Rock Hard

by Nalini Singh

  Charlotte frowned after him, thinking once again of family. What kind of family would they create--if her hang-ups didn't sink them after all--if Gabriel was never around or always obsessed with work when he was around?

  35

  A Slight Glitch (Okay, Fine, a Big Freaking Glitch)

  Gabriel didn't, in fact, return in time to eat. Charlotte caught a ride home with Jake and Esme, and didn't confront Gabriel about his work habits when he came in late. He looked so stressed that she didn't want to add to it.

  There was kissing and petting, but she went to sleep in the spare room that night and on Sunday, the latter being a quiet day where Gabriel only spent a few hours on work. It worried her, but again, she let it go because he finally relaxed in the afternoon--bringing it up at that point would've likely led to an argument, wiping out any mental rest he'd managed to get.

  The next day at the office, she was still musing over how to handle things when a dozen red roses were delivered to her desk. Her heart threatened to crack, but unable to believe he'd break up with her so callously, she reached for the card, opened it.

  "Gabriel!"

  He was beside her in a heartbeat. "What's the matter?" Seeing the flowers, he picked up the card she'd dropped.

  "That pathetic piece of shit!" Though the words were hot, his tone was ice-cold. "You okay, sweetheart?"

  She patted his chest. Her heart still raced, but now that she'd calmed down from the first stab of shock, she was angry more than anything. "I'm good," she said, taking the card and putting it in an envelope so she could pass it on to Detective Lee. "I'm going to give these to Tuck for his girlfriend. No point in good roses going to waste."

  Wanting the bouquet out of her sight, she carried it to the mail room herself. Tuck was over the moon.

  "You sure you don't want them?" he asked, touching his fingers to the petals of one. "They look real expensive."

  "I'm sure." Charlotte smiled, pleased that Richard's sliminess hadn't had the intended effect. "Hope you get lucky."

  Tuck grinned. "No question. She's going to love me today."

  Gabriel was looking out the window in his office when she got back, his hands on his hips and his shoulders so tense he was like a stone statue. Ignoring her ringing phone, she shut the door to his office, then went over to him.

  "I'm fine," she said, her hands on his chest. "Come here." She petted his nape, kissed his jaw, claimed his mouth.

  It took time, but his muscles finally began to ease. "You're really okay?"

  "I am. A whole lot of that has to do with you." She'd come a long way on her own, but she'd become stuck in stasis at a certain point. It had taken Gabriel challenging her, expecting her to handle him, that had pushed her to go further. "So thank you."

  His arms came around her, and they stood there for a long time. Charlotte had never felt safer, and the fact that Richard had sent her flowers right after his release, along with a card that said "I miss you," was not about to change that. "Don't let him inside your head," she said to Gabriel when they drew apart. "That's how he gets you. He's a bug, and we ignore bugs or we squash them. We don't think about them."

  Gabriel's lips curved

  "That's my Ms. Baird."

  "Yes, I am."

  Richard made further attempts at mental manipulation over the next two weeks, but Charlotte shrugged them off while continuing to pass everything on to Detective Lee. Richard was being very careful not to cross the line that would shove him back in jail, but eventually, he wouldn't be able to help himself, and then they'd have him.

  In the interim, she settled into Gabriel's apartment and into his arms. He kissed her on the back of her neck every morning, rippling a shiver through her body. And he kissed her there when he walked her to her room every night. They made love in his bed but she slept in her own.

  The one time they'd tried sleeping together, she'd woken so panicked that she'd given him a black eye. Of course, that was only because he'd been trying to calm her without holding her down. Her resulting emotional mess of a mind threatened to unravel all her progress.

  "Does it hurt still?" she asked at breakfast two days later.

  The bruise under his eye blue and green, Gabriel sighed. "I'm crushed, fragile flower that I am."

  "It's not funny." She hated that she'd hurt him.

  "Sweetheart, I took worse hits than this in training." He cuddled her close, big and strong enough to not care that she'd gotten in a lucky shot. "We will sleep in the same bed one of these days." A deep, demanding kiss that left her breathless. "In the meantime, we'll amuse each other in other ways."

