by Sweet, Izzy
“I do,” I say and pull her small body tightly to mine. Looking at those lips again, I add, “But you’re not skipping out on this kiss.”
Leaning down, I watch as her eyes go wide with shock before I press my lips tightly against hers and keep her there.
She’s going to break before I do, I swear.
Closing my eyes, I slant my mouth slowly over hers. Each time I push deeper for the kiss, she resists, but I can feel her resolve breaking. Before long, she’s got her fingers clutching at my t-shirt as a tiny groan comes from her mouth.
Pulling away from her, I watch as she slowly comes back to herself, her beautiful face flushed with excitement. Those wondrous breasts pushed up so high, heave up and down as she looks at me with lust and rage.
Damn, that’s a sexy fucking look.
Her hand lashes out as fast as lighting across my cheek before she yells, “Asshole!”
Fuck, that turned me on almost as much as the kiss.
Nodding my head, I can’t help but agree. “Yeah, but you married me, so you can’t say much.”
5
Meghan
With my lips still tingling from that kiss, Gabriel tugs me out of the church and leads me up to a black Tahoe parked in the parking lot. Without a word, he pulls open the passenger door, expecting me to get in. When I hesitate, he gives me a little nudge like he expects me to obey him without protest.
Sirens blare in the distance, and I know there’s only a few minutes before the authorities show up.
Feet firmly on the ground, I square my shoulders, deciding this is the hill I’ll die on.
“What are you doing?” Gabriel frowns at me and gives me another nudge.
Unfortunately, despite my unwillingness to move, I end up taking a stumbling step back before I catch myself.
The fucker is strong. Strong and big. I thought the height difference between Alexei and me was enormous. With Gabriel it’s downright ridiculous.
“I’m not getting in the car,” I say, squaring my shoulders again to stand my ground.
I have to tip my head back to glare up at him.
“The fuck you’re not,” he growls and reaches down, grabbing me around the waist.
Hefting me up as if I weight nothing, he begins to stuff me and my enormous fluffy skirt in the car.
“Stop. Put me down! I’m not going with you!” I screech, fighting his hold and pounding my fists against his chest. “Just leave me. I won’t tell them anything, I swear on my mother’s grave. Just let me go!”
Gabriel exhales loudly through his nose as he struggles to get both me and my skirt inside the car while ignoring my fists.
“Gabriel, please!” I plead, my aching fists slowing.
Pounding on him is like pounding on concrete.
“We’re married,” he practically snarls before shoving me into the seat.
I manage to get out, “But not legally!” before he slams the door in my face.
Through the glass I watch him smirk and shake his head at me. Immediately I try the door handle, but no matter how hard I pull and yank on the thing the door won’t open.
Dammit, he must have some kind of child safety lock enabled.
As he begins to walk around the front of the car, I get the bright idea to find the lock and disable it. Launching myself toward the driver’s side of the car, I reach for all the buttons on the armrest only to abruptly come up short.
It takes me a precious second to figure out something is holding me back. Looking over my shoulder, I see that a big chunk of my skirt is stuck in the door.
Dammit!
I’m trapped inside this damn car until he helps me out.
The driver’s side door opens and Gabriel slides his gigantic body into the seat.
I recoil immediately, scooting as far away from him as possible.
Without looking over at me, Gabriel starts the car up and says, “Put your seatbelt on.”
I refuse to at first in stubborn defiance.
Gabriel shrugs his shoulders. “Suit yourself.”
Putting the car into the gear, he hits the gas and we squeal out of the parking spot. Then he takes a very sharp, very unnecessary turn to the left that pushes me into the door.
“Shit,” I mutter under my breath.
When the car finally straightens, I hastily do up my seatbelt.
Eyes sliding toward me, he grins and says, “Good girl.”
“Fuck you,” I sputter back, caught off guard.
Seriously, who does this guy think he is?
His lips twitch and his eyes gleam with amusement at the windshield. “Maybe later… If you promise not to cut my dick off…”
He hits the gas harder.
I could sputter some more, blush, or even wilt into my seat, but I’m starting to get my bearings back. I know I should be afraid of him. I mean, he did burst into my wedding and shoot the place up.
And the thumbs… damn, the thumbs.
But there’s just something about him, something about the way he’s tried to protect me even though I tried to kill him, that makes me feel like I don’t have to worry about him suddenly backhanding me or something.
Flashing him a feral smile that’s all teeth, I say, “Did I say cut off? I meant bite off.”
Gabriel slowly turns his head toward me then his lips stretch into a feral smile that mirrors my own. “I don’t know what kind of pussies you were with before you married me, but I like a little teeth.”
What the fuck?
I open my mouth, knowing I should give some witty, snappy retort, but I’ve got nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Gabriel chuckles and returns his eyes to the road.
Then he decides to add, “For future reference.”
Oh god, I know I shouldn’t be trying to picture in my head exactly what he means by ‘a little teeth’ but that’s exactly what I’m doing. Does he mean he likes a little teeth because he likes to be bitten in the heat of the moment? Or does he like it when a woman scrapes her teeth against him while giving him head?
