Chapter 44 #2
"Why him?" His question hangs heavy in the air, unspoken implications lingering just beneath the surface. I hear the question Gabriel doesn’t bother to voice out loud.
What does Wyatt have that he doesn't?
The truth is, nothing. There’s nothing Wyatt has that Gabriel doesn’t. Not anything I’m looking for, at least.
“He asked,” I explain. “His sister is on the swim team, and—” I shrug, “I don’t know. He seemed nice enough, and he just happened to be the first guy to ask. I’m not trying to get into a relationship here. It was just a date. Nothing more.”
Gabriel's jaw tightens as he absorbs my words. "Were you planning to sleep with him?" he asks. I don’t miss the accusation in his tone..
“Excuse me?" I rear back and fold my arms defensively across my chest.
Gabriel stops pacing and faces me fully. “If the date had gone well, were you planning on fucking him?”
What the hell is wrong with him? Indignation rises inside of me. "No, of course not. Do you seriously think I'd do something like that? Do you think I’m that easy?"
Gabriel’s gaze remains steady on mine, and I can sense something brewing beneath the surface. The tension between us crackles.
He curses. “I didn’t say you were easy.”
“No, you just implied it.”
Gabriel curses. "Fine," he concedes, his voice low and intense. "My bad. I’m sorry. But you went on a date to test your boundaries. Is that it?"
I nod cautiously, wary of where this conversation is heading.
It feels like a trap.
"And you're planning to go on other dates," he continues, his tone probing. "See how things go with other guys?"
I shift uncomfortably, uncertainty gnawing at me.
"I don't know. Maybe," I confess, the weight of my own words sinking in. I hadn’t really thought about anything beyond getting through tonight, but yes. Eventually, there will be other dates. Tonight was a disaster. I won’t be going on any more dates anytime soon, but damn. I was so close. I made it through dinner. The car ride. Being alone with Wyatt in a confined space. Things only went sideways after he got that call from his friend. If he’d just taken me home—
"And then what?" Gabriel steps closer, his presence overwhelming as he invades my personal space. "After the dates. We'll say you go on five, maybe ten. What's the next part of your little test, hmm?"
I swallow hard, feeling the weight of his words pressing down on me. "I ..." I falter, unsure of how to respond.
"If things go well, are you going to let one of these guys kiss you?" His question hangs in the air, accusing and loaded with implications.
But there are no other guys. This is all hypothetical.
Before I can protest, Gabriel's hand cups my jaw, sending a jolt of electricity through me. My breath catches in my throat as he draws me closer, his touch setting my nerves ablaze.
My stomach does a somersault.
“And if you don’t freak out after that kiss, what comes next? Are you going to let one of them touch you?” His other hand moves to cup my breast, and I freeze, my heart pounding in my chest.
"Gabe—" I begin, but my words falter as his hands guide me backward until my back meets the solid wall of the living room.
I'm trapped, pinned beneath his intense gaze.
My heart races, thundering against my ribcage.
Neither of us speaks, but the silence is deafening, broken only by the sound of my shallow breaths. I feel exposed, vulnerable, and achingly aware of every inch of his body touching mine.
My eyes are wide as I stare up at Gabriel in the dimly lit room, his hand still on my breast.
The atmosphere is thick with anticipation.
I should push him away. Make him stop. But I don’t do either of those things. Because Gabriel is touching me and fuck, I missed this.
“Is that the end goal?” he asks, his fingers flexing around my breast and grazing my sensitive nipple. My back arches into his touch. “To be touched?”
I struggle to find my voice, my mind racing with conflicting emotions. "I—" But before I can respond, he presses into me, his touch sending sparks flying, and I can't help but tremble beneath him.
“No one else is going to make you feel like this.” he says, not waiting for a response. “I have a proposition,” Gabriel murmurs, his voice sending shivers down my spine as he presses closer, his hand now kneading my breast.
My lashes flutter as pleasure sparks through me, a low moan threatening to escape my lips.
Fuck.
Gabriel angles my head upward, his honey-brown eyes locking with mine, holding me captive.
“Are you listening, baby?” he asks, his gaze intense as he watches my every move.
I wet my lips nervously, feeling his eyes follow the movement, sending heat pooling low in my belly.
“You don’t want a relationship, is that right?” His words are a whisper against my ear. His body presses firmly against mine, his hips pinning me to the wall.
“That’s right,” I manage to breathe out over the roaring sound in my ears.
