Authors: Sheena Morrish
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded and she stared at him in confusion.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she told him as she sat up and covered her body with the sheet suddenly feeling self-conscious.
“You were a virgin!” he ground out between clenched teeth and Gabby blushed. She hadn’t realised that he would be able to tell.
“So what?” she said and he narrowed his eyes at her.
“So what? Are you kidding me?” he demanded and she rolled her eyes.
“I don’t see what the big deal is,” she snapped and he blew out a frustrated breath.
“The big deal is that you should have told me. If I’d known I would have been more careful,” he told her and Gabby stared at him in disbelief.
“I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it and I didn’t want careful,” she informed him which just seemed to make him angrier.
“I could have hurt you!” he said and she glared at him.
“And I could have told you to stop. But I didn’t because I was fine,” she told him and he gritted his teeth together.
“You should have told me the truth instead of making this just another one of your secrets,” he said making her wince. As if she was the only one keeping secrets here.
“You just assumed that I’d had other lovers but you never asked me. Not all of us can be like you,” she snapped and he glared at her.
“Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?” he demanded furiously and she shrugged.
“Just because you can’t go a week without screwing some woman’s brains out doesn’t mean all of us have to live up to your standards,” she informed him haughtily and he actually looked stunned by that comment. It quickly turned to anger.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? I may not be a virgin but I haven’t broken our marriage vows,” he told her and she gave a harsh laugh at that.
“So because I was a virgin I’m just supposed to believe that load of bull?” she asked and then before he could guess her intentions she slipped from the bed with a sheet wrapped round her and made her way to the bathroom which she promptly locked in his face.
How dare he get mad at her when she wasn’t the one lying and sleeping about? So what if she hadn’t told him she was a virgin, it wasn’t exactly something that you wanted to share when you were her age and hadn’t had a single lover up to this point. Not that she hadn’t had the chance, but each of those men hadn’t made her want to jump in to bed with them. They didn’t have the same chemistry that Nik had inspired in her and she wasn’t sorry that she’d waited. She’d finally realised what she’d been missing out on all these years and then Nik had gone and spoilt it.
Nik ran a frustrated hand through his hair and wondered how this had all gotten away from him so fast. He knew that he had handled this whole thing badly but he hadn’t expected his wife to be a virgin. He knew that she hadn’t been as promiscuous as some of the socialites and heiresses that he came across but she had featured in several publications with different men. And of course those men had claimed to have had access to her delectable body which Gabby had never refuted. She’d been cautious around him but he’d thought it was just because of their unique situation and not because she had never had sex before. She had never once given any indication that she wasn’t the woman she had always appeared to be. It had taken him by surprise and he had handled the whole thing badly. But he wasn’t used to an inexperienced lover and hadn’t known how to approach the subject. Looking back he knew he shouldn’t have said anything but it had scared him that he could have hurt her without meaning to. He was used to lovers who were more experienced but he hadn’t realised that he should have been more gentle with her. Although it also gave him a weird sense of satisfaction to know that he was Gabriella’s only lover and there would never be another man for her.
He waited ten minutes before he began to get impatient and wondered what she could possibly be doing in the bathroom. He knew she needed space but he wanted to apologise and make it up to her. He hadn’t meant to be the bastard she’d accused him of being. He wanted his wife to be happy and for their marriage to work. He had just ruined the first step in that direction but he was determined to make everything right again.
“Gabriella?” Nik asked as he knocked lightly on the door only to be met with silence.
“Are you okay?” he called and again there was only silence. He huffed out a breath and leant his head against the door as regret pounded through him.
“Please answer me and let me know that you’re alright,” he begged.
“I’m fine. Go away!” she called through the door and he took another deep breath and released it slowly.
“Please come out, honey,” he said but didn’t hear anything else from the bathroom.
“Go away!” came her soft voice a moment later and he straightened up with a sigh.
“I’m sorry Gabriella. I was a bastard and I handled things badly. Please I beg you, come out,” he said and he thought for a moment that she was going to ignore him but then he heard movement and the door opened.
Nik sucked in a stunned breath at the sight of her stood in the doorway with her hair in disarray and the sheet wrapped around her body. She looked amazing and he wanted nothing more than to sweep her back to bed. But he knew that he had to go careful with her. Gabby wasn’t just some quick affair that would burn itself out. She was his wife and he needed to take the time to make her feel comfortable in their relationship. He hadn’t pushed enough through the first year of their marriage but if he moved things too fast now then he would only push her further away. He had to treat her with kid gloves but make sure that they did have some sort of relationship to build on.
“I’m sorry,” he said and she watched him carefully as though weighing up the truth of his words. She must have decided that he was being serious because she gave a quick nod.
“You were an ass!” she told him and one corner of his mouth quirked up at that.
“You’re right I was and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have acted like that but I was just surprised,” he tried to explain and she looked a little less wary of him.
“I don’t understand why you were so mad,” she said quietly and he felt like that ass as he saw her forlorn expression. She looked like he’d just kicked her puppy and it tore him up inside.
“It wasn’t you, it was me. I was surprised and I acted like a bastard. I have no excuse and I’m sorry. Please come back to bed,” he said and she looked at him with that wariness that kicked him in the gut every time he saw it.
“I just want to be alone right now,” she said softly and he gave a sad sigh.
