Page 86 of Vicious Temptation
“I’m sure it’s nothing.” I keep my voice even, watching as we drive. This stretch of road is a long one, and there won’t be a turn for a while.
“I thought I saw someone watching us in the park, the other day.” Bella’s hands twist together in her lap, plucking at the material of her skirt. I can feel her tensing up next to me, hear her fast, nervous breathing.
My attention instantly snaps to her. “What do you mean?” I keep my voice as calm as I can.
Bella takes a shaky breath. “I’d seen a man sitting on a bench when we sat down for a picnic, but I obviously didn’t think anything of it—it’s a public park. I saw he was still there while I was taking photos. It seemed like he was looking at us. But I just thought I was paranoid.”
My pulse spikes at that, dread flooding me. But I keep my expression neutral, not wanting to frighten Bella. I don’t want her to think that anything is wrong, and undo all of her progress. The thought of her descending back into panic and fear, becoming that frightened girl hiding in her clothes and quivering at the slightest inflection of tone makes my heart wrench in my chest. She’s come so far, and I want to keep it that way.
“It’s probably just a coincidence,” I tell her, letting out a slow breath. I look back up at the rear-view mirror as we reach a turn, and the black car keeps going past us, further down the road. “See? I was the one being paranoid.”
Bella manages a small smile, nodding. But I can tell that she’s not entirely convinced.
Neither am I. Later that night, after Bella and the children have all already gone up to bed, I send Gio a text message.
Gabriel: I need you to look into hiring a few more guys. I’d like to have some security on the grounds. Just for a little while. Three men should do it.
Gio: Sure thing, boss.
I slide my phone back into my pocket, reaching for my glass—cognac tonight, instead of wine. After the incident with the car and Bella’s confession about the park, I needed something a little stronger.
Gio will take care of it. A precaution, nothing more. It’s not the first time I’ve temporarily hired a few extra guys, just for added safety while a particularly precarious deal was going on, or underworld men that I had business with on both sides were feuding. Nothing has ever come of it, in the past.
Nothing will this time, either. Or so I tell myself.
26
BELLA
The following week feels like a dream, like something that I couldn’t have imagined happening only a little while before. Gabriel and I fall into a routine—we workout every morning together, and I realize that he’s shifted his schedule for me when, instead of breakfast waiting on us when we come back upstairs, clearly late, it’s just hitting the table forty-five minutes later than usual. I can feel the blush heating my face when that occurs to me, knowing the reason why.
Our workout routine—and Gabriel teaching me self-defense—has progressed since he’s been able to touch me. He’s started showing me basic martial arts moves—blocks, kicks, light punches—and it only makes it harder to focus while we’re actually working out. It inevitably ends with us up against the wall or on one of the mats, hands roving over all the places that are no longer off-limits as we get each other off in a feverish tangle. To my utter shock, I’ve discovered that Gabriel has no issues with going down on me right after a workout—something I found out this morning when he laid me back on a mat and tugged my leggings down around my hips, licking me to a quick and messy orgasm. I returned the favor shortly after with my hand, stroking him as he kneeled over me, fingering myself again as he came all over my breasts.
Nothing has ever been hotter to me than watching Gabriel come. The way he looks completely undone by me, mouth open and body tense, the sounds he makes—all of it turns me on beyond belief, making me want to do all of it over again as soon as we can.
And he’s been patient. More patient than I ever imagined a man would be. I haven’t gone down on him yet, unable to work past the block in my mind about that—and so far, I’m still a virgin in the most technical way. That, too, makes me feel a flare of panic whenever I think about it. But Gabriel hasn’t pushed me, even though I can’t imagine he’s fully satisfied with handjobs, or jerking off while he pleasures me.
I pretend that there’s no other factor than my fear. That not having gone as far as actual intercourse yet has nothing to do with the fact that once we do, this will be over. My brief, and intensely passionate relationship with Gabriel will come to an end.
That’s what I asked him for and what he agreed to. It can’t be anything else. He was clear about that, and I’ve tried very hard not to interpret anything he says or does as a deviation from that. No matter how sweet or gentle he is, no matter what he whispers in my ear, I tell myself that it’s all just focused on the now. None of that will matter, once that final line is crossed, and we’re finished.
But it’s hard to remember that, when I get out of the shower and remember that Gabriel invited me to go into the city with him, Cecelia, and Danny today. A family outing—except I’m not really supposed to be part of this family. I’m an employee, and Agnes isn’t coming along.
It feels like the lines that made me an employee and Gabriel, my boss, vanished a long time ago.
The plans were made over dinner last night—Cecelia is still dying to take Gabriel to the American Girl store, and Gabriel wants to take them to the Metropolitan Art museum, as an educational outing. Additionally, Danny insisted that his father needed to try the burger place we went to last time, and to round it out, Gabriel promised them dinner and a show on Broadway. I stare at my closet as I stand in the middle of my room with a towel wrapped around myself, with no idea what to wear.
I finally settle on a lightweight, dark blue silk shift dress, made a little more casual by small rolled sleeves pinned to the shoulders by brass buttons, and a slightly scooped neckline. I add a thin leather belt and comfortable sandals that are still stylish enough for the theater, and a pair of diamond leaf ear cuffs that crawl halfway up the side of each ear, adding a little bit of extra style to the outfit. They draw attention, and my heart pounds a little in my chest, knowing that this outfit can’t possibly keep me from being noticed. But Gabriel makes me feel safe, and little by little, I feel less and less like I need to hide. The dress falls to mid-calf, slit up to my knees, and only my arms are bare. I take a cropped lightweight brown leather jacket out of my closet, in case I feel like I need to cover up or the theater is cold, and take a deep breath.
I can do this.
Gabriel is waiting downstairs with Cecelia and Danny, wearing a pair of lightweight charcoal-colored chinos and a cream-colored linen button-down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair is curling lightly around his ears, and I feel my fingers itch with the urge to reach out and touch it. The hardest part about today, I realize, will be not touching Gabriel at all. It’s almost ironic, considering how we started. But I know without him telling me that we can’t be anything other than friendly in front of Cecelia and Danny. Whatever is happening between us, the last thing either of us want is for them to be confused about my place in their father’s life.
His eyebrows rise sharply when he sees me, and I catch the flicker of heat in his gaze. He smiles as I reach the bottom of the stairs, and I can see the effort it takes for him to keep his eyes on my face, and not take me in the way he wants to. “You put your hair up,” he says, and I smile a little self-consciously, touching the back of my head where I put my hair up in a twist.
“It seemed a little more elegant. For the museum and a Broadway show.”
His eyes linger on my hair in a way that makes me think that he’s imagining taking it down, but he says nothing, leading us out to the waiting Mercedes.