Chapter 11
ELEVEN
Allison
The Next Day
Running always makes me feel better. The slight burn in my lungs, the rhythmic thump of my feet against the pavement, the high that can only come from being so physically tired that I lose the energy to be anxious. It’s an escape.
And I definitely need an escape today.
I cheated. Fuck. I’m a cheater. I’m married and I kissed someone else—let someone else touch me. I came for someone who is absolutely not my husband.
Shit!
Self-loathing rushes through me, sending a new wave of self disgust curling in my core. I push myself harder, running faster. My body screams to stop but I don’t. I deserve the pain.
Brody might be a crappy husband who has no doubt kissed someone outside our marriage before, but that doesn’t make what I did okay. Two wrongs don’t make a right. I’m better than this.
Plus, Gabriel is my coworker. I have to work with him.
I have to see him at school and pretend like everything’s normal.
How will I look him in the face and pretend like I didn’t come harder than I ever have while my pussy clenched around his thick fingers?
I managed to avoid him completely at school today, but I doubt I’ll be so lucky come Monday morning.
This is a shit-show.
All I can do is put one foot in front of the other. Left, then right, left, then right. My breathing is ragged and my side stings.
Recognition pricks at my awareness. The feeling of eyes watching me creeps up my spine. I slow down, focusing on that feeling. Shivers skitter across my shoulder. Someone is definitely following me.
Slowly, I turn. There’s no one. No one’s behind me, only the endless expanse of the dark empty road. Well, nearly empty. A dark car sits a few blocks back. The bright headlights distort any view I might have of the driver. But I swear I can feel them watching me.
Spinning back around, I begin to run again. I move slower this time, acutely aware of the creeping sensation of being chased, like a fawn in the forest. I keep my pace steady and even.
And when I turn, I notice that the car has inched forward. They’re following me. Glowing red eyes and sinister notes spring into my mind.
No one knows I’m out here. I didn’t even bring my phone. I’m alone, vulnerable, perfect prey.
My heart skyrockets in my chest. My feet move without me even realizing.
I take off as fast as I can run. My arms and legs pump ferociously as I sprint.
Behind me, the roar of an engine tells me that my predator has also taken off.
My feet barely hit the pavement as I scamper down the street, desperate to get back toward my house.
The rumbling engine gets louder and louder as it gets closer and closer. My pulse thunders as I try to flee.
But it’s no use.
“Ali!” a deep voice calls out as the muscle car pulls up next to me.
I shriek and run into the empty lot to my right.
“Ali! It’s just me!” he screams again.
Like a fucking fool, I stop and look over my shoulder.
The car is idling in the street next to the sidewalk.
It’s a black, two-door Dodge. The paint is so shiny and dark that it reflects the soft glow of the fading streetlights.
The car screams aggression and speed. Despite my fear, I find myself admiring the masculine energy radiating off the sleek body of the car.
And then there’s the driver. Gabriel leans across the center console, his tattooed, muscular arms on full display. They are corded with thick veins that bulge beneath the sea of dark ink. He rolled down the passenger window to call out to me. The car suits him—mysterious and masculine.
“Did I scare you, pretty girl?” he asks with a smug smirk that tells me he knows exactly what he did.
With a huff, I walk back toward the purring vehicle. “Why are you following me, Gabriel?”
He laughs, throwing his head back and exposing his bobbing Adam’s apple. His laugh is dark and deep and has my core clenching.
What is it about this man that’s so irresistible?
“I was not following you,” he says between chuckles.
“I was leaving my friend’s house and just happened to see you running.
Alone. In the dark.” He cocks an eyebrow at me, leveling me with a serious stare.
“It’s not safe out here for a beautiful girl like you.
There’s plenty of demons lurking in the shadows, Ali.
Don’t want one to set his sights on you. ”
Glowing red eyes flash across my mind again. Gabriel is right—it’s dangerous out here alone.
“Let me drive you home.”
It’s not a question. And I’m not interested in declining.
He pushes the passenger open and I swiftly slide into the front seat.
The dark leather is soft and luxurious. His scent, pine and smoke, fills the car.
I relax into the comfort of his smell, his presence, his safety.
My earlier guilt is completely forgotten as I realize he’s just here to look after me, to make sure I get home safely.
It’ll be a five minute drive back to my house.
I can keep my hands to myself and behave for five minutes around him. Right?
Just as I’m convincing myself I will survive this ride without issue, he reaches across me. His hand skims my skin and his warm breath lands on my face. I squirm in my seat but he has me caged in.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
He chuckles before pulling the seatbelt down from above my shoulder. “Safety first, Princess.”
“I can do it myself,” I snark as I shove him away and grab the seatbelt from his hand. When our hands touch, a spark of electricity shoots through me.
Maybe this was a terrible idea.
Gabriel chuckles before sitting back. I click the seatbelt into place and sit stiffly in my seat.
“I live just a few blocks away,” I tell him stiffly. “Over on Hudson. If you just—”
“I know how to get there, pretty girl,” he states before revving the engine and taking off.
I’m thrown back against the seat as the car rips off through the night.
This car is not like the quiet, sophisticated hybrids that Brody insists we both drive.
This car is power and authority. I’m not a car person, really, but it’s sexy.