  She couldn't be as sanguine, but as the bruise faded and they continued to become more entwined as a couple, she listened to Dr. Mac's advice and forgave herself for the incident. Festering over it would only hold her back. It still hurt though. Deep in the night, when she lay alone in her bed, she couldn't help the tears sometimes.

  She hated, hated knowing that something inside her remained fractured. But for that one huge obstacle to the life she wanted with Gabriel, things were good. The man she adored felt the same about her, and they were an incredible team at work. That Friday, he was at a meeting with all the regional managers while Charlotte held the fort at the office.

  When she did need to contact him, she sent through a quick message, received a response. A couple of times, he called her back during breaks in the meeting in order to give her more complicated instructions, which included her having to deal directly with CEOs of supply companies, VPs, and other high-level people.

  A few months ago, she'd have quivered and stuttered and curled into a ball at the very idea of it. Today she was greeted by name, she chatted easily with the people on the other end of the line, and got matters sorted out one after the other. The T-Rex at whose head she'd once thrown a stapler, then a muffin, had been good for her.

  No one could travel a hard road all alone.

  Not even Gabriel.

  She called him at two. "Have you eaten lunch?"

  "Yes, since it was delivered right to my hand."

  "Good." She'd organized the catering for the meeting and given very specific instructions about making sure Gabriel's was handed personally to him. "How's it going?"

  "No one's been an idiot so far" was the short answer. "I'm giving it another hour, then heading to the North Shore store to speak to the staff."

  That was the thing about Gabriel--he was consistently noted as one of the most approachable CEOs of a major corporation in the country. Everyone on the staff, from the most junior new hire to the old guard, had his e-mail address. She'd seen his inbox. She also knew he answered every one of those messages. That's often what he did at night and on the weekends.

  Aware that it was important to him, she'd started to figure out ways to clear time during the day so he could deal with the e-mails at the office rather than constantly taking work home. Part of that meant handling more things herself. "I need an assistant," she said to him now. "What I was to Anya."

  Gabriel snorted. "You were doing her job."

  "Yes, fine. I need someone who will actually be my assistant."

  "Hire someone."

  That was that. Instead of making up a job ad, she promoted from within, reaching out to a staff member who'd shown potential. The other woman didn't have the qualifications that would've made her an automatic shoo-in for the position, but she did better work than others who were technically more qualified.

  It felt good to make someone's day and to make a silent statement that hard work would be noticed and rewarded. "You'll officially start next week," she told the younger woman. "That'll give HR time to get someone to fill your current position."

  Beaming, the other woman left to share her good news with her friends, and Charlotte got back to work. Gabriel still wasn't back at five thirty. When she called him, he said he was taking the store's managerial team out to dinner and asked her to meet him at a restaurant over the bridge.

  Heading downstairs t
o the lobby around six, she smiled at the security guard on duty. "Bye, Steven."

  "Hey, Charlie. I have to walk you out--boss's orders."

  "The car's two feet outside the door." She could see the idling cab, her favorite cabbie's bearded form in the driver's seat.

  "I'm not about to argue with Mr. Bishop."

  "You should. It's good for him."

  That made Steven laugh as he pushed the button that opened the doors after hours. "You have a good night."

  "You too." Right before she was about to slide into the cab, something made her look around. It felt as if someone was watching her, the feeling so visceral she knew it wasn't paranoia.

  For a second, she thought she saw Richard at the end of the block, but when she looked again, there was no one there. Though the incident disturbed her, she put it out of her mind by the time she arrived at the restaurant; she would not let Richard win by allowing him to dominate her thoughts. As long as she was smart and careful, he couldn't get to her. Gabriel, too, knew not to let down his guard.

  "Ms. Baird," Gabriel said when she reached the table, a glint in his eye. "I'm glad you could join us."

