Rosy laughed and said, “Slow down there love, you’ve got a couple of songs to go. Gabriel is singing first.” I grinned at her and motioned for another round. She smiled and looked at Gabriel for the go ahead. He gave her a thumbs-up and looked back at me, still laughing and shaking his head. He led me to a table close to the front, in fact it was the exact same table I had had before. There was another long stemmed pink rose sitting on the table, next to a small jewelry box. I stopped breathing as we got closer to the table, afraid of what was in the jewelry box. Once we had reached the table, I let out my breath; it wasn’t a ring box. My brain had gone crazy for a minute.
“Open it, kitten,” he said quietly. I took the chair he had pulled out for me and waited for him to sit beside me. I looked into his eyes and searched for any clue as to what he might be thinking. He looked at me with such intensity and such desire that it was almost too much to take. I took the box in my hands and slowly opened it. Inside was a beautiful silver bracelet. The chain was delicate and had an intricate weave. What stood out was the clasp, one side was a tiny lock and the other was a key.
“Oh Gabriel, it’s beautiful,” I said softly. He took it out of my hands and unclasped it.
“Hold out your left arm,” he said, “This will have to do until you’re ready for another piece of jewelry on this hand.”
I gulped and said, “W…w…what does it mean?”
“It means you are the key to unlocking me, all of me, my desires, my passion, my love.” Tears began to well in my eyes and I couldn’t find any words to respond. I took a deep breath and pulled his head close to mine. I stared into his eyes, hoping he would see what I wanted to say, but couldn’t just yet.
“You’re welcome kitten,” he said, “Now, I’m afraid it’s my turn to sing.” I smiled at him and nodded, still unable to speak. He kissed me softly on the lips and went up to the stage. The crowd erupted into loud applause just as Rosy appeared by my side. She had brought two more shots and a sparkling water.
“You’re amazing, Rosy, thank you so much!”
“You’re welcome love. I’ve got a break coming up here in a few, mind if I sit with you next time he’s up?”
“Of course! I’d love that!” I exclaimed. I had been wanting to have a little one on one time with Rosy ever since I found out she was Gabriel’s best friend. He had finally shared a bit with me about himself, and I wanted to pick her brain about him to see if I could find out more.
The music had started so I turned my attention back to Gabriel. He completely owned the stage and I couldn’t help but lick my lips at how gorgeous he looked. He caught me licking them and smirked and shook his head. I knew I was in for it after the song. I sighed as he began to sing in that smoky, scratchy low tone of his.
The lyrics to Hanging By A Moment by Lifehouse started pouring from that beautiful mouth of his; I LOVED this song,. I had sung it so many times by myself in my car and wished over and over that someone would feel that way about me. Ryan had never been into my music and never understood how songs like this tugged at my heartstrings. The lyrics talked about how the songwriter wanted his girl to forget all he was lacking and how he was incomplete.
Completely incomplete; that was me to a T! How did Gabriel know the right words to sing to me yet again? I didn’t understand how this guy was so attuned to what I needed to hear. I wanted it to be romantic, but something in the back of my mind kept nagging me and I couldn’t ignore it. The voice was getting louder and louder. How did he know these songs were my favorite? How did he know I loved pink roses? How did he know I had been wanting to try that steak restaurant?
I shook my head trying to clear my thoughts, and he looked at me questioningly as he finished up the song. I smiled at him and gave a little wave so he wouldn’t worry. I knew I was up next so I threw back another shot and took a sip of my water. I needed to figure out what song to sing that would blow him away. I was thinking of going back to my roots and doing an 80’s song.
Gabriel left the stage and sat back down next to me. He took my hand in his and looked into my eyes with concern.
“Are you alright, kitten?”
“Oh yea, I’m good! I’ve had liquid courage and now I’m going to blow your mind with my screeching,” I said jokingly. He smiled back at me, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“I can’t wait, beautiful, go make me proud,” he said as they called my name. I had decided to do Get You Alone by Heart. It was a good throaty song to sing after whiskey, and it told Gabriel a bit of what I was feeling.
I looked up at Gabriel after belting out the chorus and he was smirking that signature smirk. God he was sexy. I brushed off my nerves and stepped out my right leg to stand with my feet apart. I grabbed the mike, closed my eyes, and really got into the next verse. I was sultry, sexy, and powerful and I wanted to seduce him with my singing.
