Touched

by Sabre Rose

  I shook the memory from my head. Sitting up, Gabe reached out and took my hands between his. “I shouldn’t have asked, sorry.”

  He brought my wrist to his lips and kissed the soft underside. The warmth of the pressure ran through my veins and flushed over my cheeks. I sat up a little straighter, but he didn’t let go of my wrist. He continued to slowly work his way up my forearm, leaving warm kiss-prints on my flesh. I swallowed and tried to calm my racing heart.

  “What about you?” I asked.

  He looked up mid-kiss. “Girlfriends?”

  “I’m guessing you’ve had a few.”

  He sat up straighter and looked me in the eye. “Well, no, I’ve never actually had a girlfriend, so to speak. In fact, apart from one other, you’re the only person I've slept with more than once.”

  “So you only slept with all those women and never dated any of them?”

  He dropped my hand and narrowed his eyes. “Just how many women do you think I’ve slept with?”

  “Well let’s just say that word on the street is that you’ve broken a few hearts.”

  “It’s not that many, people just assume. And I’ve never given a girl the impression that it would ever lead to anything further. I’m straight up with shit like that.” He scooted closer and picked up my wrist again, staring at me, while pressing his lips to my skin. “If I want something, I will make it known.”

  He worked his way up my arm and trailed kisses over my shoulder until his mouth rested in the curve of my neck. I did my best not to let his attention overwhelm me, but with each kiss, my pulse quickened just that little bit more. Slowly, he pushed me back until I was lying on the blanket, staring up at him, and he lowered his mouth to my lips. He kissed me gently, then lifted his head and concentrated on undoing the buttons on my shirt. He flicked the first one open and leaned down to kiss me again. With each button’s release, his finger grazed against my bare flesh. When all the buttons were all undone, he sat back up and looked down at the narrow strip of exposed flesh. He reached to open my shirt, but I grabbed his wrists and held them firm. While looking at him hovering above me, there was nothing stopping me from thinking of the differences between us. His skin, so perfect, unmarked by scars, not bent out of shape by life. He had seen me naked before, of course, he had seen the scar that stretched across the base of my stomach, seen the loose flesh that remained, but not like this, not with me so exposed with nowhere to hide.

  “Why?” he asked and cocked his eyebrow, while my hand held his away. “I want to see you. Don’t hide from me.”

  I almost laughed at that. “Look at you, Gabe.” I ran my hand under the hem of his t-shirt and rested it against his chest. “You look like you belong on the cover of a fitness magazine or something.”

  “Really?” he said with a devilish smile. “I was hoping for more along the lines of a romance novel.” He bent down and kissed the dip between my collarbone and tugged to release my grip on his hands.

  “Please?” he uttered.

  Sensing my hesitation, he pulled me to my feet and over to where there were fragments of a mirror still left on the wall. Green mould stained the edges and large cracks ran up the broken panels. He stood behind me and began to lower my shirt over my shoulders, meeting my eye in the mirror. When my shirt fell to the floor, he unclasped the hooks of my bra and it also fell. Sliding his hands around my waist, he fumbled with the buttons on my jeans before slowly lowering them, his mouth so close to my skin, his breath ran hot across it. I closed my eyes as he lowered my underwear and I stepped out.

  “Open your eyes,” he said, his lips brushing against my neck.

  I stood naked before the fragmented mirror.

  “You are beautiful,” he said, walking around to face me. He dropped to his knees and began to place soft kisses on the skin of my belly. I held my breath as his lips trailed over my scar, fighting back the memories it brought.

  “Don’t hide from me,” he said again, before standing and kissing me deeply, gently reaffirming his words and begging for me to open to him. When he felt my hesitation melt away, he pulled back and took off his shirt, flicking open the buttons of his jeans while I watched him with hunger pooling in my depths.

  Standing naked, he stared openly, his eyes trailing over every inch of me. When I began to fold in on myself, feeling exposed under his unabashed gaze, he shook his head and lowered me to the ground, running his hands along my sides before encasing my wrists, and pulling them up until they were stretched above my head.

