‘That seems harsh. He is new,’ she said. That was the Samantha I loved — always seeing the best in people.
‘We’re only as strong as our weakest link, Sam. We can’t afford to have people on our team who don’t know their shit, or who make mistakes. It puts too many people at risk.’
‘I suppose so. I hadn’t thought of it like that.’
I kissed the top of her head. ‘What are you doing with that anyway?’ I indicated the photograph in her hands.
‘I took this picture. Remember? You both look so young,’ she smiled.
I nodded my agreement. ‘I do remember. Although, it seems like a lifetime ago now.’
Samantha took a sip of her wine. ‘God, remember when we were young?’ She said with a sigh. ‘Do you remember the night before I left for uni and you caught me smoking weed in that club you worked in?’ She started to laugh.
‘I do, yes,’ I replied. ‘But I’m surprised you do, you were so wasted.’
‘I offered myself to you on a plate.’ She smiled at me. ‘And you turned me down point blank. I was so pissed off at you.’
I shook my head. I thought about that night often and what would have happened if I’d said yes. ‘God, I remember. You were wearing that tiny black dress, if you could call it a dress. It barely covered your arse.’
‘But you weren’t tempted?’ she teased me.
‘Of course I was. I’m not a fucking saint, Sam. But you were eighteen. You were stoned off your face, and you were my best mate’s daughter.’
‘I woke up the next morning in an old t-shirt of my father’s and remembered I’d propositioned you and you’d turned me down. I was mortified.’
‘Well, you had no reason to be mortified. I was very flattered. And very tempted.’
‘You really were my Angel Gabriel, weren’t you? Some men would have taken advantage of a girl in that state.’
‘Yes, I know, which is exactly why I took you home. It’s a good job your dad wasn’t working that night, because he would’ve gone mental.’
Samantha rolled her eyes. ‘He was always going mental at me. He barely let me move.’
‘Well, he had his reasons,’ I said.
‘I fancied you so much. I never forgave you for turning me down.’ She pretended to pout.
‘You’d never have forgiven me if I hadn’t. And more importantly, I don’t think I’d have forgiven myself. You have no idea how hard it was for me to resist your continued efforts to seduce me.’
She stared at me open mouthed. ‘Really? I never knew that. So, you liked me too then?’
‘You are a beautiful woman, Sam. You’re an incredible woman. But at eighteen…’ I didn’t finish my sentence. Fancying my best mate’s eighteen year old daughter who was eight years younger than me wasn’t exactly my proudest moment, but she had been something else.
I smiled at her. ‘I lost count of how many dickheads your dad and I had to warn to stay away from you. And before you start on about being an independent woman, these were men you really didn’t want to be involved with.’
Samantha blushed. ‘God, I used to give you both such a hard time.’
‘Well, we probably deserved it,’ I shrugged.
‘I wish I’d known, Gabe. Why didn’t you say anything to me?’
‘Because you were dangerous,’ I admitted.
‘Dangerous?’ she laughed and the sound took me back fourteen years.
‘Yes. You were only eighteen years old. You were gorgeous, and far too smart for your own good. I thought you’d be more trouble than I could handle. Besides, you went to uni the next day. And the next I heard you’d married some hotshot lawyer and were living in a fancy house in Knightsbridge. I didn’t think there was a man alive who could tame the indomitable Samantha Donovan.’
‘Well, you were right. He wasn’t a man. He was a monster,’ she replied and I saw the change in her instantly. Any mention of her ex-husband or her life in Knightsbridge could change the atmosphere in the room as quickly as flicking a switch.
She stood up and placed her wine glass on my coffee table, then she turned back and straddled me. She obviously didn’t want to talk any longer.
