Page 38 of Corrupted Queen

Angelo glances at the other guard, whose name I don’t know, then back to me. “You should call the nanny.”

“I’ll only be a minute.” I bat my eyes again for good measure, and Angelo sighs and chuckles, shaking his head.

“You’re trouble,” he says, but acquiesces and steps into the nursery.

I take great pleasure in the fact that while Angelo probably wouldn’t disobey a direct order from Gabriel for me, he’s still somewhat on my side. I can understand why Gabriel would like having hundreds of men at the ready to obey his direct command. I just levered a mafioso into childcare and I feel very powerful.

With Harry taken care of, I storm down the hall to Gabriel’s office and rap on the door. I try the handle, not wanting to wait to be called in, but it’s locked. Typical.

“Who is it?” Gabriel shouts.

I can hear the tension in his voice. This is probably not the right time to confront him, but then again, with Gabriel, when is a good time?

“It’s Alexis.”

I hear him walk to the door and it swings open. Gabriel stands over me, his broad chest filling my line of view. His eyes glare down at me like dark pebbles, lips pressed in a thin line.

“What is it?” he asks.

I raise a brow. “Can I come in?”

He sighs and moves away from the door so I can walk past him. I go inside, but I don’t sit. When he closes the door, I spin to face him.

“What the hell were you thinking?” I ask.

“I’m guessing you’ve seen the interview,” he replies in a mocking tone.

“You had no right!” The volume of my voice lifts with each word. “I’m not your girlfriend, I’m your prisoner!”

That’s not strictly true. I doubt Gabriel would let me leave, however, I have no intention of doing so until I get everything I need for my article. When I do decide to go, I won’t be taking no for an answer.

At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

Gabriel levels his fiery gaze at me. “You will do as you are told.”

A pleasurable shiver runs down my spine, and now I’m angry at myself as well as at him. Do I have to find him sexy all the time? Can I not just have a break where I can be angry and nothing else?

“Or what?” I clench my fists and step up to him, as though I will be able to intimidate him by crowding him. I spit out each of my words as if they are poison. “What are you going to do, Gabriel? I might not have much, but I have free will, and I’m not going to waste that on helping your public image just because you can’t keep your shit together in front of the camera. I’m not your puppet to command!”

Something wicked flashes in his eyes and I know that I have gone too far. Gabriel’s hand whips up, squeezing around my throat, and he pushes me back. I trip over myself trying not to fall as he wheels me across the room until finally my back slams against the wall.

He presses his chest into mine, glaring down at me. Heat fills the space between us. His fingers dig into my throat, but it doesn’t hurt. He’s not trying to hurt me. He’s trying to intimidate me.

It doesn’t work. I know that Gabriel would not blink before striking out at an enemy. I know that he’s killed people. I also know that he would never hurt Harry or me. Even the way he holds me now—his fingers tight against my throat, yet not crushing my windpipe—demonstrates his unwillingness to hurt me.

I glare up at him. He glares down at me. We both glare at each other.

Gabriel repeats his earlier statement in a low, dark drawl. “You will do as you are told.”

My stomach flutters and I press my thighs together. It is as though his words stroke against my core. Being turned on like this feels so wrong, but on the other hand, it feels so right.

I decide this confrontation can wait. I’ve got all the time in the world to make Gabriel pay for what he said in that interview. Suddenly I’m craving something a little darker than retribution.

I lift my chin defiantly, lip curling ever so slightly at one corner. “Make me.”

I watch the lust blossom in Gabriel’s eyes and my breath hitches in anticipation. In an instant, he hikes my legs around his hips and slides me up the wall, pressing his body flush into mine. One of his hands anchors on my ass and he holds me in place with the other hand on my neck and slams his lips down hard against mine.

I moan into his mouth. His kiss is rough, dominating. His lips drag across mine, biting and sucking in a frenzy of passion. My fingers dig into the front of his shirt and it is everything I can do just to hang onto him.

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