Dangerous for You

by Antonia, Anna

  My lips touched his, coaxing Gabriel to stop asking me questions and take me to bed where I could forget the uncertainty taking root in my heart.

  I was a performer in my own life again. Only this time I did it with a smile.

  NINE

  The day after the ballet found me restless. I was unnerved by how things were edging away from the life Gabriel and I had worked so hard to build. It scratched at me, interrupting my concentration. The more I pushed it away, the harder it came back.

  Finally, I had to do something drastic and completely out of character.

  And I did it in spades.

  Thursday

  Work, my lodestone, couldn’t keep me tied to my desk a second longer than necessary. The three dozen roses nestled in their exquisite crystal vase reminded me not of velvety soft petals, but the thorns lying in wait.

  I lurched up. Barely able to wait for the time it took to shut down my station, I grabbed my bag and fidgeted until the screen turned black. I left the building without calling Gabriel. I simply got in my car and drove. Five minutes after I pulled out of the parking garage, my cell phone rang. Black excitement coiled in my belly.

  Gabriel always initiated the games between us. Now it was my turn. I could only hope he’d understand, but truthfully I didn’t care enough at the moment to change course.

  I pressed the speaker button and answered cheerfully, “Hello?”

  “Emma.”

  “Gabriel.”

  He cleared his throat and asked lightly, too lightly in fact, “Is everything okay?”

  “Peachy. Why?”

  Come on. Come on. These are not the games I want to play. Let’s cut to the chase.

  “You left work a little early. For you that is.”

  “I did.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I felt like it.”

  There’s enough sass in that to get your attention, Gabriel. Don’t let me down.

  A full beat passed before “Is anything wrong, Emma?”

  “Nope.”

  Two more beats passed. “Emma, would you mind terribly if I asked you to come back?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Absolutely you’d mind or absolutely you’re coming back?”

  I snorted. “Absolutely I’m not coming back.”

  “So you are upset.”

  “Nope.”

  “Emma,” irritation finally threaded his voice. “I would like you to turn around and come back. Then I’d like you to come to my office so we can talk about what’s bothering you. I’ll even send someone out for your favorite kind of doughnuts.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t help you with that, Gabriel.” I disconnected the call. Looking up in the rearview mirror, I wondered which car held my faithful, well-disguised shadows. Only one way to find out.

  I pressed down on the gas pedal and aggressively changed lanes. Bouncing from one side of the interstate to the other, I kept my eyes open for cops and employed company.

  My phone rang again. I let it go unanswered three times before picking up. “Emma Adams here.”

  “Emma, my patience is quickly coming to an end.”

  “Oh? Why might that be?”

  “I want you to listen to me carefully. First, don’t ignore my calls. Second, you need to slow down.”

  “Really? Now how would you know that I’m going…wait, let me check…twenty over the speed limit, Gabriel?” I took a sharp right for the nearest exit. Later I’d surely feel remorse for my less than courteous driving.

  His melodic voice sharpened to a razor point. “Let’s not do this again.”

  “Do what?”

  “Move backwards. You know how I know.”

  “Is my security detail tattling on me as we speak?” The light ahead turned yellow. I sped up and screeched around the corner. I looked up to see how closely I was being followed. I didn’t see anything, but then again I never did because they were just that good.

  Good—something I didn’t feel like being at all.

  “Emma, talk to me. What’s wrong?”

  “Not a damned thing, Gabriel. I just feel like taking a drive.”

  “To a different part of town?”

  I whipped my head to check my blind spot before zooming around a braking car. “You taught me exploration is good for the soul.”

  “I didn’t quite have your current journey in mind.”

  “No, I’m sure you didn’t.”

  “Pull over at the nearest gas station, Emma, and wait for me.”

  “No can do, Gabriel. I’m on a roll right now and I don’t feel like stopping.”

  “I’m not asking.”

  “And I’m not obeying. Contrary to what you might think, you’re not the master of me all the time, Gabriel.”