Dipping her head, she started to kiss a trail down my neck towards my chest. Then her soft fingertips were brushing my skin as she pulled my t-shirt over my head. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer to me and she groaned, letting her head fall back and exposing the delicate skin of her neck. She smelled so good. I wanted to sink my teeth into her tender flesh, but I kissed her instead and she purred with pleasure as she moved her hips up and down, rubbing herself over my stiff cock until I couldn’t stand it any longer. I needed to taste her. I needed to have some part of my body inside her. I pushed her onto her back on the sofa and tugged at the belt on her wrap dress until it fell open, exposing her beautiful body.
‘Gabe,’ she groaned and I felt my dick twitch.
‘I know, baby,’ I whispered as I slid my hand up her inner thigh and under the edge of her underwear. I closed my eyes and stifled a groan as I found her already dripping wet for me. It took all my restraint not to bury myself inside her. I would soon enough, but first I needed to make her scream my name.
Chapter 27
Gabriel
I stood on the doorstep of Sebastian’s house with my hands in my pockets, waiting for him to answer. I hadn’t seen him for three days — not since Samantha and I had told him about our relationship. We’d managed to avoid each other in work, but now I had something to discuss with him. And no matter what he thought about me and his daughter, there was no more time for his sulking. I was prepared to take another punch to the face, or even a few of them, just to have my best mate back again.
Sebastian answered the door a few seconds later and rolled his eyes when he saw me. ‘What do you want?’ he snapped.
‘Can I come in?’
He glared at me for a moment but then he opened the door wider and allowed me inside. I followed him into his kitchen.
‘So, what do you want?’ Sebastian snapped.
‘I’ve had the contracts through on the nightclub. They need your signature.’
‘You could have left them at the office for me.’
‘I did. With a giant fucking post-it note on saying sign here!’
Sebastian shook his head. ‘I didn’t see them.’
‘How long are you going to punish me for, mate? Do you want to punch me again?’ I held my arms out wide. ‘Come on, then. If it will make you feel better?’
Sebastian glared at me. ‘Did anything ever happen when she was a kid?’
I scowled at him. ‘Of course it fucking didn’t. What the fuck, Seb?’
‘I just needed to know,’ he said as he sat down at the kitchen table and ran a hand over his beard.
I sat down opposite him. ‘Look, mate. I know this must be weird for you. But, I need you to know that I really care about her. I wouldn’t risk my friendship with you if I didn’t think this thing between me and Sam was a long-term thing.’
‘If you ever hurt her…’ Sebastian pointed a finger at me.
‘I won’t.’ I shook my head.
‘Then where’s this fucking paperwork, then?’ he asked as he held out his hand.
I pulled the envelope out of my inside pocket and handed it to him.
Half an hour later, I left Sebastian’s house with the signed paperwork in my pocket and my relationship with my best mate back on track. I checked my watch and wondered if I had time to pay a quick visit to Samantha’s place before I started my weekly checks on our clubs. I was usually happy to work at night and it had always been my job to check on our venues and bouncers weekly. It never used to bother me as I hardly slept anyway. At least I never used to. I had plenty to keep me awake at night. But something about being curled up to Samantha’s warm body made me sleep like a baby.
If I went to her place now, the likelihood is I wouldn’t make it back out again before morning. I couldn’t afford to let things
slide any further. Although we’d warned the Fentons off, they were still a threat. I pulled my car away from the kerb and sighed. The sooner I got this over with, the sooner I could get home to her.
Chapter 28
Samantha
I ran the brush through my hair as I waited for Gabriel to pick me up. He hadn’t been able to drive me home from work, so had sent Scott instead, along with a request to be ready for a date at 7:30pm. It had been almost four weeks since we’d got together, but we’d never been on a proper date before, preferring to spend most of our time in bed.
I was looking forward to whatever he had planned. I hadn’t been on a good date for as long as I could remember. I’d texted him to ask him where we were going but he’d refused to tell me. When I’d asked what I should wear, all he’d replied was ‘Nothing fancy.’ I’d dressed in a sweater dress and calf length boots and hoped that it would suffice.
A few moments later, I heard the knock at my door and opened it to Gabriel’s smiling face.
‘Are you ready?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ I replied as I grabbed my handbag and coat.
