Dark Curves (Dangerous Curves Book 6)

by James, Marysol

  “Shay,” he said quietly, watching her lose her mind at roughly the speed of light. “Breathe for me.”

  “I’m breathing. I’m just fucking furious.”

  “I understand. I do. But you need to understand too, OK?” He regarded her, trying to gauge her state of mind. “Shay? You with me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Listen, yeah?”

  “I will. I am.”

  “Alright, honey. The thing is, you’re supposed to be downstairs and cuffed to the bed. You know this, right? So when Ace or Joker or whoever-the-hell shows up here, they’re going to expect to see exactly that.”

  She shut her eyes, forced herself to echo his words. “They expect to see me downstairs, restrained.”

  “Yes. If you’re not, they’re going to wonder why. And when guys like this start wondering about shit, it’s never a good thing.”

  Shay sighed. “Yeah. Point taken.”

  “So. We need to start practicing.”

  She startled. “You mean – practicing cuffing me to the bed?”

  “Yes. A few minutes at a time, working up to two hours, let’s say.”

  “Two hours?” she said faintly. “Warren…”

  “I know, baby.” He was sympathetic but firm. “It’s for your own safety, believe me. If Ace or Kirk show up here tomorrow, and I throw you on the bed and cuff you, you’re gonna fucking lose your mind. I know it, and you know it. And if you’re down there freaking out, I don’t know what they might do to you to shut you up. You get me?”

  She stopped dead. God, he was right. He was all kinds of right.

  “Yes,” she said, calm and focused. “I get you.”

  “OK,” he said, relieved. “We start today.”

  “Right now?”

  “You want to eat first?”

  “No.” She shuddered at the mere thought of food. “No food. I may just throw it all up again.”

  “Hey.” He reached for her now, dragged her on to his lap, and she curled up close, seeking warmth and comfort. “I’m going to be there the whole time, OK?”

  She looked up at him. “You are?”

  “Of course I am. We’ll work up to two hours, and we’ll also work towards you being down there alone. But we can’t start with that, Shay. We’ll start with ten minutes, and me sitting next to you. Alright?”

  She sucked in a deep breath, took one more. “I think I can handle that.”

  “That’s my brave girl.” He kissed the top of her head. “So… you ready?”

  “I’m ready.”

  Warren got to his feet, extended his hand to her. “Come on then. Get dressed, and let’s get started.”

  She gave him a weak smile. “Can I just say – I hate today already?”

  Warren thought about her being cuffed to the bed, imagined the terror and memory in those amazing eyes, imagined her shaking and afraid, and he hated himself for being the one to put her through it all.

  “Ditto, kitten. Fucking ditto.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Aidan was having the best dream that he’d ever had in the whole of his life.

  In his dream, Gabriela was on top of him, her gorgeous thighs on either side of his body, her hot pussy pressed in to his stomach. She was kissing his chest, working her way up to his mouth. She was smiling and relaxed, and none of the darkness that she’d brought up and out of the earth with her surrounded her anymore. She’d shaken it off, and all that he saw was her golden glow, her shimmering light.

  When her sweet mouth moved over his, he groaned. A part of him was aware that this was all too real to be a dream, but the larger part of him just went with it. It had been so long since Gabriela had touched him like this, and he was starved for her.

  He lifted his hand, gripped the back of her neck, held her in place as he kissed her. Her silky curls were so real under his fingers, her soft lips so real on his own, her hot breath so real on his cheek. That was when alarm bells started to ring in his brain, and he jerked awake.

  And there she was. On top of him. Smiling and relaxed.

  Also totally fucking naked.

  “Gabriela!” he exclaimed, torn between the option of shoving her away, and wanting to pull her close. “What –”

  “Good morning,” she murmured.

  Right away, his cock decided that it was going to go with the latter of the two options that he’d just considered above. Aidan shut his eyes, trying to stay in control long enough to find out what the actual fuck was going on here.

  “Angel,” he said at last, opening his golden eyes. “You OK?”

