***
I wake with a jolt, gasping for breath as the last dregs of my nightmare finally release their hold. I’ve always had the same nightmare; but this time, there’s a faceless man standing in front of me as the house burns around us. He’s choking the life out of me as he repeats those words.
You were warned, now you’re going to pay.
You were warned, now you’re going to pay.
I gasp for air as I reach across the bed for Gabriel. However, he’s not there. The sheets on his side of the bed are cold, telling me he’s been gone for a while. Darkness still fills the room, and I know I couldn’t have been asleep long.
Knowing there’s no way I’ll be able to go back to sleep after the nightmare, I climb from the bed and go in search of him. I’m still shaken up. I need him close; I need the comfort of his touch to push the fear away.
Picking up his shirt from the floor, I slip my arms into the sleeves, the hem falling to mid-thigh. I button it up and make my way into the hall. He isn’t in the guestroom or living room. The kitchen is empty, and the door to the balcony is still locked. As I make my way back down the hall, thinking maybe he left, I see the door to his office is slightly cracked. Pushing it open the rest of the way, I’m able to make out the shadow of Gabriel’s form in the moonlight coming through the windows. He’s sitting in his office chair, still as a statue.
I take a tentative step into the room, leaving the door open behind me. “Gabriel?”
He doesn’t respond. The closer I get, I’m able to see a half full glass of scotch sitting on the desk beside him. “Honey, are you all right?”
When I finally make it around to his side of the desk, I notice he’s holding something in his hands. Once I’m at his side, I’m able to see it’s a picture frame. Bending over his shoulder for a closer look, I see a beautiful woman with her arms wrapped around a little boy. The woman’s head is thrown back in laughter while the boy stares at the camera with the brightest, most heartwarming smile I’ve ever seen.
I gasp softly when I see the little boy looks exactly like Gabriel. Same dark hair, same stunning gray eyes. A lump forms in my throat as I stare down at the picture, a picture of his family.
“They’re beautiful, Gabriel,” I whisper brokenly past the tears, which have formed. I’ve known he suffered such a huge loss, but actually being able to see his family makes the pain he must have felt more acute. As I stare into the faces of these two people, my heart breaks for Gabriel all over again. I’d give anything to be able to take his pain away, even for just a few minutes. I’d gladly suffer for him in order to give him peace. Even if it meant losing him, I’d give him back his family in a heartbeat if I could.
I see the corner of his lips tip up slightly as he studies the photo. “Thank you,” he says softly. Thinking he probably needs some privacy to sort out whatever is going on in his head, I straighten and begin to walk toward the door, not wanting to interrupt him any longer than I already have, when his words cause me to stop in my tracks.
“Getting that call from you tonight, saying you were attacked…I felt like I was reliving that day all over again.”
He doesn’t need to clarify what day he’s talking about, I know he means the day he lost his family. That explains his melancholy mood and the picture.
Turning on my heels, I head back the way I came. I spin his chair so he’s facing me and kneel on the ground between his legs. “I’m so sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to frighten you like that.” Speaking past the lump in my throat is nearly impossible. My heart shatters for him.
He lifts his hands and brushes a piece of hair behind my ear before trailing his fingers along my jaw and I let myself lean into his touch.
“When I lost Camilla and Robbie, I was sure my life was over. I’ve spent five years living in the dark. But the moment I laid eyes on you, my world lit up.” As he talks his fingers slip into my hair and his grip becomes tight as emotion flashes brightly in his eyes. “I can’t lose you, too. There would be no coming back from that.”
Reaching up to wrap my hands around his wrists, I gently pull them out of my hair, still holding them in my own as I place a kiss on each of his knuckles. “You aren’t going to lose me, baby.” I put as much hope into that sentence as possible, just praying he believes me, but the look on his face mirrors the truth, we can’t make that promise, not with our pasts coming after us the way they are.
He laces his fingers through mine and swiftly pulls me up from my knees into his lap. “I need you. Now.” It’s not a request; it’s a command. And I’m powerless to deny him, not when he’s suffering and I’m the one who can help him through it.
Straddling his thighs, I reach between our bodies and loosen the drawstring on his pants, pulling his rock hard erection out and stroking it. My mouth waters for a taste of him. Squeezing my fist around his cock, I lean in and press my lips to his, swallowing the moan that escapes his throat as I continue to jack him off.
“Enough,” he grunts seconds later, his jaw ticking as if he’s on edge, so dangerously close to falling over. “Stand up.”
I obey his gruff command without a second thought. Tonight is about him. It’s about what he needs and what I can give him to make him feel better. I’m fully prepared to allow him to use my body in whatever way he desires. I’m desperate for it.
He shifts his chair around so he’s facing the desk again and brings me to stand in front of him. “Turn around. I want you sitting on my lap like this. Palms to the desk.”
I do as he says; placing my palms on his desk and carefully lifting one leg at a time so I’m straddling his lap again, but this time, chest to back. His hands at my hips assist in guiding me to where he needs me.
“I need to fuck you hard, baby. Hold on.”