As we climbed into Gabriel’s car, I noticed a couple of blankets and a cooler box in the back seat.
‘So, are you going to tell me where we’re going now then?’ I asked.
He turned to me and smiled. ‘To theatre in the park.’
Of all the things he might suggest, that had been the furthest from my mind, but it sounded incredible. ‘Really? I’ve never been to one of those. What play?’
‘Midsummer Night’s Dream.’
‘Well, Gabe, you old romantic, you!’ I said with a laugh.
‘Hey! Less of the old,’ he replied as he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed the tips of my fingers.
When we got to the park, Gabriel steered us to a spot near the back of the audience, and off to the side where there were few people. I had suggested that we find a spot with a better view but he’d simply glared at me and I’d realised that there was always a method to his madness.
After we had finished eating the delicious food he’d brought from a local deli, I sat between Gabriel’s outstretched legs and leaned back against his chest, nestling my head under his chin while I watched the play. He handed me some wine in a plastic glass and I sighed in contentment. It was certainly a great way to spend an evening.
‘I think this might just be the perfect date, Mr Sullivan,’ I said with a smile.
He kissed the top of my head. ‘It certainly is.’
As the night grew colder, Gabriel reached for a spare blanket and pulled it over the two of us, draping it over my legs.
‘Pull your knees up, Sam,’ he ordered in my ear.
I looked around at the smattering of people who were nearby. None of them were close enough to hear, or see much in the dusk — no wonder he had chosen that particular spot. I did as instructed and he slipped his hand beneath the blanket before slowly sliding it between my legs. I could already feel that warm, pulling feeling in the base of my abdomen.
‘What if someone sees us, Gabe?’ I whispered.
‘I’ll make sure no-one does. I promise. Just relax,’ he replied softly.
I let my legs fall apart slightly, giving him easier access to exactly where I wanted him. I gasped as he pushed my underwear aside and started to rub slow teasing circles around my clit. He kissed my neck periodically but most of the time he watched the play, no doubt keeping an eye out for anyone straying too close who may guess what he was doing. He continued lazily moving his fingers and I eventually stopped watching the play and leaned my head back against him until I could feel his erection pushing into my back. I closed my eyes so I could concentrate only on the feel of his fingers and what they were doing to me. My orgasm built so slowly, that when I finally came it felt like it washed over my whole body in a long rolling wave. I bit on the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from crying out.
Gabriel kept his hand between my legs and whispered in my ear. ‘Did you enjoy that?’
‘Hmmm, yes,’ I said with a sigh. ‘It was just like being sixteen again, getting drunk in a park while some boy tries to finger me.’ I giggled, the wine and the fresh air making me feel giddy.
‘Samantha!’ He nipped at my earlobe. ‘For the record, I didn’t try and finger you as you so eloquently put it. I bet you want me to though, don’t you? I bet you’d like me to slip my fingers inside and fuck you with them?’
I nodded and at that precise moment, I wouldn’t have cared who saw us either. He could have flipped me over and fucked me right there on the grass and I wouldn’t have resisted. He quickly slipped one large finger inside me and I moaned.
‘Later, baby,’ he laughed as he pulled his hand out from under the blanket.
I sat on Gabriel’s old comfortable leather sofa, my cheeks flushed from the wine and the enjoyable evening. The play was wonderful. The food was delicious. Gabriel was fantastic. That had probably been the best date I’d ever had in my life. Gabriel walked into the living room with two bottles of Budweiser and handed one to me. Sitting down on the sofa he pulled my legs up so they were draped over his lap.
‘So tell me about these boys who tried to finger you in parks when you were sixteen then?’ he said with a smile.
‘Not boys actually. Just one boy. Charlie Morrison, and he was my boyfriend.’
‘Oh, yes I remember him. Pony tail. Always stunk of weed. I didn’t know he was your boyfriend though.’
‘Well, of course I would never have told you or my dad, would I?’ I said with a flash of my eyebrow. ‘He would have probably put poor Charlie’s head on a spike outside our house to warn other boys away.’
