by Sam Hall
"What prickly exterior? Is this some kind of family conspiracy? I am unfailingly nice to customers all day, I’ve never been reprimanded by my bosses and I have friends–"
"Who? You just hang out with Jez and me all the time," Tess said.
"I'm always nice to cashiers–"
"That just makes you not an entitled arsehole," Tess said.
"Are you serious about him? What do you want from this man?" Mum asked.
I want to punch him in the face and I want to take him upstairs and fuck him until I can't take it anymore, my brain supplied helpfully. Yeah, I was not saying that to my mother. Keep it vague and slightly hopeful, that way she'll get off your case, a more rational and devious part of my mind suggested.
"I'm not sure," I said, "but for now, I'd like to see where it leads."
"Hmm, fair enough. I'll send you that credit report tomorrow afternoon."
"Mother. . . ."
We took the salads out to find the guys clustered around the barbeque. It showed how much of a favourable impression Gabe had made that Dad let him turn a few steaks on his pride and joy: a high-end grill made bespoke by some British chef. He handed the tongs back to Dad when he saw me, taking the salad bowls and putting them on the table, then pulling me into his arms. "Any chance you going to show me some old photo albums?"
"No freaking way."
"Her old room is the first on the left at the top of the stairs," Mum said.
"You want me to take a guy into my room? You used to pitch a fit if even friends dared step over the threshold."
"Yes, and now you're thirty. Dinner will be on the table in ten minutes. Don't be late."
Gabe grinned and pulled me inside, looking around and then finding the stairway. "Ladies first," he said.
"You just want to check out my arse," I said.
"Oh, I wanna do more than look, babe. I want to bite and lick. . . ." I took off up the stairs at a run, him hot on my heels. I opened the door and there I was, in a time capsule. She'd taken down all my old posters, she always hated them, but you could still see the darker squares on the wallpaper where they'd been.
"What are you going to show me in ten minutes?" he asked in a low rumble, lips against my neck. The long hard weight of his body was pressed against mine, he shifted his hand to rub it against my mound, pushing on it to force my arse up against his erection.
"Gabe!"
"Babe, I can’t help it. You smell so sweet, all honey and roses. I'm a hair’s breadth away from piling you into the Lexus and whisking you away."
"A Lexus? You came here in a Lexus?"
"Seemed to be the kind of car that would impress a lady who was a partner in one of the largest financial consulting firms in the city," he said, trailing his lips down my neck. Despite myself, I found myself arching up against him, his hands quickly covering my breasts as I moved. He pushed my cardigan to one side and plucked at my nipples through my t-shirt, pulling a groan from me. “I could slip my hand under that cute little skirt you got on," he murmured, "give your clit a couple of flicks. You'd be so wet, it wouldn't take long.” He gasped as my hips ground into his. "You'd like that."
"Gabe, you can’t give me a hand job in my parents’ house," I whimpered as one hand dropped downwards. At this point, I wasn’t sure who I was convincing, myself or him. My body felt like it was on fire, his touch left a heavy, burning drugged feeling in its wake. My clit throbbed in time with his words, sending semaphore messages in the faint hope I'd relent and do what he wanted.
"So, no chance you'd give me one?" he asked with a chuckle. I turned around in his arms, anything to free myself from his relentless fingers before I did something I regretted. Figuring turnabout’s fair play, I rubbed my hand along the front of his pants to the sound of him hissing, closing my fingers around his length as much as the fabric would allow. "Tell me that as soon as it’s polite, we're getting the hell out of here, so I can bury myself in your tight little cunt."
"We need to talk," I gasped.
"We will, love, I promise, we will. I need that, too, but if we don’t have sex first, at least once, you are just not going to get my full attention."
"Me, either," I nipped at his lips, wanting his tongue, his taste.
"OK," he said, pushing himself away from me and stopping me from coming any closer. "I need to think about old nuns and dead kittens for a moment, or untuck this shirt, and the shop girl assured me the shirt needed to be tucked in. I feel enough like a horny teenager, sporting wood at your parents’ table, wanting to trace the outline of my girl's pussy with my finger through her skirt while your family talks shit."
