He pulled back the covers and climbed out of bed.
‘Where are you going?’ I asked.
‘I’m sorry, Samantha. This shouldn’t have happened — for so many reasons. Please can we forget it did and go back to the way things were before?’
‘What, with all the frowning and sarcasm and the sexual tension?’ I asked with a flash of one eyebrow. ‘Yeah, because that was a barrel of laughs.’
He started to laugh as he pulled on his trousers and for some reason the sound made me feel incredibly sad. ‘Well, I promise to behave myself from now on. No more frowning or sexual tension. Deal?’ he said.
I looked at him and had an urge to jump out of the bed and pull him back down on top of me. The truth was I would rather have all of that with him than nothing at all. How could he just pretend like this night hadn’t happened? Just because I wasn’t ready for a full-blown relationship — that was it!
‘Good,’ I snapped. ‘It was starting to get a little tedious.’
I saw the hurt on his face and turned away from him. He continued getting dressed in silence.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said.
‘Nothing to apologise for. We’re both adults,’ I replied with a shrug.
‘Good,’ he whispered. ‘I’ll see you then.’
‘Yeah. See you,’ I replied nonchalantly, despite feeling like my heart was going to crumble. What the hell was I doing? Run after him, Samantha! Tell him you’ll be whatever he wants you to be!
No! I couldn’t. I had spent far too much of my life doing that already. Instead I watched as he walked out of my bedroom. The next thing I heard was the soft clicking of my front door closing.
I lay back against the pillows and willed myself not to cry. I never cried. Crying had been a turn on for Jackson, it had always spurred him on to hurt me more. Besides, this was my choice. Not Gabriel’s. Mine. I need to remember that.
Chapter 19
Samantha
As five o’clock approached the following day, I became increasingly fidgety. I checked my hair and make-up in the small mirror in my handbag. I had done nothing but think about Gabriel all day. I had done nothing but relive the incredibly hot sex we’d had every chance I got. The feeling of his expert hands and mouth. The relief my body felt at being full of him. There was a throbbing between my thighs that had been building for hours. I had been so distracted in the morning staff meeting, that Nick had thrown a banana at my head and I hadn’t seen it coming at all. It had bounced off my forehead in what I can imagine was a very comedic fashion. He’d apologised profusely afterwards after almost passing out laughing first.
I wondered how on earth I was going to have Gabriel so close to me and not launch myself at him. I felt a bead of sweat trickle down my back and turned up the air con higher as I stood at my office window.
I saw the car pull up outside and a tall man climb out of it. But it wasn’t Gabriel. It was Scott. My heart sank. Why had he sent Scott to pick me up instead of doing it himself? The coward! How dare he just palm me off on one of his employees.
A few moments later, Scott walked through my open office door.
‘Gabriel asked me to pick you up tonight, Samantha. I hope that’s okay?’ he said with a warm smile.
I wanted to tell him that it wasn’t okay at all, and that I would get the tube home in a declaration of protest. But Scott was so nice. I didn’t want to get him into any trouble.
‘Of course it is. Thanks, Scott,’ I smiled.
For the next three nights, Scott continued to turn up at my office instead of Gabriel. I hadn’t heard from him at all. I’d picked up my phone a few times and scrolled through my contacts, my finger hovering over his name, but I hadn’t called him either. How could he just pretend that the other night hadn’t even happened? I knew that I couldn’t. I thought about him and his incredible body constantly. I had promised myself that I wouldn’t jump into a new relationship with anyone. I had been with Jackson since I was nineteen and I had changed so much of myself to fit in with him and his wants and needs that I wasn’t sure who I was without him. I had lost myself trying to fit Jackson’s precise specifications.
I’d been happy being single. I’d been having fun figuring myself out with no-one to answer to. Then I’d let myself fall for Gabriel bloody Sullivan. It was bad enough when I simply lusted after him and enjoyed the fantasy of what it might be to penetrate his rock hard exterior, and run my hand over those rock-hard abs. But, now I knew what it was like, and the thought of not having him, or his abs, in my life was making me thoroughly miserable.
