by Eva K. More
He held her head in a vice grip, immobilizing her.
“Kiss me, Gabriel,” she said.
He groaned first but complied and lowered his lips to hers. Kat tasted of honey and a sweetness he hadn’t dared dream about.
With languid strokes of his tongue, he savored her like a starving man eating his first real meal after months of stale bread and butter. Her flowery scent teased his nostrils, and his loin was burning with a nearly blinding need to consume and conquer.
Gabriel let her climb atop him, straddling him with her long legs, her hair cascading around them, a curtain to keep the rest of the world out.
His mouth devoured hers with vigor, and he sucked her lower lip between his own.
“You’re killing me, little bird.”
She grinned at his tortured expression and ground her hips into his hardness. After another heated kiss in which he sucked at her lower lip, bit it, and soothed the sting with a lick of his tongue, he reached for her arms and pushed her away.
“Listen,” he said, “this has to stop.”
And instead of fighting to overwhelm him, Kat stopped her ministrations and looked at him, lust giving way to frustration. “Why? Why do you always fight me? I feel that you want me just the same, but this here- this resistance, it’s making me crazy. I don’t get it. I don’t think that I’m that terrible.” When she tried moving off him, he held her.
“It’s not that easy to explain.” He grumbled.
“Then make an effort.” Kat crossed her arms in front of her chest.
Because he sensed her growing insecurity and her eyes had suspiciously lost their glimmer, he actually tried sorting his thoughts first. “I told you how there’s no future with me. Disregarding the fact that your father is my mentor, you are the white picket fence girl, Kat. You deserve a better life than I can give you.”
“And if this is not the future I want to have? What if I would rather have any future with you than a white picket fence?” She asked defiantly.
“Is it not?” He asked, though, didn’t believe for a second that her answer would be ‘no.’ She still kept looking at him with confusion and hurt and the seconds she took thinking about his question sealed the deal.
“I don’t know what I want in the future; I just know that I want you in it,” she said finally, biting her lip. “But does it matter now, in this second?”
Kat lifted a hand and trailed her fingertip against his lips, and at the same time, she shifted her hips forward, and some of his resistance melted. She was vulnerable, but so beautiful that it was hard to think.
“I guess not…” he trailed off, his last breath vanishing against her lips.
His lips trailed down her mouth, biting and sucking the sensitive skin of her throat. Then he gripped her hips with a firm hand and ground her body against his own as he lifted his hips to meet her thrusts.
When he ripped himself away from her again, she growled. “What the-”
Gabriel could not hide his amusement as he lifted one corner of his mouth.
“I’m not stopping, little bird. But I want to take it slow,” he murmured huskily into her ear, making goosebumps appear on her skin. “You want a ride on the bad side? It doesn’t always have to be so fast.”
He felt her shiver at his words before she scratched his scalp with her fingers, tearing on his hair until his lips captured hers once again. “I like it fast.”
“You’ll like slow more. Let me show you.” Kat shrieked in his ear when he stood up, lifting her in the process.
“What are you doing?”
When he turned and let her fall on the couch, he grinned at her. “Worshipping you.”
Gabriel reveled in her heated, slightly unfocused gaze. He loved the little breathy gasp that left her swollen lips as he kneeled in front of her. “Unbutton that blouse, little bird.” He didn’t use his authoritative voice that had his men jumping; this one was a velvety demand reserved only for her. It was the part that had him displaying his power, playing to be in charge, but it was only a façade because when she looked at him with her beautiful green eyes as she opened her blouse, bit by bit, he knew that she held the reigns in her hands.
There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her.
He made her bare her body entirely to him. It had her pouting a little because he was still dressed, but the moment he stroked her between her legs, the protest died on her lips.
Gabriel watched Kat touch her breasts, with each heavy breath accentuating her perfect body.
He trailed down his lips, starting from her nipple, rounding her belly button, and his nostrils flared when he was reaching his goal. She smelled fucking delicious, a scent so intoxicating that it had him forgetting all other senses. And when he kissed her lower, and her moan turned deeper, he thought he had arrived into salvation. Nothing had ever tasted better.
