Michael's Awakening

by Jaclyn Osborn

  Grabbing onto his tie, I pulled him inside and started kissing him. He kicked the door closed once he was inside, not breaking our lip-lock.

  Giggling, I pulled back to look up at him. “I missed you,” I said and laid my head on his chest, still looking up at him.

  His eyes softened. “I missed you, too. You have no idea how much.” Kissing my forehead, he wrapped his arms around me, holding me snugly against him as we stood by the door.

  “Why don’t you show me how much you missed me?” I wiggled my eyebrows at him.

  “Don’t tempt me, Angel,” he growled seductively.

  Reaching my hands down, I cupped the large bulge in his pants and smiled. “We can be quiet. It can be like we’re teenagers trying not to get caught by our parents.”

  He raised an eyebrow at me. “Something tells me you have experience with that type of thing.”

  I winked at him and began stroking my long, acrylic fingernail up and down his thigh teasingly. I was a horny little beast and I wanted my Sir Knight to devour me. Also, I was a little tipsy and that always revved up my libido. Trailing my hand from his thigh, I started stroking along his groin, smiling when he released another growl.

  Leaning down, he captured my lips with his and began leading me toward the couch. When we reached the couch, he softly pushed me back on the cushions and got on top of me, his large, muscular body laid deliciously over mine. I wrapped my arms around him and leaned up to kiss his throat as my hands snaked up and down his spine. His light stubble tickled my face as I kissed his neck and his jaw. I loved it. He was all man and all mine.

  “You make me fucking crazy, Gabriel,” he purred in my ear.

  “The feeling is mutual.” I ran my nose along his jaw and nipped at him with my teeth as I moved my hands to his waist. He sat back a little so I could reach between us and remove his black belt, slinging it to the floor. My hands eagerly worked at the button and zipper of his pants, trying to get him naked as soon as possible.

  Michael’s chest softly rumbled as he chuckled. “Someone is a little impatient.”

  “Yes, I am,” I said as I finally got his pants undone and started sliding them off him. Grabbing at Michael’s boxers, I slid them down just enough to spring his dick free. He inhaled sharply as I licked the palm of my hand and slid it back down his body, reaching his already-oozing dick and stroking him.

  “Fuck, Angel,” he moaned, leaning his head down to nuzzle my neck as I worked him. With a growl, he yanked at my sweatpants and easily slid them down. Halting the movement my hand was creating on him, he grabbed both of our dicks into his hand and began stroking us both off simultaneously. Propping his free arm on the back of the couch for balance, he leaned over me and jerked us faster.

  “Michael,” I moaned as I shoved my head back into the couch cushion and thrust my hips upward. “Fuck me.”

  Stopping the tugging of our dicks, Michael sat back on his knees and flipped me over with ease. Leaning forward, he kissed each of my shoulder blades and ran a hand down my spine. I shivered as goosebumps prickled along my skin at his gentle caress. Straightening himself back up, he started kneading the globes of my ass with one hand and took his other to start working my hole. The tight muscles clenched at his contact, but he gradually started getting them to relax.

  “Mmmm,” I moaned and lifted my ass more in the air to give him greater access. “I’m ready, just fuck me.” I was so horny, I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed him now.

  “I don’t want to hurt you, Angel,” he uttered as he continued working my ass.

  “You won’t,” I answered breathlessly. I positioned myself to where I was on my hands and knees, reached behind me and tugged him closer.

  “Woah, slow down there,” Michael said in a gravelly voice. “I need to get some lube and a condom first.”

  I smiled, even though I was sexually frustrated. Even in the midst of a lustful haze, Michael was still responsible. Once he was lubed up and had a condom, he grabbed my hips and positioned himself at my entrance. I bit my lip in anticipation.

  “I want it hard and fast,” I confessed, surprising myself.

  “We have to be sneaky teenagers, remember,” he said with a short chuckle that fell off into a groan when he slowly penetrated me.