‘Are you ready, Samantha?’ Scott asked, snapping me from my train of thought.
‘Yes, coming,’ I said with a smile as I picked up my handbag and coat.
‘You’re going to your dad’s, aren’t you?’ he asked me.
‘Yep. Are you sure you’re okay to drop me off there?’ I asked. I had dinner with my father every Tuesday night and although I enjoyed spending time with him, I would have been equally happy tonight to go straight home, pour myself a large glass of red, order a pizza and watch some trashy television.
‘Of course,’ Scott said. ‘Anywhere you want to go is fine with me.’
I smiled at him and resisted the urge to ask him to take me to Gabriel’s house instead.
I knocked on the front door of my dad’s house. He had given me a key, but it didn’t feel right to use it. It wasn’t my home any longer. He opened the door a few moments later.
‘Sam,’ he pulled me into a hug and slung his tea towel over his shoulder. ‘I wish you’d use your key,’ he said as he started to walk down the hallway. ‘My sauce is going to burn.’
I followed him into the kitchen. Half expecting and fully hoping, to see Gabriel, but he was nowhere to be seen.
‘Gabriel not joining us tonight?’ I asked.
‘No. He has a date. Didn’t he tell you when he picked you up?’
I felt like someone had driven a hot poker through my heart. ‘No,’ I replied. So, Gabriel obviously hadn’t told my father that he was neglecting his bodyguard duties.
‘I’ve made his favourite as well, steak and peppercorn sauce. I hope you don’t mind? I thought you might be fed up of curry?’
‘Sounds like a nice change, Dad,’ I smiled.
I watched my father as he busied himself at the stove. He loved to cook. He said it helped him deal with stress. When I was a teenager, he’d cooked a lot!
‘So, who is this date with then?’ I asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.
He shrugged. ‘No idea. I hope it goes well though. He’s been a moody sod this past week.’
‘Oh?’ I asked, feeling suddenly brighter that he may have been feeling as miserable as I was.
‘Yeah. Haven’t seen him like this since after Jennifer,’ he said as he rubbed seasoning into the two juicy rump steaks on his chopping board.
‘He must have dates all the time though?’ I said.
‘Gabriel?’ my dad started to laugh. ‘Nah! He’s a soppy bastard. Not like me. He’s an old romantic. It’s all or nothing with him. Jennifer really did a number on him and I think he’s worried he’ll get his heart broken again.’ My dad turned and looked at me then, his face full of emotion. ‘I’ve told him it’s about time to move on. Maybe his date tonight might work out? Maybe she’s the one?’ He rolled his eyes and went back to his steaks.
‘Here’s hoping,’ I lied. There was nothing I wanted less in this world than for Gabriel to meet the one. I wanted to be his one. I just wasn’t ready to be. If he could just wait for me? But a few days after the most incredible night of my life and he’d already moved on to his next target.
I stepped out of my dad’s house and into the waiting cab. Taking out my phone I dialled Nick’s number. He answered on the second ring.
‘How do you fancy getting absolutely plastered?’ I asked him.
‘Shit-faced?’ he replied.
‘Exactly.’
‘Count me in. Where and when?�
�
‘O’Malley’s in twenty minutes,’ I told him.
‘I’ll be there in fifteen,’ he replied with a laugh.
It was a Tuesday night and O’Malley’s was relatively quiet, but even so it looked like all the tables were occupied. I looked around to see if Nick was at one of them but I couldn’t see him. I continued scanning the bar, and then I saw him, Gabriel and the blonde from a few weeks earlier – Gemma. Yes, that was her name. I stood staring for a moment as they sat at a small table for two. She was laughing and he was smiling and suddenly I felt like I could hardly breathe. I had to get out of there before he saw me. I spun around and bumped right into Nick.
‘Samantha,’ he said with a smile. ‘Let’s get the drinks in?’
I shook my head. ‘No. let’s go somewhere else,’ I said as I took hold of his arm.
