Gabriel's Rule (2 page)

Gabe
thrust into the woman under him a few more times before slowing down. He heard
her whimper when he pulled almost all the way out before slamming back into
her. She was covered in a fine sheen of sweat and her hands pulled at the silk
bindings that held her wrists against the iron headboard. He had made her get
on her knees in front of him on the bed after he had made her come the first
time just using his mouth on her core. Her second orgasm was imminent; he could
feel her rippling around his cock. He grabbed her hair and pulled her head
back. She whimpered at the small sting of pain he was sure he was causing her,
but he felt another pulse around his cock so he knew she liked it.

“You
like it like this, don’t you?” With his other hand he reached around and
pinched her nipple hard. “You want it harder?” he asked as he slowed down his
thrusts to shallow, slow strokes. The woman cried out and nodded her head
violently. It was part of the game – she wasn’t allowed to speak unless he told
her she could.

He
played with her for another minute with slow, uneven strokes that he knew wouldn’t
push her over. Releasing her hair he watched her drop her forehead to the bed.
An image of Riley’s long hair flashed through his head and he felt his dick
harden further causing the woman to groan. He wondered what Riley’s gorgeous
ass would feel like slapping against him as he gripped the soft skin of her
hips and plunged into her.

Gabe
picked up his rhythm and started hammering into the woman beneath him over and
over. He heard her cry out and she thrust back to meet him, her hands now
gripping the iron bars in front of her so she had more leverage against the
pounding he was giving her. He felt her body tighten around him and he muttered
roughly “you can come now.” She went off like a rocket and screamed as her body
clamped down on his. He slowed his strokes and followed her down as she
collapsed on the bed.

He
still owed her one more orgasm so he continued to slide in and out of her in
long, torturous thrusts as her orgasm waned. Reaching under her he began
stroking her clit gently and she whimpered at the contact. Within moments he
felt her start to roll her hips as her body began to respond again. He
increased his pace with both his hand and his cock and she moaned into the
bedding as another powerful orgasm overtook her. He stilled inside her long
enough for her body to relax and then finally release him so he could carefully
withdraw from her. He reached above her and untied her from the bed but left
the bindings on her wrists.

“You
were a good girl today,” he muttered roughly in her ear before climbing off and
disappearing into the bathroom. He stripped off the condom and ran a washcloth
over his still hard cock. He stepped back into the bedroom and grabbed his
clothes from a nearby chair. It took him only a few seconds to pull them on and
when he stopped at the side of the bed, he saw she was still in the same
position he’d left her in.

When
she finally noticed him, she lifted her head slightly and said “It’s on the
dresser.”

Gabe
went to the dresser and collected the stack of money that was there. He checked
it quickly and then left the room because even now he could feel the cold
overtaking him. The hotel wasn’t busy since it was the middle of the night and
the valet brought his truck around within minutes. He handed the guy a tip and
started the twenty minute drive home. He turned the music way up so that he
could try to focus on it rather than the numbness that was washing through him.
This had only been his second time with this client but his standard routine
seemed to be what she needed. He didn’t know anything about her other than she
was married, as the wedding band and huge diamond on her left hand had
suggested, and judging by the swanky hotel room, that she had money.

Details
about the women never mattered so he never asked – his agency screened them and
that was good enough for him. They took their cut, he got his and similar to
tonight, there was always a nice tip waiting for him too. None of the women
ever seemed to notice that he never came while fucking them and they never
questioned why they weren’t allowed to touch him or that he never kissed them
on the mouth. In return he gave them what they wanted – a rough, but safe fuck.

His
specialty was like a niche market in the world of high end male escorts. Most
escorts adapted to whatever their customer was looking for. It could range from
date night, just conversation, making out, the boyfriend experience,
domination, or even some of the heavier BDSM. But Gabe had one rule in his work
– never connect with his clients. From the beginning, when he and his college
buddies had been approached by an upper classman about escorting, he had found
no pleasure in the work like some escorts did. But it hadn’t been the same for
him as it had been for his friends, Shane and Logan, who took to escorting like
ducks did to water.