I continued to sing about how much I wanted to get Gabriel alone and gave it my all until the very last note. At that point I opened my eyes to a standing ovation. I began blushing furiously as I remembered I was on stage in front of a very large crowd. I had lost myself in the lyrics, imagining singing them directly to Gabriel. I scanned the crowd trying to find him and didn’t see him anywhere. Oh shit, did I scare him off? Was this too direct?
I was beginning to panic when I felt two strong arms circle my waist from behind.
His lips touched my ear and he whispered, “All you have to do is ask, kitten.” His hot breath sent a chill up my spine and I turned to face him. His was grinning a silly grin and looked proud of me. I had never had ANYONE look proud of me before! I was so excited that I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him down for a rough kiss. He smirked against my lips and deepened the kiss. His tongue played slowly and erotically with mine, until we heard catcalls from the audience. I had totally forgotten where we were! My face turned bright red once again, and he led me off stage. We sat back down at the table and I took a big gulp of my water.
“That was amazing, Lily. I knew you had it in you,” he said.
“It was all the Jameson,” I laughed, “ and you. You inspired the song choice.”
“I was hoping so,” he said quietly, “ I can’t wait to be alone with you Lily. I don’t know how much longer I can wait to get you into my bed, naked and writhing underneath me.” I squirmed in my seat, his words making me wet. I didn’t know how to respond to that, afraid I would stutter and make a fool of myself. I nodded in agreement instead and heard his name being called by the DJ.
“This won’t be as good as yours, sweetheart, but I hope you like it anyway,” he said jokingly. I kissed him on the cheek and nodded, still thinking about his bed. He grinned as he walked away. He waited for the music to start, moved the stool out of the way, and took the mike off the stand.
“This is for Lily”, he said. The opening notes came on and I couldn’t believe my ears. He was singing Demons by Imagine Dragons, which of course was another one of my favorites. How did he keep doing this? As I was trying not to freak out, Rosy came over and sat next to me.
“Hey love,” she said.
“Hey Rosy, how’s your night?”
“Busy, very busy. Look, I don’t have a lot of time, but I wanted to come over and talk to you while Gabriel was busy singing.”
“Oh, ok, is everything OK?”
“Lily, look, I like you so I’m going to be honest with you. Gabriel’s my best friend so I don’t want to see him get hurt.”
“Me neither, Rosy, I think I’m falling in love with him.”
“That’s what I was afraid of love. Look Gabriel’s got a past, a BAD one. He’s got a lot of issues, issues that no one can help him with.”
“W…w…what do you mean?” I stammered.
“Listen to the song Lily, he’s trying to tell you himself. He’s got demons that he refuses to deal with and they’ve messed him up. He’s no good for a sweet girl like you. Believe me, I’ve been there myself.”
Chapter 14
&
nbsp; “You’ve b…b…been there?” I asked incredulously.
“Yes, we dated a little over two years ago. He’s not right in the head and it shows once you get too close to him. He’ll pull you in and, just when you think you’ve helped him overcome his demons, he shuts you out. Please, Lily, listen to this song. It’s his warning to you. He may not know it, but it is. I told him this was his song when we broke up. It was perfect for him…and now he’s singing it to you.”
“But it’s one of my favorite songs, that’s what he usually sings.”
“How do you think he knows those songs Lily? I know what he is and the truth isn’t pretty. Get out while you still can.”
“What do you mean you know WHAT he is? What the hell is he?”
“That’s for him to tell you, but just know that I’m looking out for you because I like you and you deserve better. He’s not good for you. Walk away before it’s too late.”
She had left the table before the song ended, and I was dumbfounded. What the fuck had just happened? I took my last shot and sipped my water, getting ready for my next song. Gabriel made his way back to our table and I put on the mask of happiness I had practically perfected with Ryan. He looked at me questioningly and I just said, “I’m so nervous! I think the Jameson is wearing off,” as I smiled at him. The DJ called my name and I kissed Gabriel’s cheek and headed for the stage. I needed a song that really said how I felt after talking to Rosy. Alanis Morissette was always a good choice for a pissed off female, right? I chose Uninvited and gave it my all.
I took the mike off the stand and began pacing the stage. I had a lot of bottled up energy and I was really getting into the song. These lyrics were perfect for how pissed off I felt right now. The more I sang, the angrier I got. Rosy knew what Gabriel was and why he knew everything about me. She knew because SHE HAD DATED HIM! He had fucking kept that from me. I thought she was just his best friend; not someone he’d fucked before me. I turned to Gabriel and sang directly to him.