“But you want to be physical with someone. You’re working up to eventually being kissed. Touched. To being fucked.” His words hang heavy in the air, and I can't help but shiver at the raw desire in his voice.
He doesn’t phrase it as a question and it’s obvious he isn’t expecting a response.
Instead, he continues, his tone growing more and more heated with each word. “What you did tonight was reckless,” he growls. “Irresponsible. If Felix hadn’t called me, if he hadn’t been there—” A shadow passes over his face.
“If you want to get physical, you want someone to touch this body—” He trails off, his hand sliding down from my breast and over my stomach. My breath hitches when he moves lower.
Lower still. Until it reaches the apex of my thighs beneath my dress.
He boldly cups my sex, his touch igniting a fire within me. “You come to me.”
My lips part on a gasp.
The thin lace of my panties is hardly any kind of barrier as he presses the heel of his palm into me.
It takes close to a minute for me to register his words.
“You want …”
“Yes.” His eyes bore into mine. “It’s not a relationship,” he continues, his eyes never leaving mine as he creates small circles against my core with the heel of his hand. “You don’t want one, so that’s not what I’m offering. There are no strings attached with this.”
"You want us to be—” My voice falters, uncertainty muddling my thoughts. What exactly is he proposing? “Friends with benefits?”
“Call it whatever you want. I’m going to look at it as an escape. A way to let off some steam.” Gabriel's voice is low, husky, sending shivers down my spine as he continues to toy with me, my body coiling tighter and tighter.
I suck in a breath, overwhelmed by the pleasure coursing through me. God, that feels good.
“But you want to push boundaries, don’t you, sweetheart? You want to get comfortable fucking and being fucked. So that’s what we’ll do.”
“We’ve already done that,” I manage to stutter, my words barely coherent as his touch sends electric pulses through me. His hand between my legs makes it impossible to think.
My hips jerk forward of their own accord, seeking more of his touch, more of that delicious friction.
Gabriel chuckles, the sound sending a wave of heat rushing through me. His breath ghosts over my lips, teasingly close.
If I lift up on my toes just a fraction of an inch, we’ll be kissing.
I want him to close that distance. To press his mouth against mine.
I shouldn’t want that. I know I shouldn’t. But—
Oh god. His touch intensifies, sending waves of pleasure crashing over me. Yes. Fuck. Right there.
“No, baby girl. We’ve had sex. We most certainly haven’t fucked.” His voice is like gravel, rough and intoxicating.
Goosebumps break out over my skin.
“It’s a bad idea,” I protest weakly, my words breathless. “Things between us are … complicated.” But my body betrays me, craving his touch despite the turmoil in my mind.
He dips his head to trail open-mouthed kisses along my neck, and I shudder in response.
So close...
“Then we’ll uncomplicate them,” he murmurs. His words send a thrill of anticipation through me. With a deliberate motion, he pushes aside my panties before swiping two fingers between my folds, and I moan unabashedly at the sensation.
Gabriel groans against the sensitive skin of my neck, his hot breath sending shivers down my spine. “So fucking wet,” he murmurs, his fingers slick with my arousal as he circles my clit.
I jolt in his arms, electricity rushing through my veins.
“All I need you to do is say yes,” he whispers, his voice rough with desire.
He’s just as turned on as I am right now, and I’m not even touching him.
Gabriel pulls back enough to look at me as his fingers quicken their pace between my legs, driving me closer to the edge. I'm right there, teetering on the brink of ecstasy, my legs trembling beneath me as white spots dance behind my closed eyelids.
“Yes,” I moan and my orgasm crashes over me, taking with it the final threads of my sanity and my self-control.
Gabriel's mouth crashes into mine, our kiss a fierce collision of tongues and teeth. I'm breathless, lost in the intensity of his touch. This kiss is nothing like before—It isn’t gentle or patient. There’s no tenderness or hesitancy—it's raw, primal, consuming.
I can’t breathe.
Gabriel devours my mouth, his one hand tangling in my hair as he angles my head, deepening the kiss even further. With a swift motion, he unravels the elastic bands securing my braids, allowing my hair to tumble freely around us.
God, he feels so good.
Before I can catch my breath, he lifts me effortlessly into his arms, his hands gripping the backs of my thighs as he demands, “Wrap your legs around my waist.”
I comply without hesitation and am rewarded with the undeniable press of his arousal against my core.
“Fuck,” I gasp as he grinds against me.
“Say it again, baby girl.” His fingers flex on my thighs, and he carries me out of the room. “Tell me that you want me to fuck you.”