I don’t have a chance to speak before he lines his cock up with my entrance and slams me down onto it with all of his strength.
My head falls back on a yell as he stretches me almost to the point of pain. But just as it always is between us, the pain only spurs me on, fanning the flames of my desire for him until they burn out of control.
Too out of control to wait for his next move, I lift my hips up again until just the head of his dick is in my slick pussy, and drop myself back down on him with as much force as I can. Our moans and the slap of skin is the only thing that can be heard in this dark room. Repeatedly, he takes me in a way he never has before. Everything about this coming together of our bodies is for him. This is about his need to claim me as his own, and I’m riding so high on that knowledge that it’s almost enough to send me spiraling into climax.
“I’ll never get tired of this pussy,” he grunts from behind me as his hips lift up to collide with mine.
“It’s yours,” I pant as I continue to ride him.
“What’s mine, baby? Tell me.”
“My pussy. My pussy’s yours, Gabriel. Only yours.”
His hand twists into my hair, yanking me so my back is flush with his chest. “What else is mine?” he grinds out.
“Everything.” I gasp as his free hand snakes down to my clit. He pinches it between his index and middle fingers, sending shockwaves through my system. “Everything is yours, baby. I love you. I belong to you.”
“Goddamn fucking right you do,” he hisses between clenched teeth. “Come on my cock, Marley. Fucking drown me.” With one more thrust and another pinch, I go careening over the cliff into an orgasm that has me grappling for air. Before I even have time to come down all the way, Gabriel has my chest forced onto the desk, one hand holding me in place between my shoulder blades as his hips continue to thrust rhythmically with perfect precision.
“You fucking belong to me!”
Slap.
The loud crack of his hand meeting the cheek of my ass reverberates through the room and my once tapering orgasm comes back with a vengeance.
“I’m never letting you go.” Slap. “You’re mine for-fucking-ever, my bella.” Slap. “Do you understand?” Slap.
“God, yes! Oh, fuck, Gabriel. I’m coming,” I cry out as wave after intense wave crashes over me, threatening to drown me. Just when I think I’m getting a reprieve from the too intense pleasure, Gabriel’s hand moves from my stinging ass back down between my thighs.
“Again,” he demands, circling my overly sensitive clit in rough, unrelenting circles.
“Gabriel! I can’t,” I pant, sucking in as much air as I can. “Too much. It’s too much, baby.”
I rock my hips back and forth against his hand, my body trying to escape his touch, yet get closer to it all at the same time. It’s unbelievably overwhelming. I crave another orgasm, but at the same time I’m afraid it will kill me.
“Goddamn it, Marley! You’re mine, and when I say you’ll come again, you’ll do it!” At that moment, his teeth clamp down against my shoulder and the spike of pain, combined with what he’s doing to my body, shatters me. I come so hard spots dance before my eyes and blackness threatens the edges of my vision.
“Fuck, yes!” he yells behind me and I can feel the heat of his release as he fills me, flooding me with his hot come.
“I love you, Marley,” he tells me several minutes later, once we’ve both recovered.
“I love you, too. So much, Gabriel.”
Lifting my stiff torso from the desk, he massages my shoulders and back to melt away the stiffness. As I relax into his touch, I can’t help but giggle.
“What’s so funny?” he asks against my neck. I can feel his smile against my skin and my heart flutters at its return. I love that I’m able to make him smile again.
“I almost blacked out,” I say between giggles.
“What?” he asks with a confused laugh.
“With that last orgasm. It was so fucking intense, I almost blacked out. I saw spots and everything. I didn’t even think that was possible.”
His chuckle vibrates through my chest. “Next time we’ll see if we can actually get you to pass out.”
I turn my head so I’m able to meet his lips. I give him a quick kiss before pulling his bottom lip between my teeth and nipping it playfully.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
I woke this morning with a plan set for my day. I’m finally heading over to my old apartment to pack up the stuff I want to keep. The rest can be trashed as far as I’m concerned. I want to make sure to grab a few mementos and pictures of Matt and Carmen. Because the man who attacked my friends and me was messing with my car before we caught him, Gabriel decided that it wasn’t safe for me to drive. Not bothering to find out what the man was even doing with my car, he informed me the other day the car was being traded in. Unfortunately, that has left me without a vehicle for the past few days, forcing me to have to use public transportation as a means to get around. Luckily, I know what I have to pack won’t take up more than one small box.
Climbing off the bus with the empty box in my hands, I make my way up the block to my old apartment. Pulling my keys from my purse, I unlock the front door for the last time, knowing I won’t be returning here again.
It’s bittersweet. The apartment isn’t nice by most people’s standards, but it was the first home I was ever able to provide for myself. As I go from room to room collecting my most treasured possessions, I think back to that day. I still remember the euphoric feeling that coursed through my body when I signed the lease and paid the security deposit all on my own. It was the start of a new life…a better life, and I’d done it all by myself.
I’m so lost in thought that I don’t see the person standing at my partially open front door right away.
“Knock, knock.”
