Obsession
OBSESSION:
DARKNESS FALLS
By Ivory Quinn
Copyright © 2013 Ivory Quinn
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Contents
For my demons...I shall slay you
One by one
And I shall drown no more
Chapter One
He watched her over the rim of his coffee mug as she smiled and bantered with the barista. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold outside and her lustrous auburn hair was dusted with silvery droplets where snowflakes had melted in the warmth of the coffee house. She was his angel. She had no idea he existed. He came here every day to observe her...the way she sat alone in the corner, eating her salad in delicate little bites. She read quietly as the world moved around her, ignoring the men who gave her appreciative glances. She was like a force of gravity, the way people orbited around her like fireflies circling futilely in a jam jar. He bought the books she was reading, flicked through them to understand her better. He had followed her to work and watched from outside the windows as the children she taught glowed in the radiance of her presence. He had followed her home and spent hours shadowing her around her house with his eyes, window to window, the saccharine sweetness of her existence a siren song to his twisted soul. Her figure was a perfect hourglass, lush breasts that cried out to be handled, confined away behind pastel cashmere prison walls; that tiny waist, curving out to hips that would dimple beautifully beneath the pressure of fingertips. She was so wholesome and innocent she made his teeth ache. He wanted to break her.
Yes. Today would be the day.
***
Noelle Winters, her mother’s idea of an amusing joke, thanked the barista for her coffee and turned to look for a table, crashing instantly into a muscled wall of chest. Hot coffee splattered all over the front of her coat and blouse and she gasped as it burned.
“Damn it! I’m so sorry!” The stranger scooped his fingers into the neck of her shirt and held it away from her skin as she struggled to set her cup down on the counter without spilling any more of it. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.” His voice was rich and melodious and she looked up into a face that was made for sin.
Wavy brown hair tumbled artlessly across classical features, with hazel eyes that looked right into her soul. Glimmers and flashes of gold in his eyes and his hair caught the light and her breath, all at once. He was both gorgeous and vaguely familiar, and she tried to place where she knew him from as the customer in the queue behind her handed over a sheaf of napkins.
“It’s okay.” Blushing she dabbed at the mess on her shirt. “
Sorry, I didn’t see you there. You can let go now.”
“Has it cooled?” He gently extricated his fingers and the soggy material slapped back against her chest. “You have to get it away from the skin
straight away or it scalds it. I once dropped a coffee into my lap and didn’t get my jeans off fast enough. I was walking funny for a month.” She was startled into laughing at the mental image of this beautiful man walking about like John Wayne and it took the edge off her chagrin over the state of her shirt. As though reading her mind, the man turned to the barista. “Can we get a replacement to go?” He frowned at Noelle. “Your shirt is ruined. I have an account at the store next door; I insist you allow me to replace it.”
“No really, that’s not necessary.” Noelle faltered. She only had three quarters of an hour left of her lunch break from the school. It wasn’t long enough to get home, change, eat and return in time for afternoon
classes.
“Nevertheless, it was entirely my fault. I insist.” He gave her a charming megawatt smile and she abandoned the hopeless cause of dabbing at her shirt. She could pick the least expensive sweater in the shop and try and get the cashier to accept her card. This man was clearly not used to being argued with.
“Then thank you. I’m Noelle.” She held out a hand and he shook it. His hands were large and warm, dwarfing her own, and rougher around the edges than her soft fingers.
“Gabriel.” He smirked. “
Aren’t we a Christmas carol just waiting to happen?” She snorted with amusement as he reached behind her to pay for her drink and the movement brought him right into her personal space. He smelled gloriously masculine, warm and spicy. It was a heady fragrance. Backing up slightly, she felt her cheeks burning and fussed with her bag so that he wouldn’t notice. “Come with me.” He slid an arm through hers and escorted her to the front of the coffee house.
They emerged into the winter air and Noelle breathed deeply
as crystalline chill swept away the warmth in her lungs. She loved this time of year when the snowflakes were drifting and the world seemed hushed by nature’s blanket. Gabriel watched her eyes flutter briefly closed and smiled.
“You were aptly named.” He murmured, turning left and walking along the shop front. “The season suits you.”
“I’ve always loved the snow.” She admitted. “Do I know you Gabriel? Your face seems familiar for some reason.”
“I often go to that coffee shop.” He replied easily. “It’s possible you’ve seen me in there sometimes.”
“That might well be it.” All too soon they were entering the warmth of an expensive and upmarket clothes shop and Noelle looked about with trepidation. She doubted she’d be able to afford anything in here on her teacher’s wages. They weren’t exactly paid enough to break the bank. She was about to protest, when a glossy shop assistant with legs a mile long appeared at Gabriel’s side.
“Mr Hallow.” She purred. “What can we do for you today, sir?”