“Just come back to bed with me, please. I won’t pressure you in to anything. You look exhausted,” he explained and she hesitated before giving in gracefully and she followed him back to bed and slid beneath the covers while he turned off the light before climbing in beside her. She was unprepared for him slipping his arms around her and pulling her back against his body. She tensed instinctively but all he did was hold her close and kiss the top of her head. She finally relaxed and fell asleep feeling safe and warm.
It was almost dawn when she awoke to the feel of Nik’s hands trailing down her body. She turned in his arms and looked up at him with confusion. He brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her deeply as his hands continued to explore her overly sensitised body. She gasped as his thumb brushed against her nipple and sensations swept through her. She wanted to feel more and she urged him closer. Nik complied with her unspoken request and settled himself between her thighs though he didn’t make any move to claim her just yet. Gabby raised her hips as she encouraged him on but Nik was determined to take things slowly. He wanted to make up for the night before and this was the only way he knew how to make it up to her.
“Nik, please,” she begged and he smiled against her lips.
“Patience is a virtue,” he told her as he kissed his way down her body and made her squirm and beg. He took things slow and made sure that not a single part of her body was left out in his pursuit of her pleasure. Finally when she didn’t think she could take it anymore he entered her and thrust deep within her. Then he began to move and little sparks of pleasure began to build within her.
“Nik,” she gasped and he couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face at the pleasure he was invoking within her. When she fell apart in his arms he was only moments behind and together they slowly fell back to earth in a tangle of entwined limbs.
Nik kissed her brow and held her close while she waited for heart rate to get back to normal. She placed a tender kiss to his chest and for once she didn’t think of anything and just allowed herself to be content as she drifted back to sleep while Nik ran his hand gently down her spine.
When Gabby awoke she spent the first few minutes just lying there enjoying the feeling of contentment that filled her before she opened her eyes and realised just what had caused that contentment. She turned to find that she was alone in the big bed though the rumpled covers showed the evidence of what had occurred through the night. She could hear running water close by and realised that Nik was taking a shower. Were this a real love match she probably would have joined him and luxuriated in a bit of early morning loving but as she recalled their conversations from the evening before her anger returned and with it her sense of dignity. She couldn’t believe that she had fallen for his bogus apology and then let him seduce her all over again. Bad enough that she had slept with him in the first place but to allow him to do the exact same thing all over again was the height of stupidity. She felt like a complete idiot and knew that she couldn’t face Nik’s smug expression just yet.
Gathering the sheet around her slender frame she sent the bathroom door a filthy look before slinking from the room like a thief in the night. Hurrying to her own room she closed the door firmly behind her and entered her own en suite. Collapsing back against the door she allowed tears to fall freely at the realisation that she had allowed her husband to seduce her twice without even putting up a fight even though she knew that he didn’t feel anything for her. Wiping her tears gently away she ran a shaking hand through her mussed hair before entering the shower and going through the motions. It felt so normal to just follow her routine and if it weren’t for the pull of previously unused muscles she would have thought she had imagined the previous night. She stayed in there for as long as she could until her skin began to wrinkle and she had no choice but to finally face the world.
Stepping from the shower she snagged a towel around her slender curves before entering her bedroom. She glanced at the clock and breathed a sigh of relief that it was only seven. For a moment there she had thought she had slept later than she had meant to. With a sigh she opened the wardrobe to select something suitable to wear. She froze when it swung open and revealed itself to be completely bare.
“What the hell?” she cursed as she opened every draw in her room only to discover that once again all her clothes were gone. And this time she knew exactly where they were and who had taken them. How dared he?
All she wanted to do was get herself dressed and hide from her husband but she had no other choice but to enter the dragon’s lair if she hoped to have clothes any time soon. She had no intention of staying in the towel and waiting for him to come in search of her. With that in mind she straightened her spine and forced herself to take the dreaded walk back to Nik’s room. She was relieved to discover that once again the room was empty and for now at least she seemed to have escaped Nik’s presence. Selecting fresh underwear from the drawer and hurrying in to the walk in closet Gabby was relieved to see that Nik had replaced her car keys with the rest of her things and she caught them up with a smile and put them back in her bag. Then she dressed quickly in a black summer dress that clung to her curves making her look more slender than she really was. Finally feeling more her usual self Gabby took a deep breath and reached out to select an armful of clothes only to freeze at the throat clearing that sounded behind her. Taking a deep breath she spun round to face her husband who leant indolently against the doorframe with an unreadable expression on his face while his dark gaze was trained on her pale face.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked in a lazy drawl that showed no hint of his inner emotions though Gabby sensed the steel beneath the question.
“Moving my things,” she responded determined not to be cowed.
“No you’re not,” he said and she glared at him.
“Yes, I am,”
“We’ve already done this,” he reminded her and Gabby fought the blush at the reminder of exactly what they had done.
“Your point being?” she asked refusing to back down and Nik finally showed some emotion as his eyes darkened.
“Move those clothes Gabriella and I will not be answerable to the consequences,” Nik warned furiously and she glared at him debating whether she dared to cross him. One look at his fierce expression and she decided that this was one fight she could afford to wait on. With one more glare in his direction she steeled herself and made to storm past him only to come to a halt as his hands gripped her arms forcing her to face him.
“Let me go!” she demanded looking pointedly at his hands where they gripped her shoulders tightly.
“We need to talk about what happened last night,” he said instead and Gabby closed her eyes firmly against his image. That was one talk she most definitely did not want to have.