  “Um. Yes. I am kissing you.”

  “Right, and that’s why I’m asking.”

  Gabi heard nothing but anxiety and confusion in his words, and she smiled at him. God, she loved this man so much, some days, she wondered if she’d ever really known a man’s love before Aidan Carter had come in to her world. Most days, she knew that she hadn’t.

  They hadn’t had sex for over six months, and for quite a lot of that time, they hadn’t even touched. Many men – maybe even most men – would have given up on her a long, long time ago. They’d have grown frustrated, thrown in the towel, walked away. But not Aidan.

  He’d stood by her, even when she’d pushed him away. He’d had her back, even when she’d turned her back on him and gone silent. He’d kept the faith, even when she’d utterly lost hers. And, most of all, he’d never – not even once – given in to the darkness of despair, even when she’d lived in that place for weeks and weeks on end.

  She’d woken up that morning feeling like something had changed. She’d lain there quietly, listening to her emotions and thoughts, and that’s when she’d known: something had shifted inside Gabi. Something invisible and unnamable, but all the more powerful for being both of those things. It was real, and it was permanent.

  She’d come out the other side. She was through.

  “I’m really OK, Aidan,” she said now. “I’m better than OK, actually. I’m – I’m me.”

  He cupped her face in both hands, not too firmly, and he stared up at her. She looked right on back at him, and he didn’t see a single bit of fear in those dark eyes. Her body wasn’t tense, her breathing wasn’t panicky. She wasn’t fighting to get away from his grip, wasn’t shrinking from his touch.

  “Gabriela?” he asked softly, still not quite able to believe it. “Is that you?”

  “Yes,” she whispered and now he saw her tears, knew they weren’t tears of distress or fear. “I’m back.”

  “Oh, my God,” he said. “C’mere, baby. Come here, right now. I need to kiss you.”

  Without a single second of pause, she stretched out on him completely, every inch of her body touching his. He wrapped his arms around her lower back, both hands tangled in her long hair, and he kissed her. Deep. Hard. Slow.

  He kissed her like it was the first time. And in some ways, it was.

  She stayed with him the whole time, responding so beautifully, it took his breath away. He wanted to stay like this forever, but then she sat up again and started pulling at his boxers and his t-shirt, and Aidan slammed on the brakes. Big time.

  “Whoa. Whoa.” He raised his hands off her curves, took a deep breath. “Way too fast, angel.”

  “Nope.” She had his shirt off now, started tugging his boxers down. “It’s not.”

  “Wait. Gabriela, wait.”

  “I can’t, Aidan,” she said. “I just – I can’t. I need this, OK? I need you.”

  “You’ve got me, I promise you. You don’t need to… to do anything to try to prove it to yourself. I’m telling you – hand on my heart – that you’ve got me.”

  “I know.” She spoke so quietly now, he knew that what she was saying was coming from somewhere deep inside. “I’ve always had you, babe, and I know that. You’ve never given me one
moment of doubt or worry about that, and you need to understand that part. But you haven’t always had me. I’ve been – gone.”

  “You needed time.”

  “I did. Then. And now I need you.”

  Aidan met her bright, beautiful gaze, and he saw the love shining in her eyes. She wasn’t afraid anymore, he saw that too, and now he relaxed.

  Gabi felt his large body loosen, and she resumed pulling off his boxers. This time, he let her; he even raised his hips a bit to help.

  So then there they were. Naked. Hot.

  And so, so ready for this.

  “I love you,” he rasped. “Fuck, baby… I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” She lowered her lips to his again, feeling like she’d been without him for decades, not just months. “I love you, Aidan.”

  Their kissing was desperate, needy. Their hands were everywhere, their limbs were tangled together. When Gabi reached for his hardness, Aidan gritted his teeth, struggling to retain both his control and his sanity.

  “How?” he grated out. “How can we do this so you won’t be afraid of suffocating?”

  “Like this,” she said, lying down on her side facing him.