Fuck, I so shouldn’t be thinking about this right now.
Heat begins to creep down my neck, down my breasts, and I wonder what the hell is wrong with me. I’ve had a terrible day. I was drugged, abused, almost forced into a marriage, almost killed, and then forced into another unwanted marriage…
Yet here I am, trapped in a car with a stranger who’s now my husband, and wondering what it would feel like to have him in my mouth.
Thankfully, the screen on the console starts to ring with an incoming call, pulling me from my perverted and totally inappropriate thoughts.
Gabriel scowls at the lit-up screen and starts jamming all the buttons surrounding it like he doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing.
I watch him in silent amusement.
Does he not know how to use the phone?
The screen stops ringing, the call most likely going to voicemail, and he growls out, “Hello?”
“Uh… you didn’t answer it,” I point out, then smirk when he gives me a frustrated look.
The screen starts ringing again, and once again Gabriel starts to jam buttons in confusion.
And I feel like we’ve come to a crossroads.
I could spend my time trapped in this car, watching him struggle to answer the phone like some out-of-touch cave man… It would be amusing and would most definitely serve him right after forcing me to marry him.
But maybe it would be better to help him. I could kill two birds with one stone. I could earn a bit of his trust and gather some information in the process.
If I want out of this mess, I need to know what the hell I’m dealing with.
Coming to a decision, I bump his hand out of the way, and say, “Here.”
Then I press the big green accept button on the screen.
Gabriel shakes his head in dismay as my eyes laugh at him.
“What the fuck, Gabriel?” an angry voice comes through the speakers.
“Simon,” Ga
briel mutters.
“Did you really marry the Callahan girl?!”
“Yeah,” Gabriel responds. “She’s Whitmore now.”
So that’s my new last name, that’s good to know. Not that I plan on keeping it long.
“Do you have any fucking clue what you’ve done? How much you’ve fucked up?” Simon growls.
I watch Gabriel’s face harden with annoyance. “Yeah, I’ve done exactly what I’ve been sprung to do…”
The man, I assume Simon, launches into an angry tirade about how much Gabriel fucked up. He goes on and on about how Gabriel ruined the whole operation. How I’m a liability. How my family will now have the motivation to retaliate against Lucifer and ‘the Family’.
Gabriel’s eyes flash with menace and his hands tighten around the steering wheel so hard I swear it starts to bend under the pressure.
I feel my own anger reaching the boiling point after listening to Simon’s long-winded rant. I’ve had enough of men talking about me like I’m disposable trash for one day, thank you very much.
Then Simon says, “You should have killed her and saved us all the trouble. Now—”
“You’re on speakerphone, asshole!” I snap at him, and press the disconnect button, cutting off his call.
Gabriel shoots me a look and I immediately realize what I’ve done. “Oh, sorry… I know that was rude, but he was starting to get on my nerves.”
Gabriel shakes his head and a smile starts to light up his face only to die an instant death when the phone starts ringing again.
“Fucker,” he mutters and begins to reach for the screen.
I bat his hand out of the way. “I got this.”
Gabriel arches a brow at me but otherwise he doesn’t stop me.
Taking his lack of stopping me as permission, I hit the accept button.
“What the fuck, Gabriel? Did you hang up on—”
“New phone, who dis?” I say, and then hit the disconnect button.
There’s a moment of silence, and I start to wonder if I seriously overstepped my bounds and fucked up.
Then Gabriel starts to chuckle. “What the fuck does that mean?”
Smiling in relief, I say, “It’s hard to explain, but it should royally piss him off.”
“Good,” Gabriel says with satisfaction, and I feel myself warming under his grin.
Shit.
I totally shouldn’t like his approval. And I totally shouldn’t be getting myself involved in this crap.
And Gabriel should probably be keeping his eyes on the road, but he keeps staring at me, making me grow warmer and warmer.
If I must be completely honest, I really hate looking at him head-on. Not only is he entirely too good looking for his own good, with his strong, rugged features, and blonde, scruffy beard, but there’s also something about his eyes that suck me in, shutting out the rest of the world.
Perhaps it’s because unlike Alexei’s eyes, his eyes aren’t empty and dead. No, they’re full of barely constrained emotion and passion, even when he’s not provoked.
Suddenly the screen starts to ring again and Gabriel groans, but I’m thankful to be pulled out of another unsettling moment.
“Do you want to answer it?” I ask.
Gabriel snorts. “Fuck no.”
I hold out my hand. “Then give me your phone.”
Gabriel doesn’t even hesitate, foolish man. I watch him lift his ass off his seat and dig around in his pants pocket. Then he pulls out his phone and willingly places it in my hand.
I could do so much fucking damage with this…
But first, I unlock his phone with a swipe. No pin, interesting. Then I immediately disconnect Bluetooth.
The speakers stop ringing.
“How did you do that?” he asks.
He’s truly clueless.
“I turned Bluetooth off…”
He grunts as if it makes sense, but I seriously doubt it does. I flip the button on the side of the phone and it falls silent.