The
first few women Gabe had been with had always seemed to need something else
from him that he couldn’t give – an emotional connection he couldn’t understand
and didn’t want. Shane and Logan were able to turn it off and on like a light
switch but Gabe couldn’t. The physical act of sex hadn’t bothered him but the
before and after did and he had finally told his agency that he would only
accept clients under certain conditions.

He
was fully prepared to give up the huge amounts of money he’d been making that
helped him make ends meet while in school, but instead of booking fewer clients
he found that his conditions made him more popular – he had somehow become a
type of fantasy package for women looking for more than vanilla sex, but not
quite ready to make the leap into full on pain play. He was dominant by nature
and played the role to the hilt in his sessions and the women loved it. But he
always walked away feeling a little more dead inside which didn’t make sense
since they played by his rules. He’d gotten to the point that he only met with
clients when his money situation called for it and his day job couldn’t keep up
with the bills. From the way things were going, it looked like he’d still be at
this for a while.

As
he neared the apartment building, his thoughts drifted to his mother. She’d
left the most recent rehab facility more than a week ago, the day before she’d
broken into his place. He hadn’t seen or heard from her since, but knew it
would just be a matter of time. Even though she left after just two weeks, the
facility had demanded he pay in full. He also knew it was just a matter of time
before he’d need bail money to get his mom out of jail for whatever possession
or solicitation charge she was arrested for and then she’d get weepy and beg
him to get her into another facility. And he’d do it like he always did because
she was his mother and she needed him to take care of her.

He
parked his truck and climbed out. As he climbed the stairs to his apartment, he
heard footsteps behind him. He turned and saw Riley coming up the walkway. Her
head was down so she didn’t see him until her foot hit the first step and she
looked up. She let out a startled squeak and then covered her mouth with her
hand. Collecting herself, she said “hi” as she climbed the stairs and squeezed
passed him, making him realize he still stood in the same spot at the top of
the stairs. He sucked in a breath as the small space caused her to brush
against him slightly. A whiff of peach assaulted him. He hadn’t seen her since
the day she moved in.

“Gabe,
are you okay?”

Her
soft voice rippled over him like silk before he managed to pull himself out of
his daze. She actually appeared worried as she studied him.

“Yeah,
I’m fine. Why?” The inquiry had caught him off guard. No one ever asked him
about stuff like that; his clients weren’t allowed to and the guys at his
construction job all kept to themselves.

“You
just look really tired,” she responded carefully before turning to put her key
in her door.

He
mulled that over. She was about to disappear into her apartment when he said
“Hot date?” Where the hell had that come from? She seemed surprised by the
question too and laughed.

“No,
no. I started my new job tonight,” she said, pulling back her light jacket and
waving her hand over her outfit. It was then that he noticed she was wearing a
tight black denim skirt that was several inches above her knees and a bright
green T-shirt that said “Mac’s Pub” on it. He knew the place – it was a dumpy,
Irish pub just a block down the street. Her outfit meant she was a waitress and
part of him wanted to shake her for agreeing to work in that dive. Worry sifted
through him as he remembered the low quality clientele that frequented the
place. It wasn’t a place someone like her should be working.

“What
about you? Hot date?” she repeated back his words with a smile.

A
sick feeling washed over him as he envisioned her reaction to what he’d been
doing for the past hour so he just said “Work.” She’d be so disgusted to know
he had pictured her in the woman’s place.

Accepting
his response, she studied him for another moment and he swore he still saw
concern in her eyes. “Good night Gabe,” she said softly as she disappeared into
her apartment. He heard the lock engage and then he turned and let himself into
his own apartment.

Stripping
his clothes off as he walked, he climbed into the shower and turned it up as
hot as he could stand it. His hard-on had waned after he left the hotel but
when Riley’s eyes had traveled the length of his body as if making sure he was
okay, he’d felt himself harden. When she ended the conversation with his name,
he couldn’t help but wonder how it would sound when she screamed it during her
release. The water did nothing to ease his need so he stroked himself. His
moves were brisk with just the end goal in mind, but then an image of Riley
bent over in front of him as he pounded into her flashed in his brain. He
slowed his strokes to match what he was doing to the young woman, her heated
cries urging him on.