  He was a wicked, wicked man. The two of them weren't hiding their relationship any longer, but no one at work had twigged to it. Charlotte was glad she didn't have to deal with media scrutiny, and it made sense to remain professional during work situations--which Gabriel didn't make any easier, tapping her foot with his under the table and making the odd double-edged comment designed to tease her but that went right over everyone else's head.

  She shot him a glare now and then for form, but she felt like laughing. The dinner was fun overall, the people around the table a mix of both those she dealt with regularly and several new faces.

  When the store manager--seated beside her--leaned over and said, "I don't suppose you'd have a private dinner with me another day?" she smiled and shook her head.

  "I have a guy."

  "Ah well, my loss. Should've scooped you up earlier."

  It was only when Charlotte glanced across the table that she realized Gabriel had tensed up, his good humor for show. Discreetly taking off her high heel under the table, she ran her foot over his leg. The gleam returned to his eye, but she could tell he was annoyed by the fact another man had hit on her.

  Gabriel, she realized suddenly, wasn't as onboard with the whole "under the radar" thing as she'd believed. He'd agreed only because of her discomfort with being in the spotlight. Her heart expanded--yeah, she was pretty stupid in love with her guy. And she wanted people to know he was hers, enough to handle any resulting pressure; she'd make that clear to him later tonight.

  He was definitely possessive when he ushered her into his SUV, the two of them the last to leave the restaurant after Gabriel took care of the bill. Tipping up her chin after backing her up against the car in the dark parking lot behind the restaurant, he kissed her, his hand at her throat. It made her shiver, wrap her own arms around him, her mouth opening under his and her fingers tight in his hair.

  Biting her lower lip, tugging, Gabriel smiled. "I'm thinking diamonds and skin."

  Feeling scandalous, she whispered, "I'm pretty sure you could convince me to get naked in the backseat."

  Another wet kiss, his hand tugging up her dress to slide up her thigh before he stepped back and opened the passenger door so she could get in. "Hold that thought," he said after getting into the driver's seat and throwing his wallet on the console. "But not in the backseat. I'm too damn big."

  She put the wallet in her handbag so he wouldn't forget it in the car. "I like you big."

  "Naughty, Ms. Baird."

  "I didn't mean--"

  "So you're saying I'm not big?"

  "You should've been a lawyer," she said with a laugh.

  He put his hand on her thigh, the warmth and weight of it intimate and familiar. Closing her hand over his, she leaned back in the seat and just enjoyed the drive, enjoyed being with her guy. Even the thought alone made her grin like a giddy schoolgirl.

  When he brought the car to a stop at the apartment building, she got out and they headed to the elevator. She slapped her forehead just as the doors opened. "Damn, I forgot to ask you to stop for milk. We're all out."

  "Want me to go grab it? It'll only take a few minutes." Gabriel held the elevator open. "Go on up and get into something slinky." He leaned in close to whisper, "I vote for the tiny black thing that's all straps and skin."

  Blushing, she crooked a finger. "We don't really need milk."

  He chuckled. "You're not human until your first latte. I'll be back in five minutes."

  "I'll be waiting." Blowing him a kiss, she pressed the button for the penthouse after swiping the keycard.

  She had a smile on her face when she exited onto the penthouse floor, but she'd only taken five steps when her blood ran cold. "How did you get up here?" she said to the handsome blond man standing by the apartment door. His face was older, meaner, and he had a new scar across his cheek, but there was no mistaking Richard.

  36

  Taking out the Trash

  "I was waiting for you," Richard said with a flawless smile, leaning his body against the wall. "We have something to talk about."

  "We have nothing to talk about." Charlotte's heart thudded in her throat, her rage a roar beneath the skin. "Get out."

  "You bitch." Richard's mask fell off far faster than it had the first time. "I spent years in prison because of you, and you can't give me five minutes?"

  "You spent that time in prison because of what you did."

  "Only because you made me," he retorted. "If you'd been a real woman--"

  "I'm not the one with inadequacy issues." Charlotte would not back down, would not run. She was no longer prey--and she was no longer vulnerable. "I'm with a real man now, and guess what? He doesn't need to hurt a woman to feel good about himself."