I jump and spin around emitting a small scream. “Holy shit! Kevin, you scared the hell out of me!” I say with a laugh, bending slightly at the waist to get my erratic heartbeat under control. “You seem to have a habit of nearly giving me a heart attack every time you see me.”
“Sorry,” he chuckles. “I saw the open door and figured my AWOL neighbor had finally returned. I heard about the break-in, are you all right?”
“Yeah.” I smile up at him as I bend to place the last few picture frames in my box. “Luckily, I wasn’t home when it happened.”
He leans casually against the doorframe and stuffs his hands into his pockets. “You’ve been gone for a while. Wasn’t sure whether you were coming back or not.”
I stand from my crouched position and stretch my back out. “Well, this is actually the last time you’ll see me here. After the break-in, my boyfriend wasn’t comfortable with me staying here by myself. We’ve moved in together. I’m just here collecting the rest of my things.”
I notice his posture go a little rigid as he looks at me. “I thought you said you’d broken up?”
Feeling discomfort at the turn in the conversation and the atmosphere of the room, I giggle nervously before answering, “Yeah, we managed to work things out. You know how it is sometimes. People break up just to get back together a few days later.”
He stands silently for a few seconds before a slow smile spreads across his face. “Well, if this is your last day here, you have to at least let me take you out for coffee.”
“Oh, Kevin, I don’t know. I should probably get back.”
“Come on,” he teases. “Just coffee. You know, just a proper goodbye between neighbors. What do you say?”
Anxiety begins to form a knot in my stomach, I’ve always felt comfortable around Kevin, but for some reason, his demeanor today is sending up red flags. I can’t explain why, exactly, but it’s not sitting well with me. Despite my gut screaming at me, I eventually relent to his offer of a friendly coffee date. All I can think is that a crowded coffee shop would be a better place to be in his company than an empty apartment. I don’t know what’s happened to cause this shift in him, but there’s something about the way he’s looking at me that makes me uncomfortable. I don’t want to be alone with him right now. But I don’t want to make it obvious by grabbing my stuff and running for the bus stop. Besides, the way his body is blocking the only exit in the apartment would make it kind of hard to run.
“Sure, I can do coffee,” I say with a bright smile, hoping it doesn’t convey my anxiety. “But I have an appointment I have to get to, so it’ll have to be quick,” I lie.
His smile widens, but there’s just something…off about it. He pulls his phone out of his pocket, his fingers moving across the screen at a rapid pace before he shoves it back into his pants and looks at me. “Just letting a friend know I’ll be a little late to watch the game.”
“Oh. If you have plans we can do this another time,” I say, feeling a small glimmer of hope that I’ll get out of having coffee with him.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Who knows if I’ll ever see you again after today?” He smiles.
“Here, I’ll carry that for you.”
He picks up my box from the floor and we make the trek to the coffee shop just down the block from the complex. We order our drinks, and as we take our seats at a table near the window, I begin to feel silly for being so jittery around him. He’s asked a few questions about Gabriel and our place together—nothing intrusive, just general conversation. He hasn’t given me any reason to be uncomfortable since leaving the apartment; his behavior has been nothing but friendly.
We’ve been chatting amiably for a few minutes when I see him look at his watch for the third time. “Seriously, Kevin, if you need to get going to catch that game, I completely understand,” I tell him.
He looks from his watch to me, and I’m suddenly filled with a sense of dread as his mouth tips up into a grin I can only describe as menacing. “It’s time.”
My back straightens and the tiny hairs on my arms stand on end. “Time for what?” As soon as the last word leaves my mouth, my cell phone in my purse begins to ring.
“You’ll want to answer that,” Kevin says, his grin letting me know the person on the other end of the phone definitely isn’t Gabriel.
Not taking my eyes off Kevin, I reach into my b
ag and begin fishing around. I’m not looking for my phone, I’m searching for the gun that I make sure to carry with me at all times. Our eyes are still locked together as mine widen slightly when I realize it’s no longer in my bag.
Where the hell is it?
“Answer the phone, Marlena.”
Ice fills my veins at his use of my full name. The phone goes silent in my purse; but seconds later, the ringing picks back up. Whoever it is keeps calling every time it rolls to voicemail. “How do you know my name,” I whisper, my eyes briefly moving from his to scan the full coffee shop.
“Answer the goddamned phone. I won’t tell you again. And don’t bother continuing to look for the gun. I already took care of that.”
Snagging the ringing cell phone, I look to read unknown caller on the display before sliding my finger across the screen and raising it to my ear with a shaky hand.
“H-hello?”
“My love.”
My world stops at the sound of those two words. Two words I’d prayed I’d never hear again. “Eduardo,” I choke out.
“Before you do something stupid, like try to run, you should know the man sitting in front of you currently has a gun pointed in your direction under the table. He’s instructed to pull the trigger if he thinks you’ll make a scene. And that wouldn’t help your little friend at all, now would it?”
Terror wracks my body so fiercely, I can barely piece together what Eduardo is saying. “What?”
“That’s right, my love. I have your friend here with me. She’s such a beautiful girl. I never fancied blondes, but I think I’ll make an exception for her.”
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