He pulled back slightly to study her, and Lissa offered him a wobbly smile.
“Neither do I. I’m just saying that you’re so very different to how I thought you would be, and…” That eyebrow of his rose again, and Lissa faltered in her attempt to explain herself.
“I’m just gonna shut up now. Can we go back to you just holding me, please?”
Gabe’s tender smile in answer to her hesitant question warmed her from the inside out, and she snuggled back into his embrace.
“What did you mean earlier by topping from the bottom?” she eventually asked when she couldn’t stand the silence between them anymore.
“It means you’re trying to get me do something you want. You’ll find I’m not that easily manipulated, and if you try that again you’ll earn yourself a trip across my knee and not the fun sort.”
He nudged her chin up with one hand until she had no choice but to look at him. The swirling emotions in his dark gaze took her breath away, as she waited for him to continue speaking.
“However, you’re new at this, so I’ll let it pass for now. In future, if you need something from me, ask. I’m pretty good at reading body language, but while we’re working out our dynamic, I’m bound to get things wrong, and I need you to tell me if I do.” The concern behind those grumbled words made fresh tears fill her eyes, and Gabe swore softly.
“Jesus, girl, don’t do that. I don’t like it when you cry.”
He released her chin and scrubbed a hand over his face as though he truly didn’t know what to do with her reaction right now, and Lissa swiped the useless tears away.
“Not even if they’re tears of happiness?”
A noncommittal grunt was his response, but he tugged her back into his chest and simply held her.
“This is nice,” she said as she hugged him back and his chest shook in silent laughter. “I didn’t like it when I woke up on my own.”
Another sigh came from the broad chest she was snuggled up against, and he hugged her closer.
“I figured you wouldn’t, but I had to get moving and didn’t want to wake you. I did leave you a note, sweetheart.”
There he went again with that simple endearment that made her heart leap for joy. She was such a sap, for him at least.
“I know, thank you.” She sat up more to find him studying her again. When she smiled at him, his answering grin softened his harsh features, and it was her turn to sigh.
“As much as I’m enjoying this, we do need to get going if we want to make that reservation, so, you’re good now?”
Lissa nodded and hopped off his lap.
“Yes, thank you for the hugs, Daddy.”
“Anytime, baby girl.”
With that, he turned and went back above deck, and Lissa made herself busy clearing up the lunch dishes. After a shower and having changed into a light summer dress in deference to the much warmer weather they were experiencing she joined him on deck with her life vest on, just in time to see him negotiate the old harbor of La Rochelle.
One they were on dry land, the beauty of the place took her breath away, as he pointed out landmarks and they soaked in the atmosphere together. From the cobbled streets of the old town to the bustling shops, the intimate restaurants they discovered and the magnificent structure that was the Saint Nicholas Tower, doing the tourist thing with Gabe was fun and exciting.
If she found it odd that he avoided the casino, she kept her opinions to herself. Clearly Gabe wanted to disassociate himself from his usual surroundings back home in London as much he could, and that was just fine by her.
Their journey along the coast continued, as the days wore on, and with each new place they discovered, she felt closer to him. And then there were the delights to discover in the privacy of their yacht. Who knew submission could bring such innate piece? Far from it being demeaning, it was empowering, and as they settled into their dynamic, Lissa had never been happier, or more creative.
Reams and reams of paper were filled with her paintings, because the artist in her needed to capture all the sites. Seeing Gabe’s approval of her skills also gave her a much-needed boost. All too soon their time was up, and they were heading back to Southampton.
The change in his demeanor the closer they came to England burst the bubble of happiness Lissa had been floating in. Something was clearly bothering him, but any attempts of getting him to talk about it, were rebuffed. Lissa sought refuge in her painting, as they moored one last time before returning home.
****
“Boss, we have a problem.”
Gabe scowled at Stone’s worried face as he fired up his computer for the first time since they left England behind. Back in the secluded cove they’d started their journey, all that separated them was short trip across the Channel this morning.