Gabriel knew he was a beast corrupting an innocent little bird, but at this moment, he didn’t feel like a beast, and she didn’t look like a bird. She was his every fantasy, made of blood and flesh, hot to the touch, wet to the skin. He had wanted to worship her like a goddess, but right now, he didn’t feel like she was so far away. Kat felt closer than ever.
When she came and cried out, he stood and opened his belt, driven by the urge to become one with her.
But suddenly, the ringing of his phone brought him out of his haze. The abrupt change made him snarl.
“Shit! That’s your father.” And just like that, the magic was gone.
Kat’s rosy skin and feverish gaze had him questioning his sanity for a second, but he could not ignore his boss, his actual best friend.
“Yes?” he answered gruffly, looking away from her. He ignored his iron hard-on and focused on Maryan’s voice.
He ended the call with a nerve-wracking click in the otherwise quiet room. “I need to go now,” he said. Gabriel could barely look at her. Kat had already started putting her clothes back on, but she still looked so damned sexy.
“Okay,” her voice was hoarse from her previous groans.
He didn’t move yet, though. Why hadn’t she looked up at him? Why did she hide her gaze?
“Kat-”
“What if I know what I want in the future?” She interrupted him, and when she finally met his eyes, his palms started sweating.
Could it be that she wanted him? No, it was only a post-orgasmic change of heart, nothing that would last past him leaving her apartment. But she surprised him when she finally stood, wearing only her blouse and no pants.
“Be careful, Gabriel,” Kat said. “And come back to me.” The chaste kiss she placed on his lips nearly had him falling to his knees. If he didn’t move his eyes off her beautiful face, he would never leave.
And with his last straw of control, he stepped back and left.
He would use the next twenty minutes of driving to cool off so he could face Maryan without the massive tent in his boxers. For a second, Gabriel leaned back into his seat and exhaled loudly. If he had any conscience, he wouldn’t have been able to look directly into the eyes of his mentor ever since coming back from the cabin.
As it was, his remorse was not nearly as high as it should have been. Gabriel knew that he should not touch Kat as he did, but he was addicted to her. So, even if it meant betraying Maryan, he simply couldn’t stop himself. Maryan would know, that just like him, Gabriel would die for her. And this kind of devotion was always followed by another deep feeling.
Surely, Maryan couldn’t have been so blind when setting him up with this task.
Shit. I’m a dead man. He thought.
But with her taste still in his mouth, at least he would die with a smile on his lips.
n the next day, when Kat stepped out of the university, she stopped dead in her tracks.
“Hello, darling,” Lina was leaning against a car in front of her.
Kat’s eyes darted past her, searching the open space, her pulse beating frantically.
Lina pursed her lips. “Oh, are you
looking for Beast? I can bring you to him. This time, I promise.”
Kat narrowed her eyes at the other woman. She wore full make-up, but her roots were showing, and her eyes were glowing. “What do you mean?”
Instead of answering immediately, Lina let an object dangle from her finger.
Kat gasped. It was Beast’s mask.
“This time, he had no chance. But he’s not dead yet. If you want to keep him alive, you better come with me.” Lina took a step back and opened the door of the car. “Better be quick, darling.”
Blind with panic, Kat reacted first before thinking it through. If Gabriel needed her help, she had no other option than to get into the car; she wouldn’t leave him alone, but before she could change her mind and think rationally, she felt a sharp pain in her arm, and then she was gone.
***
The familiar feeling of waking up confused and in a different place made her cringe. At the same time, she drew strength from it.
“You know, darling, you are one hard girl to track down.”
Kat squinted against the bright ceiling lamp and glared at Lina, who was poised on the edge of the futon she was currently lying on. Lina’s cold fingers reached out to brush a lock off of her face. Kat wanted to move her head, but she was still too drowsy, and her limbs felt way too heavy for her to try and fight her off. So instead, she shot Lina a murderous look while the woman continued stroking her hair.