  “I’ll just have to bite the pillow then, won’t I?” I grinned and then gasped as he slammed into me.

  “Fuck, Michael!”

  “Shh, baby.” Leaning forward, he grabbed my throat, pulling me up and against his chest as he crashed into me from behind. Short breaths left me with each thrust he gave. Tilting my head back against him, I moaned, loving the way he felt gliding in and out of me. When he quickened his pace, I fell back to my hands and knees and had to bite my tongue to stop myself from releasing another loud whimper.

  With each swift pump Michael gave me, I felt my heart and soul become more his, forever tying us together both in body and spirit. He was mine, and I was his. Forever. And as my release shattered through me, the full depth of my love for him came crashing down upon me, leaving me completely consumed and forever changed.

  I knew I loved Michael, but the feeling gripping my heart and entwining within my soul transformed my love for him into something much deeper. I loved him for everything he was, even the darkness. We had become one. Finally, I understood the words my father had once told me about the love he had for my mother. About how even after she passed, she still held the missing part of his heart and soul that he could never give to another person.

  Michael would forever hold that piece of me. Eternally.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Michael

  Sitting in court that Monday morning, I bounced my leg anxiously as the jury deliberated their verdict. My colleague, Richard, really helped me out with this case. The evidence he found for me had been previous assault charges by the defendant, Gary Reynolds, when he was younger. Within one of those charges, there had also been evidence of a sexual assault on a younger woman. Charges were dropped on the former assault on the woman because she decided last minute not to proceed further with the case, but it was still buried within Reynolds’ record. That evidence was enough to corroborate the accusation against Reynolds, showing that he had a history toward violent behavior and abuse.

  There was also evidence that his daughter had been having night terrors for the past few months and started seeing a counselor because of them. Those records, along with the testimony of an expert witness, alleged that the daughter was suffering from some traumatic event in her life that fit with the typical symptoms of a child who had been abused. The son also had a record of typical abuse victim behavior. His teacher from school testified that the boy was lashing out during class and experienced random outbursts of anger; behavior he had not displayed previously.

  I knew that feeling all too well.

  The prosecution had offered the defendant a plea bargain before the trial due to the amount of evidence against him, but the idiot refused and demanded a jury trial. Therefore, he got one.

  Out of the two children, only the boy had testified against their father in court, but his testimony was a powerful one. Probably one of the most impacting victim testimonies I ever witnessed. When the defense attorney cross-examined the boy, if anything, it made his testimony more fool-proof. That bastard Reynolds didn’t stand a chance. The jury was going to send his ass away for a long time.

  At least, I hoped.

  When the jury returned and announced their verdict, I breathed a sigh of relief. Guilty. Looking over at the mother of the two children, she nodded her head at me and mouthed ‘thank you’ as tears streamed down her face. It was moments like those that I lived for in this profession. Justice was served and another psycho was off the streets.

  Grabbing my suitcase, I walked out of the courthouse. It was only a few days until Christmas and the weather was definitely reflecting that fact. I pulled my jacket tighter against me and walked to my car as the relentless cold stabbed into me. Finally sh
ielded from the wind, I sat in my car and pulled out my cell phone. It was just past two o’clock in the afternoon so Gabriel would still be at work.

  Tapping my thumbs on the steering wheel, I thought of what to do for the next few hours. Going back to my office was out of the question, I’d go batshit crazy if I had to work on anything else that involved legal issues. My brain was fried. Maybe do some shopping? I already purchased Gabriel’s Christmas gifts, but he could always use a few more, right? I knew I was probably going overboard with it, but I never had anyone to buy gifts for before. Gabriel told me not to spend a lot of money on him; however, I let his words go in one ear and out the other. What was the point of having extra money, if I couldn’t spend it on the person I loved?

  Even though Gabriel was Mr. Glam and Fabulous, I knew that my bank account had no interest for him. He loved me for me and money wasn’t a motivating factor for him.

  I needed him like the air I needed to fill my lungs, and I knew he felt the same way about me.

