Page 18 of Gabe's Obsession

That noise raced along his skin and nearly punched him in the balls with the sheer force of its effect. With every passing moment he could feel a little more of his control slipping away.

Hell, he was a red-blooded male after all and he had the woman of his dreams sitting on his lap. So of course, all he could think about was getting inside her one way or another.

"Are you going to say it?" he asked.

She sighed, her breath coming out in a heated puff that brushed across his skin, eating away at more of his infamous control.

When it came to Nina, all bets seemed to be off. His rigid standards were all set to jump out the window and flee from the scene. This was not a good sign at all.

"You know the truth already. Why do I have to say it? It's too hard."

"And that's why it means so much to me. I've waited a really long time to hear it. I think we both deserve the truth."

She sighed again. "I don't see you laying your cards out on the table any more than I have."

Touché. Nina wasn't a pushover. Never had been and never would be.

He gently grasped her chin and tilted her head until their eyes met. "Nina, you're in my goddamned home. In my bed every night. Your scent is in every room of my house taunting me day and night. You know what I want. However, what I want isn't the priority at the moment. You are. So stop stalling and decide. You've had more than enough time to think this through."

Chapter Seven

Nina curledher fingers into Gabe's shirt and breathed deep. He wasn't the only one affected by proximity. Just because she wasn't sure how to handle him right now didn't mean she wasn't dying for more.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this, you know."

His fingers tightened at her waist where'd he'd been caressing her for the last ten minutes. "Then tell me how you think it was supposed to be," he demanded, his tone a little harsher than before.

Her stomach flipped, as it always did when he spoke to her like that. Her brain balked, reminding her that she wasn't supposed to get excited when a man demanded anything from her.

Inwardly she cringed. This?this thing she'd inherited from her father worried her almost constantly. If she gave in, would she become like him? Would her intense desires turn dark and twisted like his?

Those thoughts made her want to cut and run. This war between the bad and the good inside her kept her constantly on edge and at this point, she just wanted it to stop. Any way she could make it happen.

"I wanted to be good," she whispered. "Not sick like him."

Gabe jerked underneath her. "What did you say?"

His tone had lowered, sounding darker. It made gooseflesh rise along the back of her neck.

"My father," she whispered. "As far as I can tell everything bad about him had something to do with sex."

The moment the words left her mouth, Gabe's entire body went rigid.

"And you think I'm like him."

His response wasn't a question and it shocked her. "God no! It's not you at all I'm worried about. It's me. I have that bastard’s blood running through my veins. That most likely means whatever darkness was in him is likely in me, too." That usually well buried feeling of shame rushed forward again, reminding her why she usually avoided these kind of confrontations. Gabe knew a lot about her family, but she doubted he knew the true depths of her father's depravity. Hell, she likely didn't know it all either.

Gabe remained silent, allowing the fear and tension inside her to grow. She only half wanted to know what he must be thinking. She studied him for clues. His eyes said nothing, but his darkening complexion along with the clenching and unclenching of his jaw said enough. In fact, he kind of looked like he was about to explode.

"That's bullshit, Nina. You are not like him. None of you are. Fuck, what is wrong with people these days? Being into kink and control doesn't make you some sort of sick criminal. That's all in your head. Jesus." He lifted his hands and shoved his fingers in his hair, pulling on the strands until they nearly stood on end.

"Who the hell put those thoughts in your head?"

She shrugged, not wanting to admit the truth. Maybe her mother had made a few suggestions back in the day, but it wasn't all her fault. Nina had let those thoughts fester in her mind for a very long time, allowing them to become her greatest fears.

"You're a grown ass woman, Nina Fairchild. You know damn well that sex is not some evil entity that made your father do the things he did. That was his mind. He was sick. Wait." He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his forehead to hers. "Did he??”

Nina nearly choked at the unspoken question. How many times had she asked herself that same question? The sad part was she didn't know the answer. Not really. First, she had to...

---