Her mouth opened under his. And as everything inside her melted, he pressed her back onto the blanket. His weight came down on her, his hand behind her head.

Unable to help herself, she put her arms around his shoulders. His lips turned upward against hers as he smiled.

“You planned this, didn’t you?” she whispered.

“This, no. I did want to talk with you.” Fingers tangling in her hair, he tugged her head sideways and nibbled a place under her ear. “But this is good, too.”

Goosebumps coursed over her skin.

“I really should torture you some,” he murmured, “for pushing me into that damned council meeting.”

“But you’re good with people. At least they don’t scare you.”

He lifted his head, his eyes the blue of the twilight sky. “People scare you?”

“A little.” She bit her lip. “A lot. I prefer to find my friends in books. The characters there don’t expect me to say anything.”

“So it’s not really people, it’s conversing?”

She nodded. “I’m not a…sociable…person.”

His teeth closed on the muscle at the top of her shoulder, leaving a heady sting. Her breasts felt fuller, tighter.

“You seem sociable enough to me.” He nipped her jaw. “Hell, you work in a bar.”

“That’s different. When I’m working, I know what to say. There isn’t any time for inane chitchat.”

His head lifted as he considered. “That makes sense.”

She sighed. “I promised myself I’d try to be more of a…a joiner. Lillian says it takes practice.”

Gabe propped himself on his elbow beside her and idly played with a strand of her hair. “Practice will help. After spending winter in an isolated cabin, coming to town was difficult. Too many people.” A corner of his mouth turned up. “But it got easier. I don’t growl quite as much now.”

She laughed because she’d heard him snarl a time or two. “I knew you’d been out of touch for a while. But…all by yourself?” Both Bull and Dante had acted as if they hadn’t been sure he’d come to Rescue. “Why an isolated cabin?”

The creases beside his eyes deepened with his smile. “Did you realize that when you’re curious, you’re not shy at all?”

“Uh, maybe.” No, she hadn’t, actually. “Asking me a question won’t let you escape an answer.”

“Stubborn, too,” he muttered. The laughter faded from his eyes to be replaced by…grief? “It’s an ugly story, Goldilocks.”

His hand had closed around her hair. Laying her hand on top of his, she waited.