  “Stay,” he instructed.

  His hands glided over me, coming to rest on the soft mounds of my breasts. He massaged the flesh in his hand, clutching and moulding it to his will. With both hands, he trailed over every exposed inch of my skin, drinking me with his eyes before devouring me with his mouth. I moaned and twisted and he looked up, smiling with satisfaction before returning his attention to my body. As he worked his way down, I felt his breath brushing against the apex of my thighs. I tensed and he gripped my flesh, holding me in place. He moaned when he tasted me and I clenched in response. The noises he made were uttered with such longing, they reverberated through to my deepest parts and I reached down and twisted my hands in his hair. He moaned again and I writhed under him.

  Just before it became too much, before I shattered into pieces, he raised his head, moved to cover himself and then lowered into me, heavy and hard. I took him eagerly and raised my hips to allow him to thrust into me again, our bodies slamming together as I exploded from within. He cried out, and it sent trembling shoots of contentment through me. I ran my fingers over his back when he slumped over me, happy, content and marvelling in the gorgeous man that lay over me.

  “That wasn’t supposed to happen like that,” he said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I had no intention of touching you. I didn’t want it to be about that out here.” He grinned apologetically. “Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.”

  I laughed loudly in his ear. “Believe me, no apology necessary.”

  “You are beautiful,” he said while untangling himself.

  I stretched out on the ground and he lay down, resting his head against my stomach.

  “You shouldn’t need someone else to tell you that.”

  “It’s a little hard when you’ve been scarred and beaten by life,” I replied dryly.

  “But that’s what makes you so beautiful.” He tipped his head so he could look at me better. “Don’t you see that? It’s our blemishes that make us who we are, not our perfections.”

  “That’s awfully wise and mature of you,” I said, teasing him.

  “No, I’m serious. Think about it, think about this house. A modern house, a house freshly built with its plain walls and straight lines, when you look at it all you see is a house. There is no character, no personality. But when you look around this house, you can imagine the people that used to live here, imagine what the house has seen over the years it sat abandoned and forgotten. Are we the first people to make love here in the last fifty years? Or have other people wandered across the fields and crept through its rooms?”

  “So you’re comparing me to a rotting old house?”

  Gabe laughed and turned his head to press his lips into my belly, kissing it firmly. “You’re impossible. All I’m saying is don’t hide yourself from me. I want you. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here. Trust in that.”

  He twisted so he was lying on his side, eyes directed at the underside of my breasts. Walking his fingers up my torso, he gently brushed them over my nipples causing me to draw in breath as they hardened under his touch. He sighed contentedly and smiled as he stroked my breasts, massaging them gently under his palms, his fingers leaving imprints as he pressed into the soft flesh. “Is it normal to want you again so soon?”

  I followed the line of his body down to where he hardened and swelled under my gaze. After slipping on protection again, he rose over top of me, his eyes dark. Without uttering a word, I opened for hi
m and he sunk into me. I relished the look of pure gratification that came over him, knowing that it was me that had filled him with such desire.

  He was slow and gentle, rocking above me, eyes locked on mine until our breathing quickened and we both dissolved.

  23

  LAUREN

  That night, after Gabe had made love to me for the third time and was sleeping soundly, I watched him in the light of the moon that seeped in through the crack in the curtains. His jawline was covered in blond stubble, and a dark freckle sat in the crease of the smile line that ran from his nose to mouth. In the pale light, his skin looked close to perfection. The dips of his muscles were shrouded in shadow and the smooth surfaces exposed to the moonlight glistened as if they were illuminated from within.

  He was beautiful.

  My chest constricted at the thought of him being mine, that somehow, in this strange world, he had chosen me to lay beside. I brushed the hair back from his face. He stirred and reached out, sighing contentedly as he drew me close. I huddled in and rested my chin against the bare skin of his chest. Nudging at him with my knee, he opened his legs and I slid mine between his.

