Just as I was getting to the crux of the matter, Johnny buzzed to alert us we were descending and about to land, the seat belt light came on and the skinny steward appeared and sat in the seat opposite.
Feeling my jaw tick with frustration as I clenched my teeth, I knew my adrenaline was beginning to flow. A knot formed deep in my stomach, but I knew I would have to continue the conversation at the cabin because there was no way we could iron everything out in front of a stranger in a brief conversation.
Chloe was going to need time and an uninterrupted flow with no prying eyes, to enable her to disclose all the suppressed personal feelings about our situation. So I let it go and took her hand in mine, lifting it to kiss the back of it.
Glancing back at Chloe, I could still see her confusion. Her stilted smile gave away how nervous she was about opening up and her hesitancy showed me how skittish she was about being in a new relationship. Giving her hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance I said, “No worries Chloe, take your time. We have however long it takes, just promise me this…you won’t just take off without a word.”
CHAPTER 4 - UNBELIEVABLE
Chloe
Thank goodness the cabin bell sounded from the cock-pit. The lanky steward reappeared immediately, checked we had our seatbelts on, then sat down buckling himself into his dropdown seat in readiness for landing. By the look on Gibson’s face, he wanted answers and he wasn’t going to let the topic of Kace drop. Expressing how I felt and what I had to offer wasn’t really easy when I couldn’t articulate what it was that I wanted to say.
One thing was for sure, I was developing feelings for Gibson that I couldn’t afford. Everything about him was pulling me in and all the thoughts whirling around in my brain and the fact that he was drawn to me as well, wasn’t making much sense.
Fantasies I had about Gibson sweeping me off my feet and giving me this happy ever after kept being disrupted when my head still carried vivid images of the fascinating, hypnotizing rock star on stage with fans literally dropping at his feet as others stood with wild expressions of lust and want painted on their faces. That part of Gibson’s world scared me to death.
Other images played heavily on my mind, like ones I had of Gibson the boy/man at nineteen that was screwing every woman that was willing and wore a short skirt for easy access. Those gave me a raw, sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, because I knew those scenes would forever play out in my mind, no matter what happened between us.
Every day I was falling into Gibson a little more. No, if I am honest a lot more and that brought another wave of fresh worries to my mind. Most red blooded women would have stared in disbelief and advised me to get with the program and take all he was willing to give me.
Gibson was a smoking hot rock star who said all the right things and tried so hard to make me feel special. Why? Apart from Gibson’s reputation making me cautious, Kace had once said all those things to me as well, and look at the outcome of that relationship.
Relieved that Gibson didn’t push me for an answer on the plane, I forgot myself and exhaled heavily with relief, but his pointed comment about waiting until we were at the cabin hung between us like stale cigarette smoke. Falling into an awkward silence, Gibson continued to hold my hand tightly and I got the feeling he thought I was going to take off the first chance I got.
Honesty is high on my list of attributes in someone close to me. If I am wrong, I expected to be told and I also expect to be told the truth, even if it hurts. Going with my gut thus far, I had given Gibson a certain degree of trust, but that had been me trying to live in the ‘now.’ Conscious of Gibson’s close scrutiny of me, I became self-aware and tried to smile at him. Gibson eyed me with suspicion and I figured that he didn’t fall for that.
Blocking the past was becoming an acquired skill, but I knew that burying the trauma of what had happened would only make it worse in the long term. Whenever feelings began to surface, I could feel myself shy away from facing anything painful.
The plane taxied to a stop at the gate and the whine of the engine stopped. Rising out of his seat, the cabin steward began preparing for our exit. Gibson unbuckled his belt, stretched, then stood and stretched in front of me again. Mesmerized by his muscles flexing and rippling under his tight bottle green t-shirt, I had a flashback to the time I hid in my campus dorm building watching him make those same actions shirtless after an early morning run.
