Chapter 14 Gabriel | Florence
FOURTEEN
GAbrIEL | FLORENCE
“How have you been there for over a week and you still haven’t found my sister?” Zale growls on the other end of the phone.
“I’m doing everything I can—”
“I don’t believe you,” he cuts me off.
I clench my jaw, reigning in my temper. He has every right to be concerned about Zalea’s whereabouts, and with him not able to leave mid-season without screwing everything up for the team, I’m his only hope at finding her.
But if Zalea wanted him to know where she was and that she was doing okay, she’d pick up his calls on her own.
So, I’m respecting that for now and keeping him in the dark.
“You think I’m just out here in Italy having the time of my life?” I scoff. “Eating pasta and pizza with the locals?”
“No,” he says. “But I do think you found her.”
He’s a smart guy, I’ll give him that.
“And I think you want to keep her to yourself for now,” he continues. “You probably want to convince her to get back with you, as if you didn’t ruin her fucking life.”
That makes me pause. “Ruin her life?” I repeat. “What the fuck are you talking about, Zale?”
He’s quiet for a moment and I get the sense he’s realized he’s said something he shouldn’t have.
“Doesn’t matter,” he finally says. “Tell her I’ll be up waiting for her call.”
Zale hangs up, leaving my mind reeling. How could I have possibly ruined Zalea’s life?
If anything, I’ve done everything I can to make sure she has a comfortable life.
I’ve funded her whole career, paid for her living expenses, got her the best trainers in Hawaii, and secured the highest paying sponsorships for her too.
I’ve made sure Zalea gets to live a happy life doing what she loves, regardless of if she wants to be with me or not. All I’ve ever wanted is for her to be happy.
“You didn’t have to walk me all the way to my door, Paolo,” Zalea says from the hallway.
Paolo?
That fucker is here?
Inside the walls of the hotel?
I stalk to the door, fingers wrapped around the handle.
“How come you’re staying in a hotel instead of the Art Academy’s residency?” he asks.
I pause, waiting to hear what she says because I was also surprised when Reid told me she had booked a hotel instead of the student residence. She must have known that I’d follow her here, so why stay somewhere so easily accessible to me if she truly didn’t want me to be here?
“It was full,” she says.
Liar.
Reid checked that for me too—I wasn’t above forcing my way into a room there if that’s where she was going to be staying—and there were at least eight rooms still available.
I decide there’s no better time to make an entrance than now as I swing my door open and step out into the cool hallway, hands in my pockets. The door clicks shut behind me and I lean against the frame staring at him like he’s enemy number one.
Because he is.
Zalea is mine.
He must pick up on it because he returns a cool glare of his own right back. I almost smirk. He’s ballsy.
“You were gone long,” I say, turning my attention to Zalea.
She glares at me with a fury that sends a chill down my spine, but I don’t show it.
“I didn’t know I had a curfew,” she spits back.
“Of course you don’t, baby. I just missed you is all.” I look at Paolo now. “Couldn’t stop thinking about last night.”
Paolo’s lips part, the surprise on his face evident. He looks down at Zalea, who is crimson red, and he knows it’s true.
“I better get going,” he finally says as she and I have a stare off. “I’ll need to get some supplies for the studio before we start doing our sessions.”
She looks up at him with a grateful smile and it pisses me right the hell off.
“Sessions?” I ask, eyes narrowing.
“Si,” he looks back at me, eyes twinkling with a challenge. “Zalea has agreed to model for me in my private studio.”
“Naked,” she practically shouts, looking back at me triumphantly. “I’ll be modelling naked.”
“Careful, Red,” I growl, knowing she’s trying to piss me off.
“I’ll see you soon, Lea,” he says, leaning down as he takes her hand and plants a kiss, his eyes shifting over to mine as he does, and winking.
This fucker has a death wish and I’m not above fulfilling it. That’s the second time he’s kissed her hand in front of me, but this time he’s doing it to purposely piss me off.
He turns and walks off and we both wait for the elevator to sound and the doors to close behind him. Zalea swipes her room key and tries to bolt inside but I’m faster, grabbing the door before she can lock me out and sliding inside behind her.
“Get out,” she demands, folding her arms over her chest.
“Are you out of your mind?” I growl, stalking over to her window, and staring outside so I can see Paolo leave with my own eyes. “You’ve known this guy for two days and you’re making plans to model for him, naked, in a private studio?”
“Don’t you dare judge me, Gabriel,” she hisses, stomping over to me. “I don’t belong to you or to anyone. I can do what I want.”
Paolo exits the hotel and begins walking back toward the street.
“I’m not judging you,” I correct, frowning at her. “I’m just saying you don’t even know who he is, or what kind of person he is. What if he tries something on you when you’re all alone with him?”
“He won’t,” she says confidently.
“How do you know?”
There’s nothing she can say to back up why she’s so sure of it, so in true Zalea fashion she changes the topic. “Why did you tell him I was with you last night?”
I raise an annoyed brow. “Was that supposed to be a secret?”
“It makes me look like I’m sleeping around,” she says, as if it’s obvious.
“Well unless you’re sleeping with someone else that I don’t know about, I don’t know how it could possibly look like that.”
“He’s going to think you and I are a thing,” she argues, throwing her hands up.
“Aren’t we?” I ask, tilting my head and narrowing my eyes. “It seemed like we were last night, when you said you wanted me,” I remind her.
She lets out a frustrated growl as she turns away from me, walking to the bathroom. “You can’t hold anything I say in an intimate moment against me, Gabriel.”
“The hell I can,” I say, following her.
“I’m not in a sane state of mind during those moments,” she argues, turning the shower on before looking at me. “I have no idea what meaningless words are coming out of my mouth. I’m vulnerable.”
