Gabriel's Rule (5 page)

Riley
remembered the broken door he’d been working on the day they met.

“So
she breaks in?”

He
shrugged. “Don’t worry, she only ever does it to my place. I don’t have much
left for her to take,” he said as he motioned around the apartment. “So I’m
hoping she’ll give up on it soon. That lock I installed is supposed to be
pretty good too.”

“Have
you ever called the cops on her?” He just shook his head and she dropped the
subject.

“What
about your folks? They who you’re running from?” Gabe asked.

“I’m
not really running, more like starting over I guess.”

“But
you don’t want them to know where you are.”

It
was her turn to shrug. Her appetite was starting to dwindle so she put her fork
down on the plate and folded her hands into her lap. “I just don’t want to give
them a chance to talk me into going back with them. They have ways of making me
feel…” She didn’t know how to phrase it without sounding like a complete loser.

“You
question yourself when they’re around,” he finished for her. She nodded.

“I
was engaged and I broke it off before I left.”

Gabe
stopped eating at her admission. What moron would have let someone like her get
away?

“What
happened?” he asked gently.

“I
figured out he was using me. My parents are Televangelists.”

“Like
the preachers on TV who heal people who can’t walk?” he asked, openly curious.

“Not
quite that far out there but they’re ultra conservative and they have a pretty
big following. My ex –fiancé is in politics and he figured if he could get
their support, he’d have a whole new constituency that might get him into the
governor’s mansion one day, maybe even the White House. Of course, I didn’t
figure any of this out until after I caught him in bed with another woman.” She
left out the rest of the details of that night because it would be humiliating
to admit to Gabe what her ex had said to her.

Gabe
had stopped eating and looked tense, angry. “Do you think he’ll come after
you?”

“No,
I doubt it,” Riley said, although truthfully she wasn’t really that sure. Her
ex had shown some nasty new colors that night.

“Did
he hurt you?”

Lord,
did Gabe have some kind of secret decoder ring that made it possible for him to
read her mind? She was this far in, she might as well finish it.

“He
hit me the night I found him with another woman. I left the next day – nobody
gets to lay a hand on me like that.” He nodded in approval and finished the
last of the pie.

“Gabe,
can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Why’d
you stop coming to the diner for lunch? Nell says you used to come in every
day, sometimes for dinner too. Is it because of me?”

***

Gabe
wanted to lie to her but after the honesty she’d shown he just couldn’t.

“In
part. I figured it would be easier for you to adjust if I wasn’t around.” He
heard her sigh sadly.

“I
know you don’t want to be friends Gabe, and I can respect that. I’m not so hard
up that I would bother you if you came into the diner to eat and see your
friends.” She dropped her eyes to her hands.

“What
are you talking about?” he asked, knowing he wasn’t going to like the answer.

“I’m
a big girl Gabe. You’ve been really nice and I know the stuff you did at the
bar was because you’re a protective guy, but I’m not going to read too much
into it. Or this,” she said, motioning to the now empty plate that sat on the
couch between them. “I’m not going to walk out of here with dreams in my head
that we’re best buddies or something.”

“Buddies,”
he whispered incredulously. She sat there innocently, not knowing that lust had
started pooling in his belly the second he’d opened the door to her. When she
touched his hand in response to his confession about his mother, his dick had
started to harden and he’d had to shift his weight more than once to ease the
near pain his now too tight jeans were causing him.

“Shane
is my buddy,” he began as he carefully moved the plate between them to the
table, his eyes never leaving hers. “Pete’s my buddy, even Nell is my buddy.”
Each time he said ‘buddy’ it came out a little harsher.

“I
know, that’s what I’m saying-” She stuttered to a stop as he pushed himself up
and over her, forcing her back against the arm of the sofa.

“You’re
right, I don’t want you to be my buddy because I don’t dream night after night
about how my ‘buddies’ feel wrapped around my dick as they come over and over
again.” She gasped at his words and he used the momentary distraction to push
her further into the arm of the couch, his body settling over hers. Her hips
cradled his aching cock perfectly.

“Gabe?”

“What
was his name?”

“Who?”

“Your
ex.”

“Paul.”

Gabe
put his face against her neck and inhaled. Yep, she still smelled like peaches.
Reminding himself that he needed to stay in control, he brought his eyes back up
to hers. She was perfectly still but her flushed skin and heavy breathing
indicated how turned on she was.

“Did
you have sex?” She nodded. “How often?”

“A
few times.”

“Did
you like it?” he asked as he used one of his hands to pull her hips closer to
his. The move forced her flat on her back and he felt her hands close over the
backs of his arms. She finally responded by shaking her head.

“Why
didn’t you like it?”

She
hesitated and then quietly said, “It hurt.”

“Every
time?” he asked gently.

“Yes.”

He
could tell she was fighting back tears and he needed to get her back. He
brushed his right hand over one of her nipples. As it hardened she cried out
and he did the same to the other one.

“Did
you come?”

“What?”
she asked breathlessly.

“Did
he make you come?”

She
shook her head. He was still stroking her nipples so he wasn’t surprised that
she hadn’t spoken her response out loud.

“Have
you ever?” Another shake. His fingers drifted down to her abdomen. He needed to
give her this, but he had to make sure she understood what it meant.

“I
can make you come. Do you want that?”

Her
eyes glazed over and she didn’t respond for a long time but he felt her tighten
her hands on his arms. The touch of her fingers was shredding the little
control he had left. When she did finally nod, he actually felt his body
loosen. He wasn’t sure why it mattered to him so much that she’d said yes –
this wasn’t going to be about him or his pleasure because as much as he liked
this woman, he knew he wouldn’t be able to give her all of him during their
encounter.