“Please don't do that. I seriously do not want to orgasm at the dinner table."
"You sure?"
"Almost, mostly sure."
"OK, look, show me where the bathroom is and I'll try to make myself more presentable. I'll meet you downstairs, so this looks less suss."
Mum had a satisfied smile on her face as I came back down. She spent the whole lunch plying Gabe with every culinary treat on hand. “The man can rebuild a ’77 Softail without assistance, woman," Dad grumbled. "He's capable of serving himself food."
"You're just jealous," Mum replied, sticking her tongue out.
“Excuse my wife's smothering. She's sure that none of us can wipe our arses without her supervision," Dad said.
"I don't mind a bit of spoiling. The food's amazing, thank you."
"Yes, you've outdone yourself again, Cecile," Pa said.
20
After lunch, a couple of drinks and some cheesecake, I made a move to excuse us. “Well, I need to drive the Lexus for Gabe,” I said. "You've plied him with one too many fancy beers, Mum."
"Really? Perhaps you should stay for dinner too.”
"Then neither of us will get home and Gabe has some paperwork to get done. BASS statements are nearly due."
"Oh, yes! Are yours up to date? I can lend you a hand if you can't get into McGregor's."
"The girls have it all in order," Dad said with a wink. “Good to see you, love and nice to meet you, Gabe. I'll take you up on that ride later in the week."
"Sure," he said, pulling a business card from his wallet and passing it to Dad. "Gimme a call beforehand and we'll set up a time."
"OK, bye, everyone!"
He chuckled as I dragged him through the house and out the front door. "What's the rush, love?" he asked.
"You know," I said, grabbing the keys and unlocking the sleek silver car.
"Don't know if I do."
I slid inside and adjusted the seat. I wasn't six foot four and didn't need that much leg room. I started the car the minute I heard his belt clip. “Something I can help with you?” he asked as I tore up the street. He rubbed a hand along my thigh.
"You have to stop that," I said, "if you want to get home in one piece."
He behaved until we turned into my car park. He had his belt off before I cut the engine, his hands were in my hair, pulling me into a brutal kiss as I turned off the car. His tongue forced its way past my lips, tangling with mine, drawing back to nip and suck. “C’mon," he said, jerking open his door. His mouth was on me again the moment we were inside the flat. We moved quickly into the bedroom where he pushed me against the door with a thud. I jerked his hips forward to grind against mine, but he grabbed my hands and wrapped them over the clothes hook on the back of the door. "Hold on to that," he said.
"Why?"
“Just try it," he growled when I moved to let go. He took a step backwards and in the spirit of collaboration, I stayed holding onto the hook. I thought I understood why. His eyes roved over my breasts which were forced outwards as I fought to keep hold, the tension in my thighs and chest kept my focus there. My nipples felt like they were being rubbed hard against the fabric of my bra each time I took a breath. He smiled as I stood there, reaching up to flick the buttons of his shirt open, revealing that golden brown skin, one inch at a time. Finally, he pulled it free and tame Gabriel was gone, replaced by
the more feral guy I knew. He yanked the rest of his clothes off and stood there, his cock rigid and twitching, a slight sheen of pre-come glistening in the late afternoon light.
He moved closer, pushing my shirt up over my breasts. I gasped as he latched on with his mouth, tugging the intensely sensitive point into his mouth, grazing it with his teeth.
"Not going to be able to do this for long the first time," he said as his hand raked up my thigh. I didn't get a chance to answer, he pushed my knickers aside and speared two fingers inside me.
“God!” I was slick under his fingers, I could feel the wet slip of them pushing deeper and deeper.
