Chapter 5 The Negotiation
The Negotiation
Naomi
I'm sitting in the back of Gabriel's truck, not really clear how I've gotten here. I mean, it's obvious what I just did and how I got here, but I'm questioning my sanity at this point.
What the hell is wrong with me?
My panties are wet with my own damn cum, and my head is swirling with a million different thoughts about what else could have gone down in that park if I hadn't come to my senses.
I'm dealing with a master manipulator here.
Talk about an avoidance tactic.
It took me a minute to piece it all together, but there's no way my father simply guessed that I was living in Los Angeles all this time.
I was careful.
I changed my name.
I got identification with my new name on it.
I lived a low-key life in a world very different than the one I grew up in.
But while my father has a lot of resources at his disposal, it only makes sense that someone had to have tipped him off, and the only person who knew was the one person I thought had a stake in the game.
I catch said person out of the corner of my eye, rubbing his junk through his pants.
What in the ever-loving fuck.
"Stop doing that," I tell him.
It's giving me the squirms.
"Doing what?" he smirks.
"You're blatantly jerking yourself off in the car with me in it!"
Gabriel's driver suddenly puts his earbuds in to give us some sort of false sense of privacy, which I appreciate, but it doesn't make this situation any less awkward.
"I'm not jerking off."
"Then what do you call that... what you're doing?"
“My future wife’s pussy has me all riled up. I’m just trying to calm myself down."
"You're a psychopath."
"I've been called worse." He shrugs like the accusation is a compliment.
"Where are we going?"
“Where else? To the church."
"Why the fuck would we go there?"
He chuckles, a sound that's both irritating and oddly comforting. "If you don't watch that mouth of yours—"
"You're going to what?" I counter, turning to face him fully.
"It's not what I'm going to do; it's what you're going to do to keep that little heart-shaped mouth of yours busy."
"LaRoche!" I protest at his insinuation that I'd ever get on my knees and suck his dick, even though the idea sends an unwelcome throb of arousal through me.
"We're going to get married."
"Just because you fingered me in the park?"
"Because now I know for a fact that the electricity between us runs both ways. There are marriages that work on much less."
Electricity.
He's never said a more truthful thing in his life. If I didn't hate him so much, I'd jump on his lap and ride him all the way to the church.
Our chemistry is combustible.
But that's not enough for a lifetime of what he wants me to sign up to do. Not even close.
"You never answered my question. I don't marry liars. I don't marry men who don't keep their word. And I certainly don't marry into a family who killed one of mine!"
Gabriel’s face contorts into a silent but deadly scowl. He taps his driver on the shoulder and instructs him to pull into the back parking lot of St. Agnes reserved for service delivery men.
Then, the driver gets out and enters the church, leaving us alone in the car with nothing but the sound of the air conditioning.”
Let's get something straight, Jo."
“How many times do I have to tell you? Naomi is my name now.”
"Josephine, Jo, Naomi—whoever the fuck!" His voice is sharp now, all pretense of casual amusement gone. "I need you to listen for once. I did not kill your brother. I promise you that. I am many things, but I'm not a liar."
"And?"
"And what?"
"The other thing?"
“Dammit, Jo… okay, yes. My father wore me down until I had to come clean. I didn't tell him exactly where you were, but I did tell him Los Angeles.”
“You told your father?”
“Yeah, and he obviously told your father to gain some favor.”
"You promised you wouldn't snitch.”
"And I kept that promise for as long as I could."
"A promise for as long as you can? Is that who you are? That's not how a partnership, much less a marriage, works."
"It's how real life works, Jo. There were extenuating circumstances. I had to tell them something, and I gave you a heads up, which is probably more than you would have done for me if the roles were reversed."
That's facts, and I hate that he's right.
"And you promise that you didn't hurt my brother? Since you're not a liar and all."
"My word is my bond. I didn't touch him."
"Do you know who did?"
"I don't know anything. What will it take for you to believe me?"
I consider the question as I stare him straight on, searching his face for any sign of deception.
There is a church full of people waiting for me to commit my life to a man, all for a sin he swears he did not commit. The obvious thing to do would be to run again, but my body is a traitorous bitch as I stare into his beady little sexy eyes.
And she wants me to figure something else out.
I place my palm alongside his face, rubbing the texture of his short beard against my fingertips.
"Prove it to me."
Gabriel's eyes darken with lust at my touch. He leans into my hand, his stubble prickling deliciously against my palm. I can feel the heat radiating off his skin, noticing the way his breathing changes at the simple contact.