‘But we love O’Malley’s. At least let’s have one,’ he insisted as he started to move towards the bar.
‘Nick, please!’ I hissed.
He turned to look at me then. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked, his voice full of concern.
‘Let’s just go,’ I said as I looked around. Too late. Gabriel looked up and his eyes locked with mine.
‘Please, Nick. Can we go? I’ll explain over a drink.’ I linked my arm through his and we walked towards the door.
We were walking along the road to the next pub when I heard him calling my name.
Nick spun around first while I was determined to keep walking.
‘It’s Gabriel,’ Nick said. ‘He’s shouting you.’ He pulled on my arm to stop me in my tracks.
I turned around too to see Gabriel running towards us. ‘Samantha,’ he said again as he reached us.
‘Don’t you need to get back to your date?’ I snapped at him.
He frowned. ‘It wasn’t … Can we talk?’
‘Talk? You’ve ignored me all week and now you want to talk. Well, tough! Me and Nick are having a great night and I’d rather you didn’t ruin it, thanks.’
Nick looked at me and then at Gabriel, his face a picture of confusion.
‘Come on,’ I said to him as I took hold of his arm again.
‘Nick, would you mind giving us a few minutes please?’ Gabriel asked.
‘Of course-' Nick started.
‘There’s no need,’ I interrupted him. ‘Enjoy your evening, Gabriel,’ I said with a smile before turning around and walking towards the nearest pub.
‘Sorry,’ I heard Nick say to him before he fell into step beside me. ‘What the hell was that about?’ he asked.
I shook my head. ‘It’s a long story!’
Chapter 20
Samantha
The following day, I was packing up my laptop ready to go home when I heard someone walk into my office behind me. I turned around expecting to see Scott but my heart leapt into my throat when I saw Gabriel walk into the room instead. He was wearing one of his finely tailored suits that fitted his muscular body perfectly. A few days worth of dark stubble covered his jaw and his green eyes burned into mine.
‘Ready to go, Samantha? Or are you going to make me wait around for you tonight?’ he said with a scowl.
‘Where’s Scott?’ I snapped. ‘I was hoping he’d be driving me home.’
He shrugged. ‘Well, we don’t always get what we want, do we?’
‘I suppose not,’ I agreed.
We drove to my apartment building in silence. I stared out of the window and tried not to think about the man sitting next to me. It was proving incredibly difficult. He even smelled good enough to eat.
When we finally pulled up outside my apartment building he turned to me. ‘Why are you so pissed off with me?’ he asked.
‘Are you serious?’
‘Yes!’ he replied with a frown.
‘Where shall I start? Palming me off on poor Scott because you didn’t want to have to drive me home anymore. Going out on a date with that blonde woman you told me was just business.’
‘God, you are fucking infuriating!’ he said.
I opened the car door and climbed out, slamming it behind me. To my annoyance he got out too and started to follow me across the car park. ‘Samantha! Sam!’ he called.
I turned around. ‘Don’t call me Sam.’ It hurt too much. He didn’t get to call me Sam if he was screwing someone else.
He held his hands up in surrender or apology. ‘I honestly thought you would prefer it if Scott drove you home. After what happened …’
‘Don’t lie to me,’ I snapped.
‘It’s true. But, you’re right, that’s not the only reason,’ he said as he walked towards me. In a few strides, he was standing in front of me. My treacherous body leaned towards him of its own volition.
‘I wasn’t sure I could trust myself around you. I know the other night was just a bit of fun for you, but it meant much more than that to me.’
‘So much that you needed Gemma to console you?’ I sniped.
‘I wasn’t on a date. Did your dad tell you that? I just told him that to shut him up. It was a business meeting, I swear. She’s a club promoter and we’ve just bought a nightclub. Besides, why do you even care what it was?’
I looked up at him and my head spun with so many emotions, I didn’t know which one to feel first. I tried to focus on what it was that I really wanted — and the only answer I could find in that moment was him.
‘The other night wasn’t just a bit of fun for me, Gabe. It was incredible. It was terrifying. It was so much more than I was ready for.’