  Having an idea, I smiled and started driving to his beauty shop. When I arrived, I entered the shop and looked around for his gorgeous ass.

  “Oh my God! What did you do?” I heard Gabriel squeal from the back of the store.

  I smirked. There he was.

  Walking to the hair salon area in the back of the shop, I saw Gabriel talking to a woman whose hair was a mucus green color. I winced. Damn, that must suck for her.

  The woman brought her hands up and covered her face. “I know! It’s awful! That’s what I get for trying to dye it myself. Can you fix it, please?” She removed her hands from her face and looked up at Gabriel with a desperate gleam in her eyes.

  “Honey.” Gabriel shook his head and pointed to the salon chair. “Have a seat. Let’s see what I can do.”

  I smiled as I watched him work. He really was a great beautician. His bubbly personality and genuine care for the people around him made him a real joy to be around. Even though he could be a little firecracker with a punch of sass, he possessed the biggest heart of anyone I knew and I would do anything to keep him safe.

  As Gabriel tried to work miracles on the green-haired monster in the chair, I took a look around the store. There were aisles upon aisles of beauty products, with a makeup station in the center of the shop, and a hair salon in the back. Gabriel worked both the hair and the makeup stations, depending on what the customer wanted.

  “Can I help you with something?” A friendly-sounding voice asked from behind me. Turning around, I saw a tall woman with medium length, wavy, brown hair and blonde highlights looking at me with a smile on her face.

  “No, thank you. I’m Gabriel’s boyfriend.” It felt odd referring to him as my boyfriend. He felt like so much more than that. “I was just—“

  She cut me off, “Oh, you’re Michael!” She stuck her hand out for a shake. “I’m Kaylee, his manager. He’s talked about you so much, I wondered if I was ever going to be able to finally meet you.”

  “He’s told me about you as well.” I smiled and shook her offered hand. “From what he’s told me, you two seem more like friends than a typical manager-employee relationship.”

  She smiled a warm smile. “Yeah, I’ve known him since he was going through beauty school and right when he got his license, I offered him the job here. He’s a great guy. Everyone around the store adores him.”

  Looking over at Gabriel, my stomach fluttered. “Yes, he is.” He was currently putting foil in the woman’s hair and both of them were smiling as they chatted. His smile was contagious and I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. Mine.

  Once the teal color he put into his blond hair had begun to fade, he replaced it with bright purple highlights. Him and the color purple– I shook my head and smiled.

  “Did you guys ever figure out who damaged his car?” Kaylee asked.

  I turned back to her and shook my head. “No, since there were no witnesses or security footage, there wasn’t much the police could do. There weren’t even any fingerprints on the car to trace. Looks like the bastard who did it got off lucky.” I clenched my jaw at the thought.

  Kaylee crossed her arms and sighed. “Well, since that incident, I raised hell until they put a damn security camera back there. I can’t have shit like that happen again. I know it doesn’t help Gabe any, but at least now if something happens again, the person will have a bigger chance of getting caught.”

  “True,” I nodded to her, not knowing what else to say.

  “You know that not everyone is like that, right?”

  I looked at her, confused. “Like what?”

  “Against gays. I know a lot of people in the area who fully support gay rights.” She smiled at me and continued, “Sure, there are still the homophobic assholes out there, but times are slowly changing. I’m a Christian woman, but it’s not my place to pass judgment on anybody. The Bible says to love thy neighbor and all that jazz and that’s the preaching that I live by.” She moved her hands wildly as she talked, and I fought to control my smile. Gabriel did that all of the time. Continuing on, Kaylee said, “Customers that used to complain about Gabriel working here have actually grown to like him, once they got to know him. I mean, look at the darling. Who couldn’t like him?” She nodded her head toward Gabriel and we both looked over at him. He had one hand covering his mouth as he giggled at whatever the woman in the salon chair had told him.

  My heart melted.

  Kaylee went on, “I said all of that, to say this: you have more support than you know. Don’t let a few bigoted morons drive you guys away, okay?”