Fighting my feelings, I lowered my eyes, feeling slightly embarrassed and focused on the small screw that held one of the plane’s paneled walls together to the side of him. Luckily, Johnny opened the cockpit door, taking Gibson’s attention away from me. It was frightening how he could disarm me so easily, so I was thankful for the breathing space.
“Sean, can I get a hand out here?” Johnny waited for Sean to unseal the door and push it open before lowering the stairs with the thick cord. Both men began to descend onto the runway.
Straightening his stance, Gibson bent forward and unbuckled my belt, and took my hands to pull me to stand. “Come here, darlin’ you look like you need a hug.” I did.
Luckily, as we got out of the car Gibson was distracted by Johnny for a moment and I slid into the backseat of the Mercedes saloon car that was waiting for us, noting that Gibson must like Mercedes cars, because this was the second time I’d been in a similar one.
For several minutes I watched the two men talking through the window and judging by the look on Gibson’s face, whatever was being said was vexing him because his brow was bunched and he was talking animatedly, pointing downward as if he was emphasizing each point he was making. Again, I had one of those moments where I couldn’t believe what was happening to me and that Gibson would step forward, open the door and explain that this whole deal between us was a mistake.
Six weeks ago I had been preparing to leave Kace and when I’d had the courage to run away to my new life, there had been no respite to recover emotionally before Gibson came on the scene. Barely recovering from the physical aspects of domestic violence, I knew the mental scars had to take much longer. Time wasn’t the only factor affecting how I was feeling either.
Being around Gibson would take a lot of confidence and mental preparation. Confidence I didn’t have, most of it had been beaten out of me. Would being able to face the press and the loss of my anonymity, be beyond my capability? While I was thinking about all of this, I must have spaced out a bit because I never saw the men conclude their discussion before Gibson slid into the driver’s seat. He turned as the ghost of a smile tugged at his lips but he fought it and stared seriously at me.
“So Chloe, are you going to sit in the back and strip naked for me like a groupie, or are you going to climb up front and sit beside me like a normal girlfriend would do?” Whoa! Girlfriend? The label someone like Gibson with all his bad-boy history was honoring me with was like a shock in the center of my chest and his words made my heartbeat race wildly.
Whatever I had thought was going on between us, Gibson defining it with that title was completely unexpected. Recognizing that he was obviously serious about being with me, I wondered if he’d feel the same once I’d spoken about Kace and he realized what a mess I was.
“Well? What’s it to be?” Gibson had turned his head and was staring at me with a raised eyebrow in question. “Go on Chloe, you already told me you won’t be one of my groupies, so what do you say?”
When I reached for the handle and missed because I was still staring at him in disbelief, his roguish smile played on his lips right before he started to laugh. “Get that sexy ass up in front here, I’m missing you already and I told you I want you beside me.”
Once I was settled in the front again, I was aware of the care Gibson took when he was driving. “You want to put some sounds on?” Reaching over I hit the on button for the radio and “Because of You” by Kelly Clarkson was just starting and as I listened to the words I wondered if they were another omen for me. “Because of you I’m afraid to let anyone else in.”
Nodding, I had to give him something to let him know that I at least wanted to try. “Yes.” Being with Gibson had made me feel alive and although he was straight talking and brash at times, I felt safer with him than with anyone else at that point. I wasn’t sure about trust when I had said yes to him. I doubted whether I’d ever trust anyone again.
My attachment to Gibson was ambivalent. On one hand my heart was already aching because I knew that I could fall so hard for him that I’d never recover. And on the other, my indecision was fuelled by what happened in the past and would affect how we were around each other.
“Fuck Chloe, you’re doing it again. What does yes mean?” Gibson had turned to face me, his scowling eyes ticking over me with a worried look on his face as traffic whizzed past us on the busy freeway. Luckily, we had blacked out windows and the world couldn’t see who was in the car or he’d have been mobbed.
