“He is lonely and wants to have friends.” Gabby could see into a person’s heart far more clearly than Nick. The hardships she faced during her childhood and well into her adulthood made her more sympathetic and attuned to judging others.
“Of course, he has friends.”
“Hardly,” she said. “The people he hangs out with are all artist types and he likes them, but they are not his buddies. Maybe we should invite him over for dinner one day.”
He shrugged. “Alright, if that’s what you want. He is harmless enough.”
The normalcy of her conversation with Nick, the sheer joy of doing something as ordinary as being able to invite a friend over for dinner, overwhelmed Gabby at the oddest of times. She just couldn’t get over the freedom she enjoyed and the simple life that she lived. For years, she believed that she didn’t deserve it, that she would never have it, and now it was a gift that she cherished with all her heart. When they reached the door of their house, Nick opened the door and they strode in.
Home sweet home.
This was also another long cherished dream that somehow came true. During her years of enslavement, she never dared to imagine that one day she would share a house with another person. Whenever she entered this place, Gabby was filled with a sense of happiness that lifted her spirit. If she ever had to leave this life and Nick, she would be devastated.
The thought was enough to make her tremble, but she pushed it away. Gabby was determined to live in the moment. Nothing else mattered except her happiness with Nick, and she wouldn’t let her doubts ruin it.
After stowing the gear in his shed outside, Nick came back in. She was fiddling with the pots and pans in the kitchen. “I’d planned to cook the fish, but since we don’t have any, I’m going to make chicken.” She ignored his groan as he sauntered forward. “And maybe we could have pecan pie with it.”
Encircling her waist with his arms, he nuzzled against her neck. She bathed in the glory of his love. It felt wonderful. It felt divine. When she turned in his arms, and their lips fused together, her fingers speared through his silky hair. This felt good. Their tongues twisted in an erotic dance that lasted for a long time. She tasted the recesses of his mouth as if she explored them for the first time. Passion stirred in her nerves.
He raised his head and glanced at her. His green eyes glittered like jewels. “Bedroom first.”
She laughed. “And who is going to cook?”
He swept her off her feet and strode towards the bedroom. “We’ll order in.”
Even after all this time, their passion for each other hadn’t dimmed. It felt glorious to be so wanted, so needed. What else could she ask for? Gabby put her arms around his neck as he marched on. He playfully tossed her onto the bed. As he stood staring at her, sweat dampened her palms as she tried to fight the desire that undulated inside her body. After all this time, the need should’ve dulled, but instead each time, she felt it was stronger than ever before.
Passion, untamed and powerful, coiled in his eyes. She remained rooted to her bed as he yanked off his shirt and threw it on the floor. She’d seen the sight many times, but it never failed to elicit a response. The hard muscles on his chest rippled, and she longed to run her hands over his sleek, sexy body. Lust, wild and explosive, careened through her veins as she drank in the sight of his gorgeous body.
Her arousal was instantaneous. Moisture leaked down her thighs as her pussy, warm and soft, opened like a flower in anticipation of what was to come. Through the thin material of her shirt, she felt her nipples stiffen. They ached for his touch. It was almost as if she’d never had him. This was just like the first time they made love. The desire, the need, and the yearning were all the same. Her gaze remained fixed on his as she took off her shirt and threw it as his feet. He unbuttoned his trousers and allowed them to drop on the rug along with his boxers. Gabby’s tongue darted out to moisten her lips as she enjoyed the view with an unabashed enthusiasm. His face was beautiful but so was his body. Her gaze feasted on the muscles that rippled on his chest and on his stomach and then traveled to his cock that stood proud and hard, a testament to his burning need.
When he strode forward, she didn’t have the energy to shift away. Instead, she lay down on the bed and waited for him to join. She longed to feel his skin scrape over his, and to have his arms encircle her waist, and his hard angles press against her soft curves. When he joined her on the bed, his gaze took in her flushed face and her breasts that heaved with each breath. His mouth descended on a swollen nipple and took it in his mouth. A moan of pleasure escaped her lips as she arched her body, overwhelmed with the sea of sensations that undulated inside her. His tongue flicked and swirled over her engorged nipple, and Gabby buckled under the sweet assault. It felt as if her whole body was on fire. She writhed under him as he shifted from one breast to another, his attention fixed and focused on her twin mounds. His tongue invoked a burning need to have him pound into her with each stroke.
But he appeared determined to take his time.
Everything Nick did was deliberate and powerful. He didn’t believe in half-measures. Knowing that she was in for a long, hard ride, Gabby trailed a line down his torso until she found his throbbing shaft. Her fingers curled around it and experimentally, she pumped. The result of it was that he doubled his efforts on her breasts. His tongue stroked and fondled, caressed and rubbed, until she was a twisting, squirming mass of frayed nerves. Her hand slipped off his cock and she clenched the sheets in a bid to control her movements, but it was of no avail.