Gabe
put his free hand up on the wall to support himself as he pumped his cock. He
couldn’t remember the face of the woman he had actually fucked tonight because
all he could see was Riley’s pretty eyes and full lips. It was Riley’s long
sweat-dampened blond hair that he wrapped around his wrist as he hammered into
her warm, willing body. Her full breasts swayed as she moved with him and he
gathered one in his hand, the fullness of it spilling over his palm. And when
he leaned over to thrust his tongue into her mouth, she opened willingly and
stroked his tongue with her own. With the taste of her on his lips he came
hard, his seed splashing in spurts all over the shower wall and he groaned as
fire flashed through his body. When the rush finally started to recede, he
released his cock and put his other hand on the wall and closed his eyes as the
water sluiced over his back and washed away the only evidence that remained of
the most intense orgasm he’d ever had in his life.

If
one more guy grabbed her ass, Riley was going to lose it. She slapped the
latest offender’s stubby fingers away and headed back to the bar to fill the
drink order. Three days ago when Mac had offered her the waitressing job on the
spot, she’d thought she’d died and gone to heaven. The tall, leathery old man
with stringy gray hair and cigarette stained teeth grossed her out, but he
hadn’t seemed to care that she’d never waitressed a day in her life so that had
been a huge plus.

He
was also okay with paying her under the table, not that the pay was any good.
She just hoped the tips she made would be worth all the leering looks and pushy
hands she was getting. If she’d been less desperate and more alert, she might
have noticed what a dump the place was, but it had been daytime when she’d
interviewed so it hadn’t been crowded and she hadn’t noticed how filthy it was
or the low quality clientele. It looked like her job hunt would have to
continue, but at least there would be a little bit of money coming in in the
meantime.

There
was only one other waitress, an older woman named Mara, and oddly enough she
looked a lot like Mac. Riley never considered herself a looker but she supposed
when it came down to Mara and herself she had the edge. This was the first time
she actually wished she were the invisible one. Mac plopped several drinks on
her tray and she dodged the sweaty bodies that somehow managed to press up
against her no matter how much space she put between them and her. She deposited
the drinks at Stubby’s table and then made her way to the few booths that lined
the far wall.

Two
men had taken up the last empty booth and the one facing her gave her a broad
smile as she approached. He was very easy on the eyes, all-American boy next door
type but built. His shaggy hair made him appear young but as she got closer she
could see he had to be in his mid-twenties. He wore a dark blue button up shirt
and nice slacks, definitely white collar type, and he stood out like a sore
thumb among the aging, biker wanna-be crowd.

“Hi,
what can I get you gentlemen…
”
Her voice stuttered to
a halt when she saw who Blondie’s companion was. Gabe. He looked up at her with
a dark, hooded expression. He almost seemed hostile which didn’t make sense
since it’d been a couple days since their brief encounter in the hallway. She
couldn’t have pissed him off just by commenting that he looked tired, could
she?

***

Gabe
knew he was confusing her with his silence and fierce expression but he
couldn’t get the image of that guy putting his hands on her ass out of his
mind. He and Shane had just taken their seats when his wandering gaze had
finally located Riley, but watching the majority of the men leer at her as
she’d walked passed had him starting to get out of his seat before he
remembered that she wasn’t his to protect. But when the one guy with the greasy
black hair and long scraggly beard had actually put his hand on her, he had
gotten up. Only Shane’s questioning look had kept him from striding over to the
guy and knocking him to the floor. He needed to get a grip on his fury before
he spoke to her so he glanced at Shane. Luckily his buddy got the message.

“Hi,
I’m Shane.”

Riley’s
eyes were locked with Gabe’s for another moment and then she remembered herself
and turned to shake Shane’s proffered hand.

“Riley.”

When
Gabe still didn’t speak Shane went on. “You a friend of Gabe’s?”

“We’re
neighbors. Um, what can I get you guys?”