  “Careful,” he muttered, his voice drenched in sleep. “You’ll start me off again.”

  I smiled against his chest. “You’ve got stamina, I’ll give you that.”

  With his eyes still closed, he shook his head, the movement rustling the pillow. “Not stamina. I just recover quickly. I’ll work on the stamina.”

  I stretched up so my mouth was close to his. “I like it when you tell me to be careful,” I whispered. “It’s almost a challenge.”

  He moved his lips against mine and I felt him stir against my belly. “I have great difficulty containing myself around you, Mrs Robinson.”

  As I pushed myself closer against him, he groaned. There wasn’t a more seductive sound in the world. The effect it had on me was instant, and the urge to feel him fill me once again throbbed intensely. I pressed my mouth fully and openly onto his, and reached down to wrap my hand around his growing hardness.

  “You’re going to exhaust me,” he groaned in my ear.

  “I’m sure you’ll manage somehow.” I pushed him onto his back, reaching down to grab a condom from the beside cabinet and then rose over him, sinking onto him as he sat up and jostled me until my legs wrapped around his waist. Joined together, he dipped his head to my breast and wrapped his arms around me while I clung to his shoulders, pressing him deeper and removing the last whisper of distance.

  * * *

  I was scared walking into work, afraid that Peta would take one look at me and know my secret. She didn’t though. She came over and hugged me, and for a while, I couldn’t think of a reason for her affection before remembering that it was only two days ago that Derek and I broke things off. Two days I had spent in the arms of another man. Peta chatted easily and I tried to act as if everything was normal.

  When Gabe arrived, the look he gave me had the blood rushing to my head. And other places.

  “Hey,” was all he said as he passed. But his eyes. My god, his eyes. They said the things left unspoken, and my heart skipped a few beats. Each time I looked up from my work, he was watching me, eyes alight, and a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

  “Stop it,” I whispered as I walked past him.

  “I’m sorry?” he said loudly. “Stop what?”

  I looked over to Peta, but she was restocking the flavour shot bottles and paying no mind to me at all. “Stop looking at me like that.”

  He stepped closer and lowered his tone. “Like what, exactly?”

  I moved away as Mark drifted through the doorway. “You know damn well, like what,” I hissed.

  “I’m afraid I don’t.” His eyes shone roguishly. “Would you care to enlighten me?”

  Mark narrowed his gaze. “What are you two whispering about?”

  “Nothing,” I said quickly.

  “Actually we were talking about the staff Christmas function,” Gabe said with his gaze levelled on mine. He cocked his head to one side. “Weren’t we, Lauren?”

  I nodded and bent down to pick up some imaginary coffee beans off the floor.

  “What’s the plan, boss?” Gabe said, turning to Peta.

  “My goodness, who knows? We’ve got another month to worry about such things. But speaking of functions…” She left it hanging and I stood up to find her staring directly at me, arms crossed.

  “What?” I said.

  “Are we doing something for your birthday, or are you hiding from that, too?”

  I laughed nervously.

  “It’s her birthday?” Gabe asked, turning to Peta. “When?”

  “Sunday,” Peta replied and I inwardly cursed her for letting him know. “The big three-o.” She grinned.

  “Thirty?” Gabe sucked his breath in as a low whistle. “That’s getting rather old there, Lauren. Climbing that hill fast, aren’t we?”

  I swatted him with the tea towel hanging over my shoulder and scowled.

  “Since you’re not going home this year, Ren, we need to do something,” Peta said. “Why don’t you come over to my place for dinner, I’m sure Gabe and Jordan can handle the close that night. Can’t you, Gabe?”

  Gabe cleared his throat. “Sure. No problem.” He looked sadly over to me and mouthed ‘your birthday?’ sticking out his lip and feigning a pout. I shook my head and hoped no one caught the exchange.

  “It’s sorted then. Birthday dinner at my house. No excuses.” Peta put her hands on her hips and glared at me.