“I’m
not going to fuck you tonight.” He saw a brief flash of disappointment but she
didn’t say anything. “If we do this we do it my way and you follow my rules.”

She
tensed but then asked, “What are they?”

“You
don’t get to touch me and I’m not going to kiss you.” She stiffened and tried
to pull free but he held her down with his weight. “Riley, I have my reasons
and they have nothing to do with my attraction to you.” When she settled down,
he realized he had guessed correctly. She’d thought he didn’t want her touch
him because he wasn’t attracted to her.

He
took one of her hands and pulled it down to cover his erection. Allowing
himself a few seconds of pleasure, he watched as she stroked him tentatively
through his jeans. He dragged her hand up, grabbed her other hand and used his
left hand to pin her arms above her head.

“I’ve
been with a lot of women Riley, and I have the same rules for all of them –
it’s not something I can explain but it’s something I need in order to give you
this. Do you understand?”

“Yes,”
she said quietly, sadly, but she didn’t try to pull free anymore.

“I
wish I could promise we’ll be friends after this, but I don’t know if that’s
true. I’m fucked up Riley and I don’t want you around that.” He was stunned to
see a tear slip down her cheek. This was getting too intense; he had to focus
on what his goal was.

“Do
you still want this Riley?” She nodded. “I need to hear you say it.”

“Yes.”
Gabe shuddered at the trust she’d just given him. His right hand was still resting
on her abdomen so he used it to push her shirt up so he could feel her skin. It
was as soft as he’d guessed, dreamed. She shivered when he stroked her.

“Leave
your hands there,” he ordered as he moved down her body so he could explore the
exposed skin with his tongue. His fingers plucked at her nipples as he dipped
his tongue into her bellybutton. She arched her back but kept her arms still.
He didn’t think it was possible but his dick got harder and he wished he could
release it from the confines of his jeans, but he knew that if he did, there
would be no way to stop himself from pushing inside her.

He
lifted her shirt up to uncover her breasts. He stroked her through the fabric
of her bra and licked his way up her abdomen. When he reached her bra, he
pulled the cup down just enough to expose the nipple. He did the same to the
other breast and when he finally closed his mouth over the turgid flesh, she
moaned and tried to push her breast further into his mouth. Curling his left
arm around her back and over her shoulder, he pulled her back down and held her
so that she couldn’t lift her upper body. He licked the other nipple with his
tongue, then sucked it into his mouth. Sensing her arms moving, he pulled off
of her breast and caught her gaze on him, her eyes now a stormy gray.

“I
will tie you up if I need to,” he warned as he glanced at her arms. He saw
another flash of lust at the thought and part of him was tempted to do it
anyway, but she quickly raised her arms back above her.

Releasing
her shoulder, he reared back a little so he could study her.

“Did
your ex tell you how beautiful your body is?”

She
shook her head. “Your breasts are so full and soft. They’re so sensitive I
could make you come just by sucking on them.” Her eyes darkened further and her
lips parted. He was overcome with the desire to kiss her which shocked him but
he pushed it away. She wasn’t a toy for him to experiment on. He also didn’t
think he could take the disappointment of further proof of his depravities if
kissing her proved to be a waste of time.

He
let his hands slide down her sides until he got to her hips. He closed his
hands around them and pressed his thumbs into them firmly so she would feel the
contact through her jeans. “Your hips are the perfect size for gripping. I
could hold you so tight as I pounded into you and not have to worry about
breaking you.” His hands lift her as he stroked her ass. “And if I turned you
over, I could watch this amazing ass pushing back against me, meeting me every
time I slid into you. Your hair is so thick and long – I could wrap it around
my wrist a couple of times while I’m taking you from behind.” He could tell his
dirty talk alone had her halfway to climax.

“Gabe,
please,” she begged, clearly not sure what she was asking for. He should
discipline her, teach her that she could only speak when he asked her a
question, but he didn’t really want that. He loved hearing her voice, throaty
with desire. It had the same effect on him as if she’d stroked his cock.

He
dropped down over her again and settled his weight on one knee so that he had
space between their hips to work. He took his time working the button on her
jeans free and reveled in the way her body shivered as he pulled the zipper
down. He could feel his dick dripping with pre-cum and he knew he was
stretching his own control and that he needed to end this soon or he would
ignore his promise not to fuck her. Instead of pulling her jeans off, he
slipped his hand into them and stroked over the fabric of her panties. She tensed
when he stroked her clit through the damp material.

“You’re
soaking wet,” he muttered, dropping his eyes so he could watch his hand working
under her pants. He gave her a few more strokes and then lifted his hand enough
so that he could reach beneath the fabric of her panties. Lust shot through him
as he realized she was bare; she either waxed or shaved. As he moved his
fingers in a slow circle around her clit he looked up to see her reaction. Her
head was thrown back, her eyes closed. She needed more.

Using
his thumb, he flicked her clit back and forth several times and allowed his
middle finger to search her opening. Her cream soaked the tip of his finger and
he couldn’t resist pushing it inside her. She cried out and arched her hips. He
saw her arms move as if to grab him, but he knew she was too far gone to
realize what she was doing so he used his left hand to pin her wrists. He was
stretched out along the length of her so he could feel every tremble in her
body.

“Does
it feel good Riley?”

He
knew the answer but he was needy and wanted to hear her voice stroke over him
as desire overcame her.