Page 114 of Fragile

“Thank fuck,” he said on an exhale.

A car door slammed, and I could hear footsteps, but I didn’t care, my focus was on Gabriel.

He drew back, his grip tight on my shoulders before saying, “From now on no more lies or hiding how we feel. I won’t even ask you to be mine because we both know you already are. I love you so fucking much. You make me want to let go. I’ve always been so controlled in all aspects of life. But no more.”

“I agree,” I said almost breathlessly.

Gabriel then tugged me into his arms, pushing his head into my neck. “So, let’s complicate the fuck out of it together,” he whispered, inhaling against my throat.

“When you two love birds have finished, I’d like to get the hell out of here. This place gives me the willies and did you not get the dog shit story?”

“Great way to kill the mood dickhead,” Gabriel sighed, pulling back. His expression was one of amused exasperation.

“Well, what do you expect? Thank God I only got the last part. Sappy fuckers. We get it, she loves you and you love her; whoop-de-doo.”

“Let’s get you home, kitten,” Gabriel whispered, rubbing his thumb over something on my face. “You’ve got panda eyes.”

So, my mascara wasn’t waterproof. “I’m definitely going to need a shower,” I replied, pulling at my top which was sticking to me like a second skin.

Gabriel put his arm around my shoulders, his expression now feral and a thrill shot through me. “Me too, I’ll join you.”

“You know I’m standing right here?” Max chuntered with a huff.

“We know,” we both said simultaneously but our eyes remained locked on each other.

We all walked over to the car as Max said, “Well, now that you mention it. I could use a shower too. If you think you can handle us both?” We didn’t even turn to look at him.

“Never going to happen, Max. Get your own girlfriend,” Gabriel drawled, looking at me like I was his entire world. The fact that he’d called me his girlfriend made me want to scream into the sky, the trauma I had just gone through was worth it if it had forced Gabriel to face his true feelings. They say you don’t know what you’ve got until you’ve lost it. I buried that thought as it caused a shiver of dread to run through me.

As Gabriel and I climbed into the back of the Audi, Max jumped into the driver's side, almost filling the entire space. He almost had to fold his body in half to get in. He started the engine and gave us both a glance in the rearview mirror. “I suppose I’ll give Natalie a call. You’re not the only one who needs his carnal urges satisfied.” His gaze bounced between us. He really was a sex fiend. Gabriel had told me some of Max’s kinks and they certainly wouldn’t have been for everyone.

“Come on, let’s leave this shit hole,” Gabriel instructed, forcing Max to jam his foot on the accelerator. The car jumped forward with a screech of tyres.

We sat in the back, ignoring Max’s comments about feeling like a taxi and Gabriel held my hand the entire journey back to the apartment.

As we drove through the streets of London, I realised how far I’d come in such a short space of time.

After the death of my parents, I had felt numb, almost pointless, to the level that some days I couldn’t feel my heart beating. Broken mentally and physically.

I came to the big bad city with the view of becoming a professional dancer and I was now on my way. I had an audition for the Royal Ballet, something I had thought wasn’t yet within my reach, but Gabriel had encouraged me to go for it.

I’d survived Simon. I’d worked in a gentleman’s club (or strip bar, Gabriel’s words not mine). I’d fainted from starvation, crumbled in a blackout, and now I’d been held at gunpoint by the Irish mafia. Yes, I’d made enemies but I’d also made friends.

Having found myself in London, that little girl wasn’t lost anymore. And it had taken one bad boy to draw that out; rip her from that hiding place.

I had come to realise that the broken person I used to be had been pieced back together. I was no longer fragile.

The feeling of being out of my depth and alone was gone, I was now part of a set; one that had shades of both light and dark, but that complemented the hell out of each other.

And I had the rest of my life to look forward to

Most importantly of all, I’d fallen in love with the bully of my nightmares but the man of my dreams.

Epilogue

My body was alive with vibrant energy.

I was standing centre stage and kept my muscles warm by flexing my legs. The curtains were still closed, and my heart was beating fast with anticipation, fuelled by positive adrenalin.

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