"Oh, yeah.” He swivelled his hand around, so his thumb could circle my throbbing clit. He was bloody right, I leant into his grip. A couple of more strokes, I was so close. "Tell me you're ready for me," he said, slipping his hands from between my thighs. I opened my eyes, saw the frank need in his eyes and smiled. I let go of the hook, shaking my shoulders out, then pushed him backwards. I pulled off my cardigan with the other hand, kicking my skirt off as soon as I could unbutton it. He landed on his back on the bed, watching me with a grin. I grabbed the lube from beside the bed, squirted some in my palm, rolled a condom over his dick and then closed my hand around his rigid erection.
"Jesus, Ash . . .," he hissed, his hips jerking almost involuntarily in time with my strokes, "not going to last." I pulled away, wiped my hand on the sheets, and then took the rest of my clothes off. He watched me, propped up on his elbow as I moved over, covering him with my body. I positioned myself above him, my knees either side of his hips.
"You want this, huh?" I asked, grabbing his cock by the base and sliding the tip between my folds. "Oh, that's nice," I said as I rubbed the blunt end on my clit. God, another few strokes. . . .
"Fuck me, Ash, or I'll put you on your back and do it myself."
"What, is this what you want?" I asked, shifting, so I could slide the tip inside me, moving up and down, in short, teasing little strokes.
He growled in frustration. "Ash, your cunt was sopping, I know how much you want this."
"I do want this," I said, allowing myself to deepen the strokes slightly, "slowly."
He grabbed my hips, forcing me to stop. "Slowly is for after we've come a couple of times, after my balls stop feeling like they're boiling, ready to erupt the moment you breathe in my direction. Hard, Ash, hard and fast, now."
I planted a hand on his chest and pushed him back on the bed, only keeping him quiet because I began to work him back inside. I threw my head back as I felt him slowly move deeper. "Slowly," he grabbed my hip with one hand, for a moment I thought he was going to try and force himself in. And the other? He used it to trace lazy, slow circles around my throbbing clit. "Harder," I ground out. With just a little more pressure. . . .
"Faster," he growled.
"Fine!" I said and bore down. He forced me apart, the aching spot inside me creating the most beautiful ache it was almost painful. It didn't make me want to stop, though, I wanted more. He hissed as I stopped fucking around and snapped my hips, making the head of his dick rub over and over, faster and faster until. . . . I let out a god-awful groan as my body went rigid, wave after wave of pleasure bursting through my body. I was boneless, nothing left in me as he took over, grabbing my hips and forcing them down as his pushed up. "Ash, Ash . . .," he said finally, pulling me down beside him.
"You realise my mother knows as much about you as I do," I said as we lay curled up in bed.
He grinned at that, "What do you want to know?"
"How about why you turned up at my parents for starters?"
"Straight for the throat, huh?"
“You ‘had work to do'. I wasn't expecting to see you again, ever, let alone at Mum and Dad's."
He pulled me in close to his body, mouth to mouth, laying gentle brushing kisses on my lips before pulling back to look me in the eyes. “Love, I gotta admit, I haven’t had a girl run quite as hot and cold on me as you do. I didn’t know if you were going to slap me or fuck me when we first met. You were this wildcat, with those flashing eyes. I gotta say, I had only intended on being a little bit of a smart arse, but when you started firing up. . . ."
"You were being a prick because I was trying to respect what I thought was your relationship with Amber? What are you, twelve?"
"Then you were all over me, hotter than sin. I mean, I’ve had some hot sex with some girls. . . ."
"Really, this is what you want to go with?"
“The thing is Ash, you’re on, then you’re off. We fuck five or six times, but you expect me to walk out the door at 4 a.m. for some reason. Just sleeping with you last night, was the most peace I've experienced in a long time. I like the fucking—"
"I know," I said as I felt his groin tilt towards me, his cock beginning to harden.
"But I like the rest, too. I don't know you, I know nothing about you really, but something about you feels so right. I could see you didn’t want me to come today, but Ash, that first day you let me see a bit under all that bluster—”
"I don't bluster,” I grumbled.
