Resisting Sin (Gold Diggers #1)

Episode 23 : Into the Night Sky 🌶🌶

Hayley stepped out of the poolside shower and nearly jumped back in surprise. "Jesus!" she gasped.

A brunette she didn't know stood in front of her, smiling. "Hayley, right? Gabriel asked me to tell you .." Her brows furrowed in thought. She pointed at herself, then at Hayley. Then her expression cleared. "... to meet him!" she finished triumphantly.

"Okay," Hayley said slowly. She glanced around. "Did he say where?" She'd lost sight of him a few minutes after she had jumped into the pool. Thankfully, Reinheart didn't pull any stupid stunts this time so she actually enjoyed herself. She stayed for half an hour before deciding to go find Gabriel. But first she had to rinse off, dry herself, and put her cover-up back on.

"The garden." The woman turned to go.

"Wait, where is it?"

"Beside the house." She threw Hayley a wink over her shoulder. "He says to hurry."

Hayley rolled her eyes. He could have joined her at the pool but he chose to sit in the corner and brood instead. He still couldn't be upset about her outfit, could he?

She made her way back to the house. One of the staff directed her to the exit to the garden, which she found easily. She walked out into the porch, her breath catching at the beauty of the manicured lawn and shrubbery in the silver moonlight. The scent of flowers filled the air.

This could have been so romantic, she thought as the door closed behind her with a soft click. She almost giggled. The idea of Gabriel doing anything romantic was ridiculous. Her thoughts were interrupted when a tall, imposing figure appeared in front of her.

Her heart slammed against her chest. But before she could open her mouth to scream, he clasped his large hand over her mouth. The wall was hard against her back as he pushed up against her.

"Shhhh. It's me."

On recognizing Gabriel's voice, her body went slack with relief.

What are you doing?

She couldn't say the words out loud because his hand was still over her mouth. Awareness of his body pressed up against hers made a strange tingle shoot up her spine. Warmth spread all over her. With his face so close, she could see the familiar darkness in his gaze. Was he as aware of her body as she was of his?

He released his hold on her mouth slowly. For a long, heart-pounding moment they stared at each other in silence.

"You asked to meet me —" she started to say.

"Shhhh."

She fell silent, then followed his sideways gaze. There was some movement in the distance but she couldn't see who or what it was.

"Who is it?" she whispered.

"Nobody," he whispered back.

"Then why are we hiding from them?"

"We're not."

She didn't know if he could see her expression in the semi-darkness, but she raised her eyebrow anyway. "Did you ask me here to play hide-and-seek?"

"I didn't ask you to come here."

"Oh." Heat flared in her chest. "So you came here to meet someone else, then?"

He let out a sigh of exasperation. "Women."

"Excuse me?" She didn't bother whispering this time. Or hide her irritation, for that matter.

He kept his voice low. "Keep your voice down."

"Oh no. You don't get to do that. You don't get to say shit like that and not expect a reaction from me."