Chapter Twenty Five #2
He swallowed hard, putting his hands in his pockets. He looked so sexy even when he was annoying.
"I can't believe this," I said. "I've never given you any reason not to trust me."
"You didn’t tell me you were still in contact with him."
I crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm not in contact. He just wrote a few times."
"A few times?" His voice thundered.
"To ask for his laptop back."
"That was just an excuse," Gabe replied, snorting.
"You say that because you don't know Chuck. He's cheap as shit. I didn't even let him inside the house. I met him in the yard because I didn't want him to linger."
Gabe said nothing. His nostrils flared.
"You don't believe me. Right," I said, looking down at my feet and then back up. "Um, I'm just going to go."
"Where?" he asked.
"Somewhere where I'm not around you because I'm seriously going to lose my shit."
I stormed out of the kitchen.
"Diane," Gabe called after me, but I didn't stop.
I seriously needed to do something to cool off, so I went up the spiral staircase two steps at a time. Even after months, I was still winded when I got to the top.
I paced the attic up and down, then sat down in my chair, picking up my Kindle. Then I remembered Gabe got me this chair and I got up, annoyed. How the hell did he dare accuse me of cheating? He hadn't come out and said it, but it was clearly what he was suspecting. Didn't he know me at all?
I opened a window, needing some fresh air. Coming up here was a bad idea. I should have just left the house. That's what people did when they stormed off, right? Not that I'd know. But I didn't have anything with me downstairs, like my bag or my wallet. If I tried to leave now, I’d run into Gabe.
Oh, screw it. I had to go out even though I was going to have to pass Gabe. Maybe I was lucky and he wasn't in the living room anymore.
I hurried downstairs and realized I was out of luck. He was at the entrance.
Damn it.
“Diane, I was about to come upstairs. Can we talk?”
“No.”
"Diane, please."
I wanted to stick to my guns, but I wasn't good at this. I hated fighting. His hair was completely disheveled, like he'd run his hand through it a million times since I saw him a few minutes ago.
He sighed. "I'm sorry."
"About what? Jumping to conclusions, or talking to me like you don't even know me, or assuming I’m a cheater?"
"All of it. I overreacted."
I scoffed. "Of course you did."
He came closer to me, but I took a step back.
"I don't know what got into me." He ran a hand through his hair again. "I heard you say his name, and it triggered something inside me, though I'm not even sure why. And then I wasn't thinking anymore. I just acted on some fucked-up instinct."
I softened. He swallowed hard, stepping toward me again. This time, I didn't step back.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."
I bit the inside of my cheek, staying put as he placed a hand on my neck.
"So you trust me?" I asked.
"Yes, 100 percent. Swear to God, I trust you. I really can't explain why I reacted like that."
"We all have our triggers," I murmured.
Considering the shit show that had been going on in his family, I had an inkling that this was related. I didn't say it out loud, though, because there was no point in rehashing that.
"You mean so much to me. I can't even imagine you with anyone else. It destroys me on the inside completely." He said the last word in a lower octave.
"I'm yours. Only yours, Gabe. I thought you realized that."
"You promise?"
"Yes.”
“Okay. Because I couldn't stand even the possibility of anything else."
I'd never seen him like this, so raw and vulnerable in front of me, opening up completely.
"I don't—" he began, but I rose on my toes and sealed my mouth over his, wanting to show him exactly how I felt.
We all had triggers and fears, but relationships were about facing everything together, not turning on each other.
He cradled my head with both hands, pulling my entire body against his.
GABE
I wanted to peel everything off her slowly just to watch her get more impatient. At the same time, I wanted to yank off her clothes and have her naked in front of me right now.
"What are you thinking about?" she murmured.
"All the things I want do to you. I don't even know where to start."
She grinned. "That's new. You usually seem to know everything."
It was true, but everything was different with Diane, and I was starting to accept that.
I turned her around, holding her hair in my left fist and lifting it above her head so I could kiss the back of her neck.
I put my other hand on her arm, smiling against her neck when her skin turned to goose bumps.
Then I lowered my hand to her belly, catching the exact moment when she pulled in her muscles, tensing like she needed to brace herself. "I like making you squirm."
"You're very good at it," she whispered.
I barely caught her words as I continued kissing up and down the back of her neck, then tugged the zipper down and trailed my mouth down her spine. Sliding my hands inside her dress, I drew my palms down the sides of her body. She moved to pull it off her shoulders.
"No. Only when I tell you to."
"Okay." She sucked in a breath.
I moved my mouth down until I reached the base of her spine, then said, "Push it down your shoulders slowly."
She took off both straps at the same time. As she lowered it, more of her ass came into view. She was wearing a thong. The way her ass hung out of it drove me crazy. I kissed down her right ass cheek and then her left one, going farther down as she lowered her dress even more.
"Drop it now," I said once it went past her ass.
I held her by the hips as she stepped out of it, then turned her around. Watching her from down here messed with my senses. Her breasts were exquisite, her bra pushing them up.
"You're so sexy." I straightened and kissed the upper part of her breasts that peeked out of the bra, then dipped my tongue between them. I lowered my hands to her buttocks, cupping both of them at the same time and pressing her pelvis into mine.
She rubbed herself against the zipper of my jeans. It was a sign that she needed friction, and I was going to satisfy her. I kept one hand splayed on her cheeks and moved the other one to her pussy, sliding my fingers inside her panties to give her skin-on-skin contact.
She rewarded me with a moan. I kissed her, wanting to feel exactly what my fingers did to her. I could read and feel her body, but the connection between us was at its most intense when we kissed.
When she pushed herself up and down, I stopped moving my hand and paused the kiss enough to say, "No. I promise I'll give you all the pleasure you crave, but I’ll decide how much and when."
She swallowed hard, and I kissed her again. I felt the muscles in her ass relax. I loved feeling this change in her whenever she gave herself to me and relinquished control. She trusted me, and I was going to reward that with an amazing orgasm or two.
I didn't stop kissing her while I moved my fingers over her clit and then down the sides, over her folds. Then I dipped one finger inside her.
She whimpered. This was too much for now. I needed to ease in. She pushed her ass back, but I tilted it right at the angle I had her before. I smiled against her mouth when I felt her legs become weaker, then slid in another finger. This was going to be quick and delicious.