  "Some stupid rugby player." He sneered. "I guess a dumb whore like you would want a dumb boyfriend."

  "You're a pathetic loser who doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as Gabriel." She curled her fingers around the strap of her handbag. "I have nothing more to say to you. You aren't worth the time."

  "Oh, we'll talk," he hissed, launching himself at her. "You'll crawl before I'm done with you."

  His hand went for her throat, but hell no, he was not holding her there. That was Gabriel's right and his right only. Swinging her handbag, she slammed it against the side of Richard's head. He staggered; she kicked him between the legs. Then she gave him a second hard whack just as the elevator doors opened behind her.

  The next thing she heard was a roar of sound, and then Richard was flying back to slam into the wall, his nose crooked and gushing blood. Gabriel's second punch took him to the floor, the knife in Richard's hand dropping soundlessly to the carpet.

  The third punch cracked bones in Richard's face.

  The fourth punch smashed out several of Richard's teeth and turned off his lights.

  It all happened so fast that she barely had time to blink before Gabriel was turning to her.

  "Did he touch you?" It was a ferociously quiet question.

  "No." Deeply conscious that he was on a razor-thin edge, but not the least afraid he'd turn his anger on her, she went into his arms. "I whacked him with my handbag--it came in useful, see?"

  He didn't laugh, just crushed her against his chest. Breath harsh and pulse thumping, he held her for long minutes, his muscles vibrating against hers. She held him back, knowing her presence was all that was keeping him from beating Richard to a pulp. Not about to let Gabriel go to jail for a psychopath like Richard, she stroked his back until he got himself under enough control to say, "Call Detective Lee. I'll keep an eye on the trash."

  The detective laughed at a newly conscious Richard's snuffling, barely understandable accusations of assault against Gabriel. "He was protecting a woman against a psychopath armed with a knife. The psychopath would be you." A grin that bared very sharp teeth as she
put the knife in an evidence bag and held it in front of Richard's face. "Mr. Bishop only used his fists. No prosecutor will ever touch him."

  Charging Richard then and there, she snapped the cuffs on him even as the paramedics lifted him onto a gurney for transport to the hospital. Gabriel had broken Richard's face worse than Charlotte had initially realized--Richard would never again be as pretty, would wear his ugliness for the world to see. That seemed fitting. People should have a warning of his kind of evil.

  "The fact he came after you so soon after his release is a significant aggravating factor," Detective Lee said. "Hopefully we'll get a judge who'll throw the book at him this time."

  Charlotte hoped that too. She could handle Richard now, of that she was certain, but she hated the effect the attack had on Gabriel.

  "Hey," she said in bed that night, rising up on her elbow to look down at him. "You're still furious. I can feel it."

  "Of course I'm furious. If I hadn't forgotten you had my wallet and come back up, he would've had you alone."

  "I was doing a good job of beating him up," she pointed out. "Richard expected me to be who I was, not who I am."

  "You're fucking amazing." Hauling her down, he kissed her, and it was all tongue and heat. "But he should've never been able to get to our floor. I'm getting the woman he charmed into bringing him up so he could 'surprise' his girlfriend kicked out of the building."

  Scowling, Charlotte shook her head. "He played her. He's good at that. The poor woman already feels terrible." That woman lived directly below the penthouse and had the keycard to use the same elevator. "Leave her be."

  One arm behind his head, Gabriel ground his teeth together. "I wanted to pulverize him until he didn't have a single unbroken bone in his body."

  "I understand the urge." She had the same one. "Now, forget about Richard. He isn't worth the time or the energy."

  Gabriel wrapped his arm around her, his fingers on her bare hip. "It'll take me a while to get to that point."

  "Want to spend that time being naked together?"

  He took her up on her offer, but when it came time for him to leave her at her bedroom door, she held on to his hand. "Stay with me."

  "No." A flat answer. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but if I see you afraid of me today--" He shook his head, then kissed her hard. "Go to sleep."