His fingers glided down her taut, hard stomach while his lips remained fused on her nipple. When he parted the curls that guarded her velvety, moist center, her legs shifted to grant him better access. She clutched his shoulders as he inserted one finger inside the lips of her pussy. Lust enveloped her mind and all sane thoughts escaped. He stroked in and out and she thrust her hips forward in an unconscious gesture to find blessed release. For a long time, he continued to pleasure her, and each gentle stroke brought her closer and closer to the steep cliff that waited for her to slip down. Gabby wanted to wait for him to join her, but the thirst for release was so great, so terrible, that she couldn’t pause to think. When his thumb pressed down on her clit, the orgasm that rippled through her was unrelenting.
A loud scream burst out of her mouth as her body jerked. He removed his finger and waited for her to bring her shuddering muscles back in control. It took a while for her to pull herself together. His leg covered hers as he kissed her. While the first kiss was slow and gentle, this one was a crescendo of sensations. Their tongues danced in a vicious, desperate dance that invoked the fire within her once more. Desire began to glide in her veins. She ran her hands over the smooth skin of his back, enjoying the way his ripples under her fingers. When their mouth parted, she nibbled her way down the smooth column of his throat to the place where a pulse beat with a frantic urgency.
Suddenly, Gabby pulled away.
She wanted more.
As he moaned in protest, she glided down his body until she found his quivering cock. Gabby inhaled deeply to take in the musky scent of his arousal. When he parted his legs, she rubbed her tongue over his balls and felt them tremble. She licked the tip of his penis and felt him shudder. For a while, she enjoyed making him quiver under her as she ran her tongue all over his organ. Opening her mouth, she took the shaft deep inside. It felt good to feel him throb deep inside her throat.
She rubbed and fondled his cock, stroking in and out, feeling the pressure build inside him. It felt good to hold the reins of control even if it was for a little while. But just as she thought he was about to come, he pulled his penis out.
“No!” she groaned.
“There is more, babe,” he muttered.
Quickly, he turned her around and straddled her. As he positioned his cock over her wet pussy, she sucked in a deep breath of air. Once more, a yearning built in her gut. She craved the release that would free her from this exquisite torture. As sh
e thrust up her hips to receive him, he cleaved right through her. In an instant, they were joined in the most intimate manner possible. He rammed into her with force and his pelvic bone ground into hers. She relished each thrust and stroke as he brought her closer and closer to the end.
She wrapped her legs around his hips and made him a prisoner of her own desire. Her hands clenched on his shoulders. On some level she was aware that moans and groans escaped her lips as she matched his rhythm, but Gabby couldn’t stop the flow of noises that came out of her mouth. She was too far gone to care.
Every nerve and vein in her body was a mass of raw sensations. It was impossible to think. All she needed was freedom from this desperate, racing need that ate her alive. As he pounded into her over and over again, fountain of passion and wild need rippled and coiled through her body. They rocked in unison as her hips moved in a piston-like movement to match his speed.
Perhaps she had died and gone to heaven and this was her reward. Whatever it was, she wanted this to go on forever – and yet she wanted it to end soon.
When the release sizzled through her veins, she cried out from the sheer pleasure of it. Her toes curled and her legs shuddered and trembled. As if he’d been waiting for this moment, he spilled his seed inside her and for a long time, they lay still, quiet and happy.
If there was a heaven on earth, she’d found it.
Gabby didn’t want anything in her life to be different. All the heartache that she suffered and every pain that she endured led her to this magnificent man and to this beautiful moment. She didn’t want anything else. All her wishes were fulfilled. If she died now, she would drift into happy oblivion.
Nick’s mouth nibbled over her throat. “I love you, babe,” he muttered.
Her heart pounded with the delicious pleasure of hearing those words. He said it often, and he meant them. That was all that mattered to her. How could she ever desire anything else? Her fingers stroked through his soft hair. “I love you too.”
A while ago, she couldn’t have said the words because she didn’t know if she had the power to commit to anyone, but Nick made her see that she was worth loving and it was alright to risk her heart. He taught her to take chances. For him, she would do anything. And yet the beauty of it was that he didn’t desire anything from her. All he wanted was to make her happy, and with time and patience, he achieved that goal.
As they rested together, Gabby’s thought stilled and settled. No woman was as lucky as her. Whatever happened next, she would have the courage to face it because she was bathed in the beauty of his love and it gave her the strength to deal with all the pain that might come her way.
Gabby was prepared for everything – but little did she know that what headed her way was worse than death, worse than anything she ever experienced before – and there was no guarantee that she would survive the impact of it.
CHAPTER THREE
Nick carried the basket down to the bank of the river where Gabby was lying on the picnic mat that she spread under the willow tree. It was a nice, secluded spot, and the branches of the tree bent to touch the rushing water of the river. As she watched him, her heart swelled with love. This was just one of those ordinary, perfect moments when everything looked fresh and cool. The decision to come for a picnic was made on the spot of a moment on a lazy Sunday. Before Nick came to her life, she got few chances to experience such delights, but now they were a regular part of her life.