“You push people away, keep them at arm's length and assume they'll walk out, but me? I'm not going anywhere, not unless you tell me clean and clear, you don't want this or me." His arms closed around me and he buried his face in my hair, his kisses a muted scratchy presence along my spine. He kept me held close to him, so I felt the shift of his body as he moved lower and lower and I couldn’t decide if I felt elated or trapped. “That’s my intentions, Ash, to see this through until one or both of us wants out and I gotta say, you need to be real clear if you want out, because all these little defence mechanisms you’ve got going, don’t stand a chance of stopping me from getting this.”
21
I wasn’t sure how I felt about Gabe and what he’d said, but for now, I was keeping him. The sex was great and it felt like there was potential there, but even without that I probably would have kept him around, just so I knew who I’d be waking up beside each morning. Tess had been on a books and Netflix binge ever since it seemed the curse was broken or something.
“You need to take me with you,” Jez said as I was packing up the shop for the day. Tess was coming along leaps and bounds with the portal and had started to run that side of the business. She and Merlin had rearranged and audited our stock and began making contacts to bring in more of the more popular lines. If it meant I was getting out of the magical Tai Chi crap Merlin kept trying to teach us, I was cool with it.
“It’s not a big deal,” I said, pulling down the blinds and checking the back locks. I ducked over to stick my head in the tattoo shop. It was really coming along now. Tattooing stations had been set up on either side and they had gone to considerable expense to turn one of the front bay windows into a doorway of its own.
“This is really coming along,” I said to Flea, who was putting in some finishing touches.
“Just got to get the floors laid and repaint the rest of the walls,” he said, looking up from where he sat at one of the workspaces.
“Catch you then. I’ll lock up this side, so just set the alarm on your way out.”
“No problems. I won’t be that far behind you.”
“So, can I come?” Jez asked the minute I stepped back onto our side.
“I’m dropping his keys off to him, that’s it,” I said. Gabe had taken the Lexus back to the rental mob and forgotten his.
“You’re going to his shop, where beautiful men work on beautiful machines. It’s like heaven on earth. Why don’t you want me to come?”
“You can!” I said with a smile, “I just don’t want you to get your hopes up. What if they’re all old and crusty?”
“They wouldn’t be, they can’t; the universe wouldn’t do that to me.”
“Some wrinkled old dero with a beer gut and jeans that haven’t been washed for a decade leering at you?"
"Not going to work. I'm coming."
“Fine, follow my car, so I do
n't have to drop you back here."
"Can't wait to jump in the sack with lover boy?"
"Can't wait to lie face down on my bed and sleep because last night I was having too much sex with lover boy. Anyway, if your wish comes true, you might end up riding something else altogether all the way home."
"Keep saying that," Jez said with a grin. “Maybe it’ll direct some of your Nan's crazy magic at me."
Which was how I found myself on Collin’s Crescent, peering at industrial shed after shed as I slowly puttered down the road. I went around the corner and then I saw it. Cars and bikes were parked all over the curb and up the driveway, people wandering in and out of the open shed doorway. Above it, a sign said, ‘Browning Custom Motorcycles.’ I pulled the car on the opposite curb and got out.
"You didn't tell me there was a party on," Jez said, adjusting her clothes, so her lowriders and top sat a little lower. "You were totally holding out on me."
"Not on purpose. Gabe just said to bring the keys by, not a slab of beer. Have you seen him?"
"Hmm?" she asked, her eyes following a very fit-looking guy in a wife beater and a pair of overalls. The sleeves had been tied around his waist to reveal an acre of tattooed muscle.
"Gabe . . . have you seen him?" I asked as we walked to the entrance. There were people everywhere, drinking or working. There was a guy right at the back using an angle grinder, but no Gabe.
"I was wondering when you two were getting here." A tall guy with a mane of unruly brown hair and a beard with a few flecks of silver in it had appeared in front of us, arms crossed over a broad chest that was barely encased within a worn raglan sleeve t-shirt.
"Really? Gabe told everyone we were coming?"
"Of course, can't get the show on the road without you. Come this way." He turned and started to walk towards the most beautiful bike I'd ever seen, sitting in a pool of bright light. "I need one of you over here for a few light tests and then you're into makeup."
"Wha–?"