“I’ll
have a beer, whatever’s on tap.” Shane glanced at Gabe who was still fixated on
the young woman. She shifted uncomfortably so Shane kicked Gabe under the table
which finally seemed to snap the brooding man out of whatever thought he’d been
lost in.

“Same.”

Riley
nodded and took off. Gabe’s eyes tracked her back to the bar.

“What
the hell?” Shane said loudly. Gabe swung back around to meet his friend’s
questioning look.

“What?”

“Um,
talk much?”

Gabe
shifted back in his seat and forced himself not to watch Riley anymore. His
observant friend had already seen way too much. And between the confusion over
his mind blowing orgasm in the shower a couple nights ago and the fierce
possessiveness that had swept through him as he watched men checking out
Riley’s curve hugging skirt and tight T-shirt, he wasn’t in a place where he
could explain anything to Shane anyway.

“What
are we doing in this hell hole?”

How
was he supposed to tell his friend that ever since Riley had told him where she
worked he had felt the need to come here and check on her? He’d managed to
resist last night when he heard her leave her apartment, but tonight he hadn’t
been able to sit still as he thought of her in this place. When Shane had
called him to see if he wanted to go for a drink, he’d suggested Mac’s. Gabe
ignored the question and then turned to do a quick check on Riley. She was
still at the bar, presumably waiting on their drinks to be filled.

“Are
you kidding me? This is about a woman?” Shane asked. He sounded both stunned
and condescending at the same time and Gabe wanted to punch him.

“She’s
just a neighbor. I fixed her drain the other day.”

“And
you just happened to pick this place tonight?”

Gabe
shrugged, but knew he wasn’t fooling his friend. He just hoped Shane would take
the hint and let it go. He did but his new topic wasn’t any better.

“Carly
tells me you booked three clients for next week already.” Carly was the young
woman who scheduled the clients for the escort agency and Shane’s endless charm
meant he was privy to all the latest information. “Your mom?” was all his
friend had to ask.

Gabe
nodded his head but kept his eyes on Riley as she made her way towards them.
Shane was the only other person who knew about the shit he had been going
through with his mom and even though Shane could match any woman in the world
when it came to being a gossip, Gabe trusted him like a brother. He also knew
that Gabe wanted out of escorting so having three clients in one week was a
pretty big sign that things weren’t going well.

“Here
you go guys.” Riley dropped off the drinks, gave Shane a quick smile and ignored
Gabe completely. He knew he deserved it.

***

The
jerk hadn’t said one word to her – not one word. He hadn’t even greeted her or
introduced her to his friend. She’d been hurt at first, but by the time she
waded through the crowd to get the drinks, she’d worked herself up pretty good.
She’d been nothing but nice to him and he’d just dumped all over that. So much
for thinking she’d made a friend. When she’d dropped the drinks at their table,
it had taken everything in her power not to dump Gabe’s beer in his lap. She’d
felt his eyes on her several times and each time she’d glanced over to look at
him he was staring at her, his cold eyes seemingly following her every move. If
he hadn’t been so clearly pissed at her, it would have intrigued her and she probably
would have ended up reading too much into it. Didn’t matter because she was
done with him. She’d already let one guy in her past walk all over her, she
wasn’t about to do it again.

As
she made her way around the room to check on how people were doing, she felt an
arm snake around her waist as another hand tried to grab her breast. It was one
of Stubby’s friends and as she pulled free she heard a drunken laugh and then
felt Stubby palm her ass. She tried to pull back but he gripped her painfully.

“Take
your hand off of her or I will rip it from your fucking body.”

His
voice was low and calm but deadly. Even though the words weren’t directed at
her, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Stubby dropped his
hand instantly and scooted back, raising both hands in surrender. Apparently he
hadn’t yet consumed enough alcohol to make him completely stupid.

She
turned around to find Gabe just inches from her; he was so close in fact that
she could feel the heat coming off his body. Shane was standing just behind him
and off to the side, clearly ready to come to his friend’s aid if he needed it.
But she doubted that would be necessary because even though the whole place had
gone quiet, no one made a move. Gabe’s eyes never left Stubby as he closed his
hand around Riley’s upper arm and gently pulled her around him. He seemed to be
placing her between himself and Shane.

