Page 22 of Gabe's Obsession

Nina jerked away. "Wait. We have to stop or I'm never going to get this out."

He nodded, a slight smile teasing her from the edge of his mouth.

"Then tell me."

She took one last breath and then blurted it out in one constant string of words without stopping. "I can't have sex with you. I mean as much as I want to, and I really really want to. I don't think that's ever been the question. I mean, get real. You look like the devil and you kiss like one too. If ever there was a man to sin with it would be you. But I made a pact with my mother, and before you say anything, I know. She's more than a little touched. And almost as religiously obsessed as my father was. Yet, I made a promise and I've held onto that promise as the one good thing that came out of my childhood. Other than Tucker that is. Because he was always so good to me and was the best big brother a girl could hope for—“

Before she could finish, Gabe covered her mouth with his hand. "Take a breath, baby. You're talking so fast I can barely understand a word of it."

Nina shook her head and tried grabbing his hand.

"Nope. Deep breath first. You need to calm down. Then you can tell me more."

She could see the sheer determination in the hard set of his jaw and by the tone of his voice that he wasn't going to let her finish unless she did as he asked. So she took a deep breath through her nose and then exhaled even slower, being sure to roll her eyes at him through the whole process.

"You do realize every time you do that it only makes me want to pull you over my knee even more, right? I mean my dick's hard enough, baby. Don't make it worse."

This time she slapped at his hand until he finally released her. "I can't believe you aren't taking me seriously. I was trying to be honest with you like you asked."

His smile died. "And I appreciate your honesty. But you were on the verge of turning blue. How about we cut to the chase then? What pact did you make with your mother that prevents you from having sex with me?"

Blood rushed to Nina's cheeks with his more blunt than usual questions. However, his ego and his need for control gave her plenty of confidence to take some of the wind out of his sails.

"It's not about you. It's me. I made an old-fashioned pact with my mother that I would not have sex until I got married. And believe it or not, I have kept my word. Not that it's always been easy, mind you. I was a stupid kid back then who had no idea what she was getting into, but nonetheless, I did it. As much as it sucks, I'm not sure I can break it now. There are already too many broken things in my life. If at all possible, I'd like to do one thing right and this might be all I've got left to make that a reality.”

Chapter Eight

Gabe felthis world tilt on its axis more than he saw it. Blood rushed through his ears making it impossible to hear anything else Nina said. Had she really just confessed to being a virgin?

How was that even possible? Shy, introverted girls were the ones to watch out for. Not the outspoken, vibrant and slightly wild ones like his Nina. They were NOT virgins.

A fucking pact? Really?

"Fuck me," he said without even thinking.

She scrunched up her mouth a moment before she responded. "Did you not hear a word I said? I just told you I can't. I mean we really can't."

It was his turn to shake his head. "Jesus, Nina. I didn't mean that literally. Well, I did but—fuck. No, I didn't. Fuck! You're a virgin?"

He didn't mean to raise his voice, but she had said the very last thing he would have ever imagined that would come out of her mouth and blown his mind.

She picked herself up from her knees and glared down at him. "You don't have to yell it like it's some kind of dirty word or worse, the plague. Fuck you, okay? Just fuck you."

She started past him and he barely used his brain before he grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Marry me," he blurted.

She whirled on him, a combination of disbelief and anger stamped across her face. That didn't bode well for him so he braced for impact.

"Excuse me? Did you seriously justtellme to marry you? Are you high?"

In that moment his rash words crystallized in his mind. They weren't a joke. In fact, he'd never been more serious in his life than right here in this moment. It was the perfect solution to more than one of their problems.

"No, I amnothigh. I am in fact, quite serious."

She shook her head. "Well, then I must have missed the part where you hit your head and have a concussion then. Because, you know, who the hell wants to get married just so they can have sex?" She threw her hand up and slapped it against her head. "Oh yeah. Crazy people and now, I guess, you."

Gabe rose to his full height and scowled down at the woman he wanted to marry.

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