“What- what di- did you do?” Kat stumbled over her words.
“Shh, darling. That little cocktail I gave you will keep you a little delirious, so you better not exert any strength now. But if you want to talk, you can just listen. Who knew that you and Beast were such good friends? We saw him spending quite a lot of time in your apartment.” The knowing smirk on her face made Kat shiver.
Where was Gabriel?
Kat swept her eyes across the room. She was sure she had never been there before. The walls were wooden and reeked of old money, and the furniture was sparse but massive with a sixties touch. Two doors were connecting to the room, and one of them was entirely covered in some kind of metal- an ominous-looking double door.
“Who would have thought that Beast was such a handsome man, huh? I always thought that his body was created to ravish a woman, but with that face, he is lethal,” Lina said.
Alert, Kat swerved her eyes back to the woman, prompting her to tell her where he was.
But Lina seemed to ignore her, and her hand continued her soft ministrations, drawing a line from Kat’s scalp to her shoulder and down her arms. Like the past few times, Lina’s eyes clouded over as she stroked Kat and watched her calmly. The expression in her face was creepy, making Kat simultaneously feel like a precious doll and a piece of flesh being abused.
She longed to move her limbs, but it was even more difficult than talking had been.
“You are really beautiful, darling,” Lina purred. “Could the Beast not keep his hands off you? I bet he was a real gentleman, tearing your clothes apart but apologizing afterward.” Her husky laugh gave Kat the shivers.
“He was always real nice to the girls – to me, too. But he had no interest in having fun with us. And I wouldn’t even have cared for his mask. To have a piece of that man, I’d have done anything. Like I’d do for such a classy girl like you.” To Kat’s horror, Lina leaned forward until their lips nearly touched and breathed pointedly through her nose.
Then, a silence stretched in which Lina stared at her with sparkling eyes but didn’t do anything else. Then, a lopsided grin stretched on her thin, red lips.
“Aw darling, I won’t ever hurt you.” Her hand was back on Kat’s hair, brushing it comfortingly. “I’d cherish you. But-” she clicked her tongue and sat up abruptly, “you, my sweet, are not meant for me. The boss has waited a long time for this opportunity.”
This time, Kat frowned and found her voice. “What?”
What boss? Ivo? Who is she working for now? Where the heck is Gabriel? Kat’s mind was full of unanswered questions. She tried to sit up but felt her world dip into the darkness with the sudden change in altitude.
Lina gripped her arms in support. “Are you alright? I might have misjudged the dosage. Anton won’t be happy if you faint much too early.”
Fighting nausea, Kat straightened her back.
“Anton?” Kat asked in alarm, realizing that that’s where Ivo and Lina had gone to hide.
“Yes. You remember him, right?” The woman condescendingly asked, as if talking with a small child.
Kat could only stare at her in horror.
“He is still mighty pissed at Beast. First, for taking you from under his nose and second, for ruining his business deal with Ivo. Of course, now that you are here, his mood has improved greatly.”
“Beast?” Kat managed to utter. She was still feeling exhausted and powerless.
“Oh, of course. Now that he has you both, he’s thrilled.” Lina replied and clapped her hands in glee.
“Where is…?” Kat croaked.
“Beast? Don’t worry, you’ll see him soon. Except, you might worry when you see him.” Something in the way Lina said it had Kat’s guts churning. The image of her nightmare, of Gabriel, lying down on the floor filled with stabbing wounds, took control of her mind.
Lina leaned forward then. “But I’ll tell you a secret. If you remain quiet, you might survive and maybe even save him,” she whispered.
The woman might have behaved potentially crazy in some situations, but she couldn’t hide the sharpness behind her calculating looks. Kat didn’t believe for a moment that anything the woman did wasn’t planned or deliberate. What was Lina telling her then?