  Ominous silence overtook the call. My devil-may-care attitude wilted the slightest bit. Not surprisingly, my excitement also ratcheted up.

  I need this.

  “Is that so?” Gabriel drawled. “Are you sure you want to take that tact with me, baby?”

  My heartbeat quickened. I took a wide left, having no real idea of where I was but also not caring. I thoroughly enjoyed taunting the beast beneath the exquisitely civilized wrapper that Gabriel Gordon wore so effortlessly. I bet each defiant sentence I tossed his way stripped another piece.

  Unfortunately, it was taking too long. I wanted to unleash him completely.

  “Sure is. I’m in my space, not yours. So my space, my rules.”

  “I see.”

  I imagined Gabriel’s inflexible posture belying his feather-soft voice. I wanted him with me and it didn’t seem like it would happen fast enough.

  Come on. Come on.

  He spoke again, this time with purring confidence. “You don’t want that.”

  “Don’t I?”

  “No, you don’t. I know what you want.”

  “Oh, I don’t think you do, Gabriel.”

  Please, please do though. I’d love it so much if you did know exactly what I need tonight.

  “You have five minutes to pull over and wait for me to come get you, Emma. If you do, I’ll forget this happened and we can make brownies and watch one of your non-chick-flick movies—”

  “You have a sweet tooth, you know that?”

  “Don’t. Interrupt. Me. Again.”

  I wanted to press my thighs together really tight and goad him into dominating me further using just that tone. Hell, I wanted to pull over and rub myself to completion as he growled more explicit commands.

  I wonder what would happen if I did just that? Would Gabriel forgive me faster if I came with him listening on the phone?

  “Do you understand, Emma?”

  Making a hard U-turn, I followed a sign pointing me back towards the interstate.

  “Answer me. Now.”

  Oh God. If he keeps talking to me like that I’ll come without even having to touch myself.

  “I heard you, Gabriel. I’m not deaf you know.”

  Something slammed hard on the other end. I imagined his hand throbbed badly. His voice dropped into a steady, calm murmur. “What has gotten into you? No bullshit. Tell me now before I really lose my temper.”

  Maybe I was pushing too far? I wanted Gabriel to play with me, not go mental.

  “I’m not going to pull over.”

  “Emma, goddamnit!”

  “Find me.”

  A tense pause and then, “Find you.”

  “Yes, Gabriel. Find me. No cheating. Just you and me.”

  “You know I’m not going to call them off.”

  “I know.” The entrance ramp approached. I merged into traffic quickly. “I don’t want you to call them off. I just want you to not use them for intel.”

  “The easier I find you, the quicker you get what you want.”

  “Who said I wanted easy and since when did you ever want that too, Gabriel?”

  A tense pause before “I find you then what?”

  I imagined the intense concentration s
hifting the hue of his eyes to glorious sapphire. “If you find me—”

  “When I find you. I’ll always find you, Emma. I already told you that.”

  “Yes, I remember. Perhaps I just want to see you prove it.”

  “Perhaps?”

  My shoulders relaxed once I heard the notes of his tone change again. Humor returned which meant Gabriel finally caught onto me and what this was really all about. My brilliant lover typically lived his life five steps ahead, a trait I admired the longer I spent time with him. Too bad I’d stymied his brilliance with my questionable tactics.

  I affected his behavior, made him lose focus. I wonder if he’ll hold that against me.

  “Are you still there?”

  Shaking myself from my scattered thoughts, I answered. “No, not perhaps. I do want you to prove it.”

  “What brought this on, Emma?”

  My manic driving ended. I reverted back to the safe conscientious driver I’d always been. “I just want to play a bit, Gabriel. Push your buttons and be bad.”

  “But you’re not a bad girl.”

  “Says who?”

  He chuckled. “Very well. What are your rules? No surveillance, but what else?”

  “You have three hours to find me.”

  “Unacceptable. Two.”

  “Fine. Two hours.”

  “You’ll also check in with me every 30 minutes, Emma.”