“Riley,
get your stuff. You’re done here.” There was no question in his voice, no
seeking permission, just a clear order and he hadn’t even bothered to look at
her when he gave it.

“I’m
not done with my shift yet.”

“You’re
done.”

***

Gabe’s
control was hanging on by a thread and he forced himself not to look at Riley
because he knew his rage would frighten her further. It would take him less
than a minute to put Stubby and his two friends out of commission, but he
didn’t want her anywhere nearby when he did it.

“Shane,
take her to get her stuff. I’ll meet you outside.”

Stubby,
sensing the danger he was in, tried to stand but one swift kick to his right
kneecap sent the man crashing to the floor, moaning in pain. He heard Riley
gasp behind him.

“Shane,
now,” he said again, his eyes never leaving Stubby or the two goons who
remained frozen in their chairs.

“Riley,
come on.” But instead of hearing her footsteps getting farther away he felt her
draw closer to him. She approached him slowly as if he were a cornered animal.

“Gabe,
let’s just go…please.” When he didn’t move he felt her fingers drift over one
of his closed fists. “Please Gabe.” He released his breath when she said his
name again and he opened his hand so that she could curl her fingers through
his. She gave him a slight tug but that was it. She seemed to know that she
didn’t have the strength to force him to do her bidding so she patiently
waited.

“Where’s
your stuff?” he finally asked her as he allowed her to pull him away from the
three men.

“In
a locker in the back, number 2. There’s no lock on it.”

“Shane,”
was all Gabe had to say.

“On
it,” Shane responded as he moved towards the back room. “Meet you out front.”

Gabe
tightened his hand on hers and pulled her out the front door. When she started
to say something he gripped her hand just a little bit harder, a silent message
that he wasn’t ready to speak yet. He stopped at the end of the block where
they waited for Shane. She pulled her hand free of his and he had to force
himself not to grab it back. He could tell her fear was fading and a burning
anger was taking its place.

Shane
appeared with her purse and jacket and handed them silently to Riley. He
glanced between the two of them, started to speak and then changed his mind. He
took a couple steps back to clear the blast zone.

“Where’s
your car parked?” Gabe asked.

“In
front of our building,” she responded icily.

He
was silent for a beat as he registered what she was saying. Shane let out a low
whistle which earned him a frosty glare from the young woman standing toe to
toe with his best friend.

“Are
you telling me you fucking walked here? At night, by yourself?” He was
practically roaring but Riley didn’t back down.

“It
was still light out when I walked here.”

“And
what about after your shift tonight? What about last night and the one before
that?”

“I
keep my eyes open and I carry mace.”

Gabe’s
anger was white hot now and he wanted to reach out and shake some sense into
her. When he thought about the danger she’d put herself in…he sucked in several
deep breaths and stepped away from her so he could get himself under control.
Riley made a move to step passed him and he quietly said, “Don’t you dare
move.”

He’d
used his ‘don’t test me’ voice but she just stepped up to him as close as she
could get considering their difference in height, and whispered softly, “Fuck
you Gabe,” then marched passed him.

Shane
let out a chuckle and turned to head to his car. “I’ll catch you later Gabe.
Good luck with that,” he said as he motioned over his shoulder in the direction
Riley was striding off in.

***

Riley
hated swearing, especially the F word. It wasn’t just because her parents had
strictly forbidden her to ever use it; she just thought it was an ugly word
that people threw around too casually. In the bar, Gabe’s anger had been too
calm and cold and she’d feared for the people around them that might try to
intervene. The way he’d kicked Stubby told her he knew how to fight and in her
gut she’d known it could end badly for those men and for Gabe.

Getting
him out of there seemed liked the only option and she was glad he’d responded
to her when she’d asked him to leave with her. But once outside where there was
no longer any danger to others, she’d let loose on him. His anger had been
different, more heated, but something that she sensed he had more control over.
She hadn’t even considered for a moment that he would hurt her – he’d been too
careful with trying to get her safely out of the bar.