She could imagine spending her life with him, taking pleasure in these extraordinary mundane events. A picnic was a feast and watching a movie a momentous event, just because she was with him. As he put the basket down, she smiled.
Her heart clenched with pleasure. “Hey, you look like a Greek Goddess, or perhaps one of those mythical fairies that one reads about.”
“You’re a romantic.”
“I wasn’t before I met you.” He joined her on the mat. Digging into the basket, he drew out a bottle of white wine. “You’ve changed me, Gabby.”
“All in good ways, I hope.”
He poured her a glass and handed it over. “Of course, my love.”
As she took the glass from his hand, she saw his gaze sweep over the river. She was still uncomfortable with the idea of love. For her, it was a big deal. For him, perhaps, it was just a normal admission of the way he felt. Even though she said the words, apprehension clenched her with each utterance. In her heart, she expected their relationship to end one day. It was her greatest fear. Even after all this time, she wasn’t quite ready to believe in happy endings.
Perhaps, given enough time, she would lose all the fear that gripped her.
He lay down beside her. “How did your meeting go?”
She’d set up an appointment to meet her study counselor the day before. Gabby was really proud of the way she was taking charge of her education. Initially, she was hesitant about the idea of finishing her high school but now she was excited about joining college eventually.
“He was very supportive. After talking to the board, he is going to put me on an accelerated advance course and I might be able to finish my high school diploma by the end of next year,” she said in a voice that was enthusiastic. “He is already talking about college and wanted to know if I had anything special in mind.”
“Do you?”
She sat and drank some wine. A gentle breeze speared through his hair. Desire undulated in her stomach at the heady sight. Anything and everything he did aroused her. It wasn’t just lust, of course, but she enjoyed the fact that he could reduce her to such a state with his presence alone.
“I’m not sure. But maybe…hotel management,” she admitted. Sometimes she couldn’t believe that she had the nerve to make such plans. A year ago, she wouldn’t have harbored such dreams, but Nick gave her the confidence to believe in her abilities.
“Really? I can see you sitting behind a desk, ordering people about, or perhaps bustling through the lobby of a hotel, taking notes, and setting things right. You can do anything you set your mind on, babe. The world is your oyster,” he said.
As always, he boosted her confidence. “It seems very daunting at times. I don’t know if I would have the courage or the stamina to pursue another four years of college.”
“You can do it. I want you to try and accomplish the goals that you dream about. Life is too short to let things slide. Take charge,” he said in a lazy manner.
“It seems like such an indulgence.”
“It’s a necessity, not because you need to earn the money but because you deserve to fulfill all your desires. Being independent, doing something on your own, that’s important for any person, and you know, sure as hell, I will support you in whatever you want to do.”
She held his hand, squeezed it. “When I was young and swept the floor in the clubhouse, sometimes I used to dream about having my own club. Since I never saw anything else, that was the extent of my ambition. It was kind of cool to imagine myself running a place like that.” She sighed. “I didn’t want to order people about, like Joseph did, but I thought it would be nice to do something on my own.”
She didn’t talk much about her past. It was painful but slowly, she was willing to open up and discuss her fears with him.
“You can do that still. Not a club, but perhaps a store or a boutique,” he suggested.
She waved her hand. “Nah! I think it would be satisfying enough to get a managerial position in a hotel. I could probably start at the lowest level and work my way up. That’s a good learning experience. Perhaps I could do a part-time job along with my college courses,” she mused. Suddenly she laughed. “Sometimes I hear these words that come out of my mouth and I can’t believe that I am even considering these possibilities. It can’t possibly happen.”
“Why not?”
“It’s…I suppose it’s scary to think about the future. Right now, I am just living from day to day. Sure, I am planning ahead but I don’t know if things would work out.”
“They would work
out. You will make this your reality. Gabby, you are smart and hardworking. Nothing should stop you from achieving your dreams.” He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Believe in yourself and you can achieve anything. That’s how I started out and I can tell you with experience that we all have the potential to achieve our dreams if we so desire. What lacks in people is the will to stick with something until it happens. Persistence pays.”
She turned to face him. Her fingers stroked his cheek. “You’re awfully sweet. Sometimes I can’t believe that I ended up with you. This life also seems like a dream, and I am often scared that I will open my eyes and find that I’m in some crummy room alone and all this has been a figment of my overactive imagination.”
He gripped her hand and kissed it. “It’s real, babe. Trust me.”
“I trust you.”
Holding hands, they sat for a while. Gabby took out the sandwiches that she made and they ate while they talked about other things. The weather was lovely. Overhead, a bird twittered as it guarded a nest of young. A squirrel scampered down an elm tree that grew a few feet away, cocked its head and stared at them. Gabby laughed, and startled by the sound of her voice, it bounced away on quick feet.
Outlaw's Wrath - An MC Brotherhood Romance Boxed Set Page 18
