Courting Tragedy

Courting Tragedy (18)

Chapter 18

"Gage!" I called in a sing-song voice as I walked through the kitchen.

Both Logan and Gage were sitting at the bar, talking in hushed voices. As soon as I walked up to them, though, Logan's back stiffened and his words trailed off. He turned to face me, his eyes still apprehensive from my little tantrum earlier.

"Uh, hi there Em. Can I get you something? Food? Water? Tranquilizer?" He whispered the last part hopefully.

I smiled evilly. "Nope. But, I'd love if you disappeared for a few minutes. Would that be okay with you?"

Logan was out of his chair and slamming the kitchen door behind him before the sentence left my mouth. I smirked as I turned toward Gage, who was looking at me cautiously.

"We need to talk." I said bluntly. I figured that it would be best for me to just say it, instead of sugar-coating it.

"Do we?" Gage asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms in front of his chest. The corners of his mouth turned up as he stared at me.

Gosh, he's cute, some girly part of my brain whispered, I'd love to kiss him.. I immediately blushed, even though I knew he had no idea what had just gone on in my head.

"Yes. We definitely have to talk, since you seem to have major commitment issues." I paused. "Either that, or you're a closet prude."

In reaction to my words, he snorted so hard that he fell off of his chair and landed in a heap on the floor. I wanted to laugh, but instead I held a straight face and cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Neither, actually." Gage sighed and ran his hands through his hair, making small parts of his black locks stand up straight. "I'm new to girls, Em. The only one I've ever really bothered to be around is my sister, and it's been awhile since I've been around her. I don't know how to deal with crying and stuff."

I managed to make myself stop staring at his perfection long enough to choke out a reply. "You seem to manage fine when I'm crying and stuff."

He gave me a small smile. "Usually I just guess."

"Well then, sir, you'd probably be really good at the casinos." I joked, not really knowing how else to reply to that.

"I'd never gamble; the things I have are too valuable to risk losing them." He said seriously, all joking aside.

I swallowed, knowing that the conversation had taken a sudden change of topic.

"If you don't take a risk, though, you could lose the things you don't truly have," I said softly, feeling my heart swell at the risk I was taking.

Usually I don't tell boys how I feel about them; I'm just too shy for that. But, this time, I feel like I need to tell him before it's too late. I don't want to lose Gage; he's the best thing I've had in a long, long time. I'm scared he doesn't feel the same way, even though he'd been taking such good care of me since I got here, and comforting me when I'm scared.

"What if you're scared?" He whispered. "What if you're afraid that they don't feel the same way? Or that they want something more?"

At that moment, Gage looked scared. For the first time, he'd let his guard down and I saw that he was just as vulnerable as I was. As he sat there on the floor, I saw the teenager he was, instead of the adult he acted like. The broken, frightened look on his face almost broke my heart.

I reached down and took his hand, reveling in the warmth he gave off, and pulled him to his feet. Then I reached my hand up and caressed his cheek.

"What more could I want?" I breathed as I looked into his silver eyes.

"I don't know. But I'd do anything to be enough for you." One of his hands slipped around my waist and the other wove its way into my hair, even as he looked away from me.

"You've always been enough for me, Gage. You're all I want; why can't you see that?" I felt like crying; he thought he wasn't good enough for me, and that broke my heart.

"Please don't cry. Please, I don't want to make you cry again..." His voice was soft as he pulled me into a hug, pressing my body tightly against his.

My body fit perfectly against his, and I ran my free hand over his stomach. He groaned lightly, and I looked up at his face.

"Please, Gage. Please don't leave me hanging again. There's nothing I want more than you." I used the hand on his cheek to pull his face around so he was looking me in the eyes.

"Please." I whispered.

He smiled at me before closing the distance between us and pressing his lips to mine.

As soon as his lips touched mine, it was like fireworks exploded. I know it sounds cliche, but that's what it felt like. Our lips moved in synch as his hands roamed over my body, his fingertips brushing against the bare skin under my shirt. I slid my hand down to the edge of his t-shirt, teasing the top of his pants. I could feel the heat pouring off of him, and I knew he had wanted this as much as I had.

His lips left mine as I gasped for air, but they never left my skin. He trailed kisses along my jawline, then down my neck. I held back a moan for as long as I could, but it wasn't long before he started sucking on my skin and he found my soft spot.

"Gage," I moaned, my fingers weaving into his hair.

He grunted in reply and I pulled his face back up to mine. As we started getting back into the kiss, someone cleared their throat behind me.

I pulled away immediately, my face burning as I looked over my shoulder. A man stood in the doorway, wearing a suit and a smirk on his face that looked scarily familiar.

"Hello, son. Am I interrupting something?"