At the instrumental part, I let the words hang in the air, listening to the music. I had made up my mind as he stared back at me intensely. He never even blinked. He knew that Rosy had just told me something, and I didn’t want to deal with any of this right now.
I sang the final two lines, let the mike drop, and walked off stage. I didn’t need this shit. I was smack dab in the middle of a divorce nightmare and I didn’t need any more men trying to ruin my life. I found the back door and walked outside. I quickly texted the cab service on my cabbie app and went to walk around to the front of the building. A strong hand grabbed ahold of my arm and stopped me in my tracks.
“Where are you going?” Gabriel asked quietly.
“Far away from you,” I responded without turning around.
“Rosy?” he asked.
“So you know. Good,” I said as I turned to face him. “I’m done with this, whatever this is! You keep everything from me and I’m done being lied to.”
“I didn’t lie to you Lily, I simply haven’t told you everything.”
“Omissions ARE lies, Gabriel. Saying someone is your best friend, but forgetting to mention you’ve fucked her is a huge omission!”
“It’s none of your business who I’ve fucked Lily.”
“Seriously Gabriel? You know EVERYTHING about me! Yet, it isn’t my business that you’re still VERY close to your ex. How is that fair? And for the last time, how the fuck do you know everything about me?!” I practically screamed.
“Lower your voice, Lily,” he said softly. His eyes were hard and his mouth was set in a straight line. That cold side of him was back, but he had never talked to me like this. Was this what Rosy was talking about? Was this the other side of him?
“No, Gabriel, fuck you. I won’t lower my voice. This is crazy and YOU are crazy. I need a break from this and from you. Please leave me alone for a while. I need to figure out my life before you mess it up even more than it already is.”
“Fine,” he said. He took my arm and pulled me into the parking lot. The cab was waiting by the front door and I sighed in relief. What a messed up night. I was ready to go home and fall into bed. I was so pissed I couldn’t see straight and I could feel the tears start to well up in my eyes.
“Lily,” Gabriel said, “Please.” I turned to look at him after he let my arm go.
“Please what Gabriel? What could you possibly want after talking to me like that?”
“Please just don’t give up on me. I can’t tell you what you want to know, not yet.”
“Well then, I guess just call me when you can. For now, please don’t call or text or come over. I need my space to sort this out. You obviously have a lot on your plate and apparently can be as cold as the rest of the assholes I’ve encountered. I don’t want to be anywhere near that.”
“I’m not cold Lily, I promise. I’ll never hurt you, remember?” he asked softly. He pulled me into his arms and I let my body melt against his one more time. His voice sounded pleading and desperate. I squeezed him tightly then pulled away.
“You just did, Gabriel,” I whispered and got into the cab and rode away.
END OF BOOK TWO
Thank you for reading The Watcher Series Vol #2: Deceiving!
If you enjoyed the story, would you please consider leaving a review on Amazon.com? Just a few words and/or stars really does help!
Find out what happens to Lily and Gabriel next in The Watcher Series Vol #3: Shattering, available in June 2015!
For more information about me or “The Watcher Series”, please visit my Facebook facebook.com/rhiannonjean7979 or find me on Twitter @rhiannon.jean79 or even on Instagram @Rhiannon.jean. I look forward to hearing from you!
Again, thank you to all of the artists listed here for making beautiful and poignant music that has inspired me beyond words.
The Watcher Series Vol #2 “Deceiving” Playlist:
Once Upon a Dream – Lana Del Ray
Lips Are Movin’ – Meghan Trainor
Bulletproof – La Roux
Anything Could Happen – Ellie Goulding
Don’t – Ed Sheeran
Wherever You Will Go – The Calling
Wicked Game – Chris Isaak
I’m Movin’ On – Rascal Flatts
Hanging By a Moment – Lifehouse
Alone – Heart
Demons – Imagine Dragons
Uninvited – Alanis Morissette
Copyright © 2015 by Rhiannon Jean
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing, 2015
DISCLAIMER
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fiction or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Except the original material written by the author, all songs and song titles contained in this book are the property of the respective songwriters and copyright holders.
MATURE CONTENT
This story contains sexually explicit material and is intended only for persons over the age of 18. By downloading and opening this document, you are stating that you are of legal age to access and view this work of fiction. All of the characters involved in the sexual situations in this story are intended to be 18 years of age or older, whether they explicitly described as such or not.
his-inline-share-buttons">share
Deceiving (The Watcher Series Book 2) Page 6