“You- you are-”
“Now, now. What did I tell you, darling?” Lina interrupted her, placing a finger over her lips.
Kat glared at her but decided to heed her warning as her speech was still slurred.
Trembling now, Kat watched Lina walk to the normal-looking door and open it. “Anton and Ivo cannot wait to see you finally. I think you’ll be interested in what Anton has to say. About what he’ll do, well, I guess that depends on how much pain you are willing to endure.”
Lina closed the door with a loud, resonating sound and left Kat alone to cope with her panic.
She remembered the last time she had seen Anton, thick and disgusting. Back then, she had the energy to run around the table in fear, but today she could barely sit up with her eyes open. And Ivo? The last time she had seen him, he had managed to escape. And in both times, the Beast had managed to save her. Where was he now?
When the door opened again, her throat laced up with numbing fear. Lina was back, but she wasn’t alone, as next to her, Anton entered the room, followed a step behind by the leering figure of Ivo, completely fixated on her through beady eyes. When he caught her gaze, his grin turned lecherous.
“She’s awake, but her speech is still slightly slurred. Her system didn’t cope so well with the drugs. But you can talk to her; she’s coherent enough,” Lina explained, and Anton’s expression fell.
“What a shame! I liked her spirit. Well, I can wait a bit,” the pig said. “Thinking about it, that’s even better, as we can heighten the anticipation this way. Come on, bring our special guest inside.”
Ivo left the room, and Kat could hear him bark some orders to the people outside. Up until that moment, she had been reasonably level-headed, but when a group of men carried a new person inside, her heart accelerated.
It was Gabriel, the man without his mask, and for a moment, she thought that he was dead. His beautiful face entirely swollen, bruises masking his skin. There was blood on his hoody and pants. But when they placed him on a stool and restrained him with a few ropes, she saw his chest move slightly and heard him groan. The relief she felt was overwhelming, and tears filled her eyes.
Lina had seen the cocktail of emotions in Kat’s face. “Told you. Of course, he fought till the end, our hero. He had no chance, though.” The woman said with a grin.
&
nbsp; For a moment, Kat thought that her world turned black, but then she refocused on Gabriel and his fluttering eyes. He was hurt, and there was a chance that it was because of her, but even if it wasn’t, he had saved her countless times. How could she just leave him hanging? Unfortunately, she wasn’t strong enough. But she had to try.
Think Kat, she pondered, just think and don’t show them that you can finally move your limbs a little. She needed time to assess the situation. Why was it still so hard to focus?
She was ripped out of her thoughts when the door closed, and Ivo laughed. Now they were alone, the five of them. Gabriel on the brink of consciousness, Kat still drugged, Anton and Ivo leering at her, and Lina surprisingly calm.
“This feels like a lovely reunion,” Ivo said.
Carrying his fat belly in front of him and looking ridiculous in a suit, Anton was a hideous sight to behold, especially when he moved closer to Kat and peered at her through small, beady eyes. “Hello, pet.”
Kat pushed herself farther into the corner of the futon. If she could at least think straight, she might not give way to her panic. But she was afflicted, not only held back by her body but her mind as well.
“I don’t remember you looking so good. But then,” the glint in his eyes turned hard, “I didn’t know you were Maryan’s daughter back then. To think about what I could have done weeks ago? It arouses me. Oh, pet, you have no idea how happy you’ve made me.”
How did he know? Looking at Lina, Kat saw her grin and shrug her shoulders.
“Wha- what you- want?” Kat tried to keep her voice calm, but it sounded odd to her ears.
“Revenge.” Leisurely, Anton moved to the corner of the room, where he poured himself a brown liquid from a carafe into a glass. He took a sip, his round cheeks reddening slightly. “Mhm. Classic. You want one?”
Stretching his arm out, he offered her his glass. Kat’s only reaction was a glare.
“No?” He shrugged and paced in front of her. It didn’t escape her notice that he hadn’t offered Ivo or Lina a drink or that the woman leaned back against the wall and watched his every move like a hawk.