Page 65 of Bared Betrayal
“Do what?”
“Clean them up. Take care of them afterward?”
He roughs a hand through his disheveled hair. “It’s been a long time.” It’s the only response he gives me, clearly not wanting to go into detail. It’s probably for the best, anyway. I’m sure a man like Gabriel has a colorful past with the women, and I don’t think I can stomach that kind of knowledge right now. The idea of him being with other women tightens my chest, and I don’t like the way it makes me feel. Possessive. Jealous. Stupid.
“Kallie,” he starts as if he can read my thoughts, “I don’t know what this is, but all I know is I want more of it.”
“So do I.” I grab a sheet and wrap it around me, hating how vulnerable I feel.
Gabriel sighs and places a kiss on my temple before resting his forehead on mine. “I’ll draw you a bath. When you’re done, I’m going to check you in to one of the other apartments. I have somewhere I need to be.”
“I could stay here.”
“I’m afraid that would stir questions neither of us has answers to right now.”
“You’re right,” I concede.
“I’ll only be gone a few hours. You can order whatever you like from room service or use the in-room spa if you like. The concierge is under orders to get anything you want, but do not leave the room. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll text you when I’m on my way back. And I expect to find you naked and on your knees in your room.”
He winks playfully, and even though I smile back at him, there’s this clawing feeling in my gut that whatever this is, whatever has Gabriel and me so wrapped up in one another—it will only end with someone getting hurt.
Eighteen
GABRIEL
It’s beena long time since I felt this on edge. I don’t like it. Nothing fucking rattles me. I’ve stared down the barrel of a gun more than once, and not even a life-or-death situation could agitate me to the point where I lose my cool. This industry I’m in demands confidence and a fuck-you attitude that a bullet to the brain can’t break. You cower, you lose. You lose, you die. That’s the way of life for men like me.
But today, I feel…uneasy, and it’s because of her. It’s her I think about when my muscles tense, when this crawling sensation flutters inside my gut, causing me to—I look down at my hand, my fingers tapping impatiently on my leg, then flick my thumb. Since when do I fucking fidget?Jesus Christ. Get a grip, Gabriel.
The second I arrive at the Del Rossa estate, I have this overwhelming urge to turn my damn car around and go back to Kallie. My instincts are going apeshit, leaving a prickle of warning in the back of my skull. There’s more to her freaking out yesterday, hiding in the closet like a scared child. There’s more to the note I found on her kitchen floor. She’s hiding something from me, and I can’t protect her if I don’t know what the hell is going on. And I want to protect her. Ineedto protect her. Something about that girl drives me mad. She speaks to something inside me, something I thought died when I lost Sebastian’s mother to lies and deception.
I want to keep Kallie locked in that gleaming tower. I want to be the dragon that hoards her from the world. Keeping her little mews of pleasure and her tears of pain all for myself. And feeling this way over a woman who isn’t mine—who can’t be mine—it’s fucking with my head, making me reckless, and God knows I’m not a reckless man. But I am for her, it seems. This is why I need answers, answers only the influence and reach of the Dark Sovereign can get me.
“Gabriel, how are you, my friend?” Alexius says as I walk into his office.
“Good, and you? How’s your wife?”
“Good. We’re all good. Thanks for asking.” He motions to a leather seat in front of his massive mahogany desk.
I raise a brow when I sit, placing my hands on the armrest. “The Dark Sovereign Boss can’t afford decent chairs?”
Alexius smirks. “It discourages people from overstaying their welcome and wasting my time.”
“Neat trick. I need to find one of these for my office. I have this annoyingly persistent customs agent who seems to like being up my ass twenty-four-seven.”
Alexius snickers, then hands me a glass of bourbon before taking his seat. “Talking about annoying customs agents, is she going to cause trouble for us?”
“I can handle her.”
“Good. We have a rather large shipment coming in, as you well know.”
“I do.”
He sits back and crosses one leg over the other. “You think she’s hovering around your offices because she suspects something?”