  “You sure?”

  “Yes.”

  He groaned and yanked open the nightstand drawer. He fumbled with the condom, his hands shook as he rolled it down his rock-hard cock. Then he lay down beside her, gently lifted her top leg up and over his muscular upper thigh, opening her to him so completely.

  “Gabriela?” he said now. “Tell me one more time that you’re sure.”

  In response, she grasped his length in her hand, guided it to her soaked lower lips. He gasped, the tip sinking in to her heat so damn easily, so damn smoothly.

  “I’m sure, babe,” she murmured. “Now, stop talking. Make love to me. Make me come.”

  And he did… oh dear God, he did.

  **

  It was three hours later – and after the fourth time – that they finally gave in to exhaustion.

  Gabi was under Aidan, all wrapped around his body, still breathing hard from an intense orgasm. He forced himself up and off her, worried about her feeling crushed, worried that she may start panicking. The way she was right this minute, he wouldn’t be able to tell if she started to hyperventilate.

  “Baby?” he managed. “You OK down there?”

  She nodded, her eyes still closed, but that wasn’t good enough for Aidan.

  “Talk to me, Gabriela. I need to hear the words, alright?”

  “I’m good,” she puffed. “I’m just – breathless. Can’t talk.”

  “Good.” He sucked in air. “Glad I’m not the only one who can’t catch a breath.”

  She opened her eyes now. “We’re so out of practice.”

  “Hell, yeah. But if we go on the way that we did this morning, we’ll make up for lost time soon enough.”

  “I hope so,” she said, her smile sunny and open. “I’m happy to test that theory.”

  Aidan laughed, then pulled out of her body. He got out of bed, and headed to the bathroom. He threw out the condom – reminding himself to stock up until Gabriela refilled her birth control prescription and got back on her cycle – then wet a cloth. He wandered back to the bedroom, and tenderly cleaned Gabriela. She was so wiped out, she watched through drooping eyes, too tired to even move.

  Aidan covered her with the blanket, took the cloth to the bathroom, returned to their bed. All he wanted to do now was hold her. If he could do that, he could die here and have exactly zero regrets about it.

  Gabriela sighed with sheer bliss when Aidan gathered her in to his arms. She gave him a lazy, sated kiss on his upper arm, then she just rested her head on him, listening to his heart. Her fingers played with the golden hair on chest, loving every inch of this man’s body. Loving this man, inside and out. Just loving him.

  Aidan ran his hands up and down her long, lean curves, feeling like the luckiest, happiest man on the planet. And in this perfect fucking moment, all he could think of to say were the following three words: “Marry me, Gabriela.”

  Gabi’s response was sit straight up in bed, a look of utter shock on her face, totally awake and alert. The bed sheet fell away, revealing her gorgeous, golden breasts. Aidan fought down the wild urge to latch on to those dark nipples, to stroke them with his tongue, since following up a marriage proposal by burying his face in her chest might be seen as classless. Maybe, just a little bit. Plenty of time for that later, when she said yes.

  If she said yes.

  “Marry…” Gabi’s voice trailed off. “Marry you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Like – marry you?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Are you – are you asking me seriously?”

  “Totally.”

  “Oh.” She stared at him.

  “So.” He rolled on to his side and propped his head up on his hand, rested his weight on his elbow. “You got an answer for me, angel?”

  “Oh. Right.” She looked at him some more, totally unblinking. “Yes.”

  “OK. What is it?”

  Her brow furrowed. “What is what?”

  “Your answer.” He touched her lips, traced their gentle curves. “You just said that you have an answer for me.”

  “I just told you my answer. It’s yes.”

  Aidan’s heart started to thump hard enough that he was sure the neighbors could hear it through the walls. “It is?”

  “Yes. It’s yes.”

  “Holy fuck, baby.” He reached for her, framed her face in his hands, held her beautiful gaze. “Say it again.”

  “Yes.”

  “Once more. Just so I can be sure.”

  Now she laughed. “Yes.”