“Meaning?” He barked that question, and across the yacht Lissa jumped. He could just about see her engrossed in her painting. She scowled at the blue slash across the middle of her painting of the yacht, and Gabe sighed. He’d caused that, and it would take her hours to correct that mistake. Then again, if she was busy with that it might be a good thing all ‘round.
When he’d woken up that morning, he watched her sleep for the longest time, conflicting emotions making his chest feel tight. The faint rope marks left behind on her skin made his inner caveman strut. He loved leaving his mark on her body, and he loved her reaction to his visible reminders of his possession of her even more.
As he traced the fading half-moon of a bite mark on her left breast, he tensed. Lord knew what awaited them back in England. Would his precious girl still feel the same way about their dynamic when it came under society’s scrutiny?
He wanted nothing more than to stay on the yacht with her. To hell with business and his responsibilities back home. Seeing Lissa come out of her shell and blossom into the radiant, happy young woman she deserved to be had been a joy to witness. She thrived under his dominance, and it was his pleasure to meet her needs by being her Daddy. Her gift of submission served to ground him, to satisfy his need to care for and protect her like a husband should. Truth be told, he couldn’t fool himself any longer. He had fallen head over heels in love with her. He’d found the perfect counter foil for his darker needs and desires, and the thought of losing her burned a hole in his gut.
If she ever found out how much she meant to him, she would have the perfect ammunition to bring him to his knees. Not that he truly believed she would do that. Unless his senses were completely off, his baby girl needed him as much he needed her, and the way she looked at him when she didn’t think he was noticing soothed his damaged soul.
Silly girl. As though he ever did not notice her. Her very scent was imprinted in his psyche, which should probably worry him a great deal. To love someone this much made you vulnerable. The one thing he could not afford himself to be, yet he couldn’t bring himself to care about that either. Hence, he hadn’t been in touch with Stone until now.
“What sort of problem?” He tore his gaze away from Lissa, not before sending her a reassuring smile when she glanced across, clearly concerned by his earlier snarl at his laptop. She wouldn’t be able to see who he was talking to, but his wife wasn’t stupid.
“There’s a warrant out for your arrest, boss.”
Gabe gave a short laugh and scrubbed a hand over his face.
“Is that all? What for this time?”
Stone didn’t share in his amusement, and the light scent which signaled Lissa drawing nearer ensured his amusement fled.
“Hi, Lissa, great to see you.” Stone fixed his attention behind Gabe, and sure enough, a hesitant Lissandra appeared on the screen behind him.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt, but I figured if there’s a problem, I should know it, too.” Her voice, while wobbly, carried that grim determination Gabe had come to know well.
“Nothing the boss and I can’t handle, right, Gabe?” Stone’s attempt of reassurance fell flat, as Gabe knew it would. Lissa frowned at his s
econd in command, crossed her arms under her chest, and he swallowed a groan. Even when covered in her painting apron, she looked far too damn sexy, and despite the imminent threat he hardened in his pants. A trace of blue paint marred her cheekbone as though she’d swiped her fingers along it, and he wanted nothing more to clean that up for her, before he tied her up and took her out of her head for bit.
He did neither, all too aware that she had a right to know what was awaiting them at home. Plus, he could sense her worry positively pouring off her little frame, and he needed to make that better for her. With that thought uppermost in his mind he pushed the chair back from the desk and patted his lap in an unspoken invitation.
The speed with which Lissa complied and snuggled into his hold lessened that building knot of fury in his guts.
Stone seemed to have other ideas, if the way his eyes narrowed were any indication.
“Erm, boss? Should we be having this conversation in front of … erm…”
“My wife? Yes, we should, as I’m pretty sure this will concern her, too, right?”
Stone’s sigh spoke volumes, and Lissa tensed in his arms. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head, which caused Stone’s eyes to widen.
“Right, well, it does, but I figured you didn’t want to—”
“Spit it out already, Stone.”