They knew him by name? Noelle re-evaluated the man who still had hold of her arm. Now that she was really looking, she realised his outfit probably cost more than she earned in a year. Expensive, handmade Italian leather shoes adorned his feet. His charcoal trousers were perfectly tailored to exactly the right length for him and she didn’t have to look behind them to know they’d fit his rear end perfectly. His sweater was cashmere, and the shirt beneath it was too unique to be off the rack. Yes, the man who had chucked her coffee all over her was probably the wealthiest man she was ever going to meet in her life. What an extraordinary twist of fate.
“My friend here needs a top to replace the one I ruined, Stacy.” He gave the
assistant one of his dazzling smiles. “Probably lingerie too. It was a lot of coffee.”
“Of course Mr Hallow. Please take a moment to browse and I won’t be long.” With a measuring glance that sized
Noelle up in an instant, Stacy of the mile-long legs vanished into the recesses of the store.
“I really don’t need new lingerie.” Noelle was blushing again
, but Gabriel just shrugged.
“Whatever you’re wearing under that must be soaked too. If you don’t replace it
, whatever top we purchase to go over it will also be ruined. Please, I insist.” Without waiting for an argument, he wandered off into the shop and Noelle was helpless to do anything but follow.
They were perusing the men’s shirts when Stacy of the legs returned and ushered Noelle into a changing room. It didn’t take long for
the shop assistant to decide on a top and she efficiently snipped the labels out as Noelle tried futilely to assume some sort of control over the situation. Nothing had prices on and she felt totally out of her depth, particularly when Stacy swept her coffee-stained clothes into a bag and whisked out of the changing room. She either had to follow in the new clothes or emerge naked. She opted for the clothes.
“Ah there you are!” Gabriel smiled warmly. “Stacy was right, that’s an excellent colour for you. Here, allow me.” He held up a warm woollen coat in a gorgeous damson colour. It was so beautiful it made Noelle’s heart hurt just to look at it.
“Um...Gabriel, that’s not my coat.” She blushed and he burst out laughing.
“It is now. Your coat was also soaked with coffee and I simply cannot allow you to return outside in a wet coat. You’ll catch your death of cold. It’s already been purchased
, so there’s little point in you arguing.” Oh. Wow. Feeling a little overwhelmed, Noelle allowed herself to be wrapped up in the coat and she felt like a million dollars as she caught sight of herself in the mirror. “There, beautiful.” He smoothed his hands across her shoulders and she thought he meant the coat until she realised he was looking at her face in their reflection. Blushing furiously, she turned from the mirror.
“I don’t know how to thank you enough.” She stammered out. “Really, this is too much.”
“Nonsense.” He waved to Stacy and made to escort Noelle out of the shop. “But if you really would like to thank me, it’s been a very long time since I ate a home cooked meal. I live alone.”
She glanced at her watch and was surprised to see her lunch break was almost over. “Then I would love to cook for you.” She smiled up at him, pleased he’d given her a graceful way out. “It won’t be
cordon bleu,
but it’ll be homely and healthy.”
“Sounds perf
ect. When’s good for you? Tonight?”
“Uh...I uh...I have an evening
class tonight.” She was dazzled by his smile and the prospect of having this charming, bright man in her home. “I do yoga on Thursdays. I could do tomorrow, if you’re not busy?”
“Tomorrow would be excellent.” Pulling out his wallet, he handed her a business card. “That has all my personal contact details on it.” He explained. “Send me an email with the directions for your house and I’ll be there at the precise time you tell me.”
“Okay. Thank you.” Flustered, she almost dropped it as she was slipping it into her pocket and their hands brushed as they both made to catch it. His hand closed around hers a moment after hers had closed around the card.
“Good catch.” He was close, too close. She looked up into his handsome face, her eyes filled with wonder, and he smiled inwardly. Yes, she was caught. “Until tomorrow, Noelle.” Her name was almost a whisper on his tongue as he kissed her cheek
, and then he was away, striding through the drifting snow until she could see him no more.
***
When he knocked on her door the following evening, he wanted to savour the moment of anticipation the sound of her footsteps in the hall ignited. Sadly it was over too soon, and she opened her home with a flood of light and warm air, redolent with the smell of home cooking. “You found it okay?” She asked anxiously, welcoming him in, and he set her at ease with a charming smile, a bunch of flowers, a box of chocolates and a bottle of wine.
“Yes, your directions were perfect. It wasn’t difficult.” He allowed her to take his coat and she led him through to the living room
, where he deposited the chocolates on the coffee table.
“I’ll go put these in some water.” He followed her through to the kitchen with the wine as she hurried off to find a
glass. He was pleased to note that up close her home seemed as wholesome as it did from the darkness outside the windows. Gleaming copper pans hung above the island, where baskets of fresh fruit and vegetables sat, looking like they too had been polished. He was sorely tempted to select a rosy apple and sink his teeth into it, but resisted the urge.