He stared at me. ‘I know,’ he said with a sigh.
‘Will you come up for a coffee?’ I asked him.
‘I don’t think that’s a good idea, do you?’
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his face to mine. ‘No, I think it’s a terrific idea.’
‘Samantha,’ he groaned. ‘Don’t do this to me.’
‘I want you, Gabe,’ I whispered in his ear. ‘Please?’
‘I don’t want a friend with benefits. I’m sorry, but I need more than that.’
‘Then I can give you more,’ I replied. Now that I knew what it was like to be with him, I couldn’t bear to be without him.
He shook his head. ‘No. You’ve already told me you’re not ready. I can’t … We can’t do this. It’s not right.’
‘Then just give me one more night. I feel like I might implode if you don’t touch me. Please, Gabe,’ I breathed in his ear, pressing my body against his. I could feel his erection against my abdomen and it made me more determined. ‘Just fuck me one more time,’ I purred against his neck.
‘For fuck’s sake!’ he growled. Then he took half a step back and I thought he was going to walk away, but he grabbed hold of my hand and marched me across the carpark towards my apartment building.
We walked silently up the stairs to my flat and I was starting to wonder if Gabriel was angry. Had I pushed him too far? The sexual tension still crackled between us and my body was acutely aware of the closeness of him. I closed the door to my apartment and turned around to find him standing right in front of me. I looked up at him. His eyes burned into mine. Then without warning, he pinned me against the door. Pushing his body against mine, he kissed me roughly and I responded greedily, savouring the taste of him. He pulled away and spun me around so my face was pressed against the cool wood and his erection was pressed against my back.
His hot mouth was on my ear. ‘So you just want one more fuck, do you Samantha? A friend with benefits?’
I closed my eyes to try and gain some sense of control as my heart hammered in my chest and my blood thundered around my body.
‘Do you let all of your friends do this then? Let them touch you like I do?’ he said as he slid my skirt up my thighs until it was bunched around my waist.
‘No,’ I breathed as he slipped his hands inside my lace underwear. Then I heard the delicate fabric tearing in his strong hands and gasped as he pulled the material roughly over my skin. Pulling my hands behind my back,
he tied my wrists with the shredded material.
‘Is this all you want from me, Samantha? A good fucking?’
His stubble scratched my neck as he growled in my ear, grazing my skin with his teeth. He pressed me into the door with the full weight of his body until it felt like I could hardly move.
‘Yes,’ I groaned.
Then I heard the unmistakeable sound of his zipper opening.
‘Are you wet?’ he asked.
‘Yes.’
‘Good,’ he growled and I felt his knees bending slightly before he pushed into me until I was full of him, pinioned to the door. He was quick and rough. ‘This is what you want, isn’t it?’ he groaned.
‘Yes, Gabe,’ I whimpered before wondering at the ease in which I gave him complete control of my body.
‘Tell me what you want me to do to you.’
‘You already know,’ I panted.
‘Tell me,’ he growled.
‘I want you to fuck me.’
‘And what else?’
‘Make me come,’ I breathed.
He started to pound into me relentlessly, over and over until we were both breathless.
‘Do you have any idea how much I want to fuck you, Sam? Any idea how much I want to be inside you?’
He reached his hand around to my clit and started to rub with the same intensity that he used to thrust into me and it wasn’t long before I was climaxing around him.
‘I love to feel you come on my cock. Your tight little pussy squeezing every last drop from me,’ he grunted as he came inside me.
When he was done, he untied my hands, his deft fingers making easy work of undoing the knot in the fabric. I turned around and he stared at me.
‘One last fuck?’ he said. ‘Is that what that was?’
‘God, I hope not,’ I panted and he smiled.
‘You enjoyed that? Being tied up and fucked against your front door?’ he cocked an eyebrow at me.
‘What do you think?’ I put my arms around his neck and pulled him towards me. ‘Will you stay tonight?’
Dark Angel: A Dark Romance: London Ruthless Series Book 1 (The London Ruthless Series) Page 8