“Yes Gibson, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but yes, I do want to take a chance on—” Gibson’s eye brows shot up as his eyes checked me out then his lips crushed mine before I could finish the sentence. When he broke the kiss he was slightly breathless and looked relieved. Smiling that sexy panty-dropping smile of his, Gibson made my heart melt and for a moment I he made me feel like I’d given him the stars.
“Damn, you’re smarter than I thought you were. You won’t regret it. All of me…that’s what you’ll get, darlin’, no fucking half measures…I promise. You’ll have to travel with me, but after the tour I’m taking a month off. I’m not letting you go anywhere without me. We’re taking a month off. And I’ve already told Lennox we’re scaling back. I’m tired and I need to find time for the causes I want to support, besides I’ve met this new girl and I’m really into her, ya know?”
Glancing quickly at him I saw a look that I can only describe as embarrassment, an unusual look on Gibson and it elevated him to an even sexier status in my mind. “Sorry Chloe, of course I need to fit some stuff around what you want to do. That sounded selfish, me going on like that, but I was only thinking out loud about what Lennox and I spoke about before you came on the scene.”
“Mm-hm, glad you said that, Gibson, you may just have redeemed yourself towards the end of that little speech right there.” Smiling at him I could see he was mulling over what I said but he didn’t respond.
Turning to face the front, he pressed the button to start the car and began to drive again. Then indicating, he gave his full attention to setting us back on the road safely. When he achieved that he glanced fleetingly at me and grinned widely.
“Jesus Chloe, you just made me one happy man, darlin’. “ Grasping the steering wheel, his fingers gripped and relaxed a couple of times and that little action didn’t go unnoticed. “We’ll be there in about ten minutes, then we’ll eat and talk properly.”
Nerves bubbled inside as my belly flip flopped at how excited Gibson sounded and his declaration made me feel a little more confident that he really was happy about being with me, so I tried to think of the positives, such as the trouble he took to meet me and hiring the yacht to spend time with me after I won the competition. So I made it my silent promise to try to accept that Gibson wasn’t playing games, and for some unfathomable reason was choosing me out of millions of women to be with.
Gibson had neglected to fill me in on where we were going, and maybe because I was worried about the fans coming after him or maybe because I had been so self-absorbed, I hadn’t got round to asking him. I know how stupid it sounds but also, the way Gibson behaved on the plane took my mind off of everything else for a while because to be honest, I was a little freaked by that.
Minutes later, he turned off the beaten track and down a windy dirt track towards a tree lined lake. I was pretty sure we were close and suddenly we reached a clearing and he pulled up in front of a fabulous little rustic log cabin, complete with a terracotta tiled roof, brick built pillars and a crooked looking chimney going up the side.
Gibson turned off the engine and smirked wickedly. “Welcome to my love shack in the woods, and before you say anything, I’m messing with you, no one has ever been here apart from the band, Johnny and Charlotte and one friend outside of the band.”
Tapping on the passenger door window made me jump and turn my head. My heart sped up with the fright of it. Johnny was staring at the two of us and I hadn’t heard him arrive at the cabin, but when I saw a motorcycle it registered that he had been riding alongside of us. Thinking about it, I’d seen that Ducatti a few times on the way here, I just hadn’t known it was him.
Gibson held the door open and I stepped inside ahead of him. Entering the cabin, I was surprised at how big it was on the inside. Completely unassuming from the outside, its outward appearance from the front was deceptive because inside was very spacious and comfortable. An open plan layout was filled with one huge three sided sectional of about twenty seats in beige colored leather, which was placed in front of a huge open fire that had already been started and was roaring invitingly.
The bronze, lime and dark green scatter cushions complemented the decor. A wall of windows brought nature into the bright room. Cartwheels hung on the walls and an animal skin was stretched and hung over the fire mantle. Not the kind of place I expected a guy with Gibson’s image to own at all.
Looking out of the walled window I noticed the back of the cabin was on stilts and there was a wraparound veranda in heavy pine wood with steps leading down to the lake’s edge below. The setting was very secluded and idyllic, and the cabin was big without being ostentatious. Gibson snuck up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling my body close to his. “You like it?” I did.
