“Oh my God, Gabe” she said. “What happened to your face?”

He shrugged, still holding his phone to his ear. “I got in a little fight.”

“A fight with who?”

“A certain cage fighter we both despise.”

He’d gotten into a fight with Dick Bailey? Was he insane?

“What in the world happened?”

“I figured since the cops weren’t going to do anything to him, I’d kick his ass.” He ran a hand gingerly over his face. “You didn’t tell me he was so f**king huge.”

“Are you crazy? You went after him? Gabe! He’s a professional fighter.”

“Semi-professional,” he corrected. “And yeah, well, he doesn’t look as bad as I do, but I got in a few good licks before they threw me out.”

“Is that why you left us at the station? So you could go beat up someone?”

He winced. “You make it sound like a crime. I was beyond pissed at the time, and it seemed like a good idea to release my anger on the responsible party’s face.”

She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. He gasped, and she immediately let go. Apparently his face wasn’t the only thing that had taken a pummeling.

“Don’t let go,” he said, drawing her against him again.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Then don’t ever again make me think you’ve left me.”

She pressed her face into his bare chest, but kept her hold loose. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

“You did,” he said. “Far more than getting punched in the face by a cage fighter.” He rubbed his lips against her hair. “I thought you’d gone back to Wichita without saying goodbye.”

She tilted her head back so she could look at him. He smoothed her hair with both hands and then lowered his head to claim her trembling lips. She couldn’t believe he’d risked himself for Nikki. If Melanie hadn’t already been completely enamored with the man, that reckless act of selfless heroism would have done the trick.

His kiss was too short. She’d have liked it to go on forever.

“Melanie?” Nikki mumbled from the bed. She sat bolt upright. “Melanie!”

“I’m right here,” Melanie said. “I’m just saying goodnight to Gabe.”

“You’re going to make me leave, aren’t you?” Gabe said.

Knowing she had to send him away made her sick with longing. She’d much rather snuggle against him all night than fight Nikki for covers, but sometimes sacrifices had to be made. Melanie knew Nikki wouldn’t sleep if she left her alone. And Nikki needed sleep. And to feel safe and loved. Nikki needed cuddles even more than Melanie did. So she brushed a kiss against Gabe’s lips, pushed him into the hall, and shut the door.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Gabe had spent half the night missing Melanie, half the night being jealous of Nikki, and half the night feeling guilty about that jealousy. Yes, his nights were now fifty percent longer. At least they felt that way when he attempted to sleep alone and ended up feeling sorry for himself.

Jacob called near noon.

“Can you vacate my room now? Adam said he gave my spare key to your girlfriend. Why are you guys in my room anyway? Did you break another set of box springs?”

Gabe knew Jacob was joking, but he was in no mood for banter.

“I’m not with her,” he said. “She’s in your room, and I’m in my room.”

“Oh,” he said flatly. “What’s going on?”

“Shit,” Gabe grumbled. “Lots of f**ked-up shit.” He rubbed at his tired eyes and was served a painful reminder that he’d gotten his ass whipped the night before. Well, most of the whipping had occurred to his face, but he felt it in every inch of his body.

“Sounds like the morning I’m having,” Jacob said. “So what should I do? I don’t want to just barge in on her.”

Gabe climbed out of bed and reached for his jeans, holding his phone between his head and his shoulder while he slipped them on. “I’ll go with you.”

“Aren’t you two fighting?”

“No. She just has better things to do than me.” He knew that kind of thinking wasn’t fair to her, but after eight hours of tossing and turning—aching for her, body and soul—his attitude was more than a little skewed.

He entered the corridor and cringed as the bright lighting stabbed through both eyes and into his brain. Next on his agenda: pain relievers.

“What the hell happened to your face?” Jacob asked.

“I bounced it off some guy’s knuckles a couple dozen times,” Gabe said. “Good times.”

Gabe noticed a bruise on Jacob’s forehead and pointed at it. “And what happened to you?”

“Ex-wife,” Jacob said.

“Bitch.”

“Ball-buster.”

Gabe poked at Jacob’s bruise. “Head-buster.”

Gabe attempted a grin. Jacob grinned back. And the pair of them ended up in a back-slapping bro hug because they couldn’t dissolve into a sobbing embrace like a couple of little girls.

Jacob handed Gabe his key card. “Are you going to bust in there without knocking?”

“Yep,” Gabe said, because he really hoped Melanie had nothing to hide. Strange thoughts had begun to enter his head after several hours of sleep deprivation and the splitting headache from Hell. Thoughts that gave him a real reason to be jealous of Nikki.

The women were still asleep, entwined in each other’s arms like sated lovers. Nikki’s hand rested on Melanie’s breast, and her face was pressed into Melanie’s neck. But they weren’t naked, so Gabe breathed a sigh of relief.

“Well, what do we have here?” Jacob said.

Melanie’s eyes flipped open, and she glared when she recognized who had interrupted her sleep. “What are you doing in here? Get out!”

“Melanie?” Nikki murmured in her sleep.

“This is my room,” Jacob said. “You get out.”

Gabe pressed his fingertips to the center of his forehead. “Not the time to start an argument,” he said. “Mel, why don’t you take Nikki back to my room? I’ll hang here with Jacob if you still need to be alone with her.”

Melanie eased Nikki’s hand from her breast and her head from her shoulder. She slipped from the bed and wrapped her arms around Gabe’s neck. “You can’t possibly know how hard it was to spend the night without you, knowing you were so close yet so far away.”