  “Why?”

  “For a clue, of course.”

  “Clue? I thought you were a clever boy.”

  “I am clever. You also have the advantage over me in that you have a whole city to hide in.”

  “True.” I decided on my first destination and kept an eye out for the approaching exit. “Okay. You can call twice an hour for a clue.”

  “For a total of four.”

  “Deal. FYI—they won’t be long.”

  “Fair enough.”

  His capitulation belatedly roused the skeptic in me. “You don’t have my cell phone tapped or anything like that, do you?”

  “No.”

  “Wait. Do you have me chipped?”

  Gabriel laughed long and loud. “Nothing like that. At least not yet.” His voice took a musing quality. “Although, if I collared you I could have that chipped. You’d never be lost again. What do you think?”

  “Err, no. Not that it doesn’t sound sexy, Gabriel, but I don’t want to explain to everyone and their mother as to why I’m wearing a collar.”

  “Oh, too bad. Society once again thwarts my plans of Emma domination.”

  My exit came up. I squeezed on and then had to wait for the slow eek of traffic. “If you don’t find me—”

  “Which won’t happen.”

  Clearing my throat loudly, I started again. “If you don’t find me after two hours, then I go home. Alone. You won’t be able to see me until tomorrow.”

  “Emma, that sounds like a punishment for you as well.”

  I smirked. “Then find me and it won’t be. Are you ready to play, Gabriel?”

  “We already are.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I mean, are you ready for your clue?”

  “Sure. I estimate I’m only about ten minutes behind you.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “Because I’ve already left the office.”

  Closing my mouth with an audible “click”, I worried I’d be caught before I really got a chance to run.

  “Pizza and cinnamon rolls.”

  Gabriel hummed a bit. “That’s a rather tiny clue, don’t you think?”

  “Hey, you didn’t specify the length.”

  “My failing obviously. No matter. I’m on my way.”

  His confidence shook mine. “You’re so sure you know where I’m at?”

  “I know where you’ll be. See you soon, Emma.”

  The call ended before I got a chance to say anything else. Traffic wasn’t moving any faster than when I exited. It would probably take another ten minutes for me to reach the intersection which would only leave me twenty minutes before Gabriel called me again.

  I better stick to this point and plan my next one better.

  Time cycled through. Eventually I pulled into the mall parking lot. Hurriedly I made my way inside, neatly bypassing a major department store’s impressive makeup counter intact and without being accosted by a well-meaning sales associate.

  Jittery and on edge, I checked my watch, feeling the noose of time tighten. Gabriel, even if he managed to guess where I was the first time, would still get stuck on the entrance ramp just like I did.

  Unless he went a different way.

  No, that would require him already knowing which direction I was headed. He wouldn’t know that unless he asked and Gabriel knows that’s against the rules.

  Still, when did Gabriel ever play by the rules?

  I fished out my phone. This time he was the one who answered with a cheerful, “Yes?”

  “You’re going to follow the rules, right?”

  “Emma, I’m hurt! Really!”

  “Okay, okay. I shouldn’t have asked.”

  “And?”

  “And what?”

  Gabriel drawled, “I’m waiting for my apology. My feelings are tender, baby. I need reassurance. Honest.”

  How could I not laugh and humor him? “I’m sorry.”

  He sniffed. “As far as apologies go that one could use a lot of work. Still, I am in a forgiving mood. Apologies accepted, Emma.”

  “You’re so generous, Sir.” Gabriel reacted as I hoped.

  “Oh, you are such a naughty little cat,” he groaned softly. “I simply can’t wait until I catch you.”

  Pausing at a store window, I wondered if Gabriel would like the jeans displayed on the mannequin. “You know there’s a strong possibility you won’t catch me at all tonight.”

  “And the sky might fall on our heads as well. Anything is possible but not likely.”

  “True.” I glanced at my watch. “I’m going to let you go for now. Until your next clue, Gabriel.”