Gabe’s snarl made Lissa jump, and he hugged her a little tighter, while nuzzling into her neck. Her automatic head tilt to give him better access made him smile despite the situation, and he indulged himself by nibbling on her earlobe.
Her breathing sped up, and her little moan in response made him even harder. If only he could say fuck all this shit and simply lose himself in the delights of her body, but that wasn’t an option anymore and wouldn’t be until they’d sorted this out.
“Boss, I’m sorry, this … pay attention, will you?”
Lissa tensed anew, and Gabe swore softly as he fixed his attention on his second in command.
“You’ve got my attention, so spit it out already. What are they trying to pin on me this time?”
Stone shook his head, threw a worried glance at Lissa, and grumbled his answer.
“Kidnap, rape, attempted murder, to name but a few, boss.”
Lissa’s horrified gasp rang in his ears, and Gabe took a few deep breaths into calm his rioting emotions.
“Right.”
Lissa struggled in his arms, and he reluctantly released his hold on her. The fact that she didn’t immediately jump off his lap, utterly horrified, soothed his churning gut a little.
“We’ve got Parkinson on it, of course, but there isn’t much he can do at present. They’ve got an impressive number of witnesses together to make their case.”
Gabe gave another short laugh. It was that or pace the room, and with his baby girl still sitting on his lap, seemingly frozen in shock, he couldn’t do the latter.
“What witnesses?” He ground the question out through gritted teeth, while he drew circles over his baby girl’s tense back.
“Andrini, for one.”
“Papa?” Lissa’s response was barely a whisper, but both men heard it anyway. Stone’s expression softened as he fixed his gaze on Lissa.
“Yeah, I’m sorry, he’s one of the chief witnesses, Lissa. He claims the boss abducted you and attempted to kill Andrini while the fucker, sorry, Lissa, was trying to protect his only daughter. Blasted ass sure can lay it on thick.”
“Fuck this shit.” Lissa leaned into Gabe when he grunted that answer, and the savage beast inside him calmed down instantly.
“But that’s not true. All they have to do is ask me. I’ll put them straight, right, Daddy?”
Stone blinked once and shook his head at Gabe.
“Not as easy as that, Lissa. There’s other witnesses, too. Most of them Parkinson can hang, but there’s the vicar who married you.” That made Lissa sit up and pull away from Gabe, and he swallowed another curse.
“Fucking wanker wants more money, is that it?” Gabe asked.
“Reckon he got more, a hell of a lot more, or Ollivanti put the screws on him. You were right before, boss.” Stone paused as though he wasn’t sure how much to say in front of Lissa, and at Gabe’s silent nod continued with a sigh. “Ollivanti and Andrini are thick as thieves. There’s a number of Ollivanti girls who’ve come forward to claim you’ve raped them, boss.”
Another one of those utterly horrifying gasps from Lissa, which made him want to take her far away from all this crap. She didn’t deserve to be associated with the dark side of his business. The allegations weren’t true, but would she believe them?
“It’s all a pack of lies, Lissa. The boss wouldn’t touch Ollivanti pussy with a barge bole, let alone rape anyone.”
Lissa didn’t respond other than to hang her head. Her hair hid her expression from both men, and Gabe’s stomach churned at her silence. He would be left with a fucking ulcer at this rate.
“Lissa, you know that, right?” Stone’s voice grew more insistent, and he scrubbed a hand over his shaved head, clearly at a loss as to what to make of her lack of response. Gabe shook his head at him, and Stone frowned.
“Anyway, Parkinson will make mincemeat of them, but there’s someone else whose statement might make a difference.”
If that was possible Lissa tensed even more, and Gabe’s chest tightened to such a degree it hurt to breathe. He was going to lose her, he just knew he would, because she wasn’t handling this well. Not that he’d expected her to jump to his immediate defense, but this stillness, the waves of shocked terror which he sensed coming from her, they made breathing difficult.
“Do enlighten me, Stone.” Gabe grimaced at the hoarse quality of his voice.