Turning, I could feel a smile stretch my lips and I tilted my head to look up at him. Feeling his warm breath on my face and inhaling how he smelt so good in his expensive cologne, I felt like I was home. I swallowed hard and fought against the strong feeling I had to kiss his mouth. “I do.”
“Cool ‘cause this is home for the next five days, Chloe.” Johnny appeared from the kitchen with a tray with some amazing hot snacks and sandwiches and I wondered how he managed to pull such a feast together so quickly, but Gibson explained the details of how food was delivered at a time when he was running each day when he was here and that everyone thought the place belonged to Johnny who did all the ordering.
Gibson bent with a soft look in his eyes and a wicked smile as he kissed my nose and then stared longingly as I stared back in adoration. We forgot Johnny was there in that moment. Gibson’s seductive stare made me forget myself and I stretched up on my toes to press my lips to his. Immediately Gibson’s grip tightened around my waist and he pulled me tight against him, sliding his hand to my butt and pressing me tight to his erection.
“Gib, eat the entrée before the dessert, dude. It’s getting cold and there is fish in some of this stuff so you won’t want to reheat it later.” Gibson snickered against my mouth before setting me away from him and taking my hand. Glancing at me, he looked really embarrassed by what Johnny said and sat down, fiddling awkwardly with the sleeve of my sweater.
“Yeah Chloe we better eat, we don’t want Johnny to be chain eating with the excitement of us getting hot and horny in full view of him, do we?” Feeling mortified, my head immediately dropped in shame and I wanted the floor to develop woodworm or something so that I could just disappear.
Gibson’s voice was clipped when he addressed me. “And you can stop that right now, darlin’, lift your fucking head up. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. We’re a couple Chloe, you think Johnny thinks we go to bed and play the alphabet game?” When he saw that I didn’t respond, he continued to talk.
“Hey, there’s an idea, A is for…arousal, b is for blindfold, c is for… c
unnilingus. I knew that wasn’t the word he was thinking of as soon as he and Johnny shared a knowing smirk between them, but Gibson was on a roll and he gave me a roguish smile as he continued, “D is for dick, obviously, e is for erogenous, f is for fucking, g is for …Gspot, h is for handcuffs… fuck Chloe, maybe we should give this a go after all. I’m pretty good at it.” Smirking at Johnny again, Gibson sat on the sofa and picked up an egg roll and squashed it into his mouth.
Johnny glanced at me and shook his head when he saw I was smiling but a little uncomfortable at their discussion, “Chloe, I told you before honey, if you’re fucking the boss you’re going to have to toughen up.” Gibson’s face instantly grew dark as he stared at Johnny. He had been about to take another egg roll but threw it back on the plate.
“You said what? You said that to her?” Turning his head quickly to me he asked, He really said that to you, Chloe?”
I pursed my lips, not really wanting to get involved and not wanting to get Johnny into trouble so said nothing, but I was worried about Gibson’s reaction and instinct made me rise to my feet because I didn’t want to witness the confrontation.
“Johnny, you may be one of my closest friends, but you ever address my lady like that again, I’ll beat the shit out of you, understand me?” Johnny stared at Gibson then his apologetic eyes met mine and I felt my face flush with all the attention. I felt sorry for him because Gibson was choosing me over their long standing relationship.
“Sorry Chloe, that was below the belt.” Gibson pulled me down beside him on the sofa and took my hand in his, resting them quite close to his groin. My eyes dropped down as I lost confidence and focused on where my hand was, then I could see that Gibson was still quite aroused and I was conscious that Johnny was watching every move Gibson made.
“Hear this Johnny, and listen well because I won’t repeat it. Chloe is my priority. Mine. What’s mine you never fuck with… remember that. She will have respect and I won’t compromise on her happiness or her safety, got it?”
Trusting Gibson (Last Score Book 2) Page 4