  “Thank Christ.”

  He yanked her against his chest and kissed her, over and over, before it occurred to him that he had to be holding her too tight. He eased off a bit, but she didn’t let him. Instead, Gabi followed him with her body, with her lips. Just stayed all pressed up close and warm. Aidan took a shaky breath, fully believing now that she’d turned that awful corner.

  “I love you,” she murmured against his lips. “I love you, Aidan.”

  “Love you too, angel. So much, so damn much.”

  She smiled, and he adored the look of pure joy sparkling in those dark eyes. Yeah, his Gabi was back, back all the way.

  Slowly, giving her lots of time to know what he was doing, he lay back, pulling her down with him, and she came. No hesitation, no brief pause, no minute tension in her muscles. Gabi just sank down on his chest, his arms all wrapped around her, and she stayed there. She stayed with him.

  He was going to make sure that she stayed with him forever.

  “I’m sorry I don’t have a ring,” he said, only now wondering if that was a major fuck-up. “I just… I asked because it felt right, but I don’t – I mean, I’ve been looking and I have one in mind, but I haven’t bought it yet…”

  “I don’t need a ring.”

  “Uh, not at all?”

  She raised her head to glare at him, and he started at her fury. “Uh, I just mean right now. Right now, I don’t need a ring – but I’m getting one. Right?”

  “Right,” he agreed hastily. “We’ll go today.”

  “Mmm-hmmm,” she growled, all Bridezilla even at this early stage of events. “Damn right we are. It has to be fancy and it has to be expensive. I love anything to do with weddings… and that includes the engagement ring.”

  “You – what?” Aidan stared at her like she was a stranger. Which she was, in many ways. “Who are you now?”

  She giggled, and he continued to stare at her, confused.

  “I’m just kidding, Aidan.” Her words dripped with affection. “I don’t need an engagement ring at all. I just need you.”

&
nbsp; “You can have both, Gabriela.” He kissed her again, softly, sweetly. “I want you to have both.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Really.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered. “

  He took a breath. “So. Mac’s gonna freak out.”

  Gabi raised her eyebrows. “Mac? Why?”

  “Because he says that we’re all falling victim to holy matrimony like dominoes… and so he’ll figure that he and Mirrie are next.”

  “Who are falling like dominoes?” Gabi said, perplexed.

  “Me and the boys.” Aidan ran his hands through her tumbled dark curls. “First Jax, then King, now me. Mac’s never going to forgive me for going down like this.”

  “Ah.” Gabi gave him a grin. “Well, you can always just not tell him. Send him a postcard from our honeymoon that says, ‘Hey! Guess what?’.”

  “Yeah. I think that’s just about the only thing that he’d find even more unforgivable than being on honeymoon in the first place.”

  “So he’ll be happy for you?”

  “Angel.” Aidan kissed her, slow and hot. “Everyone’s gonna be happy for us.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Warren looked at his watch, wondered if time was standing still again. He was sure that the hour was up – it fucking had to be – but he was wrong. Barely twenty minutes had passed since he’d handcuffed Shay to the bed and walked away. He’d gone up the stairs, shut the door, sat at this table and started to fret.

  They’d been at this all damn day; they’d been at it for almost seven hours. He’d begged her to take a break, to stop, but she’d steadfastly refused, demanded that he keep restraining her. So he had, with nothing but reservations and worry. And immense, overwhelming, awestruck pride: she’d amazed him, of course. Nothing new about that, though. The woman never stopped amazing him.

  Even the first attempt hadn’t been as bad as they’d both anticipated. He’d wrapped her bruised wrists in strips of t-shirt and cuffed her, then sat right there, talking to her the whole time. She hadn’t spoken one word, though: she’d just lain there and held his eyes, gritting her teeth and fighting to suck in breath. The ten minutes had been agonizing, and the second the alarm on his phone had gone off, he’d ripped the cuffs off her delicate wrists, gathered her close as she’d cried and slowly recovered.