“I’m sorry, boss, it’s Ange.”
Gabe shut his eyes and murmured his reply.
“Fuck.”
Chapter Twelve
“Who the fuck is Ange?”
Lissa couldn’t help her angry shout any more than she could have stopped herself from jumping off Gabe’s lap as the sharp, immediate, all-consuming poker of jealousy pierced her heart like a poisonous arrow.
“She’s nobody, Lissa.” Over the ringing in her ears she heard Stone’s attempt to smooth things over, but she didn’t believe a word of it. Gabe’s response to that woman’s name had been too immediate for her to be nobody.
“I wasn’t born yesterday, Stone. You wouldn’t have mentioned her if she wasn’t important. If she was a nobody then, surely, Gabe’s solicitor could disarm her easily as those other girls who’ve come forward.” Hands on hips, she turned her back on Stone’s worried face and sought reassurance from her husband. Not that she found any.
Instead of the reassuring smile she’d hoped to see on her Daddy’s face, she looked into the closed off expression of Gabe the killer. His usually so warm eyes had turned to cold, expressionless mirrors that wouldn’t let her in. His sensuous mouth was an ugly sneer, and hands which had given her such pleasure curled around the edge of his desk in a white knuckled grip so hard that the wood creaked under his fingers.
She ought to have been terrified. The old her would have been, but this Lissa simply grew angrier herself when Gabe wouldn’t answer her, ignored her question completely and fixed his attention on Stone instead.
“Thanks for the heads-up, Stone. I’ll cast off now, and we’ll be with you soon. Let the fuckers try to take over. It won’t work.”
“Usual drill, boss?” Stone asked, and Gabe nodded.
“Kill them all if you have to. But Andrini, Ollivanti, and that bitch are mine.”
Lissa gasped and stepped away from him as Gabe ended the call and slammed the laptop shut with so much force, he must have surely cracked the screen.
“Gabe, what do you—”
“Nothing.” He interrupted her, and Lissa took a few steps back when he rose to his full height and glared down on her. Gone was the tender, passionate man she’d come to love over the last three weeks and in his stead stood a stranger. Th
is Gabe she had no doubt could kill her at a moment’s notice, and yet, strangely she still wasn’t afraid of him. He wouldn’t harm her. How she could be so sure of that she didn’t know, and maybe it was just wishful thinking on her part. The deeply in love with this man part, who wanted/needed to believe he was better than this, clung on to that belief with a need that smacked of desperation. Because, if she didn’t hold onto that, then what was she left with other then the fact that she’d married a monster?
“Please, Daddy, talk—”
His furious growl stopped her, and she swallowed hard when he advanced on her. Eyes blazing in so much cold fury it made her shiver, but she nudged her chin up, determined to hold his gaze, to not give in to the rising panic threatening to engulf her.
How was it even possible to still need him this much? She wanted nothing more than for her Daddy to take her in his arms and to tell her that everything would be all right.
“I told you not to call me that, girl. Especially not now.” He stopped mere inches away from her. Hands either side of her face he crowded her against the wall. Rather than let herself be intimidated by his sheer presence, Lissa rose on her tip toes and ran her hands up his chest and over his bunched biceps. The muscles tightened under her fingertips, and Gabe swore under his breath.
“Who is Ange?” she asked.
Gabe shook his head and stepped away from her. The physical distance from him hurt, not least because he ignored her, got on deck and fired up the engine of the yacht. It rumbled to life under her feet, and Lissa blinked away tears. The sensible thing would have been to take his dismissal, and to not probe the sleeping monster, but Lissa had never been sensible.
Sidestepping the life vests, she followed him onto the deck and held on for dear life as he turned the yacht at a steep angle to leave the cove. Gabe glared at her, but that was it. A fact which hurt far more than his previous actions and told him his state of mind clearer than anything else. He always made such a big deal about her need for a life vest, normally, when she was above deck when the yacht was on the move, that his lack of response stung.
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