"Prove it to you?" he growls, his voice low and rough with desire. "And how exactly do you want me to do that, Jo?"
I wet my lips nervously, my heart pounding in my chest. I know I'm playing with fire here, but I can't seem to help myself. Something about Gabriel just pulls me in, no matter how much my head tells me to stay away.
"I want you to show me," I whisper, my other hand coming to rest on his thigh. I can feel the solid muscle beneath his pants, and it makes me ache with need.
Gabriel's eyes flare at my touch, and he grabs my wrist in a vice grip. For a moment, I think he might push me away, but instead, he yanks me closer until me and my wedding dress are straddling his lap in the cramped backseat.
"You want me to show you?" he repeats harshly, his other hand gripping my hip possessively. "You want me to fuck you right here in this car until there's no doubt left in your mind what kind of man you're about to marry?"
I gasp at his crude words, even as a fresh wave of arousal crashes through me. My panties are already soaked from our encounter in the park, and now they're positively drenched.
This man drives me absolutely nutty.
"Yes, LaRoche," I manage to choke out, my hips rocking forward of their own accord. "Show me."
Gabriel wastes no time. With a wicked grin, he slides down part of my strapless wedding dress, exposing my bare breasts to his hungry gaze. The air conditioning makes my nipples tighten into hard peaks, but it's the heat in Gabriel's eyes that makes me gasp.
Then he surges forward and captures one of my nipples between his teeth, biting down just hard enough to make me cry out.
"Dammit, Jo," he groans against my flesh. "You taste like forever."
I tangle my fingers in his hair as he sucks and licks at my sensitive nipples, each pull of his mouth sending shockwaves of pleasure straight to my core. My dress is bunched up around my waist now, and Gabriel's hands skim over every new inch of skin that's revealed.
When he finally releases my breast with a pop, we're both breathing heavily. He stares up at me with pure lust blazing in his eyes. I wonder if mine are reflecting the same desperate desire.
"This changes things," I warn him darkly, although I mostly say it for myself. "Once we do this, there's no going back."
"For fuck sake, I hope not," he growls back.
Part of me knows I should stop this madness right now before it goes too far. An arranged marriage is one thing, but consummating it before we even step down the aisle?
Utter madness.
But that part is drowned out by the screaming need consuming every nerve ending in my body. And with that declaration hanging between us, Gabriel claims my mouth in a bruising kiss and slips his hand under the hem of my panties to find me dripping wet and ready for him... again.
I unbuckle his black designer belt and quickly unzip him. His dick springs forward like an angry soldier ready for combat. It's beautiful... and enormous. Hell, it really isn't surprising that he's well-endowed. I just pray that the angry fucker wages a much-needed war on my badly behaving pussy.
And wins.
"I need you to ride me, Jo," Gabriel says in the neediest voice I think I've ever heard from him.
"That we can agree on," I mutter as I slowly slide myself down his insanely hot appendage.
He's big.
Or I'm really tight.
I'm not exactly sure, but holy hell, that feels good.
Maybe I could sign up for a lifetime of this.
His head falls back against the seat as he grips my hips and guides me to rock them back and forth as he pushes himself deeper inside.
"That's it, baby. Fuck me good."
Gabriel's hands squeeze my ass as I ride him harder, faster, chasing the high that only he can give me. The wet sounds of our union fill the car obscenely, mixing with my moans and his curses.
"That's it, Jo," he pants, bucking up into me. "Take what you need. I'm your motherfucking husband now."
I lean down to kiss him fiercely, biting at his lips as I grind against him. He groans into my mouth and reaches between us to rub my clit in tight circles.
"I'm gonna come," I gasp against his lips. "Fuck, Gabriel!"
"Do it," he growls. "Come hard for me, Jo."
As if on cue, I shatter around him with a scream that's probably too loud for the enclosed space. Sparks of pleasure explode through my body as my orgasm crashes over me in wave after delicious wave.
Gabriel follows right behind me with a guttural groan of my name. I can feel him pulsing inside me as he spills his seed deep into my core.
We stay locked together for a long moment, breathing hard and coming down from our highs. Eventually, he pulls out of me slowly and tucks himself back into his pants.
"There," he says smugly. "Can we get married now that we've done everything ass backward today?"
I smirk at him and fix myself up as much as I can in the cramped car. "You're missing one crucial thing," I tell him.
"What now?"
"You didn't get down on one knee."