‘I don’t think he was quite that bad, Sam,’ he said as he took a swig of his beer. ‘Was Charlie your first then?’
‘No,’ I replied. ‘We never had sex at all, actually.’
‘So who was your first then?’
‘Nick.’
‘Nick? Nick, your best mate?’ He started to laugh. ‘No way. Really?’
I frowned at him. ‘Yes. Why is that so funny to you?’
He shook his head. ‘He just doesn’t seem your type, that’s all. I can’t imagine the two of you…’
‘Well, good. I don’t really want you imagining me and Nick, if you don’t mind.’
Gabriel laughed. ‘Did you two go out together for long?’
‘God, no! We were awful together, at least in that way. After a few dates, we decided we were much better off as friends.’
‘It’s nice that you’re such good mates now,’ he said as he put an arm around me and pulled me towards him. I looked at him and could tell that he meant that. I had never dared tell Jackson that Nick and I had even so much as kissed.
Suddenly, Gabriel pulled back and looked at me. ‘So, how old were you when you lost your virginity then?’ he asked.
‘Eighteen,’ I replied.
‘What? I don’t believe it!’ He started to laugh again.
‘Why on earth not?’ I snapped as I gave him a nudge with my elbow.
‘It’s just that you were such a wild child… I just assumed…’
‘You assumed I’d slept around?’
‘I assumed you’d had some experience, that’s all. The way you used to constantly flirt with me.’
‘Well, I never met anyone I wanted to go that far with. Then when I went to uni, I kind of felt I had to, and Nick seemed nice. I went out with another lad from my course for a few months. And then I met Jackson. And now there’s you.’
Gabriel stared at me open mouthed. ‘So you’ve only had sex with four people?’
Suddenly, this conversation had headed into a place I hadn’t intended it to go. I felt my skin becoming clammy and I started to wring my hands unconsciously. I tried to remember to breathe the way I’d been taught to. Intensive EMDR therapy had helped me to process the many painful memories. They didn’t hold the same terror and shame that they once had, but they still knocked the wind from me when they cre
pt up unexpectedly.
‘I never said that,’ I said and pulled away from him.
‘I’m sorry, Sam. I was just curious. It’s not a big deal. I don’t care if you’ve slept with four men or forty,’ he said as he sat forward and put a hand on my arm.
‘You think I’m worried that you’re going to judge me for how many men I’ve slept with?’ I snapped at him. I was being unfair to him. But this was hurting. I could feel my pulse starting to race and pushing him away was the only defence I had.
He blinked at me in confusion. ‘No. I don’t know where this is coming from, Sam? I asked you a question, if you don’t want to answer it, that’s fine.’
‘But it’s the reason why you think I don’t want to answer it that’s bothering me. Because you think I feel ashamed that I’ve either slept with too many or not enough?’
‘No, I don’t,’ he said with a scowl.
‘Really?’ I crossed my arms over my chest. ‘Because it certainly seems like that. Of course, if I’m uncomfortable talking about how many people I’ve had sex with, it must be because I’m ashamed of my number. There is no other possible reason.’
I saw the confusion in his face but I was spiralling and I didn’t know how to stop.
‘I never said that. But what is the reason then? If it’s supposed to be so fucking obvious to me, tell me what it is? What the hell is wrong with you?’ he asked.
That question felt like a slap to my face. I blinked back the tears. How dare he ask what was wrong with me? As if I was broken. It was bad enough when he treated me like I was made of glass, but to be treated like I was broken somehow, that was ten times worse. Because it touched on one of my deepest fears.
‘What’s wrong with me?’ I shouted.
‘I didn’t mean …’ he started but I kept on shouting.
‘There is nothing wrong with me! If you’re really so desperate to know, then yes, I have only slept with four men of my own free will. But as for how many I’ve had sex with, well that would be eight.’
Dark Angel: A Dark Romance: London Ruthless Series Book 1 (The London Ruthless Series) Page 11