Meaningless?
I stalk after her and she backs up until she falls onto the toilet lid, lifting her head to look up at me. Resting one hand on the sink next to her and using the other to hold her chin in place, I lower my face closer to hers, holding her gaze.
“You know damn well everything you said last night came from a sane state of mind.”
She swallows but stays quiet, eyes drifting to my lips and it’s all I can take before I crash mine down on hers. Her hands are on me instantly, undoing my belt, shoving my pants and boxers down before she’s taking me into her mouth again.
“Fuck, baby,” I groan, head tipping back until all I see is the ceiling.
I pull my shirt over my head so that I’m fully naked, and enjoy the feel of her lips around my cock. She’s sloppy with it, in the best way, taking me in as deep as she can as she makes gagging sounds. One hand cups my balls, massaging them until I think I’m about to explode in her mouth.
I pull her to her feet as she whimpers in protest and bend her over the sink, grabbing a handful of her dress and pulling it up to her waist. I shove her underwear down and she spreads her legs instinctively, baring her pretty pink pussy to me, already dripping wet.
I look up, holding her gaze in the mirror. “You always get so wet when you blow me,” I say, running the tip of my cock along her already slick slit.
She moans, eyes shutting, but I grab onto her hair with my free hand and tug until she opens her eyes in surprise. “Keep your eyes on me, baby. I want to see you when I make you come.”
Before she can protest I slide in, groaning at the warmth and tightness. It’s like her pussy was moulded just for my cock. A perfect match.
I start thrusting, tortuously slow, watching as her mouth falls slightly open, and her breathing becomes uneven. Her cheeks have a slight pink to them as her eyes stay locked on mine, a small smile playing on her lips, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
“Look how happy this cock makes you,” I say. “How good you take it. Do you really think Paolo can fuck you as good as I can?” I ask, spitting the asshole's name.
She doesn’t answer, so I release her hair and reach forward, pulling her dress down to her waist and cupping her breast as I pinch her nipple. She lets out a whimper, eyes closing.
I stop thrusting and her eyes shoot open. “Eyes stay open baby, or it stops.”
She nods and I start again, faster this time.
“I’m the only person on this whole fucking planet,” I thrust faster and harder, “that can fuck you the way you love it.”
“Yes,” she exclaims, jaw slack. “Please don’t stop.”
“I’ll never stop, baby,” I say, pulling her upright against my chest and placing a kiss on her shoulder. “This cock belongs to you, Red, and your pussy belongs to me. Stop forgetting that.”
I pound into her now, her screams of pleasure echoing against the walls of the bathroom.
She struggles to keep her eyes open but I allow it because I’m so close.
I don’t let myself come though, not until her eyes are rolling back while she moans, and her pussy is throbbing against my cock, wetness squelching out of her on each thrust.
I can’t hold back my chuckle as I watch in the mirror as it drips down her shaking thighs. “Did I just make you squirt, baby?”
Her face flushes a darker shade of red. “Y-yes,” she gasps out and that confirmation alone tips me over the edge.
“Fuck,” I groan, stretching the word out as I spill into her, my thrusts becoming uneven as I fill her to the brim until it’s my cum that seeps out of her now, running down her legs.
“Mine,” I growl on a final thrust. “All mine.”
She nods, delirious, and I gently pull out of her. She’s a mess, a beautiful mess, and it’s my job to clean her. I gently pull her clothes off and help her to the shower, her thighs still shaking from the force of her orgasm.
She rests her head against my chest as I walk her backwards under the shower head, wetting her hair first before the rest of her body.
I grab her shampoo from the shower ledge and squirt some out on my hand before I lather her hair.
This is one of my favourite things to do post-fuck.
Nothing brightens up my day more than taking care of my girl.
“Are you busy tomorrow?” I ask, rinsing the shampoo out. “I want to take you out.”
“Take me out where?” she mumbles against my chest as I begin running the conditioner through her strands.
“Help me pick out a home,” I say with a shrug.
She lifts her head to look at me, brows furrowed. “You’re buying property? In Italy?”
I nod. “If we’re going to be here for a year, we might as well live like locals and get the full experience.”
Zalea arches a brow. “We?”
“Don’t act like you don’t want to live with me,” I grin, shooting her a wink. “I know you secretly want me all to yourself.”
She scoffs, laying her head back down on my chest. “Someone thinks very highly of himself.”
“Someone hasn’t denied my claim.” She stays quiet, but I want an answer. “So? Will you come with me to pick out our house?”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Gabriel.”
My heart deflates at her lack of enthusiasm, but I’m not giving up yet. Zalea may have lost hope for a future where we’re together, but I still haven’t.
“It’s actually a really good idea, Z,” I say, planting a kiss on her forehead. “How are you supposed to marry someone you haven’t lived with yet?”
“What?” She looks up at me again.
“Yeah, like what if the way I do my laundry is a deal breaker? Or what if I leave the toilet seat lid up? Aren’t these things you want to know before you commit to a lifetime together?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“The marriage pact,” I say, swallowing back my nerves. This is the first time I’ve brought it up since the day I helped save her old dog, Sprinkles.
She blinks twice. “You remember that?”
I nod. “You said it was still on,” I say, softly. “And you turn thirty this year.”
Zalea struggles to hide her surprise as she stares back at me, and I hold my breath waiting to see what her answer will be. She steps back, her body no longer resting on mine, and begins rinsing her hair.
“Alright,” she says finally. “Let’s find a home”
She turns her back to me and I bite back my grin, because for the first time in years I feel like I might actually be breaking down the walls she built to keep me out.