  I could hear the smile in his voice. “Until then, baby.”

  I didn’t have much time until Gabriel called me back. I hoped I could find his pants size before then. And maybe a black shirt to go along it?

  Thankfully I didn’t have any problem finding what I looked for and I paired it with a gorgeous pinstriped shirt. I couldn’t wait until I gave my gift to Gabriel. He’d showered me with so many presents that I wanted to return the favor, even if it was just a little. With bag in hand, I was just skirting the edge of the food court when my phone rang.

  “You’re prompt as always, Gabriel.”

  “It’s one of my virtues.” He didn’t immediately ask for a new clue. “What do you like better, Emma? A slice of pizza or a cinnamon bun?”

  My steps faltered. I found refuge by the railing overlooking the lower floor. Making sure my voice didn’t betray me, I answered him lightly. “A cinnamon bun. Do you plan on baking some for me soon?”

  His soft chuckle had me biting my lip in anticipation. “So you admit defeat already.”

  “I did no such thing!”

  “Of course you did. You went from bragging that I wouldn’t catch you tonight to asking me if I planned on feeding you.” He tutted. “Just like a cat—expecting your poor owner to serve dinner after scaring him half out of his wits.”

  “I’m trying to follow you here, Gabriel, and I’m afraid you lost me.”

  “Well, it’s a good thing I haven’t really lost you, isn’t it? By the way, the cinnamon buns are to die for, Emma. Would you like to come over and eat the one I bought for you?”

  My gaze skittered across the enormous food court, searching for his golden head.

  “Close, Emma. No, not there. You’re getting warm…colder…warmer…”

  Suddenly, I locked onto him. Gabriel sat at a table smack in the middle. How I missed him was anyone’s guess. One long leg crossed over the other and an elegant hand holding onto his snack, my lover ra
ised it in acknowledgment.

  “How did you know where to find me?”

  “The clue you gave me. Duh.”

  “But it was a terrible clue, Gabriel.”

  “I know but I’m just that good. What’s in the bag, Emma? Something for me I hope?”

  I watched as he uncrossed his legs and pushed the chair in front of him to the side with his highly-polished shoe.

  “Care to join me, love?”

  I took a few steps to the right knowing I was going to need every bit of a head start. “The game isn’t over.”

  “No?”

  “No. You haven’t caught me yet, Gabriel.”

  He stood up fluidly. “Then I’ll take care to remedy that.”

  Instinct took hold of me. I ended the call, turned around, and fled—civilly. Taking care not to run and get held up by security, I picked up my walking speed considerably. The mall crowd was thin, making me an easy target. Still, I couldn’t resist looking over my shoulder.

  Gabriel strolled along, perhaps thirty feet behind me. His hands were in the pockets of his overcoat and he looked like a man without a care in the world. Even so, I could see the intensity of his striking gaze as it stared into mine. Gabriel blew me a kiss and then started whistling as his pace slowed further.

  He’s so confident he’s already won. So am I.

  I nearly forfeited. There was something incredibly erotic about having my lover play with me like this. Hide and seek had much to commend it when the end resulted in me being caught by someone with the face of angel but the libido of a devil.

  Don’t want it to be over just yet.

  I increased my pace and took a turn down a corridor and ducked into a store, close enough to the front to see if Gabriel took the bait but far back enough to not be immediately seen.

  Making my way through the clothes racks, I hoped the salesgirl wouldn’t choose to acknowledge me right when Gabriel walked by. Heartbeat strong in my throat, I barely waited each second out like it was an eternity.

  Soon my patience was rewarded.

  Gabriel’s tall, broad-shouldered body passed by, pace quickening the further away it got from me. I waited a scattering of moments before popping out of the store and going the other way. I’d just entered the department store I was parked closest to when I saw Gabriel turn and look my way.

  I sped through the aisles and slipped through the door in less than a minute. My palms dampened as I imagined Gabriel bearing down on me. Although I wanted to escape this round, I really couldn’t wait until he captured me.