  “Okay.” I smiled at her. It was people like her who really gave me hope for humanity and showed me that not everyone was the same.

  “Damn, I guess I better get back to work.” She patted me on the arm. “It was nice talking to you, Michael. Don’t be a stranger. Come back around again.” She gave me one last smile and then went to assist a few customers at the front of the store.

  Glancing back over at Gabriel, he was leaning against the counter with his hands on his hips. The woman in the chair had her entire hair tin foiled and had her head under a huge dryer machine. Smiling, I approached my angel.

  When he looked up and saw me, his entire face lit up. “Michael!” He squealed excitedly and ran over to me. “What are you doing here? I thought you had court today.”

  Wrapping my arms around him, I gave him a light kiss on his lips and looked down into his stunning eyes. “I just got out of court. And the jury convicted him.”

  I smiled as Gabriel bounced up and down happily. “Congrats, baby! I knew you would win.” After kissing my cheek, he rested his head on my shoulder. His lavender scent enveloped me as I held him close, putting me at ease.

  Every time I had to be away from him, even if it was just for a few hours, it was like a part of me went missing. Then when I finally saw him again, it was like that missing piece had finally found its way back home.

  Remembering where we were, I released my hold on him and pulled back slightly.

  “You’re at work, Princess. Don’t want to get you in trouble.” I winked down at him and he rolled his pale, blue eyes. “I want to take you out tonight. It can be a celebration for the win of my case.”

  Gabriel smiled and batted his eyelashes. “Where are you going to take me?”

  “Well,” I reached out and grabbed his hand, needing to feel his touch. “We can go to our restaurant for dinner and then the Fort Smith Symphony is performing a Christmas production this evening at the Opera House, so I thought we could go to that afterward.” Since our first date, the restaurant Ambrosia had become ‘our restaurant.’ The cheesy Greek theme had actually grown on me, not to mention the food really was the best food around.

  Gabriel gasped. “Yes! I’d love to. I thought the tickets were sold out to the Symphony, though.”

  I smirked at him.

  Realization lit his pale eyes. “You already bought the tickets, didn’t you?’

  Nodding, I answered, “Y
es, I bought them right when they went on sale.”

  Scrunching his brow, he looked to be contemplating something. “So, you bought them two weeks ago?” When I nodded, he gave me a breathtaking smile. “You are too amazing. You didn’t even know if there was going to be anything to celebrate two weeks ago.”

  “Princess, with you, there is always a reason to celebrate. You are mine. That’s more than enough for me.”

  His eyes watered and he stepped forward to wrap his arms around me, not caring that there were other people around that could see us. I didn’t care either. I loved the beautiful man in my arms and I didn’t give a damn who saw us.

  “I love you, Michael.” He kissed my chest and rested his head against me.

  “I love you, too, Angel. Forever.”

  ***

  Walking into Ambrosia later that evening, I had my arm at the small of Gabriel’s back as we approached the hostess table. We had become regular customers, so the staff knew us well.

  “Mr. Kingston! Welcome back, sir,” the hostess, named Jennifer, greeted us. “Follow me, your table is ready.”

  Gabriel leaned into me as we walked to our table and I tightened my arm around his small waist. He was wearing a black, lace corset top with a red jacket pulled over it, black skinny jeans, and red stiletto heels. To top it all off, he wore a red lipstick covering his full, seductive lips and I couldn’t keep my damn eyes off of him. Arriving at our usual booth, the one we sat in on our first date, I guided Gabriel to his seat and then took my own across from him.

  “Your server will be right with you,” Jennifer informed us and started to walk away.

  “Is Jackson working tonight?” Gabriel asked before she left, causing her to stop and turn around.

  What was my Princess up to?

  “Umm, I believe he is,” she answered. “This is normally his section, so if he is working, you’ll probably see him soon.” Smiling at us, she turned around, after Gabriel thanked her, and walked back to the front of the restaurant.