“So… how come you don’t know how to use a phone?” I ask, hoping to distract him while I poke around on the screen.
He answers casually like we’re discussing the weather. “I just did ten years in a supermax.”
My head jerks up in surprise and I blink at him. Though, I don’t really know why I’m surprised by this information. He did try to murder everyone attending my wedding… and succeeded in taking down most of them.
“Let me guess? For murder?” I ask sarcastically, not expecting him to glance over at me and answer with a, “Yeah.”
A little chill courses down my spine.
“Only ten years, though?” I say, poking for more information as I break eye contact and drop my attention back down to the phone. “Sounds like you got off easy.”
“I was sentenced to life,” he says casually again, as if it’s not a big fucking deal.
What the hell? Did he escape?
“How did you get out so soon? Parole?”
I try to keep my fingers from flying across his phone. There are so many ways I could reach out for help, but I don’t want to tip him off.
“No. I was pardoned.”
“You’re shitting me,” I blurt out, my head jerking up again in surprise.
A big fat shit-eating grin spreads across his face. “By the governor himself.”
Damn. That means his organization must have the governor in their pocket, and if their ties are that powerful, there’s no telling how high or deep they go.
I’m probably well and truly fucked.
My fingers hover over the send button. I managed to type out a short message, planning on blasting it out to my social media, but this new information makes me pause.
What if they have the cops, the FBI, or any other law enforcement agency in their pockets? Would sending a distress signal get me killed?
I hesitate for too long.
Brows pulling together, Gabriel scowls at me. “What are you doing?”
I swipe quickly out of my account without pushing send. “Just checking out your apps.”
He holds his hand out expectantly.
With a huff, I start to hand over the phone when it starts vibrating.
Glancing down at the screen, I ask, “Who’s Lucifer?”
“Answer it.”
With a shrug, I swipe the phone open and hit the icon for speakerphone, figuring that’s what he wants.
“Gabriel,” a smooth voice drawls out.
“Lucifer,” Gabriel says back.
Phone still in my hand, I turn my attention to my window, pretending I’m not that interested in the conversation. Though I very much am.
I recognize the name Lucifer, not only from the day I eavesdropped on Alexei and my father, but also from rumors I’ve heard over the years. If what I’ve heard is true then he’s currently the most powerful and feared man in Garden City.
He has the entire city in his tight grasp.
Lucifer’s smooth drawl seems to slide out of the phone as he says, “Normally, I don’t interfere when one of my men sneaks off with their… blushing bride… and holes up with her until she is pregnant. But I fear, in this instance, there are important matters that need to be discussed first.”
There just aren’t enough what the fucks for today. Seriously. Blushing bride? Sneaking off? Holing up until she’s pregnant?
Do his men have a habit of doing this?
I slide a glance toward Gabriel. Our gazes collide, crashing into each other. I quickly look away in surprise and hope I haven’t given away my interest.
Surely, he wasn’t planning on doing that…
“What important matters?” Gabriel grits out as if he’s irritated.
There’s a pause and then Lucifer says carefully, “We’re meeting at the compound. Attendance is mandatory.”
I hear Gabriel suck in a slow breath through his teeth and then release it. “I’ll be there.”
“Good, good,” Lucifer says, sounding pleased. “I’m looking forwar
d to giving my congratulations to you and your beautiful bride, in person.”
Gabriel grunts in acknowledgement and the call disconnects.
Catching movement out of the corner of my eye, I glance over to see Gabriel holding his hand out to me.
Reluctantly, I place the device in his big palm, carefully avoiding touching any of his skin.
After lifting up and shoving the phone back in his pocket, Gabriel hits the blinker and the car suddenly slows.
A couple of cars pass us before he makes a u-turn, pointing us in the opposite direction.
I look at him in alarm. Why is he suddenly turning around? He wasn’t… he couldn’t possibly have been planning on doing what Lucifer said…
Our situation is obviously different.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Gabriel asks, making me realize I’ve been staring at him.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“You heard, to the compound,” he answers.
“In Garden City?”
“Yeah.”
I bite my lip, contemplating my next question and the best way to phrase it without offending him.
He glances over and his gaze drops down to my mouth. His eyes seem to burn into me, darkening with heat.
A flush works its way up my neck.
Suddenly self-conscious, I release my lip.
He jerks his attention away.
What the hell was that?
Taking a little breath to help calm my racing heart, I ask, “Do your… associates have a habit of sneaking off with women and getting them pregnant?”
Gabriel rolls his massive shoulders in shrug. “I wouldn’t know, I’ve been in prison.”
Damn. Yeah. I guess that makes sense.
Focusing my attention outside again, I replay Lucifer and Gabriel’s words in my head. So far, Gabriel has given me no reason not to trust him since he offered me his protection. You know, besides being a convicted murderer and spending ten years in prison.
Perhaps I’m being just a little paranoid.
Then he suddenly adds out of the blue, “I wouldn’t put it past Simon, though. Fucker probably kept his wife tied up and locked in the house until he got her pregnant.”
“Seriously?” I ask, unsure if he’s joking or not.