  “Sounds lovely.” I smiled and stared hard at Gabe who was still pulling pleading faces.

  Later, he cornered me in the storeroom when no one was around. “Birthday dinner?” he said, leaning against the doorframe as I tried to tug another sleeve of cups from a high box. “I want to come.” He crossed his arms and watched as I struggled.

  “You can’t,” I replied and pulled harder at the thin plastic material encasing the cups.

  “Why not?” He walked over and easily tugged the cups down and handed them to me. I couldn’t figure out how, with only being slightly taller than me, it was so much easier for him.

  “Because no one knows about us,” I explained.

  “What if I want them to?” He stepped forward and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear.

  I reeled back from him and looked at the door. “Gabe,” I warned. “You promised.”

  “I’ve changed my mind,” he said and tugged me to him, kissing me urgently. I pulled away, knowing that being in such close proximity to him caused my thinking to become unhinged and he laughed, fully aware of the effect he had on me.

  “No,” I said firmly.

  He smiled and chewed his bottom lip. “Do you know what I was thinking that first day I found you in here?”

  I frowned. “That I wasn’t tall enough to reach the top boxes?”

  “What a glorious backside.” He pulled me close before I could register what he was doing and gripped my cheeks. “That was the exact word. Glorious.” He bent down to whisper in my ear. “I just want people to know that this backside belongs to me and no other. That isn’t too much to ask, is it?”

  I pushed away from him, petrified that someone would see, and he let out an irritated sigh.

  “What about Peta, then? Surely you would be alright with telling your best friend?” He stood, eyebrows raised and arms crossed, waiting for my reply. “Let me come to dinner. Please?” He battered his eyelashes playfully and I had to laugh. “Just Peta and Shrek, that’s all. I promise I won’t ask for any more. I just want to be there with you on your birthday. Surely that’s not too much?”

  I couldn’t resist him. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Gabe glanced out the door, checking no one was around and kissed the tip of my nose. “Then, I’ll behave.”

  * * *

  Later that evening, Gabe sat beside me on the couch, my feet resting on his lap while we watched another episode of Blood
Too Sweet.

  “Did you talk to her?” he asked.

  I looked over at him, amused. “When would I have had the chance?”

  “You will, though, won’t you? I know you don’t want to be the subject of gossip, but surely you can tell Peta.” He hesitated a moment then said, “My flatmates know.”

  “They do?”

  He squeezed my feet. “I hardly ever stay away from home, they knew something was up. Don’t worry, they know you don’t want anybody knowing anything. They’ll keep their mouths shut.”

  “I’ll talk to Peta tomorrow, I promise,” I assured him.

  Gabe tugged my feet so I fell down on the couch and he moved over me. “You won’t regret it, Mrs Robinson.” Then his mouth was on me and I forgot anything else existed.

  * * *

  I woke the next morning with Gabe sound asleep and breathing heavily beside me. I nudged him but he didn’t move. “Gabe?” I asked and he grunted. “What time do you have to be at work?”

  He sat bolt upright, throwing the blankets off and exposing us to the cool air. Goose bumps prickled over my skin. “Shit!” he said. “I’m late.” He bounded out of bed and walked towards the ensuite, his backside pale compared to the tanned skin of his torso. “Okay if I shower?” he asked, sliding the door open. I smiled mischievously and ran my eyes down his body.

  “Hey, Mrs Robinson,” he said grinning. “Eyes up.”

  He left the door open and I lay back and watched as he stepped into the shower. He had his back to me and the glass walls gave me full access to watch him as he lathered the soap and rubbed it over himself.

  “Shit, you’ve done it again,” he cursed.

  “What?” I called out.

  He didn’t answer and instead stepped out of the shower dripping wet, and fully erect. “Care to join me?”

  I had lost count of the times we had made love, and if I was perfectly honest, I was beginning to feel a little tender. But at the same time, it seemed a waste to refuse him. I knitted my brows together.