom, quickly returning to the task. Unfurling the protection, he slid it onto his length, sheathing him tightly. He was strong enough to hold her up with her back against the wall, wrapped around him as he thrust into her.
Oh, it was good. It was better than chocolate, better than cookies, and better than Christmas. The slow roll of his hips against hers and the way he dropped his head against her shoulder while he pushed in and pulled out made her dizzy with desire.
Gabe repositioned her hips, rolling her close against him. Anna gave in to the orgasm as it climbed higher and higher, crashing in waves as it broke over them. She could feel him coming, feel the tension in his lean body while he came. When it was over, he held her up, thumbs tracing a path on the flesh of her hips while their breathing slowed.
I hope he feels the same. The thought unfolded itself and dissolved like sugar on her tongue.
A faint beeping came from the kitchen, and Gabe let out a heavy sigh and set her back on her feet. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and was gone, off to check on the cookies.
Later that night, they wrapped the cookies in a gift box and headed for his grandmother’s rooms. They met up with Jonas, Tana, and Chase at the door.
Chase’s eyes twinkled. “What’s in the box?”
“A gift,” Gabe answered. “Is she waiting for us?”
“What kind of gift?” Jonas asked.
“Not a gift for you.” Gabe led the way into the apartment, where his grandmother waited in the living room, elegant in a long black sweater and a silver scarf at her throat. He bent to kiss her cheek and put the gift box gently in her hands. Jonas and Chase exchanged a look.
“What’s this?” Elin’s eyes twinkled. “For me?”
Gabe rubbed at the back of his neck. “Just some Christmas cheer.”
His grandmother pulled open the top of the box, and her eyebrows went up. For the first time, Anna saw the cookies the way the older woman would see them—chunky, a little misshapen, and obviously homemade. “Oh, thank you, Gabe.” She pulled him down into a hug.
“Did you do that yourself?” Jonas asked, a slightly suspicious look on his face. “I think this is the first time you’ve ever baked anything.”
“Anna and I worked together,” Gabe answered.
His grandmother lifted a cookie from the box and bit into it, her eyes fluttering closed. “This is delicious.” She finished the cookie quietly and offered some to the others.
“Cute.” Chase grinned. “Nice gift.”
Gabe shrugged in response, but Anna could see the color darkening in his cheeks. He angled his body more toward his grandmother who’d managed to eat the entire cookie without getting so much as a crumb on her sweater. “I’m sorry I couldn’t host a dinner for you tonight.”
“That’s okay.” Jonas spoke first without hesitation. “If you need to rest, you can rest.”
Anna had noticed the tension in the woman’s body the whole time they’d been there, so it was nice to see her relax a bit. It was, she supposed, a family tradition for their grandmother to host many meals throughout the holidays, each lovely and elegant. The mood in the room shifted, and each brother set out to reassure their grandmother it was more than okay to take it easy.
Tana moved to sit on the couch beside Elin as they chatted, but Anna couldn’t do it.
It didn’t matter, though, because she was never going to be a genuine part of this family—the thought causing a lump to form in her throat. She’d told Gabe some of her past, and so far, he didn’t act differently toward her. But that was way more than she could expect from the rest of his family. Or deserved, for that matter.
Anger swelled, heating her cheeks and making her mouth go dry. Her father could have been a decent man who led a normal life, and then she wouldn’t have any secrets. They weren’t really her secrets, either, but no matter what she did, they seemed to cling to her like a second skin.
Gabe appeared at her side and put a hand on her back, his thumb tracing a slow path over the fabric of her dress. “She likes the cookies,” he murmured into her ear, but she could see that he wasn’t sure the gift had been good enough.
“She definitely did,” Anna agreed. “I saw her face when she took the first bite. You can’t hide joy like that.”
He relaxed. “I couldn’t have done it without you.” He leaned in and kissed her temple, and just like that, all her frustration melted away. A kiss on the temple in front of his family didn’t mean anything, but the words he spoke only for her benefit were different. Those meant something. So did the way he pulled her in close to his side and held her there for a few moments. “We’ll let you rest, Grandmother,” he called. “Let us know if you need anything at all.”