I rub my thighs together as the seat beneath me vibrates from the powerful engine.
“I like your car,” I finally say, breaking the silence.
The corner of his mouth lifts slightly as he side-eyes me.
His hand reaches out to turn on the stereo.
“RUNRUNRUN” by Dutch Melrose blasts through the speakers.
The thrum of the beat matches the pulsing between my thighs.
I feel my nipples tighten beneath the thin fabric of my sports bra.
Damn, why did I not wear a padded one? I cross my arms over my chest to hide the peaking tips of my breasts.
But I can feel Gabriel assessing me out of the corner of my eye.
His heated gaze makes it very hard for me to relax.
I close my eyes and try to take a few deep breaths.
Then his hand lands on my thigh.
“Gabriel—” I start but the resistance dies on my tongue as his fingers begin to stroke slowly up and down my thigh. I can barely contain the moan that wants to bubble up from my throat.
“Relax,” he demands as his thick fingers stroke me through the spandex of my running pants.
I’m so lost in his touch that I almost forget where we’re going. I look out the window and realize we’re on my street.
“That’s me right there.” I point to my large white house three doors up. “On the right.”
He doesn’t say anything. He just keeps on driving while his fingers tease me. In fact, he speeds up, I realize.
“Gabriel,” I stammer as his fingers glance against my pussy lips. “That’s my house. You’re going to drive past it.”
His finger digs into my folds through the fabric, finding my clit and stroking. I can’t stop the moan that slips from me. It feels good but it’s not enough. I want more from him. Despite myself, despite the guilt, I seem to always want more from him.
My house flies by out of view as we speed past.
“Gabriel,” I whimper as my small fingers wrap around his wrist. I can’t tell if I’m trying to stop him or pull him deeper.
My hips begin to rock, seeking more of his touch as he flicks my clit again and again through my pants.
“Beg for my fingers,” he growls.
“Wha-what?” I stutter between panting breaths.
He speeds up even more. We are absolutely going too fast. I glance over at his thick hand wrapped around the steering wheel. I mewl and writhe as I watch him steer the speeding vehicle with expert precision. We take a turn and I swear the car jolts onto two wheels for a moment.
“You’re supposed to drop me at home,” I groan. “This is wrong.”
He doesn’t answer. He just speeds up more, his fingers grazing against me lighter.
My mind and body are at war. My body craves him, but my mind says this is wrong.
The speeding car, the dizzying scent of smoke and pine, the continuous vibration of the rumbling car is almost too much to deny.
My conscience will hate me in the morning.
But, fuck it.
“Please, Gabriel,” I relent and beg. “I need your fingers.”
“Good girl,” he praises as his hand slips inside the waistband of my pants.
His fingers skim through my dripping folds. We moan in unison as he begins to stroke me. He relents on the accelerator, slowing us down as his fingers find my clit.
“So fucking wet for me, aren’t you, pretty girl?”
“Please,” I whine as I lift my hips off the seat and try to guide his thick digits to where I need them.
“Beg,” he strokes my clit again, “for,” and again, “it,” and again.
I’m a panting, desperate mess. I’m sure I’m leaving a puddle of desire on his fancy leather seats, even through my pants. There’s something about this man that’s beyond logic, beyond reason, beyond right and wrong. He’s an addiction I can’t seem to quit.
“Please, Gabriel,” I whimper. “Fuck me with your fingers and make me cream on your hand like your good girl.”
His responding growl sends pleasure skittering through my body and toward my core. One thick finger dips inside me, pushing into my opening slowly. So slowly. I moan and throw my head back against the headrest. The street lights outside flash by as we race down the street.
“You’re so fucking tight,” he says through gritted teeth as he adds a second finger and curls them both, hitting a spot inside me that has pleasure rolling through me. “I can’t wait to feel this tight cunt milking my cock.”
His words are filthy, the promise of future dalliances making me feel feral. I shouldn’t want him. I don’t want to be a cheater. Yet, the thought of him fucking me for real has me thrusting and writhing against his hand with wild abandon.
Ahead of us, the light flicks yellow. He doesn’t slow.
“I’m not stopping this car until you come for me,” Gabriel growls.
My mouth gapes open. “Gabriel, that’s crazy. The light…” I gesture ahead of us as the light clicks yellow to red.
“Then come for me,” he demands.
Fear and desire rush furiously through my veins as his fingers pump in and out of me. I feel my climax rising. I’m close, so close. With each second, we get closer and closer to the bustling intersection, and I get closer and closer to the edge.
“Gabriel,” I shriek as we approach the light, not slowing at all.
“Come for me!” he roars.
And I do. My scream is primal as my body tightens and shatters. The breaks screech and fracturing pleasure rips through me. I come so hard that I black out and Gabriel works me through it.
“Such a good girl,” he praises as the car comes to a stop. “That’s it, come for me.”
I open my eyes as the light turns green again.
My orgasm begins to fade and I’m left feeling weightless.
It’s never felt like this before…like freedom.
Gabriel removes his hand from between my legs and places it with the other on the steering wheel.
My release glistens between his fingers as he steers us through downtown.
It should feel dirty. I should be furious.
But all I feel is completely content.